Afterglow II | The Clone Wars

25 | Duality

In a moment of distraction, Vizla aimed a perfectly calculated kick to her exposed jaw. Dakota barely registered the blow before pain exploded across her face, and she found herself stumbling backward, hitting the ground hard. Snow and ice bit into her skin as she dropped to her knees, her hands splaying out in front of her. A drop of blood dripped from her lip and seeped into the white.

She blinked, her vision swimming from the impact, and then she looked down at her hands. Half of her fingers—bionic, and contrasting against the pale ground—were a constant reminder of the accident that had changed her life. Her breath hitched as she stared at the mechanical limbs, feeling the familiar, unsettling blend of resentment stir within her.

For a heartbeat, everything was still. The air buzzed with tension, broken only by her uneven breathing and the distant sounds of the captives escaping into the night. She felt the cool metal of her bionic fingers dig into the earth, grounding her in that brief moment of stillness.

Then, as if something clicked into place within her, Dakota's gaze hardened. Her body went still as her focus sharpened, tuning out everything but the fight ahead. She drew in a breath, her determination rekindled.

Slowly, she rose to her feet, her stance balanced, unwavering. Her hand drew the saber back to her as her lips curved into a faint, grim smile. She locked eyes with Vizsla. "Nice try," she said, her voice low but steady. "But it'll take more than that."

Vizsla narrowed his eyes, annoyed that she had recovered so quickly. But Dakota didn't give him a chance to attack first. She launched herself forward, her movements fluid and fierce, parrying his strike and twisting around him in one swift motion. Her bionic fingers gave her grip an iron strength as she blocked and struck, using his own momentum to destabilize him.

The fight was no longer about escape—it was about resilience. Each strike, each dodge, each calculated move was proof that she wouldn't go down easily. She pulled back, taking a moment to switch up her stance.

However suddenly, a blinding spotlight illuminated the battleground, casting harsh shadows over Dakota and Pre Vizsla. Both of them froze, looking up as the powerful beam shattered the night's darkness. Hovering above them, steady and imposing, was a Republic gunship.

The gunship's side door slid open, revealing Captain Rex's familiar frame standing in his blue and white armor, his stance authoritative as he pulled a blaster from his hostler. Beside him was a younger Jedi—a Padawan with a determined expression and his lightsaber ready. Dakota's heart gave a leap. Caleb Dume.

The wind from the gunship's thrusters whipped around them, kicking up a storm of snow and winter shrubbery. Pre Vizsla, momentarily caught off guard, clenched his jaw, his grip tightening on the Darksaber.

From where he stood inside the gun ship, Rex aimed his blaster for Pre without hesitation and began firing at will. The warrior ducked snd scrambled away, running with his tail between his legs into the snowy shadows of the forest.

Caleb leaned forward, calling out with a grin above the roar of the gunship, "We couldn't let you have all the fun, could we?"

"You were supposed to!" she scolded back, although not in an angry way.

The gunship landed shakily on the icy terrain, with a handful more soaring by overhead with their trajectory on the nearby town. Rex stepped down from the platform, removing his helmet as he approached her. She sheathed the yellow saber, meeting him halfway.