Original source:
George Lucas' Star Wars: The Clone Wars - S1:E6 Downfall of a Droid, my brain.
Synopsis:
Anakin must find the missing R2-D2 before the Separatists discover the Jedi military secrets locked in his memory banks.
---
Trust in your friends, and they'll have reason to trust in you.
After suffering a series of disastrous defeats at the hands of General Grievous, the Republic's foothold in the Outer Rim is in jeopardy.
Commissioned to protect the strategic world of Bothawui, Anakin Skywalker and his weary battlegroup are all that stands between the system and domination by the droid army.
---
(22 BBY)
Stretching my arms high above my head, grunting when my shoulders clicked. Heavily sighing, my arms flopped back down onto my mattress. Swinging my legs over the side of my elevated bed, my feet coming in contact with the cold metal flooring. In my previous cruiser I had carpeted my quarters, I've never missed that more than I do right now. A shiver rocketed up my spine at the cold seeping in through my skin.
Swiftly I began to pull my boots on, lacing them up tightly along my shins. That solved the cold feet issue. The rest of the ship was warm-ish, the floors always seemed to hold the cold. Continuing to redress, making sure my hilts were securely fastened to my belt.
Once I was ready to go, I pressed the button on the door controls, the metal door sliding to the side with a harsh whoosh. But I wasn't as ready to leave as I once thought I was, I realised, thankfully before I stepped foot out into the hall. I didn't have my datapad on me. Leaning back around the door frame, I managed to pluck the tablet off the table with somewhat ease. Correcting myself, datapad now firmly clutching in my hand, I closed the door behind me and began to make my way towards the bridge.
My eyes lowered as I walked down the hall, passing troopers and staff members as I went. The most recent schedule was brought up on my screen, my finger swiping down to scroll through the night time shift to get to the current timestamp. I glanced up briefly, spying the chronometer on the wall ahead giving me the time.
Finding that time on the schedule I slowed my scroll so I could read over everything today. We were already on our way to Anakin's location in Bothawui, but there was a meeting with him and Obi-Wan I had to attend in a few minutes. As soon as I reached the bridge I'd be contacting them both.
Flicking over to reports, organised in order of when they were submitted. I began to slowly scroll through them. Most of them could be discarded, simple things like when the night shift began and when they went to retire to their quarters for rest. But one caught my eye.
'General Grievous on route to Bothawui.'
I sighed heavily, my finger freezing in place. That wasn't good. Needing more information, I opened the report. Scrolling through the information one of the night shift crew members had submitted. It wasn't dubbed urgent enough to wake me but I begged to differ. From what I was reading it would be incredibly lucky if we got there in time to provide the backup Anakin and his troops required.
"General." Was called out from behind me. Frowning I glanced over my shoulder. Patch was jogging up behind me, slowing down so he could fall into a walk beside me. My frown was replaced with a smile, swiftly clicking my datapad off.
"Morning, Patch." I greeted him happily.
"Morning." He responded, a smile spreading across his face. The small tattoo next to his temple crinkled at how wide his smile truly was. "What do you think?" He asked, holding out a datapad for me to take. My smile grew as I took it from him, stacking it atop my own.
My eyes lowered to the open screen. He had been trying to come up with new designs for my main cruiser which we were standing on. I'd noticed him doodling out the corner of my eyes and yet when anyone asked to see them he'd simply scold them and smack their hand away. I had never asked, knowing full well he'd do the same. Sinker and Boost had however questioned him relentlessly, leading to Patch completely ignoring the two for a whole week.
The very first design I was seeing since the destruction of my old cruiser delighted me. Unlike the old printing on the bay doors, which heavily featured the Wolfpack logo that many of my troops donned, this one had my lightsabers on it as well. Two bright purple sabers, one shorter than the other, crossed over to form an x shape. Above that, in between the tips of my lightsabers, was the grey Loth-wolf face. A bright smile crossed my face as I handed it back to him.
"It's good." I commended him, nodding my head.
