First half of the chapter is good but my favorite is the second half, droid stuff.
...
The jungle canopy of Teth parted under the roar of Republic engines.
LAAT gunships cut through the mist in tight formation, their hulls streaked with soot from the assault that had come moments earlier. Far below, the last anti-air batteries smoldered in ruined pits, their skeletal frames still twitching from residual energy discharge. Anakin had ordered the bombardment precise — no wasted fire, no unnecessary destruction of the monastery itself. He wanted the summit intact.
The mountain rose like a blade from the jungle, its crown wrapped in ancient stone. The monastery clung to the cliff face, towers and buttresses carved from rock older than the Republic. A fortress built to endure siege.
And today, it would.
Inside the lead gunship, Anakin stood near the open hatch, wind tearing at his cloak. His mask reflected the green haze of the jungle below. He was perfectly still — not bracing, not gripping — simply present. Watching.
Ahsoka stood opposite him. She held a handgrip above her, trying not to look nervous.
The 501st filled the hold around them — red-marked armor, helmets forward, rifles mag-locked and ready. No chatter. No wasted motion. They were as disciplined as any unit in the Republic, but there was something else beneath it — an intensity. A hunger.
Rex caught her looking.
"First mountain assault?" he asked, voice filtered but warm.
Ahsoka nodded. "First everything, actually."
Rex tilted his helmet toward Anakin. "Stick close to him and you'll be fine. Just don't try to keep up with him."
The gunship banked hard.
"Two minutes!" the pilot shouted.
Anakin didn't turn. "Rex, you and second platoon secure the western cloister. Virek takes the north stairwell. I want that summit locked down before they even realize we're inside their perimeter."
"Yes, sir," Rex replied immediately.
Ahsoka blinked. "You already have the layout memorized?"
Anakin's voice came calm beneath the mask. "I studied it on approach. You should get into the habit."
Before she could respond, the gunship jolted as it touched down on shattered stone.
The hatch opened.
Blasterfire met them instantly.
Anakin moved first.
He didn't leap — he flowed. One second he was standing in the gunship; the next he was in the open air, sabers igniting in twin flashes of violet and black-red. Bolts curved toward him and bent away like frightened birds. He didn't merely deflect them — he redirected them with intention. Two droids fell. Then three. Then the entire forward firing line collapsed in a chain of surgical destruction.
Ahsoka followed, igniting her green blade with a snap-hiss that felt too loud in her ears.
The summit was chaos — droids pouring from stone corridors, B1s scrambling to form lines, B2s stomping forward with heavy cannons. The clones fanned out with disciplined precision, firing in controlled bursts.
Anakin didn't slow.
He cut through a squad of super battle droids in a blur of motion that Ahsoka almost missed. One moment they were raising their arms — the next their torsos were sliding apart in molten halves. He pivoted, lifted a hand, and ripped a section of balcony from the monastery wall, hurling it into a line of advancing droids. Stone and metal shattered together.
Ahsoka stared a fraction too long.
It wasn't just skill.
It was dominance.
Rex skidded beside her, firing as he moved. "Tano! Eyes forward!"
She snapped back to reality just in time to duck a blaster bolt and slice through a lunging B1.
"Right," she muttered, flipping over a low wall and cutting another down. "Focus."
The fight didn't last long.
Within minutes, the 501st had secured the landing platform. Red-marked troopers moved with brutal efficiency, clearing corridors, stacking droid bodies along stone steps centuries old.
Anakin stood at the entrance to the monastery proper, blades humming low. He didn't breathe heavily. He didn't appear strained.
He simply waited.
Ahsoka approached, chest rising quickly.
"Is it always like that?" she asked.
He extinguished one saber. "Like what?"
"You… don't hesitate."
There was a pause.
"When you hesitate," he replied quietly, "people die."
He turned and stepped into the monastery.
Inside, the air was cooler. Dim. Ancient murals lined the walls — long-forgotten orders of monks who had once meditated here, now replaced by Separatist comm relays and makeshift barricades.
A few remaining droids guarded the inner sanctum.
They didn't last long.
When the final one fell, the room went quiet except for a faint, pitiful sound.
Ahsoka frowned. "Is that—"
A soft, miserable wail echoed from the far chamber.
