I know... I know what you are thinking.

Two updates in one day?

Yes, I actually have quite literally nothing better to do.

"Closing in in five, four, three, two..." Ahsoka quickly flipped the autopilot switch, opened the cargo hold, then swan-dived out of the cruiser. The previously free-falling ship powered up and shot off into the sky following the algorithm that Ahsoka had previously programmed into its systems, leaving the Togruta to soar through the atmosphere of Utupau and towards the ground.

    As she was diving through the air at breakneck-speeds, Ahsoka tilted her head towards her arm and focused on the specialized comms that were wrapped around her wrist and forearm like a fingerless-gauntlet. She swiped in several motions on the screen of the comms, resulting in a hologram of Utupau to appear in front of her. She leaned forward and tinkered with the hologram until she found a suitable landing sight near the area that the Jedi were supposed to be stationed, then mentally calculated the trajectory all the while taking in factors like wind and gravity.

    Once the Gray Jedi was satisfied with the route she was planning on taking, she quickly shut off the hologram, then trained her arms to her sides. Her body proceeded to accelerate through her fall, and soon enough the ground was rushing towards her. Once she caught sight of the hidden position that she was aiming at landing in, she took hold of her body with the Force and began slowing it down. By the time she managed to fully gain control, she was inches away from solid rock that would've made her body splat like a dropped egg.

    "Well, Anakin always did love living life on the edge," Ahsoka remarked to herself with a smirk as she released her control on her body and allowed herself to gently drop to the ground. She quickly rolled behind some mineral-filled crates, then popped up into a crouch and took a quick surveillance of her surroundings.

    Of course, before she could go on to the more fun part of the mission, Ahsoka had to flick her hood up over her head. If anybody caught sight of a dead person walking around...well...

    Let's just say her life would get a whole lot more interesting.

    There were supposed to be a group of four Jedi Knights that were stationed on the other side of the sinkhole that Ahsoka was hiding by. The only problem was that there was kind of a metal wall that ran alongside Ahsoka's edge of the sinkhole, so this inhibited her from being able to have a straight route to the Jedi and even being able to see them.

    Knowing that she was going to have to do this undetected, Ahsoka figured that she had to make sure that not a single soul saw her. This complicated things, given the fact that she was trying to get to the endangered Force users as quickly as she could. A single moment could determine whether or not the Jedi lived.

    Ahsoka stood up, sprinted as fast as she could in the short distance of cover that the crate gave her, then ducked into the open towards a crate closer to her targeted area. In order to move as quickly as she could, Ahsoka leaned back and lowered herself into the iconic slide. She came to a stop right behind the crate and took a quick look around, satisfied when she found that nobody had seen her. She proceeded to get back up and start running again, but this time she had to leap up to a higher platform or else she'd crash into a wall of platform beams.

    The Gray Jedi, using her young and agile body, sprinted as hard as she could, then threw herself into a series of front handsprings. Right before she crashed into the beams, she pushed up off of her hands and vaulted herself high into the air. She finished the handspring over the course of several yards, then stuck the landing perfectly on the higher platform. Without skipping a beat, she tucked down into a roll and gracefully tumbled into the cover of an abandoned cart.

    She closed her eyes used the Force to get a quick glance at her surroundings. She was about half of the way around the wall, so soon she would be able to get a visual on the Jedi. However, to her dismay, there were several mining workers that were scurrying around the platform that she was on. If she didn't act quickly, her position was bound to be compromised.

    As hastily as she could Ahsoka memorized all of the locations of the citizens that were milling about, then leaped up from her hiding spot. From her not-so-secretive position on top of the rock-filled cart, she moved her hands as quickly as she could and sent waves of the Force to each person. Then, with the majority of them only getting half of a glance at her hooded and cloaked body, they passed out and crumpled to the floor.

    "Works every time," Ahsoka laughed as she used the cleared platform to her advantage and took off at a sprint. Within seconds, she had made her way around the majority of the sinkhole and was now able to see the area that the Jedi were supposed to be patrolling in. Sure enough, all four were banded together in a line and were walking away from Ahsoka with their hands on the hilts of their lightsabers.

    "Not a moment too soon," Ahsoka sighed in relief as she ducked behind a beam. Lucky for her though, these grounds were abandoned for the most part. So, as fast and as quietly as she could, she began making her way towards them. Ahsoka took a quick look around at her surroundings and noted that there wasn't anybody that looked like a killer nearby. She had gotten there in time.

    "Jedi!" Ahsoka hissed in a voice that was lower than her normal sound. They turned around to see who was calling than them, but then the unthinkable happened.

    What the Gray Jedi had failed to realize was that this assassination was different than the other missions. There were no lightsabers. The weapon was much, much, different.

    One of the Jedi's eyes flew open and she let out an audible gasp, causing Ahsoka to panic. Only moments later, the Togruta realized that the dying Jedi had her hand pressed over the left side of her chest with blood rushing through the fingers. Ahsoka quickly turned and tried to pull the other Jedi towards her, but another was shot clean through the head. He was dead before he even hit the ground.

