Chapter 10: Unbreakable

Xur kept his eyes fixed on the data pad in his hands, sifting through the archive database that Master Yoda had granted him access to. While having Jedi archive data accessible on the Holonet could be considered a serious security risk, the Order had made sure to take every precaution in the firewalls put into place. The access was necessary since so many Jedi were off Coruscant fighting the war, and padawans still needed to learn. Even so, access could only be granted by Council members and established Jedi Masters, and a security breach was still yet to take place.

While Petro swung a practice vibroblade around, deflecting laser bolts fired from a training droid, Xur sat in the corner and tried to find other examples of Force Bonds. Since the one he and Ahsoka had forged seemed unusually strong, he had to dig deeper than just cases shared between masters and apprentices.

That required going beyond the confines of at least the last century. …maybe millennia…or a few. The cases he was finding weren't exactly descriptive beyond the main information page titled "Force Bond".

His senses spiked, and his hand instinctually raised to catch the training droid that Petro had smacked in the direction of his face.

"I call that move the Whirlwind of Destiny," Petro said, his pride oozing from every pore of his body as he presented himself to the rest of the younglings.

Xur, annoyed with his lack of progress thus far, shook his head and gave Petro a dirty look. "I call that move 'watch where you're swinging that thing'," before tossing the droid back into his hands. Petro bobbled the droid as he caught it, and the other younglings giggled as he was shown up, scratching his head.

By now, Xur had noticed that Ahsoka had returned, but he had elected not to grab her attention since he would only be presenting her with his lack of progress. Besides, she had a job to do, and his immense respect for his togrutan partner inclined him to make her life as easy as possible.

"Can everyone please gather around?" she requested, leading the younglings over to the worktable in the back of the room. "You have all successfully passed the Gathering and acquired your crystals."

Xur tuned back out of the conversation. He did not care to listen, since he needed to get back at his research and have a good answer to give to Ahsoka when this was all over.

After a few minutes of getting absolutely nowhere, he looked back up, noticing the old protocol droid Huang. With his added experience since he had last seen the droid, he couldn't help but notice its architecture…and the fact that it was definitely over a thousand years old. His eyes then trained onto the nearby door, which held the old insignia of the Republic and Jedi.

Right in front of you, some answers lie. The voice of Yoda played in his head, which stemmed back over a decade to his own Gathering…or at least his "solo" gathering. Even now, he was still learning as these younglings were.

He opened the filter on the Holonet archive and rolled it back almost 4000 years, which Xur remembered was the height of the insignia's use from previous studies. As soon as the search came to a close, he was given only two results: Bonds of the Jedi Order and The Case of the Jedi Exile.

As the younglings suddenly shuffled around to begin constructing lightsabers, he opened the first one, which only turned out to be a list of gifts given to various worlds during peacekeeping operations. Grumbling in frustration, he exited the page.

"Find anything?" he heard, and it took him a second to realize that someone was talking to him. His gaze moved up to see Ahsoka standing over him, probably taking the free time she had to check up on him.

He sighed in dismay. "No. Not yet. Finding extreme cases is making me dig deeper than I think I'm capable of understanding, to be honest. Sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Ahsoka waved off his apology. "I'm sure you'll find something."

Her comment rejuvenated his efforts more than he expected, and he could already feel his frustration ebbing away. He nodded and saluted with two fingers, mocking her current stature of authority. "Yes, Padawan Tano."

The togruta rolled her eyes and returned to her work, leaving Xur grinning to himself as he returned to the data pad. Before he could do so however, he heard a lightsaber smack itself together, followed by:

"What's the rush Petro?"

Of course. Xur thought to himself. The usual suspect.

Petro swung around his lightsaber hilt, his confidence booming once again. "With this lightsaber I'm going to challenge Obi-Wan Kenobi to a duel and kill Grievous!"

Xur looked over and narrowed his eyes. Architect Huang was making his way to inspect the saber, but the zabrak decided to spare him the trouble. Reaching out with the Force, Xur pulled the hilt from the boy's hands and into his.

"Is that right?" Xur asked, observing the hilt and setting his data pad on the floor next to him. He then proceeded to expose the inside of it, and his expression shifted quickly.

"Ah," he spotted an issue. Huang lumbered over to see it himself, but Xur raised his hand. "Don't worry. I've got this," he assured, rising to his feet.

"Very well," the droid responded.

Xur made his way over to where Petro was sitting, the boy already giving him a worried look. The zabrak started by placing the exposed saber onto the table in front of him.

"First of all, get in line," he started, referring to his comments. He then reached for his belt and pulled out his own lightsaber hilt and exposed its own core, setting it down next to Petro's. "Second of all, what can you tell me is the difference between the two of these?"

