Shoutout to eagle eyes98 for helping me write this chapter!
The next morning…
Jinx was reviewing where they had scouted so far for the day,
"We have already covered the beach area and most of the briar on this side of the bay." He sounded frustrated that they had made no progress on finding the Trandoshan base. Ahsoka scoffed,
"If it was easy to find, you guys would have found it before we got here."
"True enough." He surrendered,
"Maybe we should try more inland?" Esinon recommended,
"It's worth a shot." Kalifa agreed, O-Mer glanced upward,
"Guys," he rose from the rock he was sitting on, "I think we're looking in the wrong place." He directed their attention upward as a metal ship came plowing the clouds above, "That's their fortress." Esinon perked up hearing the hum of hoverpods, Kalifa did as well,
"Split up!" Both of them ordered as three hoverpods descended on their position. Esinon took off with Kalifa, O-Mer, and Jinx sprinted off in the opposite direction and Ahsoka with Xavier.
Esinon and Kalifa were running through the treetops trying to lose their hunters. As they jumped from limb to limb the laser managed to hit a branch under Kalifa's feet, forcing it to break under her weight. She screamed as she fell to the floor.
"Kalifa!" Esinon called out, trying to get back to her.
"Finish her, my son, the kill is yours." The trandoshan said to Dar on the hoverpod,
"I will kill her with my own hands." He eagerly jumped off the pod chasing after the struggling youngling through the briar patches. He caught up with Kalifa when he had pinned her in a grove. She used the force to throw him into a trunk and began to climb back into the treetops. Esinon finally managed to struggle her way through the briars, gaining fresh scratches up and down her arms. She kicked the Trandoshan in the chest, sending him into a tree, she thought he was knocked out, but he quickly looked up and shot at the two Jedi.
Esinon jumped out of the way and stood in front of Kalifa, protecting her. Dar tried shooting, but every time he tried, Esinon used the force to move the end of the rifle into the air. Dar decided it was best to brawl and jumped at Esinon, they rolled up the briar before Esinon threw him off and swept his feet. She jumped over him, but Dar grabbed her ankle keeping her from going any further. She strained against his hold and eventually got free of him, they stood on a circular briar, staring each other down. Dar growled to intimidate her while Esinon was looking for any opening she could find. Suddenly Ahsoka dropped down out of the trees, he jumped at her, but she evaded and jumped onto his back. Dar threw her off and towards the ledge.
Dar tried to grab her but Ahsoka grabbed him first, throwing him off the side. He was impaled by one of the briars. He slowly reached up to her as he took his last breath. Ahsoka jumped down to make sure that Dar was dead while Esinon went to check on Kalifa. She wrapped that arm around Kalifa shoulder,
"Careful." They needed to move, Esinon and Kalifa knew that better than anyone.
"It's okay. I can make it." Kalifa assured a red bolt pierced right through her chest, she gasped and moaned as she fell to the ground,
"Kalifa!" Esinon cried, She helped her behind the trees so that the sniper couldn't see them.
"Those Jedi whelps killed my son!" He yelled, "Young Dar!" The Trandoshan fired his rifle repeatedly into the jungle air, "There's no escape! I'll hunt you down!" Ahsoka jumped back up to Esinon, pushing both of them behind a tree, praying the sniper couldn't hit them. Red bolts whizzed past, but none of them hit.
"We have to move," Ahsoka said, grabbing Esinon's shoulder,
"Please, Esinon, Ahsoka, leave me," Kalifa grunted
"I won't," Esinon said, she could still save Kalifa, faster, better, stronger, should have been stronger, should have been stronger, Kalifa breathed heavily,
"You have to." Kalifa said, placing a hand over Esinon's, "Ahsoka, please take care..." She grunted, it hurt too much to continue.
"I'll take care of the others," Ahsoka said somberly.
"I know you will." Kalifa smiled through her pain. Ahsoka nodded and watched as Kalifa took her last breath. She caught her and rested her against the briar.
"I'll kill you! You killed my son!" The Trandoshan fired wildly, unable to hit any of them. "I'll kill you! You can't hide from me!" Esinon was frozen in place, should have been better, faster, stronger, should have been there, should have saved Kalifa!
"Esinon, we have to go, now!" The Togruta said, shaking Esinon, pulling her away from Kalifa's body. Ahsoka took one last look at Kalifa and then ran off to find Jinx, Xavier, and O-Mer. The two padawans sprinted through the treetops, "Esinon! Split up!" Ahsoka shouted, the Scipian obeyed and took a higher route. Ahsoka knew that if she could draw the Trandoshan away from Esinon, Esinon would get herself to safety. The instinctive side of Esinon's mind would take over, hopefully, it would long enough for her to get somewhere safe before she froze up again.
Ahsoka jumped from briar to briar, continually pausing to listen to the Transdoshans she knew were following her. She could hear their low snarls getting closer. She pressed on, trying to evade them.
Running for this long was killing her, she couldn't find her breath. She needed to rest. She crawled onto the underside of a flat briar and clung while she calmed her breathing. She could hear one of the hunters stepping on the briar she was hiding under. His snarl crept closer and closer to the edge as she heard him smell the air, but a hoverpod suddenly came down from the sky.
