I just realised that, in terms of length, this story has bypassed Blazing Chaos' seventh book in his Dimensions story. I mean, what the hell? Anyway, let's get on with the story.
Secret of the 327th
Chapter 36:- Awake
The Resolute, the Intrepid and the Valiant hung in space over Ord Mantell. Nobody on board them will ever look at the planet below in the same light again. For some reason, it had been used as a staging post to kidnap a child, a fourteen-year-old Togruta girl. Admittedly she was nearly fifteen, but that didn't really improve matters.
Admiral Yularen had informed the clones on the planet below of the possibility of a small group of Separatist forces on the surface. He reported that search parties had immediately been sent out, but as of yet, only two droids had been found – commando droids. The planet was still looking for any signs of more intruders.
Anakin was pacing restlessly up and down the bridge of the Resolute, hands clasped behind his back and staring at the floor, a look of concern etched across his face so hard it looked like it would remain there forever. He kept sending fervent, hopeful glances towards Renamon, who was standing and staring at the holomap he displayed, alongside Lopmon and Aayla.
The Twi'lek was whiling away the time by whispering the names of certain planets and systems on the map. She could tell that not much of what she was saying was really going in – Renamon's mind was preoccupied with worry about her mate, as was Lopmon's about her brother, but Aayla knew that she was at least helping a little by diverting their attention to something else.
Rika and Henry were trying to comfort Suzie, who was just as upset as Henry at the loss of Terriermon, but much less good at suppressing her emotions. She hadn't stopped crying the whole time, and she kept asking Henry what would happen to Terriermon and Ahsoka. Henry had to keep replying that he didn't know, and that not only made Suzie feel worse, but it made him feel worse too.
Rex and Bly stood back, watching the children and feeling completely useless. Neither really had any experience with children beyond what they'd learned these past few weeks. Bly wished that Waxer was here – the clone under Commander's Cody's command seemed to have had a knack for dealing with children on Ryloth, when he and Boil had found Suzie and Numa. He resolved to ask Waxer how he did it the next time he met him.
The other clones manning the stations were silent. All of them had gotten to know Ahsoka quite well at some point during the battles and all of them were filled with a determination to help get her back. Some of them described her as the "the sister we don't have," although never to her face. And all of them knew enough not to disturb Anakin when something as major as this was going down.
Renamon half-listened to what Aayla was saying, a few unfamiliar names getting into her brain – Kamino, Toydaria, Saleucami – but mostly she was focusing on her mate. She could feel him somewhere out there in the vastness of space, completely unaware of where he was. Her tail swished in agitation as she attempted to listen to what Aayla was saying and keep her mind on her mate at the same time.
Lopmon was just as distressed, but she couldn't feel Terriermon's presence at all. As with Henry and Terriermon, the link between their minds was affected by distance. She couldn't feel Renamon's presence either, as she was only connected to the fox through her brother. She just gnawed on her own lip and fidgeted with her large ears, glancing up at the map now and again.
Renamon sighed. Rika looked up at her and caught her eye. The fox looked down to where her Tamer was leaning beside Suzie. Rika nodded and sent a mental message that everything was going to be fine.
Renamon hoped she was right. She smiled appreciatively, and Rika went back to comforting Suzie. Renamon glanced to Anakin, who appeared to be staring at his feet as he paced. He'd been doing it for a good half an hour. Pretty soon he was going to start wearing a groove in the floor.
"And this large planet here is Devaron," Aayla was saying. "And over here we have Ord Cestus, and this one right here is Dantooine. All three are battlegrounds at the moment. The Separatists are everywhere."
"And this one?" Lopmon pointed dispiritedly at a planet that looked like Saturn.
"Geonosis," said Aayla, then lowered her voice to say, "And the one beside it is Tatooine. Best not mention that one in front of Anakin. He has a bad history with his home-world."
"Like what?" asked Lopmon.
"He's never gone into details with me," Aayla shook her head. "I don't think even Master Kenobi knows the full extent of his bad experiences there. But I do know he used to be a slave there. A working slave, not a dancing one like I was going to become when I was found. Perhaps I shouldn't go into any further details about it."
"Fair enough," Lopmon said, glancing at Renamon.
Renamon looked across at her as sighed, moving to sit on a console.
The moment she'd settled her tail, she leapt off it again as if she'd been shocked by electricity. Anakin stopped pacing and looked at her sharply, as she turned to look him in the eyes equally sharply and said, "Terriermon's waking up."
Anakin ran over to the map, and he, Renamon, Aayla, Rex, Bly, Lopmon and the Tamers crowded around it.
"Where is he?" Anakin asked, trying not to sound impatient but not altogether succeeding. But then again, who could blame him.
"Zoom in here," Renamon pointed to somewhere right at the top of the map. R2-D2 immediately trundled over and plugged in, enlarging the map in that particular area.
"This the Tingel Arm sector," said Aayla. "Which planet?"
"This one," Renamon jabbed a finger with finality above one of the most northerly spheres. "They are right where the tip of my claw is now."
"Sernpidal," said Rex. "Neutral space. It's several parsecs from here. It should take us an hour to get there, sir."
"Then we'd better not waste any more time," Renamon said firmly.
"Renamon's right," Anakin turned to Yularen. "Admiral. Everything's ready?"
"Yes sir," said Yularen. "Ready and waiting your signal."
"Program the navicomputer," said Anakin. "Take us directly to where Renamon's claw is on that map."
