Author's Note - Thank you all for the wonderful and amazing reviews on this story! I appreciate them all and I want to apologise for the delay on this chapter upon realising it's been nearly 5 months since I updated. This is a shorter chapter but I wanted to post something to show this story is still active and I've been on a Star Wars/Clone Wars hype in between work, studying and staying safe.

Stay safe everyone and enjoy!

Chapter 31: The Clone Wars Have Begun

The Battle of Christophsis Part 1

It had only been two months since the Clone Wars began on the planet Geonosis. Anakin and Padme had little time for a honeymoon in the Lake Country because he was called onto the battlefield and Padme headed back to Courscant. The Jedi were spread across the galaxy leading clone squadrons into battle against the Separatists.

The Separatists were being lead by Xanatos as well as Darth Sidious's new apprentice Count Dooku. For Jacen and his family it was a personal blow because Count Dooku had been his son Qui Gon's master before he decided to leave the order not to mention Xanatos personal vendetta to see the Jinn family hunted down. Every battle could have been their last however there had been no sighting of Xanatos or Count Dooku but they remained on alert.

Obi Wan, still grieving for the loss of his girlfriend Hannah had taken command of his own squad of clones focusing his grief on the Separatists. He had recently been given the title of Jedi General, most of his battles were fought alongside his brother Anakin who also had his own squad of clone wars and was now a newly made Jedi Knight by the Jedi council.

Flashback - 3 weeks into the Clone Wars

"Anakin, the council has asked to see you in the council chamber. It's best not to keep them waiting" his father informs him as Anakin and Padme arrived back home from the Lake Country. Anakin looked over at his father before he takes Padme's hand in his. "Well, I didn't expect to stay on Courscant for long" he admits. "Let's not keep the council waiting with our new assignment" he adds before they both followed Qui Gon and Obi Wan to the waiting speeder. They didn't see neither Qui Gon or Obi Wan exchange a smirk between each other keeping Anakin in the dark about what the real reason for this meeting with the council was about.

Minutes later, Qui Gon, Obi Wan, Anakin and Padme arrived at the Jedi Temple and headed up to the council chamber. Obi Wan and Padme waited outside whilst Qui Gon and Anakin headed inside. Padme tilts her head confused. "Aren't you going on this mission?" She asks as Obi Wan shook his head. "This is something Anakin needs to do" he tells her as Padme nervously bit her top lip as she wondered what this mission would be about.

Inside the council chamber…

The chamber was dark. Anakin had never seen it so dark before and knew that his father was no longer beside him as he stood in the middle of the chamber. He then heard Master Yoda's voice.

"Step forward padawan" he spoke as Anakin stepped towards him "Kneel" he adds as Anakin then knelt down just as the darkened room was suddenly lighted by the lights of green and blue lightsabers including his father's. "Anakin Skywalker Jinn" Yoda continued to speak lowering his lightsaber towards his right shoulder. "By the right of the council" he says moving the lightsaber to his left shoulder "By the will of the force" he goes on "Dub thee I do" he informs him before he slices Anakin's padawan braid off.

It falls to the floor as Yoda gives him a small smile "Knight of the Republic" he reveals. Anakin felt a small smile cross his face as he got back to his feet, feeling a small across his face. He had done it, he had finally been made a Jedi Knight.

End of flashback

Now two months into the war, and talk soon turned to the idea of taking on an apprentice. Qui Gon knew neither of his sons had given it much thought because they had their own squad of clones to command and the battles were long however Qui Gon knew Obi Wan was still grieving for Hannah and while a padawan could be a distraction to help Obi Wan, he didn't want to rush his son's grieving progress.

Luckily he remembered a previous conversation with Ahsoka and even though he had only been a Jedi Knight for two months, it was time to give Anakin another responsibility and once again Anakin would be kept in the dark about his new responsibility.

The Separatists were attempting to take over more planets by the day. The latest planet was the planet of Christophsis. General Whorm Loathsom was leading the Separatist and had been the first to invaded and capture the planet however the citizens of the planet managed to get a message to the Republic and so the Republic and the Jedi Order sent Obi Wan and Anakin to lead their clone army. They had successfully managed to break the blockade in space and made base down on the planet, however General Loathsom was determined not to lose the planet.

Whilst Obi Wan and Anakin lead the troopers down on the battlefield, Republic ships loomed above the planet, keeping Separatist ships at bay. Admiral Yularen led the air assault. With enemy ships increasing, clone reinforcements and supplies were on the increase. Qui Gon was desperate to get a message to his sons as well as a special delivery.

