Star Wars: From the Clone Wars to Starfaring Heroes

Chapter 17 - The Struggling Soul (4k views, please continue reading)
Onduli and the clone soldiers were closer to the exit, while Baris and the little Hutts were closer to the detention cell they had entered from.

Ventress was between them and the exit.

Should they hunt down the Jedi, or capture the Hutts and the Apprentice?
Ventress cannot have both.

The adrenaline rushing into her bloodstream kept her going, but it wouldn't last long.

Now she can only choose between a bad outcome and an even worse outcome.

do not care.

Count Dooku can unleash his anger on her later!

Ventress roared and used all her strength to unleash the Force, shoving Anduley away and slamming her against the wall in the distance.

"Master!"

"Barbie shouted anxiously from the side."

Ventress deflected a burst of energy, which bounced back and struck a clone soldier. She then turned and lunged at the apprentice, intending to push her further toward the detention cell.

An explosion in the distance shook the volcanic rocks of the plateau.

Ventress thought the sound was like a Republic gunboat that had crashed.

She couldn't help but reveal a triumphant smile.

It seems Bontri succeeded.

"General!" a clone soldier shouted, "They've cut us off! We have to get out of here!"

Luminara Onduli had already stood up, her whole body tense, ready to attack Ventress from behind.

Ventress gritted his teeth, using the power of the dark side to prolong his exhausted body, and decisively unleashed a flurry of slashes and hacks at the apprentice's crumbling defenses.

A clone soldier shouted from further down the corridor, "They're on the platform!"

"General!"

Onduli seemed almost ready to ignore the clone soldiers' desperate pleas and choose to help her apprentice.

Until a shadow crossed Paris's originally bright blue eyes.

Ventress was pushed back by a faint Force, and Baris seized the opportunity to throw the little Hutt aside and toss the screaming little reptile across the room.

"No!"

Ventress roared.

She hurriedly turned around, intending to use the Force to grab the little Hutt, but was stopped by Anduil.

In that instant, Ventress almost tore the little reptile in two.

Although she could still blame the Jedi for the Little Hutts' deaths.

But Parish pounced on her from behind, making it impossible for her to concentrate.

"Go quickly, Master!" Paris shouted resolutely, "I'll hold her off!"

"Barris!"

This was the first time since Ventress met Unduri that she had felt her suppressed panic instantly within the Force.

Then, the panic turned into a cold resolve.

Ventress screamed in frustration, threw away a lightsaber, grabbed Baris's other hand, and twisted it forcefully.

Click!

With a sharp crack, Paris's hand was twisted open, and Ventress caught the detonator that fell from her hand.

With his last ounce of strength, Ventress used the Force to throw Barris far into the tunnel, then pressed the button.

There was a roar.

The tunnel collapsed above her head.

"what!"

A scream rang out, followed by silence.

Ventress gave herself only a brief respite before turning back to continue the pursuit.

She chased after Onduli through the passage, climbing an ancient stone staircase and mercilessly cutting down any clone soldiers who tried to block her way.

As the sunlight streamed in, the walls became brighter.

The tunnel exit leads to a landing platform.

When Ventress arrived, she saw the gunboat take off. Luminara Ondu looked down at her with her cold blue eyes, and the little Hutt was already in the arms of a medic.

"So you just left her like that!?"

Ventress's expression was half anger and half mockery.

Andoli did not respond to her until the gunboat's blast-proof hatch closed.

Ventress could only watch helplessly and angrily as the Jedi escaped with the little Hutts.

Dozens of gunboats are withdrawing from the Cheerleader-class troop transport ships, which are also leaving the atmosphere.

Soon, she couldn't tell which ship the Jedi were on.

At that moment, Ventress heard the synchronized clanging of the battle robots.

Above, the "Vulture" robot fighter and the Republic fighter are engaged in a fierce air battle, with both sides striving to gain the upper hand.

The robot's shattered parts were scattered on the ground in a bizarre manner; some were torn to pieces by the blaster, while others were cleaved into pieces by the lightsaber.

She resisted the urge to kick away a severed head.

