The Unchronicled Adventures Of Ahsoka Tano, Book Ten

Chapter Twenty-One: Talk Of Surrender

LUX BONTERI

As soon as Lux caught sight of the tactical droid, he stuffed his lightsaber into the inside pocket of his jacket. As the son of the man who had commanded this Separatist base, perhaps it would be smart not to appear associated to what had been such a strong symbol of the Republic war effort back during the Clone Wars.

"I saw your ship land," the droid told them, the lights over its 'mouth' flickering to fit the words being produced by its audio interface. "Our scanners are not fully functioning, but the odds of a ship of the caliber of the Designation: New Hope escaping notice at even minimal power are four thousand fifteen to one."

"Who are you?" Ahsoka demanded, and Lux watched, hypnotized, as the tip of one white lightsaber flared out to hover an inch from the tactical droid's throat.

"I am Designation: TL-97," the droid replied calmly. "I served the Separatist Alliance under General Bonteri."

"But Lux was too young back then to make the rank of General," Kaya Ti spluttered. "He wouldn't have been older than... oh. You're talking about his father."

Janira shot her a look, and Kaya shook her head in response. "What? I did tell you people I was out of my depth here."

"How are you even still online?" Lux asked, taking a step closer. "The Droid Army was shut down at the end of the Clone War."

"I was not fully functioning when the order was given for all units to be put out of commission. I was assembled as a secondary unit – a backup. An anomaly in my programming caused me to reactivate precisely ten revolutions, seventy-eight rotations, four hours and twenty-nine seconds ago. I then reactivated the others."

"How can we trust you?" Jani's eyes narrowed. "You droids don't volunteer information this easily. You never have. You're trying to lead us on."

"I am not programmed to lie." The droid pushed a button on its comlink, and the door opened. "You have no choice but to trust me – I calculate the odds of escaping with your lives are two thousand six hundred and five to one."

Lux watched, his heart sinking, as a trio of MagnaGuards and easily fifty commando droids filed into the room. More than he could count stood waiting in the hallway. He glanced towards the window in hopes of locating a means to escape, but the ray shielding that had been absent outside before had kicked in. Even with a lightsaber to saw through the transparisteel, leaving that way would be impossible.

Well, it's been worse, Lux tried to console himself.

"Never tell us the odds. We can fight our way out, no problem!" Kaya called boisterously. But she wasn't fooling any of the living beings in the room: everyone could see the genuine fear shining in her eyes. "Your droids are no match for us."

Ahsoka shook her head. Before anyone could stop her, she lowered and doused her blades. "No, Kaya. You didn't fight in the war. You haven't seen what these droids can do. Separatist battle tactics relied heavily on overwhelming the enemy. The droids are harmless enough on their own, but when there are thousands of them coming at you from every direction..." Ahsoka sighed. "I've lost a lot of good friends that way."

"Do you surrender, General...?"

"Tano. Ahsoka Tano." Ahsoka set her jaw. "And I will discuss terms for surrender."

The barest hint of a smile touched Lux's lips as he noticed how she hadn't explicitly said she would surrender. It widened even more when he remarked upon how easily she had accepted the title of general. Officially, to the Rebellion, she was Captain Ahsoka Tano of the White Saber – her position as an informant had no true rank attached to it –, but she had so much more potential for command than that.

But Lux also knew how reluctant Ahsoka was to assume command in any way that reminded her of working in the GAR; perhaps she was just putting on a show for the droids. The Separatist forces had yet to reveal all their cards, and if they thought the war was still going on, perhaps that could work to Ahsoka's benefit.

TL-97 cocked its head. "I will negotiate with Lux Bonteri. No one else."

Ahsoka shot him a look. Lux managed a smile, brushing past his sister until he reached her side. "Hey, I am the former Senator, after all," he said, placing a hand on her cheek for a moment. "It'll be fine – this is what I do."

"Hand over your weapons," droned one of the commando droids. Kaya Ti, Ahsoka and Janira obliged, and Lux offered up his blasters... but his lightsaber remained safely hidden away in the pocket of coat.

Lux bit back a wince as his three friends were cuffed and led away, but he didn't move towards them. He had to bide his time and wait for the right moment.

"Why have you allied yourself with the Jedi and the Republic? You are a Separatist loyalist."

"With the rise of the Empire, I had no choice but to adapt. We use each other's strengths to help us navigate through difficult times," Lux said. If he was lucky, he could convince the droids that they had a common enemy and use that to bargain for his friends' lives. "My turn. Tell me the story behind this base. The reports on Raxus were extremely vague, and I want to know exactly what happened to my father."

TL-97 was silent for a moment, and Lux could tell its internal processors were accessing files relevant to the question. But then, much to Lux's surprise, instead of speaking himself, the droid began playing an audio file.

"Military log 017. General Zakhan Bonteri reporting in."

*Lux has been suddenly confronted by a surprising ghost of his past: his father's voice. What could he learn from this old tactical droid, who perhaps once worked alongside his father? And what choice will he make when he finds out? And what has become of Ahsoka, Janira and Kaya Ti? There is more at stake here than our heroes yet realize, and soon, they will realize that leaving Aargonar will be more difficult than they could have ever imagined. You'll find out how in the next thrilling chapter of The Unchronicled Adventures Of Ahsoka Tano!

*yells over the music from The Nutcracker playing at full volume in the background* Heyyooooo!! How are you all doing on this lovely Sunday afternoon?

Here's to LESS THAN A WEEK UNTIL ROGUE ONE EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Also, A++++++ to you in Fandom class if you caught that Han Solo reference.

Now I won't keep you guys long, since I know you want to read the next chapter. I know this is looking quite a bit like The Last Battle, and with good reason, since that's where I drew the majority of the inspiration from, but although I love the idea of TCW in the Rebels point in the timeline, I'm using it to tell a different story entirely. You'll understand part of it in the next chapter ;)

I have a lot of crazy things planned, and I can't wait to start putting them into action hehe :}

Now, READ ON, MY FRIENDS