STAR WARS: CONFLICTED

CHAPTER VIII - FELUCIA

The Venator-class battleship which was taking the 5 Jedi and the 501st Batallion to Felucia truly was a thing of beauty. Nathan was fascinated by how large this ship actually was, now that he was aboard it.

"Gather round, please." Master Mundi said, waving with his hand to signal his fellow Jedi's attention. They all gathered around a holotable, which had many intricate directions and instructions, and Nathan pretended to keep up with as best he could.

"Now, as we do not know whether Count Dooku will be present at this battle, we are unsure of whether an all-out offensive manoeuvre is going to be as effective as we would like it to be." Master Ti explained, furrowing her brow.

"We must remember to stick to the plan Master Windu set out for us." Said Master Mundi. "Or we could find ourselves in great danger."
"Don't worry, Rex and I will have our side of the deal held up." Anakin said confidently.
"This is not about personal gain, Skywalker." Master Mundi snapped. "This is life or death. A victory or defeat here could sway the tide of the Clone Wars completely."
"Yes, Master." Anakin said solemnly.
"Let's get moving then, people. We'll be dropping out of hyperspace shortly."

Nathan sat back down next to Ahsoka and Anakin, still nervous. His focus was all over the place.

Ahsoka noticed his discomfort.

"Hey." Ahsoka said, placing a hand on Nathan's leg. "We'll be fine, as long as we stay together."
Nathan's mood was flipped almost instantly. He smiled at the Togruta, nodding his head. Her support and words of encouragement was the only thing he needed, and now he felt readier than ever.

He ran his thumb over the hilt of his lightsaber, tracing the pattern as he did. His design was slightly longer than an average hilt, with less controls and switches. A more basic look. (Think Jaro Tapal-esque)

He felt a jolt as the ship was sucked out of hyperspace, outside of Felucia. This planet was in the Outer Rim, far away from Coruscant. Its climate was also much different, as Shaak Ti as told him.

There were three gunships ready to carry the 5 Jedi and their men seperately. As planned, Anakin, Rex and the 501st were in one ship, followed by the ship of Nathan and Ahsoka's, and finally the ship with Shaak Ti and Ki Adi Mundi.

Nathan closed his eyes. He had dreamed of the day he would be put out to fight. Now, he was here. And he was going to give it his all.

"COME ON THEN, BOYS!" Rex yelled to his men from in front, as Anakin leapt out of his ship prematurely, blue blade already ignited. He instantly got to work, landing inbetween two enemy lines and cutting down every droid in sight. Nathan watched in awe.

"Nathan?" Ahsoka asked, noticing him zoning out. "Come on, focus."
"Right, sorry." Nathan replied, getting out of his ship much less dramatically than Anakin, with Ahsoka just in front. There was no sign of droids anywhere for the two padawans, they had all swarmed the 3 more experienced Jedi. Ahsoka's movement was spotless, not making a single noise as they approached their target: a droid factory, producing the droidekas. These droids were especially dangerous. Nathan and Ahsoka's mission was to disable it, before it could fully be used as a weapon against the Republic.

Ahsoka raised a hand, to signal for Nathan to halt. Down below, 4 B1 droids were marshalling the front entrance, with two more behind them.

"Follow my lead." Ahsoka whispered. Suddenly, she leapt out of the bushes and force pushed two of the droids away, before igniting her sabers and deflecting their fire. Nathan followed suit, slashing his turquoise saber through the back of another two droids. Once clear, Ahsoka took the lead once again, keeping in cover before she could be detected. One by one, they would sneak through, slicing at every droid they could find, before they could run their loud irritating mouths and give up the Jedi's location.

Nathan suddenly came to a stop.
"What?" Ahsoka asked, turning to face him.
"I sense something."
They paused, waiting for Nathan to conclude what he had felt.
"This way."
Ahsoka raised an eyebrow at her friend, but followed suit anyway. She trusted him, even with her life. They both sprinted up multiple blocks of stairs, taking out any droids they could. Ahsoka was clearly experienced with this, and her ability with a lightsaber was superior to Nathan's, for now.

They found a door with jagged edges on it, which seemed automatic. Without hesitation, Nathan pulled it from its hinges, revealing a huge chainline of factory made droids, all being processed over a pit which looked almost bottomless.

Ahsoka's comlink buzzed.

"Master?" She answered.
"Snips, we need you out here. Now. We underestimated the number of Seperatist forces out here." Came the voice of Anakin.
"But we've just found the factory. If we just disa-"
"Ahsoka, now."
"Fine." She grumbled, shoving her comlink away.
"What is it?" Nathan asked.
"I need to help Anakin. You stay here, find a way to shut this place off." Ahsoka ordered.
"Got it." He replied, looking for a control panel anywhere within the facility. He scanned multiple times but couldn't find anything. He knew that the majority of this mission was now on his shoulders. He listened as Ahsoka's footsteps faded into the distance.

That's when he heard the scream of Ahsoka, followed by the sound of a stun blaster.