Admiral Yularen stood at the communication table looking up at the blue holograms of Masters Jinn, Windu and Yoda. "We need to make contact with General Kenobi" Master Windu informs him as Admiral Yularen shook his head. "We've been unable to reach him" he regrettably informs him "It could be a solar storm or they're rebooting their communication system" he suggests "I'm sure the blackout is temporary" he adds as Qui Gon then spoke. "We're sending a messenger with important orders for General Kenobi. Ensure that she gets there as fast as possible" he instructs him. The Admiral nods "Yes, sir. As soon as we load relief supplies" he replies as Yoda then spoke "No time, there is. Immediately, the messenger must go" Yoda insists

Yularen nods "I understand, sir. I will personally take an unloaded ship to drop her off, then return to pick up my reinforcements" he concludes before the holograms fade away leaving Admiral Yularen to carry out his new orders.

Unaware of just what was happening up in space, Anakin and Obi Wan prepared once more fight the Separatist army and this time it was rotten timing. For what seemed like the 100th time, since landing on the planet, Anakin found himself on the battlefield, seeing the droids advancing once again.

"They're back!" Anakin called out as squads of clone troopers rush past him as Obi Wan, now with a fully grown beard trimmed to frame out his face, rushes towards his brother, before he looks ahead at the advancing droids. Obi Wan shakes his head "I told you this was this victory was too easy, we never should have sent the ship back for reinforcements" Obi Wan states as Anakin rolls his eyes "It wasn't my idea to send the ship back!" He argues back

It was then they could see more battle droids coming towards them once more. "All right, men second wave incoming!' He calls out to the clones as Anakin turns to one clone trooper on his right. "rex, you and your men follow me!" He orders taking off. In two short months, Anakin had already formed a quick friendship with his new clone commander Rex while Obi Wan, had formed a friendship with his own clone commander Cody. His new friendship did take his mind off the loss of his girlfriend Hannah who died at the battle of Geonosis.

"Cody, battle positions!" He orders as Cody turns to his troopers. "Up to the front!" He exclaims as clone troopers rushed up to the front lines, blasters ready and began firing at the battle droids which were heading towards them. Obi Wan, lightsaber blaring, deflected each bolt back towards the droids as he stepped up towards Commander Cody.

"Skywalker should have attacked by now!" Cody calls out to Obi Wan referring to the battle plan that had devised minutes earlier. Luckily, Obi Wan knew his brother more than Cody did and knew that Anakin was waiting for the right opportunity. "Don't worry!" He assures him "He knows the plan!" He calmly assures him.

Meanwhile, overlooking the battle from one of the towers above, Anakin stood, with Rex and his squad behind him waiting for the right moment. "What's our plan of attack sir?" He asks as Anakin smirks back at him. "Follow me" he grins and without another word, Anakin leapt off the side of the building landing down into the battlefield as Rex looks back at his men "Come on then!" He cries before he and his troopers ignited their jetpacks and flew off the building and into the battle.

Anakin watched Rex and his troopers then rush past him firing at the droids "Right on!" One trooper cried "Give it to them" another exclaimed "Come on your traitors!" A third cried out. "Careful lads, there on the right!" Rex warns them as Anakin, lightsaber deflecting blaster bolts moves alongside his brother.

"We're gonna need reinforcements!" Anakin insists once more as Obi Wan, deflecting another bolt answers him "We haven't been able to get through to the Admiral!" He points out as both Jedi and clones continued to fire towards the battle droids right as the clones began to fire at the droids with their large cannons in the hopes of pushing them even further back.

Whilst at the same time, the clones pressed the droids back, the droids General Loathsom, noticed that his own droids were starting to slow down. "Why are we stopping?" He asks the droid commander as the droid looked over at him "We cannot get past their cannons" he informs him. "Cannons!?" The General exclaims "This will never do" he tells them "We must pull back and set up our deflector shields" he orders "Turn the troops around!" He orders before the droid commander turns to the rest of the droids.

"Retreat, retreat!" The droid called out as the other droids began to turn around "Roger, roger!" "Roger, roger!" They cried running back towards their base.

Whilst, still holding their positions, Anakin notices the droids and their vehicles retreating. "They're pulling back!" He exclaims just as both Obi Wan and Anakin noticed a Republic shuttle fly over the city towards their landing platform. "Looks like help has arrived" Obi Wan smirks back at his brother before they started to continue to head back towards their base to plan out the next attack.

"Our cruiser must be back" Obi Wan points out as they entered their base seeing the shuttle land on one of the empty landing platforms. Anakin nods. "Which means we'll be able to get our reinforcements" he smirks as Obi Wan agrees. "Then it looks like our problem's solved" he admits. "Fresh troops, new supplies and perhaps they brought my new padawan" he adds.

