Allana

I decided to stay and take guard for Anakin overnight but as the minutes went by, keeping my eyelids open was getting harder. I knew we were safe for now, so, I closed my eyes. Just five minutes. When I opened my eyes again, the moonlight wasn't shining anymore, instead, the red dawn light filtrated through the pod's little windows.

"You suck at taking guard." His raspy voice spoke.

"Shut up." I told him as I saw the blue eyes that have been driving me crazy for so long. "You probably just woke up, how would you know?"

"I don't know, I'm just bothering you." He said as I smiled at him, I felt relief on my chest, as the thought of loosing him flashed through my head making me look down to my hands. "I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"Making you worry like this." He answered and I smiled.

"Just, don't push me and get all the impact yourself next time okay?" I told him as I reached for his hand and he smiled. "We have a plan and I can't do it alone...I can't do it without you."

He smiled. "I know." A small smile made its way through my lips but it was a sad one.

"I can't live without you." He sighed and squeezed my hand with a smile that matched mine.

"I wouldn't be able to either...I love you." I chuckled.

"I love you too." We stayed in silence for a minute just holding hands and looking at each other as we heard how the birds sand good morning to one another to start their day in the most lovely way.

"You know, when I said that I'd like to be alone with you after our missions ended I definitely didn't mean it this." I chuckled and he did the same.

"I know." I let go of his hand when I sensed Snips coming to check on her Master beside Wag Too. "Morning." I greeted them and they greeted back. Then, the healer placed a few bandages around Ani's head, abdomen and chest.

"General?" Said Wolffe behind me by the door.

"Yes Commander?" I answered, as well as Skywalker.

"We've got a Separatist ship incoming."

"What?" I asked.

"This is neutral space." Said Wag Too behind me.

"Sorry to tell you buddy, but it won't be neutral for so long, not if the Separatists have their way." Ani said and then grunted in pain. "Help me up would you?" He added and when he sat, he groaned again.

"Don't move." I said bending down in front of him.

"I'm sorry, but you're still too injured to move." Wag Too added. Them, we heard engines whirring outside and seconds later the Lurmen leader walked in.

"What menace have you brought to our village now Jedi?" He asked angrily.

"Father." Said Wag. "You can't blame them."

"He's right." Added Ahsoka. "The Separatists don't even know we're here." Anakin sat down.

"And they can't know." I said. "We've got to hide."

"Your presence here endangers us." Said Wag Too's father. "You must leave before your enemies find you."

"But you'll need our help." The young girl said. "You can't fight them alone."

"We will not fight them at all." He explained. "We would rather die than to kill others."

"You're going to surrender? But how can you-"

"Ahsoka." Said Anakin, calling her attention. "Stop."

"But-"

"If the Lurmen want to remain neutral, we won't force them into war."

"See to it that they leave." Said the leader of the colonies to his son. "I must see what our new visitors want."

Few minutes later, I helped Ani get up as Wag Too gave us some fruit and food for our way that Ahsoka began to keep into the backpack that we had brought. Anakin's arm as around my shoulders as I placed mine around his waist to help him stabilise himself, but he almost fell again and Rex came and helped grabbing his other arm.

"Take it easy sir." Said Captain Rex placing the left arm of his General around his shoulders.

"Lana, no offence but your height won't help me out that much here."

"You hadn't say that since we were what? Fourteen?" I said remembering him bothering me as he got taller and taller as months and years went by.

"More or less." He groaned after he chuckled.

"Wolffe, would you?" I asked gently moving off my shoulders Anakin's arm and my Commander took it, placing it over his shoulders.

"We'll assist you sir." He added and we began to walk out, making sure not to be spotted.

As we walked behind the pod, we heard screams and blasters in the distance.

"Why are they tearing apart our homes?" Asked Wag Too. "We've done nothing to them." He added as Snips approached him.

"Violence." I heard her saying. "That's what those droids are programmed for." She turned around, facing us. "Can't we do anything?"

"I'm afraid not." I said. "If they find out we're here and that they helped us, the Lurmen will be slaughtered."

"We'll be okay." Anakin said. "Only if we make it to the tall grasses." He added and we began our way there, leaving our little friend behind as the sun continued to rise.

[...]