They followed it to a stone cell near the back of the monastery.
Inside, sprawled on a pile of blankets far too small for him, was Jabba's son.
The baby Hutt blinked at them with swollen eyes and let out a weak, indignant cry.
Ahsoka stepped closer carefully. "He's… smaller than I expected."
Anakin crouched, feeling the room through the force.
"He's sick," he said after a moment. His hand reached out and pressed against the huttlet's head. "He has a fever."
Ahsoka crouched down, picking up the huttlet.
The Huttlet reached out clumsily and tried to grab Ahsoka's lekku.
She yelped and gently pried his hand away. "Okay, no grabbing."
He let out another pitiful whine.
Anakin stood and activated his comm. "Rex. Summit secured. Send a medic squad up immediately."
"Yes, sir."
Ahoska struggled, trying to calm the child who squirmed in her hands.
"How do you even carry one of these?"
Anakin glanced at her.
"You volunteered to be a Jedi," he said evenly. "Improvisation comes with the job."
She shot him a look. "That's not helpful."
The Huttlet gave a particularly dramatic cough.
Ahsoka sighed and reached for the field pack one of the clones had dropped earlier. "Alright, buddy. This is going to be awkward for both of us."
She maneuvered the pack straps around him, adjusting and readjusting as the Huttlet squirmed and complained loudly.
Anakin watched for a moment.
When she finally stood upright, she managed a proud grin. "See? I've got him."
The Huttlet immediately began whining again.
Rex entered the chamber with two medics, pausing at the sight.
"Sir," he said, visor tilting slightly. "Is that…?"
"Yes," Anakin replied. "And he's our priority."
Rex nodded once and began coordinating.
Ahsoka adjusted the straps again as the Huttlet complained directly into her ear.
"You are not light," she muttered.
Anakin turned toward the exit, cloak trailing behind him.
"Welcome to your first real mission, Snips."
She scowled. "Would you stop calling me that?"
He didn't respond — but she could feel the faintest hint of amusement in him.
Outside, the 501st stood sentinel along the monastery's edge, red armor stark against jungle green. Gunships idled, engines rumbling.
The summit was secure.
///
The gunships lifted from the monastery summit in staggered formation, engines screaming against the mountain winds.
Below them, the stone battlements were littered with shattered droids and smoking debris. The 501st had formed a tight perimeter while the last transports loaded, red markings stark against scorched stone.
Inside the lead LAAT, Ahsoka adjusted the field pack again as the Huttlet squirmed
"I'm starting to think he doesn't like me," she muttered.
"You don't say," Rex replied dryly opposite to her.
Anakin stood near the open hatch once more, wind tearing at his cloak. His mask reflected the burning monastery below. The mission had been successful.
Too successful.
His head tilted slightly.
He felt it.
A disturbance — sharp and deliberate. Not chaotic like battle. Focused. Watching.
His hand drifted toward one of his hilts.
"Hold position," he said quietly.
Rex straightened. "Sir?"
Anakin didn't answer at first. His awareness extended outward through the Force, brushing against the jungle canopy below.
There.
Cold. Agile. Predatory.
The monastery doors below exploded outward in a storm of stone fragments.
Droids poured from the lower cloisters in a black tide — B1s, B2s, droidekas rolling into firing stance. Blasterfire erupted skyward.
And through the smoke stepped a tall, pale figure in black — twin crimson blades igniting with a hiss like venom meeting air.
Asajj Ventress.
The gunships veered evasively as bolts streaked upward. Two escort craft peeled off to provide covering fire.
Anakin didn't hesitate.
"Get the Huttlet off-world," he ordered Rex sharply. "All transports clear the summit immediately."
"Sir, you're not—"
"Go."
Rex understood tone.
The gunships surged upward, climbing for altitude as clone troopers laid down suppressing fire. The jungle below lit with flashes.
Ahsoka looked from the open hatch to Anakin. "Master—"
"Stay with Rex," he said without looking at her.
Then he jumped.
He landed amid blasterfire, sabers igniting mid-fall — violet and black-red carving arcs through the smoke. Bolts struck his blades and scattered in molten sprays. He cut through the first rank of droids without slowing, closing the distance with terrifying speed.