    There's only two left! Ahsoka panicked. She knew that she wasn't going to get them to her in time, so she would somehow have to get to them. Ahsoka threw her hands up in the air and began moving them to create a Force shield around them, but she failed to do so in time. Another one, a male, was shot through the heart as well. She could never forget the dying look of horror, shock, and pain on his face before he crumpled to the ground and almost instantly bled out.

    "NO!" Ahsoka cried out as she pulled the only Jedi left towards her hiding place. Once the Knight, a traumatized girl that looked to be no older than 18, to her side, Ahsoka widened the shield to cover both of them.

    "Don't kill me!" The girl shouted as she flung her hands down to her side and ripped her lightsaber off of her belt. Ahsoka quickly took note of this and outstretched her hand and placed it on the Jedi's.

    "I'm here to protect you," she insisted, keeping her voice low the whole time. The Jedi would know that she was a girl now, but at least her voice would sound partially different than normal.

    "Just like you did with my friends?" The girl fired back angrily, causing Ahsoka to wince and bring more shame upon herself. She had been too late. She failed her mission. One alive Jedi wasn't enough.

    "I'm sorry," Ahsoka whispered, looking away and turning so she could turn and check the coast. She frowned as she realized that all of the commotion had attracted herds of people and now the platform was crawling with beings. If Ahsoka didn't move somehow, they would be discovered quickly.

    What do you do when you need to move but you can't move? Ahsoka asked herself. Then, with a smirk, she inwardly replied. You call the party to you.

    Ahsoka quickly fiddled with her wrist gauntlet until she succeeded in what she was trying to do. In just mere moments later, a gust of wind knocked a large sum of people off of their feet as a ship uncloaked and lowered itself down to the ground. The Gray Jedi turned to the visibly trembling girl and said, "Sorry, but this is for your own good." She waved her index finger and caused the girl to become unconscious, resulting in Ahsoka catching her falling body and carrying her bridal style. Then, as quickly as she could she jumped up from her hiding position and jumped into her cruiser, then laid the girl down in one of the seats and took control of the piloting systems. Before the blink of an eye, Ahsoka and her ship had vanished into space.

±   

    Delta slowly blinked open her eyes, then let out a soft groan as she realized that her back ached. She slowly turned around and realized that she was sitting up against the wall of a Coruscant alley, then noticed a note that was taped to her wrist.

    Dear Jedi,

    I'm sorry I wasn't fast enough to save your friends. Please inform your people of the assassinations on Utupau and that they are related to the ones on Jedha and Yavin. We are dealing with a very dangerous organization right now. Your people are in danger. I know the Council will read this note, so, yes, I am the person who has brought the Separatists into your custody.

    Sincerely,

           Unidentified Ally.

    Memories of what happened in what Delta assumed was the past few hours came flooding back to her.

    No no no no, she thought to herself as she quickly jumped up and raked her hands through her hair. They were gone. Her old master, her friend, her friend's master... they were all dead. Every single one of them. She knew she couldn't blame her mysterious savior for their deaths, but it was hard not to. She, yes, Delta recalled that the voice was feminine, might've been able to save them.

    "The Temple," Delta whispered to herself. "I have to get to the Temple!"

    She quickly pulled herself together and scampered out of the alley. She had to get to the Temple quickly. Whoever she was had warned her that all Jedi are in danger. Or, as she phrased it, "your people."

    Delta silently thanked the mystery woman as she realized that she was right across the street from the Jedi residence. She practically jumped up the stairs to the Temple and raced inside as quickly as she could. She wasn't really sure where she was going, but she was going somewhere. In her rush, she nearly collided into a familiar-looking Jedi.

    "Master Kenobi!" She breathed. "I need to talk to you. To the Council."

    "Surely it can't be that important... er... what's your name?"

    Upon realization that Master Kenobi had never met her before, she stuck out her hand and replied, "Knight Delta Mulder. Previously stationed on Utupau."

    "Previously?" Obi-Wan questioned as he shook her hand. "I don't recall ever pulling the four of you out of the mission yet."

    "It's only one, now," Delta corrected. "I'm the only one alive. Oh! And..." she detached the note that was previously secured to her wrist, "I have a feeling that the Council will want to see this."

    "I understand," Obi-Wan nodded his head. "Meet me in the Council meeting room in 10. I'll gather everyone who is available."

±

    Sure enough, 10 minutes later, Delta was standing in front of the majority of the Council while she clutched to a slip of paper in her hand.

    "Several hours ago," she began in a shaky voice. "I was stationed on Utupau with three other Knights when we were ambushed by what I assume was a sniper."

    Her breath hitched and Delta had to force herself to calm down and take a moment to steady herself. "There was an attempt on saving us by an unidentified person, but it only managed to save me in time. I... I... watched my former master and my friends bleed out in front of me."

    There were several moments of silence to honor the fallen Jedi. Several of the Masters even sent out calming waves through the Force in an attempt to console her and let the traumatized teenager know that everything was okay.

