It has been a full year since Cal and Ahsoka parted ways with the Order, and subsequently nine months since we lost Fives. It has been the hardest year of my life.
The full mourning period of Fives has not yet passed. I can function as normal and participate in daily life, but I still have my moments of grief. Whenever something funny happens on a mission, I always turn to tell him. The problem is, he is never there. His loss is also evident on days when I just need someone to talk to. The absence of his kind and warm personality is something I will always feel.
Although he's gone, I know he still walks with me.
In terms of the war, things are not going the way we had hoped. It has now been three years since the beginning of the Clone War, and the Republic does not yet seem close to victory. I started this fight when I was nineteen years old and I'm now twenty-two. Unfortunately, I fear this war will progress much further into my life.
The Separatists are greatly increasing their level of firepower throughout the outer rim. As a result, the Jedi Council has needed to send out many of their best Generals to handle the situation. Master Plo is travelling to Cato Neimoidia, Master Aayla Secura is on Felucia, and Anakin, Obi-Wan, and I are here on Yerbana.
To handle the battle as effectively as we possibly can, we decided to separate the 501st and 212th. The purpose of this was to terminate the threats evident in different areas to benefit the innocents of the planet.
Our men have been effective in taking out the typical battle droids while Anakin and I have kept our focus on the spider droids. Those things are strong and a little difficult to take out compared to the other classes of droids. Being as strong as we are in the Force, it hasn't been too much of a struggle.
There are only three spider droids left, and Anakin is already handling one. I spin my lightsaber hilt in my hand, take a deep breath, and sprint toward the one nearest to me. I then spring myself upward to land on the top of it, wasting no time in thrusting my ignited lightsaber through its head.
The droid topples onto the ground, and I use its now fallen body to smoothly slide back to the ground. This is one of those moments where I feel quite proud of myself for not falling over.
Not long after, I begin to hear grunting coming from my left. A spider droid has knocked Anakin to the ground, separating him from his lightsaber and preventing him from using the Force. My emotions take many different paths during the first few seconds of witnessing the scene. At first, I'm angry that anyone has dared to hurt my husband. This, however, quickly fades into a feeling of grief and I have to force myself not to cry.
I push aside my strange emotional instability and begin focusing on the situation. I'm too far away to slice it with my lightsaber, so I need another plan. After briefly scanning the area, I know what to do. I use the Force to summon a nearby blaster to my hand and quickly aim toward the eye of the droid. If I aim it perfectly, I'll take out the threat.
I trust in the Force as I pull the trigger, resulting in the blast hitting exactly where I intended it to. I push the droid backward with the Force to avoid it landing on top of Anakin.
When I'm certain the threat is eliminated, I rush over to my husband's side. I offer him a hand off the ground as he remains there recovering from his encounter.
"I can always count on you to save my skin," He remarks.
"Someone's gotta do it," I reply.
He takes my hand and slowly pulls himself off the ground. His long, grown out hair falls over his sweaty face, and I take it upon myself to push it back for him.
His decision to take on my advice by growing it out might be one of the smartest things he's ever done. The longer hair is quite remarkable. It makes me feel all types of things every time I look at him.
Rex joins our position, interrupting my thoughts about my husband. After briefly looking around, I see the 501st has won this front of the battle. The three of us now need to decide what the best move will be from this point.
"Alright, looks like we've won our front," Rex announces.
"Now we should be thinking about helping Obi-Wan," Anakin suggests.
Obi-Wan and the 212th are fighting their separate battle against the droid army not too far from where we are. The consistent blaster fire occurring in the distance reveals their desperation for reinforcements. I know Anakin is seeing this as a golden opportunity to prove the 501st is a better battalion.
"And how do you suppose we do that?" I ask grumpily, although I'm not entirely sure why my mood shifted so suddenly.
"The 501st way, of course." Anakin chuckles, clearly as shocked as I am by my mood.
I raise an eyebrow at him, urging him to proceed. I'm certain I know what he is going to say, but I need confirmation of his chaotic energy.
"Maximum effectiveness, minimal casualties," Anakin adds.
"So basically we do the dumbest thing possible and hope for the best?" I ask with a sarcastic tone of voice.
"Exactly," He states.
I think for a moment about the most reckless way we could go about this mission. It doesn't take me long to figure out exactly what I would do, and given how in sync our minds have become, I can almost guarantee his plan will be the same.
"You're going to lure out the tactical droid, aren't you?" I question, knowing my suspicion to be correct.
"You bet," He smirks.