Ventress smiled.
"So this is the famous Skywalker," she purred as their blades met with a crack of violent light.
The impact echoed across the summit.
She was fast — faster than most Jedi Anakin had faced. Her twin blades spun in precise, venomous arcs, striking from impossible angles. She flowed around him like a shadow, seeking weakness.
Anakin met her with raw force.
He didn't give ground.
Their duel became a storm — red and violet colliding, sparks spraying across ancient stone. Ventress flipped backward, landing on a broken column, then lunged again in a spinning assault meant to overwhelm.
Anakin pivoted, catching both of her blades in a cross-guard lock. The pressure between them vibrated through the air itself.
"You fight with anger," she hissed.
"And you talk too much," he replied evenly beneath the mask.
He broke the lock with a sudden surge of strength that sent her skidding backward. She recovered instantly, launching into a series of rapid strikes aimed at his shoulders and knees.
He blocked them all.
Not just blocked — predicted.
Each motion she made felt… slower than it should have. As though the Force was peeling back her intent before her body followed.
Her smile faded slightly.
"You're stronger than they said."
"I don't care what they said."
He advanced now.
The ground cracked beneath his boots as he drove her back toward the monastery steps. She leapt high, flipping over him, blades carving downward. He caught one saber, twisted, and nearly tore the weapon from her grip.
Ventress landed hard, cloak whipping behind her.
Around them, the 501st was systematically dismantling the remaining droid forces. Red-marked clones advanced in disciplined waves, rifles firing in coordinated bursts. Droidekas fell under concentrated fire. The summit was turning into a kill zone.
Ventress knew it.
She launched a final assault — a rapid flurry of strikes meant to distract while she retreated.
Anakin pressed into it instead.
Their blades blurred — violet and crimson dancing in lethal arcs. He forced her backward step by step, until she was near the cliff's edge.
For a moment, their sabers locked again.
She leaned close, yellow eyes narrowing.
"You don't belong with the Jedi," she whispered. "You feel it. Don't you?"
Anakin's presence flared.
Cold. Immense.
For a split second, even Ventress felt it — the weight beneath the mask. Something ancient and coiled.
His black-red blade slid closer to her throat.
"I know exactly where I belong."
The Force exploded outward from him in a concussive wave.
Ventress flew backward off the summit in a controlled fall, twisting midair to catch a protruding ledge. She clung there for half a breath, staring up at him with burning hatred.
Then she dropped into the jungle canopy below, disappearing into green shadow.
Anakin stood at the cliff edge, sabers humming.
He didn't pursue.
Behind him, Rex approached cautiously.
"Sir. All transports are clear. We circled back for you, were the last bird."
Anakin extinguished his blades and turned.
"Then let's not keep them waiting."
As the final gunship lifted from Teth, the summit grew quiet once more.
Inside the transport, Ahsoka looked at him differently now.
Not with rumor-fed fear.
With something closer to awe.
"You were going to kill her," she said quietly.
Anakin secured his sabers at his belt.
"I was, and I should have."
She waited for more explanation.
It didn't come.
The gunships broke atmosphere, climbing toward the waiting fleet. Hyperspace coordinates locked in.
Destination: Tatooine.
As the stars stretched into streaks of light, Anakin stood once more at the viewport.
He had felt something in that duel.
Not just Ventress.
Something else.
A thread pulling at the edges of the war.
And it was tightening.
///
The Venator cut cleanly through hyperspace, stars stretched into endless rivers of white.
On the bridge of the flagship, the 501st moved with quiet efficiency. Red-marked troopers rotated through stations, officers murmuring over tactical displays as navigation plotted their approach vector to the Tatooine system.
Ahsoka stood near the forward viewport, arms folded loosely behind her back. The blue-white glare of hyperspace reflected across her montrals.
She had seen war before.
But she had never seen anything like her master.
The way he fought Ventress.
The way the air itself seemed to bend around him.
She felt it again now if she reached — that memory of pressure in the Force, heavy and coiled.
She turned as Commander Virek approached the tactical table beside Captain Rex.
"Where's Master Skywalker?" she asked, trying to sound casual.
Rex didn't look up from the holomap. "He's aboard."