"Where is she?!" It was Dar's father.
"This one was faster than most, I've lost the scent!" The father growled,
"She can't hide forever. Mark my words, I'll have her hide and nail it to the wall for killing my son." Ahsoka breathed a small sigh of relief as it appeared they would give up, but the hoverpod dropped altitude as they turned around to leave, if they turned around they would see her! She heard the father's nose catch a scent, and she quickly crawled on the side of the briar away from them.
Narrowly avoiding being caught as the Trandoshan turned around. As they left she peeked over to ensure they were gone. She crawled back up and made her way back to the hideout, weighing how to tell the younglings about Kalifa….
Meanwhile…
Esinon continued to leap through the trees, letting her body fall onto autopilot, her legs pumping faster, faster, one leap after another, how was she supposed to tell the others? What if Ahsoka wasn't alright? She was the one who had drawn the hoverpod away, that would be another death that was on her. She leapt up to the entrance of the younglings, where O-Mer, Jinx, and Xavier were waiting.
"You made it!" Xavier shouted, pulling his friend into a hug. "Esinon?" He could feel her trembling under his grasp, "Are you alright?" She shook her head, a few seconds later Ahsoka came limping into the hideout. Jinx jumped to his feet,
"You're here!" Jinx exclaimed,
"We feared the worst," O-Mer added, both of them glanced at Esinon's still form in Xavier's arms, and Ahsoka's dejected face and realized something,
"Where's Kalifa?"
"She didn't make it." Ahsoka could hardly look at them.
"She's dead?" Jinx asked, Ahsoka didn't have the willpower to answer him, O-Mer sank to the ground, "I- I can't believe it. She had been here longer than any of us, and now..."
"We're all going to die here, it's only a matter of time," Jinx said, burying his face in his hands. Esinon buried her face further into Xavier's shoulder, the Togruta came over placing a hand on Esinon's shoulder,
"It wasn't your fault," she whispered,
"You know that's not true," Esinon snapped, releasing herself from Xavier's grip, and jumping up to a higher perch in the hideaway.
"If it's only a matter of time till we die, I say we go down with a fight," Ahsoka said, trying to get them riled up. She gave her words extra vigor and looked into their eyes for any sign of hope, but Jinx just scoffed,
"That is suicide." Ahsoka wouldn't give up though. They just needed a new plan,
"You've said that every few days they release new prisoners on the beach." They all appeared curious as to what she was talking about, even Esinon glanced in her direction. "I say we attack that dropship head-on. They'll never expect it." O-Mer sighed,
"Is it worth a shot?" He asked as he looked over to meet Jinx's eyes.
"Maybe it is." the twi'lek replied,
"I'm with you," Xavier said, stepping forward, all of their eyes looked up Esinon. She glanced at them but didn't say anything, before turning her attention back to the forest outside.
"Esinon, we can't do this without you," Ahsoka said, Esinon huffed,
"You guys come with a plan, I'll talk to her," Jinx said, Xavier looked like he was about to stop him, but Jinx was already up at Esinon's side.
Esinon didn't look at Jinx, she kept her eyes fixated on the rustling leaves on the trees outside.
"Kalifa was here when I got here," he said, her stomach dropped, he blamed her. She blamed herself, all of this was her fault. "I didn't come here alone, just like you. My friend, Avi. We were captured during a training mission." Esinon glanced at him, noticing that Jinx was getting lost in old memories. "We were here two nights when the Trandoshans found us… I couldn't save him. That's when Kalifa found me, I blamed myself for Avi's death. I still do, so I know what you're going through."
"I'm sorry," Esinon mumbled, "That I couldn't do more,"
"Know that we don't blame you," he replied, "Don't make Kalifa's death in vain, if Ahsoka has a plan, we'll need your help too."
"What if I freeze up again?" Esinon asked. she knew that even if Jinx didn't know about Sarrish, he probably understood it better than Ahsoka, Xavier, or anyone else ever could. He knew what it meant to survive, and have to carry that guilt.
"You won't know unless you try, now come on, we've got to come with a strategy."
The next morning…
They scurried through the briars until they arrived on the familiar sand, they were just on time as a transport was coming through the clouds ready to drop off new prisoners. Ahsoka looked back to her companions,
"Get ready, we'll have to be swift."
"The drop point's not far," O-Mer said they all watched as the bright white light came through the cloud revealing the long cruiser as it slowly set down onto the beachhead. They needed to attack before the ship had it's gun ready. Esinon had steeled herself over, pushing all fear out of herself, and becoming nothing more than a shell of who she usually was.
"Now!" Ahsoka commanded. The five of them jumped through the sands and used the rocky spires to vault themselves up into the air, landing on the front of the ship.
Esinon could see the two Trandoshans point at her and panicked. She made her way for the entry hatch above, motioning for Jinx, O-Mer, Xavier, and Ahsoka to follow her. They waited for one of the hunters to peek out of the hatch when he did Ahsoka, Xavier, Jinx, and O-Mer ambushed him from behind.
"I'll take the pilot!" Esinon jumped down into the open hatch. Esinon found the pilot, he was turned away from and it looked like he didn't know she was there. She slowly crept up on him, her hands raised for when she would leap on him. She saw him quickly turn around, rifle in hand. It was a trap!
