When She Was Gone

Chapter 4

~11 years earlier~

Anakin pulled back the thick blanket as carefully as he could so as not to wake his sleeping wife. He padded to the kitchen and retrieved his water.

He was halfway back to the bedroom when a stabbing pain hit him in the chest. He stumbled and grabbed the side of the doorway. More pains were working their way up his chest and into his head. Green spots appeared before his eyes.

Anakin dropped his glass and it broke on the stone floor with a crash. He didn't even register the noise. Padmé did, and she was quickly by his side, trying to calm him. But he couldn't be calmed; the spots had taken over his vision. He was clutching his head in his hands, trying to block out the noises that were now adding to the awful chaos.

At first they were muffled, but it quickly became clear what he was hearing.

Screams.

So many screams.

The pain—mental and physical—was excruciating. Dozens of Force-signatures and bonds were ripping apart brutally. Some he knew, some he didn't, but the destruction of each one brought on a new wave of pain. He writhed in agony and clenched his hands into fists, so tightly his flesh hand's fingernails sliced his palm and his metal hand was on the verge of crushing itself.

The pain slowly became bearable enough for him to form thoughts.

He searched desperately for Ahsoka's signature. She had gone missing at the Battle of Egips about a month ago and he was holding out hope. But he couldn't find it. It had been replaced by a black emptiness.

Force help us.

They're all dead.

~11 years later~

Makari hurried to the bay, a large squad of fighter pilots marching behind her. When she glanced out the window, she could see a sliver of Yavin's surface. She smiled maliciously to know that the Rebels were finally going down today. Everything was going as planned.

She climbed into her modified TIE and took off into the black mass of space, her fighter squad following close behind. The planet quickly grew larger and then she was in the clouds. This was her favorite part of any attack; the calm before the storm, hidden inside the cloud mass.

Makari broke out of the cloud cover and headed straight for the mountains below. Before, firefights had never been something she took pleasure in, but now that she appreciated the Empire's might and the rush of the battle for what they were, she looked forward to every one.

The attack began simply enough; Makari and her squadron circled above the monastery and fired at whatever unprotected supplies and ships they could see. This was the threat part.

After they had successfully spooked the rebels—their alarms were blaring, the loudspeakers were being shouted through—Makari set down outside the doors with two other TIEs. She climbed out and approached the entrance. No one came to greet her, and the doors would obviously be locked, so she flicked one of her lightsabers off her belt and began to cut a hole.

~~

The rebels crouched, huddled, behind ships and stations and peeked over the tops with their guns pointed at the door. Only a few brave—or maybe just heroically stupid—souls stood tall atop the noses of fighters. Anakin and Rex were among them, blasters ready. Anakin's lightsaber was, unusually, clipped to his belt just in case. Padmé, Luke and Leia were hidden away in the safe rooms. Anakin could only hope they were actually safe.

He jumped when a red lightsaber stabbed through the door—

A red lightsaber?

Oh Force. These guys are going down.

They seemed to know it; Anakin could feel their dread and fear radiating off them in waves. Him and Rex were probably the only ones there who knew how to fight a Sith. Rex squared his shoulders.

"Just like old times, eh commander?" He said quietly though his helmet. Anakin cracked a smile despite the imminent threat. The lightsaber was about halfway through its circle.

Anakin reached for his lightsaber instinctively, then thought better of it and placed his hand back on his blaster. He couldn't let whoever this was see that he was a Jedi unless they already knew who he was.

The red 'saber pulled out of the door, and there was a moment of tight silence before the circle was Force-pushed into the room, claiming the first casualty of the battle.

Then the Sith stepped through the hole they had created and looked about the room for a moment. Their hands had the strangest gloves; there were what appeared to be claws protruding from the fingers. Montrals and lekku poked out from the top and bottom of their helmet. They stopped at Anakin, seemed to hesitate, and pulled their other 'saber off their belt. They flipped both into the reverse position, and Anakin's heart skipped a beat.

The only person he had ever known or seen that held their lightsabers that way had been his Padawan.

And she was dead.

"I'm alive."

In the split-second it took those thoughts to run through Anakin's mind, the Sith ignited their lightsabers. They were both a twin blood-red color. Anakin's heart filled with dread.

"Open fire!" Someone yelled, and suddenly the air was filled with blaster bolts. The Sith deflected them easily, killing anyone who had fired a bolt by hitting it back to them. It was like a sick game of Coruscanti Whackaball.

Anakin decided—after managing to dodge at least seven blasts—that it was time to use his lightsaber. This person seemed to know who he was already. It was no use hiding.

He discarded his blaster, leapt off the fighter and ignited his lightsaber mid-jump. The Sith whirled quickly and blocked him, then seemed to pause. They turned and ran deeper into the base, practically begging Anakin to chase after.

Which he did.

A/N
Okay so I ended up breaking it into two more pieces. Sorry lol
The next/last bit of this segment of the story will come next. Again, it'll probably be out by Tuesday. School may get in the way. :,,,(