"Better?" Anakin asked Ahsoka. They had just finished a job, and Anakin had taken to using some of his money to improve the Eclipse.
"A little," she said hoarsely, her face somewhat paler than usual. "It's just... did I have to decapitate him?"
"You didn't have to. As long as the job gets done, you can finish them however you choose to," Anakin told her. "'Why did you' is my question."
"I dunno. I just kinda... did. It's... unnerving seeing the underside of someone's head like that," Ahsoka said, leaning back in the chair she was sitting in.
"You could make a pointed idea in your head not to look," Anakin suggested, making Ahsoka shake her head.
"That sounds incredibly simple, yet there's this compulsive part of me that needs to look. I need look at whoever I'm killing. It just feels... right. I don't know," she said with a frown.
"You know Snips..." Anakin said with a grunt as he installed the last part. Then he slid from under the ship and looked at her directly. He looked around the hangar he stopped to do the repairs in and made sure his and Ahsoka's hoods thoroughly covered their faces.
"Given what we're doing..." Anakin said as he gestured around the hangar, or perhaps he was gesturing just to emphasize his point. "...this vigilante type of life that we're living by being bounty hunters, the line between right and wrong has been crossed. Just barely, but crossed nevertheless."
"Barely? I'm not sure most people would see that way. It would just be simply wrong," Ahsoka said.
"True. But this is just me speaking on my perception of the situation. I will tell you this. If looking at the corpses of your enemies makes you feel better, then hey. Go ahead and do it," Anakin said as he flashed a thumbs up and started walking towards the entrance of the ship.
"Thanks. Now I feel like a creep when you put in those terms," Ahsoka said, making Anakin chuckle.
"Perception can change a lot about decision making. People would see what we're doing as immoral and vile. That we're no better than the people we're killing," he said as he sat down in the pilot seat of the ship. He didn't continue speaking until he got the ship into liftoff.
"Well guess what? I see it as me finally doing something constructive rather than fighting a war that seems to go on and on and on. Death doesn't solve all problems, but it sure as hell can solve a good amount of them when it comes to the Separatists. People like Nute Gunray, Wat Tambor, and others like them are better off dead," he said as he put the ship into autopilot. "You see, when you put people who have connections, money, and power in jail, there's nothing that you can do but wait for them to find a way to worm themselves out of it. Whether legally or illegally."
"Take the first time we caught Gunray for example. if we had just executed him as soon as we caught him, he wouldn't be out there being able to cause problems for us. Perception is everything. And everyone has it. Some people see it with tunnel vision, but others? People like us? We see the bigger picture."
Ahsoka was strangely reminded of Obi-Wan when he said that sentence. Nowhere near as serene, but his message seemed to be filled with knowledge and experience. She did have to say that he was right about that perception thing. She was looking at this situation somewhat differently now. Well, when he laid down the facts for her. About jail being a very short term solution when it came to people who had ways to get out. Killing them was the right solution, not the good solution. Long term, it was the better solution. It would be more than likely they'd be on the run after the war was over cause the Jedi could more formally turn their efforts into catching them. With a hesitant glance towards Anakin, she would wonder what effect that would have on his marriage.
"Now's not the time Ahsoka," she thought to herself, trying to calm the worrying thoughts.
"You know, you really have to work on keeping your emotions to yourself if you don't want me to find out," Anakin said, just getting the ship into hyperspace before turning around to face her.
"I can't believe you out of all people are saying that to me," Ahsoka said. Anakin didn't grin. He kept his gaze on her, and it was that piercing one that gave her a chill down her back. Like he could see through anyone he looked at with that look.
"I kind of thought about what would happen to us once the war ended. Who's to say that the Jedi wouldn't turn their attention to figuring out who we really are?" she told him.
"For one, that won't happen. After all, Jedi couldn't care less about deserters unless they become Sith. Master Sifo Dyas is a good example," Anakin said, putting his hands behind his head as he got up and removed his robe.