She leapt out of the way just as he fired. He kept firing, and she kept jumping, gradually closing in on him until she kicked the blaster out of his hands and got on top of him. She forced his body into the console, unintentionally moving the steering wheel. The ship began to list to the left, the pilot threw Esinon off of him.
He fired his blaster over and over, trying to land a shot. Esinon kept redirecting the blaster away from her but the blasts were tearing the consoles apart. She threw him through the glass window of the cockpit. The impact of hitting the glass knocked him out immediately. Esinon relaxed for just a moment before the electricity from the malfunctioning console zipped up toward her. The navigation terminal was next, it caught fire, sending the ship into a spiral as pieces began to come off the doomed craft. Esinon was trying to save the ship from its spin, she shut off the side thrusters and re-engaged the ventral stabilizers, but it was too late, the ship was beginning to descend.
"Get out of there, come on!" she heard Jinx call as he jumped onto the cockpit.
"But the prisoners! They'll die!" She wouldn't leave them. Another death would not be on her hands. It was her fault the ship was going down in the first place.
"Hit the release, hurry!" He motioned toward one of the buttons in front of her. She could hear the doors open, so she made her way to the hatch, jumping off with Xavier, Ahsoka, Jinx, and O-Mer just as the ship came down. Esinon and the company regrouped, looking at the burning vessel as it left off another fiery ploom.
"Well," O-Mer sighed, "I guess we won't be escaping on that ship."
"We'll find another way," Ahsoka assured him, Esinon stared frustratedly at the wreckage. They had been here for what? Two days? She wanted off of this moon where she was safe. Safer. She was torn from her thoughts as a roar emitted from the wreckage.
"What was that?" Jinx asked,
"A survivor." Ahsoka made her way into the wreck, followed by the other two, "It could be one of the prisoners they were dropping off." A large figure emerged from the smoke,
"What is that?" O-Mer squinted his eyes, the outline was hard to make out. The figure got closer, revealing a species Esinon had seen before,
"It's a Wookie," she breathed, the Wookie roared in affirmation,
The next morning...
"Your name is Chewbacca?" Ahsoka asked, making sure her pronunciation was correct. Chewbacca grunted in approval.
"Chewbacca, does anyone even know you were taken?" O-Mer asked, hope lacing his words. Chewbacca shook his head and moaned dejectedly, but then he raised his arms towards the stars and groaned again. Ahsoka could understand him,
"No, but he says his homeworld is very close." Ahsoka translated,
"That's great," Jinx said sarcastically, "but it might as well be Coruscant, as far as I'm concerned. We've got no ship." He stood circling the fire as he talked. Chewbacca didn't like the young twi'leks attitude, he growled, getting up and grunting while pointing at all of them.
"He thinks he can contact his home planet if we find a way to transmit a signal," Ahsoka said.
"Right, and how would we do that? Send smoke signals?" Jinx made motions of smoke with his arms, "We don't exactly have a transmitter lying around if you haven't noticed." Esinon sat for a moment in thought before perking up,
"I think I might be able to build a transmitter from the wreckage," she said, Chewie groaned and growled,
"Chewie says he can help," Ahsoka said,
"Well, we can't just sit here." Xavier agreed, trying to get Jinx on board.
"Fine, we'll do it the Wookiee way." Jinx caved,
Coruscant…
Obi-Wan flipped over in his bed, frustratedly pulling the covers over his head.
He sighed, tossing the covers off and headed for the kitchen. He pulled out a box of tea, putting up his mental shields so he couldn't feel Anakin's stress and frustration.
It was like he couldn't remember it wasn't only his padawan who had been taken. All of the Tornadoes had. Obi-Wan hated it. Correction, he hated himself for letting Esinon get taken.
He should have known better, he should have been there. Why was it that he could never really be there for her? When she needed him most, he was never there. That wasn't true, but Obi-Wan wasn't in the best train of thought at the moment. He couldn't sleep because he could sense Esinon in distress, and no amount of meditation could get it to go away.
And Anakin's constant pacing, training, and snapping weren't helping either. He sighed frustratedly, it seemed whenever it mattered, he couldn't protect his padawan. He could keep better track of Anakin and that was saying something.
Maybe because he had already trained a padawan by the time he took on Esinon, he'd gotten lax and reckless. He pressed his forehead to his fists and took a deep breath. There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is the force.
Deep breath in
Deep breath out
"Esinon, I trust you. I trust you to take care of yourself, and come back to me," he whispered,
Deep breath in
Deep breath out
There is no emotion, there is peace.
Later that night, Wassak…
They all made their way through the dense underbrush. As they closed back in on the beach Ahsoka held up her hands, motioning for everyone to hold the position. She turned back to them,
"Chewbacca, Esinon, and I will go out to inspect the crash site. You two stay here, and signal us if you see anything." Ahsoka instructed, the three boys nodded,
Ahsoka, Esinon, and Chewie made their way into the open while Jinx, Xavier, and O-Mer climbed a briar so they could see the beachhead more clearly. They watch as Ahsoka, Esinon and their new Wookiee friend crept under the wreck and into one of many openings to the inner hull. Soon a hoverpod appeared above them, scanning the ground with its spotlight.