"Just good?" He questioned, lowering his gaze to the tablet now in his hand once more.
"It's great." I corrected myself. Having arrived at the bridge, the large doors swooshed open revealing all the buzzing equipment and men jogging around the space. "Perfect."
"It's not too much?" He asked, tilting his head at the design he'd drawn out.
"No, I think it's perfect for the cruiser." I reassured him, placing my free hand on his shoulder. His eyes shifted to me, a coy smile slowly twitching at his lips. I nodded firmly, removing my hand and making my way over to the holotable in the centre of the room.
"General." Oriya nodded his head curtly at me. I watched his gaze flick off behind me. A frown formed on my brows when I followed his gaze, finding it glued to Patch now being bothered by Sinker and Boost trying to snatch the datapad off him to see his design. "Don't you think your time should be spent more wisely?" He questioned, frowning tightly when my attention turned back to him.
"It is being spent wisely." I frowned at him, not getting what the problem was.
"You're late." He informed me sternly. "And my guess would be because you were discussing meaningless stuff on your way here."
"Meaningless?" I questioned, pushing my head forward in disbelief. "Keeping my men happy is not meaningless. Where's this coming from?" Folding my arms over my chest after discarding my datapad onto the edge of the table.
This wasn't the usual Oriya that greeted me in the mornings. Sure he could be a tad uptight at times, but that was simply because he loved the cruiser to be working at the best level it could be. I respected that, I applauded him for it in fact. He may have had opinions on how my time was spent but he had never voiced them before, making me uneasy.
"No where, General." Oriya cleared his throat uncomfortably. My eyes narrowed on him ever so slightly. I don't understand why he was suddenly being hostile about the fact that I was chatting with Patch while I walked.
"See to the bridge, I've got an important call to make." I dismissed him, receiving a nod from him before he turned sharply.
He folded his hands behind his back and walked down the strip towards the viewport. Wolffe distracted me from watching him curiously, coming up to stand beside me. I turned to look up at him, still frowning deeply.
"What's up with him?" I asked, confusion lacing my tone as I nodded my head backwards to indicate to him that I meant Oriya. He lifted his eyes, taking in the man before they swiftly returned to meet mine.
"He's been acting weird all morning." Wolffe sighed, beginning to punch in codes on the table while my eyes drifted back to Oriya. "Grumpier."
"Hmm, well, you would be the leading expert in that field." I chimed, knowing full well Wolffe wasn't always the friendliest with new people. My gaze returned to him, watching him turn his head to narrow his eyes at me just so, but I didn't miss the smallest smirk on his lips. I chuckled softly, making him shake his head.
Shaking the thought from my brain for the moment. I couldn't focus on why Oriya was acting weird at the moment, there were bigger problems to be tackled. My fingers went to the controls, punching in a specific frequency that was Anakin's ship. The table hummed to life, the transmission connecting, small blue holograms on Anakin, Ahsoka, Rex and Obi-Wan hovering over my table.
We began to discuss the situation at hand. If Grievous was to get there it would be a tremendous blow to the Republic. We'd most assuredly lose all control in the Outer Rim, something that can not happen. Which is why we were headed their way to begin with. Grievous has already crippled us severally, he can't do any more. Anakin's three cruisers weren't going to cut it.
"Among our most recent losses was the battlegroup at Falleen." Obi-Wan reported in, arms crossed over his chest. "The Separatist fleet commanded by General Grievous is headed your way."
"Seems like that coward always knows where and when to attack us." Anakin grumbled, I had to agree with him. It's like he had some prior knowledge that we didn't know about.
"You're heavily outnumbered, Anakin." Obi-Wan reminded him.
"You have to retreat." I sighed, my hands finding purchase on my hips.
"If we run, the Separatist will take control of this sector." Anakin replied sternly. "I can't let them do that."
"I'm not suggesting full retreat, just until my fleet can rendezvous with yours." I explained myself.
"Agreed" Obi-Wan piped up, nodding his head.