"I'm talking about the reputation we're sure to get from being bounty hunters. I mean, we've only really covered odd jobs since the Christophsis incident, but when we start looking into bigger things that Rex or any contractor may give us, they're going to start looking our way. Word of a bounty hunter who gets their jobs done travels far and wide. The Republic will hear about us, and so will the Separatists. And even if the Jedi don't care about us, if there's any chance the Separatists think they can take down a few Force-users that make their job harder, they will sure as hell will take it," Ahsoka explained, making Anakin's expression immediately change into a thoughtful one.
He knew she was right about that. Making the move that they did essentially put them in the middle of the crossfire. He had the most uncomfortable feeling that the Jedi would try to make him join back if they got their hands on him. He'd take his chances with fighting off a battalion of battle droids over that. He was not going back to that place. They wanted slaves to circle around their little hive; masquerading as the "perfect good guys." He would never join them himself, but he can see why there were Jedi who joined the Sith because of the Jedi. Again, it was all a matter of perception.
"You're right. That is definitely something to take care about. But..." The comlinks Anakin and Ahsoka always kept on their wrists went off, and they looked at each other at the same time. They all knew what this meant. Now things really got serious.
"Rex?" Anakin questioned over the comlink.
"I can't talk long sir. I'm scheduled to lead an assault soon. I do want to alert you to a significant droid presence out on Felucia. The Republic has caught wind of their efforts to be shipped out there, but we're currently short staffed. They may build something we'll have a hard time stopping if they are allowed set up shop there," Rex told them.
"We have the time. We'll make our way over there now," Anakin said, reprogramming the hyperdrive destination. The ship stopped and changed direction before speeding off instantly. They were about five parsecs away from Felucia.
"Well, this is a more serious job than before," Ahsoka said, blowing out a puff of breath.
"Yeah. We're fighting for something that actually contributes to the war. Well, more directly anyways," Anakin said.
"So what's the plan?" Ahsoka asked.
"We land in an obscure area while keeping the ship cloaked. We'll try to avoid to toxic areas. Then we'll go scout the place. Kinda wish the Eclipse was big enough to hold a speeder," Anakin said as an afterthought.
"Well, you could've made it bigger," Ahsoka said.
"Then it wouldn't have been the Twilight's predecessor. It wouldn't have felt quite right. Plus there's the fact that we had a limited time frame. It takes time to build small ships, much less big ones, I would've more likely still been building it if I wanted to make it big enough to hold a speeder. And don't even get me started on the money that goes into it," Anakin told her.
"Fair enough. But this is the Twilight, and it's nice to be riding in it again," Ahsoka said, gesturing a hand around the ship.
"Exactly why I kept it the same," Anakin said, turning his eyes back to front of the ship when they came out of hyperspace.
"Haven't been here in a while," Anakin thought as he flew the ship down the the planet's surface.
With the ship cloaked, Ahsoka took an opportunity to open the back hatch and view the planet below. There were definitely structures that didn't look like they were made by any inhabitant on this planet. They had to be droid settlements.
"I see a couple of droid settlements below!" Ahsoka yelled back to Anakin. She didn't see it coming, but she reflexively threw a hand out and caught what he threw at her. It was a hand held map. These things came in handy when they went to planets they had never been before.
"Mark them! We need to know where we're going!" Anakin yelled back.
Ahsoka then marked certain points on the map that coincided with the locations of the settlements that she saw. As Ahsoka felt the ship descending, she closed the catch and went back into the ship. She got about twenty of their outposts marked in the process.
They landed in a relatively clear area that was in the forest, but the fumes that rose from pods in the ground didn't look too inviting.
"Gas masks," Ahsoka said, looking at the gas rising in the area.
"You read my mind. We can leave the robes though," Anakin said, handing Ahsoka a gas mask as he put his on.
They walked out of the ship and the gas seemed to lightly prickle their skin even through their basic robes. Definitely seemed like it was poisonous. At least if inhaled. The masks were a great investment.
"Stay alert. They could be anywhere," Anakin told Ahsoka, her response being to nod.
Anakin and Ahsoka both stayed in a low crouch, gas masks covering their entire face as they watched the handheld maps they had in their hands. Ahsoka trailed behind Anakin because his form was big enough to hide her crouching presence if they came across anyone in front of them. They would think it was just him. From any other direction, not so much.