"Get back!" Ahsoka backed all of them up against the ship's inner wall, "It's a patrol." Chewbacca, Esinon, and Ahsoka made their way through the obstacle course that was the wrecked vessel, "Hopefully that patrol won't be back for a while." Esinon and Chewie started scanning through the wreckage, sifting through different parts.
"What about this?" Esinon asked, tossing Chewie a part, the wookie grunted in agreement before stashing the part.
"What are we looking for?" Ahsoka asked as the two continued to rip parts from the wall. Chewie pulled a battery pack out of the wall, a small zap flicker as he disconnected it. He turned around and groaned at her cheerfully. "Are you still feeling optimistic about making a transmitter out of this junk?" He yelled confidently in reply. Chewbacca was using a flashlight he'd found to look over all of the consoles. He was taking anything that looked operational and putting it into a cart.
Esinon rolled a part over in her hands before deciding it was operational enough to use. Ahsoka observed their collection as Esinon tossed more wires onto the pile, "We better get going.
That patrol might come back." Chewie grunted in agreement, as Esinon nodded. Ahsoka, Esinon, and Chewbacca had just exited the hull, "It looks clear, come on." But Chewbacca grunted hesitantly, "it's okay." She motioned her hand forward, trying to coerce him. Esinon poked her head out, she could sense something. A red bolt whizzed past her head,
"Sniper! Get back," she hissed, shoving Chewie and Ahsoka back. Chewbacca grunted a solid 'I told you so' as they ducked behind one of the engine exhausts. "We've got to hurry before that trandoshan kills one of them." Esinon was picking up speed as they ducked out of the back of wreckage and snuck up behind the trandoshan who was currently strangling Jinx. Chewie grabbed the trandoshan by the neck holding the creature struggling by the neck. Chewbacca sent a powerful knee into the reptile's chest. He wrapped his arms around the sniper's neck as he landed on his knees and started strangling him.
"Wait!" Jinx coughed, "We should take him, prisoner,"
"It's only fair," Esinon said, staring dagger at the trandoshan. the hunter hissed and clawed at Chewie's arms. Chewie nodded and threw him into the ground. He knelt behind and looped the trandoshan's arms behind his back. They all made their way back to the hideout.
A few hours later…
"Hand me that power converter," Esinon said, "Don't cross those wires," Chewie roared, "Ahsoka translate!"
"He said he knows what he's doing," Ahsoka replied, Esinon grumbled in frustration,
"Well I'm trusting someone I barely know, so that's why I'm questioning whether he's trying to build a transmitter or a bomb," she growled, Ahsoka sighed and decided to change the topic of conversation.
"How's it looking, Chewbacca?" Ahsoka asked. He growled in anticipation, all he could do was wait at this point, "Will it work?" The transmitter rotated the antenna, slightly higher and sped up the frequency of its signals,
"Well, something's working," O-Mer noted, but he spoke too soon, the transmitter shorted out, sending electricity whirring through the antenna and shutting offline. Chewie growled in anger, as Esinon threw a piece scrap across the room,
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Ahsoka said, grabbing Esinon's hands, "It's alright, we'll get it to work." Jinx was getting just as sick of being here as Esinon was, so he decided to suggest another idea.
"We've got a prisoner. We should be using him to our advantage while we have a chance," he said,
"I thought the prisoner was the backup plan," Ahsoka said,
"It's clear enough that we cannot rely on that device." Chewie glared at him, growling in frustration, "No offense," Jinx held up his hands in mock surrender, "but we just can't sit here any longer."
"We should wait." Ahsoka knew the technical skills of the wookie…this would work if they gave it time, but Esinon wasn't feeling that patient. She was sick of feeling unsafe and plagued by nightmares and the constant fear of not knowing whether she was going to die in the next second. Plus there was barely any food out here, and Esinon was starting to get really, really, hangry. O-Mer sighed,
"I agree with Jinx, we have to act while we have an advantage."
"We need to get out of here now." Esinon said, "And if that means using a hostage, then we have to do it."
"Let's say we do it your way, what's the plan?" Ahsoka asked Jinx had obviously been thinking about this for a while because he immediately jumped to his feet.
"We can use the prisoner to trick the enemy into flying one of their pods down to us, then we hijack the pod, fly up to their base, and take them by surprise."
"Ahsoka, you got us to believe in ourselves again, and, well," O-Mer looked into her eyes hopefully, "I believe Jinx's plan will work."
"Ahsoka, I'm going with them. I'm sick of being afraid, and I want to get off this moon."
"Look, do what you want, but O-Mer, Esinon, and I are leaving with the prisoner in the morning," Jinx said, as the three of them turned around, walking to their sleeping areas. Ahsoka glanced at Xavier,
"It's worth a shot," the zabrak said, "At least think about it," Ahsoka nodded, as Xavier went off to his sleeping spot. Ahsoka turned back to Chewie.
"Their hearts are in the right place." They just needed to learn a little patience….She looked at their new partner, "You know I can't let them go alone." Chewbacca howled, he wanted to keep working on their transmitter, "We're not going to be able to do this without you. We need your help." He growled lowly in response, agreeing with her, "Who knows? Maybe our luck's just about to change." She smiled as her partner let out another growl.
