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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟐𝟏
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍

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Aurora was over the moon to be sent to Christophsis with Grizz to help aid Senator Organa's relief effort. She was determined to help Bail and the planet in any way she could. The Jinn woman was also ready to prove to the Jedi Council that her plan for her and the "defective" clone would be successful. But Aurora never expected a Separatist blockade to appear only a few days later. Now they were tapped between enemy ships in the atmosphere above them and a droid army on the planet's surface with them. And despite her best efforts to get the upper hand in the ground battle, they were hopelessly outnumbered.

It took Aurora a while to convince herself to call for help, but Grizz helped her along the way. What she didn't realize was that Anakin was the closest ally to them. After explaining the situation to him, all the Jinn woman heard was witty remarks about how he was coming to save her. Aurora had to bite her tongue to stop herself from reminding him about how many times she rescued him from dangerous situations. She knew now wasn't the time to argue with the Skywalker boy, especially when Senator Organa was counting on her.

Explosions erupted around them as Aurora and Bail waited for Grizz to establish a connection with the Skywalker boy's ships. What felt like an eternity passed before the holographic image of Anakin and Wullf Yularen appeared.

"Separatist forces have overrun our position," Senator Organa explained before an explosion erupted from somewhere behind them, causing the world around them to shake, "and we are out of food, water, and munitions. Our situation is desperate."

Bail's pleas for help were soon cut short when their comms system short-circuited. Smoke rose from the machine and filled the air around them, causing everyone nearby to wave their hands in front of them to keep the smoke away. When Aurora's attention fell on the Senator, she found him staring back at her with despair in his eyes.

"Don't worry too much, Senator. Anakin will get us the supplies we need," the Jinn woman said, earning an unconvinced look from Grizz that only she seemed to notice, "right now we need to focus on keeping our forces together. We need to be ready for when the reinforcements arrive."

The Organa man kept his eyes glued to her for another moment before sending her a small nod. It wasn't long after that when he walked past her to address the nearby clones and come up with a plan. As soon as the Senator was out of earshot, Grizz stepped forward to stand beside Aurora.

"Do you really think General Skywalker will get past the blockade?" the clone asked, knowing he could always speak freely when with his commander.

"I have no doubt that Anakin will succeed," Aurora declared before letting out a long sigh, "but when and how are completely different stories."

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What felt like an eternity passed when the Jinn woman was slowly losing hope. They were being demolished on the battlefield despite all of her efforts. Grizz reported the injury and casualty report every hour, which made the dread within her grow each time. They were losing men faster than any of them anticipated and the lack of supplies only made it worse. And despite knowing it wouldn't be much help, Aurora was prepared to step into battle.

Just as she and Grizz were about to hop onto their speeders and travel to the front lines, a strange-looking ship appeared in the sky above them. Her senses were on overdrive as she watched it approach the surface until it landed on one of the abandoned streets. Aurora's hand was on her lightsaber hilt as she and Grizz made their way toward the bizarre ship. But as soon as she was close enough to it, a familiar sensation washed over her, causing all her doubts to disappear. Not even a second after that passed when the ship's ramp lowered, revealing a very smug-looking Anakin.

"I heard someone was in need of a supply shipment," the Skywalker boy said as the large grin on his face did nothing but grow.

A small sigh passed over Aurora's lips as her body slowly started to relax. "You have no idea."

"General Skywalker," Senator Organa greeted while clones began unloading the supply shipment from the ship, "I have no idea how you did it but you saved a great many lives today."

Anakin instantly responded with a small nod, which Bail returned before heading back toward the command center. As soon as he was out of earshot, Aurora turned her attention back to the Skywalker boy. "I have a feeling I don't wanna know how you got passed that blockade. But I also have a feeling that Obi-Wan wasn't happy about it."

"Your feelings are correct," the brunette boy responded before his attention landed on Admiral Yularen, "well, looks like we make a pretty good team."

