Chapter Text
Hyperspace was supposed to be constant. An unending blue swirl as the Tribunal journeyed from Mandalore to Coruscant. Ahsoka Tano stood on the bridge, gazing out the viewport at that blue swirl. Usually she found it comforting, an easy space to meditate in as she flew from planet to planet.
But not today. Darth Maul's words kept turning over in her head, stealing her focus. What could the Sith possibly have planned with Anakin Skywalker? What was he feeling in the Force that she was missing? The familiar blue swirl of hyperspace no longer felt so familiar.
On past campaigns she would have stood here with her former Master by her side. The hum of hyperspace, the quiet chatter of the bridge crew, these were familiar. Anakin's absence was a hollow spot within the Force. Her eyes slid closed as her senses expanded, past the warm lights of the ship’s company. Outside the swirling tunnel of blue light she felt the force calling to her. She followed the frayed thread she knew was her connection to her former Master.
An image came to her, night, the Coruscant skyline. Master Windu, his purple saber pointed at the cowering chancellor. Anakin!
Voices came next.
“You must choose”
“Don't listen to him, Anakin!”
“Its not the Jedi way. He must live!”
“He's too dangerous to be left alive.”
“Please! Don't!”
“I need him!”
“UNLIMITED POWER!!!!”
A flash of blue saber, and crackling lightning filled her vision as Ahsoka felt fear, rage, overwhelming love, pain, and a deep drop into endless darkness.
She dropped to her knees as the frayed strand shattered. The Force had never shared a vision with her before, so why now?
As Ahsoka opened her eyes she became aware of panicked voices around her. The swirling blue of hyperspace had turned a strange shade of magenta, shot through with lines of white light. The Tribunal shuddered and groaned under her feet.
“What's going on? Report!” She called as the bridge doors opened, Rex racing in to join her near the viewport.
“We don't know Sir!” Called one of the clones in the bridge pit. “All systems have gone haywire. We're struggling to keep the hyperdrive from tearing the ship apart.”
Ahsoka fell to her knees as she felt the force scream at her, lights going out all over the galaxy as darkness swept across her vision. The Tribunal shook again, causing Rex to fall to the ground beside her, and throwing clone officers in the bridge pits into their consoles.
The purple glow returned to the natural blue of hyperspace, then vanished as the ship rapidly dropped back into normal space.
“Where are we, report!” Rex yelled, leaping back to his feet. Ahsoka was slightly slower, the Force had quietened, but still felt wrong.
“Positional data coming in now” Came a voice from one of the pits. “We’re…we’re…that can’t be right.”
“What does it say, trooper?” Ahsoka asked, peering down at a confused and worried clone face.
“Corporal Vector, Commander.” He introduced himself with a quick salute “I’m the Tribunal’s lead navigator. The positional data and travel data don’t agree with each other. We aren’t even half way to Coruscant, but the positional data puts us in the outer reaches of a system called Jedha. The star charts say that’s roughly the same distance as Mandalore to Coruscant, but on the other side of Coruscant. We would have had to pass Coruscant to get here.”
Another clone spoke up, gaze locked on his screen and fingers racing over the controls as he spoke “The computer says Jedha is a neutral system, very small population, but they should have a communications relay. If we get closer to the inhabited moon we should be able to contact the Republic for assistance.”
“That might take a while Freq,” Came a voice from the other pit “Engineering reports that whatever happened fried our main engines, they’ll need a couple of hours to restore them. We can still manoeuvre, but we won’t be flying anywhere fast. There’s also a whole lot of other damage reports coming in…but the engines are definitely the biggest priority.”
“Keep us updated on the repairs. Rex, we should put together a squad and take a shuttle to the planet. We can hook into the comm relay on the surface.” As Ahsoka turned to leave, a new voice called out.
“Contact! Radar is tracking a ship heading our way, and closing fast. Unknown design…looks a bit like an Acclimator, only a lot bigger.”