Petro turned in his chair, looking at the two hilts. After a few moments, he gave a shaky answer. "Uhh…th-these two parts are placed in different directions."

"Uh-huh," Xur nodded, leaning up against the table. "And what do you suppose that means?"

Petro gave him a blank stare. "I don't-,"

"Ah, now there's your problem," Xur pointed. "This weapon is supposed to be your life…and you don't even know how it works?" Petro's head drooped and he sighed as he realized his error.

The zabrak chuckled, trying to lighten up his mood. "Your emitter matrix is inverted, which means that this lightsaber will kill Grievous," he stated, referring to his lightsaber before turning to Petro's. "And this one will kill you."

The boy looked down at his saber with the look of disappointment, and something pulled at Xur to cheer him up. Taking his own lightsaber back into his belt, he gave him a pat on the back. "Don't sweat it kid, you'll figure it out."

Huang had made his way over by now, observing the last moments. "Well said, Master Eon."

Xur tipped his head. "No problem." His eyes flashed over to Ahsoka, who was giving him a smile and a nod, which made his heart suddenly jump at her approval. Finished, he returned to his spot on the floor, taking the data pad into his hand.

Before he could return to his work however, the entire ship was rocked from some kind of impact, catching him completely off guard.

"What the hell?!" he shouted.

"I don't know," Ahsoka relayed, removed from her previous task. "Hold on!"

When he tried to get up to follow her, she stopped. "No. I need you to stay here and watch the younglings."

Xur began to protest, but her serious look followed, and he rolled his eyes. "Fine." Ahsoka then ran out of the room, shutting the door behind her. The zabrak then stood, his arms crossed and seething with frustration.

One of the younglings, Zatt, seemed to notice this. "Aren't you a Knight? Don't you outrank her?"

Xur scoffed, turning back towards the younglings. "If only it were that simple," he replied, but when they all gave him a blank stare, he shook his head. "Listen, going up against her wrath is far less preferable than-," he was cut off by a second rocking of the ship.

After a moment of deep consideration, he continued. "On second thought, maybe it is more preferable. Huang…you know what to do," he finished before heading through the door after Ahsoka.

On his way through the halls of the ship, another blast rocked it so much he was thrown off his feet, careening into the hallway wall. Only fueling his frustration, he pushed on until he made it to the cockpit.

Ahsoka whirled around at the unexpected visitor, and she was not pleased. "I told you to-,"

"Spare me!" Xur challenged. "What the hell is going on?!"

He could tell Ahsoka was not happy with him, but she decided to drop the matter for the sake of the situation. "Pirates just hit the hyperdrive. We're stuck here!" The zabrak grit his teeth and moved to take his hilt, but she grabbed his hand tightly. "We are not taking younglings into battle!"

"What choice do we have?" he protested, freeing his hand from her grip.

"Don't you trust me?"

Ahsoka stood in front of him with her hands at her hips, and he could feel his mind sifting through the years he had spent with her…and why he held her in such high regard.

His expression loosened, and he returned his hilt to his belt. "Of course I do."

"Thank you," she said, feeling a bit flattered. "Follow me."

Trusting his better judgment instead of his violent instincts, he followed Ahsoka through the halls until they eventually reunited with the younglings being escorted by Huang.

"Younglings!" Ahsoka called, Xur close behind as they finally reached them.

"Who's attacking the ship?" the rodian, Ganodi, asked.

"Pirates," Xur snarled, keeping an eye out.

"Pirates?!" she shrieked. "They'll kill us all!"

Ahsoka gave her a sympathetic look, but was deep in thought trying to come up with a plan. Xur, on the other hand, seemed to be more concerned with group morale.

"No one's going to hurt any of you," he promised, his eyes fixed on the group. "Just stay calm, we'll protect you!"

Petro shifted, clenching his fists. "Master Eon, we don't need-,"

"Not now Petro!" Kitune urged him, and the boy backed down.

"Relax kid," Xur reassured him. "You'll get your chance."

Suddenly, the door near their location began to spark and crackle…time was running out. Huang spoke up. "Perhaps we should hide in the ventilation shaft?"

Ahsoka, who jumped out of her state of deep thought, nodded. "Follow me," she commanded, moving to pull the nearby ventilation grate from the floor.

Xur's eyes widened. "Wha- I-I can't fit in there!"

As Ahsoka filed the younglings into the duct, she shot a grumble his way. "You will if you want to live!"

"Live?! Ahsoka, I can-," he protested.

"Xur!" she shouted, and he had never seen a fiercer look on her face. Now was not the time to debate.

"Fine," he conceded, doing his best to fit into shaft. He would never admit it to her, but it was more spacious than he believed, and he found a spot between Kitune and Petro to slide into. Ahsoka was the last one in, and she pulled the grate back over just before the pirates broke through the door. Xur could hear their footsteps above, and his instincts were telling him to take them on there and now.

