Author's Note: Hello again! I intended to finish this chapter sooner, but some things came up (both in my personal life and in the world in general) which distracted me and made writing difficult. Once again, I found that I had to slow myself down and think some things through before proceeding ahead. I'm sorry if the wait was too long, but I hope you all enjoy the new chapter!
Socorro
Within the command centre of the Imperial base, the Imperial commander stood by a panoramic window and watched the AT-ATs as they approached the rebel forces.
"Walkers!" muttered the Imperial commander under his breath "Those two didn't mention that they brought walkers!"
"What was that, sir?" asked an Imperial officer.
"Nothing" replied the Imperial commander. Abruptly, the comm device on his belt sparked to life.
"Commander, this is QA-907; come in!" said a stormtrooper's voice from the comm device, accompanied by multiple blaster fire sounds.
"What is it, sergeant?" asked the Imperial commander.
"A squad of rebels have infiltrated the fortress!" replied the stormtrooper sergeant "They took us by surprise! They're almost at—" As the transmission shorted out, the doors to the command centre opened wide to reveal Captain Thyst and the remaining members of Luke's team.
"Men, open fire on those rebels!" exclaimed the Imperial commander. The Imperial officers and stormtroopers in the command centre pulled out their blasters and opened fire.
"We might be in over our heads on this one, captain!" exclaimed a rebel soldier as he and the others ducked behind the door's sides "Without the other half of the team, I'm not sure if we can take the command centre head on"
"Don't worry" said Captain Thyst "Commander Skywalker should be here soon; and when he comes, oh boy, we're in for a show!"
"I hope you're right, captain" said the rebel soldier.
"You'll see soon enough" said Thyst.
Meanwhile on Home One
In the amphitheatre section of Home One's bridge, Admiral Ackbar stood in front of the bridge's holotable and observed a holographic rendering of the battle on the planet below. Leia stood beside him with thinly veiled anxiety.
"Have we heard back from Master Luke or General Rur yet?" asked C-3PO as he approached Leia.
"Not yet, I'm afraid" replied Leia "And the battle shows no signs of ceasing. I'm starting to get worried, it's not like Luke to not report back yet if everything's going well"
"Don't worry; I'm sure Master Luke will pull through, he usually does" said C-3PO "Besides, he does have R2 with him" As Leia tensed her grip on the holotable and gave a deep breath in, the controls to the holotable's communications system began beeping.
"Incoming transmission from General Rur's forces" said a Mon Calamari officer.
"Patch it through" said Ackbar. The hologram of the battle morphed into a hologram of General Rur, still injured and clutching his side.
"Admiral, I have distressing news" said Rur "Commander Skywalker has discovered that we have been led into a trap"
"A trap?" said Ackbar "What do you mean?"
"The exact reason remains unclear, but I do know that Darth Vader organized this" replied Rur.
"Vader's involved?" said Leia "This isn't good"
"Are you certain of this?" asked Ackbar.
"Commander Skywalker claims that he encountered two Inquisitors who were sent here by Vader" replied Rur.
"Inquisitors!" exclaimed Leia "Is Luke alright?"
"He's fine" replied Rur "Unfortunately, there are complications. Skywalker's encounter with the Inquisitors separated him and Ashla from Captain Thyst and the rest of his team and they were forced to leave the base. He is currently downriver from the base fending off the Inquisitors and we have not heard back from Captain Thyst and the others. To make matters worse, it seems that the Empire hid a garrison of AT-ATs on the planet. They're on their way to our position and we'll be in their firing range within a matter of minutes, but we don't have the firepower to hold them off. If we must retreat, we must do it quickly; unfortunately, I don't believe we have enough gunships and other aircraft on-planet to cover two separate pick-ups and occupy the walkers at the same time. Could you supply us with additional reinforcements?"
"We are facing no threats and no attackers at the moment, so I'll see what I can—" started Ackbar.
"Admiral, we're detecting multiple ships coming from hyperspace!" exclaimed a Mon Calamari officer. Hearing this, Ackbar rushed up the stairs and onto his command chair. Swivelling over to the window in front of him, the Mon Calamari admiral let out a gasp as an entire armada of Imperial star destroyers and ships came out of hyperspace and opened fire on them.
"All craft, this is Admiral Ackbar" said Ackbar into his chair's comlink "Imperial ships have entered the system, get into defensive positions immediately!"
"What's happening?" asked Rur. As X-Wings and Y-Wings poured out of the fleet's hangers, Ackbar swivelled his chair back and turned towards Rur's hologram.
"It would seem that the walkers are not the only backup that the Empire has" replied Ackbar "Imperial starships have entered the system to attack us. I'm sorry, general; but until we can stabilize our post, we may have to delay reinforcements" Hearing this, Rur shook his head.
