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"WELL, you were right. This is bigger than we thought."
Araminta huffed at Anakin's words as they were locked in a space battle against Bane, who had been supplied with separatist reinforcements, an entire fleet and a battleship to boast, confirming Araminta's original hunch.
By the time Anakin had gotten together a battleship and his troops, no matter how quick, jumped to hyperspace and arrived in the Devaron system at the coordinates Windu had given them, the separatist fleet was already attempting to make a retreat.
Anakin had rallied to cut them off immediately, the sheer surprise of their appearance managing to give them the upperhand. Maybe Bane hadn't counted on his accomplice talking. Either way, their retreat efforts indicated that they had managed to capture Bolla Ropal, as no other Republic ships were around to put up a fight.
The thought had knotted in Araminta's stomach, that someone out there would have the ability to track down Force-sensitive children like her former superior had. She did not care one second for the Order or their future younglings, all she saw when she looked at the blue cubes was a means to recreate what Octavian had. He had sowed Force-sensitive children like seeds and grown them into weapons, and she had reaped the consequences.
Maybe that was why she had been so insistent on pursuing Bane under the guise she knew him well, maybe that was why she felt right being separate from Obi-wan for once. Her mission had nothing to do with him, even as his orders rang in the back of her head, all she could focus on was preventing Octavian from repeating in history.
"You don't say," Araminta snapped at Anakin from where they were watching the battle ensue. She had grown to loathe space combat, feeling useless standing inside the vessels and watching on.
The Jedi shot her a look before she flicked her ears and turned to see Admiral Yularen approaching, looking grave. "General, we're receiving an urgent transmission from the planet," he told them.
Anakin pulled back from the window and back to the bridge, Araminta in step with him. Ahsoka was standing to the side, watching over her Master's shoulder as she stared at the hologram of the clone trooper being received from the Republic base below them.
"General Skywalker, our base has been overrun!" the soldier shouted, blaster raised at something only he could see on his end. Araminta could hear muffled firing and explosions from his end. "There's no possibility of evacuation! They've taken General Ropal and the holocron memory crystal."
Araminta let out a breath, her face not shifting despite the dread in her at the situation being confirmed. Anakin leaned forward, as the transmission began to shake. "Do you know where they've taken him?" he asked.
"Sorry, sir," the trooper breathed. "We tried to stop them, but they left the outpost."
A moment later, blaster fire reigned down on the trooper, and he let out a yell as he tried to react to the attack. The transmission cut off abruptly.