"I must admit I am a bit surprised at the reckless nature of your tactics...though I cannot argue with their results," Wullf responded, earning a chuckle from Aurora before Anakin rolled his eyes at her.

"Well, you'll find I like to do things differently from time to time."

The Jinn woman couldn't help but let out another laugh in response to Anakin's words. After receiving another eye roll from him, Aurora began speaking. "That's one way to put it."

"Indeed. The Chancellor mentioned as much though he insisted it was the highest compliment," the Admiral responded, making the Jinn woman's smile falter.

While she watched Wullf walk past them and toward the command center, Aurora couldn't help but wonder why the Chancellor would mention Anakin to the Admiral. She soon began thinking back to the conversation she had with Count Dooku on Geonosis, specifically about how a dark lord was in control of the Senate. But she quickly shook those feelings off and focused back on the situation at hand. It wasn't long after that when she, Anakin, and Grizz began their walk back to the command center to plan their next move.

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It was the following morning and Aurora found herself standing in one of the buildings in the Christophsis capital. She and Grizz were stationed there with Anakin and the 501st Legion, which was one of the few clone battalions that accepted the "defective" clone as one of their own. That was one of the main reasons the Jinn woman preferred to work with Anakin and Obi-Wan. Not only did she know exactly how they worked, but their clone battalions never minded having Grizz around. The Kenobi man had arrived late last night along with the 212th Legion, which gave the Jedi and their most trusted clones time to come up with their plan.

The Jinn woman was currently looking through her binoculars at the approaching droid army. Conversations were happening around her about their plans, but she chose to tune it out. If there was anything she needed to know, Anakin would tell her. But her attention was soon drawn back to the world around her when Obi-Wan's voice came over their comms. "Anakin, Aurora, how are you doing over there?"

"We're set. I've got some guys here that are anxious to get going," the Skywalker boy responded before his attention landed on the woman standing next to him, "oh, and Aurora. She's ready too."

The brunette woman playfully rolled her eyes at Anakin while they listened to the Kenobi man's response. "Glad to hear it."

A small sigh passed over Aurora's lips before going back to focusing on their enemy. She was surprised by how many droids were coming their way, but she wasn't worried. They were prepared for this battle and she was prepared to avenge the lives they lost.

"The droids are advancing," Grizz announced from his place beside the Jedi Commander, "I'm seeing a full battalion coming right on schedule. And tanks. They brought tanks."

"That shouldn't be an issue for us. They just need to get a little closer," Rex responded before using his own binoculars to watch their approaching enemy, "they're splitting up."

Aurora's confidence instantly vanished as she watched the droids break off into three groups, all advancing in different directions. She watched them for a moment longer before turning her attention toward Anakin, knowing they needed to come up with another plan. But what the Jinn woman wasn't prepared for was seeing a battle occurring in the building where Obi-Wan and the 212th were stationed.

"Anakin," the brunette woman called out, drawing his attention toward her before he gestured toward the building across from them, "we have a problem."

"Obi-Wan, what's going on?" the Skywalker boy said into his comms while keeping his eyes glued to the opposite building.

"We're cut off. The droids are onto us."

"Gunship, come in. Hawk, we need an evac in the south tower," Anakin declared, earning confused looks from everyone surrounding him.

"Roger that, sir. We're coming."

"South tower? We're in the north," Rex said while Grizz let out a long sigh, having a feeling he knew what the General was thinking.

"I'm not gonna like this plan, am I?" Aurora asked, earning a small smirk from the Skywalker boy.

The next thing anyone knew, Anakin used this lightsaber to slice two lines into the window in front of him. He then used the force to shatter the glass before pointing at the building across from them. "Fire your cables."

A small sigh passed over Aurora's lips as she grabbed a spare blaster from Grizz. After clipping it onto the cable, she began her journey toward the other tower with Anakin and the clones. They were about halfway across when the droids started firing at them from below. The Skywalker boy didn't hesitate to unsheath his lightsaber to block as much of their blaster fire as he could. Just as Aurora was about to copy his actions, she heard a scream coming from behind her. Her attention immediately moved toward the sound to find Blu falling toward the surface.

