Star Wars: The Great War

by ShootingStar25

Chapter 14: Shadow of Malevolence

Easy is the path to wisdom for those not blinded by ego.

Recap: A deadly weapon unleashed. The Separatist battleship Malevolence advances unopposed through Republic space, tearing apart any ship that stands in its path. After a daring rescue and narrow escape, Anakin Skywalker and Storm prepare a counterattack on the enemy ship and its diabolical droid commander, General Grievous.

In space, there were tons of Republic cruisers as they were all nearby. A few smaller ships were now flying about as they were making their way to a nearby hangar door. Inside the hangar bay, there was a meeting that was going on. Both Storm and Anakin were with Admiral Yularen as they were talking to a squad of clones. R2 provided the images for the meeting.

"This strike force has been commissioned by the Senate to hunt down the enemy's new battleship." said the Admiral. "As the bulk of our fleets are engaged on the front lines, we'll be on our own."

"General Skywalker has prepared our attack strategy." said the Admiral as nearby Ahsoka, Twilight, and Master Plo were listening to the meeting.

"Thank you, admiral. While our capital ships are vulnerable to the enemy's attack, I believe a squad of bombers can out-maneuver their ion weapon," said Anakin as he pointed at the hologram of the ship being presented by R2.

"Our target will be the bridge and General Grievous," stated Storm as that piece of info got some murmurs among the clones.

"Ha, the head clanker. Skywalker and Storm are getting pretty ambitious." said one of the clones.

"Our bombers will attack at high speed to evade the enemy's ion weapon. We'll concentrate our firepower on the bridge superstructure, here," said Anakin as he pointed at the target. "We destroy General Grievous, and the ship will fall with him."

"Any questions?" asked Storm.

"Just tell us where that metal-head is, sir." said a clone.

"Yeah, we've been waiting for a chance to take him out," said another clone as soon the others began to join in on the rally.

"All right, men. Settle down," instructed Storm.

"This is an important mission. We destroy Grievous, we can bring the war to a quicker end," stated Skywalker. "Pilots, prepare your bombers."

The plan was given as the whole squad now stood up as they were going towards their ships.

"Boys, this is an aggressive plan," said Master Plo. "Are you sure your squadron can complete this mission?"

"Let's ask them," smiled Storm smugly.

"Matchstick, you think our boys can pull it off?" asked Anakin to the clone who spoke earlier.

"Yes, sir. There hasn't been a mission Shadow Squadron couldn't complete," said Matchstick with determination.

"That's right. Minimal casualties, maximum effectiveness. That's us." said the clone next to Matchstick.

"I admire your confidence, pilot. Even so, minimal casualties may be enough to prevent you from breaking Grievous' defense," said Master Plo as he turned back to address the boys.

"Master Plo is right," said Ahsoka. "With Grievous on that ship's bridge, it's bound to be well-protected."

"Don't worry, Ahsoka. We'll destroy that bridge and Grievous along with it," assured Anakin to his student.

With that, both boys now began to head to their ships as they had to make some last-minute preparations before the mission started.

"Master Skywalker and Storm seem to inspire great confidence in their men," said Master Plo.

"They do lead by example," chuckled Ahsoka.

"Which oftentimes also gets us into trouble," stated Twilight.

---

In space, the ship Malevolence was blasting at some remaining Republic cruisers. They were firing a spread of lasers as they destroyed the ship as explosions were going off. In the distance, was a small ship as it was looking to escape.

"So much for the Jedi escort," snickered General Grievous as he let out a sick cough.

"The last transport is fleeing, general." said one of the droids. "You've got them on the run."

"They won't get far," snarled the general. "Charge the plasma rotors."

The ship was now charging its ion cannon as they looked to take out the transport ship.

"They're moving to attack position, sir," said one of the crewmen to his commander.

"Still setting the coordinates," stated the other crewmen.

"Are we clear to make the jump to hyperspace?" asked the commander.

"Fire ion weapon," stated General Grievous.

The ship then fired the cannon as the ring was now making its way to the transport ship as it passed over it with electricity running over the entire vessel.

"We've lost all power." said the crewmen.

The Malevolence then began to fire its guns at the defenseless transport ship as more explosions were going off.

"Boy, this is a lot of fun when they're not shooting back." said one of the B1 droids.

"I still can't seem to hit anything," said his comrade. Grievous was annoyed that he slammed his fist into the droid's head as it fell off.

