Clone Wars Chronicles: Volume 2

Chapter 8: Cracks in the Ice

Anakin felt his heart drop as he caught sight of the wreckage of Ahsoka's ship. Before his speeder had fully stopped, he'd leaped off of it and ran for the ship, praying he wouldn't find something he didn't want to find.

Since the snow had been falling so rapidly and in large amounts, the ship was almost completely buried. He shoveled snow aside, desperately digging. Come on, please.

Anakin released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding when he found nothing.

They were alive.

Slowly standing, Anakin made his way back to the speeder but froze when the ground began to shake.

With a grunt of frustration, Anakin hopped back on his speeder. He had to find Ahsoka and the others before any sort of crack or sinkhole formed.

Why was he even surprised that something else was going wrong?

Everything went slowly for Ahsoka. For one endless second, she was floating.

And then she fell. Before she had the chance to make a sound, something abruptly stopped her from falling.

"I've got you!" a familiar voice yelled.

"Master?" Ahsoka asked in shock as Anakin pulled her up. "How did you find me?"

"As soon as I saw the sinkhole, I knew you had something to do with it."

"What? I didn't cause the sinkhole! That was your fault-"

"We'll deal with it later," Anakin interrupted. "Where are the others?"

"The shinies left to try to find our camp. Rex and I stayed in a cave nearby," she explained, heart still pounding from her near fall.

"And where is Rex now?"

"He's hurt. Bad. He's unconscious right now, but I don't know how much longer he'll make it without medical help." Her worries were returning and she knew he could tell.

"Keep a clear mind, Snips," Anakin told her, briefly setting a hand on her shoulder. "We'll take my speeder to the cave. If you show me the way, we should be able to get Rex and find our way back to the camp."

"Got it, Master."

"Cody, stay here. Keep an eye on the men."

"Yes, sir. If you don't mind me asking, where are you going?"

"To find two reckless padawans," Obi-Wan said with a sigh.

"Do you want anyone to go with you?"

"No, Cody. More pirates could attack and I need everyone here to defend the base."

"Good luck, sir."

"I won't be long." Obi-Wan gave a single wave, trudging off into the snow.

He still wondered how he'd managed to get two reckless and emotional padawans. Perhaps the Force was trying to teach him something.

"He's in here," Ahsoka said, entering the cave.

Anakin visibly grimaced at the sight of Rex unconscious. His eyes went to her and his frown deepened. "Ahsoka, why didn't you tell me you were injured?"

"It's nothing, just a broken arm. Cull already set and wrapped it."

"And your head?"

"My head?" she felt her lekku, flinching as her fingers brushed the bruise. "Is it that noticeable?"

"Turn around fully." She did so. "There's a dark bruise covering your back lekku, I can see it around the bandage. How's your hearing?"

"It's affected a bit, but I'll manage. It mostly hurts."

Anakin nodded. "We'll be able to get you medical attention back at the camp. For now, let's get Rex on the speeder."

"Are you sure it's okay to move him? Drifter said he almost certainly has internal bleeding."

"We don't have a choice, Snips. If we don't move him, he'll die," Anakin told her. "Don't worry, I'll be careful."

With a furrowed brow, Anakin extended his hands, using the Force to lift Rex from the ground. Ahsoka was suddenly reminded of the time when she and Anakin had thrown Rex off of a wall on Geonosis. The memory brought a smile to her face. He had not been happy after that.

"Help me, Ahsoka." Anakin's voice brought her out of her thoughts.

Ahsoka mirrored him, feeling fatigue wash over her as she assisted her master in lifting Rex. She was looking forward to taking a long nap after all of this.

At the entrance of the cave, she nearly slipped on the ice but quickly regained her footing.

"Ahsoka, wait." Anakin's gaze was focused on the distance and he frowned. "I hear something."

Great. 

"We should go faster," Ahsoka suggested. "It's probably pirates again."

"Again?" Anakin raised an eyebrow. "You encountered the pirates already?"

She nodded as the two moved away from the cave, carefully maneuvering Rex. "They took us prisoner. Jett was there, along with that man Obi-Wan spoke of at the briefing." Ahsoka shivered. "He was not pleasant, but we made it out with the help of the shinies."

Anakin stared at her in disbelief. "And you're only mentioning this now? Is that why Rex is like this?"

"Well, sort of. He hit his head in the crash and I'm sure he must've at least fractured his ribs. They electrocuted him when we were in the cell, which knocked him out. He hasn't woken up since."

Anakin sighed in frustration. "We'll talk about this later. We need to hurry up and get Rex on my speeder."

"Too late," a voice said behind them. Ahsoka felt the barrel of a blaster against the back of her head and an arm wrapped around her, restraining her.

Anakin dropped Rex and drew his lightsaber. "Release my padawan!"

"I'd put that toy away if I were you," the man told him. Even without seeing his face, Ahsoka knew who it was.

"I'm surprised you came here yourself, Jolon," Ahsoka said snarkily.

"No one else seems to be able to get the job done," Jolon sighed in mock annoyance. "I figured I should do it myself if I want it done right."

"I won't hesitate to kill you," Anakin growled. "Release. My. Padawan."

"So scary. However, I'm sure I'll be able to pull the trigger before you can swing that sword of yours."

Anakin seemed prepared to test that theory when a stun ray appeared through the snow, hitting her master in the back. He fell to the ground, face hitting the snow.

"Master!" Ahsoka cried. "Why are you doing this, Jolon?"

"You'll find out later," he said, pirates coming to grab Anakin and Rex. 

Master Obi-Wan, please help us.