"Right away, sir."
"Are we going to rescue Terriermon and Ahsoka now?" asked Suzie.
"We're going to rescue Terriermon," said Aayla, kneeling down beside her. "Let's hope that Ashoka's still with him."
"And that she's still alive," muttered Lopmon, but not loudly enough for anyone but Renamon to hear her.
Then, with a blur of stars outside, the three cruisers, side-by-side, jumped to lightspeed.
Terriermon's eyes flickered and he groaned with pain. There was a horrible throbbing sensation in the back of his head. He was dimly aware of the fact that he'd bashed it against the duraglass of Ahsoka's starfighter when it'd suddenly stopped.
So where was he now? He couldn't hear any sounds of battle. Was the fight over?
Just as he was thinking those things, an influx of Renamon's thoughts suddenly filled in a number of the gaps in his knowledge. Ahsoka and he had been captured? Where were they now then?
Terriermon, he heard Renamon's voice in his head. Are you okay?
That's a silly question, Terriermon thought back, grumbling slightly. You know that you can see directly into by brain.
Yep, you're fine, Renamon sounded relieved.
Terriermon opened his eyes and looked around, his arm reaching to massage the back of his head. He winced at the throbbing that this caused, but he shoved it to one side as he took in his surroundings.
Well, I'm not in captivity, he said. I think I'm just lying in the space between a wall and a pile of crates.
How did that happen?
I'm not sure.
Oh, Terriermon, you have no idea how worried I've been…
Actually, I know exactly how worried you've been.
Even now you can still make smart-alec comments. How do you do it?
Momentai.
I love that word.
Terriermon sat up and slowly got to his feet. Cautiously, he clambered up the small pile of crates and peeked out over the top. He was in a hangar of some kind, but definitely not a Republic one. It was a large, blank metal room, and there were numerous battle droids marching to and fro. Most of them were carrying what looked like large chunks of metal. Then Terriermon realised they were pieces of Ahsoka's starfighter, which had been blown to pieces, presumably to prevent her escape.
I've got a bad feeling about this, Terriermon thought.
Thank Fanglongmon you weren't still in that starfighter, Renamon replied.
It must have been Ahsoka. She must have hidden me behind these crates. I think that girl deserves a hug.
So do I, and I intend to give her one for keeping you safe. But I think the one question that we both want answering right now is, where is she?
Terriermon nodded grimly as he watched the droids marching all over the place. There was no sign of Ahsoka, neither blood nor body, but there were several pieces of carved droid littering the place, which was definitely Ahsoka's handiwork.
But where was she?
Terriermon could faintly hear Renamon updating Anakin and the others about what was happening, particularly the fact that Ahsoka's fate was still unknown. As expected it didn't go down all that well with Anakin, who looked more fearful than ever.
Suddenly, Aayla crossed over to Renamon and stared into her eyes. Both Renamon and Terriermon knew what she about to do and Renamon let her inside her mind, so that the Twi'lek Jedi could talk directly to the bunny. Terriermon, came her subtle French accent. How are you?
I've been better, Terriermon grumbled.
I can imagine. Now, please, I hate to ask anything that could potentially put you at risk, Terriermon, but it looks like Ahsoka managed to hide you from the Separatists. They certainly wouldn't leave an oddity like you lying behind some crates if they'd found you.
Should I be offended by the word oddity?
Terriermon, Renamon reprimanded. This isn't really the time.
Sorry. You were saying?
I was saying that we've got a pair of eyes and ears on board their ship that they don't know about, not to mention an undetectable way of communicating with us. We need you to try and find Ahsoka, and if possible, find out who's in control of this ship. The more we knew the better, and the easier it'll be to rescue both you and Ahsoka, if she's still alive.
Don't say that, Terriermon's expression hardened as he watched two droids carting off a large chunk of Ahsoka's beloved starfighter. She'll be alive. They wouldn't go to all this trouble to kidnap her just to kill her, would they?
I doubt it, but it really depends who's commanding that vessel.
Terriermon nodded grimly.
Alright. A-hunting I will go.
Aayla didn't get the reference.
Just be careful, she said. Don't take any unnecessary risks.
When have I ever done that? You know me.
Yes, which is why I told you not to.
Touche.
Renamon chimed in. I don't like being unable to help you. Just please, try to stay alive, and let's hope that Ahsoka is as well.
Definitely, said Terriermon.
May the Force be with you, Terriermon, Aayla said as she withdrew from Renamon's mind. And also with Ahsoka.
Terriermon switched his attention back to the battle-droids. They carried out their various tasks without question, and there were numerous occasions where one of them tripped over. But the thing was, they were all over the place. Surely they'd see him if he moved out from behind the crates, small or not.
Two things sprang to Terriermon's minds. The first was that he needed to stick to the shadows, and the second was that he needed to create a distraction.
But how?
General Grievous stood on the bridge, continuing to survey his droids with his critical eye. He found they seemed to perform better when he was around, not that that particularly helped him deal with his dislike for them.
He looked down at the planet below. Sernipal was most a world of deserts and oceans – a world with no Republic troops and next to no Separatists. It had been randomly selected to be the staging area for this transaction of the prisoner. Somewhere the Republic would never think to look.
"Where is that lowlife?" Grievous rasped, referring to Asajj Ventress. "I want her to get here as soon as possible, so I can get rid of her as quickly as possible. And Skywalker's little child."