"They're right." Ahsoka agreed. "We should regroup. We don't stand a chance against-"
"Ahsoka." Anakin cut her off in warning.
"Suicide is not the Jedi way, Master." She continued anyway.
"You should listen to your Padawan." Obi-Wan told him, making me softly smile.
"As you listened to yours, my old Master?" Anakin shot back at him. "No, we are going to stay and fight." Anakin shook his head. "And I think I know how to beat Grievous at his own game."
I frowned as the image of a walker lit up on my table. Surrounding it were four troopers as the walker marched forward. I flicked my gaze up to meet Wolffe's concerned and confused one. Clearly he had no idea what Anakin was planning either.
"A daring plan, I'm sure." I hummed, standing up straight. "If you're sure you won't retreat, hold them off as long as you can. We'll be there soon." I nodded my head at him, signing off of the transmission.
Once the table had dulled of the blue light, I sighed heavily, leaning forward to rest my palms against the edge of the table. He was surely going to get them all killed. I seriously hope this plan of his works. I heard my name get called, forcing me to perk up. But on my way over to the trooper who had called for my attention I shook my head as I walked past Wolffe.
---
"General, incoming transmission from General Skywalker." I practically jumped hearing that be shouted across the bridge. Swiftly I made my way over to the holotable, connecting to the call.
After hearing from Ahsoka that Grievous' fleet had been destroyed, I was delighted. However the news didn't stop there. Grievous went AWOL and Anakin had been knocked unconscious in an explosion which R2 had been lost in. My own astromech whining sadly at the loss of his friend when I'd told him, and now sticking to my side like glue.
The projections of Anakin and Ahsoka came to life with a hum, their figures floating above the table's surface. I smiled upon seeing them both.
"Looks like you didn't need our help after all." I smirked, folding my arms over my chest. "How're you feeling?"
"Head's a little tender, nothing I can't handle." He responded, the sadness in his tone apparent to me. Slowly I nodded my head, a small smile crossing my lips briefly.
"I'm sorry about R2." I told him, my jaw clenching when all he did was lower his gaze making Ahsoka glance at him. I couldn't imagine what it was like for him to lose R2. I never wanted to part with R7, he was my little companion that my life would be empty without.
Anakin didn't get a chance to respond, another line connecting to the call already in progress. Their holos shifted over on my table, making room for Obi-Wan's.
"Congratulations, Anakin." Obi-Wan commended him happily. "Your resourcefulness always amazes me."
"Thank you, Master." Anakin responded, once more lowering his gaze down.
"You look troubled." Obi-Wan pointed out. Yeah, of course he was, I wanted to scream. Obi-Wan wouldn't understand, I knew that. Sure he had a droid of his own, but he was nowhere near close with him.
"I lost R2 in the field." He explained to Obi-Wan. I lowered my gaze down to the rim of the table.
"Well, R2 units are a dime a dozen." Obi-Wan spoke back up, an unintentional scoff leaving my mouth. "I'm sure you'll find a suitable replacement."
"I could take a squad out there, track him down." Anakin dismissed the notion of finding another droid.
"Anakin, it's only a droid." Obi-Wan reminded him. That caused me to step back from the table, shaking my head as I looked anywhere but at him. "You know attachment is not acceptable for a Jedi." And that's the very reason I often left like a lousy one. I was, in the Order's eyes, attached to my astromech, many members of my battalion, members of other battalions, fellow Jedi. I sighed, rubbing my forehead harshly.
"It's not just that, Master." Anakin spoke up. I frowned, lifting my gaze curiously.
"Then what is it?" I asked, confused.
"Uh, how do I put this?" He spoke aloud but I knew he was really wondering himself. Attempting to find the words for whatever was in his head, whatever was also troubling him most about losing R2. "I didn't wipe R2's memory." Anakin finally got out after a long beat of silence.
My eyes widened considerably, lips parting in shock. I thought I was the only one who did that. When the Order demanded that we start to wipe the memory of our droids for security purposes, I couldn't do it. R7 knew almost everything about my battalion's battle strategies, where all of my troops were sent. It was just simply handy, meaning I didn't have to remember all that stuff although of course I tried my best to do so.
