Chapter Ten: Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire
Here we are! The second to last chapter of Light and Dark! Look out for one or two more chapters, then the epilogue. Enjoy! :D
As the ship spun out, everyone was thrown out their seats and hit the walls, getting a little tangled up. The ship continued to spin, tossing them around like dolls.
Ahsoka stumbled to her feet, picking herself up off the hard metal floor. She glanced at Anakin, wincing as she put a hand on her sore montrals, "I don't think Death Watch is happy…"
Anakin snorted good-naturedly, "What tipped you off?" He muttered; activating the shields as the ship rocked again.
"Just as I think flying isn't so bad, I'm reminded why I despise it," Obi-Wan sighed, strapping himself in.
"That might be somewhat on Master Skywalker's part," Ahsoka smiled, grabbing a handhold as a precaution and helping Padmè up. The senator nodded, plopping into the seat next to Obi-Wan.
"Hey!" Anakin muttered, aiming at the opposing ship, "can you cut the chit-chat and help me out here?"
"Skywalker's right," Mace said, checking the ship's flickering shields. "Is the hyperdrive prepped?"
Anakin checked the readouts again, "Oh, come on!"
"What are you- you chose a ship with a broken hyperdrive?" Farah screeched, shooting Anakin an accusing look as the ship rocked again. Its shields wouldn't hold much longer.
"I didn't know!" Anakin snapped, "Ahsoka, go fix the hyperdrive! You did it on… you know." He widened his eyes a bit for emphasis.
"Huh? Oh, you meant Mor- yeah, okay!" Ahsoka cut herself off, quickly heading into the back of the ship.
Farah suspiciously followed, "What's 'Mor'?" she asked and narrowed her eyes.
Ahsoka avoided her fellow padawan's gaze, "It's not relative in this moment." She nervously rubbed her arm as she examined the old, worn hyperdive.
Farah cocked an eyebrow, but hesitatingly dropped the subject. Ahsoka clearly wasn't very eager on it, but she could tell there was a story, however shocking or unlikely…
Duchess Satine of Mandalore slowly turned off the holodisc in front of her, in shock. "I can't believe it…" she muttered, shaking her head in disbelief. Within a year, Concordia needed yet another governor. Aileen Megara was dead. It was enough to make her consider simply making the moon a parliament, but she knew no one would stand for that.
"Something wrong, Duchess?" Leib's surprisingly cheerful voice came from the doorway.
Satine looked sadly at the boy. He thinks it's almost over… and yet it's just begun.
"Duchess," Leib repeated, his voice concerned.
"I have to tell you something…"
"Yes," Leib answered.
"Your mother… she's dead," Satine said, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder, "I'm sorry." Leib stared at her for a moment then shook his head, racing out the room.
Ahsoka carefully examined the hyperdrive, "Farah?"
The redhead looked up, "Yes?"
"I think we have a problem… the hyperdrive wasn't broken, it was sabotaged; look, all the wires are cut," Ahsoka pointed a gloved hand at the roughly sliced wires.
"Oh, this day gets better and better," Farah said bitterly, "I guess Anakin will want an apology…"
Ahsoka snorted, "He still chose the ship, though."
Farah smiled, "Only Anakin Skywalker-"
"Did I hear my name?" Anakin peeked in, smiling. "So, how's it coming?"
"Well, it's not really- wait shouldn't you be manning the guns?" Ahsoka frowned, grabbing a handhold on the wall. The ship rocked again, and then she was the only one standing.
Anakin picked himself up, "Right… so, just finish whenever you're ready, preferably before our shields go down, in- 5 minutes."
"Basically, you're asking us to do something short of a miracle?" Ahsoka cocked an eye marking.
"Pretty much, but don't worry, I have faith in you," Anakin smiled, quickly darting out of the room as the ship rocked again. Because it's the only thing I can do.
Bang. Bang. Bang… Bang. Unlike Mace, it seemed Farah had decided to go on and bang her head. I mean, who cared about headaches if they were going to die anyway?
Meanwhile, Bo-Katan was shooting for all she was worth, trying to blast the Jedi to pieces. She was almost surprised how far they had gotten, but this was it. Normally, she would have at least offered them the chance to surrender, but they had pretty much slapped her in the face about that a long time ago.
Suddenly, a red-hued hologram of Vizsla sprang up. "Katan, hold your fire."