Anakin's mind is very similar to mine. In terms of tactics, I'm fully aware of how disastrous his plans can be at times. I am almost certain of what his plan is going to involve but I still require verbal confirmation from him before I assume the worst.
"And how are you going to do that?" I ask with a sassy tone of voice.
"Fake a surrender, keep them busy, spring a trap."
I groan in frustration at his plan. On any other day, I'd probably be the one to suggest this tactic first. At the very least, I would eagerly agree with it.
"Come on, (Y/N), it's foolproof." He claims.
"Well, my dear husband, nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool." I counter.
My mood has been entirely unpredictable during the course of this battle. One minute I'm overly-confident and ready for battle, the next I feel like arguing with everything I hear.
"If you don't mind me asking, General, how exactly is this going to work?" Rex questions, seeming eager to break apart our little exchange.
"Well, Rex, if you can't convince them, confuse them," Anakin states.
This right here describes the tactics of Anakin Skywalker perfectly. If he doesn't run headfirst into the situation, he will always find some way to talk himself around an obstacle. It's a gift, really.
"That doesn't even make sense." I groan.
"Why won't you just agree with me?" Anakin asks; his tone of voice a slightly higher pitch than usual.
"If I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong," I state.
I know I'm being very harsh, but I can't really help it. I do feel sorry for Anakin though. He isn't used to me snapping at him over little things like this, and truthfully, I am not used to having to snap at him. Rex, however, seems to be enjoying the exchange quite a bit.
"Well aren't you in a mood," Anakin says with a pouty, childish voice.
Technically, I'm in a lot of moods today. It just feels like the endless amount of effort I have put into every battle is finally catching up on me. I'm beyond exhausted, my body is aching, and I'm starving. Everything is hitting me at once.
"I am not in a mood!" I defend angrily.
"I'm not in a mood!" He mocks.
He puts an arm around my neck and playfully uses his flesh hand to ruffle my hair. The action completely messes up the usual braid I have it in and undoubtedly leaves behind undesirable knots.
"Are you serious?" I groan.
"Calm down." He chuckles. "Here, let me fix it."
I turn around to let him fix my hair, knowing he will likely make a bigger mess of it. Instead of trying to redo the braid, he simply untangles my hair a little and pushes it over my shoulders.
"There. Much better." He says.
Master Ti always said that a Jedi's hair should be pulled away from their face. To this day, I don't understand why. I guess, in a way, it might look nicer like this.
"No," I whine.
"It looks cute." He defends.
I grab my hair tie out of his hand and attempt to put my hair back up with it. Unfortunately, the band snaps as I try to wrap it around my hair. Things really aren't working for me right now.
"Great." I groan, once again showing my moody attitude.
"Are you feeling okay?" Anakin asks, confused by my mannerisms today.
No. I haven't felt the greatest this week, and today seems to be the worst of it. My exhaustion from the pressures of the war are catching up to me and I am in desperate need of a break. After three years, it was bound to catch up on me at some point.
"I'm fine," I lie.
He and Rex both raise an eyebrow at me. I know neither of them believes me, and I don't really believe myself, but we have work to do. I'm just hoping that they put their duty above me for a change.
"Alright," Anakin chuckles, throwing his hands up defensively.
After our slight argument over something that I can no longer recall, we are greeted by the presence of someone I never get tired of.
"Hey there, Artoo." I greet.
The little droid beeps excitedly at me. He and I have become close in the time I've been in Anakin's life. He's an incredibly reliable droid, and he would do anything for his Master.
Artoo and I make our way to Anakin. Once we are all together, we gather the men of the 501st and go over the plan. They know what they need to do, and we trust Artoo and Rex to ensure everything runs smoothly.
The men take off from our position using their newly assigned jet packs and head to the location we described. Anakin and I, on the other hand, run together toward Obi-Wan and the 212th.
We reach the bridge serving as the battleground between the Separatists and the 212th. It doesn't take long to notice that the droid army is overpowering them. Obi-Wan and most of his men are taking cover behind debris while a few others attempt to blast anything they can.
Anakin and I approach a piece of debris toward the front that is covering Obi-Wan and Cody. As we get closer, we can begin to make out their desperate words regarding how to win this battle.
"Anakin and (Y/N), where are you?" A desperate Obi-Wan sighs as he witnesses the battlefront.
"We're right here," Anakin says.
The two of them turn to look at us. I can't see Cody's expression beneath his helmet, but I can see the relief on Obi Wan's face. Whether he'll admit it or not, he needs our reckless tactics right about now.