"Sir," said one of the droids. "There's a ship coming out of hyperspace. Shuttle-class."
"Republic or Separatist?" Grievous growled.
"Separatist," said the droid. "We're being hailed by the ship, sir. I think that whoever's on it wants to talk to you."
Grievous saw a Steathipede-class shuttle zip into view and slow down outside the bridge window. He glared disdainfully at it. That was definitely the ship of Asajj Ventress. The little Sithling was here to collect her prize.
Well, at least Grievous had one momento of his victory against Skywalker's brat. If he ever ran into Skywalker in single combat, he would be sure to use his Padawan's lightsaber to strike him down, if possible. He'd love the delicious irony of the situation if that were to happen. He chuckled at the thought, then he turned to the droid, who was looking at him expectantly.
"Put through the transmission," he ordered it. "Let us here what Count Dooku's bootlicker has to say."
"Roger, roger," the droid turned back to the console and activated the holoprojector. The image of Ventress, sitting at the controls of her shuttle.
"I have arrived," she said. "I'd appreciate it if you could lower your deflector shields."
"Would you now?" Grievous chuckled. He delighted in nitpicking Ventress. "Well, it's good thing I have such a generous heart then, isn't it."
"I trust that Tano is still secure within her cell?" Ventress' eyes narrowed warningly.
"Of course," Grievous coughed. "That little child isn't going to go anywhere unless I want her to. And I'd advise you to remember that, Ventress. This my ship, and I will not tolerate insubordination from you any more than I will from my battle droids. On that thought, it would be amusing to watch your head go flying off."
Ventress glared venomously at the General. "You still haven't lowered your shields."
"Lower the deflector shield," Grievous said reluctantly. "Allow her inside."
"Roger, roger," chorused the numerous droids around the room. The hologram vanished.
"Keep the bridge in order," Grievous ordered them. "I'll head down to the hangar to greet our second guest. If I discover a single glitch when I return, all of you will find yourselves being ejected into space. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, sir," the droids said.
Grievous turned and stalked out of the room and into the corridors. He was secretly hoping that Ventress would challenge him for leadership over the droid armies again. If it came to a lightsaber duel, Grievous knew he could easily win, whereas Ventress might still assume that she could beat him, despite numerous bouts before Count Dooku that had always ended in a similar way – with Grievous victorious and Ventress shamed.
But Dooku wasn't here. If Ventress challenged him, there was nobody to stop him from killing her. And then he could add two Sith lightsabers to his collection. Then he'd only need a purple one and his collection would be complete.
With thoughts of decapitating his hated ally in mind, Grievous walked down to meet her.
Terriermon had noticed that the one thing that all the droids did was stare ahead of them without looking from side to side or up. Therefore, if he wanted to get by them, his best bet was to take to the air. None of them would see him flapping around by the ceiling.
But first he needed to cause some kind of disturbance to get them to look away. He searched the hangar with his eyes, looking for anything that might give him an escape route.
But then, something else happened. All the droids turned to look as the blue deflector shield across the doorway suddenly went down. There was obviously still something there that prevented everything in the hangar from getting sucked out into space, but now it was much easier to see through. Terriermon followed their gaze, just as a small shuttle hove into view and began to glide slowly through the doors.
With the droid's attention elsewhere, Terriermon took the opportunity. He dashed out from behind the crates, sticking to the wall as he skirted the room. He ran, unseen, straight through the legs of one of the droids, and when he was out of sight, he spread his ears and flapped hard, taking to the air. He rose upwards and flapped by the ceiling, watching as the four insect-like legs unfolded from the ship and set it down.
Terriermon cast his eyes about quickly, searching for something that could keep him hidden from whoever was about to emerge. As a ramp descended from the shuttle, he saw a grate in the wall that indicated the ventilation system.
Perfect.
He shot across to room, and, flapping hard to stay aloft, he pulled out the grate, flipped around and landed in the vent, placing the grate back in, the wrong way round, but it still fit. As an afterthought, the bunny pushed it out a little at one side so he could peak into the hangar to see what was going on.
He watched as an unfamiliar, feminine figure descended domineeringly down the ramp.
"Not the prettiest woman I've ever seen," he murmured.
Renamon was describing what was going on. "She's got grey skin, completely bald head, she's wearing skintight purple clothing and she appears to have tattoos on her face and head."
Anakin and Aayla exchanged a glance. Both were thinking the same thing. Aayla turned back to Renamon and placed both forefingers on either side of her mouth. "Are two of them here?" she said, drawing imaginary ones from her mouth to either side of her chin.
"Yes," said Renamon.
"Ventress," growled Anakin.
"Who's she?" asked Rika.
"She's Count Dooku's top assassin," said Aayla with distaste. "A Sith-witch. She's duelled against many Jedi, and she's the one Master Luminara and I duelled recently on Alzoc III."
"I had a feeling that she'd been involved," Anakin muttered. "Ventress sees every Jedi that escapes her as a personal insult. I've duelled her more than my fair share of times, and she particularly despises anyone who can best her, except Dooku of course. Ahsoka's faced her twice before and escaped both times."
"I see what you're saying," said Henry. "If she's killed skilled Jedi Knights, then a Padawan learner getting away from her would be much worse."
"Just was I was thinking," growled Anakin.
"So, Ventress was in control the whole time?" asked Rika.
"I doubt it," said Aayla. "She doesn't usually lead space assaults, and from the sound of things, she's only just arrived. Whoever led the assault has yet to be revealed."