"Excuse me?" Bo raised an eyebrow beneath her helmet.
"We have a problem… a Republic fleet has just entered the system," Vizsla said. "Return to Concordia immediately."
"Excuse me?" Bo repeated, unbelieving what she was hearing. Vizsla would do anythingto get revenge on Jedi, especially Tano and Kenobi. "With all due respect-"
"I'll see you soon, then," Vizsla snapped, cutting off his Lieutenant and the transmission.
Yoda looked up at the tall Clawdite in front of him. In the event that Kenobi and Windu's rescue failed, he had come up a plan B, which entailed having the Clawdite impersonate Vizsla and hack into the Death Watch's transmission, giving fake orders. By the time Death Watch got wise, it would be too late. "Thank you for your services, I do. In your debt, the entire Jedi Order is."
"Yeah, I'll be sure to remember that the next time the cops are on my tails," the Clawdite muttered. "So, where do I pick up my-"
"Payment you will receive when confirmed that helped the situation, you did," Yoda said firmly.
"Fine, I would do the same… but seriously, I'm taking a huge risk making an enemy of the Death Watch," the Clawdite complained.
"Know about your involvement, they will not. Entail extraordinary circumstances, that would," Yoda nodded slowly.
The Clawdite sighed, taking a seat. "Maybe, but with the way the galaxy is now, you can never be too careful…"
Ahsoka frantically wielded the wires and tried to keep an eye on the view post as well. Death Watch drew closer and closer, about to blast them out the sky any second; but to her astonishment, the ship suddenly turned around, heading rather reluctantly back to Mandalore's room.
"What the-" Ahsoka stared, fixing the last few wires and slamming the cover on top of the drive.
"I don't believe it," Farah muttered, shaking her head.
"Did you just see that?" Anakin's voice sounded over Ahsoka's comlink, full of shock. "Death Watch- the Death Watch let us go."
Ahsoka sighed, "Either we owe someone a big thank you, or this is a trap."
"Let's not look the gift wampa in the mouth, Snips." Anakin doubted. "Is that hyperdrive fixed?"
Ahsoka nodded, pulling off her goggles, "Yep, but should we go to Mandalore or the Jedi Temple?"
Anakin hesitated. There was some murmuring in the background. "Mace is right. He says he and Obi-Wan will sort out the Megara family and all. They'll go in an escape pod. You, Farah and I will go to the Temple."
Ahsoka nodded, "Okay, that works." Quickly, she put away her tools and headed back to the cockpit, Farah in tow.
Bo-Katan quickly landed her ship, quickly exiting the ramp. Pre Vizsla was pacing not very far off, and looked up at her footsteps.
"The Jedi?" he asked, relish crossing his face. "Are they dead?"
Katan laughed, "Um, no, you called me back, remember?"
Vizsla's face grew ashy, "W-what? I never-"
"You sent me a transmission, telling me to come back," Bo said slowly, "what are you getting at?"
"The Jedi, they're behind this," Vizsla growled.
Bo stared, "But wha- how?"
"I don't know how; I just know that they did…" Vizsla snapped. He turned the other Death Watchmen gathered around. "Leave me be… I need to think this through."
Satine looked all over the place for Leib, unable to locate him. She walked briskly past an indoor butterfly garden, not bothering to glance inside. Suddenly, she backtracked, peering inside. Aha, here we are…
"Leib," Satine asked quietly, placing her hand on the boys shoulder. He didn't respond. "Where is your sister?"
"I dunno… I haven't told her yet," Leib muttered, glancing at a butterfly with large, rainbow colored wings. He smiled a little. "She liked butterflies."
Satine blinked, not knowing who the boy was talking about, "Who?"
"My mother," Leib raised an eyebrow.
Satine sighed. "Sorry… but it gets better, trust me."
"Promise-" Leib started. Suddenly, the entire palace rocked. A maid burst in, frantic.
"Death Watch-they're attacking the palace!" she cried, rushing away almost as fast as she had come.
"Where's Sonya?" Leib looked around, rushing off to find his sister.
"Leib, wai-" Satine stopped, quickly jumping up and following the boy.
Death Watch can have all the jetpacks they want, but nobody can outdo Master Yoda. ;) Still… let's just say Vizsla decided to take some 'immediate' action against our heroes. I will have the final one/two chapter(s) and then the epilogue out soon! :)