He reset the transmitter and improved the wiring so that it wouldn't short. Then he and Ahsoka made for their beds, preparing for the battle tomorrow.
The next morning...
Ahsoka led the group back to the beach for the last time. She turned to face them,
"All right, we better get started," she said,
"Right, time to call your friends." Jinx walked toward the Trandoshan expectantly. The hunter hissed at him,
"I'm not helping you, whelp!" Esinon glared at the hunter,
"Chewbacca, we need him at eye level, please," she said, crossing her arms. Chewie happily obliged, kicked the back of his knees to get him to go down. Jinx waved his hand in front of Trandoshan, trying to influence his mind,
"You will listen to me," Jinx commanded, He laughed at the twi'leks feeble attempt.
"No, I won't." Chewie socked him from the side to stun focused and tried one more time,
"You will listen to me."
"I will listen to you." His eyes narrowed into a trance,
"You were our captive, but now you've escaped," Jinx said, waving his hand again,
"I was your captive but now I've escaped." the Trandoshan repeated, a grin spreading over his face at his 'triumph'.
"You need to call a speeder to pick you up." Jinx reached down to undo his bindings now that he was under control.
"I need to call a speeder to pick me up." the hunter repeated. He pressed a button on the comlink he was wearing and it came to life,
"Smug? Where have you been?" Jinx used the force to influence his mind while he answered,
"I need a speeder to pick me up." Esinon stared expectantly at the sky, and soon the roar of a pod was audible. Ahsoka and the group took cover behind the briars as his partner came closer. Their prisoner looked back at Jinx for confirmation, making sure he was where he needed to be. Jinx gave him a nod. The pod swooped down and came to rest right in front of the hunter,
"Get in. Let's go." The pilot demanded. Smug reached out for his hand and made a motion to get on the pod, distracting the pilot. "Now!" Ahsoka leaped from the trees above, grabbing on to the top bar of the hoverpod and using her momentum to kick the pilot. It knocked him off balance but he gathered himself and tackled Ahsoka into the sand which left the hoverpod spinning out of control. Esinon leaped into action to help Ahsoka with the pilot. While the girls were busy with the pilot, Jinx and Xavier made quick work of their entranced prisoner, and O-Mer jumped into the pod. He fought wildly with the wheel, trying to level out the descending craft.
Ahsoka, Esinon, and the pilot were all circling around each other, gauging each other for openings when Chewie suddenly jumped down behind. He let out a war growl before uppercutting the pilot. He didn't expect the wookie's strength and was thoroughly knocked out before he even hit the ground. Meanwhile, O-Mer had managed to get control of the hoverpod,
"Want a lift?" he asked them, Ahsoka grinned, things were looking up.
A few minutes later…
They found the Trandoshan base and pulled up beside it. They could see two hunters who looked very surprised to see they weren't the brethren they were expecting. Chewbacca let out a war howl as O-Mer brought the craft to the loading bay. The two trandoshans hissed at their new company. Jinx jumped out of the pod, kicking the one who hissed in response. Chewbacca followed him, picking the other reptile up and throwing him over the side.
His scream could be heard until clouds covered his form. O-Mer let the Tornadoes off as well before he zoomed away preparing to pass overhead with the gun. The first Trandoshan could see he was outmatched; he bent over and let out his screech for help. Trandoshans around the base came out to see what was causing the commotion.
"Kill them! Kill them! I want their skins!" They could hear the leader say from the balcony above. Two hunters came around from the right side of the base and opened fire upon the group. Ahsoka led them behind another parked hoverpod. Chewbacca lifted the pod and flipped it over to give them some extra cover. The trandoshan that was screeching had stopped and started running over to the other pod.
Esinon saw him before he could make it, "Hey," She nudged Jinx, "let's give him a lift." They used the force to grab the pod and flung toward the group firing at them while he was climbing on it. All three of them took the blow.
Chewbacca ran over to fight one of them who was getting up while Jinx and Esinon moved in on the two still recovering from the pod. A trandoshan aimed a blaster at them, Jinx forced the barrel away while Esinon flipped over him into a leaping kick.
She knocked the blaster out of his hands and started blocking the trandoshan's jabs. Two more reptiles came down from the left side of the base and began running around behind the Jedi, trying to flank them. O-Mer saw them and lined up his pod with their path. He turned on the gun and forced the two hunters to run for cover.
The leader saw O-Mer disrupting his crew and manned one of the stationary guns on the balcony. He wildly fired at O-Mer, managing to clip one of his engines while everyone fought below.
O-Mer knew the craft couldn't stay airborne so he directed it back over the base. Everyone scattered as the pod came limping over the ship and flipping several times as it landed. That distraction gave the Trandoshans the time they needed to grab their blasters and take aim at Esinon and the rest of the group. Their luck had run out.
The leader smirked as the crew surrounded the Jedi, "A valiant effort, little younglings," He hissed, "You will be a prized trophy in my collection." Suddenly, the sound of a ship could be heard closing in on the platform there were in.