"I figured that much."
Virek's posture remained rigid, hands clasped behind his back. "The General takes time to himself between engagements."
"Time to himself," Ahsoka repeated. "To do what?"
Rex glanced at her briefly. "Meditate. Reflect. Sometimes recalibrate battle projections."
Ahsoka tilted her head. "Recalibrate?"
Rex shrugged slightly. "He thinks better alone."
She nodded slowly. That tracked.
After the way he'd fought, she wouldn't blame anyone for wanting silence.
She hesitated.
"Does he ever take off his mask?"
Virek's gaze remained forward, unreadable.
"Not for most," he said.
Ahsoka frowned. "What does that mean?"
Virek did not elaborate.
Rex did.
"It means," the captain said evenly, "that General Skywalker has never removed his helmet in front of a clone. Not in the field. Not on a cruiser. Not once."
Ahsoka blinked. "Not even during downtime?"
Rex shook his head. "Word travels fast in a legion this size. No one's seen his face. Not the troopers. Not the other Jedi."
"That's not true," she said. "I heard Master Kenobi has."
Rex's expression shifted faintly — not quite agreement, not quite denial.
"Rumor says only two Jedi have seen him without it. General Kenobi and General Qui-Gon."
Virek's jaw tightened slightly. "And even that is speculation."
Ahsoka looked between them. "So no one actually knows what he looks like?"
"Correct," Virek said.
She crossed her arms. "I heard he's the last of his species."
"That's true," Virek replied. "As far as records indicate."
"And what species is that?"
Neither clone answered immediately.
The silence stretched.
"We don't know," Rex admitted at last. "Not officially."
Ahsoka studied them. "You serve under him every day and you don't know what he is?"
Virek's voice remained calm. "What he is does not affect his command."
Admiral Yularen approached from the command pit, gloved hands clasped behind his back.
"The General is entitled to his privacy," Yularen said mildly, though there was iron beneath it. "If he wishes to reveal his face, he will do so on his own terms. Until then, it is not our concern."
Ahsoka dipped her head respectfully. "Of course, Admiral."
Yularen regarded her for a moment longer, then returned to his station.
The bridge settled again into low conversation and blinking tactical projections.
Ahsoka stepped closer to the viewport.
Hyperspace streamed endlessly before them.
She replayed the duel with Ventress in her mind.
The moment his presence had swelled.
The way even Ventress had faltered.
She could still feel that echo — not dark exactly… but deep. Vast. Like standing at the edge of something ancient.
And then there was the Hutt mission.
Tatooine.
Jabba.
She had heard enough stories about Hutts to know they were not the kind of beings you crossed lightly.
And she had felt the shift in Anakin's presence when Yoda had mentioned Jabba's name.
Anger.
Sharp. Immediate.
Personal.
She turned back toward the command deck. "How long until we arrive?"
"Seventeen standard hours," Rex answered. "Assuming no interdiction."
Ahsoka nodded.
She wondered what Tatooine meant to him.
The desert world felt distant and abstract to her — just another Outer Rim dustball.
But for Anakin…
She suspected it wasn't just another assignment.
The bridge lights dimmed slightly as the ship transitioned to cruise mode.
Far below, deep within the Venator's structure, in a sealed chamber shielded from sensors and foot traffic, Anakin Skywalker stood alone.
Masked.
Still.
Meditating.
And the Force around him did not move like calm water.
It moved like a storm waiting for the right wind.
///
The bridge had settled into a steady rhythm.
Christophsis was behind them. Teth was behind them. Now there was only the long glide through hyperspace toward Tatooine — and for once, the 501st had something close to quiet.
Ahsoka stood over the central holo table, fingers brushing through projections of past engagements. Red and blue icons shifted as she replayed formations, shield collapses, breakthrough vectors.
She leaned closer. "Why did you flank the Separatist line on the eastern ridge instead of pushing straight through the center?"
Rex folded his arms. "Because the center was bait."
Virek adjusted the projection, isolating a cluster of droid battalions. "General Skywalker identified a power relay beneath the ridge. We destroyed that first. The main line collapsed once their shields destabilized."
Ahsoka studied it carefully. "So he forced them to fight blind."
Rex nodded once. "That's usually how it goes."