"Grievous, those battle droids are expensive," said Dooku through the transmitter as his hologram image was shown. "The Jedi are never that harsh with their clones."

"The care these Jedis show for their troops is a weakness," snarled Grievous.

"A weakness we shall continue to exploit." stated the Sith Lord. "I have the coordinates for a new target... the Republic's secret Outer Rim Medical Station. It is unprotected and treating over 60,000 wounded clones. We will do them a favor and put them out of their misery. Once you have destroyed it, there will be nowhere for the Jedi to send their wounded, and they will die."

"It will be a pleasure, my lord," said Grievous.

"I feel very confident leaving the ship under your command, general," said Dooku as the transmission ended.

"General." called out a droid.

The transport ship now ejected several escape pods.

"Target those escape pods. I have a reputation to uphold." said the general.

Back with our heroes, they along with the strike squad were making final preparations. Everybody was at their ships as they were getting ready for the mission.

"Which one's mine?" asked Ahsoka as she was looking around the different ships with R2 and Anakin.

"You're with me. You'll be my gunner," stated Skywalker. Ahsoka gave her teacher a face, "Someone's gotta watch my back."

"Broadside could do that." answered the girl. "Besides, you have R2," said Ahsoka as R2 gave a beep.

"But I so enjoy your company, my Padawan," mocked Skywalker.

"Just admit it. You don't like my flying," stated the girl.

"No, I... No, it's not that. It's just that I..."

"Skywalker," said Master Plo as he got the attention of the boy before he could finish his explanation.

"The enemy warship has attacked our convoy of medical transports near Ryndellia," stated the Admiral.

"Medical transports?" stated Ahsoka. "Only General Grievous would go after clones who can't fight back."

"The Ryndellia system, near Naboo," responded Anakin. "Isn't that where our medical base is? I'll bet that will be his next target."

"There are many star clusters in that area. With a ship that big, he will be unable to chart a course that's less than ten parsecs," stated Master Plo.

"Looks like we're gonna have to take a shortcut. Admiral, warn that station what's coming," said Anakin.

"This journey may be treacherous. If you lose any ships before you reach the target..."

"We won't lose anybody," responded Anakin to Master Plo.

"I will come along and fly fighter escort," stated Master Plo.

"Any help is welcome, Master Plo," said Anakin as he was starting to hop into his ship. "Just try not to fall behind."

"I had a feeling you'd be coming along," said Ahsoka as she was starting to climb the ladder. "Your ship has already been prepped."

Twilight had received the info from Ahsoka as she was now walking to where Storm was. He was under his ship as he was doing some last-minute preparations.

"I just received word from Anakin and Ahsoka," said Twilight.

"Great, give me a hand, Sparky." asked Storm as he had a wrench in hand as he was looking at a small panel.

"What are you doing?" asked the girl.

"Just trying to tweak some things for the ship. Though I can't figure out how to do it." said the boy as he was scratching his head.

"Let me see," said Twilight as she now went under Storm's arm and was inside of his embrace as she looked at the engine. "Well, if front-loaded the D-T-R and adjusted the way your C-P crunches logarithms, your ship's boosting power would recharge faster."

"Mind showing me how?" asked Storm as Twilight then began to work her tech wiz knowhow.

"See how the boost is running through the core processor? I tweaked the code line so the time would start earlier. So the energy generates from the get-go." said Twilight as she was showing what she did.

"But won't that overload the intake manifold?" asked the boy.

"Not if I do this. And if you want, I can reroute your alternator's output through a solenoid and then bind the whole connection with an expansion strut, which oughta increase your overdrive a little."

"Then that means we substitute this part and not have to worry about overloading the guns," stated Storm as he saw what Twilight was doing and also making adjustments as Twilight leaned in closer and looked over the boy's shoulder.

The pair was now in sync as they were tossing ideas back and forth between each other.

"Right, but if you lower the GPM... you lose core momentum. That's not the best trade-off," said Storm.

"Good point. I guess we could boost the momentum differently by directing the ener-D...

"... channel the energy into the accelerator, we can increase the momentum..."

"... that oughta help keep things cool..."

After a while, both teens finish the tweaks as Storm wiped his forehead and closed the panel. He then pushed a button on his wrist with Twilight leaning in closer to the boy as the sound of the engine was purring like a kitten.

