The Unchronicled Adventures Of Ahsoka Tano, Book Ten

Chapter Twenty-Two: An Old Droid's Tale

AHSOKA TANO

It was a very long time before Ahsoka, Kaya Ti, Janira and the droids guarding them arrived at their destination: a small, airless room with one door and a vent in one wall.

As the droids left the room and sealed the door behind them, Ahsoka examined her surroundings. The walls and door were made of durasteel, which would make escaping without a lightsaber difficult, but perhaps there was something else; some other sort of weakness she could exploit...

Her gaze soon drifted back to the vent. Although it was far too small to allow any one of them to pass through, she was surprised to see the light of the setting sun peeking through it, coloring the dull grey wall opposite it bright silver.

We must be right on the outer wall, Ahsoka thought.

She listened for the telltale hum of a ray shield like the one over the window in the command center, but only silence greeted her. The shield back there had probably been for show – based on what she had seen so far, this base had been need of some major repairs for years, and Ahsoka doubted the droids even had enough reserve power to form a complete shield around the base without compromising a number of key systems.

She turned to Janira and Kaya Ti, nodding towards the vent. "Any ideas?" she asked quietly, casting a wary glance at the door to make sure she hadn't been heard.

Kaya Ti furrowed her brow, twisting her hands in a half-hearted effort to remove the cuffs. "Is there anything outside we can use to get out of here?"

"Even if there is, we wouldn't be able to squeeze through to get it – not by a long shot," Jani intoned as she bent down to look at the vent, her expression grim. "Can you use the Force on the binders?"

Ahsoka shook her head. "They're made of the same material that stopped me from being able to open the main door. I can still touch the Force, but I can't use it."

Kaya nodded. "Same for me."

Suddenly, four of the commando droids walked back into the room. "You will be executed for your crimes against the Separatist Alliance in forty-three standard minutes."

"What?" Janira leapt to her feet. "But Lux is negotiating a surrender! You can't just kill us off before they agree on their terms!"

The droid remained impassive; its only reaction was to repeat what it had just told them. "You will be executed for your crimes against the Separatist Alliance in forty-two standard minutes."

As the droids left the room once more, Ahsoka exhaled softy, closing her eyes.

Lux, I really hope you're having better luck than we are right now.

LUX BONTERI

"Well, it appears that what was supposed to be a routine mission has turned into a full fledged confrontation."

Lux's heart froze. "Father..." he whispered, his eyes wide.

There was something uncanny about hearing his stepfather's voice so many years after losing him. It was like accidentally skipping a broadcast of a beloved holo – when watching the show again on a later date, one was at the same time happy and sad. The happiness came from having something new to experience of an old favorite, and the sadness came from realizing that after that, it was truly the end. There would be nothing else left to see.

A tiny part of Lux wished he could save the sound Zakhan Elt's voice for sometime in the future when he genuinely needed it in something other than memory, and with dialogue he had never heard before so he could fool himself into believing he wasn't gone. Hearing it now felt too late and too soon at the same time.