"Are you sure about that?" Renamon asked, her eyes widening in fascination and horror.
"What is it?" asked Anakin.
"Someone else has just entered the hangar. Tall, wearing a long black cloak. He looks like he's made of metal, like a droid, but he's like no droid I've seen yet, He's got long, plated limbs, taloned feet and a long thin mask over his face, like a skull. But I can his eyes. His eyes are real."
"Oh poodoo," said Bly. "I suppose I knew I'd run into him sooner or later."
"Run into who?" Lopmon asked with no small about of trepidation.
"General Grievous," Aayla and Anakin replied simultaneously, their faces both set in grim lines. Renamon knew that both were feeling resentment and anger and were trying to bottle it up again.
"Who's he?" asked Suzie, nervous at their expressions.
Anakin turned to Artoo, who whistled and displayed a hologram of the cyborg general. All three Tamers stepped back at the sight. They'd seen some pretty scary stuff, but Grievous rivalled some of the scariest Digimon in terms of appearance. Renamon nodded in confirmation.
"This is what we know of him," Aayla began the explanation.
Armed with the knowledge of who the guy was and learning things about what he'd done didn't do much to help Terriermon. He watched with fascination as Grievous stalked across the hangar, his talons clicking on the floor as he approached Ventress.
"Looks like I got out of that hangar just in time," Terriermon breathed. Grievous looked like an alloy skeleton of some unknown creature, and while Terriermon thought he looked horrifying, a part of him couldn't help but think that Grievous looked really cool, like some video game boss from hell. He didn't want to get on the wrong side of things.
Terriermon listened as Grievous addressed Ventress in a growling rasp. "If it isn't Count Dooku's favourite plaything," he said.
Ventress scowled, but otherwise stopped herself from throwing an insult back. Terriermon could quite easily tell who was in charge here.
"Now, now, General," Ventress reprimanded. "Is that any way to treat a guest?"
"I happen to be being exceptional nice," Grievous countered dryly. "The other guest I have on this ship is tied up in a cell on the detention level, and I believe that to be far too nice as well. Be thankful that you don't join her in her predicament."
Terriermon grinned, hoping that the guest he was referring to was Ahsoka. That meant that she wasn't dead, just held captive.
"Let's get this transaction over with," Grievous turned to stride away, which made Ventress hurry to walk beside him rather than behind him like a lackey. "I know you don't want to be in my company any more than you want to be in mine."
"You always make me feel so welcome," Ventress scowled. "I trust you have left Tano unharmed."
Terriermon almost did a victory dance with relief at the mention of Ahsoka's name.
"Yes," Grievous rasped. "Apart from the back of her head where I slammed her into the wall to knock her out."
"Good," Ventress smiled with glee. "I want to be able to inflict all the injuries on her."
"Of course you do," Grievous' eyes betrayed a sneer. "You can't face her in open combat so you settle for getting someone else to render her helpless first."
Ventress stopped, and Grievous walked a few more steps before turning to face her. "You dare to insult my combat skill, Grievous?" Ventress yelled.
"Need I remind you who always stands triumphant in any our bouts before Lord Tyranus," Grievous answered. "And also which Padawan escaped from your own blades twice, but has been beaten my me an equal number of times."
Ventress' lightsabers appeared in her hands in a flash, the red blades springing out. "I hope, for your sake, you've received an upgrade since we last crossed swords."
Grievous' hands vanished inside his cloak and emerged, holding two lightsabers in each hand, which both split apart, along with the rest of the arm, until Grievous suddenly had four arms where there had been two before. Four blades whooshed into existences, two blue and two green. "Give me a reason and I swear I will not hold back," Grievous growled with anticipation.
"Whoa," murmured Terriermon. "She's boned."
Ventress bit back her retort with a furious glare. She couldn't even beat Grievous with him outnumbered and only using two blades. She'd never faced him with all four blades at once, and she knew Grievous wouldn't hesitate to take a chance to kill her, just as she wouldn't hesitate to kill him if she could somehow get away with it.
Angrily, she sheathed her blades.
"What a pity," Grievous pointed one green blade forward so the tip was under Ventress' chin. "I was looking forward to giving you a thrashing. You disappoint me, Ventress."
"Me too," muttered Terriermon. "We could have had one bad guy down, by no... you just had to back down."
"Just take me to the Padawan, General," Ventress glared. "I can load her onto my shuttle and take her away from you."
"A desirable outcome," Grievous sheathed all four of his blades and put them back in his cloak, his arms clicking as they re-attached themselves to the other, so he regained his two-armed appearance. "Let us not keep her waiting."
He turned and strode away again. Ventress rushed to walk beside him again, determined not to give him any more reason to denounce her when they reported to Count Dooku shortly, as they would have to do before Ventress took Ahsoka away.
Terriermon watched them heading straight towards the grate where he was hiding. Hurriedly, he replaced it and took a couple of steps backwards. Ventress and Grievous headed for the door that lead to the detention level, which Terriermon was standing right next to, separated only by the vent floor.
As Ventress stepped through the door, she stopped, frowning. She looked out towards the hangar again. For a moment, she'd been sure that she'd sensed something, an unusual presence that she'd never felt before. But it had only been for a fraction of a second. She stared around, looking for anything unusual, but there was nothing.
She dismissed it as her imagination.
"Keep up, Padawan," Grievous called from ahead. Ventress gritted her teeth with annoyance. She hated it when Grievous called her Padawan.
