"Barriss!" Ahsoka screamed in desperation, watching her friend being held captive.
Luminara also spoke with urgent authority: "Release her immediately, you monster!"
Durge shook his massive head and sneered with contempt: "I came here specifically to kill Jedi Knights and clone troopers. Did you somehow believe I was merely making empty threats?"
"You cannot harm her!" Ahsoka yelled with fury, charging directly toward Durge and severing the arm that held Barriss with a precise lightsaber strike.
Durge showed no attempt to dodge or any sign of pain, simply smiling with amusement: "More than a century has passed, and you Jedi Knights still haven't learned anything new." He casually retrieved his severed limb from the deck, and both Jedi watched in horror as the detached appendage reconnected seamlessly with his body, restored to perfect condition. He lowered his head to regard the two young Jedi who had retreated to a safer distance: "I can detect your heartbeats from two hundred meters away. Do you seriously believe you can approach me undetected?"
Durge charged forward with explosive speed, but War Machine suddenly descended from above, using his repulsors' full power to drive the bounty hunter to the deck.
Durge merely snorted with disdain, expanded his chest cavity, and actually absorbed War Machine's armored foot directly into his body mass.
"What the hell?!" Rhodes immediately activated his thrusters to escape the horrifying embrace.
"Hey, freak, don't forget about us!" Luminara called out.
Durge turned to see all three Jedi charging toward his position simultaneously. He extended multiple flexible appendages in all directions, keeping the trio constantly occupied with defensive maneuvers.
Suddenly, one of Durge's outstretched arms wrapped around Luminara's forearm like a constricting serpent, applying continuous crushing pressure that caused the Jedi Master to cry out in pain as her bones threatened to snap.
Durge handled the entire group with casual ease, speaking with condescending superiority: "In my professional opinion, you are all merely clowns performing acrobatics for my entertainment. Your movements are pathetically slow."
At that critical moment, Commander Gree's frantic voice crackled through their communicators: "General Unduli, Colonel Rhodes, Captain Argyus is a traitor! He has released Gunray from custody, and they have both escaped together."
"We've been completely deceived," Luminara exclaimed with shocked realization.
Durge responded with calm satisfaction: "Now that my associate has successfully completed her mission, we can focus entirely on enjoying ourselves."
Rhodes had endured enough of this psychological and physical torture. He opened the reinforced armor plating on his chest, armed three high-explosive micro-missiles, and roared with determination: "Screw you, eat this!"
The missiles penetrated deeply into Durge's body mass, and he simply stood there appearing completely unharmed. Suddenly, the bounty hunter began convulsing violently, his entire form expanding as if being inflated from within. He realized something was catastrophically wrong and shouted with rage: "You clever bastard—"
BOOM!
Durge's body exploded in all directions, his biological matter splattering across the hangar and covering the Jedi and Avenger with gruesome debris.
Ahsoka doubled over and frantically shook her arms to remove the body fragments clinging to her robes. She coughed violently, spitting out the alien blood that had splashed into her mouth, then continued retching as waves of nausea overwhelmed her.
Luminara brushed the viscous material from her clothing and asked with genuine curiosity: "Colonel Rhodes, if you possessed such a devastating weapon, why didn't you deploy it from the beginning of our engagement?"
Rhodes explained with obvious frustration: "Because I have extremely limited ammunition. There are only six of those left now, and since we're not on Earth, I cannot obtain replacements once they're expended. I reserve them only for absolutely desperate situations."
Luminara nodded with complete understanding of his tactical reasoning.
The group fell into somber silence as they surveyed the countless clone trooper corpses scattered throughout the hangar. This tragic battlefield made it impossible for any of them to experience genuine satisfaction from their victory.
The four survivors quickly returned to the Tranquility's damaged bridge and transmitted emergency distress signals to nearby Republic forces, as the frigate had sustained critical damage throughout the enemy assault.
After establishing communication with Master Yoda, General Skywalker, and Captain America, the four battle-weary combatants made their way to the medical bay to treat their injuries alongside the many other wounded clone troopers who had survived Durge's systematic massacre.
Luminara looked down at her fallen clone soldiers with overwhelming guilt, experiencing a surge of self-reproach for her inability to prevent the inhuman violence that had claimed so many loyal lives.
Her painful thoughts were interrupted by a gentle voice: "Master, are you seriously injured?"
Luminara looked at Barriss, who appeared deeply concerned, and smiled with forced reassurance: "I'm fine, though my arm may require considerable time to heal properly."
Barriss studied her Master's damaged limb, hesitated momentarily, then raised her hands with determination: "Master, if you would permit me, I would like to use the healing techniques that Master Tera Sinube taught me to assist with your recovery."
Luminara looked up with surprised interest, allowing her Padawan to take her injured arm gently in both hands.
Barriss exhaled slowly and closed her eyes, concentrating deeply on accessing the Force for healing purposes. She felt the omnipresent energy flowing through her body and into her fingertips, gathering the power there as luminous energy emanated from her palms and began enveloping Luminara's wounded arm.
Both Ahsoka and War Machine watched in amazement at this extraordinary display as Luminara's injuries slowly began knitting themselves back together.
After several minutes of intensive concentration, Barriss stopped the healing process and swayed backward with exhaustion. Ahsoka, who had been standing vigilantly beside her, quickly caught her friend and prevented her from collapsing.
"That was incredible, Barriss! Since when have you been able to use Force healing?" Ahsoka asked with genuine admiration.
Barriss replied weakly: "This ability manifested while I was studying at the Temple. Master Tera Sinube recognized this particular talent and has been guiding me to develop and master it."
Rhodes also expressed his appreciation: "That skill is absolutely remarkable. I've never seen anything like it."
Luminara regarded Barriss with pride and relief: "Although today's battle was exceptionally brutal, I am tremendously proud of you, Barriss. Both of you are clearly on the path to becoming exemplary Jedi Knights."
Both Barriss and Ahsoka smiled with happiness after receiving such meaningful praise from a respected Master.
"General, Colonel."
Luminara and Rhodes both turned to see Commander Gree standing before them with his helmet removed, his expression showing the weight of recent losses. Luminara said with concern: "Commander Gree, I hope you weren't seriously injured during the assault."
Commander Gree managed a strained smile: "General, at least I'm still alive and breathing, which makes me considerably more fortunate than many of my clone brothers."
Luminara spoke with genuine remorse: "This catastrophe is my responsibility. I failed to anticipate that our enemies would be so extraordinarily powerful."
Gree replied with stoic determination: "General, this outcome is not your fault. The next time that monster appears, the clone corps and I will be ready to face that bounty hunter and show him the consequences of slaughtering clone soldiers."
Ahsoka asked with obvious confusion: "Next time? What are you talking about? Colonel Rhodes already blasted that Durge creature into pieces."
Gree frowned deeply, retrieved his holographic projection device, and activated it with grim purpose: "Regarding that assumption, I believe all four officers need to review this surveillance footage."
The image displayed was none other than a completely intact Durge standing casually beside an escape pod, apparently unharmed and preparing for departure.
Rhodes' eyes widened with disbelief: "You have got to be kidding me."
Luminara also spoke with serious concern: "It appears that our adversary this time possesses capabilities far beyond anything we encountered before—he cannot be eliminated as easily as standard battle droids."
Both Ahsoka and Barriss also looked distinctly troubled by this disturbing revelation.
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