The Unchronicled Adventures Of Ahsoka Tano, Book Ten

Chapter Four: Varaya Kerris

AHSOKA TANO

As the starlines that had kept her starfighter wrapped in their protective glowing embrace for just short of three hours faded away, Ahsoka's gaze was drawn towards a screen to her right.

She furrowed her brow as she read the information the central computer had just received from the scanners. Wait, there's a ship out there? That's strange... why didn't I get a read on it before now?

As she flew closer, she suddenly understood. She was getting no fluctuations in power or even so much as a change in the reactor core. Plus, the large transport ship was all smooth edges and softened lines – there was little she would have been able to track right away.

But that still doesn't explain the lack of power...

As she flew closer, she realized with a start that the ship was dead in space – she could see sparks hissing from exposed wires, and the normally blinding bluish fire of the engines had been reduced to a mere flickering glow.

Her eyes narrowed. This has got to be the Empire's work, she thought, guiding the ship closer. The Force was drawing her towards the ship, and, choosing to trust her instincts, she heeded its call and maneuvered her fighter underneath the ship to the closest docking station.

Thankfully, despite some protest from the station's docking clamps, she managed to link her ship with the transport smoothly.

The first things she noticed were that the air in the transport was far thinner than in her A-wing, and that the temperature had dropped significantly. Clearly, the ship had been on the bare minimum of emergency life support for quite some time.

For a moment, Ahsoka felt slightly dizzy as the change in air began to affect her. She stood still, taking a few deep breaths as she stretched out with her senses.

She could still hear the screams and smell the fear on the cold, stale air.

Carefully, she made her way quietly through the ship, following the gentle whispering of the Force until she came to a hallway that had been closed off.

The door slid open in short bursts as the limited power in the ship tried to compensate, and Ahsoka crept through the deserted corridor, sidestepping a pile of smoking cables and a power cell that had fallen from its socket in the ceiling.

Suddenly, a burnt, blackened line in the wall caught her attention. She walked over to take a closer look, running her fingers along the charred groove.

The cuts were still warm.

What has the power to cut through solid durasteel as if it were nothing more than butter? Her eyes narrowed. Either someone was at this with a plasma welder for three hours, or...

She continued on, casting wary glances down junctions in the hallway at consoles issuing sparks and trying to keep the sheer waves of fear surrounding this place from getting to her. She could sense a single life form nearby, and she was determined to find it.

Stupid, stupid, stupid, Ahsoka thought. I shouldn't have let myself be tempted by the promise of a hot meal. Because of that, I'm too late now to help anyone else.

"H–help... I'm here," came a voice feebly.

Ahsoka captured a tendril of the Force's energy and reached out with it. Much to her surprise, it came back to her with a presence that was slightly Force-sensitive. "It's okay, you're safe now," she said, extending her hand to the form of a woman in her sixties behind a fallen container.

The woman took Ahsoka's hand and clasped her fingers weakly. She clearly lacked the strength to help herself up, and, judging by her labored breathing, she had suffered heavy bruising.