She tapped another engagement. "And this one? You were outnumbered three to one."
"We were," Virek said evenly. "General Skywalker requested we hold position."
"That's insane," Ahsoka muttered.
Rex's mouth twitched. "It worked."
Ahsoka glanced between them. "He does that a lot, doesn't he?"
"Hold impossible ground?" Rex said. "Yes."
Before she could respond, a voice came from directly behind her.
"Are you lost?"
Ahsoka jumped.
Actually jumped.
She spun.
Standing just behind her was a towering black droid — long-limbed, skeletal, photoreceptors glowing faintly in the bridge light.
"I couldn't sense you?" she said, surprised.
"That is because I did not wish to be sensed," the droid replied calmly. "It is a skill. You should try harder."
Ahsoka blinked. "Excuse me?"
The droid tilted his head slightly. "You appeared confused while studying battle projections. I assumed you were either lost… or a servant assigned to the admiral."
Admiral Yularen, who had been reviewing navigational data, nearly choked.
"I beg your pardon?" he sputtered.
Ahsoka's face flushed. "Servant?!"
Rex stifled a laugh, turning slightly to hide it.
Virek did not move, though something in his posture suggested suppressed amusement.
Rex gestured toward the droid. "Commander Tano, this is K2-SO."
"General Skywalker's personal droid," Rex clarified. "Been with him a long time."
Yularen straightened, finally recovering.
"Longer than most of us," the Admiral added evenly. "K2 has been at General Skywalker's side since the General was a child. I believe he predates half the fleet's officers."
K2 did not react, but there was something almost smug in the silence.
Ahsoka blinked. "Since he was a kid?"
"Yes," Yularen said. "The General does not collect companions lightly. If K2 is here, he is here because he has earned that place."
Ahsoka stared up at the machine. "You're his droid?"
"Yes," K2 replied. "Though 'droid' is reductive. I am a strategic asset."
Rex added, "He's loyal."
K2 turned his head slowly toward Ahsoka again. "You are the Padawan."
Ahsoka straightened. "I am."
K2 considered her.
"Has General Skywalker been punished?" he asked flatly.
"What?!" she barked.
"Is this corrective action?" K2 continued. "Has he committed an infraction severe enough to warrant assignment of an adolescent?"
Rex coughed to hide a laugh.
Ahsoka stepped forward. "Excuse me, you bucket of bolts—"
Virek's voice cut through, calm but firm. "Padawan Tano has been placed as a commander within the 501st."
K2 shifted his gaze to Virek.
"A commander?" the droid repeated. "She appears small."
Ahsoka clenched her fists. "Im right here!" She snapped
Virek stepped closer to K2. "With that title comes respect."
K2 regarded him for a long moment.
"No clone," he said evenly, "has earned my respect."
Rex sighed. "Here we go."
"They attempt," K2 continued, "but consistently fall short of the required threshold."
Ahsoka blinked. "You don't respect the 501st?"
"I tolerate them," K2 clarified. "It is different."
Rex rolled his eyes. "He means welcome to the 501st."
Ahsoka crossed her arms. "Does he insult everyone?"
"Yes," Yularen said without hesitation.
"It is efficient," K2 replied.
There was a small beat of quiet.
Yularen cleared his throat, regaining composure. "Is there a reason you're here, K2?"
"Yes," the droid replied at once, turning toward the admiral.
"The General has instructed that we exit hyperspace at extended range from Tatooine."
Yularen's brow furrowed. "Extended range?"
"He does not wish to appear aggressive," K2 explained. "The Hutts are prone to paranoia. A fleet of Venators arriving directly overhead may be interpreted as a hostile maneuver."
Ahsoka tilted her head. "He's worried about alarming them?"
K2's photoreceptors dimmed slightly. "The General prefers to avoid unnecessary escalation when dealing with criminal cartels."
Rex glanced at Ahsoka. "See? He does think ahead."
K2 continued, "He also stated that if the Hutts feel threatened, they may delay negotiations or retaliate unpredictably. That would complicate returning the hutt's offspring.
Yularen nodded slowly. "Very well. Relay to navigation. Drop us out at the perimeter of the system."
"It has already been done," K2 said.