That's too childish, and they're not worth it for her to do that.

They fulfilled their responsibilities, but she couldn't say that she had done the same.

Ventress closed his eyes and sheathed his lightsaber.

“Ventress calling air command,” she said into the communicator. “Can you hear me? Pursue those gunboats and destroy them. Don’t let them get close to the troop transports!”

The "Vulture" fighter jet responded and immediately broke away from the dogfight.

“Master,” 4A-7 contacted Ventress, “I’m almost there.”

Ventress shifted her gaze and noticed that Ziro Hurt's old, gray spice ship was skimming through the mist below.

She waited impatiently, constantly shifting her position on each foot, when suddenly she felt a sharp pain and confusion within the Force.

She pursed her lips.

The apprentice was still alive.

……

Paris wasn't sure when the weight pressing on her chest was removed; she only knew that she could suddenly breathe again.

She tried to keep her body completely still, and slightly opened one eye.

As her blurry vision gradually cleared, she realized that everything was horribly gloomy and that her body was in excruciating pain.

Either she is already dead.

Or perhaps she somehow survived from under a collapsed "castle" that had been pressing down on her head.

It took her a while to understand her situation.

She was leaning against the bulkhead of a spaceship, and judging from the pain in her hips that came with the ship's vibrations, she was clearly on the floor.

Her hands and feet were handcuffed together.

She couldn't feel the lightsaber hanging at her waist; it was empty and exuded a chill.

Paris realized that she had been captured.

Master Luminara...did you escape with the little Hutts?
She tentatively tried to sense things with her Force, but quickly realized it was a foolish mistake. "So you're awake!" Paris recognized the hoarse voice. "—Be good and stay there."

Barris opened her eyes, knowing she couldn't fool a Sith assassin like Asagi Ventress.

She didn't bother to answer, but instead slowly began to observe her surroundings.

They placed her in the cockpit of a small starship, which, judging from the smell, was a spice cargo ship.

As for "them," there's Ventress, and a familiar-looking robot.

“You are that ‘care robot’,” she thought, feeling a pang of sadness.

“And you are Baris Orpheus,” the robot said without even glancing at her, “a Jedi apprentice.”

We trusted you.

Paris really wanted to say it, but she held back.

Now, she has to figure out a way to escape.

“Don’t waste your energy,” Ventress saw through her thoughts and stood up. “It’s your turn now, 4A-7, Paris Orpheus, right? You were almost dead when I found you, so don’t let all my efforts to save you go to waste.”

“You should have killed me then,” Paris retorted. “You’ll regret it.”

Ventress's lips twisted in a grimace. "Your master must think the same way... to kill you. As for whether he'll regret it... after all, your master seems to think a Hutt's life is far more important than yours."

“That concerns the lives of millions,” Paris retorted. “The situation of the war is more important than my personal life. You failed, assassin. Master Luminara was with Rota. You couldn’t catch her. You failed.”

Ventress opened her mouth, revealing her teeth. "So you understand I want... to get my revenge. I heard your master is going to Christophersis to participate in your little counterattack. I want to know which frontline I can find her on."

Barris created a blank in her mind, preventing Ventress from probing for the information she wanted. "Christophersis has dozens of Jedi, you can't get close to her at all."

"At least you weren't lying in the first part."

“I won’t tell you anything,” Barlis said, mustering her last bit of courage. “Why not just kill me? You can kill a Jedi, and I won’t have to see your face again.”

If Paris can't escape, then she can only die.

She cannot allow the separatists to obtain any intelligence from her.

She must protect Master Luminara, and everyone on Christophersis.

Paris made up her mind.

I am with the Force, and death cannot frighten me.

She tried to suppress the lingering hesitation in her heart.

Ventress scoffed dismissively, "You, a Jedi? I could kill you with my eyes closed, girl. Don't be so arrogant."

A surge of indignation welled up in Paris's heart, but she tried hard to suppress it.

Ventress wanted to provoke her, and she couldn't let him succeed.

Paris recalled her master Luminara's teachings, cleared her mind, and detached herself from her emotions.