This took Anakin by surprise - in two months, he hadn't heard his brother talking about wanting a padawan, although Anakin hadn't seen much of his brother after the wedding. It was only after their first war mission, that he had seen his brother. "I didn't know you were thinking of taking on a padawan" he confesses. Obi Wan nods. "I didn't at first, but I spoke to father and Master Yoda and they suggested to help me get over my grief I should request one" he explains smirking "Father then added that it might even encourage you to follow my lead" he confesses.

Anakin laughs shaking his head "No thanks" he quickly replies. The start of the war had changed Anakin's perception about becoming a master to a padawan. He was still newly married and didn't quite feel ready yet. Obi Wan then looked over at his brother, remembering what their father had told him. "Anakin, teaching is a privilege and it's our responsibility to help train the next generation" he informs him. Anakin laughs. "You're really starting to sound more like dad there" he warns. Obi Wan only rolls his eyes sighing before he hears Anakin speak up once more

"Besides a padawan would just slow me down" he admits as they come to a stop a few meters in front of the shuttle. They watched as the landing door opened and the ramp descended. They could see a figure standing there waiting to exit. It was only when they had fully exited the ship did they realise who it was - their friend Ahsoka!

"Ahsoka!" Anakin exclaims with a smile. "What are you doing here?" Obi Wan asks as Ahsoka moved over towards them. Ahsoka, definitely wasn't the young seven year old they knew years ago. Ahsoka was now 14 years old, tall, with her head tails starting to grow longer on each side of her face. She was wearing white leggings under her boots along with small skirt and top. Her red arms were exposed as her lightsaber hung on her utility belt.

"Masters Qui Gon and Yoda sent me" she informs them "I was told to bring you both back to the Jedi Council, there's an emergency" she informs them. Anakin looks around the base "Snips, I don't know if you've noticed, but we're in a bit of an emergency right here" he reminds her

Ahsoka, unfazed by her friend's response then went on "Masters Jinn and Yoda hadn't held from you so they sent me instead" she explains as Anakin sighs moving away "Oh great, they don't even know we're in trouble" he groans. However, Ahsoka then had an idea. "Perhaps you could try and a rely a message using the shuttle that just dropped me off" she suggests. Anakin looks over at his brother as Obi Wan gives him a nod. "Well, at least it's a start" he only replies.

Whilst up in space…

It may have quieted down on the battlefield down on the planet, however the space battle seem to be getting worse by the minute as Admiral Yularen attempted to ensure the Separatists did not reach the planet, which was becoming harder to do with each passing minute.

"We need to go back and pick up our reinforcements!" Yularen informs his men as one clone officer responded to Anakin and Obi Wan's message. "We're under attack by Separatists warships, but I'll try to make contact with the Jedi Temple for you" he informs them "Stand by" he adds

Back on Christophsis….

Anakin and Obi Wan silently waited as Ahsoka patiently waited with them. Her fingers twitching as she and Obi Wan knew another reason that she was really here and she couldn't wait to tell Anakin.

It was at that moment two holograms flicked on revealing the figures of Masters Yoda and Qui Gon. "Obi Wan, Anakin, glad to see Ahsoka made it" he tells them as Obi Wan nods before he responds. "Father, Master Yoda, we are trapped here and vastly outnumbered" he informs them "We are in no position to go anywhere or do anything" he argues. Qui Gon looked down at Master Yoda who sighs.

"Send reinforcements to you, we will" he assures them however it was at that moment Separatists had started to jam the Republic ship's communications which then caused the message to break up. "Master Yoda!" Obi Wan exclaims "Father!" Anakin exclaims however there was no response and they saw the clone officer appear "We've lost the transmission sir. We have to leave orbit immediately!" They inform them

"More enemy ships have just arrived!" Admiral Yularen calls out as the officer then adds "We'll get back to you as soon as we can" he assures them and with that the hologram was gone. Anakin looks to Obi Wan and Ahsoka. "Well, I guess we'll have to hold out a little longer" he tells them. Ahsoka remains quiet as Obi Wan then looks over at him

"My apologises Ahsoka, this is not the best way to start off our master padawan relationship" he states as Ahsoka smirks. "It's alright General Kenobi" she replies "But I've been assigned to Master Skywalker" she reveals. Anakin's eyes widen in shock as Obi Wan resist the temptation to smirk - the secret was out now

"There must be some mistake" Anakin tells her moving towards her "He's the one who wanted the padawan!" He exclaims pointing to his brother as Ahsoka folds her arms across her chest. "No, Master Yoda and your father were very specific" she states "I've been assigned to Anakin Skywalker and he is to supervise my Jedi training" she smiles.

