Chapter 12: Shadow of the Force
Republic Holo-News:
CHANCELLOR ROBBED BLIND BY ROOKIE SENATOR FROM ONDERON
In a series of shocking events, the Senate cast a vote to steal Republic credits from Chancellor Sheev Palpatine. The credits were provided specifically for our Chancellor to use at his own discretion. However, the freshman Senator from the Onderon system, Lux Bonteri (son of the late Mina Bonteri, a known Separatist defector), proposed those funds be used for re-education centers for criminal youth.
While the motivations of young Bonteri are still unclear, we are aghast to see him steal money from someone such as the Chancellor of the Republic. In his good nature, however, Chancellor Palpatine generously donated the credits to Bonteri's cause. We can only hope that this act of generous charity will influence Senator Bonteri's future actions.
In a poll of the citizens of Coruscant, 73% found Bonteri to not have the Republic's best interests in mind. All eyes are now watching this wild-card Senator to see where his true loyalties lie.
"Wow, they really don't like you anymore, do they?" Ahsoka said after reading the article out loud. She set the datapad down on the ottoman in front of her. Lux sat on the floor of the apartment, his back to the balcony windows. He was playing with Alek.
"It's just political slander. That was one of the nice ones. Most people are calling for my head." He picked Alek up under his arms, resting his feet on the ground.
Ahsoka had arrived on Onderon that morning. Lux and Alek had gotten there the day before. She was shocked to find out how her husband managed to usurp the entire Senate in the short time they were apart. She knew that things like these tended to bring a bit of heat but would eventually die out. Regardless, it was best for them to lay low for a while. They didn't want to find themselves targets of any more upset politicians.
Lux let Alek hold his fingers as he tried to balance on his feet. Ahsoka smiled as he wobbled around, trying to stay upright.
"Still, I just want you to be careful. I've seen what these kinds of things can do to politicians before," she stated. Ahsoka moved from the couch to the floor. She sat cross-legged a few feet in front of Alek and Lux.
"When have I not been careful?" Lux retorted, giving her a look over their son's head.
She gaped at him. They looked down at Alek as he fell backward on his butt. She glanced back up at her husband with a face that said Really?
He put the pieces together after a moment. "Hey! This," he picked Alek back up, turning him to face Ahsoka, "was a team effort, if I recall. And I don't think it garners any threats from politicians or world leaders."
She rolled her eyes but couldn't help but smile. "Okay, Deathwatch."
He opened his mouth to argue again but then closed it. Lux conceded. "Yeah, fine. I was very stupid and impulsive back then. My mother had just been killed. I have learned my lesson about joining terrorist cult groups."
Alek gripped Lux's fingers again, still trying to stay standing on his own. His little face held as much concentration as a seven-month-old could.
"Lux, just promise me you won't act rash if something happens?" Ahsoka asked. Her tone was soft. Their eyes met. They both knew what she was really saying. He needed to be careful, not just for his own sake, or even Ahsoka's, but for Alek.
Lux nodded. "I will, love."
Ahsoka smiled, then turned back to Alek. He had let go of one of his father's hands. He stood relatively still. Ahsoka took a chance. Reaching out with the Force, she connected with him. Ahsoka told him to keep going.
Both of them waited with eager faces as Alek let go of Lux's other hand. He stood for a moment. They smiled brightly.
"Come on, you can do it. Go to Mama," Lux encouraged.
Alek picked up one foot, trying to take a step. But his legs didn't move right, and he fell forward on the ground. His face turned red and scrunched up. Ahsoka sensed a tantrum coming. Quickly, she moved to lay on her stomach as well, facing him on the floor. Lux went to pick him up. But she had an idea. She held up a hand for him to stop.
Using the Force again, she soothed his growing frustration.
"Alek, you'll fall a lot. But falling gives you a chance to get back up. Trust yourself."
Alek stopped crying. He gazed at his mother. His blue eyes were wide. After a moment, he began to squirm around. He wiggled his feet up under him and placed his hands on the ground to push himself to stand. Ahsoka sat up as well. She felt a swell of pride.
"Good! Lux, record this!"
"Already on it!" He held the holo-recorder in his hand behind Alek. He had a huge smile on his face. He was such a goofy father it made Ahsoka want to roll her eyes and kiss him at the same time.
Ahsoka held out her hands. "You can do it, Alek."
In small movements, Alek picked up his feet again, this time not stopping after one step. He kept moving across the carpet. His arms were outstretched. What was once a face of anger now was gleefully screaming as he waddled himself into Ahsoka's arms.
"See? I told you that you could do it!" She wrapped her arms around him in a hug. Alek buried his face in her shirt. Lux put down the recorder and joined them on the floor.