    "I woke up with this note with me," Delta continued, then held up the slip of paper and read what it said. "Dear Jedi, I'm sorry I wasn't fast enough to save your friends. Please inform your people of the assassinations on Utupau and that they are related to the ones on Jedha and Yavin. We are dealing with a very dangerous organization right now. Your people are in danger. I know the Council will read this note, so, yes, I am the person who has brought the Separatists into your custody. Sincerely, Unidentified Ally."

    "Wait a minute," Anakin said in shock. "This is the same person as the Gifter?"

    "Yes," Delta replied. "I think there might be a little something else I should tell you."

    Anakin nodded for her to proceed, so she added, "The Gifter is a female. I heard her voice."

    "The Gifter is a woman?" Obi-Wan echoed in shock. "You didn't catch a glance of her face, right?"

    "No," Delta confirmed. "She kept her hood on the whole time."

    "I think we're missing the point here," Mace interjected. "The Gifter said that the incidents on Jedha, Yavin, and Utupau are related to each other. Do you know what all three of those have in common? The only targets were Jedi."

    "So you're saying that there are others after us," Kit Fisto summarized. "But who? The only Sith that we know of are either dead or in custody."

    "Maybe the Gifter knows. After all, she does appear to have been working on this case ever since she brought Dooku to us wrapped up like a present. She also somehow knew that there was going to be an attack on us," Delta pointed out.

    "Many questions, have we," Yoda hummed in thought. "Tell, will time."

            ±-±-±-±-±-±-±-±-±-±-±-±-±-±-±-±-±-±-±-±-±-±-

    Meanwhile, not very far from the Jedi Temple, were a solemn group of men in the popular bar named 79's. Each of them lined up along the counter with a drink sitting in front of them, all the while they were deadly silent and their lips were pressed into a thin line.

    "Do you think she felt it when she died? The pain?" Jesse asked as he picked up his glass and swished the contents around.

    "I doubt it," Kix replied matter-of-factly. "Something like that would've killed her instantly."

    "I still can't believe Little Un' is gone. Commander seemed invincible," Rex sighed, then took a swig of his drink. None of the 501st troopers had been on a mission since the Battle of Exegol for obvious reasons. None of them were emotionally stable enough to fight, especially their general. The only formal interaction the 501st have had recently was the short ceremony in which Rex was promoted to the rank of commander. He would've been plenty glad to refuse it, but it was mostly against code to deny a promotion.

    "You know what they say," Fives spoke up in attempts to lighten the mood. "Nobody's ever really gone. She'll always be with us and serve as an inspiration for us to be strong. She would want us to."

    All of the clones that were lined up at the bar nodded and murmured their agreement, but none of them really said anything. They were too down to function. Ahsoka had been that shining light in their lives, but it was suddenly ripped from them. Now they were forced to make their way in the darkness that they called their life.

    "I have an idea," Fives mumbled as he stood up from his chair. Things weren't going to get better if they all just sat around. Maybe, just maybe, a little bit of singing could lighten all of their moods.

    The trooper took a microphone and walked up onto the stage, then gestured for his brothers to do the same. Albeit reluctantly, he eventually got the group to join him and he began singing to a tune that the 501st had learned the other day. (Listen to it, everyone, and think of Ahsoka. It made me smile :). )

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

It's been a long day without you, my friend

And I'll tell you all about it when I see you again

We've come a long way from where we began

Oh I'll tell you all about it when I see you again

When I see you again

Damn, who knew all the planes we flew

Good things we've been through

That I'll be standing right here

Talking to you about another path

I know we loved to hit the road and laugh

But something told me that it wouldn't last

Had to switch up look at things different see the bigger picture

Those were the days

Hard work forever pays

Now I see you in a better place

How could we not talk about family when family's all that we got?

Everything I went through you were standing there by my side

And now you gonna be with me for the last ride

It's been a long day without you, my friend

And I'll tell you all about it when I see you again

We've come a long way from where we began

Oh I'll tell you all about it when I see you again

When I see you again

First you both go out your way

And the vibe is feeling strong and what's

Small turn to a friendship, a friendship

Turn into a bond and that bond will never

Be broken and the love will never get lost

And when brotherhood come first then the line

Will never be crossed established it on our own

When that line had to be drawn and that line is what

We reach so remember me when I'm gone

How could we not talk about family when family's all that we got?

Everything I went through you were standing there by my side

And now you gonna be with me for the last ride

So let the light guide your way

Hold every memory as you go

and every road you take will always lead you home

It's been a long day without you, my friend

And I'll tell you all about it when I see you again

We've come a long way from where we began

Oh I'll tell you all about it when I see you again

When I see you again.

~

"Status report on Mission Utupau?"

"75% successful. Sir, there's something we have to tell you."

Credit to @Ahsoka1708 for the idea of talking about the clones and how they are dealing with everything. I'm probably not going to update this book for a couple of days so I can catch up on everything else.