"What are you guys doing down there?" I ask, tilting my head a little to seem condescending.
A blast heads toward Anakin and me, and we each shift our bodies slightly out of the way. Obi Wan's eyebrows furrow a little as he takes in the sight, likely thinking that we spend far too much time together.
"We are taking cover. Now get down!" Obi-Wan shouts.
"You're not serious," Anakin counters. "There's only a thousand droids down there, tops."
The arrogance displayed by my husband is something I have always loved. I have the same approach when it comes to battles and never care about the number of enemies we are about to face. That is evident in our plan today. We have faith in our plan, so I know it is going to work. The question is, will Obi-Wan have the same faith in it?
"What are the two of you up to? Where's Captain Rex?" Obi-Wan asks.
Anakin climbs on top of the debris they are hiding behind and offers me a hand up. Since he is being a gentleman, I choose to accept the gesture.
"We already finished our battle, so we decided to come help you with yours," Anakin explains as we both observe the battle before us.
The Separatist droid army greatly outmatches the 212th. If we hadn't shown up right about now, I believe they would be in a far worse position.
"Clearly you needed it," I add.
"You're overdoing it. Again!" Obi-Wan groans.
Anakin turns back to Obi-Wan and crouches down. I do the same, not fearing a blast hitting me in the back. It's not like the Separatist droid army ever actually hits their target.
"Master, I mean no disrespect. If you want, we can hide here with you, and we can let the people in the city suffer longer." Anakin says sarcastically.
I have to force myself not to laugh at the patronising tone he chose to use. Obi-Wan deserves better than what he gets from us at times, but he knows we do it out of love.
"Now, Anakin, you know I–" Obi-Wan starts.
"Or we can do things the 501st way and help them now," I interject.
He gives Anakin and I a questioning look as he tries to determine how best to approach this situation. Given all of the experience he has gained in the time he has known Anakin, you'd think he would have a better way to approach such a situation.
Obi-Wan sighs. "All right. I know better than to try and stop either of you. What's your plan this time?"
If we tell him the plan now, he will undoubtedly continue the argument we have just escaped. The best thing to do is give him as little detail as possible.
"Stay here." Anakin urges.
The two of us walk side by side toward the enemy fire on the other side of the bridge. While most would see this as a completely absurd idea, I happen to think it is perfect.
As we draw nearer, the droid army ceases their fire on the rest of the squadron. Instead, they turn each of their blasters toward us without firing anything yet.
"Ready...Aim..." A battle droid commands.
"Hold your fire!" Anakin calls. "Hold your fire."
The two of us raise our hands innocently, trying to prove that we won't be trying anything. Our act seems to work, for they don't immediately fire at us.
"We have come to surrender," Anakin calls.
Faking a surrender is undoubtedly a war crime. I would feel incredibly guilty if it weren't a Separatist droid army. The amount of times they have committed war crimes against us is infinite.
"Your forces fought courageously, and I must confess that we are overmatched by your hugely superior firepower," I add.
The droids all seem convinced of our surrender. Two of them leave the front of the flank, which tells me they could be informing the tactical droid of our actions.
"Keep talking," Anakin whispers.
"I...would personally like to... congratulate you, for we have fought in many battles across the galaxy and have always been triumphant against the droid army. Your army, however, has overpowered us. It's a...rare occurrence and one we must recognise with...sincere pride in your abilities." I ramble.
"So, it is with these thoughts in mind that we gladly surrender ourselves to the...uh... mercy of the Separatist forces." Anakin finishes.
As planned, the dimwitted battle droids bring out exactly what we are searching for. The tactical droid. I understand that they don't have the same capabilities as us humans, but you'd think the Separatists would opt for better programming.
"Worked like a charm," I smirk.
The tactical droid shifts its focus from us to the useless droids a few times. Right now, I actually feel sorry for the B1 battle droids. It's not their fault that things have come to this. I mentally slap myself in the face for this train of thought. I really need to get my emotions in check.
"It's a trap, you fools. Open fire!" The tactical droid commands, snapping me back to reality.
"Now, Artoo!" Anakin shouts.
I unclip my lightsaber from my belt and ignite it. At the same time, Anakin uses the Force to bring the tactical droid toward us. At the right moment, I use my lightsaber to slice off its head, thus making this idea successful.
"Teamwork makes the dream work." Anakin jokes.
It's very rare for me to be in an irritable mood, especially in terms of my husband. Due to the rare occasion, he's doing everything in his power to set up my temper. He isn't doing it out of spite, but rather because he's finding enjoyment out of it. Truth be told, I would do the same to him in the corresponding situation
"Shut up," I playfully tease.