"I am a Dark Acolyte," she retorted, "as well you know, Grievous."
Grievous made a noise that sounded like a cross between a snort and a "Ha!"
Terriermon watched this little exchange through the grating in the floor of the vent, an entry point to the system for repairs. Looking up, he saw that he was in a long, rectangular pipe, with numerous gratings at regular intervals in the floor. He ran over to the next one, thankful that he was so small, he didn't make any loud noises with his feet as he ran.
It appeared that he was heading right for Ahsoka, wherever she was. Grievous had said she was unharmed, which was a good sign if anything. But what he didn't understand was what they wanted with her. And how he was going to get her out of this mess.
"Momentai, Terriermon," he muttered to himself. "Momentai. We'll figure something out."
Keep going, Renamon told him. You're doing very well. Just try not to slip up.
Slip up? Me? O ye of little faith.
I apologise.
Nah, it's fine. You don't need to. Man, these two have some serious anger issues between them.
You can say that again.
Man, these two have got some-
Just shut up and follow them.
And so, Terriermon started running from grate to grate, waiting for them to walk past it before progressing to the next one to check whether or not she was going in the right direction. Fortunately, his ears also helped to tell which direction they were heading in whenever he reached a fork in the trail.
Neither Grievous nor Ventress spoke again for a while, which Terriermon found suited him just fine. He hadn't particularly liked any of what either of them had said.
Eventually, Grievous came to a stop, when caused Ventress to stop to. "Right up ahead," Grievous growled. "You will find your quarry nice and safe, unable to break free. I shall head up to the bridge and await for you to haul your pathetic carcass up there to report to Dooku."
"One day, Grievous," Ventress smirked, "You will regret every name that you've ever called me."
"Move along, Padawan," Grievous chuckled. "The Generals have a war to win."
Ventress held her tongue and strode on down the passage, while Grievous changed direction and headed back the way they'd come. Terriermon kept pace above Ventress, until he ran into a dead end that Ventress walked straight past. He listened as she kept walking, then risked pulling the grate aside and peeking out into the corridor. He saw Ventress walking up towards a set of orange ray-shielded cells. Of course, it made sense that there were no vents around the cells – they were easy escape routes.
Ahsoka had given up in her struggling against the ropes that bound her. She had kept going for over half an hour and had only succeeded in making them feel tighter. She was thankful that she was wearing clothing around her legs, which prevent the ropes from chafing too much, but the one wrapped around her waist was seriously beginning to feel sore.
Her fingertips were tingling slightly, a sure sign that she'd pulled the wrist-bindings tight enough to restrict the blood flow to her hands slightly. She didn't particularly want to pull them any tighter just in case the feeling got worse.
The gag still tasted foul and she'd made no more headway in chewing through that than she had in untying herself.
Now, she just stared at her feet. He mind was now preoccupied with two things. One part of her was attempting to think of possible escape routes and possible ways of getting her lightsaber back from Grievous, but none of these seemed particularly viable or helpful for doing anything except get her killed.
The other part of her was still trying to answer questions like, what had happened to Terriermon, what her Master and Aayla doing now, etcetera, etcetera. She kept trying to get rid of this part of her, as it was conjuring up unpleasant images of what might be happening.
Just then, she heard footsteps. Ordinary footsteps. Not the metallic thumping of droid feet, or the clicking of General Grievous. Normal feet.
She looked up.
Instantly, she screamed with anger into her gag. Were all of her enemies going to see her helpless like this today. With Ventress here, all they needed was for the Count himself to come along and she could have a full house.
Ventress stopped outside the cell and leered at her through the shield. Ahsoka glared back, defiant to the last.
She watched as Ventress pressed the button that lowered the shield and stepped inside.
So did Terriermon, from the other side.
As Ventress stepped inside, Terriermon saw Ahsoka. His digital heart lifted at the sight, and he fought the urge to punch the air and cry "Yes!" as loudly as possible.
Two thoughts sprung into his mind simultaneously. The first was:-
At least she's alright.
The second was:-
I'm getting a serious déjà vu vibe here.
Then a third thought, which wasn't his, but belonged to Renamon, added to the second by saying:-
At least you're not glued to her chest.
I know. That would be problematic.
Agreed,
"Is she alright?" Anakin said immediately. "Is she injured? Where is she? Answer me!"
"Steady, Skywalker," Aayla reminded him. "Let her talk. Renamon."
"Thank you," the fox said. "They'd got her bound and gagged with rope in a cell. She appears to be uninjured, although how long she'll stay that way I don't know. Ventress is speaking to her now."
"With rope?" asked Bly. "Couldn't she free herself from rope?"
"She's also got a black collar around her neck."
Anakin scowled. "When I see Ventress I am going to cut her into pieces and mail her to Dooku."
"A Force-dispelling collar is a cruel thing for any Jedi," agreed Aayla grimly
"Save a piece for us too," Lopmon nodded. "We don't particularly like people who use rope as a restraint."
Ventress stepped into the cell and smirked triumphantly at Ahsoka. There was a glint in her eyes, the kind of glint that said, I'm going to enjoy this.
"Well, well, well," she said, holding back a laugh of delight. "I've been wondering when I would run into you again, youngling. Tell me, how are you enjoying your accommodation?"