Her expression became indifferent.

The thought of her master, Luminara, brought her peace and self-control.

At this moment, she really needs this kind of self-control.

“Why do you still insist, Barris?” Ventress’s tone softened, which made her uneasy. “Why do you serve the Jedi? They don’t care what happens to you. Even your dear master left you here to die. They only care about their comfortable lives in Coruscant, living in towers and enjoying soft cushions.”

Ignore her! Paris

She told herself it was a temptation from the dark side.

Ignore her!
“Don’t you understand?” Ventress crouched down in front of her. “You’re nothing but a tool for your master to satisfy her vanity. She won’t come to save you, and she won’t feel guilty for abandoning you. So she’d rather think you’re dead. You’re just a tool, a tool that can be discarded and replaced at will. Your master will swagger back to the Jedi Temple and take a new apprentice without hesitation.”

“We are fighting to liberate the galaxy from your and Count Dooku’s tyranny,” Paris turned her head, trying to ignore her coaxing. “Sacrifice is necessary. I will give you nothing, so just kill me.”

“Sacrifice?” Ventress laughed sarcastically. “Is this what you call sacrifice? You serve them, you fight for them, but once you’re no longer of use, they’ll abandon you here to fend for yourself, just like they abandoned my master!”

Ventress grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him. “Then they’ll call it a ‘sacrifice.’ If even one of them sheds a tear for your ‘sacrifice,’ you should be grateful. But remember me, in less than a week, they’ll have forgotten all about you. You’re absolutely not worth serving them or being loyal to them. Don’t you understand?”

Paris realized that this was a personal grudge against Ventress.

Ventress didn't even try to hide her overwhelming disgust and hatred for the Jedi.

Do not--

Barlis didn't even need to use the Force to sense Ventress's emotions; they were clearly written on his face.

Every word Ventress spoke sounded as if she had witnessed it herself, and she transformed all her pain into a deep and focused rage.

Paris stared into Sith's eyes.

Those were pale blue eyes, filled with a kind of obsession, yet strangely full of life.

Somehow, she realized that they had turned her into an enemy.

Ventress was not just a hired assassin, nor was she a mindless Sith henchman; she did these things out of personal conviction.

She just said "master"?

Was Ventress ever a Jedi?
This idea disgusted her to the core.

If she says something... no, stop.

Her words are dangerous, more dangerous than her lightsaber.

This is all her trickery, her scheme.

Concentrating one's mind—these are all tactics employed by the dark side.

She's trying to seduce me, so ignore her.

Detach yourself from your emotions.

Withdrawal.

It seemed easy for Master Luminara to do.

“'Dawn,' this is 'Counterattack,'”

At this moment, the spacecraft's communication system broke the tense atmosphere.

"You may land from the starboard hangar."

"Roger that!"

The spy robot replied.

Ventress's hand tightened briefly, then relaxed, and she slowly stood up.

“When the situation is in their favor, they abandon their moral principles, Paris,” Ventress’s tone softened, as if to comfort her. “You know that, otherwise why would you have come all the way to Tess?”

"They'll abandon you when things are going their way—they've already abandoned you, just like they abandoned my master. We're the same. Whoever we are, we're just pawns to be sacrificed. They're not worth my loyalty... So why don't you set aside those Jedi doctrines and think for yourself? Why don't you decide for yourself whether they're worthy of your loyalty, worthy of your sacrifice?"

Ventress stood up and returned to her seat, leaving Paris alone, lost in thought.

This was the most painful experience of her life, and she didn't even get to see the lightsabers clash.

Paris closed her eyes, seeking solace in the wisdom of her master, Luminara.

Master Luminara would know what to do in this situation... So what would she do?

Paris knew: stay calm, stay determined, and stay silent.

Don't give them anything.

Delaying time, waiting for rescue.

Ventress is definitely lying, she must be lying.

Master Luminara wasn't that kind of person; she would come to save her, she knew that...

But Ventress's words so easily touched an unwelcome chord deep within her, which still made her somewhat uneasy.

(End of this chapter)