Mace feels the ship jolt, and he already knows it's Skywalker judging by the storm of rage swirling in the Force.
"Now what?" Eval whines.
"Jedi." Bane replies.
Mace scowls. He had a gut feeling that Skywalker would be coming after the fugitives. The Knight's never learnt how to let go of a grudge.
Mace isn't a pilot, but he's heard enough of Skywalker's space battle reports to know how he thinks. That's the only way he manages to evade him as they keep low to the surface. Skywalker isn't holding anything back- occasionally scuffing the lip of his ship with theirs and Mace knows it won't be long until he brings them down.
He notices the ship above them is put onto auto-pilot- which confirms Skywalker is alone. Suddenly, the Knight drops onto the nose of their ship, and he looks pissed.
"I'll take care of him." Mace says, going to stand. It's been a while since he and Skywalker sparred.
"No," Bane plants a hand on his shoulder, "it's my turn to shoot a Jedi."
Mace chuckles dryly, "It's cute that you think you can beat a lightsaber wielder with just a pistol. Leave this to me, Bane."
"What have you got that's better than a pistol?!" Bane yells as Mace exits the cockpit.
"A brain!" He calls back, and the Force.
Once outside, he jumps to where Skywalker is standing and pins the Knight to the ground. He manages to get a few punches in, but being younger, stronger, and angrier, Skywalker breaks his hold within seconds, igniting his lightsaber.
Mace crouches, analysing which moves he can make. Sure, he could fire his blaster a few times, but Skywalker is a General for kriff's sake. He deals with blasters on the daily.
Mace goes for a different strategy, rushing Skywalker from underneath and tackling him again. He feels the lightsaber hum as it nearly passes through his neck, and he grabs Skywalker's hand, stopping him from decapitating him.
The ship tilts, colliding with Skywalker's hovering above them. If Skywalker thought with his head and not his emotions, he would've at least brought Captain Rex for backup.
Has Obi-Wan been released from the Halls of Healing yet?
His momentary distraction is all Skywalker needs to pound his knee Mace's groin and roll them, so he's straddling the older Jedi. The lightsaber is ignited again, but before Mace's life flashes before his eyes, the ship hits something hard, and both Generals are thrown like rag dolls to the ground.
Funny how Tano couldn't catch herself when she fell off the building, but Mace and Anakin manage to land easily with practised rolls.
Skywalker's hands are suddenly around his throat and he looks blood-thirsty, "You're going to pay for what you did."
"You shouldn't have gotten involved."
His eyes flicker gold, and Mace feels his back hit a rock face and a knee collide with his groin. Groaning, he's tossed to the ground.
Skywalker puts a knee on his back and Mace grows panicked when he hears the lightsaber being ignited near his leg, "This is for Ahsoka..."
Shit.
Bane couldn't have shown up at a better time.
Skywalker's arms are swiftly pinned to his sides by a cable fired from Bane. "You can thank me later, Hardeen."
Mace stands, grateful his leg is still attached to the rest of his body as Bane pulls Skywalker along the ground, "You had your chance to kill him, now it's my turn!"
Skywalker uses the momentum to swing himself upwards and kick Bane away, ridding himself of the cable. In a flash, his lightsaber is back in his hand and he easily defends himself against Bane's shots.
Within seconds, the blaster is knocked from Bane's hand and Skywalker lifts his lightsaber, preparing to kill. The Force surges with fear as Bane realises this may be the end.
Mace has to admit, it's satisfying to see Bane so vulnerable, but killing him will do no good.
He jumps forwards and bounds into Skywalker, sends the lightsaber flying away as they start to wrestle. Mace puts the young Knight into a chokehold, pinning him tightly between his chest and the ground.
"Stop following me." He urges under his breath, lacing his words with a sleep suggestion so thick that it could put a youngling in a coma. It needs to be heavy if he wants Skywalker to go unconscious.
Skywalker soon goes slack in his arms, and Mace releases his neck, so he doesn't cause any permanent damage.
As he stands, he sees Bane aim his blaster, and without thinking, Mace extends a hand, "We need to get going."
Bane's not a weak-minded being, and he shrugs off the Force-suggestion, "After I kill him, we can leave."
Mace puts a hand over his blaster and pushes it down, pulses the Force at the Duros' strong mental shields. A Force-suggestion from three Jedi barely worked on Bane when they tried to find the missing children at the start of the war, but Bane was prepared then.
Now, he has no suspicions that Mace can use the Force.
"It's no fun killing Jedi when they can't fight back, trust me." He says, focusing entirely on feeding Bane impatience and the urge to leave. "Let's go."
The power and confidence in his words is finally enough to make Bane submit, and the blaster is holstered.
Eval approaches them, "The ship is still operational!"
