'Lux, where are you…'
Amara groaned in agony as she forced herself to sit up. She was filthy – layered in dust and grime – and her arms, face, and lekku were covered in growing bruises. She shivered as she looked around her cold, damp cell. Kalzin had taken her to some unknown planet – she had no idea where she was, as she had been blindfolded. She pined for her fiancé's safe arms. 'How did Anakin survive this?' she thought grimly. She had only been a prisoner for two days, and she felt utterly devastated. 'But I chose this. I chose this so Anakin could live. I only hope he and Lux got off world...'
"Well, there, glad to see you're awake, sweetheart."
Amara scowled as Kalzin and three other men entered the room. She frowned even more when a large black droid appeared behind them, shaped into a sphere, various torture equipment probing from its dozens of compartments.
"We just sent the ransom, Ahsoka," Kalzin said, coming up to her and grabbing her wrists, forcing her to stand. He leaned over, and whispered in her ear. "Now, it's time to see what you know about the Jedi."
Amara pulled back, but couldn't go far because her neck was chained to the wall. "I won't tell you anything, sleemo," she spat.
Kalzin chuckled, and motioned for the probe droid to come forward. Ahsoka shuddered as the droid emitted a shiny, LARGE needle. "We'll see about that."
The gaurds closed the doors to the cell, and to anyone walking past, they could only hear the faintest of her agonized screams.
"Why did you let them take her?!"
Anakin slammed his mechanical hand against the wall of the med-bay, causing a small dent in the metal. Obi-Wan walked over and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Anakin, she went willingly. She was very dedicated to the mission…"
"She was a child!" Anakin stated angrily. "You said so yourself, she was only eighteen! She was engaged! She wasn't even a Jedi, yet you allowed her to be taken prisoner for MY sake. How could you do that?!"
Obi-Wan lowered his gaze. His former Padawan struggled with heavy emotions – this wasn't the first time he had heard an outburst like this. Every casualty, every loss – no matter how serious – he took upon himself as a personal blow. He had never even met Amara Eanest, yet he was furious about her capture and blamed himself. "Anakin, you must calm down," he said slowly. "You need to rest…"
"How can you say that? There's a teenaged girl out there, who just got captured because of me! We have to find her…"
"We're working on it! Both the OUCO and the Jedi, now Anakin, please! You've been through a horrifying ordeal, you need to rest."
Anakin shook his head, but didn't reply. Obi-Wan stared at him as an uneasy feeling overshadowed him through their Force bond. "There's something else, isn't there?" he said quietly.
Anakin took a deep breath before finally facing his Master. "I never met her. I never seen her, nor do I know what she looks like. But when she rescued me, even though I was unconscious, I could sense her. Something is nagging at the back of my mind about her – I can't place it, but there's more to this than meets the eye. You say she's engaged to Lux Bonteri?"
"Yes, and he's very upset. We'd better rescue her quickly – he's never trusted the Jedi, and I'm afraid this just gives him more reasons to hate us."
Anakin stared out the small window of the room, staring at the city. Coruscant was still recovering from the 'warning' attack sent by Death's Shadow. Obi-Wan sighed, and looked at his wrist chrono. "Anakin, I have a meeting with the Council. Please…promise me you'll stay here and try resting. You need to heal if you want any hopes of getting back out into the battlefield in the next week or so."
When Anakin didn't reply, he walked over to him, and gently tapped his shoulder. "Anakin?"
Anakin turned and focused on his Master. "Huh – yea, sure. I promise."
Obi-Wan frowned – he could always tell when his apprentice was up to something, but he didn't have time to pursue it now. The Council needed him if they were to find Death's Shadow and Amara Eanest. He let out a defeated groan. "Just stay here." After making sure his former Padawan was seated back on the medical cot, he left the room, letting the door slid closed behind him.
As soon as the door hissed – confirming it was sealed shut – Anakin jumped off the bed and grabbed his data-pad from the nearby table. He knew it was no use trying to sneak away, Obi-Wan would find out and have his head, but he could use his pad and research for more information. Quickly, he brought up data files involving the OUCO, and found the one containing private information on Amara Eanest. There was no profile picture of course, yet there was a bit of a profile, such as her age, weight, rank, and more military info. Nothing too personal…those files were kept under a strict code which Anakin knew he could never hack into.
He noticed her species – Togruta. The nagging feeling returned to his mind, and he clicked on the button. The name Amara appeared in big, bold letters, and below was the small phrase: Togruta Name Explanations. Anakin read on.
…Togrutas have prided themselves with being a species in the galaxy that holds onto the facts and beauty of life. Even their names contain significant meaning. A Togruta will be given a name by birth, that represents what they are destined to become, or a personal trait…
Anakin quickly typed in Amara, and waited for the results to come up. Several definitions appeared.
Amara: Spirited…
…energetic…
…cocky…
…determined…
…headstrong…
…stubborn…
Anakin's blue eyes went wide as he read the last word.
…snippy.
Snips.
Anakin shook his head as the data-pad fell from his hands and landed on the bed. The nagging feeling transformed into one of understanding and recognition. Flashbacks flooded through his mind. A palace on a rocky mountain. A vertical battle above the jungle. A girl's friendly banter, "I can't get much closer, Skyguy." His own words, "I knew you'd get here, Snips…eventually." His mind then brought up the events that happened two years ago. A tunnel ankle-deep with murky water. Rain, wind…tears. Her cries, "I don't know who to trust!" Once again, his own voice, "Listen to me. I would never let anybody hurt you, Ahsoka, NEVER…" Words her exchanged, before her voice came again, less fearful, more confident. "Anakin, you have to trust ME now." He was shouting, nearly pleading. "Ahsoka, I DO trust you!" Then her jumping, and falling…running and hiding. Scared. Alone. Tried. Accused. Tears. Pain. Hurt. Betrayal.