"We're all set," stated Twilight as she had the wrench in her hand and wiped her forehead as her hair had gotten a bit messy from working with Storm on the ship.

"Look at that, Sparky. You're not only a nerd, but a techwiz."

"Don't call me that!!" shouted Twilight.

"Hey, I'm complimenting you. With your smarts, you make any guy fall in love with you. Nobody can resist nerdy girls." stated Storm as he was putting the tools away.

"You had to word it like that?!" stated Twilight with a disapproving expression. "I just hope your way of complimenting a girl isn't like how you're gonna fly."

"Don't worry about it. I may not have Anakin's exceptional pilot skills, but I'm decent enough. Besides, all you got to do is man the guns. I'll make sure that I get you to safety like the princess that you are," joked Storm as he finished putting the tools away.

"Right... p-princess..." said Twilight as she put her head down with her hair covering her eyes. All around the girl, the noises were starting to drown out as she was focusing on what Storm just said.

"Sparky?! Sparky, you okay?" asked Storm as he got the girl to snap out of her mind.

"Y-yeah, I... I... just... need to do something really quick before we leave," said Twilight as she turned around keeping her head down as she didn't want Storm to see her face.

"Was it something I said? Oh, well," said the teen boy as he started to climb the ladder to enter his ship as he waited for his partner to return.

Twilight was now walking as she found some crates as she now sat down on them. She began to rub her shoulders as she still kept her head down. The girl was now thinking about what happened between her and Storm as it seemed the two were having a normal conversation. At that moment, they were acting like normal people, talking and bonding, even enjoying each other. Then Storm mentioned something as it got her to a huge weight on her shoulders.

"Princess, huh..." was all Twilight said.

---

The Admiral had managed to contact the medical station that Grievous was heading towards. He told the ones in charge of the impending doom.

"Even if we had the transports, it is not possible to evacuate all of our wounded in time," said the Kamino in charge of the station.

"You must try. You won't stand a chance against that battleship," said the Admiral.

"Nala Se, I only just received word. I've contacted the Naboo," said Obi-wan as he made his presence known. "They are sending ships to help you, and I am on my way as well."

"Thank you, Master Jedi," said Nala Se to Kenobi.

"If they reach us in time, do you really think they're going to stop that thing?" asked one of the clones nearby.

"It is our only hope," said Nala Se as she and the clone looked at the medical center where the injured clones were being treated.

Our heroes were now getting ready to leave. The Admiral was now at the bridge with the entire fleet.

"Launch the fighters," stated the Admiral.

With the signal given, the hangar doors opened. Now the strike squad was starting to file out one by one as the ships now exited the Republic cruiser and entered into space. Anakin and Ahsoka were at the front of the ships as they all got into formation.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Anakin and Storm," said Obi-wan through the radio to his friends.

"Well, if we don't, we won't be around to hear the 'I told you so'," said Anakin.

"That's reassuring," said Kenobi. "Well, take your shortcut and I'll take the long way. But you better be there before I arrive."

"We'll be there, Obi-wan," stated Storm.

"Storm, be careful," said Luna as she was talking from her Republic cruiser.

"I will, Luna."

"And one more thing, take good care of Twilight." chimed in Celestia from the ship she was on.

"Celestia, I can take care of myself," said Twilight over the radio.

"I know, Twilight. Storm?"

"You have my word, I'll keep her safe. I just can't promise that we'll make it back." replied the boy as he prepped the ship.

"Shadow Squadron, tighten formation. Call in," said Anakin.

"Shadow 2 standing by."

"Shadow 3 standing by."

"Shadow 4 standing by."

R2 let out a beep as he looked at Ahsoka.

"I know, R2-ie. This is gonna be a tough one," said the girl.

"Cut the chatter, Ahsoka," said Skywalker.

"Shadow 11 standing by."

"Shadow 12 standing by."

"Shadow 13 standing by," said Storm as he and Twilight were the last ones.

"Fighter escort ready," said Master Plo as he was at the tail end of the formation as they were all gathered in an oval.

"This is Admiral Yularen. You're cleared for hyperspace jump. Good hunting, sir."

"Thanks, admiral. All right, boys. Let's go," said Anakin as he gave the signal.

"Broadside, if we make it through this one, drinks are on me," said Matchstick.

"I can already taste it," said Broadside as he gave a thumbs up from his ship.

With that, all the ships entered hyperspace. One by one, they all disappeared.