Mace looks back at Skywalker as Bane goes ahead. The Knight is starting to stir, but Mace waves a hand, pushing him further under the Force with the instruction to rest.
"Don't follow us, Skywalker." He says lowly before following the others.
///
Ship crashing. Anakin's on the ship beneath her, fighting the bounty hunters. A pipeline explodes in front of her, and Ahsoka gasps, trying to swerve out of the way.
Then, she's breaking out of her ship, one hand pressing against her pounding skull.
Anakin!
She jumps in front of him, defending him from Cad Bane. Heart thumping, chest heaving. Hardeen doesn't raise his blaster at her, he hardly looks her in the eyes.
"You're lucky we're in a hurry, little lady. We'll have to dance another time." Bane cackles, tilting his hat at her. Disgust stirs in her as she growls, keeping her lightsabers poised until they re-board their ship.
She drops to her knees to help Anakin up, praying she hasn't lost a second Master.
"Master. Master, are you alright? What is it? What's wrong?"
"That's... why I felt a connection." He says, his eyes lost. "Obi-Wan is still alive."
"I... I don't understand."
"Neither do I."
"I don't either," Anakin shakes his head, "but we're going to get to the bottom of this. Believe me."
Ahsoka opens her eyes slowly, notices it's still late as it takes her a few moments to adjust to the darkness. Her visions have been getting more frequent to the point that they don't scare her anymore; they only confuse her.
This one was more confusing than the others.
Why did Anakin feel a connection, and why did he think Obi-Wan was still alive?
Rex is sleeping on the floor, snoring. Not all clones snore; it's one of the things which makes Rex Rex. Ahsoka pushes herself upright, sees the digital chrono on the far wall reads 0300.
She runs a hand down her face, feels sweat cling to her palm. The small details of the mission are already leaving her memory before she can focus on them, but she remembers one thing: Obi-Wan is still alive.
Ahsoka shudders, reminding herself Obi-Wan never died in the first place. They're only visions, just her imagination becoming more vivid.
No, it is not, young one.
The commlink on her bedside table lets out a beep, and Ahsoka grabs it before the noise will stir Rex- clones are notoriously light sleepers.
She holds it close to her mouth, already knowing who's calling her at this hour, "Master?"
"Snips." He sounds beat. "Did I wake you?"
"No," she lies, rubbing a hand over her eyes. "Where are you?"
"About six hours from Coruscant; I'm hitch-hiking." He replies vaguely, "I couldn't capture Hardeen; I'm sorry. I underestimated that team of bounty hunters."
"Anakin." She keeps her voice low, ever mindful of the sleeping Captain beside her bed. "Nobody was expecting you to kill Hardeen. What happened?"
There's a momentary pause, "The fugitives had left by the time I got to Nal Hutta. I managed to track them down to-"
"Orondia." She cuts him off, the planet coming to the front of her mind from nowhere. Has she even heard of Orondia?
"Yeah, that's the one." Anakin's too tired to ask how she knew the fugitives were on that planet, "My ship crashed when I tried to take their one down."
Typical. Ahsoka holds her tongue, remembers that the ship crashed in her vision as well.
"I fought Hardeen." Anakin carries on, "He was a better fighter than I anticipated."
No shit; he's a lethal bounty hunter.
"How did you escape all three of them?"
"Hardeen knocked me out, but when I woke up, they were gone. Must've been in a rush."
"Odd." She says. In her vision, she had to defend Anakin when he was knocked out, so why would the bounty hunters just leave?
Be grateful he is alive, young one.
"Don't worry about it, Snips, just focus on yourself." He reassures, knowing how her thoughts are spiralling, "I'll visit you as soon as I get back. Anakin out."
"Wait, Anakin!" She exclaims before he cuts off the call
"Hm?"
"You would..." she has no idea how to phrase this, "You would tell me if you know something I don't, right?"
She hears him yawn, "What do you mean?"
"Like," she searches for the right words, "like if there was more to this than we thought, you would tell me, yeah?"
"Yeah, of course," he chuckles, "Why? Do you have any info from your side?"
"No," she replies, "Nobody's telling me anything." Obi-Wan wouldn't even tell her who Hardeen escaped prison with.
"Join the club, Snips," Anakin genuinely laughs this time, "See you in a bit."
The comm beeps as the call ends, and Ahsoka sits with the device in her hand for a while, just trying to make sense of everything.
There's a soft groan from the floor, followed by Rex's raspy sleep-voice, "Did the General catch Hardeen?"
"No," she says, her soft voice barely audible. She wonders if she can disclose some of her worries to her Captain, "Rex?"
There's no response, just a light snore filling the room.
///
"Remember, Jesse," Kix says, treating him like a cadet- once again, "whilst we're in our armour, we're representing the Grand Army of the Republic."
"Never." Jesse says, giving his brother a dry look. "I thought we were representing the Trade Federation."