Anakin is still trying to understand what's happening - yes he did promise Ahsoka years ago that perhaps one day she'll be his padawan but he just told his brother he wasn't ready and he had hoped to enjoy time with his new wife before taking a student.

"This doesn't make any sense" he cries as Obi Wan decides to bring them back to their current situation. "We'll have to sort this out later" he tells them "It won't be till those droids figure out a way around our cannons" he warns them. Anakin nods. "I'll check on Rex at the lookout post" he simply replies starting to move off. Obi Wan places a hand on Ahsoka's shoulder. "You better take her with you" he adds before he watches Ahsoka follow his brother. He hadn't been wrong about requesting a padawan but both he and their father knew that Anakin and Ahsoka would make the best master student team.

A few minutes later, Anakin and Ahsoka had arrived at the lookout where Rex was overseeing watch to see if any droids were attempting to re start the fight. "What's the status Rex?" Anakin asks his commander as Rex lowers his electro binoculars turning towards him. "Quiet for now, sir" he replies "They're gearing up for another assault" he warns before he then notices Ahsoka

"Who's the youngling?" He asks as Ahsoka turns towards him "I'm Master Skywalker's padawan. The name's Ahsoka Tano" she smirks. Rex, unfazed by her quick remark only looks over at his General.

"Sire, I thought you'd say you'd never take a padawan" he points out recounting one of their earlier conversations as Anakin shakes his head. "There's been a mix up, the youngling isn't with me" he assures him as Ahsoka gasps. "Stop calling me that!" She cries "You're stuck with me Skyguy" she smirks using the nickname she had first called him years ago unfortunately it was the first time Rex was hearing it and he couldn't help but chuckle.

"What did you just call me Snips!?" He exclaims "I didn't even think you're old enough to be a padawan" he admits still trying to believe this was the same girl he would playfully spar with and tease as Ahsoka smirks. "Maybe I'm not but Master Qui Gon and Yoda think I am" she points out adding "And you did promise one day you'd be my master" she adds as Anakin sighs "That was then and this is now. So if you're ready, you better start proving it" he warns her. "Captain Rex will show you how a little respect can go a long way" he informs her

Rex stops sniggering and straightens. "Right, come on youngling" he tells her starting to move off as Ahsoka grits her teeth "Padawan" she mutters as Anakin watches them go. Ahsoka definitely wasn't the same little girl he once knew or fought alongside on Naboo.

Heading down from the lookout, Ahsoka walked alongside Rex as he moved to check on the rest of his troopers. Ahsoka, having not learnt much and still naive about the war and strategies, still wanted to offer her suggestions. "Have you thought about moving that line back Captain?" She asks "They'd have better cover that way" she suggests as Rex shakes his head

"Thanks for the suggestion, but General Skywalker thinks they're fine where they are" he informs her as Ahsoka then realised another point. "So…." She starts "If you're a Captain, and I'm a Jedi, then technically I outrank you, right?" She asks as Rex only then replies

"In my book, experiences outranks everything" he explains as Ahsoka smirks "Well, if experiences outranks everything, I guess I better start getting some" she admits right at the moment they both heard a loud sudden noise in the distance. "What's what?" Ahsoka asks as they both saw a large pinkish red oval shaped shield activate

"Not good" Rex mutters "They've got an energy shield, that's gonna make things damn near impossible"he explains as Ahsoka silently listens to him "If you wanted experience little one, it looks like you're about to get plenty" he promises her before he decided they better head back to inform Generals Kenobi and Skywalker of the new development.

Whilst, far from the planet Christophsis, Sith Lord Count Dooku and ex Jedi Xanatos were preparing to continue their mission which would hopefully made the Jedi and the Republic's ship routes even harder.

"Is the huttlet secure?" Dooku spoke in a deep voice as Xanatos spoke. "Yes, he was taken to an abandoned monastery on the planet Teth" he explains "I just want to know how this will bring my old master and his brats to us" he spat as Dooku turns to look at him. "If I know my former student, he'll ensure that his sons are given the mission to rescue the Hutt, despite their past experiences with Jabba the Hutt years ago, his son doesn't quite know what happened to his father and has reached out for the Republic's help, then once they reached Teth, you will turn the tables on them" he informs him

Xanatos smirks "As long as I can make them suffer what they have done to me, I will do what you ask" he promises him.

Next time: Ahsoka joins the fight on Christophsis as Anakin begins to feel the weight of being a new master, he seeks the advice of his wife Padme who surprises him with her own wise words and as their time on Christophsis comes to an end, Anakin, Ahsoka and Obi Wan are given a new mission to release Rotta the Hutt's son, will Xanatos find his revenge on Teth against his old master's family?