Chewbacca looked toward the sky and growled happily as he saw familiar faces. The Wookies howled back at his response. The hunters hopelessly opened fire on the descending craft, General Tarfful and his unit jumped onto the platform and opened fire with their own blasters. Chewbacca took that time to kick over the Trandoshan who had him pinned and get back on his feet. He forced him into a melee while his fellow Wookiees kept the reptilian leader pinned with their gunfire.
General Tarfful grabbed hold of one of the hunters, throwing them off the ship while he struck another in the gut with his knee and stomped his head while he was down.
The lead Trandoshan could tell the tide of the battle was turning in favor of the Jedi and Wookiees as Tarfful let loose his intimidating howl. He ran inside the base to regroup.
Esinon watched as Ahsoka vaulted up into the base with the help of Chewbacca, she continued to fight against the Trandoshans, taking the upper hand for only a moment, until she was attacked from behind.
A hunter leaped on top of her and grabbed her whipping her around himself and into a wall. Esinon landed hard on the ground, she whimpered in pain as she curled in on herself, too weak to fight any longer.
She heard a Transdoshan scream that mixed with a wookie's cry. The last thing she remembered was a big mass of brown fur, and then the world went dark.
A few minutes later…
Esinon could hear unfamiliar voices around her, she blinked a couple of times, she was inside an unfamiliar ship, with people she didn't recognize.
"Ahsoka!" She yelled, jumping to her feet, "Xavier!"
"It's alright! It's alright!" Ahsoka shouted, running over to the frightened Scipian, and grabbing her shoulders, "You're safe, we're all safe," Esinon looked around the ship and saw O-Mer, Xavier, and Jinx all curled up under a blanket fast asleep.
"Oh," Esinon muttered, she glanced around and saw wookies and Sugi. "Are we going back to the temple?" Ahsoka nodded, Esinon couldn't help herself and pulled Ahsoka into a hug. "We did it, we actually survived,"
"You doubted me?"
"Doubted myself," she muttered,
"We're gonna be ok," Esinon smiled, tightening her grip on Ahsoka. Over the past few days, Esinon wasn't used to feeling safe, so she was planning on savoring it.
Obi-Wan shuffled through the crowd of wookies, and bounty hunters trying to find his padawan. He spotted Ahsoka who was already reunited with Anakin and Xavier who was with Master Plo, but his padawan was nowhere to be found. A pair of wookies parted and there she was, smiling and talking to a Cerean and a twi'lek,
"Esinon!" he called, she finally spotted him and came rushing forward, he placed his hands on her shoulders, searching her over for injury. "Are you alright?"
"I am Master," she replied,
"I'm sorry for letting you get taken," Obi-Wan said gently,
"It wasn't your fault. It was your training that helped me survive, so I owe you a thank you. The lessons you have taught me are invaluable. Thank you, Master," she said, bowing to him, he smiled at his padawan. He bowed to her,
"You're welcome, padawan mine,"
That night…
"Esinon, are you alright?" his padawan jumped, having not sensed Obi-Wan enter the living room. She probably assumed that everyone else was asleep, she opened her mouth to dismiss any concern but quickly closed it remembering their deal, to be honest.
"Not really, no," she muttered, pulling her blanket around herself tighter, Obi-Wan glanced up at the TV where an old Boonta Eve pod race was playing, he watched a tiny Anakin Skywalker race past. Now he knew something was really wrong, this was the one pod race that she watched whenever something was really bothering her. He came over and sat down on the couch next to her,
"Do you wanna talk about it?" he asked, she sucked in a harsh breath trying to think how she wanted to phrase this.
"Fives asked me once if I was afraid to die," she began slowly, "And I don't think I'm afraid to die, and I already died once and I know what happens after." Obi-Wan involuntarily flinched, he still had nightmares about that day. "I think… I'm more scared of letting other people die." Obi-Wan glanced at her, shuffling a bit closer to her, sensing the tornado of emotions. "I- Jinx and O-Mer weren't the only ones there when we were on Wassak. There was a girl, Kalifa. She… died, because of me." she whispered, pulling her knees up to her chest. "I… I feel like I have all these powers, but I can never control them when I need to. And no matter how much I train, it doesn't seem to matter. Kalifa could be alive and happy if it wasn't for me. I froze up, it was so much like Sarrish, and I got lost in all the memories and grief. I didn't focus like I should have… and I'm feeling like a bad Jedi, I guess? Like maybe Master Yoda was wrong about assigning me so early. Maybe I should have stayed with my clan for that extra two years." Obi-Wan paused, processing for a moment.
"Jedi often feel responsible… for all of the galaxy's failings, because citizens need someone to blame. Jedi are the people who are supposed to keep the peace, and sometimes we can't always control everything. We are people with extraordinary abilities, but that's all we are. People with gifts. The weight of the galaxy was not meant to rest on your shoulders, and it's not meant to rest on mine either. You can't control everything Esinon, as much as you might like to. You've always been trying to prove yourself to everyone, and it's ok to not be 'perfect' all of the time. You Esinon Windcaster, are not a bad Jedi. You have leftover trauma from Sarrish, anyone would after being tortured for a week." Esinon shuddered, pulling the blanket around herself tighter. Obi-Wan opened his arms, "Come here," His padawan tentatively obeyed, relaxing as he wrapped his arms around her. Obi-Wan rested his chin on top of her head, "Do you remember when I first met Xavier?" she nodded, shifting a little closer to him. "The reason you sensed my unease was because my Master was killed by a zabrak of a similar appearance. We all have a past, and things that scare us or make us freeze up. It doesn't make you a bad Jedi, it makes you human. Does that make sense?" She nodded again, Obi-Wan smiled softly, hugging his padawan a little tighter.