---

In space, the Separatist ship was now traveling towards their destination.

"What's taking so long?" asked Grievous. "I want to get there before too many wounded clones escape."

"Sorry, sir. The navi-computer has had to calculate a complex course around a large nebula near the medical station." said one of the droids.

"They told me this ship was fast," groaned Grievous.

All the while, our heroes had now exited out of hyperspace. They all got into formation as they were now in front of the same nebula that Grievous' ship was avoiding.

"Okay, if we can just manage to navigate through my shortcut, we'll be all right," said Anakin.

"This is your shortcut?!" shouted Twilight through the radio.

"A nebula can be very unpredictable. I advise caution," informed Master Plo.

"Don't worry about us, Master Jedi. We can hold our own. Right, Shadow Squadron?" asked Matchstick to the rest of the squad.

"Copy that, Shadow 2," answered Broadside.

"Then we all agree," said Storm with a smile.

"Does anyone care what the Padawan thinks?" asked Ahsoka as she felt left out.

"Or the one with the sensible brain?" added Twilight as she wanted to voice her opinion.

"Of course, we care, girls, but we're still going through that nebula." smiled Anakin as he told the two.

"Storm?!" asked Twilight hoping her partner would back her up.

"Hmm, who I do choose? My partner who I've only known for a while and is annoying because she's a nerd. Or one of my close friends who I trust?" joked Storm. "What do you guys think?" said the boy directing towards the fourth wall.

"Our masters said to be careful!" stated Twilight as the boy just ignored her plead as she threw her arms up in defeat. "And I said don't call me a nerd!"

The only one who gave agreed with the girls was R2 as he gave a beep.

"Thanks, R2-ie," said Ahsoka.

The ships were now entering the nebula. As they were traveling through the space cluster, transport ships were docking at the medical station. The ships were doing their best to board the wounded and get them out.

"The evacuation is proceeding slowly, madam." said one of the men.

"We will have to move the patients in stable condition first," said Nala Se. "The more critically injured will have to wait."

"What about the bacta tanks? Many of those men can't be moved at all."

"I know, commander. Guide the patients that can be moved onto transports as quickly as you can," instructed Nala Se.

"At once, madam."

Our heroes were now still passing through the nebula.

"This soup is thick. Can you see anything?" asked Matchstick.

"Just keep your eyes on my thruster, Shadow 2," said Anakin.

"They'll have to. The scanners are useless," stated Ahsoka as she was trying to get a clear view by hitting it but nothing.

"Why did we choose to go this route?!" asked Twilight.

"Relax, Sparky. We know what we're doing." stated Storm to his partner.

"Storm's right, girls. This is old-fashioned flying. You have to feel your way through to stay on course," said Anakin.

"Skywalker and Storm are correct, girls," said Master Plo. "Clear your mind, young ones, and you will see the path."

"Right now. I can't see anything at all," responded Ahsoka.

"I always know where I'm going."

"Yeah, where's that, Broadside?" asked Matchstick.

"I'm gonna blow up that battleship."

"Broadside, save some for the rest of us." joked Storm.

"A clear path if ever there was one," chimed in Master Plo.

---

The Separatists were still traveling through hyperspace.

"Sir, the navi-computer indicates we only have one parsec to go." said one of the droids.

"Good, we will maximize our casualties with this attack," stated General Grievous.

"General, there's an incoming transmission coming from Count Dooku."

"General Grievous, I have received intelligence from Lord Sidious. The Republic has launched a small strike force to attack the Malevolence."

"Let the Republic come. Our ship is unstoppable," said the cyborg.

"Skywalker is leading the mission as well as his pal," informed Dooku. "Do not underestimate them."

"I assure you, count, if anything, it's Skywalker and his friends who will underestimate this ship and its power," groaned Grievous as he responded to his comrade.

Back in the nebula, the strike force was still traveling through the thing.

"So, Skyguy, how did you and Storm know about this shortcut?" asked Ahsoka.

"It's an old smuggler's route. The pilots used to talk about it on Tatooine," answered Anakin.

"And we may or may not have used it once or twice before. Our masters not knowing." chimed in Storm.

"Smuggler's route?" stated Ahsoka. "Huh! That makes me feel so much better."

"So we're doing something illegal?!" said Twilight.

"It's not like you haven't done anything dirty, Sparky. Like lie or cheat,"

"I am a good student, and I never lie to my master. She'd give me a bad grade if she found I did something behind her back," said Twilight in a worried tone on how she was going to explain the details of this mission to her master.