Freq spoke up again “They’re hailing us…the message…it doesn’t quite make sense Sir.”
Rex and Ahsoka shared a look, before the latter nodded. “Put it through.”
There were a few seconds of silence before a harsh male voice filled the bridge. “Unknown Venator, this is the Imperial Star Destroyer Dauntless. You are in a restricted sector. Transmit your clearance codes immediately or you will be considered a hostile vessel, and will be dealt with accordingly.”
The shock of the message could be felt in the silence that followed. Whispers sprung up among the bridge crew.
“Imperial? What Empire?”
“Clearance codes?”
“Hostile?”
“Wasn’t Jedha supposed to be neutral?”
“Freq!” Called Rex, “Transmit standard identification, and inform them that we have orders to transport a very important and highly dangerous prisoner through this area.”
He turned to Ahsoka, a frown creasing his features. “I don't like this Commander. The latest intelligence reports I saw didn't have anything in this sector.”
“I don't know of any Empire out here either.” She replied, “Whoever these guys are, they're new players.”
“Tribunal” came the reply from the approaching Dauntless “Your codes are invalid and out of date. That vessel was reported missing and presumed destroyed. I don't know who you're trying to fool, but it won't work. Power down your reactor and prepare to be boarded or we will open fire.”
Through the viewport Ahsoka and Rex saw unfamiliar fighters launch from a dorsal hangars, followed by an unusual shuttle. It bore a resemblance to the Nu-class shuttles used by the GAR, but was clearly a different design. Just as the approaching Star Destroyer bore a resemblance to an Acclimator. Ahsoka was getting the feeling that something was very wrong here.
“Tribunal! Power down now or you will be fired upon!” The voice from the Dauntless was starting to sound quite angry.
“I really don't like this Commander” came Rex's voice from beside her.
“Me neither Rex.” The force screamed danger as a second wave of fighter craft dropped out of the other vessel's hangar. “Battle stations! Launch our fighters!”
The confusion on the bridge dropped away, replaced with quick, precise action. This was something the crew of the Tribunal and the clones of the 332nd Company knew well. This is what they had trained for on Kamino, and honed against Separatist forces.
The ship shook as the wounded engines were pushed for more power. From the bridge viewport Ahsoka watched as their heavy turbolasers tracked forward to target the Dauntless. The hangar doors rolled open, allowing a Squadron of ARC-170 and V-wing starfighters to launch.
Through the force Ahsoka could feel the shock of the opposing bridge crew, as if they couldn't quite believe that the Tribunal would fight back…no…not that. Ahsoka frowned and extended her senses toward the other vessel. As if they couldn't believe that the Tribunal would be operational enough to mount a defense. They truly believed that the Venator was obsolete.
She opened her eyes in time to see their turbolasers unleash their first volley at the larger vessel. Explosions rippled across their shields as streaks of green and blue turbolaser fire filled the space between the ships. Caught between the dueling capital ships, the fighter squadrons began their own dogfights.
Something wasn't quite right about the way their enemy fought. An unending barrage of turbolaser fire flew from the Dauntless but it was not concentrated. The Tribunal’s fire was aimed at consistent targets, shield generators, weapons systems, engines. Meanwhile the Dauntless seemed to be trying to intimidate them with overwhelming firepower.
The enemy fighters seemed to be swarming in tight formations and chasing singular targets, making them easy targets for the clone pilots. Even the fighters that managed to slip past the clone pilots flew like amateurs as they screamed in straight lines toward the Tribunal, making them easy targets for their point defense cannons.
Almost as quickly as it had begun, the battle was over. The superior flying skills of the clone pilots had shredded the enemy fighters, and the Tribunal's precise fire had disabled the Dauntless, leaving the other vessel drifting helplessly in space.
“Rex, put together a boarding party. We need to head over there and get some answers. Something strange is going on here. Even the Force feels…wrong.”