Damn… I'm exhausted.
The duel had been short, but it drained everything I had. I'd been forced to rely on every bit of knowledge left behind by the previous owner of this body—and everything I had managed to learn in the last month.
If not for the sleepless nights and daily sparring sessions with Ahsoka, I would have been finished.
The holocron of Darth Nox had helped as well. Still… for some reason, the Sith always seemed more skilled with these techniques.
Wait…
Why is her body glowing green?
Before I could process the thought, **green lightning** erupted from Ventress's fallen form.
The energy surged through the air and struck me like a spear.
Pain exploded through my body.
Damn—pain—darkness—what is this?!
Then I heard a voice.
"**You are mine.**"
What?
The voice echoed again, deeper this time.
"**You are mine.**"
Who is this?
"**You are mine.**"
My armor began to overheat. Warning signals flashed across my visor.
Damn it—I'm being cooked alive!
"**You are mine.**"
Then—
**Click.**
I stood somewhere else.
I was back at the **time-displacement device**.
But I was in my **original body**.
**Click.**
Around me lay the bodies of my soldiers.
Dead.
All of them.
**Click.**
"Welcome, Oddity."
I turned slowly.
Standing before me was a presence I recognized from history.
"Darth… Vitiate?" I whispered.
Impossible.
"You were killed."
The towering figure smiled coldly.
"Still alive," the voice replied. "And now… a suitable host presents itself."
No.
No way.
"Yeah… screw off," I muttered.
"I will destroy you permanently."
A dark chuckle echoed through the void.
"Time to see how strong you truly are."
Darkness swallowed everything.
---
Ahsoka was the first to rush into the hangar.
Smoke still drifted through the air. Scorch marks covered the walls, and dozens of guards in orange and yellow uniforms lay motionless across the floor.
"Commander Tano," the clone sergeant reported with a sharp nod. "Enemy attack repelled. The droids are clearing the approaches."
"Good!" Ahsoka replied quickly, though her voice carried tension. "Hold the perimeter until my Master arrives!"
But even as she said it, she glanced toward the corridor behind them.
There was no sign of Dagon.
A worried look flickered across her face.
Turning to the stunned senators, she snapped back into command mode.
"Quick—everyone get to the ship!"
She was already sprinting up the ramp before they could respond.
Moments later she burst onto the bridge.
"Attention!" she shouted. "Send a signal to my Master—he may be on his way back!"
Before anyone could respond, Visenya hurried in behind her.
The Zeltron journalist looked unusually pale—well, pale for someone with pink skin.
Her emerald hair was slightly disheveled, and she clutched her datapad tightly.
"I… I'm trying," Visenya said nervously. "But the transmitter I gave Dagon… it's offline."
Ahsoka turned sharply.
"What do you mean offline?"
Visenya swallowed.
"I can't detect his life signal."
The bridge went silent.
Ahsoka's stomach dropped.
"That's impossible," she said quickly. "The enemy must be jamming our transmissions."
Visenya didn't answer, but the worried look on her face said everything.
"Hutt!" Ahsoka snapped. "Find him!"
She rushed over to the communications station.
Ahsoka grabbed midshipman Mirro by the shoulder as he worked furiously at the console.
"Hurry up!"
"Commander, I'm doing everything I can!" Mirro said nervously. "Just a moment—hacking into the palace network… entering their system… searching security feeds…"
Visenya stood nearby, her arms folded tightly across her chest.
For once, the normally confident Zeltron looked genuinely scared.
"Dagon…" she whispered under her breath.
Ahsoka heard it—and felt the same fear tightening in her chest.
The main screen flickered.
Multiple camera feeds appeared.
Droids fighting guards.
Explosions.
Corridors filled with smoke.
Finally Mirro shouted—
"Got it!"
The screen zoomed into a corridor near the palace atrium.
And everyone froze.
A figure stood in the middle of the corridor.
Green lightning surrounded him like a storm.
His body was burning with eerie green flames.
"Master!!!"
Ahsoka screamed.
She gripped the midshipman's shoulder so hard he winced—but she didn't even notice.
Her eyes were locked on the screen.
Visenya stared in horror.
Her hands trembled.
"No… no… that's not possible," she whispered.
Ahsoka spun toward the hangar.
"RK-00-0173! Chuck!"
The clone commander immediately turned.
"Yes, Commander?"
"Take Drew and Ex—go now! Help Master!"
"Where is he?"
Ahsoka pointed at the screen.
"Northwest corridor, near the main atrium—three hundred meters from here!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
The clones sprinted out of the hangar.
Ahsoka clenched her fists.
Hutt… Hutt… Hutt…
She wanted to follow them.
Every instinct in her body screamed at her to run to him.
But her Master had given her an order.
Protect the senators.
Visenya stepped beside her quietly, staring at the screen with wide, worried eyes.
"He's still alive," the Zeltron said softly, almost pleading.
Ahsoka didn't answer.
She just stared at the image of green lightning consuming the corridor.
And prayed she wasn't too late.