"Don't worry, if you're as good as kissing her ass as you are hitting the books. You'll find a justification," smiled the boy.

"Did I mention how much I hate you?" stated the girl.

"Yeah, but you're stuck me. It's like being in a relationship,"

"Well, this is a relationship that I don't want to be a part of," said Twilight as she looked at the boy as Storm just smiled. "By the way, what's the name of this route?"

"They call it the Balmorra Run," answered Anakin to Twilight's question.

"Balmorra Run?!" said Master Plo.

"I think I'm picking up a contact," said Ahsoka as she looked at the scanners.

"Skywalker, listen to me. We need to turn around," stated Master Plo.

"We can't. Not if we're gonna catch Grievous," said Anakin.

"Another contact. This one is much larger," said Ahsoka.

"Skywalker, Balmorra's the nesting ground of the giant neebray mantras." said the Jedi Master.

"Another. Another!" shouted Ahsoka as she saw the scanner go crazy. She then looked up at the window as through the smoke, the creature's head popped out.

"Take evasive action!" shouted Anakin to the squad.

At that command, all the ships now broke formation as they were now trying to dodge the massive herd of giant neebray mantras that were floating about.

"Holy shit." said Storm as he looked at the huge creatures flying about.

"Normally, I would be thrilled to study them for research purposes. But right now, our survival is more important!" stated Twilight as she saw the creatures from her window. She made some quick notes and observations in her notebook.

"Those gas-gulpers are huge," said Ahsoka as she saw them as well as their ship flew under one of them.

"Don't shoot or they'll panic," instructed Master Plo.

"You heard that!"

"Why are you singling me out, Sparky?" asked Storm as he felt attacked that Twilight was drawing attention to him. "I promised your master that I would take care of you. So don't worry, princess. I'll have you back in one piece."

"Don't say tha--" Twilight then felt the ship dive as she didn't finish her sentence due to Storm taking some actions to avoid being hit.

"They'll panic? I'm about to panic," said Ahsoka.

"There are so many of them," stated Matchstick as he saw the creatures around him.

He was too busy looking around that he didn't pay attention to what was in front of him. His ship was now flying towards one of the creatures as he got a hold of the stirring wheel as he pulled up as the ship grazed against one of the creature's fins as a part of his ship was damaged. Some smoke came from the ship's stabilizer.

"I'm hit. My stabilizer's out," grunted Matchstick as he tried to get his ship under control and regain its course.

"Pull it together, Matchstick," stated Anakin.

"I'm okay. I think I got it," said the pilot as he got control of his ship as smoke was still coming from the part where it hit.

"These things are gonna make a meal out of us," said Ahsoka in a worried tone as even R2 gave a frightened beep sound.

"All wings, line up behind me," ordered Skywalker.

"Roger that, boss," said Matchstick.

All the ships now got into a straight line as Anakin was at the head of the trail. They began to follow his movements as the Jedi Knight was using his pilot skills to navigate their way through the nebula and avoid the creatures. They evaded left and right, and in all directions as they were hoping to get out of here. One of the creatures took out an astromech droid attached to a ship as the head of it went flying.

"Hurry. They will not follow us beyond the nebula," stated Master Plo.

"That one looks hungry," said Ahsoka as she saw one roar at them.

"Nah, it's just smiling at you."

"Damn it, Anakin. I wanted to make that joke," said Storm as Anakin held a smug smile.

Skywalker kept on leading the entire group as they were now dodging the creature with ease. They reached the tail end of the entire massive herd as the exit of the nebula was also insight.

"We're coming out of it," said Twilight as she was relieved that they all made it out safely.

"I told you, Sparky. I got you," said Storm as Twilight couldn't help but roll her eyes and smile at her partner.

"Let's hope your shortcut paid off," stated Ahsoka to her teacher.

"We're not far behind Grievous now," said Anakin.

---

Obi-wan was now traveling through hyperspace as he was hoping to get to the medical station to help aid the evacuation and get the injured clones to safety.

"The medical station reports 50 percent of patients evacuated," said Admiral Yularen.

"That's not good enough," said Obi-wan. "They'll never be finished before the enemy arrives."

"General Skywalker and Storm still have a chance to catch Grievous." said the Admiral.

"If they do, we have to be ready," said Kenobi.

"Yes, sir."