"What? He's still programmed with our tactics and base location?" Obi-Wan gawked, one hand finding his hip. "If the Separatists get a hold of him... What possessed you not to erase that droid's memory?" A complicated question if there ever was one.
"Master Obi-Wan, sometimes R2 having that extra information has come in handy." Ahsoka stepped up to answer. A small smile twitched at my lips, understanding that was one of the reasons I didn't like to erase R7's memory. He, thankfully, has never come close to being under Separatist control.
"Well, then find that droid, Anakin." Obi-Wan commanded him. "Our necks might very well depend on it."
"Right away, Master." Anakin seemed to brighten up, causing me to do the same. I bowed my head at the three, clicking my table off once more.
---
"We have to assume that R2 was destroyed in the explosion that claimed your ship." Obi-Wan posed, hands on his hips.
Ahsoka and Anakin had scrubbed the wreckage out where his ship had gone down. However they reported, after stumbling upon a junker and having a little tussle with some assassin droids, they still didn't find R2. The junker claimed to not have any R2 units, which meant the droid was still unaccounted for.
"I have to disagree." I spoke up without hesitation. "Isn't it smarter to assume he's still out there? If any information arises we know where it's come from."
"At this point and time we don't have the resources to continue searching for him." Obi-Wan countered me. Slowly I nodded, knowing we were spread thinly as it was.
"So the plan is to hope for the best?" I questioned, crossing my arms over my midsection.
"Do you have to be so provoking?" Obi-Wan responded, crossing his own arms. I shook my head, glancing away from the table. "We're to assume R2 is lost." He repeated, clearly understanding that I wasn't about to answer his rhetorical question.
"Yes, Master." Anakin mumbled glumly, lowering his gaze.
"Our intelligence has confirmed that Grievous' spies have been intercepting our transmissions." I frowned lightly at the new news Obi-Wan gave us.
"He must have some sort of secret listening post out there somewhere." Ahsoka deduced.
"That would explain how he's been able to ambush our fleets." I hummed in agreement with Anakin.
"Split up your squadrons, Anakin." Obi-Wan ordered him. "Find that base and destroy it."
"It's as good as done, Master Kenobi." Ahsoka promptly agreed.
"I'll start picking through possible locations from here." I piped up, turning my head to nod at one of the troopers who was manning the station. He nodded in response, letting me shift my gaze back to the holograms on my table.
"May the Force be with you all." Obi-Wan signed off, his image flickering off with a hum.
"I'll see you both soon." I bowed my head towards Ahsoka and Anakin, clicking my table off myself.
Instantly I turned towards the trooper I had indicated before. Walking over to him, I came to stand behind his station, my eyes already flicking over the previous scans of realspace compiled from several ships over the years. He brought up the most recent ones, done by this ship we were currently sailing through hyperspace in.
"There's a couple of unexplained phenomena." Jaxz, the trooper manning the station explained, lifting his hand up to point at the three different spots on screen.
"Which one is it most likely to be?" I asked, glancing between the three distant points in space a ways away from where Anakin's cruiser was currently located.
"Not sure yet." He shook his head, lowering his hand back down to the screen controls.
"See if you can narrow it down." I nodded my head at him, receiving one in return.
Making my way down the bridge I stopped at Oriya's side, the man having gone back to simply staring out the large viewport into the blue swirls of hyperspace. It was a great view, but the distress that was practically dripping off him was concerning to say the least. Maybe he needed rest? Being too overworked could lead to stress, discomfort and irritability.
I had no idea how long we'd stood in silence but seemingly before I knew it someone was calling out our arrival.
"Dropping out of hyperspace now." One of the troopers called out, moments before the ship thudded back into realspace.