It was about to be midday, when we sat down to rest a bit. I was laying down on the ground, the grass tickled the exposed skin on my back, my fingers playing with a piece of grass that I had ripped off the ground. Anakin to my right and Ahsoka to my left. Sinker and Wolffe were standing in front of us and Rex was sitting beside my Commander.

"You know, I can't figure those villagers not wanting to fight." Wolffe commented and Sinker scoffed.

"No pride, I guess." He said and I shook my head.

"I call it no courage." Added Ahsoka.

"Sometimes it takes courage to stick to one's beliefs Snips, as a Jedi, you should know that." I told her incorporating and sitting down.

"We need to find a ship, and I think the only one around here belongs to the Separatists." Anakin said with a playful smirk, characteristic of him.

"We know they have a landing ship." Said Wolffe. "They might have a shuttle." He added and I nodded.

"Sir, you're talking about stealing from one of the clankers?" Asked Rex and I arched an eyebrow. "Count me in." He added and I smiled, feeling Ani and Ahsoka's smile as well.

"We need to find them first." I said standing up.

"I think we just did." Said Ahsoka pointing at something in front of us, a sonde.

"Blast it!" Anakin commanded the troopers as he stood up quickly. The blue blasters tried to hit it, but it was too fast and avoided each one.

"Jam its signal!" I ordered and the Commander did as I said clicking a button on his wrist.

"After it!" Said Ahsoka and we all began to run behind it. I heard Anakin complaining behind me so I turned around quickly.

"I'm fine! Just go!" He instructed as he placed his hand on the right side of his chest making me worry, but I did as he said and resumed the chase of the droid that had spot us.

As Ahsoka and the troopers ran behind it, I took it slow and walked, doing what I was taught, I started listening. I was able to hear Ahsoka, Rex, Wolffe and Sinker's steps on the grass and heavy breaths, Anakin breathing with struggle but breathing, then I heard the engine and the electronic speech of the sonde, I started to walk faster as I saw the helmets of the clones and the black droid and intersect them before it could escape.

"We can't catch it, if it gets to the open." Rex said as I herd the Padawan turning her lightsaber on. I made it to the point of intersection and turned my light violet saber on as the sonde approached and when it was close enough, I cut it right by the middle in a vertical way. As I heard the pieces of metal hit the ground, I made a single spin with my saber and turned it off just to place the handle of it in the belt around my hips.

We approached the destroyed droid slowly, looking out for another one in case there could be one.

"I wonder where it was headed." Snips said as I looked up.

"I think we might be able to see from up there." I said pointing at the tree before us, then, I clicked my communicator. "Anakin, meet us at the tree that is closer to your right."

"Alright, is it up or down?"

"Take a guess." I answered and he chuckled.

"I'll see you there."

We began to climb the giant tree carefully and slowly until we reached the top and what we were able to see from afar made me sigh, slightly annoyed.

"Captain, may I have your binoculars for a moment?"

"Of course ma'am." Said Rex and I thanked him to look at the fortified Separatist base, where the ship was. Droids at every corner of it, ready to fire at anything or anyone that was not an ally.

"This...is going to be a problem." I said as I gave the binoculars to Ahsoka beside me, seconds later, we heard Anakin's heavy breath and steps on the tree.

"I hope you're feeling better Master." Our Padawan said. "'Cause look what we found." She turned around giving him the binoculars.

He scoffed. "I'm getting stronger all the time Snips." He said with a smile, placing the artefact before his blue eyes and started to analyse everything, then, his smile slowly dropped. "But...I'm not sure I'm ready for that."

[...]

The sun was indicating us that it probably was about five or six in the afternoon. We were studying what was before us as we thought of a way to get there and go back to the Temple.

"That shuttle's our ticket off this rock." Said Anakin after a while.

"It's not gonna be easy sir." Wolffe spoke behind us. "There don't seem to be any flaws in their security line." He added and we saw how the doors began to open, some droids and canyons walking out of it.

"Seems like the Separatist have a new toy." Anakin said. "See if you can get a closer look" He commanded the Commander as I bent down beside him and took the binoculars off his hands to have a better look.

"I'll go with you Commander." Said the Captain as the Sargent stood with us to my right, then, I gave Anakin back the binoculars.

The Separatist leader started to speak but for us they were just mumbles, we were too far away to listen to what he was saying. We spotted two droids after a while walking through a trail below us.