The strike squad had now zoomed by normal space as they were hoping they weren't too late in saving their comrades. Master Plo looked out of his ship and saw Matchstick's ship as it was still having smoke from where his ship got hit.

"Shadow 2, what is the damage to your ship?" asked the Jedi Master.

"Just a scratch, sir," responded Matchstick.

"We must not take any more necessary risks. If we even lose a single ship, our mission is that much closer to failure."

"Understood, Master Plo," said Anakin. "But we didn't lose any ships, and I didn't--"

"Sir, another contact!" said Matchstick.

"I thought those things wouldn't follow us," said Ahsoka.

"Not following. Coming out of hyperspace," said Matchstick. "It's a ship. It's the Malevolence."

"He's here," said Storm as he and Anakin got a serious look on their faces.

At that moment, the Malevolence now came out of hyperspace as it had the medical station in its sights. Our heroes were behind the ship as they saw it appear.

"A squadron of Republic fighters is approaching," said a droid.

"Skywalker," said Grievous. "Launch fighters and bring the ship around."

"Several medical transports are surrounding the station," informed a droid.

A few transports detached from the medical station as they were now beginning to leave.

"Target the transports first. I want every single ship destroyed," commanded General Grievous.

"Roger, roger."

The droids at the control panel now began to power up the ion cannon. It was fully charged as it shot the ring of electricity as it was heading towards the transport ships. It was but a few seconds as the ring now passed over the ships as they began to shut down. The Malevolence then began to fire its guns at the smaller ships as Grievous watched this from the ship's window.

"Ha! This is too easy," chuckled the cyborg.

"We've got fighters coming in," said Ahsoka as some vulture droids were now looking to intercept our heroes to keep them from helping the transport ships.

Both sides were now engaging as blue and red lasers were being traded. Our heroes evaded enemy fire, even Twilight was taking part in the attack as she began to fire at the droids while Storm did his job of trying to not let their ship get hit.

"Steady, come on. Hold it steady," said Anakin to the entire squad through the com.

"Charge the ion cannon and prepare to fire," said General Grievous.

"But sir, our fighters will be caught in the blast," stated one of the droids at the control panels.

"Fire at my command!" shouted Grievous as he didn't care that his own forces would get hit.

"Get those fighters off of us," said Anakin to Ahsoka as he was having some difficulty trying to avoid enemy fire.

"Your fancy flying is making it difficult," responded the girl as she tried to hit the enemy ships.

"Hey, Twilight's doing better than you Ahsoka," chimed in Storm as that got her to be angry, but for Twilight she had a small smile on the compliment given to her by her partner.

"Fire!" shouted Grievous.

The ion cannon was charged up as it was now fired. It shot out the circle of electricity as it was now heading towards the massive fight.

"Incoming!" shouted Ahsoka as she saw the ring coming at them.

"Make towards the edge of the ray now!" commanded Skywalker to everybody. All the ships heard his orders as they all now began to ascend upwards hoping to avoid it.

"Hang on, Sparky!" stated Storm as he now pushed the throttle.

"Give it everything you got!!" shouted Skywalker. Everybody was now pushing full throttle as they didn't want to get hit.

"Shadow 2, your speed is dropping. What's wrong?" asked Ahsoka.

"Nothing, sir. Just trying to keep it together," said Matchstick as tried to get his ship to go faster.

"You can make it Matchstick. Hang on," stated Anakin.

However, the damage to the ship from earlier was now taking effect. Trying to speed up and ascending upwards now took its toll. The back of the ship now made sparks and an explosion occurred on the stabilizer of the ship. Ahsoka noticed this as did everybody else as the ship was now out of control and fell towards the others. Anakin gave a warning to the ships as they moved out of the way as the ship now collided with another ship as a bigger explosion went off.

At that moment, some of the ships that were able to keep up with Anakin now made it over the edge of the ray as they avoided getting hit. The ray did manage to hit its own forces and a few more squadron ships.

"Shadow Squadron, check-in," said Anakin as he wanted to see what the damage was.

"We lost Matchstick and Tag. Shadow 6, 7, and 10 were caught in the ray," said Ahsoka as she relayed the info. All around, our heroes had a sad look on their faces at their allies, especially Anakin.

"What happens now?" asked Twilight as nobody answered.

"It looks as though Skywalker and Storm have failed. They've lost almost half of their ships," said one of the clones as they saw the hologram image of the battle happening and the Malevolence closing in on the medical station.