Ahsoka screamed abuse at her, but the words were blocked by the cloth being held in her mouth by the second one pulled between her lips. "Excuse me?" Ventress sneered. "What was that? Divine, you say. Well, I'm not surprised. For you, this must be a palace compared to that dump planet Shili."
Ahsoka glared daggers at Ventress, but the Rattataki Dark Jedi remained unfazed by the death glares. However, if looks could kill, Ventress would probably have exploded into ash and been blown away.
"I hope that Skywalker's training has toughened you up, little one," Ventress strode over to stand beside Ahsoka and placed her face excruciatingly close to Ahsoka's. "Because you're going to need to be tough to stand what I have in store for – AAGH!"
Ahsoka had acted impulsively and thrust her head forward, so their foreheads smashed together in a terrific headbutt. Ahsoka would never have dared to do that when Grievous had invaded her personal space, as he had an alloy forehead. Ventress, on the other hand… well, she had flesh.
Ventress snarled and brought her hand up in a terrific slap that sent Ahsoka's head swinging to the side. Ahsoka didn't even grunt with pain – she'd been expecting a retaliation like that and had prepared for it. Instead, she calmly turned her head back and eyeballed Ventress, recklessly daring her to strike again.
"I see you definitely have spirit," Ventress nodded. "That's good. It'll take longer to break you, and personally, I'd like to make you suffer as much as possible."
"Rt n hll, btch," Ahsoka snorted through her gag. Ventress didn't quite pick up on what she said.
"What was that?" Ventress' leer was back. "Would you like a cookie?"
Ahsoka rolled her eyes. Ventress fought not to slap the impudent child again. The fact that the Togruta was being so casual infuriated her. She wanted to be terrifying to her, but obviously that wasn't working. She'd have to up the ante.
Ventress brought up her hand. The cleave-gag around Ahsoka's head untied itself and came free. Ahsoka looked up at her for a moment, before spitting the second cloth right into Ventress' face. It splattered across her forehead and dropped to the floor.
"There," Ahsoka said, in a slightly cracked but otherwise strong voice. "I hope that soothed for headache a little."
"My, my," Ventress refused to rise to the bait. "You're certainly a bold one, but I think you need reminding of who's in charge here."
"Oh, no need," Ahsoka shrugged as best she could with her arms pinned to her side and a pole. "I'm well aware of the fact that General Grievous is in charge."
Ventress' snarl returned. "That pile of bolts couldn't lead a herd of nerfs."
"Oh, and you could?" Ahsoka probed the obvious dislike Ventress held for the droid General.
"Hold your tongue, brat," Ventress sneered. "There are no Jedi around to get you out of your jam this time. Skywalker isn't here. Unduli isn't here. Neither they, the two who saved you before, or any other Jedi can answer your prayers."
"I'm not praying to be rescued," Ahsoka sniffed. "There's no need. I know that I'll be found and rescued sooner or later." Her mind was racing now. Surely Ventress would have mentioned Terriermon by now if she knew about him. And if Terriermon woke up, Renamon would know right where they were.
But had he evaded capture?
There was no direct way of asking it without giving him away.
Ventress fought down the bile rising within her at the girl's confidence. This little meeting that she'd been envisioning for some time, visions of Skywalker's pupil cowering before her, just wasn't happening.
Ventress unsheathed one of her red lightsabers and held the tip at Ahsoka's chest. "How does it feel, youngling?" she spat, putting emphasis on that last word. "To know that I, Asajj Ventress, hold your life or death in my hands. How does it feel to know that I could run you through right now and you'd be powerless to stop me?"
Ahsoka evaded the question and said, "But you won't run me through. You said yourself that you want to make me suffer. Maybe you should have threatened me with a lightsaber first."
Ventress glared and sheathed her blade. "You're right. Your path will be far more painful and far less quick." Ventress strode around Ahsoka so she was standing behind the girl. Ahsoka attempted to look round to see what she was doing, but she could do no more than turn her head, and the pole got in the way.
Ventress looked down as Ahsoka's hands. They were clenched into fists and bound at the wrists with the same ropes that secured the rest of her. The end of the rope tapered off to the floor, so Ahsoka couldn't pull her hands up any further than they were. Ventress extended her mind and called on the Force. Abruptly, the ropes began to tighten themselves.
Ahsoka yelped at the sudden restricting feeling as the blood-flow was further cut off. Ventress smirked and pulled downwards, hard. Ahsoka gritted her teeth at the restricting feeling, as the ropes continued to tighten.
"I shall ask you again," Ventress said. "What do you think of your accommodation?"
Ahsoka didn't answer. Biting her lip to keep herself calm and stop herself from yelping, she thanked any Gods out there that she was wearing the arm gloves which at least helped to keep the tightness at bay.
Determined not to cry out, the Togruta raised her eyes and stared out the doorway, half-hoping that Grievous would come by and rile Ventress up.
She found herself staring into Terriermon's eyes.
Admittedly they were upside-down and staring at her from the opposite end of the corridor, but they were definitely his, because they were in his face. He was watching her, peering out from a grate in the ventilation system.
He waved.
Ahsoka almost tried to wave back, but knew she wouldn't be able to and Ventress would notice him if she did anyway.
"Well?" Ventress asked, pulling the ropes even tighter. Ahsoka grunted at the pressure and she sent Terriermon a look, trying to say without words. Get away. Don't try and help me. She'll kill you.
Terriermon sent her a look back, which seemed to say, I'm not stupid.