"Uh-oh." Said Anakin when he realised that our troopers and the droids may collide in any minute. "Stay down boys." He said, hoping that the tall grass would help them stay hidden.

Suddenly the loud scream of a cannon echoed in the place, a single projectile was launched. Rex and Wolffe began to run back to the tree as we saw how it fell in and the 'boom' echoed in the area. A huge line of fire started to grow and grow. Our eyes opened wildly with worry as we saw that where there was grass there was nothing left but dirt now.

I jumped down to the branch that was underneath to give a hand if needed. Rex launched his ascension cable and it got stuck to the tree for him to climb, but when my Commander tried to do the same, he tripped over with a root that was there, unable to get to where we were. I was quick, so I turned my lightsaber on and cut a liana from the tree that I used to balance myself to where my trooper was.

He grabbed my arm and I grabbed his as I impulsed myself up again. The fire's warmth hit our backs but I made us land on the large tree branch, away from harm. Ahsoka and Anakin arrived by our side as we recovered our breathes after that short moment of pure adrenaline.

"That's some toy." The Togruta said. "It took out every living thing."

"But the droids." I said as Ani placed himself beside me to have a better look, still using the binoculars. Then, they all began to move. "Where are they off to now?" I asked in a whisper.

"They must be going back to the Lurmen village." Ani answered my question handing over the binoculars for me to have a look. "There's nothing else in that direction."

"They won't stand a chance against that." I said as I bent down and Ani moved to be opposite from me. "Do you have a plan?"

"I was about to ask you that." I smiled, and stood quiet meditating what we could do.

"So..?" Ahsoka asked, being her impatient self.

"Just give her a minute Snips." Ani said under his breath, I smiled more.

"Well first, we'll need to take out the droid's communication station, then we'll get the shuttle, and once we do, we'd go and help the Lurmen." I spoke after a couple minutes.

"But Tee Watt Kaa said he doesn't need our help." Said Ahsoka.
"And you said that forcing them into war was not what we had to do."

"There's a difference between pulling innocents into a war and leaving them to extinction." Anakin added. "Now, do you have any specific ideas for getting in there?"

"I do...kind of." I sighed. "We'll wait till night in order not to be spotted."

"We could split." Wolffe suggested. "Take out different flanks carefully."

"That way we'll cover more ground." I smiled at my friend turning around to see the base with the binoculars again. "Alright, here's what we'll do." I said after analysing what was in front of us. "Sinker, Rex, Wolffe, you'll stay with Anakin, you have to distract and take down the droids that are outside." I paused. "Ahsoka, you and I will sneak into the base, once there I'll handle the droids while you open the door for them to get inside." She nodded again. "We have to be extremely quiet, is that clear?"

"Yes General." Said the troopers and Anakin, the last one doing it in a mocking way. I smiled at them and everything that we had to do now was wait.

[...]

  The night fell, the full moon was shining brightly above our heads. Ahsoka and I were on the right while the boys were on the left, waiting for my signal, I nodded and Ani nodded back. Snips and I began to run towards the walls as we avoided being spotted by the lights that were moving around, then, we placed our backs against the walls, a shiver going down my spine when my skin made contact with the metal.

  We were looking at the droids that were still not moving, as we waited for the boys to do what they had to do. Soon enough the four droids began to move to a side, blasters in hand. In a second, I heard Anakin's lightsaber whooshing and that was enough signal for us to move. We began running to a side of the wall and jumped side to side until we made it to the top part and got in. Phase one was done, time for phase two.

  We were hidden as we looked out and saw how the clones took down three droids and Ani took down the fifth.

"Get to the door." I instructed Ahsoka and we split, I ran to the left while she went to the lower part of the base. I destroyed three droids in a row without being spotted. I saw how they all got in and destroyed three droids from above, then, I cut by the half another three. I jumped down, extending a leg to land in a more comfortable way, as I destroyed a pair of droids that were nearby.

"Nice landing." Said Ani as I incorporated and turned my lightsaber off to clip the handle on my belt.

"Thanks." I said. "Shall we?" I asked and we began to run towards the ship.

"Shield generators Generals." Said Rex.

"Let's take them with us." Added Anakin as we rushed into the shutter.

  Once in the cabin, I took the pilot seat and Snips took the copilot one. As soon as I heard the main gate closing, I turned the engines on and we began to fly towards the Lurmen village.