"We should go, madam."

"I will stay," said Nala Se as she didn't want to abandon the others who still had yet to be evacuated.

---

The guns on the Malevolence were firing at our heroes.

"Stay on course," said Master Plo.

"This flak is heavy," said one of the pilots.

"All deflectors double front," instructed Anakin.

"Master, we need a new plan," said Ahsoka to her teacher.

"There's no other option!" stated Storm.

"We can make it, Ahsoka. Hang in there," said Anakin.

The ships were now closing in on where General Grievous was located at the head of the bridge.

"Sir, the enemy fighters are closing," said one of the droids as he looked out of the window.

"Let them come. Prepare the ion cannon," ordered the cyborg. "First, we will destroy the medical station. Then we will finish off Skywalker."

"I have a bad feeling about this," said the droid.

"Watch those towers, boys," said Skywalker as he was dodging the blasts.

"We're too close. Loosen up," said one of the pilots. The ships were now flying close to the guns as one of them managed to hit the fighter. It took out the right stabilizer part of the fighter as it caught on fire and then started to descend in blazes. The ship then crashed onto the guns as it exploded as our heroes lost another member of their strike squad.

"Storm?!" said Twilight.

"We're gonna make it. I promised your master that I'd keep you safe," said the boy as he had a determined look on his face as he followed Anakin's ship through all the lasers.

"Ion cannon ready," said one of the B1 droids at the control panels.

"They're targeting the station. We're running out of time," said one of the clones to Nala Se.

"Master, you and Storm can make it. But everyone else is getting shot down," said Ahsoka as she tried to talk some sense to her teacher. "Master!"

"Boys, listen to reason! We've lost so many of our allies, and we're gonna lose more if we continue! And we'll have failed to save the medical station!" stated Twilight as it got both Storm and Anakin to let what the girls were saying resonate.

"Station has been targeted," said the droid to Grievous.

"Start the ion cannon acceleration."

"If we can do enough damage, the weapon may overload when Grievous tries to fire," suggested Master Plo to the boys as all three of their ships were next to each other dodging the blasts from the enemy guns.

"What's the call, Anakin?" asked Storm to his pal.

Skywalker was thinking about what to do. He then looked up at his view as he saw the bridge where Grievous was.

"Shadow Squadron, new target. We're taking out the Starboard ion cannon," said the Jedi Knight as both girls smiled at the boy for listening.

Anakin then began to fly around the bridge as all the remaining ships now followed behind him in a line as they circled.

"Ion cannon 75 percent charged."

"Hurry!" shouted Grievous to the droids.

The squad saw the ion cannon about to fire as they now disappeared behind it.

"Torpedos away!" shouted Anakin.

He and the rest of the ship now pushed their buttons as from the front of their ships missiles were shot as they made contact with the cannon. The contact made from the missiles collidine with the cannon caused the entire ship to rock back and forth as Grievous and the droids felt it. Explosions occurred as the fighters now emerged from under the cannon as they now flew away.

"Fire!" shouted the cyborg as the ion was now fully charged.

With the cannon charged, and the damage done by the fighters, the weapon began to malfunction. It now backfired as it resulted in a huge explosion occurring not just at the weapon but also on the other side of the huge ship. It caused the cyborg and the droids to rock back and forth again as the entire ship was damaged. From the medical station, Nala Se and the clones saw the ship as it took heavy damage. Our heroes were now flying towards the medical station as Anakin had a smile on his face.

"Good work, Shadow Squadron," stated Master Plo.

"Nice job, Ahsoka," said Skywalker.

"Great shooting, Sparky," stated Storm as Twilight also smiled at her partner.

"Damage report," requested Grievous.

"We lost both primary weapons." reported a droid.

"Huh?"

"The hyperdrive has been disabled."

"Impossible!"

"General, we're picking up three Republic warships entering the system." said another droid.

At that moment, Obi-wan and his fleet now appeared as they saw the damage the Separatist ship suffered.

"Anakin, Storm, do you copy?" asked the Jedi Master to his buddies.

"We're here," said Skywalker.

"You've missed the fireworks, Kenobi," joked Storm.

"Congratulations. It looks like your mission was a success," stated Obi-wan with a smile.

"Partially, but Grievous is still alive," responded Anakin. "The battle was pretty rough on our men."

"We're heading for the medical station," chimed in Storm.

