The Unchronicled Adventures Of Ahsoka Tano, Book Ten

Chapter Fifty-Two: A Brave Woman Will Meet Her End

AHSOKA TANO

Ahsoka couldn't believe she had fallen into this trap so easily. She should have seen it coming. There should have been a way to stop this mess from happening.

But she hadn't, and now the life of her apprentice, as well as that of one of her best informants, was at stake.

The Dark Side clouds everything...

Ahsoka shook the fragment of dialogue away. Now was not the time to immerse herself in the past, especially now that Master Yoda's wisdom could no longer help her. She had sensed nothing so far out of place in the Force as to signify the presence of a Force-sensitive Imperial agent in all their time on Valunn. As of now, there was still no reason to suspect the involvement of an Inquisitor.

"Storm troopers," Kaya hissed, withdrawing back to where Ahsoka stood. "You lying Pykes; you were using your telepathy to cloak them! You broke our deal! I was prepared to come honorably, but you betrayed us!"

"There was nothing preventing the involvement of the Empire in the terms of our agreement," Yhassil Pyke answered calmly. "And for that, we are thankful, because Jedi – especially those of your caliber, Ahsoka Tano – fetch the price of a dozen spice runs with the Empire. They get you and the Rodian, and we get Areeko, along with the added bonus of coffers overflowing with Imperial credits."

We have to get Tseebo out of here, Kaya repeated telepathically. Ahsoka shot a glance in her direction, and saw the way her fingers were resting just above her gun holsters. Someone needs to rescue those Jedi prisoners.

Ahsoka nodded fractionally, and brought her lightsaber hilts to bear. However, she left the blades unlit – the odds were stacked against them, and she didn't want to antagonize their enemies before the time came to make their move.

Suddenly, an Imperial officer, his uniform too clean for the grit that coated everything, stepped out from behind the rocks. "Surrender yourselves willingly and Lord Vader may show mercy on you," he crowed haughtily.

So it's Vader again, Ahsoka thought, her eyes narrowing to mere slits. Her grip tightened around her lightsabers, and her index fingers drifted closer to the buttons that would turn them on.

"Ha, like that's ever gonna happen" In one fluid gesture, Kaya drew her blasters, and, turning back to Ahsoka, she yelled, "Ahsoka, now!"

That was her cue – this part of their original plan they could follow, at least. Ahsoka yanked Tseebo from the grip of his captors with the Force as Kaya gunned them down. The other troopers hesitated for but a moment before opening fire, and Ahsoka and Kaya flattened themselves behind an outcropping in the rocks a few feet away from the edge of the cliff.

"Take out the troopers on the high ground!" Ahsoka called over the hum of blaster fire. "I'll cover you!"

"Roger. Tseebo, you stay back here." Kaya holstered one blaster to toss the dazed Rodian a communicator. "Once we've cleared a path, you'll need to find a transport and get back to Sa'hajaal. We'll follow you."

Then, without waiting for an affirmative on Tseebo's part, Master and apprentice leapt out into the open and began their attack.

Kaya focused on neutralizing the threat from above while Ahsoka shielded her from enemy fire with her lightsabers, deflecting the lasers back at the storm troopers and Pyke soldiers closer to the ground. But despite their best efforts, for every enemy they shot down, another stepped in to take its place.