"Hondo says find the kids and bring 'em to him," one of the pirates sneered above.

"Dead or alive," the other added as they passed by.

"Yes," he agreed, and they both laughed until they were out of earshot. Xur growled to himself, and his fist clenched. That scummy, dishonorable bastard was at it again. If it were up to him, he'd take the younglings and lead them straight into battle to purge the ship of them…but it wasn't up to him.

"We must have courage young Jedi," Ahsoka urged. "Ganodi and Zatt, I need you to get to the cockpit, find R2, and secure it! The rest of you, take Professor Huang and seal yourselves inside the hold, and wait for my command."

Petro shrugged. "What are you going to do?"

"I-," Ahsoka started, but caught Xur's glare, who must've believed that she wanted him to seal himself in the hold as well. "We're going to reroute enough power to the engines so that we can break free of the pirate ship's hold on us…okay?"

Kitune still seemed confused. "What about the pirates already on board the ship?"

The togruta grimaced in annoyance, and Xur took over as he caught on. "The docking tube will rupture and create a vacuum, sucking the pirates into empty space."

Ganodi's fear spiked. "Will we be sucked into space?!"

"No!" Ahsoka urged. "The cockpit and hold will both be sealed and still have air. Do not," her eyes looked in Xur's direction. "And I mean do not engage the pirates. Your only job is to stay hidden, got it?"

She was given a flurry of nods, apart from Xur. "Now go," she commanded, and the younglings cleared out to their respective jobs. Once they were gone, Xur grit his teeth.

"If we survive this Tano, you and I are going to have a talk," he made clear as he followed her through the duct on all fours.

"You said you'd trust me!" she shout-whispered. "I don't see you coming up with a better plan."

Xur grimaced in annoyance. "I was going to…until you interrupted me."

"And what was it? Lead the younglings into battle? I don't know if you understand, but one of them could get hurt or worse killed if we went along with that."

"We don't have to fight with them. I can take them all on my own!"

"That defeats the purpose of this trip, Eon. If you go in with lightsabers blazing then they learn nothing!"

"Learn? Learn?!" he grabbed her foot, stopping them both. "The situation's changed Ahsoka. We're under attack!"

The togruta turned, and he was fully expecting her to lash out with a smack or kick, but she just looked at him sympathetically. "I know the situation's changed. Believe me, I want to fight back, but my responsibility to these kids…and well…you…supersedes anything I want."

Guilt washed over him like a blizzard on Hoth, and he could barely look at her after what she had said. All this time, she had been simply trying to do her job, and all he was doing was making her life infinitely more difficult with his constant complaining. On top of that, she even admitted that she was putting his own safety ahead of her's…and he felt an overwhelming urge to hug her.

Instead, he just sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make all this hard on you. I just…well, you know how I am."

She chuckled. "Yes, I do…a-and it's not all bad," she admitted, and the two of them found themselves stuck in each other's gaze. It broke as she cleared her throat. "Anyway, let's keep moving."

The togruta turned back and crawled down the pipeline, shaking her head in embarrassment, while Xur couldn't stop a grin from crawling across his face. Their happy demeanor broke quickly as soon as the zabrak inhaled a breath full of smoke. Trying not to cough, he covered his nose and heaved.

"Please tell me we're almost there."

"One more left turn and we're there," she relayed, covering her own nose. Before long, they came to a grate above and she poked her head through, checking to see if it was clear. Xur waited until she gave him a nod and exited the duct into the corridors of the ship. She held out a hand and helped him up and out.

"Thanks," he said, letting out a quick cough. Ahsoka tipped her head with a smile before she headed into their destination, getting to work on rerouting power to the engines. Xur knew the drill, and waited by the secondary lever for her to finish.

Once she had completed her work, she activated her communicator while Xur pulled the lever. "Zatt, come in," she relayed, and heard the connection link. "I'm overriding the emergency power failsafe and routing energy to the engines."

"It's working!" Zatt confirmed.

"Any word from the others? Have they reached the cargo hold?" she asked, but the response she received was silence, and Xur rolled his eyes.

"Uhh, not yet."

Ahsoka grit her teeth in annoyance. "Where are they?!"

"I don't know, we haven't heard from them!"

"Fantastic," Xur shook his head, making his way for the door. "You told them not to engage the pirates, and of course, that's exactly what they do."

"There's no time to waste," Ahsoka agreed, and took off down the halls with him close behind. As they rushed around, Xur chuckled.

"20 credits this was Petro's idea."