"We'll take it from here. But don't worry, we'll call when we need you." stated the Jedi Master.

"We'll be waiting, Obi-wan," said Storm as he and Anakin now flew by Kenobi's cruiser as he saw them pass by his window.

"Alright, let's finish what Anakin and Storm started. Ahead full," said Kenobi.

"Full retreat," ordered General Grievous as he was furious at what happened. "Make for Separatist space."

The Separatist was now trying to escape as the Republic forces were now firing at the ship. Smaller explosions were now occurring on the back of the ship as it was trying to get away. Meanwhile, the group of fighters was now docking at the medical station.

"Great job, Master Skywalker, and Storm," said Master Plo as he saw the two boys exit their ships with their partners. "Your leadership skills were most impressive."

"You didn't do bad yourself," said Anakin to the Jedi Master.

"Uh, excuse me? I believe it was my suggestion to change the plan," stated Ahsoka.

"That's kind of true, Snips."

"From a certain point of view," said Master Plo playing along with Anakin's smugness as the two Jedi walked away.

"Well, any kinds words you want to say to me?" asked Twilight.

"Nope," smiled Storm as he too left.

"Seriously?!" shouted Twilight as she and Ahsoka shook their heads at the boys' demeanors before catching up to them.

The four were now heading to the center of the medical center.

"Make sure our ships are ready. We'll only have a short time before Obi-wan calls us for support," said Anakin to a clone.

"Yes, sir."

"General Skywalker, General Storm, I wanted to thank you both for your valiant effort today," said Nala Se. "Do not take the lives you saved lightly."

"We don't, but we also can't take the lives we lost lightly," said Anakin as it got him and Storm to have a down expression.

"I see," stated Nala Se.

"If you will excuse us, we must prepare for the coming battle," said Storm as he and Anakin left as Twilight decided to follow the boys leaving Ahsoka behind.

"Your master is a very curious Jedi. As well as his friend," said the Kamino to the girl.

"He is one of a kind," smiled Ahsoka as she went after her friends.

She managed to catch up with Anakin as he was standing next to R2 with his hands behind his back. He was looking out at the space as he was preparing himself for what was to come. Ahsoka soon joined her teacher as she too did the same.

---

As for Storm and Twilight, they were working on their ship.

"Well, I kept my word, Sparky. I promised Master Celestia that I would keep you safe and protect you like a princess," stated the boy.

"Princess, huh..." Twilight now put her head down at what her partner said. All around her, every sound was now starting to down out.

"Sparky. Sparky, what the hell?!" shouted Storm as he got Twilight's attention. "What's going on?"

"Could you... not say that?" asked Twilight.

"What?"

"What you just said?"

"Sparky?"

"No, after that."

"Princess?" said Storm raising an eyebrow.

"Yes! That word... just... don't ever say or mention it again. Please, it... makes me... uncomfortable." said Twilight as she put her head down with her hair covering her eyes.

"Why?"

"Just... promise me!!" shouted Twilight.

"O-kay," stated Storm.

"Thank you... I... I need to leave." said Twilight as she began to walk away.

"What the hell is her problem?" wondered Storm to himself as he saw Twilight leave after he called her a 'princess'.

As Storm began to do maintenance on his ship, Twilight needed some time to herself. She exited out of the hangar door and made it to one of the rooms on the cruiser ship. She entered it as the doors closed behind her, the only sound that could be heard if anybody passed by was the sound of tears being let out.

Comments

[Darth Wrex]

I would assign CH-33P to Storm

[Darth_krayt]

I'm surprised while Twilight was under his arm she didn't feel any of his muscle

[Postwarmonkey50]

Huh, twilight doesn't like to be called a princess.
What happened to her?

[ShootingStar25]

11093805
Can't say. Just know it has to do with her backstory when we get to talk about where she's from.

[Postwarmonkey50]

11093809
Fair enough. Oh, by the way, happy holidays.

[ShootingStar25]

11093826
Happy holidays to you as well. The next chapter will be the last one I post until the new year.

[Postwarmonkey50]

11093828
Looking forward to it, and have a great holiday.

[Darth Wrex]

11093828
Hey SS, I have a joke you should do on New Years.

[ShootingStar25]

11093841
What?

[Darth Wrex]

11093843
Say 'Happy Yekaterina Bridge' instead of New Year

[Darth Wrex]

11094596
Yeah.