The Rise of the Valkyrie *ON HIATUS*

Chapter Thirty

Ashara wandered around the forest, no idea as to where she was. There was no sign of anyone or anything. She let out a frustrated yell and closed her eyes for a brief moment as she continued walking. She stumbled into something hard, fell backward on her bum.

For a brief moment, she remembered all the times she had run into Rex and fallen backward. She silently hoped it was him, but when she opened her eyes, she was disappointed when she saw it was just her ship.

Wait! Her ship! She could get off this blasted planet! With a grin, she hurried around to the open cargo bay, and inside to the cockpit. She was so ready to get off of this blasted planet. It barely crossed her mind that her ship hadn't been there a few seconds before. She was just so excited to get off of this rock.

She saw a flash of bright light go off in the distance, and tilted her head, wondering what it was. She started to panic however, when it suddenly got closer. When it completely surrounded her, she had to squeeze her eyes shut. It was like when she first found herself on this planet in the first place. Including her being knocked out.

When she woke, she was sitting in the spot she had been before they found the strange planet. Anakin and his ship was there, too, all in the same spots they were in before.

She quickly sent out a communications request, which they accepted.

"Ashara, you should come join us on the cruiser", Anakin immediately said as he started piloting away. The togruta hesitated, but she could sense the force telling her to go with him. She sighed softly.

"Okay", she murmured, and started to follow him.

"Wait, really?" Anakin asked, surprised. "I thought you would say no, what with Rex being there and all."

Ashara blushed, and got defensive. "What does Rex have to do with anything?! There's nothing going on between us. Nothing at all."

"It's fairly obvious, Ashara", Obi-Wan stated. "You both are dancing around your feelings for each other."

Ashara was quiet. "I don't know what feelings he may have for me other than seeing me as his commanding officer. He admitted it a while back that he didn't care for me the way I care for him."

"That's not what any of us have picked up, Ash", Anakin said gently. "But I understand if you don't believe us."

Ashara went stayed quiet this time, and instead turned off the communication unit. She let out a small smile as she found herself surrounded by the familiarity of the republic cruiser, and found a spot to let her ship rest in. She took a deep breath, knowing she would be surrounded by questions from the Jedi Council, and possibly from any military authority. She just disappeared one day, and then reappeared out of nowhere.

She saw Anakin, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka waiting nearby, and she almost hid when she saw a certain clone captain approaching the three, but she stayed where she was, heart leaping out of her chest. She took a deep breath, and took a brave step forward toward the four of them.

Anakin spotted her, and grinned, waving her over, giving away her position to the rest of them. She took another deep breath, and shoved all her nervous emotions into a deep pit and put on a façade of confidence, though it nearly broke when she saw Rex look at her. 

She reached the group, and gave them all a small smile. "It's been a while since I've been on board here."

Obi-Wan chuckled. "Your company was certainly missed. It's hard keeping these two out of trouble otherwise."

"Hey!" both Anakin and Ahsoka exclaimed, eliciting a laugh out of Ashara. She could feel Rex's amusement radiating off of him, as well as some fairly well concealed shock. She couldn't deduce if it was a good shock or a bad shock, and chose to assume to worst. She glanced at him, fighting back a blush when she noticed that he was staring at her. She turned her head away, and focused on Anakin.