Anabeth: New Beginnings

Chapter 19 - One Last Mission

After a long night of strategy meetings and negotiating with both the Confederacy and the Republic to secure the clone army as backup, Ana stood on board a Republic cruiser once again, heading to Zygerria. Due to them having been to the planet once before, Anakin and Ahsoka, and thereby the 501st, had been chosen for the mission.

Ana, who was going mainly because of her connection with Maul, was put in charge of the 212th since Obi-Wan wasn't around at the moment. After they had departed Coruscant, Ana had headed to the bridge to ensure everything was running smoothly. For some reason, she had remained longer than intended though, simply standing and staring out of the window as they flew through hyperspace.

"Everything alright, General?" Cody approached her, ripping her out of her thoughts.
"Yes," Ana assured him. "I was just thinking how this mission is probably going to mark the last time I command a fleet this. The last time I get to work with you and all of your men. My last mission as General."

"Well, General Kenobi once told me to never say never. So who knows, maybe we'll all be saving the galaxy together again one day," Cody tried to cheer her up.
"Ah yes, that does sound like Obi-Wan," Ana chuckled. "It's a shame he can't be here today."

"Well, it's still always an honor to serve under you, General," Cody assured her.
"I still kind of feels like I'm standing on another man's bridge," Ana admitted. "And like I'm leading another man's troop to battle."

"Don't overthink it, General. My men and I have spent enough time working with you to know that we can trust you with our lives like we would trust General Kenobi. And we all understand that he is needed elsewhere at the moment," Cody replied.

"Indeed, the family is keeping him busy. Have you gotten the chance to meet Grace yet?"
"Not yet," Cody shook his head.
"You absolutely should then, she's the cutest. I'll make sure Obi-an sets up a meeting with you the next time they're on Coruscant," Ana promised.
"I'll look forward to it."

"I've been wondering by the way," Ana began. "What's going to happen to all of you now that the war is over?"

"Well, the Grand Army of the Republic is going to remain in place, and Chancellor or Organa has already said any of us that would like to remain will be welcomed with open arms. We'll all be getting proper Republic citizenship, and they're offering each of a chance to stop our faster aging. We'll be just like anyone else."

"And will you be staying?" Ana asked.
"I can't really see myself doing anything else," Cody admitted.
"The Republic army will be lucky to continue have you. Just as lucky as we Jedi have been to have all of you."
"Thank you, General," Cody thanked her. "The honor was all ours. Any clone that ever got to serve under a Jedi will agree. We couldn't have asked for better Generals to lead us into battle."

"And we couldn't have asked for better troops to follow us into them," Ana returned the sentiment.
"One final one tomorrow then."
"Yes," Ana nodded with a slight smile. "One final battle together."

The new day came all too soon and before Ana knew it she and the clones were all loaded into gunships, heading down towards the surface of Zygerria. As they had hoped, they had the element of surprise and by the time the Zygerrians knew what hit them, it was already too late.

The clones had quickly surrounded the palace from all sides and the city was fully locked down. Ana met up with Ahsoka and Anakin as they prepared to infiltrate the castle.

Together with the clones, they stormed inside as planned. They were hit with resistance of course, but their troops far outnumbered the Zygerrians and they were able to break through their lines easily. A few minutes later, adn they had already reached the throne room.