I smiled at the familiar lead cruiser orbiting the large planet, Anakin's cruiser, another one gently drifting not far behind it. Two other cruisers dropped out next to mine, completing our three ship fleet and turning the combined fleet from two to five. Even though the fun with Grievous was over and done with, at least for now it was, we still had a planet to protect.
As if something had heard my thoughts that we weren't going to see any action. An alarm began to blare out from the tactical screen next to the holotable. Frowning, I swiftly spun on my heels, beginning to walk over as Wolffe called out what it was.
"It's General Skywalker's tracking beacon." He informed me, glancing my way as I came to a stop next to him. Staring up at the screen finding of course that he was right. The small image of a yellow Jedi starfighter was blinking on the board.
"What the..?" I trailed off, tilting my head at it. "Contact the lead cruiser, I want to know what's going on. Scramble all fighter pilots, send them to their ships, preparing for take off." I ordered so everyone on the bridge could hear me. Finally I looked at Wolffe, lowering my voice drastically. "Is my fighter ready?" I inquired.
"Go." Was all he said, nodding his head to the door.
I smirked, gently placing my hand on his shoulder as I rounded him. Once I was out into the main hall again, I took off sprinting, R7 keeping up pace next to me.
"Go warm up the ship." I instructed him, watching as he chirped at me and sped up. He passed me by, beeping an apology at one of the troopers he nearly bowled over like a pin.
As soon as I reached my ship, nestled off to the side in the hangar, I vaulted over the side, settling into the cockpit already finding everything online. Quickly I prepared the final systems R7 hadn't had a chance to prepare yet, including flicking on my comms.
"Fighters from the lead cruisers are dispatching now." Wolffe informed me, making me nod to myself now in the loop properly that my comms were working. Slowly ships began to lift off the ground, taking off through the parted bay doors.
Sealing my canopy closed, I pulled back on the yolk, causing my ship to lift off the ground. Carefully I turned the ship around, glancing around to make sure I wasn't about to hit anything. Once I was past the shield, scooping up a hyperspace ring on my way out, I sailed up to the front of the formation the boys had formed whilst waiting for me.
"General Skywalker's tracking beacon has been turned off." Wolffe updated me on the situation. "Commander Tano has already sent out fighters, joining you now." Glancing over my shoulder, I caught glimpses of the squadron he was referring to.
"Wolfpack switch frequency to include new pilots." I instructed my squad over comms, adjusting my own frequency to include the pilots of Anakin's gold squadron.
"General, I suggest returning to the cruiser." Oriya's voice tuned in. I sighed, slightly thankful that no other ship could hear him.
"Negative, Captain." I dismissed him. He cleared his throat harshly to speak again but I swiftly cut him off, shaking my head even though he couldn't see me. "Just because the beacon's deactivated doesn't mean he isn't still in trouble." I explained, preparing my ship for the short jump to Anakin's location. "If we're not back within ten minutes get Ahsoka on the Twilight."
"I don't know what we'll be flying into." I announced, flicking my comm channel back to include the pilots trailing behind me. "If any of you wish to return to the hangar you have my blessing."
"Not a chance, General." Chase, one of my leading pilots, called back to me causing a smirk to plaster across my face. I received various agreed responses from the pilots, not one of them saying they wished to back down.
"Alright then, buckle up." I chimed, pushing my stick forward to send me into hyperspace at the lead of the squadron.
The blue lights of hyperspace filled my cockpit, gaining on the location Anakin's tracking beacon had gone off at. The trip was only a few moments, allowing me to prime my weapons before I pulled back on the lever. Thudding back into realspace, my eyes widening instantly.
Two massive Separatist ships were firing red hot laser bolts towards a small yellow ship that was trying its best to weave in between each shot. My lips parted, glancing down at my scanners that were picking up the boys behind me dropping out as well. But my question was did Anakin call for backup before or after Grievous arrived?
The ships ahead seemed to have noticed our arrival now, cannons shifting to target the squadron I'd arrived with. Jerking the yolk to the right my ship rolled, dropping out of formation to narrowly avoid being pulverised. Huffing out a breath, I boosted my engines as I steadied myself out.