"I love you, Master," she mumbled half-asleep in his arms,
"I love you too my padawan," he sensed her tornado emotions slow, and dissipate, it was replaced with a warm and fuzzy feeling as Obi-Wan's mind was flooded with all of Esinon's favorite memories of their time together.
The next day...
"It would be wise to let the clones know you're alright," Obi-Wan said, tossing Esinon her coat. "Just be back by dinner,"
"Ok Master, I'll see you later." she said slowly, "Master, will Jinx and O-Mer continue to be trained?" Obi-Wan sighed, rubbing his beard. Half the council was voting to send the two younglings to Agricorps, but he thought it would be best to continue to train the two of them.
"Nothing's been decided yet, but I will keep you posted," he replied, Esinon nodded and started for the door, she turned around one more time.
"Master,"
"Yes,"
"Thank you… for everything."
"Of course,"
Esinon stepped into the clone barracks, she assumed that Fives already knew she was back, but Obi-Wan knew that it was probably a good idea for him to get to see her. Fives had probably not taken her getting captured well, she started down the hallways, pausing every few minutes to troopers who wanted to greet her after disappearing. Honestly, she was still exhausted, and as much as she would have wanted to listen to Fives talk for hours, she really was planning to go to sleep. She finally made it's Blitz squad's section of the barracks, she was greeted by someone who wasn't Fives.
"You're back!" Attie yelled happily, she yelped as he swept her up in a hug where her feet couldn't even touch the ground.
"Hi Attie," she giggled, returning the gesture.
"Are Commanders Tano and Grerum alright?" he asked, setting her back on her feet.
"Xavier caught a bug and has a fever, but Master Plo is taking good care of him, and Master Skywalker hasn't let Ahsoka out of his sight since she returned so they're both in good hands," she replied, a tired smile crossing her face.
"That's really good news," he said, bouncing on the balls of his feet.
"Do you know where Fives is?" she asked, scanning behind him for her brother.
"He's in the training room," Attie replied,
"Thanks, Attie, I'll be back later," she said, planning on letting all of Blitz know she was ok. She headed to the training room where she found Fives alone. It was obvious he'd been there for a while because his shirt was in the corner. She hoped that he wasn't doing this many intense work-outs while she was gone. She adopted his habit of obsessive training when she was upset. Bear could testify. It looked like he was finishing up because he was doing push-ups, he always did those last. She used her speed to silently sneak up on him and sit down on his back. "Eighty-seven, eighty-eight, you've got five million more to go," she drawled, laying down on top of him. Fives continued anyway, she grinned to herself, she did this a lot, so it was normal for him.
"Get off of me Taz," he grunted, "You know I'm in a bad mood because Esinon's not-" he stopped mid-sentence and dropped to the floor in surprise.
"Good, you finally noticed," she joked, rolling off of him. Fives didn't say anything, but wrapped her into a hug, holding her tight. She could hear his heart hammering in his chest. "Deep breath Fives, I'm ok," His only response was to hug her tighter. Esinon relaxed in his grip, gently brushing against his mind. She instantly relinquished at the sheer panic that was filling his mind, "Fives? Are you alright?"
"Bad dreams, that's all," he mumbled, Fives's heart was still hammering,
"Are you going to actually tell me what's wrong?" she asked, pulling away from his hug, his hand was still on her forearm. Reassuring himself that she was still there.
"I… I had a lot of nightmares, that involved you," he started slowly, his grip tightened slightly on her arm.
"And," she prompted,
"A lot of them ended with your…" his voice tapered off, she brushed against his mind again an image of her cold, bloody, body flashed through her mind.
"Oh Fives," she whispered, Fives nodded, she pulled him back into a hug. "It's alright, I'm safe,"
"Can you blame me for being worried?" He asked, resting his chin on top of her head. She shook her head,
"No, I…" she shuddered, shuffling a little closer to Fives. Not that she could shift any closer, she was plastered to Fives's chest, she could hear his heartbeat, could feel his chest rising and falling. "It was bad Fives, it was too much like Sarrish." Fives tightened his grip ever so slightly,
"It's alright, you're safe," he soothed, "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you,"
"It wasn't anyone's fault." she replied, "We can't control everything, Master Kenobi reminded me of that. I'm just glad we're together,"
"Oh my little optimist," she felt him grin, she chuckled, "My little optimist is back,"
"What? Attie didn't fill in while I was gone?" she joked,
"Missed you anyways,"
"Not planning on getting captured anytime soon,"
"Good, for my sanity, that's a very good thing," Esinon started to laugh, a real genuine laugh, that she hadn't felt in a long time. Her laugh became contagious as Fives began to laugh as well, both of them held each other tight. At the moment, the war didn't matter, it didn't matter where they would be deployed next, or how they could both lose each other tomorrow. They had each other right now, and that's all they needed.