"That's not good enough" said Rur "I don't know if we can wait long enough for—" Without warning, he collapsed onto his knees and began coughing.
"General, are you alright?!" exclaimed Leia.
"I'll…keep standing…until what needs to be done…is done…" breathed Rur as he pulled himself back up.
"There must be something you can do with the forces you have available" said Leia. Rur tilted his head back in thought.
"If I divide half our aerial vehicles to distract the walkers…the other half might be good for one rescue mission" said Rur "But I fear we can handle only one"
"I don't understand" said Leia "Can't you pick up both Luke and the others still in the base?"
"Unfortunately, there is an advanced TIE fighter stationed in that area with impeccable aim" replied Rur "It has already shot down several of our starfighters, including Captain Antilles"
"Wedge got shot down?!" said Leia "Is he alright?"
"He survived the crash and is in the same location as Commander Skywalker and Ashla" replied Rur "But because of the threat this TIE fighter poses; without the necessary reinforcements, we cannot risk being in its sights for too long" Hearing this, Leia came to realize the true weight of the situation before them: no matter what decision they made, they would still face guaranteed great casualties. If Rur sent out a rescue operation with the resources he had currently, he would have to pick up either Luke, Ashla, and Wedge or Captain Thyst and the rest of his team. If the fleet dedicated their time to sending reinforcements to the surface instead of getting into the right formation, it would make it easier for the Imperial ships to pick them off and there might not be enough firepower left to cover the ground forces' evacuation. And if they took too long to come to a decision, the ground forces might be overrun and leave everyone dead. The decision shook Leia internally to the point that she could barely speak.
"What are the positions of Commander Skywalker and Captain Thyst in relation to one another?" asked Ackbar.
"As I mentioned before; Commander Skywalker is still by the river, fending off one of the Inquisitors" replied Rur "Captain Thyst and his men are still inside the base and we have not heard back from them. We did order them to maintain radio silence whilst inside; but without confirmation of any kind, we have no idea if they're still alive or not"
"In that case, surely it makes sense to rescue Master Luke while you still can" said C-3PO.
"3PO!" snapped Leia.
"Oh; my apologies, Princess Leia!" said C-3PO "But with everything at stake, surely we should act now and ensure that Master Luke and R2 return safely"
"I know, 3PO" said Leia "But making this decision…it feels like I'm abandoning Captain Thyst and his men. I…I just don't like it"
"But Princess Leia, Master Luke is…is our friend" said C-3PO "If we don't do anything, we'll be abandoning him. R2 as well"
"He's not wrong, Leia" said Ackbar "To make matters worse, Captain Thyst likely does not know of what we've found out. The base is still armed to the teeth, which makes a rescue attempt even riskier; and we likely cannot warn them without breaking radio silence ourselves and alerting the Imperials still stationed there. Commander Skywalker is also the closest thing we have to a Jedi; without him, the war might turn further and further into the Empire's favour and be lost. It is an uneasy decision, but it must be done. We are at war" C-3PO and Ackbar's words gave Leia a better resolve, but it still gave her no comfort.
Meanwhile
Whilst Luke and Wedge repaired Wedge's comm system and contacted General Rur, Ahsoka and Scylla had continued their duel. Preoccupied with their fight, the two of them had disappeared behind a group of rocky outcrops and were now out of sight of Luke and Wedge. Whilst Ahsoka was still able to keep up with Scylla's attacks, she realized that her movements were gradually beginning to slow down. Despite her skills and experience, their escape through the river and the arid environment around her were beginning to take its toll on her strength and it was only a matter of time until she tired completely. But she could not give up, she knew what the stakes were and what would happen if Scylla defeated them.
"I would savour my energy if I were you" said Scylla "Whatever Lord Vader has planned for you, you'll need every ounce of strength you have left!"
"I know what you're thinking!" snapped Ahsoka.
"Do you?" teased Scylla.
"You've been told that you're special and that you're destined for something" said Ahsoka "But that's not how the Sith work, I've seen it before" Scylla chuckled in response.
"And I guess there will come a time when I am either no longer needed or become an inconvenience to them and be disposed of!" smirked Scylla. Ahsoka gave a shocked expression at this. "I have crossed paths with many Jedi and some of them said what you just said, and I shall tell you what I told them: I am not some aspiring Sith who is in this to become Lord Vader or the Emperor's new apprentice, I already have a position of power within the Empire and I intend to keep it. And if you are wise, you will do the exact same thing if you are given the same offer…hmm, if that is indeed what Lord Vader plans for you!" As the two of them entered another locked stance with their lightsabers, Scylla began applying a tremendous amount of pressure to his grip until Luke's lightsaber was struck from Ahsoka's hands and cast to the side. Acting quickly, Scylla grabbed her by the throat and began choking her as he lifted her up. "It over!" Forcing her eyes open, Ahsoka tried to observe her surroundings for a way out, using the tactical awareness she had learned as a commander during the Clone Wars.
