Clouded by the Dark Side

Chapter 14 - Lair of Grievous

All of the events that we're included in this fic are either because things are divergent, or for the sake of including more bonding time. :D So in case anyone was worried, no event is gonna be going precisely the same just for the sake of including it. :P 

 ~ Tirana Sorki

Warning: Mentions/implied child abuse! (Not in this chapter, though. :P)

Aniya Skywalker

I'm not really sure how I feel about this. Qui-Gon, Alema, and I were sent off chasing Nute Gunray, who'd been captured not long ago by Padme. Ventress somehow got onto the ship – which was being guarded by Luminara, Ahsoka, and Alema, and managed to escape with him. With the help of a traitorous Senate guard. Seriously, why are so many people turning traitor recently? Anakin had a clone who did back on Christophsis, which was only a couple months ago even through it feels like years already.

Alema has been recovering at a remarkably fast rate after I took her as a Padawan, though she's still extremely untrusting of people. Personally, I doubt that's a trait that'll ever change. At least she's stopped insisting on always walking around with her outer robes on, which I take to be a good sign. Maybe if we had more free time, I would be able to spend more time talking to her, helping her work through her traumas.

Luckily, I'd been able to trace Gunray's escaped ship all the way out here. Now it's just a question of if we'll be able to recapture him. It's hard to say. If he's still here – provided he hasn't left the ship here and already left the planet – there will be an army of droids waiting for us.

"This place is literally out in the middle of nowhere," remarks Alema, "I find it shocking if they could even land. That planet doesn't look one bit hospitable –"

"Debatable," I reply before turning to contact the other ship. "Master Luminara," I greet as soon as the hologram appears. "We've tracked the ship's location out to the Vassek system."

"So has your former master," replies Luminara. "He's already on the surface."

Impressive. For once, he managed to beat me. Well. "Great," is all I say, though.

"I'll transmit the coordinates for the rendezvous point," Ahsoka offers, "And sorry we lost that slimy double-dealer."

I wave her off with a nod. "Nothing to apologize for. We'll catch him if he's still on the surface."

"Good hunting," she replies as the hologram disappears.

"I'm sure he already knows we're coming," Alema remarks as I land the shuttle. I figured we should go alone and only take a few clones since we really don't know what we'll be walking into. If we need assistance, they're right up above the planet. We can always call them for reinforcements. Minutes later, our group disembarks from the ship. Stepping outside, I glance around. A thick fog has settled over the area, making it difficult to see much.

Sure enough, Qui-Gon is already waiting for us. I don't think I'll ever get used to seeing him dressed in the same type of armor as all the Jedi have worn since the war started. Most Jedi wear white, but my brother and I have black. So does Qui-Gon. His clones aren't here with him, though, just as I expected.

"Hey, Master," I call, walking over to him, "It's been a while." I haven't seen him since the Malevolence, which was a few weeks ago. He hasn't gone anywhere since then, either. I haven't really had much time to spend with him, but I know he's still trying to deal with everything. Between being forced to fight in a war, having lost so many of his men, and just recently – three months ago – learning that his former master is a Sith Lord, it's hard for him to handle. Sometimes I almost wish I hadn't been Knighted quite so soon, so I could stay and look after him. Unfortunately, that wasn't really an option.