The Rise of the Valkyrie *ON HIATUS*

Chapter Fifteen

Ashara was attempting to sit up. Ahsoka and Anakin where helping her while Wag Too and General Secura watched. She had barely managed to rest on her elbows when Commander Bly came in.

"General?" he said, looking to Anakin.

"Yes, Commander?" Anakin asked, moving away from Ashara once she got settled. 

"We got a Separatist ship incoming", he informed. Ashara groaned softly, and nearly fell down onto her back, not wanting to deal with this but Ahsoka kept her propped up. 

"This is neutral space", Wag Too said, looking up at Anakin. 

"It won't be neutral for long, not if the Separatists have their way", Anakin said sharply before turning to Ashara. "Come on, let's get you up."

She started to move, only to grunt as pain shot across her abdomen. She kept trying to get up, but Wag Too cautioned against it.

"Don't struggle. I'm sorry, but you're still too injured to move."

Ashara ignored him, and managed to sit up straight, wincing in pain at the throbbing pulse she felt through her abdomen.

"What menace have you brought to our village now, Jedi?" Tee Watt Kaa asked, drawing Ashara's attention away from standing up for a bit.

"Father, you can't blame them", Wag Too argued.

"He's right", Ahsoka said from where she was kneeling next to Ashara. "The Separatist's don't even know we're here."

"And they can't know", General Secura said. "We've got to hide."

"Your presence here endangers us. You must leave before your enemies find you."

"But you'll need our help", Ahsoka exclaimed as she walked away from Ashara, toward the small lurmen. "You can't fight them alone."

"We will not fight them at all", the lurmen leader said. "We would rather die than kill others."

"You're going to surrender?" Ahsoka asked sharply. "But how can you-?

Ashara bit her lip as Anakin helped her stand, cutting off Ahsoka as he did so. "Ahsoka, stop", he ordered. "If the lurmen want to remain neutral, we won't force them into war."

"See to it that they leave. I must see what our new visitors want", Tee Watt Kaa said to his son, before leaving the pod they had been allowed to stay in. Ashara, with the help of Anakin, limped forward out of the pod. Rex was waiting for them outside, and once he saw Anakin helping Ashara, he moved to the togruta's other side and helped support her. Now that she had that little more support, she was able to move a little faster. They got around toward the back of the pod and paused a little bit when they heard blaster fire. 

"Why are they tearing apart our homes?" Wag Too asked in horror, peeking around the side of the pod. "We've done nothing to them!"

"Violence. That's what those droids are programmed for", Ahsoka snarled before turning to the three Jedi Generals. "Can't we do anything?"

"No", General Secura said. "And if we are discovered, all the lurmen will be slaughtered."

"We'll be okay", Ashara said. "We just need to get to the tall grass."

With her words, they kept moving, past a few other pods. Ashara could feel herself getting weaker and weaker, and knew that she would barely make it to the tall grass. She felt herself start to hold onto her supports more and more as breathing grew more labored. Every step she took sent a jolt of pain through her body, and she had to bite back a cry more than once. She was glad when they made into the tall grass, but she knew they had to get some ways away before they could rest. And so she continued to drag her feet, until they finally reached a clearing and she was able to collapse to the ground. She remained sitting up, however, knowing that if she laid down, she likely wouldn't be able to get up again.

As she rested, she listened to the sound of critters chirping in the grasses. She couldn't see them, but she could hear them, and feel their presence through the force. She closed her eyes, and began meditating, hoping that it would help heal some of her body, enough that she could at least walk with no help.

Through her meditation, she could more easily sense everyone's feelings. General Secura was calm, but there were traces of concern wafting through. General Bly was annoyed, but it was a quiet annoyance, definitely not as loud as Rex's. Rex was highly annoyed, and also offended. Ashara thought she might have felt concern from him as well, but it flickered so much that she couldn't tell if he was actually feeling it or not. Ahsoka felt similar things to Rex, but there were also traces of worry. Anakin was much like General Secura, but his concern was stronger. It seemed to be directed in two different areas, however, but Ashara wasn't skilled enough to sense where it was directed.

With a sigh, she opened her eyes, and found that she was surrounded three cat-like critters. She blinked before smiling at them. Ashara felt she had seen them before, but she didn't know where. She quietly chuckled as one of them started chasing another one's tail. They ran in circles around her, before Rex's loud voice scared them off.

"You know, I can't figure those villagers not wanting to fight", he scoffed. "No pride, I guess."

"I call it no courage", Ahsoka added. General Secura was quick to reprimand the padawan.

"Sometimes it takes more courage to stick to one's beliefs, young padawan, as any Jedi well knows."

Ahsoka looked at the ground, a guilty look washing over her face.

"We need to find a ship", Anakin said loudly. "And I think the only one around here belongs to the Separatists. We know they have a landing ship. They might have shuttle."

"It's worth a look", Ashara agreed. 

"Sir, are you talking about stealing from one of the clankers?" Rex asked. "Count me in."

Ashara smiled at his words. "We need to find them first", General Secura pointed out.

"I think we just did!" Ahsoka shouted, standing up and pointing at something that was to the right of Ashara. She turned her head and saw a Separatist probe watching them.

"Blast it", Anakin ordered. Rex and Bly quickly complied, but the probe dodged all of their blaster fire as it hurried away.

"Jam its signal", General Secura said. While they focused on the probe, Ashara focused on getting up. She managed to get up with ease, which surprised her, but she assumed it was either adrenaline, or her attempting to heal her body actually worked. 

"After it", Ahsoka called, running between the clones. General Secura and Bly followed with no trouble. Ashara took a step forward to follow Rex and Anakin as they followed behind the three, but she let out a cry of pain and hunched over, clutching her stomach. She feel both Anakin and Rex's hesitation. She looked up and fixed them with a sharp gaze.

"Go!" she snapped. Anakin hesitated briefly before he turned and ran. Rex hesitated a bit longer, but ran after Anakin after she sent a long glare at him.

She focused her energy on moving one step in front of the other, hoping that she would be able to catch up with them eventually. She also hoped she would be able to find where they were. As she walked, her breathing got heavier and heavier. The sun beat down on her with each step she took. The tall grass swayed in the wind, or was that just her vision? She couldn't tell, and eventually she stumbled over a bump in the path. She lost her balance and fell to the ground. Waves of pain finally started shooting through her abdomen, and a few tears leaked from her eyes. She squeezed them tight, trying to distract herself from the pain, but it wouldn't go away. It wasn't long until the pain finally overwhelmed her and she screamed. Her scream was cut short as her vision went black.