That night…
"Master? Where are we going?" Esinon asked as they raced in a speeder through the streets of Coruscant, heading into the lower levels.
"We're meeting up with Cody," he replied,
"For what?" she asked, listening to the hum of the speeder and the song that was playing on the radio. She tapped her fingers on the dashboard along to the beat.
"It's a surprise," Obi-Wan replied,
"I hate surprises," she grumbled, peering along the rows of buildings. They were headed into Coco town, why he would want to take her here was beyond her. Why they would meet Cody here was also beyond her, all that was down this far was some B-list diners and stores.
"I know," Obi-Wan said, humming to himself. Esinon smiled to herself, it wasn't often she felt this relaxed, or Obi-Wan seemed so at ease. It was a lot of panicked yelling, training, blaster fire, explosions, hurried reunions, careful tending of wounds. Now everything faded to the background, they were simply a Master and padawan out for an evening on Coruscant. Like it was meant to be. They pulled up next to a small diner, where a few troopers in orange were waiting, the Master and apprentice pair jumped off the speeder.
"Verd'ika!" Waxer exclaimed, he picked her up, hugging her tightly. "We missed you!"
"Welcome back kid," Boil said, ruffling her hair as soon as Waxer set her back on her feet. She looked up at Cody who was smiling fondly down at her, he lightly tapped their foreheads together. Esinon smiled, this was something special between brothers. It showed they trusted you,
"So what is this place?" Esinon asked, as soon as Cody pulled away, Obi-Wan was smiling proudly to himself.
"Welcome to Dex's diner, my Master used to bring me here all the time when I was your age. I thought it's time that I do the same with you." Esinon beamed up at him, this was her favorite thing, when her Master did things with her that his Master did with him. She couldn't wait to tell Qui-Gon later, he probably could see it all happening, but he would let her ramble anyways. They entered the diner where waiter droids scurried around tables,
"Someone to see ya, honey!" A droid yelled when they finally spotted the group of two Jedi and three clones. "Jedi by the looks of them!" a large besalisk poked his head out from the kitchen and immediately lit up at the sight of them,
"Obi-Wan!" he shouted happily, "And is that bright eyes!"
"Indeed it is, Dex," Obi-Wan replied, with a big grin on his face, "I thought it was about time that I brought my padawan down here."
"You know me?" Esinon asked tentatively. Dex came out from around the kitchen,
"You think Obi-Wan would get a new padawan, and I wouldn't know about it?" he said, placing two of his hands on his hips. He offered one of his hands out to her, she shook it and his enormous hand engulfed her tiny one. "It is a pleasure to meet you bright eyes,"
"It's nice to meet you too," she said, relaxing slightly.
"His nickname for you is bright eyes if you were wondering," Obi-Wan whispered as Dex guided them towards a table. "Said it was the first thing he noticed about when I showed him the picture."
"A lot of people do," she mumbled, by a lot of people she meant Attie and Echo. They said that the first thing they noticed about her was how bright and lively her eyes were. She slid into the booth next to Obi-Wan, with Waxer Boil, and Cody across from them,
"Have you guys ever been here before?" Obi-Wan asked, Cody shook his head,
"You kidding General? Boil and I come here all the time," Waxer replied, Dex came back, sliding into the booth.
"So what brings you down to visit me?" the large besalisk asked, quiet fell over the group. The real reason they were here was that Esinon had been taken, and it wasn't something they all wanted to think about at the moment.
"I just got back from a trip," Esinon supplied quickly, "Remote moon, can't remember the name,"
"Yes, we're celebrating her return," Obi-Wan added,
"Well welcome home bright eyes," Dex said with a bright smile, "I'll be back with food,"
Twenty minutes later…
"Look Master!" she turned to show him what she'd accomplished, which was hanging a spoon from her nose.
"Have you not been paying attention in etiquette class?" he asked, trying to hold back a smile from his goofball of a padawan.
"I don't understand why I have to take those," she mumbled, removing the spoon from her nose. "I'm a sweet girl, and fairly well behaved,"
"No thanks to Waxer," Cody mumbled,
"Hey!" he exclaimed, Esinon snorted,
"Besides, being 'lady-like' is no fun at all." she added, "Girls who don't get to wrestle, I pity."
"Esinon Upahara," Obi-Wan grumbled, she grinned at him,
"You have far too many brothers,"
"What we're here for General," Boil replied, Esinon smiled. She felt safe, it felt good. It wasn't often she felt like this, and she was going to take advantage of it.
And there we go, Padawan Lost is all done. Thank goodness,
You want to know how much of a writer I've become? I was watching West Side Story and Riff and Bernardo both got stabbed and died and I was like hang on a minute. You can't die that fast from a stab wound, because they died like instantly. And my writing brain took over.
Next up on let's make this canon corner: Fives has order 66 nightmares of killing Esinon. She's caught him having one, only once. Fives panicked for a minute seeing her covered in blood and blaster wounds, but quickly recovered seeing she was ok.
I may write the scene of Esinon catching Fives during the nightmare and put it in this one, or the tornado trio. Depends
Thank you for reading! And make sure to leave a review!