Kix ignores him, "We have to be on our best behaviour."
Jesse rolls his eyes as they reach the top of the Temple steps, "We're visiting the Commander, Kix, not the Council. You know she doesn't like it when we're too military."
They two brothers are silent as they walk through the Temple, following Coric's directions to the Halls of Healing. It's still early, the sun just barely showing across the horizon of skyscrapers.
"Is that the Captain?" Kix asks, breaking the silence as he squints at the figure approaching them.
Jesse nods, "He said he was staying with the Commander for the night- General's orders."
They meet Rex halfway down the corridor, and the bedroll tucked under the Captain's arm is confirmation he slept in the Temple's medbay.
"Captain." Kix and Jesse salute sharply.
"At ease; we're off duty." Rex says. The deep wrinkles etched in his brow from the stress of the past few days seems to have eased into a somewhat softer expression. He looks happier. "Paying Commander Tano a visit?"
"Yes, sir." Kix chirps back, the more formal of the two brothers. "How is she?"
"Tired, this morning. She didn't sleep well." Rex says, and Jesse feels his face fall. The Captain backtracks when he sees his crestfallen expression, "I'm sure she'll be grateful for your company. Make sure you sign in and out at the reception. Healer Che rules with an iron fist."
Jesse chuckles, imagining a female version of General Windu. "Sure thing."
"I'm going to call Fives, let him know what's going on." Rex sighs, and Jesse knows Fives is completely unaware of what's happened due to his back-to-back ARC missions. "Skywalker's due back today, so I'll try to catch up with him."
Kix furrows his eyebrows, "The General went off-planet? Now, of all times?"
"Chasing down the bounty hunter who shot Ahsoka." Rex explains. Neither clone pretends to notice that he used her first name. "Unfortunately, he was unsuccessful."
"He should've brought us along," Jesse taps his chest with his fist. "We could've killed the bastard." Rex gives him a disapproving look. "Sorry, sir."
If the 501st had their way, Rako Hardeen would be serving a life sentence.
In a coffin.
"Don't worry, Jesse; we all feel the same way." Rex shakes his head, "I'll be in the barracks when you guys get back."
They watch their CO walk away, his shoulders slumped and feet dragging. Jesse has never seen Rex so downbeat, not even after tiresome battles where they lose too many men. He may have been composed when he spoke to them, but it's just a façade.
Their Captain is broken.
"The Commander's his best friend, Jesse." Kix says, reading his thoughts. "Rex has hundreds of brothers but only one sister. Seeing her in pain is tough on him- it always has been."
Jesse hums in agreement. Ahsoka's a tough Jedi, but she's not invincible. She's been wounded before- not as bad as this but still badly- and Rex has always struggled to deal with her pain. It's as if he feels the wounds on his own body.
The Captain feels responsible for her. Apparently, when she joined the 501st on Christophsis, the General sacked her onto Rex so she could learn about war. He's taught her a lot about what it takes to be a good soldier and leader, and Rex has probably learnt a lot from Ahsoka too.
"Did you remember the card?" Kix asks, bringing Jesse out of his thoughts. Up ahead, he can see the entrance to the Halls of Healing. It's beige- an odd colour for a medbay.
"Of course." Jesse waves the envelope in his hand. "How're the flowers looking?"
"They need some water." Kix frowns, glancing at the bouquet in his hand. With a limited knowledge of flora and a meagre allowance, they ended up buying the cheapest bouquet they saw. Hopefully, they'll please the Commander.
The doors automatically open, revealing the Halls of Healing. It's a dumb name for a bog-standard medbay, in Jesse's opinion. The only thing that's special about it is that they are completely funded by the Senate with an unlimited amount of supplies and every soul in the building can use the Force.
Jesse's seen the General heal with the Force a few times, and it's both enchanting and freaky.
"I'll do the talking." Kix says as they walk to a reception desk where a woman is sat. He winks at Jesse, "Medic charm."
"Yeah, flirt your way in." Jesse rolls his eyes, still angry Kix managed to dance with more girls than him last week in 79s. That was before this mess ever happened.
"Excuse me, ma'am." The woman lifts her eyes when Kix addresses her. "We're here to visit Commander Tano."
She raises a brow, "We don't have a Commander Tano here. Sorry, trooper." She doesn't sound very sorry as she turns back to her computer screen.
"Padawan Tano." Jesse emphasises, adding on a sharp. "Ma'am."
"Oh," she looks up at them, scanning the two clones methodically. Kix and Jesse freeze like it's a Sergeant inspection. "Are a lot of clones going to be visiting Padawan Tano?"
Jesse and Kix exchange a confused glance before the medic answers, "Several have already been to visit, ma'am. She is our Commander."