"There's a cross between the bases here," Ahsoka said as she was eyeing her map before looking back at Anakin. "You figure we should split up?"
"Yeah, we could cover more ground. But be careful. We don't know how much firepower they're carrying, nor do we know their capacity for reinforcements. Take every base carefully. Be prepared for anything," Anakin said, causing Ahsoka to nod. Under normal circumstances she would've insisted that she had this in the bag because they were just clankers, but her perception on things had sobered slightly since they left the Order.
"I'll contact if I need help," Ahsoka said.
"Same here," Anakin said as they parted ways.
Grievous was not very happy as he paced the command ship he was in. His more than considerable Jedi slaughtering efforts were being wasted looking for only two specific Jedi. Jedi that he couldn't even kill once he found them. He had taken plenty of his misplaced aggression out on the droids unlucky enough to get in the general's way.
"And your place as Dooku's errand boy!" With a growl at the remembrance of the Jedi's words, he smacked a droid into a wall with furious force. Many of the droids on the bridge with the general looked around towards Grievous with the closest thing to fear that their programming would allow. Which was surprisingly, a considerable amount.
"Um, general?" one of the droids asked hesitantly.
"What?!" the general snapped at the droid. He was not in the mood to hear the babble these aggravating droids spoke 24 hours a day at this moment.
"Um, we received a distress signal from our forces on Felucia," the droid told him tonelessly, catching the general's attention. Placing his forces there was under his suggestion. The Republic's forces were too scattered to launch a proper counter assault.
"Play the signal!" Grievous demanded.
"Yes sir," the droid said, hitting a button on the console. The image of Admiral Trench, the spider-like creature with minor robotic adjustments who was in charge of many of their forces appeared on their screen.
"General," the admiral said before clicking his pincers. Though it was in a hurried fashion. "I believe you stated the Republic would not have the forces would not be able to send any forces our way. *click* *click* *click*," the Admiral said.
"And they shouldn't have! We have perfect measurements of their forces. They could not afford to send forces that way," Grievous said, gesturing a tightened fist to emphasize his point.
"Then explain the two Jedi that are currently destroying our outposts!" Trench exclaimed. The General could not mistake the sound of lightsabers and blasters that were happening in the background. And it was getting progressively louder.
"Retreat then. We wasted resources for this settlement," Grievous told him.
"The Jedi destroyed my escape ships by using the mortal rounds," Trench said with a click. "I have no way out. You owe me my freedom for this miscalculation, General."
"I owe you..." The final word Grievous was about to say was cut off by a hum and a swift rush of air. Trench's pincers widened for a brief second and there was a loud clicking sound before his head fell down. Grievous' eyes narrowed. Jedi didn't often attack to kill. It made his job all the easier. Yet it seemed today was different.
But then the presence that killed Trench appeared on the screen. Only the side was seen of the person, but there were a few distinguishable features. The relatively small body and the lekku showing the species of Togruta. It didn't take long for Grievous to pick the pieces together.
"You!" Grievous said, stalking over to the pilots steering the ship.
"Uh, y-yes sir?" one of the droids stammered.
"Full speed to Felucia! Now!" Grievous harshly yelled at the droid.
"Yes sir! Inputting coordinates now!" the droid said, him and his partners scrambling to follow the cyborg's orders as not to invoke his wrath. Grievous was ready to end his... he refused to call it an errand. He would call it a specific job.
A/N: Gotta make up ideas as I go along. I know where I want to go with this story, but the matter of getting there is particularly difficult. Such is the case with a ton of my stories. Currently I'm trying to focus on Grievous giving chase to Anakin and Ahsoka. That's what Dooku and Sidious have Grievous focusing on instead of wiping out any Jedi or clones. Anyone who knows Grievous knows he wouldn't like being stuck to one thing. So he wants to get this done. As for why I had Ahsoka kill Trench instead of Anakin, it's because I kinda of want to emphasize the fact that because of the fact that she's bounty hunting along with Anakin, she's starting to get used to killing more and more. Sort of like the way Anakin has always been ever since the start of the Clone Wars.