Ahsoka thought about what Little Ahsoka had told her back on Ilum. She had to trust that all the choices she made so far led her to the right place. This little piece of domestic happiness - this moment of pure joy - she never imagined happening. Yet, she was thankful that it did.
But something else Little Ahsoka said also nagged at her mind, about the coming times ahead. Ahsoka had had enough experience with the Force to know that it was a warning of some kind. Something was going to happen, and it would be imperative that she follow her instincts.
Ahsoka squeezed Alek a little tighter.
It wasn't the screaming that woke Ahsoka up. She sensed a surge of fear from down the hallway that shocked her awake. She sat bolt upright. Lux was woken up by her leaping across him to get to the door.
The Force was telling her something was wrong. Very, very wrong.
The shrieks came from a housemaid. She had come in to clean the apartment and had gone into the nursery. Ahsoka sprinted down to the open door with Lux right behind her. The maid was on the floor when they arrived. Dead. There was a smoking hole in her chest and a look of fear etched on her face. The crib was overturned on its side, empty.
Alek was gone.
Her instincts were right.
Ahsoka felt panic building in her chest. The window was open. Ahsoka ran over and looked outside. She could still sense that Alek was in the palace.
"Sound the alarms! Tell the guards to lock the doors to the city!" she called to Lux behind her. She jumped onto the window ledge, eyes scanning the palace rooftop. She caught the shadow of a person flash by in the dark. A cry was heard from a child. It echoed in the palace walls.
Behind her, she heard Lux calling the palace guards. Without hesitation, Ahsoka Force-jumped from the window to the roof below. She ran barefoot on the tiles, keeping her eyes trained on the dark figure ahead of her. She could sense Alek was with them, and he was terrified.
"STOP!" she screamed. But her call was ignored as the person continued to flee. Ahsoka could see they were dressed in all black and covered in a cloak. She couldn't make out any distinct characteristics to identify who it was.
They were moving fast. They leaped from the palace roof and onto the city buildings beyond. Ahsoka saw palace guards running in that direction. She knew they were far too slow. Using the Force again, she flung herself over the palace wall. Her bare feet hit a metal roof.
It was the middle of the night in Isis. Most lights were dim or completely off. Her eyes had to adjust to the dark. The figure was headed for the main gate of the city. It was the only way in or out. As they approached, the guards raised their weapons. They began firing blindly into the night, not knowing what or who to aim at. Ahsoka had to dodge some of the blasts. She didn't know how to tell them to stop firing. They could hit Alek.
Ahead of her, the kidnapper must've noticed they were working on closing the gate. The doors were very old and creaked loudly on the hinges as they began to swing shut.
Up on the rooftops, Ahsoka tried reaching out with the Force to stop the person from leaving. Her focus was hazy. She grabbed at shingles and pieces of siding, moving them in the kidnapper's path. The figure only jumped around her feeble attempts to stop them. At every motion, Alek would cry louder.
The figure leaped over a large alley. She figured this person must be a Force user. No one could have made that jump without the help of the Force. Add that to the smoking lightsaber wound that had killed the maid, and she was sure whoever this was, was a Sith.
That thought did nothing to ease her mind as she raced after her son, desperate to rescue him.
Below, she spotted Lux and the palace guards racing through the streets on speeders. They had their blasters drawn.
She watched as the doors began to inch closed. The speeders with the guards stopped in front of the gates. They formed a blockade between the kidnapper and the closing doors.
Right as they were about to come together to latch, the person Force-pushed the guards and Lux out of their speeders. They went flying in all directions. They then hopped into a speeder and steered it in between the doors to jam them open. Metal hit metal with a loud clang. The pressure started crushing the speeder.
They leaped through the small opening. Ahsoka felt her body fill with dread. Outside of the tall city walls was the jungle. There was a reason Isis protected itself with such thick walls. If the kidnapper escaped into the wilderness, she might never find her son.
Lux and the guards were just beginning to come to. Ahsoka found Lux's face in the small crowd. In a millisecond, he conveyed a strong and undeniable message.
Go get him.
She jumped down. Her feet hit the dirt road. Ahsoka made for the doors and dove through as the doors crushed the speeder. The metal latches locked shut behind her and she was encased in the darkness of the night.
She didn't think of stopping. Alek's Force signature was still close enough she could sense it. She took off in that direction.
Normally, Ahsoka loved running. It was her favorite way to exercise. However, she usually ran during the day. She also usually had proper clothes on. Her body soon felt the sting of the tree's leaves. She was dressed in a thin sleeping shirt and shorts with no shoes. Branches scraped at her arms and legs, cutting her skin. Ahsoka was so focused on Alek that she lost focus on her surroundings.