"I wonder how long Master Che will last before she gets annoyed with seeing so many similar faces around here." The girl says, giggling at her stupid joke. "Room 18A, second on your right."
"Thank you, ma'am." Kix bows his head, and Jesse swears that kid could pass as a Jedi any day of the week. They walk away from the reception area, "Well, she was pleasant."
Jesse grins, "Makes me realise we got the best Jedi as our COs."
Ahsoka's room is certainly larger than any of the recovery rooms on the Resolute- that's for sure. She even has a window. Jesse has never seen a better view of Coruscant.
The young Jedi's sat on the bed, an untouched bowl of cereal on her lap and wearing a smile which could challenge General Fisto. Jesse can't help but smile back.
"You didn't have to come, guys, but thank you anyway." She says, her eyes glassy as she accepts the flowers.
"I look a state." She laughs, rubbing her eyes. Her left arm is motionless; Rex said something about it not working. It reminds Jesse of the Captain's injury on Saluecami.
"Nonsense." Kix says, beaming.
Jesse scans their Jedi, notices the dark bags under her eyes and her less-than-bright skin. It makes him feel weird to see her like this, almost like he's intruding on something private. He's seen her tired and covered in battle-field grime and blood but seeing her like this is somehow more harrowing.
"Take a seat, brother." Kix says, motioning to the two metal chairs beside Ahsoka's bed. Jesse sits, tries not to breathe too deeply so his nose doesn't sting with the sharp smell of antiseptic. Hospitals and medbays have always freaked him out.
"How have you been, sir?" Kix asks as if it's the most casual thing in the universe.
Ahsoka shrugs, her left shoulder resisting the movement, "Still in a decent amount of pain, but, you know," she flashes a grin, "it can only get better, right?"
"Have they not given you a new leg yet?" Jesse nods at the stump on her left leg. The sight makes his stomach clench, but it's hard to look away.
"They did," she sighs, "Anakin stole it to make altercations."
Jesse grins, "That's a good way to keep you out of trouble, sir."
She laughs- genuinely. Jesse beams: the Captain will enjoy hearing that he managed to make Ahsoka laugh.
"What have you guys been up to?" She asks, putting her bowl of cereal aside and sitting upright.
"Keeping the Captain sane." Jesse snorts, earning a smack on the vambrace from his brother. Ahsoka's face hardens, "I'm joking, sir."
"You better be."
"We've been busy re-supplying." Kix answers, pinning Jesse with a glare. "The newbies were ready to paint their armour, so we've been supervising that process as well."
Ahsoka's smile fades, "I love watching the men paint their armour."
"We'll make sure one of the shinies waits for you to come back until he paints his, then." Jesse promises. Kix nudges him, pointing at the envelope which Jesse forget about. He extends it to her, "For you, sir."
"You guys are so sweet." She takes the envelope and places it on her lap, using her one functioning hand to open it. Jesse thoughts start spiralling; will she ever be able to fight again?
Ahsoka holds up the card with one hand, shows her teeth as she smiles. "Jesse, that's beautiful."
He shrugs, "Just something simple."
Ahsoka's always adored the scenery on Naboo, so it only makes sense to do a piece of digital artwork on the front of the card.
"You're amazing." She breathes, her eyes going doe-like. "Senator Amidala is coming to visit me again soon. I'm sure she'll love it as much as I do."
She opens the card and reads silently, her eyes scanning across the paper at an unnaturally fast speed. A few moments later, she smiles and glances at the medic, "Kix, your sense of humour is showing."
Jesse's eyebrows shoot upwards, "Kix making a joke? I don't believe it!"
"Di'kut." His brother shoves him, "You should know that medics always have the perfect one-liners."
Jesse looks at Ahsoka expectantly, "What did he curse you with this time, Commander?"
She clears her throat, still smiling, "Sir, you may have temporary paralysis in your left arm and lost most of your left leg, but you're alright."
It takes Jesse a moment until he understands what his brother meant. Medics have such bad senses of humour, it's somehow funny.
"You're the di'kut." He laughs, rubbing his knuckles on Kix's head. "That's such a dad-joke. I bet the General said something like that."
Ahsoka's laugh is dryer now. She probably misses her Master. Rex said Skywalker is coming back today, so hopefully, that'll cheer her up.
"Padawan Tano," the same girl from the reception desk sticks her head through the door, scowling as soon as she sees Jesse and Kix. "Master Yoda's on his way to see you."
Ahsoka's face falls and Jesse hears her mutter, "Thanks, Obi-Wan."
Kix starts to stand, "We'll be on our way, Commander."
"I wish you could've stayed longer." Ahsoka says, as if she would rather their company over the Grandmaster of the Jedi Order.
"We'll be back soon, sir." Jesse promises before he follows Kix out of the room. He'll be back every day as long as he can make her laugh.