She noticed that without his suit, the gills on his neck were exposed; although she was unfamiliar with Mere physiology, they seemed to be a potential weakness that could be exploited. However; given her current position, they seemed hard to reach and it made her unsure if anything she could do currently would make a difference. But as she looked further, she noticed something she found interesting: a scar from what appeared to be a blaster wound embedded in his shoulder. Summoning up all of her strength, she kicked her foot right into his shoulder. Scylla let out an ear-piercing shriek as he let go of her and staggered back a few feet. As Ahsoka dropped back down onto her feet, she moved to the side and summoned Luke's lightsaber back to her. But as she ignited it, she noticed something odd: although the blaster wound was merely a scar, Scylla appeared to be holding it in agony and had shrivelled himself back in distress. But before she could react to it, Scylla uncoiled himself and let out a deafening roar. In what seemed like an instant, he charged towards her and attacked her with his lightsaber again. His style however was much different now, it was much wilder and out of control than before and his only strategy appeared to be to overwhelm and overpower her. "You shouldn't have done that!"
"I…I…figured!" breathed Ahsoka. She tried to keep up with Scylla's attacks but was quickly overwhelmed by his superior strength until she collapsed to the ground unconscious. As Scylla stared down at the unconscious Togruta in front of him, he heard the distant sound of engines approaching. Looking up to the sky, he saw a group of MAAT gunships approaching and descending down.
Meanwhile
On the other side of the rocky outcrops, Luke and Wedge (who had now been pulled out of his X-Wing's wreckage) watched on as the MAAT gunships landed near them and slid-open their side doors.
"Come on!" yelled a rebel major from the deck of one of the gunships.
"Finally!" said Wedge. As he began making his way towards the gunships, he looked back and noticed something odd: Luke was still standing next to the crashed X-Wing, staring at the rocky outcrops in the distance. "What are you waiting for, Luke? Let's get going!"
"Ahsok…Ashla's disappeared!" said Luke "We have to find her!"
"If we stay here too long, we'll be an open target for that TIE fighter" said Wedge "Listen; I don't like the idea of leaving someone behind any more than you do, but I don't know how much longer our window of opportunity is"
"You…You make a good point" said Luke. Looking back at the rocky outcrops and then at the gunships again, he heaved out a sigh. "Wedge, take the droids with you and get out of here"
"What are you talking about?" said Wedge "We're supposed to…Oh no!"
"Don't worry, I'll find another way back" said Luke.
"I…I don't think there is" said Wedge "Not here, at least"
"Then I'll find one" said Luke "I always do"
"Not this time!" said a voice. Luke turned around to find Scylla walking towards him, apparently dragging something behind him that remained hidden from sight. Reacting quickly, Luke pulled his blaster out again and turned it towards the Inquisitor. "That won't do any good. You might have better luck with this, however" He pulled out what appeared to be Luke's lightsaber and began tossing it up and down in his hands.
"My lightsaber?" said Luke "Where did you—"
"Allow me to fill in the blanks" said Scylla. To Luke's horror, Scylla threw the unconscious body of Ahsoka from behind his back and onto the ground in front of him.
"No…" breathed Luke.
"As you can see, I hold the cards here" said Scylla as he ignited Luke's blade and pointed it down towards Ahsoka "Now, surrender while I still feel generous"
"But…But you were ordered to—" said Luke.
"I might have been instructed to bring you two back alive, but that doesn't mean I can't hack something off first!" said Scylla with a predatory grin "And you'll be surprised what you can live through…what we can make you live through! Or perhaps that's not enough…" He ignited one of the blades of his lightsaber and pointed it and Luke's lightsaber towards the gunship. "Perhaps if I rip through your transport and all those who risked their lives to rescue you…perhaps that will be incentive enough!" As Luke observed the situation in front of him, he noticed that Ahsoka's fingers were gripping the sand beside her. Taking note of this, Luke dropped his blaster and began walking over to Scylla slowly.
"What are you doing?" said Wedge "You can't be serious!" R2 could only beep nervously.
"If I go with you willingly; will you let everyone else go, including those on the battlefield?" asked Luke.
"Doing so would make things much simpler and more straightforward, for both of us" replied Scylla "I see no reason why not" Luke kneeled down and bowed his head towards the Inquisitor in front of him.