She tripped on a tree root. It sent her crashing to the forest floor. Rolling a few times, Ahsoka landed on her stomach. She coughed, feeling the wind knocked out of her lungs. Sharp stones cut her palms and feet as she stood. In her disorientation, she lost her sense of Alek.
Ahsoka was forced to stop. She had to think. Rushing into this without focus wasn't wise. Her racing thoughts clouded her mind. Her worry and fear was overwhelming.
She had no weapon. She didn't even think about grabbing a transmitter for communication. The only thing she could do was try to use the Force to find Alek again. She closed her eyes.
She breathed in and out, trying to calm down.
She thought logically. Ahsoka was Alek's mother. Alek was strong with the Force. They had a connection to each other that no one could understand. She reached out, feeling for her son in the vast forest.
"Alek, it's Mama," she whispered, "I'm coming to get you."
There was a pulse of something. It got stronger. Ahsoka felt Alek try and reach out, but he was scared. He didn't know what was happening. Ahsoka felt his energy. He wasn't too far away. She turned to the right and broke into a run.
This time, she kept her wits about her. She jumped over branches, swung over ditches, and never slowed her pace.
Suddenly she felt him stop. Or whoever was carrying him stopped. Ahsoka spotted a cliff a few yards ahead. She skidded to a halt just in front of it. A vast canyon spread out before her. Fog covered the rocks several meters below, making it impossible to see how far down the bottom was.
Alek was here. But she couldn't see him.
"ALEK!" she called. No reply.
There was a presence behind her. It was dark and familiar. She turned around just in time to duck as two red lightsabers slashed at her. She rolled to the side.
The figure had been hiding in a tree. Ahsoka saw a bag around their shoulders. Alek's little fist poked out from the top.
She hopped back to her feet, ready to fight for her son.
"Give him back to me, or you'll regret it," she warned. Ahsoka opened her mouth. Her fangs shined at her opponent. She bared them menacingly.
The kidnapper's mask covered their whole face. They didn't reply. They swung their sabers at Ahsoka again. She ducked and weaved around them.
They pushed her back into the woods. The lightsabers cut into branches. Ahsoka tried to get close, making a grab at the bag carrying Alek. The kidnapper Force-jumped up onto a higher branch, out of her reach. Ahsoka cursed and followed.
The red light cast strange shadows through the leaves as Ahsoka chased the assailant upwards. They kept cutting branches, sending them crashing down to fall on Ahsoka. She had to keep jumping out of the way to avoid getting hit.
As they climbed, the branches got thinner. She kept her eyes glued on the figure above her. Using the Force, she reached out to Alek again, trying to tell him she was coming.
They reached the treetop and stopped. With a final leap, Ahsoka propelled herself up to the branch the kidnapper stood on.
"Give me my son!" she demanded.
In response, the person swiped one of their blades at her. Ahsoka bent backward to avoid it. The second came at her. Finding the opening, Ahsoka reached out and caught their wrist in her hand. She held it just away from her face. It gave her a close up look at the lightsabers.
She would recognize those curved hilts anywhere.
But she didn't get to react. Instead, her attacker sliced at the branch between them. Ahsoka fell and grabbed onto the tree where it had been cut.
In a heart-stopping second, she could only watch as the kidnapper jumped high into the air, seemingly aiming for nothing. Ahsoka screamed. But she was soon drowned out by the roar of a ship engine. The kidnapper landed on the ramp. It was an odd, oblong ship that had a circular back hatch. As with the lightsabers, Ahsoka recognized it immediately.
She was about to pull herself up and make a Force jump to the ship when the kidnapper pulled out a blaster. Without a way to protect herself, the stun blast hit Ahsoka square in the chest. She felt her head swim and her body go limp as she crashed back to the jungle floor. She had been hit by blasters before and tried to fight the energy convulsing in her body. She was able to grasp a lower branch to slow her fall before smacking back onto the ground.
She lay still on her back. Ahsoka looked upwards through the hole in the jungle canopy. Tears gathered in her eyes as the ramp rescinded and the ship began to fly away.
Lux and the palace guards came bursting through the jungle. The last thing Ahsoka heard before passing out was Lux's voice calling out to the retreating ship and Alek's terrified screams into the night.
Here we go. *cracks knuckles* Time to get the REAL story going…
I know I started it off funny and fluffy. But I figured I had to give you something nice to read before shit went down, so.
This was one of my first times writing (and publishing) action. I'm still not sure how it turned out. HELPFUL criticism is always welcome. But don't be an ass in the comments.
Speaking of, shout out to everyone in the comments! I've had this story planned out for a while (like, before quarantine last summer). You guys guessed what was going to happen pretty early. But I still got a few surprises planned…Thanks for the reviews!
Any guesses on who the kidnapper is? Any predictions where they are going?
Stay tuned loves!
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