"I've had better," Ahsoka replied to Ventress, "On Tatooine when we saved Jabba's son from your greasy grasp."
Terriermon gave her a thumbs-up, which looked like a thumbs-down from his angle. He winked and then disappeared back into the vent.
"So, why are you doing this?" Ahsoka asked. "Is this just about revenge, or is there an ulterior motive."
"Well, since you asked so nicely," Ventress released the rope, much to Ahsoka's relief and stepped back around her. Ventress' fingers pushed Ahsoka's chin up so their eyes locked and said, "This is a trap designed for your Master, and guess what. You're the bait."
Ahsoka was about to retort, when the balled up cloth on the floor suddenly jumped up and shot into her mouth again so hard she almost choked on it. The other cloth jumped and retied itself firmly around Ahsoka's head, reforming the gag and silencing the question, which was going to be, "What kind of dumb trap is this?" This was making less and less sense. Why not just kill Anakin in the previous battle.
Unless they didn't want to kill him.
No.
"Have fun, dear," Ventress laughed, tweaking Ahsoka's left lekku, eliciting a yelp – the lekku of Twi'leks and Togruta were very sensitive. Then, Ventress whirled around and strode out of the cell. The ray shield sprang back up, and Ventress went down the corridor and disappeared from view.
A couple of seconds later, Terriermon dropped out of the vent and onto the floor. He quickly checked that no-one was coming, before running down the corridor and coming to a halt before the cell.
"Hey, Zebra-head," he grinned in at her. "You okay?"
Ahsoka nodded, the gag preventing her from replying with words.
"Don't worry about anything," Terriermon said in to her. "Momentai. Help's already on the way. Anakin and Aayla are leading the cruisers right to this location. And believe me, they were tear this ship apart with their bare hands to find you."
Ahsoka nodded again. Terriermon frowned, flapped upwards and slammed the button which caused the ray shield to drop. Then, he soared into the cell and landed on Ahsoka's shoulder. Carefully, he untied the cloth and Ahsoka spat out the other for the second time and said, "Boy, am I glad to see you safe, Terriermon. I see my hiding place worked."
"So it was you," the bunny said. "I thought so. Listen, thanks."
"Couldn't let you die," Ahsoka smiled. "Who'd help me in my prank war against my Master if you died?"
"Wow, I feel loved," Terriermon smiled. "Right, I reckon it's about time to untie you."
"The collar," said Ahsoka. "Can you take the collar off? Then, I'd be able to use the Force to untie myself."
"Righty-o," Terriermon's little hands found the black collar. He used one ear to gently lift Ahsoka's lekku out of the way as he attempted to find a clasp or something, that he could use to take the offending thing off. But no matter how much he scrabbled at it, he couldn't find any way to open it.
"The damn thing won't open," he said.
"There must be a switch or something," Ahsoka groaned. "Grievous might have it."
"Oh, I didn't like the look of that guy," Terriermon shuddered. "Gave me the heebies."
"The what?"
"Never mind. Alright, so I'll just untie you and we'll go looking for this switch then, shall we?"
"No."
"Say what?"
Ahsoka turned to try and look at the bunny leaning on her shoulder. "Listen, Terriermon. This is important. Leave me here. I'll be fine for now, and I won't be of any use if I can't use the Force and Grievous has my lightsaber. We need to find out what they're planning for my Master?"
"Anakin?"
"Yeah. Ventress said that kidnapping me was a trap for him, but that makes no sense if they wanted to kill him. They could have dragged him into the ship instead. I think they're trying something else. I think they're trying to convert him to the Dark Side."
"What!"
"That's what I need you to find out," Ahsoka said. "Please, Terriermon. You're the perfect spy here."
"Praise indeed."
"Try and find your way to the bridge from the vents," said Ahsoka. "Listen in on their conversation. Find out what they're planning to do. If they want to drag Anakin to the Dark Side, we have to know about it. Then, we can stop them."
"You sure?" Terriermon asked uneasily. "I don't like leaving you like this."
"Ventress doesn't want to kill me," said Ahsoka. "Yet. I'll be fine. Just go. This is really important. You can come back and free me when the attack starts, but we need to find out their plans now, while they may start to discuss it."
"Well, if you insist," said Terriermon. "But I'll be back to get you out of here, I promise."
"Thanks, Terriermon," Ahsoka smiled. "Stay safe."
"You too."
"You'll have to re-gag me."
"What?"
"If Ventress or Grievous come down and I'm not gagged they'll get suspicious."
Terriermon grimaced. The thought of leaving a bound girl in a cell was bad enough, but personally gagging her as well? But he knew she was right, and she was looking at him with such a plea that he couldn't say no. What she was saying made sense. So, hating every moment of it, he pushed the cloth back in Ahsoka's mouth and tied the other around her head.
"Nw gw," Ahsoka nodded towards the doorway.
Terriermon nodded and soared towards the door. He landed by the door, turned and said, "We're gonna get you out of here, Ahsoka. Momentai. When I find out the answer, I'll be right back." Then he jumped up, reactivated the ray shield and turned his back, soaring into the vent.
Ahsoka's heart was pounding. She was dreading what Terriermon would find out, and angry that she couldn't be of more use. She had to figure out a way to get her lightsaber back from Grievous when Terriermon came back and freed her.
Terriermon sprinted down the vent system, with no clue at all as to where he was going now. He stopped at every grating, listening out for the voices or footsteps of Grievous or Ventress, but he heard nothing.