Aurora's instincts took over before a solid thought could go through her head. Her hand shot out toward the clone, causing him to stop in mid-air. While Blu flew through the air behind them, the Jinn woman used the Force to bring him toward her. They were just about to reach the South Tower when Blu was close enough for Aurora to grab his hand. Lucky for them, Anakin had already made a hole in one of the windows. The Jinn woman swung her body before using the Force to send him through the broken window. Blu immediately sprung into action by firing at the droids in the South Tower. Aurora unsheathed her lightsaber the moment her feet met the floor and was quick to join him.

The Jinn woman soon found herself by Anakin's side as they took out a small group of droids. Once they were taken care of, they raced into the next room where Obi-Wan and the 212th were.

"This way is clear!" Anakin exclaimed while continuing to deflect the droids' blaster fire.

"How did you get over here?" the Kenobi man asked with a hint of shock and confusion in his voice.

"Trust me, you don't wanna know," Aurora responded before she and Obi-Wan used the Force to throw the nearby cannon at the advancing droids.

The second they had an opening to retreat, they took it. The clones led the way as they rushed back into the other room and squeezed into the lone elevator. Anakin closed the doors as soon as everyone was in before they began their ascent. What felt like an eternity passed when they finally reached the roof. They all sprinted out of the elevator and toward the edge, expecting a ship there to take them away from the battle. But to their dismay, there were no allies there to greet them.

An unamused look soon appeared on Obi-Wan's face as he looked over at Anakin. "Now what?"

The next thing anyone knew, the elevator doors opened before droids began firing at them. The clones quickly sprung into action and returned fire while the Jedi unsheathed their lightsabers. Aurora ran between Obi-Wan and Anakin as they charged at the droids, blocking their blaster fire along the way. As soon as they reached their enemy, the Jedi began taking out as many of the droids as they could. But more and more kept coming out of the elevator. If any more came, they would soon be hopelessly outnumbered. As if the world was working against them, the other elevator opened and more droids marched out.

Just as Aurora was about to lose all hope, their gunner ship appeared in the sky. She, Anakin, and Obi-Wan continued to hold off the droids while the clones made their way onto the ship. It wasn't long before the Kenobi man called out for Aurora to head to the ship. She blocked one more of the droids' blasts before turning to make her escape. However, she barely made it two steps before her blood ran cold at the sight of Grizz passing an unmoving Blu to Rex. The Jinn woman quickly shook off her emotions as she jumped onto the ship, followed by Obi-Wan and Anakin. As soon as everyone was on board, the ship took them away from the battle.

"Maybe this tactical droid will tell us how they knew our plan," the clone commander explained while holding the droid's head out for them to see.

Aurora soon tuned out the conversations happening around her as her attention fell on Blu. He was currently being tended to by Kix at the back of the ship. She silently prayed that he would be okay, but she also reminded herself that there was nothing more she could do. There was never anything more she could do. What felt like an eternity passed before Kix looked up to meet her gaze. The two of them just stared at each other for a long moment before the medic slowly shook his head. Chills ran throughout Aurora's entire body as she looked away from the fallen clone. But what she didn't expect was to find Obi-Wan watching her with a hint of concern in his eyes.

"This is a war, Aurora. You can't save everyone," the Kenobi man told her in a sympathetic tone while Anakin and the clones continued with their conversations.

"I never expected to," Aurora responded before catching Grizz writing something down in his journal. To anyone else, it would just look as though he was taking notes. But the Jinn woman knew what he was really writing. It was the same thing he wrote down after their missions since their very first one together. Grizz was adding Blu's name to a list of fallen clones. Aurora watched her friend for another moment before her attention returned to Obi-Wan, who was still closely watching her. "But I will try to save as many as I can."

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