Chapter Text
The Resolute's hum echoed through the corridor, a steady pulse that matched Anakin's racing thoughts. As they left the vault, Obi-Wan stayed close, sensing the turmoil within his former Padawan. Anakin's focus was razor-sharp, but Obi-Wan knew too well how easily that edge could turn reckless.
"We need to act quickly," Anakin muttered as they neared the war room. "The longer we wait, the harder it will be to track anyone down."
Obi-Wan nodded but held his usual calm. "True. But without a lead, we'll be chasing shadows across the galaxy."
Anakin clenched his jaw. "We don't have time for measured steps, Obi-Wan. If we don't move now, Ahsoka—" He stopped himself, frustration simmering beneath the surface. "There has to be something in the data we recovered. A clue, a name. Anything."
They reached the war room's entrance, the door sliding open to reveal Kix and Fives waiting for them. Fives face was grim, his helmet tucked under one arm. "General, any progress?"
Anakin shook his head, pacing. "We decrypted part of the data, but it's not enough. The scientist who created the encryption used some kind of neural failsafe. We need to find him before we can do anything."
Fives exchanged a glance with Kix before speaking. "If the Separatists went to this much trouble, they must've hidden him well."
"We'll need to dig deeper," Obi-Wan added, pulling up a holomap of the galaxy. "The Separatists have bases scattered across multiple systems. But if the scientist is still alive, they'll want to keep him close, likely under heavy guard."
"Or he could be working for them voluntarily," Anakin said darkly. "He might be loyal to their cause. We can't assume he's a prisoner."
Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. "True. But given what we know about the Separatists, loyalty doesn't always guarantee safety. Either way, we'll have to assume he's valuable to them."
Professor Solas entered the room, her eyes scanning the holomap. "I found something—an old communication buried in the fragmented data," she said quickly, stepping toward the console. "It's incomplete, but it references a location: a research facility in the Mid Rim, on the planet Belagor."
Anakin's eyes lit up with a fierce determination. "Then that's where we start."
"Belagor?" Obi-Wan said thoughtfully. "It's a backwater planet—no major military presence, but known for its harsh terrain. If the Separatists have a hidden facility there, it could explain why no one's heard of it."
"We'll need to move fast," Anakin said, already turning toward Rex. "Prep a shuttle. We'll leave immediately."
Obi-Wan placed a hand on Anakin's arm, stopping him. "Anakin, we can't just storm the facility without more intel. We need to know what we're walking into—how many troops, what kind of defenses."
"Every second we wait is a second closer to losing her," Anakin snapped, pulling his arm free. "I'm not sitting around while we have a lead."
"I understand your urgency," Obi-Wan said, his voice measured. "But we can't afford to make a mistake. You know how dangerous this could be if we rush in blind."
Anakin's hands curled into fists, but he stopped himself from arguing further. His mind was torn between his instincts and the need for caution—between his desire to save Ahsoka and the risk of losing everything in a reckless move.
Kix stepped forward, his voice steady. "General Skywalker, we'll be ready to move out as soon as you give the word. But General Kenobi's right—if we're going in, we need to do it smart."
Anakin let out a frustrated breath. "Fine. But we move quickly. The longer we take, the colder the trail gets."
Obi-Wan nodded. "Agreed. I'll alert the Council about our mission. We'll gather what intelligence we can before we land."
As Obi-Wan turned to leave, Anakin caught sight of the terminal screen still flickering with the fractured data. A knot tightened in his chest. Time was running out, and Ahsoka's life hung by a thread—one that grew thinner with each passing minute.
The shuttle shot through hyperspace, the stars stretching into brilliant streaks outside the viewport. Inside, the silence was tense, the hum of the engines the only sound. Anakin sat in the cockpit, his eyes fixed ahead but his thoughts far from the present. Fives sat beside him, his helmet resting in his lap, his gaze focused on the controls.
"General," Fives began after a moment, breaking the silence, "we'll get her back to normal."
Anakin glanced at him but said nothing. His thoughts were a tangled mess of fear and resolve. Every second felt like an eternity, the weight of the situation pressing down on him harder with each passing moment.
"I know we will," Anakin said finally, his voice low but determined. "We don't have a choice."
Before Fives could respond, Obi-Wan stepped into the cockpit, his expression grave. "We're approaching Belagor. I managed to gather some preliminary intel from the local sectors—no confirmed reports of a Separatist presence, but that's not surprising for a planet like this. It's remote, off the usual trade routes."
"All the more reason for them to hide something there" Anakin said, rising from his seat. "We need to be ready for anything."
As the shuttle dropped out of hyperspace, the planet Belagor loomed ahead—a barren, rocky world covered in jagged mountains and deep canyons. The surface was bathed in a dull red hue, its atmosphere swirling with dust and ash.
"We'll land near the last known coordinates from the data fragment," Obi-Wan said, pulling up the map. "If the facility exists, it should be within a day's march from where we touch down."
Anakin nodded, his eyes narrowing as the shuttle began its descent. "We'll find him, Obi-Wan. No matter what it takes."
The shuttle landed softly on a barren plateau, the red dust swirling around them as the hatch opened. Anakin, Obi-Wan, Fives, and a small squad of clone troopers disembarked, their eyes scanning the bleak landscape. The air was dry and thin, the wind carrying an eerie, low howl across the canyon.
"I have a bad feeling about this" Obi-Wan muttered, drawing his lightsaber to his side
"We move in formation," Anakin ordered, his voice hard. "Stay sharp. We don't know what we'll find."
The group moved forward, their pace steady but cautious. The terrain was unforgiving, the jagged rocks and steep cliffs making progress slow. Anakin's mind raced with possibilities—where the facility might be, what kind of defenses they'd encounter, how close they were to saving Ahsoka.
Suddenly, Fives, who was scouting ahead, signaled for them to stop. He crouched down, examining the ground closely. "Tracks," he said quietly, pointing to a series of faint footprints in the dust. "Fresh. We're not alone."
Anakin's heart quickened, his hand instinctively moving to his lightsaber. "Then we're on the right track."
Obi-Wan's gaze swept the horizon, his eyes narrowing. "But who's leading us?" he murmured.
The wind picked up, the howling growing louder. Something about the atmosphere felt wrong—charged with tension, as if the planet itself held its breath.
And then, without warning, the ground trembled beneath their feet.
From the ridge above, a wave of droids appeared, their blasters raised and ready. An ambush.
"Take cover!" Anakin shouted, igniting his lightsaber as blaster fire rained down on them.
The battle for Belagor had begun.