Ahsoka shook her head as they approached a large group of force signatures and eventually barged through the door. Instantly, they were met with around 10 pirates, all spread out around Hondo…and cornering 4 of the younglings with Huang.

Xur and Ahsoka wasted no time, calling forth a large Force Wave that took hold of 4 of pirates and slammed them into the end of the hall, unconscious. Hondo seemed suddenly surprised as a Jedi Padawan and Knight were in his sight.

"Hondo," Ahsoka spat. "The Jedi Council will not take kindly to this attack!"

"Neither do I," Xur growled, doing his best to intimidate.

Hondo let a smile creep over his face, which Xur could sense was a way to mask his displeasure. "Eon, my old friend! What brings you all the way out here?"

Xur scoffed. "Ah! Not so eager to fight, now are you?"

Hando shook his head. "Now, now…if I knew you were here, I would've simply asked for my cry-,"

"Listen!" Xur shouted, marching in his direction with a pointed finger. "Stop the raid, get off the ship, and I won't waste precious energy killing you!" He then stopped as he saw the younglings watching the encounter, and remembered what Ahsoka had told him before. The zabrak raised both hands but kept his intimidating stance. "Please."

The pirate seemed to waiver for a moment, but eventually his smile returned. "Listen my friend, my mood is based on profit, and today…I'm in the mood for kyber crystals…so, hand them over, and no one gets hurt, much."

Ahsoka took Xur's side. "You want the crystals? Come and get 'em," she challenged as both of her green sabers ignited. Hondo signaled some of his men to move in, but Xur used a well-timed force push to send them both careening into the back wall, while Ahsoka lunged for Hondo. As the pirate activated his electro-staff to parry Ahsoka's attack, she turned back to Xur.

"Get them to safety! I'll hold them off!" she commanded through exchanges.

"Right, be careful!" he urged, and then turned towards the younglings and Huang. "Get to the hold, move!" He pushed them on towards the hold door, but Petro stopped in his grip.

"What about Ahsoka?" he asked.

"Don't worry about her, just keep moving!" he urged. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught an unconscious pirate move for his blaster. In the blink of an eye, Xur grabbed ahold of him with the Force and pulled him in, landing a massive punch to his nose, cracking the cartilage and knocking him unconscious yet again. Once that was over, he pushed Petro into the hold and locked the door, sealing everyone inside.

The ship suddenly rocked, and he could hear the engines screaming at full power, which meant that Ahsoka had given the command to go ahead with the plan.

And that meant it was about to get real windy, real fast.

He made his way in the direction of the fighting, but not before the gravity generators deactivated, and he was helplessly floating in the sudden vacuum. Knowing that it would all lead to the same place, he let himself tumble through the ship, smacking into junctions as he passed through. His back took the brunt of most of the impacts, and he was able to keep his focus ahead.

Before long, he was beginning to run into pirates as they flew through the ship with him. Frustrated with their presence, he flailed and kicked them forward, making sure that they stayed ahead of his path…and that eventually lead him to Ahsoka…who was in front of the exit and trying to shut the door.

"Look out!" he called, but the vacuum was sucking the air from his lungs, and his warning did not project in time. The unconscious pirates plowed into her as the door shut, and she was sucked into the pirate ship…gone.

"Ahsoka!" he cried as their ship entered hyperspace as instructed. Infuriated, he punched the door, doing nothing more than sending pain through his arm. "No," he mumbled, before he punched the door again, this time feeling a sharp pain in his wrist.

The thought of what Hondo would do to her for what she did flew across his mind, and his eyes turned a sickly yellow. "NO!" he shouted, before he punched the door a third time, this time laced with a massive contingent of the Force…and a dent was left in the metal where his fist had impacted.

The Dark Side exploded inside of him as he drew his lightsaber and slashed a gash into the nearby wall, angry with himself at his utter failure to protect someone he admired and cared for.

He felt a searing pain in his cerebellum, causing him to drop his saber hilt and kneel on the floor in pain, grasping the back of his neck. The Force Bond had kicked in once again…they were beating her…and there was nothing he could do.

His legs buckled and he fell backwards, sitting up against the hallway wall. Suddenly, the ship intercom flared to life. "Padawan TanoMaster Eon where are you?"

The zabrak grimaced. "Padawan Tano is gone, Ganodi…I failed."

"Wha-what are we going to do?" she asked next.

Xur looked down at his lightsaber hilt, and he gripped it tightly. "We're going to get her back," he replied, and ignited his lightsaber, revealing its red hue.

He had work to do.


I personally really liked this chapter, and I feel it came out really well. Exploring a conflict of authority along with respect was tons of fun for me. I will be completing this entire arc if you're wondering, I'm just not sure when the next one will be coming.

If you enjoyed, please follow/fav and leave a review! Thanks for reading!