Ghost of You - Anakin Skywalker x Reader (BOOK 1)

Chapter 31

"Shadow Squadron, do not break formation." Anakin orders as we draw nearer to the ship.

The ship is huge– far bigger than any Republic cruiser. I didn't realise the Separatists were equipped with such high level technology. If they continue with such innovations, who knows what kind of weapons they will be capable of possessing. What could possibly be worse than this?

I watch in horror as the unmatched ion weapon of the Malevolence is fully charged up. The Separatists launch the supercharged blast toward the medical transports carrying innocent, unarmed clones. The wave deactivates the ships, rendering them utterly helpless.

We power our ships onward, desperate to protect the clones on the transports. It's no use. The Separatists do the unthinkable– they fire upon them until they explode into nothing.

All of those men died, and there was nothing we could do to help them.

"We have to stop that ship!" I shout.

I could not let any more innocent clones die at the hands of General Grievous while we are in a position to destroy him and the ship.

"Easy, (y/l/n)" Master Plo urges "We must not attack too soon."

"Looks like we don't have much of a choice. Fighters incoming!" Anakin warns.

There are too many fighters approaching us for me to even begin to count. We may be significantly outnumbered, but that doesn't mean we are out-skilled. We are all experienced pilots, and personal experience beats the programming of droids. 

The pilots continue to close the gap between our squadron and the Malevolence while the gunners fire upon the approaching fighters. 

Much like Anakin, my flying choices generally involve fancy and sudden manoeuvres. It occurs to me that this may be limiting Cal's ability to target the fighters.

"How are you going back there Cal?" I ask my Padawan.

"Good, Master. I've shot down a few fighters." He says proudly.

"Keep up the good work." I encourage him.

Cal's persistence and devotion to everything he does is most impressive. He can be a little reckless from time to time, but mostly presents himself as a strong and capable young Jedi. I couldn't be prouder of how he is handling this battle.

I watch ahead as a terrifying wave of purple energy hurtles toward us. Another ion ray. The rate at which the weapon recharged is as impressive as it is horrific. Any feeling of victory I had growing in my heart vanishes.

"We have incoming!" I alert Anakin along with the squadron, although I am sure they all would have seen it by now.

"Make toward the edge of the ray now!" Anakin orders. "Give it everything you've got."

We all fly our bombers upwards. The angle at which we are travelling is incredibly steep, and I worry some of the engines of the bombers may fail under the strain of it. I barely make it to the top of the ray myself. 

Once the ion ray has passed, I turn my bomber around to assess the damage. Just as I had feared, we have lost some of our own.

"Shadow Squadron, check in." Anakin says, defeated.

"We lost Matchstick and Tag." Ahsoka says solemnly. 

"Shadows 6, 7, and 10 were caught in the ray." Cal adds.

Half of our ships, gone. I knew this mission was going to turn out to be as reckless as the others, yet it seems there was nothing we could do to stop it. Our plan not only endangered Cal and Ahsoka, but cost the lives of two of our troopers.