Anakin banged his head against the nearby wall, unaware of the lone tear that escaped his watch and rolled down his face. His hand moved instinctively up to his neck, rubbing and sighing at the emptiness he felt. He had discovered as soon as he had regained consciousness that his Padawan's braid was gone. He knew she had taken it, but didn't know why. Now he did.
"It's impossible," he mumbled quietly, but he knew it wasn't. In fact, everything made sense now. He recalled what Obi-Wan had told him – about his capture, how Kalzin had requested the OUCO, how the Jedi had sent a Master to go request their presence…
…That Master. That Master must know – he HAD to know. In fact, it was too obvious. Anakin quickly shut off his data-pad, opened the door, and ran down the hall.
He need to talk to Plo Koon.
In the Temple gardens, Lux paced back and forth, a scowl on his face, his wild hair covering part of his eyes, which were flashing with anger. "How could I have let this happen?! Why are the Jedi taking so long to start looking for her?! The OUCO pushed itself to the hardest to save Skywalker – why aren't they doing the same for us?!"
"Lux, please, calm down," Amber pleaded. "We'll find her."
Lux spun around, and growled. "Not if the Jedi take so long! We need to act now!"
"They're being careful because of the Holocaust. They don't want it to start!" Ker told him. "Amber's right – you need to calm down."
Lux went back to pacing the ground. Obviously, these men must know about Amara's past – they would have no other reason to take her if they already had a Jedi. But how could they have known. All who knew were Plo Koon and himself. No one else. No one else…
Suddenly, Lux snapped his head up. No. It was impossible. No…he was wrong. He HAD to be wrong. He was like their father…NO! "It can't be," he breathed, but when he stopped to think about it, he knew he was right. How else could the terrorists get away with so much, know they're every move, know about Amara? 'But I trusted him. Amara trusted him. He was like our father…' he thought bitterly.
"Lux? Are you okay?" Ker asked, seeing his anger morph into pain. "Lux, hey, what's wrong?"
Lux looked at him, fear and worry now vibrating off him. "We have to warn the Jedi. Now!" He began running out of the gardens. "I know who the leader of Death's Shadow is!"
"Why didn't you tell me?" Anakin's voice was bitter and hurt as he stood in front of Plo Koon.
The Jedi Master frowned – or at least, he seemed to, underneath his mask. "She made me promise. I would not break a promise to Little Soka."
"If the Jedi had known, the could've…"
"Could've what? Even you, Skywalker, must realize that this would've changed nothing. Even if it did, it would've been for the worse. Ahsoka didn't want anyone to know, so I told no one. Not even you."
Anakin shook his head, lowered his eyes. "We HAVE to find her. I won't lose Ahsoka…not again. I won't fail her like I failed her as a Master!"
Plo stood up from the chair he had been sitting on, and walked over to the Knight. "You did NOT fail her," he said firmly.
"I let them accuse her of murder! I let them hurt you, deeper than I will ever be able to understand…"
"You were there for her when she needed support. You were the one who believed in her – even when I myself doubted." He shifted, suddenly uncomfortable. "If you are willing to do anything to find her…I know of only one person who may know where Kalzin has taken her…"
"Who? How would they know?"
"You obviously don't know this, but Kalzin had a son…a Jedi youngling. The child was killed at an early age – one reason Kalzin began his path of violence. He always hated the Jedi. But the youngling was very close to one person in particular, and she may know where Kalzin is hiding. She knew the youngling's personal life well, and the boy told her everything about his father…even where his hideouts were."
"Why didn't you use this woman to find me?"
"I-I couldn't…I'm sorry, Skywalker. It was too personal. But now, now that it is even more so…I can't face this woman, but maybe you can. If you are determined to find Ahsoka, she may be your only hope…"
"Who is she?"
"Barriss Offee."
Amara took several deep breaths, gasping for air as the droid finally pulled the twin needles out of her chest, leaving yet another two punctures in her already maimed and bloodied body. "So, are you ready to tell us the information we need about the Temple, or should we go again?" Kalzin threatened.
Amara shook her head – that was all she could do with what little energy she had left. She nearly cried out as the droid began to roll over to her again, but the sudden entry of a guard made it pause.
"Kalzin, the General is here!" the man reported, obviously out of breath from running. "He's right outside the hall!"
Kalzin immediately got to his feet, and nodded. "Send him in." He turned to Amara. "Well, looks like you're going to meet the man behind all this glory after all."
The door opened again, and a guard entered the room – obviously the General's personal bodyguard. The guard, once seeing Amara, turned to her, and then approached her. "My father is so looking forward to seeing you in pain," he said slowly. He then reached up, and took off his helmet, revealing long black hair over the face of a boy her own age. "And personally, so am I…Mar."
Ahsoka gasped in shock, but before she could reply, a second man entered the room, hooded with a dark cloak. As he slid the hood off his face, revealing an evil smile over his scarred face, Amara felt a jab of pain stab her heart – pain that was similar to what she had experienced two and a half years ago. "No…"
The man laughed. "Hello, Ahsoka. Surprised?"
Amara glared at him, growling, hate, pain, and anger flashing in her eyes.
"Commander."
So, hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thx to all my followers and reviewers! Please, REVIEW on this chapter! More reviews, faster updates :D
-Skyguy
