The Unchronicled Adventures Of Ahsoka Tano, Book Ten

Chapter Eight: Strengths And Weaknesses

AHSOKA TANO

The cool night air nipped at Ahsoka's cheeks as a light breeze began to pick up, sending the powdery little snowflakes, still too far and few in between to be considered a true storm, flying in spirals around her.

For a moment, she stared at the Inquisitors as they stared at her, seizing each other up. Ahsoka's gaze was unwavering and unblinking, for fear she would miss something crucial – a change in the angle of a lightsaber, a subtle shift from standing at the ready into a combat form – that could lead to them getting the upper hand.

But that was when a piece of snow flew into her eye. Reflex kicked in instantaneously, and she blinked.

Apparently, it was the signal the Inquisitors had been waiting for. The male surged forward, his blade arcing through the air towards her. But his battle cry turned to one of surprise as, twisting her blades around his, she sent him flying back into one of the two columns supporting a large overhang.

As he smashed into the stone effigy and fell silent, Ahsoka twirled back to confront the woman, lashing out with one lightsaber and then the other as she went from merely blocking the crimson beams to actually mounting an offensive.

Ahsoka's twin blades met the woman's in another lock, but this she held only for a second. She spun around, her blades arcing down more and more aggressively as she used her superior height and strength to her advantage.

Jumping up, she kicked out with both feet, angling her blades out behind her for extra balance. As the Inquisitor landed next to another column, Ahsoka doused her blades, bending down in a moment of meditation.

The Force felt almost like a live wire as its two Sides fought for dominance.

She's very fast. I'll give her that, Ahsoka though. The male has slower reflexes, but makes up for it in brute strength and abilities with the Force. If they were two halves of one whole, they would be more than a match for me. But they're disjointed; they're working as separate entities rather than as a team. I bet right now the only thing keeping them from killing each other is a common goal...

She's quick and light on her feet. He's strong, both physically and with the Force. Each one's strength is the other one's weakness. I've been able to use that against him... now, all that's left is to apply that to her.

The woman leapt forward, spinning her blades on their handle. Ahsoka waited until the last possible second to use the Force to hook her lightsabers back onto their clips on her belt. Then, she grabbed hold of the Inquisitor's lightsaber hilt.

What the woman – Seventh Sister was what they called her – hadn't realized until it was too late was that Ahsoka had been baiting her. Battle Meditation was thought by Darksiders to be a show of weakness; an invitation to strike while the enemy was preoccupied.

But Ahsoka wasn't preoccupied, far from it. What she was focusing on in that moment was completely relevant: she was squaring her stance in order to help reinforce the powerful muscles in her deceptively slender arms.

She held the lightsaber in place with one hand, then used the other as a conduit for Electric Judgment, but in reverse. Opening herself up to the incredible power she possessed, she sapped the energy from the two red crystals at the saber's core. And even if the effect on the weapon was only temporary, Seventh Sister's grip still slackened in shock.

She pulled the hilt from the Inquisitor's hands easily, tossing it away behind her. As it clattered to the ground, she clapped her hands together, redirecting the staggering proportions of energy she had harnessed from the crystals into a blow with the Force.