The rumbling below the bridge tells me our plan is about to come through. I deactivate my lightsaber and clip it back to my belt as the men of the 501st come in on their jetpacks. They strike as a team, dropping grenades and detonators on the droid army. Within seconds, the 212th is running out and joining the fun.
Anakin and I stand watching, each of us feeling proud of our battle tactic. Thanks to our reckless attitude, we have won this battle.
"Bravo, you two. You've done it again." Obi-Wan commends as he approaches us.
He doesn't sound surprised by this, and I understand why. When Anakin and I work together, we are unstoppable. Together, we are a force to be reckoned with and the enemy has quickly realised that today.
"Oh, we can't take all the credit," Anakin says. "Your state of helplessness really sold them on my surrender talk."
The playful brotherhood they share is something I will always cherish. Obi-Wan is almost like the father Anakin never had, while at the same his older brother. No matter what, Anakin will always love him.
"Always glad to help, my friend," Obi-Wan replies.
Mine and Anakin's wrist coms start beeping unexpectedly. The only person who would be contacting us now is Admiral Yularen, only I don't know what it could be about. Anakin activates his comlink so I don't have to, and Obi-Wan and I prepare to listen in.
"Skywalker here. What is it, Admiral?"
"Sir, we've received a transmission from someone using your subspace frequency 'Fulcrum'," Yularen explains.
We've used that subspace frequency since the start of the Clone Wars. It never had a name before, simply a number. After Cal and Ahsoka left, we decided we needed to make it something of significance to them. That way if they were ever in trouble, they would know that we would always be there to help.
I referred to Ahsoka as the Fulcrum during the mission on the Citadel, and I knew that would be enough. There was no better way to show them both that we are always here for them.
Many people have access to this frequency, including Saw Gerrera on Onderon, so I cannot be hopeful that it is our Padawans.
"You had best take this transmission here on the ship. All of you." Yularen states.
Admiral Yularen then deactivates the comlink, leaving the three of us feeling slightly overwhelmed by what this could be about. Whatever it is sounds serious. The three of us waste no time in boarding the nearest Republic gunship and take it back to one of the Cruisers circling the planet.
Once onboard, we walk into the control room where various clone officers are inside. At the end of the room is an awaiting Admiral Yularen.
"All right, Admiral." Anakin starts. "What's so important you brought us all the way back here?"
A holo-transmission on the table before us starts, revealing three figures. Two of which are unmistakable. The montrals of a young Togruta and the distinctive red hair of the other are clear indicators.
The first to turn their head is the Togruta. When she fully turns, I know for sure it's Ahsoka. The next to turn around is the boy with red hair, and my heart momentarily stops beating when I see his face.
"Hello, Master. It's been a while." Ahsoka says to Anakin.
"Hey, Master." Cal greets me.
I stand shocked to my core. I can't believe it. There was a time when I truly thought we would never see either of them again, yet here they are.
"Cal?" I gasp, unable to say anything more.
He's grown up in the year he has been gone. From the transmission, he looks to be taller than Ahsoka and his voice is much deeper. He's certainly not a kid anymore. He's only been on the transmission for a few seconds, and I can already tell he has grown as an individual since he left the Order.
"Ah– Ahsoka. Cal? Wha–" Anakin stutters. "I don't believe it! How are you? Where are you? Are– Are you okay?"
Anakin is possibly more overwhelmed than I am right now. Cal and I had the gift of a proper goodbye, whereas he and Ahsoka never had that luxury. His immediate instinct to ask if they are okay, however, represents the kind heart of the man I love.
"We're all right. Thank you." Ahsoka says.
I'm beyond glad to know this. Whatever reason they are contacting us for likely will not be good, and I am aware of that, but at least we know they are okay.
"I wish we had more time to catch up, but we have urgent information to share," Cal explains.
I'm trying to think of any possible scenario that could have led to this transmission. So far, I have nothing. It can't be related to the Separatists, for if it were, we would have already learned of it. That leaves me with little idea as to what it could be.
"What is it, Cal?" Obi-Wan asks.
"We have helped Lady Bo Katan find an enemy of all of us." He says.
"The renegade Sith Lord, Maul," Ahsoka adds. "If we move swiftly, we believe we can capture him."
With this revelation, the entire world seems to shift. They need the help of the Republic and the Jedi to battle Maul, which means things may end up going back to normal. Cal and Ahsoka could decide to rejoin the Order after Maul is defeated.
Our lives could go back to the way they used to be.