The clones had permitted Jedi General Anakin Skywalker a wide berth around the perimeter of the clearing. His hefty breaths and determined pacing was something no clone was brave enough to interrupt. Even Obi Wan kept his distance.
Anakin had no mind for any of it. The force thrashed around him wildly, trying to warn him of something. He assumed it had to be Ahsoka. But the more he focused on her presence, the blurrier his vision became.
"Where are they..." he muttered
The picture was almost whole, all the pieces were there but they refused to fit together. He wanted to throw up his hands, kick the dust, shout at the sky to beckon the ship closer. Instead, he turned on his heel for another bout of pacing.
The roaring of the shuttle's engine was the only thing that broke him out of it. His nerves went haywire, immediately sensing that his Padawan wasn't on board. The ship came into view, hovering above the tree line. A few clones scattered back as it settled down in front of the tunnel's entrance. Anakin's hand was already to his lightsaber. Instinctively, his men followed suite, readying their weapons alongside their General. The ramp descended and Vance walked down to them. Her clothes were dishevelled and her face bore fresh red marks, giving new meaning to the phrase "worse for wear". The only adjustments she had made were a pair of flight gloves she was pulling on. She had barely even made it to the ground before Anakin blocked her path. He yanked her up by her collar. Cold blues eyes met hers.
"Anakin, stop - " Obi Wan was at his heels in an instant, reaching for his arm.
He shrugged him off easily, his focus unbroken on the only passenger of the shuttle.
"Where are the other two?" He snapped. Up close, her expression was steely but she couldn't hide from him her racing heartbeat of the shimmer of fear he felt reflected in the force.
"Master Skywalker, if you could put me down, I'll explain-"
"Where are they?" He barked, tightening his grip.
"The village," She flinched. Her breath quickened. "Haki and your Padawan went back to the village, it's under attack."
His grip softened and Obi Wan moved in to split them apart. She was telling the truth. He could feel it. But the force seemed to be giving him some kind of whiplash in her presence.
"Why didn't you stop them?" He accused. Clone troopers drew nearer to the conversation, disturbed by the absence of a certain Togrutan commander.
"Do you think I could've stopped them once they'd made up their minds?" She scoffed, readjusting her gloves.
Obi Wan nodded, an acknowledgement of the all too familiar Skywalker inspired stubbornness. Her hair was extra fluffed up and the red marks were obviously swelling into bruises. From the looks of it, she had in fact tried to stop them. Perhaps her gloves covered up similar injuries on her hands.
"She's right Anakin. I trust Ahsoka as much as you do, but we both know that she wouldn't be willing to stand by in this situation."
Anakin's glare hadn't yet wavered from Vance. But as the troopers behind him shifted uncomfortably, he gave the signal to start boarding the ship.
"Fine. Take us to them. I don't know about Haki, but Ahsoka will listen to me," Anakin said, leaving to follow the rest of them into the shuttle.
"Haki will be fine - " he could hear Vance's voice catch in her throat. In his periphery, Anakin saw what had caught her off guard. A trail of vibrant red smoke, shooting straight up into the dusk sky. Anakin furrowed his brow. It didn't feel like a call for help, nor was it anywhere near the village. It was almost a heads up. Quickly striding passed them onto the ship, Vance muttered. "That's them, we must hurry."
A wake of the force crashed down around them. Obi Wan turned to him, finally on the same wavelength as his former apprentice. There it was - the blatant lie. His nerve snapped. He spun on her, lightsaber mid-ignited.
"You -"
Her gloved hand clapped Anakin on the shoulder and an electric current sprang through him, blitzing through his veins. He was vaguely aware of Obi Wan crying out beside him. Anakin grit his teeth, pushing the sabre closer to her throat. Vance gripped their shoulders tighter, sending a blast of power causing his hand to short circuit. The hilt fell out of his limp hand before he heard the thud of his own body collapsing to the ground.
A cacophony of footsteps pattered from the ship. In his semi conscious state, the noise of cocked blasters and aggressive shouts was distant and foggy. Somehow, he could make out thta Rex was at the forefront, his muffled voice impassioned and commanding. The only clear voice was the traitorous rat he was lying beside. His fingers flexed and contracted, edging his body onward to pulverise her.
"Sorry about this R9..." she hissed before thrusting her hands down onto the edge of the ramp; the metal ramp of the metal ship. As if purpose built for it, the current blasted through the shuttle, electrifying each clone trooper on board. His men collapsed to the floor of the ship.
Anakin Skywalker pushed his hand into the dust. Pushed his body to move. He registered a new pair of boots with perfectly insulated rubber soles they'd failed to notice. How had they not sensed her deception? The perseverance he'd mustered up was all for naught as said boots firmly greeted the left side of his temple. The world started ringing madly. Out of desperation, Anakin projected out his last conscious thoughts.
Get out of here, Snips
Much to his surprise, his eyes cracked open. He hadn't expected death to feel this painful so by that line of logic, he could only presume that he was still alive. Flecks of light crowded his vision and he tried to move. His torso and legs flared up in an unpleasant warning. Moving is a bad idea. Got it.
General Rhok slowly settled himself back down on his new bed of leaves and pointy branches. Moving was a still not on the cards. But doing nothing wasn't an option he could accept either. He needed to do something to warn the Jedi somehow. But with their coms and his legs out of order, there wasn't much he could do. He attempted to move his arms.
They were bruised and aching but still operational. He clutched a boot in his right one. Great, he thought. I'll just walk on my hands. He rested them on his stomach and straight away felt for his pockets. Inside, was a set of flares.
He chuckled, gazing back up at the last few moments of sunlight.
"You'd better be watching, Jedi," he muttered as he aimed it skyward and let rip a trail of red smoke.