It shouldn't be too much longer before we arrive, Renamon said in his mind. Try and stay hidden until then.
What do you make of Ahsoka's thoughts then?
It makes sense. If Anakin is prophesised to destroy the Sith, then the Sith might want a way to get that chance out of the picture. But they're obsessed with power, and Anakin is a powerful Jedi too. They might just be trying to recruit him.
Don't tell him until I know for sure.
I won't.
Terriermon then heard voices. Battle droid voices. He stopped at a small fork in the trail. The vent to the right stopped after a couple of metres, and the vent on the left stretched off into the distance. The voices were coming from the right vent, so Terriermon ran down it and peered through the grating he came to into a small room, containing two battle droids, and a large number of computer screens, each displaying something different.
"I'm telling you," said one. "I saw something. I did."
"Then why didn't I see anything?"
"Because you weren't looking."
"I still say you were seeing things that weren't there."
"But I did see something. I was watching the screens when I saw something flash across that one there. The one where you can see the prisoner."
Terriermon's digital blood ran cold. This was a surveillance room, and the screens were depicting numerous areas of the ship, as seen on security cameras of some kind. And one of the battle droids had probably caught a glimpse of him.
"Then where is it now?"
"I don't know. But I still say we should report it."
"Alright fine. You call."
"Why me?"
"You saw it."
"Yeah, but-"
Terriermon didn't wait for them to make up their minds. He lifted the grate aside and dropped down into the small room, with the grate in his hands. He landed on the shoulder of the droid that had seen him and swung the grate, smashing the droids head off. As the body fell he jumped off the shoulder and flung the grate at the other one, which got a similar result.
Terriermon turned to the screens and scanned them quickly. He spotted the one where he could see Ahsoka in the cells and rewound the footage. The screen frequently alternated between various other cameras, but sure enough, just once, it flashed back to the one where Ahsoka could be seen and for a snatch of a second, he saw himself flying back into the vent.
"Damn," he muttered to himself. "Not good."
Naturally, if the ship was going to be destroyed, which Terriermon knew it would be if everything went to plan, then this footage didn't matter. But, just in case, Terriermon set to work on the controls. Fortunately, he was excellent with computers, and he erased the footage of him.
He sighed with relief, and replaced the erased video with another where nothing bad could be seen so that no-one would get suspicious if they viewed it. Then he scanned the other screens.
He spotted one that depicted both Ventress and Grievous, talking to hologram of an elderly man with a long beard. He frowned, and quickly rummaged on the controls, looking for an audio button. He quickly found it and the old man's voice came out of the speakers.
"-ellent," he was saying. "Congratulations on your flawless capture of Skywalker's Padawan, Grievous."
"Thank you, my lord," Grievous bowed his head in respect of this man, whom Terriermon realised must be Count Dooku.
"Now that I have the girl in my power," Ventress said. "I can fulfil out the rest of Lord Sidious' design."
Terriermon frowned. Lord who? Nobody had ever mentioned a Lord Sidious before.
"When Skywalker sees the way I've brutalised and tortured his pathetic little pet," Ventress went on. "He'll be filled with pain and anguish. The way to the Dark Side."
"And we shall kill his closest companions one by one," Dooku nodded. "To lure him closer to our ways. Master Kenobi, Senator Amidala, his new ally, Aayla Secura, all shall fall and he shall give in to his anger. The Chosen One will be ours."
As Terriermon digested this news, Grievous went, "Bah! I still say it would be far easier to just stick a lightsaber through him. What is Lord Sidious playing at with this game of his? The Chosen One cannot defeat us if he is dead."
"Yes, Grievous," said Dooku. "But consider this. The death of the Chosen One would cause widespread panic, it is true. Many people believe him to be the saviour of the galaxy. But to have him working against the galaxy – well, that would effectively eliminate all hope for most of the population of the Republic. Much more helpful to us."
"True," Grievous growled. "But it is a pity that I will not get to add his lightsaber to my collection."
They were expected to arrive at any moment, so the clones, the Jedi and the Digimon had headed down the hangar, so they were ready to leave immediately. Anakin jumped into his starfighter. He turned to see Aayla leaping into hers, and he saw Renamon and Lopmon standing beside Rex and Bly in one of the LAAT gunships. Everybody was in position. "Let's make this quick and efficient, men!" Anakin called across the hangar. "Ahsoka and Terriermon are depending on us to get this right."
"We're coming out of hyperspace, General," Yularen's voice came through Anakin's com-channel.
"Positions everyone," Aayla called. "Let's go."
"Let's kick some ass!" Renamon cried. Lopmon glanced at her. She shrugged, and said, "Terriermon's not here. Somebody has to say it."
Lopmon rolled her eyes.
"General!" cried a nearby droid. "There are three Republic cruisers coming out of hyperspace!"
"WHAT!" Grievous whipped around in time to see the three of them zip to a halt right in front of them. "Impossible!"
"For once I agree," Ventress gasped. "How did they find us?"
That would be me, bitch, Terriermon grinned to himself.
Big fight scene coming up. Not much to say now. Please review, and I'll try and get the next chapter up by Friday. Shouldn't be too hard – I literally have no lessons tomorrow. No lessons, no games session, no LAMDA. Gives me plenty of time for writing.
Next time...
Cruiser combat. Another space battle (oh joy). The plan for boarding the ship. More droid smashing by Grievous.
Coming up:- Chapter 37 : Battle over Sernpidal