"All fighters, distract those ships." I called over comms, not needing a reply from anyone.
Rolling over to avoid more fire, I took a glance out my viewport noticing a lone hyperspace ring simply floating there ready for pick up. Why the heck had he detached it in the first place? Sighing, I flicked over my comms to connect to Anakin's ship.
"Anakin, get your ring back on your ship now." I ordered him, watching as he began to bring his ship back around to collect it.
"What do you think I'm trying to do?" He snapped back at me.
I shook my head. Fire was spreading out everywhere, thankfully my pilots were experts and so were Anakin's clearly as no ships had gone down yet. The longer we stayed here however the greater the chance of that statistic changing. Pushing forward on my controls I dived down, blaster fire searing through where I just was.
Fire caught my eye. Bringing my ship back up and around, one thing was apparently different. The hyperspace ring Anakin had used to get here was no more. The mangled debris of it had been put out almost immediately. Anakin groaned loudly in complaint.
"Where's R2 when I need him?" Anakin complained.
"Vulture droids incoming." Warthog reported.
I sighed, glancing down at my scanners that showed the plethora of droids zooming out from the two Separatist cruisers. My finger shifted to hover over the trigger, swiftly cutting my engines. The droids zipped past in an instant meaning I was now coming up directly behind them as I powered everything back on. Pulling down on the trigger, several green bolts from my ship's cannon lashed out connecting with droid after droid.
Zooming past another wrecked droid at the back of the pack, a large portion of the droids were now dealt with by the combined squadron. That left the few at the front that had fired missiles Anakin's way. He used a similar manoeuvre to mine, cutting his engines as he flicked around before firing back at the missiles igniting and disintegrating the droids that shot them.
"We need to find a way to get you out of here." I grunted out, squeezing my finger onto the trigger to blow up one of the droids still chasing after Anakin. My ship jerked as a rough blaster bolt scorched the exterior of my ship. Alarms started to blare around me but with a quick glance it appeared that nothing was majorly damaged, R7 already onto temporarily repairing things.
"Another ship's on the scanners." R7 beeped at me through the canopy, his round head clicking around to look at me. I frowned, lowering my gaze to the scanner. It was small, definitely not large enough to be a cruiser.
Suddenly blaster fire lashed out, finding home in the last few vulture droids. Quickly I zipped up to Anakin's level. The squadron behind me fell into formation.
"Cargo bay doors open. You better get inside." Ahsoka's voice met my ears, making me smile. Clearly we'd taken longer than they were comfortable with.
"I'd love to, but R3's having a problem with the engines." Anakin grumbled, a small frown creasing my brows together.
Suddenly Anakin's engines tripled in power output, making him shoot forward albeit wonkily soaring off towards the Twilight. But that wasn't the main concern right now, more vulture droids had been unleashed upon us.
"Let's give him some cover boys." Ahsoka called out.
"Fighters break formation." I instructed. "Obliterate those droids, clean shots, clean kills."
"My specialty." Quickfire replied, I could hear the smirk in his voice.
The battlefield became littered with blaster fire from all directions. The vulture droids firing on any of us while we did the same right back. Circling around, I blasted a droid out of the sky that was chasing down one of the Wolfpack members, easily sailing overhead of him.
"I'm inside." Anakin called out. "Now let's get out of here."
That was like music to my ears. Beginning to flip a couple of switches I started to prepare for the jump to hyperspace.
"Power it up, Rex. We're going right between those tin cans." Ahsoka declared.
Shaking my head and pushing engines as hard as I could we got ever closer to the large cruisers ahead. Glancing over my shoulder at the pilots trailing behind me, doing a quick count in my head to confirm they were all present and accounted for. Seeing as they were, I dropped underneath the large pieces jutting out of each cruiser, Ahsoka taking the Twilight directly in between the two close ships. Once we were well past the cruisers and the space ahead became a clear path to make the jump, it was easy to push the lever forward to the sound of the boys cheering in triumph.
---