Yularen blinked. "Already?"
"Yes."
The admiral exhaled slowly. "Of course it has."
K2 turned back toward Ahsoka one final time.
"You are now a commander of this legion," he said evenly. "I will evaluate your competence."
Ahsoka crossed her arms. "You'll evaluate—"
"If you fail," K2 continued, "I will recommend reassignment."
"To who?" she demanded.
"Preferably someone taller."
Rex lost it completely.
Virek's mouth twitched despite himself.
Ahsoka stepped forward again, bristling. "You're unbelievable."
K2 tilted his head slightly. "That is frequently stated."
He turned and began walking toward the lift without another word, long strides mechanical and unhurried.
Yularen shook his head faintly. "I truly wish General Skywalker would stop collecting things."
Rex grinned. "He doesn't collect things, sir."
Ahsoka watched K2 disappear into the corridor.
"He collects… people."
Ahsoka turned back toward the viewport.
Hyperspace shimmered — then snapped.
Stars returned.
Ahead of them, far in the distance, burned the twin suns of Tatooine.
And for reasons she could not quite explain—
The air on the bridge felt heavier than before.
///
The bridge settled back into its steady rhythm as navigation adjusted their trajectory. The stars stretched once more into pale lines as the fleet prepared to re-enter hyperspace at extended range.
Ahsoka remained near the holo-table, though her eyes were no longer on the tactical projections.
"They've been with him since he was a child?" she asked quietly, glancing toward the corridor where K2 had disappeared.
Rex nodded, folding his arms over his chestplate. "Yeah. K2 and R2."
Ahsoka looked surprised. "Both of them?"
"Those two," Rex said, "are probably the General's most sane droids."
Ahsoka blinked. "Most sane?"
Virek didn't smile — he rarely did — but something shifted in his posture.
Rex gave a low breath that might've been a chuckle. "You'll understand eventually, kid."
Ahsoka narrowed her eyes. "Understand what?"
Virek answered this time.
"HK-47."
The name landed heavy.
Ahsoka frowned. "That sounds like a unit designation."
"It is," Virek said.
Rex scratched the back of his neck. "He's… different."
"How different?" she pressed.
Virek met her eyes evenly. "Unstable."
Rex added, "Insane."
Ahsoka straightened. "You're joking."
Neither clone laughed.
A moment passed.
"He refers to organics as 'meatbags,'" Rex said plainly.
Ahsoka stared at him.
Virek continued, tone clipped. "He is exceptionally lethal. Exceptionally intelligent. And exceptionally loyal to General Skywalker."
"That doesn't sound insane," she argued.
"He enjoys his work," Rex replied carefully.
Ahsoka tilted her head. "You're soldiers. You all 'enjoy your work.'"
Rex gave her a look.
"Not like that."
Silence settled between them for a moment, the hum of the ship filling the space.
Ahsoka considered that.
"So why does the Council allow him?" she asked.
"They don't," Virek said.
Rex nodded. "Most of them don't even know what HK really is."
Ahsoka's brows rose slightly.
Virek continued, voice low but steady. "HK predates the war. Predates most of us. He's tied to the General's… past."
"The Temple rumors," Ahsoka said carefully. "About Skywalker being… different."
Rex didn't comment on that.
"He's different," Rex admitted instead. "But he's ours."
Virek inclined his head slightly. "HK obeys the General. That's sufficient enough.
Ahsoka looked from one clone to the other.
"And you trust a droid like that?"
Rex didn't hesitate. "With my life."
That seemed to settle it.
Ahsoka folded her arms, looking back toward the stars.
"So," she muttered, half to herself, "my master has one quiet assassin droid, one astromech genius… and one homicidal relic."
Rex gave a sideways smirk. "That's about the size of it, Commander."
Virek added calmly, "You will likely meet HK soon."
Ahsoka exhaled slowly. "I can't decide if I'm excited or concerned."
Rex tilted his head. "Both's a good place to start."
Outside, the desert world of Tatooine grew larger in the viewport.
And somewhere aboard the fleet, General Anakin Skywalker meditated in silence — unaware that his new Padawan had just been introduced to one more piece of the shadow that followed him.
...
IM SO TIRED RIGHT NOW.