Star Wars: Conflict

Chapter 9

"Sir! I've found it!" Captain Hazard shouted, within an enlarged sewer pipe. Two soldiers accompanied him, lurking about the murky waters, searching for something lost, something old.

The men had found themselves at the courtyard of a strictly forceful Republic military base, where young Ahsoka Tano had once found herself entrapped, accused of sedition.

The shaken words of fear Ahsoka spoke, that night she escaped, frighteningly chilled down Anakin's spine.

Nobody will believe me! I didn't do this! She was so frightened of the impact the Jedi Council's acquisition would hold upon her.

Anakin promptly force jumped onto and inside the huge container, dropping to the floor, drenching his boots from the splashing puddles below. He didn't care. He didn't care about anything except for Ahsoka. The clones found her original Lightsaber. Retrieving the hilt from the captain, Anakin found the small, round activator, and ignited it. A steamy, bright green blade emitted, jolting him with shock and sorrow.

Noticing its strong glow, Captain Hazard pivoted, "Beautiful, isn't it." He remarked, "You know, you're Jedi friend is wrong. Kenobi wasn't her master. You were. He doesn't know what it was like to lose her." He gazed into Anakin's eyes, "But you haven't yet lost her; she isn't gone."

"I know." Skywalker mournfully replied, "I've already lost enough to this Order. I can still get Ahsoka back. With her, I know things will be better."
His hand tightly clenched he hilt, as he reluctantly held back his tears.

He'd become someone else. Something else. Through wars, we tend to lose who we are. Although, Anakin wasn't fighting a full scale war, between friends and foes. Rather, he was battling an inner war, between vice and virtue. Anakin fought through the temptations of pure evil, and the guidance of wisdom. But now, he'd forgotten which was which. He was losing himself. Destroying himself.

"We need to bring back Ahsoka. To us, to you, and to the order. Why should we have to accept the things we don't like? We should not. We should change them." Hazard encouraged.

Anakin nodded, with the Captain's reminder, his mind was set. There would be no alterations, no going back, only moving forward into his past. Skywalker proceeded with the Captain's encouragement, and with the Lightsaber withdrawn, flew back to the top of the large pipe.

Kickback finally managed to rendezvous with the rest of the battalion, and with seemingly good news.
"Sir!" He shouted, "My tracker here's identified where Ahsoka's other Lightsaber is." He smiled, "It's not that far away!"

Anakin, still on the pipe, immediately slid down and ran toward towards kickback, anxiously.
He hurriedly demanded,
"Where?"

"That old munitions warehouse within the underworld! Remember, level 1315?" Kickback was so proud of himself, yet Anakin didn't care to notice his excitement. He force-pulled the device into his metallic hand, and began to follow its signal.

"Bring my shuttle" he demanded, and the Captain's men huddled towards Anakin's personalized Republic Police Gunship, opening the cockpit and activating its controls and switches. As Anakin had arrived, the gunship flew into the air, lifting him closer to his target.

One thousand, three hundred thirteen levels into the belly of the Underworld, the gunship's searchlights began to flicker on, luminously flooding the slums with a bright, swerving glow, hovering every edge of every building and structure. Finally, a decayed warehouse emerged from the clouded darkness, and Anakin's determination grew stronger.

As soon as the gunship landed, Anakin leaped from the cockpit and headed towards the warehouse, Captain Hazard and him men following close by. Once the abandoned foundry was visible, so was a battalion of Coruscant Security enforcers, the police department, including the distinguished detective, Tan Divo. Months after the attack on this warehouse, the Republic has finally initiated their cleaning of the nano droid-infested mess.

"Access is not permitted within this sanctioned area, at the time." a Republic Police officer halted an anxious Anakin, desperate to get in and get Ahsoka's other Lightsaber.

Outraged with fear, hatred, and immense anger, Anakin demanded, "Move aside." struggling to conceal his impatience while gently shoving the officer away.

"Sir!" The officer shouted, "There's a disconformity. This Jedi won't yield to your order." forcefully restricting Anakin from entering.

"Ah, my apologies, officer!" A detective replied, walking towards the warehouse's entrance. Tan Divo, the Republic's best and most trustworthy security lieutenant directed his attention to the fiery Anakin Skywalker.
"As my assistant stated, this location is on prohibition. No one, not even a Jedi, is currently allowed access."

Anakin's teeth gritted and his fists clenched tighter than ever before.
"There's a lightsaber in there that I need to collect! Step aside."

"It looks like you already have enough." Divo glanced down at Anakin's hand. "One more than you need, in fact." He additionally noticed Anakin's own hilt strapped to his belt. This didn't anger Anakin, it enraged him.

"Officer, will you please escort these men away form this area?" Divo motioned for two Police officers to approach.

Anakin desperately ignited Ahsoka's lightsaber, with his hand grumbling with hate. Divo's eyes twitched and locked their gaze on the weapon.
"As I said." He strictly, and mockingly stated, "You are not allow-"

The Lightsaber moved.

Anakin ran the green blade straight through Divo's heart, and his eyes blurred, losing their gaze and sight. Divo shook and twitched, and died. Anakin retracted the blade, and Tan Divo fell to the ground, humiliatingly.