"See?" said Scylla as he lowered the lightsabers "No need for hostilities"
"Luke…damn it!" muttered Wedge with gritted teeth. As Scylla took one step forward, Ahsoka abruptly threw her fistfuls of sand up in the air and into Scylla's face. The large Inquisitor let out a throaty cough as the sand entered the gills around his neck and choked him. As he fell to his knees in pain whilst coughing and spluttering, Ahsoka pulled herself up, summoned Luke's lightsaber to her hand, and rushed off towards the gunships with Luke joining her side. The two of them made their way onto one of the gunship's decks (with Wedge, R2-D2, and R2-A3 following suit) before it took off into the skies with the rest of the gunships. The last the two of them saw of Scylla, he had rushed back over to the riverbank and was sticking his head and neck into the water to help clear out his dried gills.
"We have Commander Skywalker and the rest!" said the gunship pilot into the gunship's comm device "I repeat; Commander Skywalker is with us!"
"You know…I know that now's not the best time…but you weren't seriously surrendering to him, right?" asked Ahsoka.
"Of course not" replied Luke "I noticed that you were doing something with the sand and I figured that the best I could do was to keep him distracted until you were ready" Ahsoka smirked at this.
"Reminds me a lot of something your…well, you know" said Ahsoka. Before she could continue, Wedge cleared his throat which gained their attention.
"While I appreciate that we all got out in one piece; it seems you haven't told us everything about yourself, Ashla" said Wedge "I think there are some questions about you that we'd all like to know" Ahsoka's heart began racing as she heard this. "However, now's clearly not the time or place for answers. When we're back on Home One and everyone's out of harm's way, we'll expect some explanations. Think you can offer them?"
"Yes" replied Ahsoka reluctantly.
"Good" said Wedge. The thought of revealing her past to everyone else in the rebellion made Ahsoka uncomfortable, especially considering the lengths she made to keep it a secret; but now that she was forced to reveal her skills when she had to defend them against Scylla, she knew she may have to reveal her past sooner than she was hoping.
"Okay; now that we're here, I trust that Captain Thyst and his men have a similar pickup?" said Luke.
"I'm afraid not, commander" replied the rebel major "We've been given specific orders to find your group and take you straight back to Home One"
"What are you talking about?" asked Luke "Didn't I make it clear that Captain Thyst and the rest of our team is still in the base?"
"You did, but I'm afraid that we cannot spare any more gunships" replied the rebel major "Shortly after you contacted General Rur, we discovered that a group of armored walkers were making their way towards our position. He decided to discuss things with Admiral Ackbar and Princess Leia and they ultimately decided to divide the gunships into two groups: one to distract the walkers before they can reach our position and the other to rescue you"
"L…Leia ordered that?" said Luke under his breath "Well; now that you've collected us, can't we find the others now?"
"Sir, we don't have the strength to hold out against the Imperial walkers forever" said the rebel major.
"But…But we can't just leave them there!" said Luke.
"Sir, I'm not enjoying this either; but if we don't leave now, we will only risk more casualties" said the rebel major "You were able to give us a good enough fix on your location, but we have no idea where we can find the rest of your team and the base is still crawling with Imperials. We only have a small window of opportunity to retreat and it's closing fast. I'm sorry, sir; these orders come from the top and I cannot reject them" It was here that a look of absolute despair and confusion fell across Luke's face. He was at an absolute loss and seemed cornered by the circumstances placed before him. Ahsoka knew this feeling all too well and lowered her head as she felt a sudden surge of empathy. Abruptly, something hit the gunship and shook it. "Huh?!"
"What was that?!" exclaimed Luke.
"We're being pursued by a TIE fighter!" exclaimed the gunship pilot "It appears to be an advanced variant like…"
"Like the one that attacked our squadron!" exclaimed Wedge. On the outside of the gunship, Tuk'ata pursued after it in her TIE Avenger. With an evil grin and a lick of her lips, she locked onto one of the other gunships, opened fire onto its engines, and blew it out of the sky.
"We're losing ships!" exclaimed the gunship pilot "Brace yourselves, people; this isn't going to—" Before he could finish his sentence, another gunship next to them was shot in the engines and began spiralling towards them. "Incoming! Everyone, hold on!" He quickly swerved aside and narrowly avoided the flaming wreckage of the other gunship as it hurtled down and crashed onto the battlefield below. "That was too close!" As the pilot made his way through the air, Ahsoka turned towards one of the gunship's side doors and looked out of one of its viewports. Outside she could see fragments of the battle as it reached its punishing climax. The remaining rebel soldiers and vehicles were boarding back onto the transport ships that were now retreating back to the fleet above. To the left she could see glimpses of the AT-ATs that were marching towards the rebels' position and the rebel gunships that only just kept them at bay. Even with the distance between them, she could tell that they were taller than any walker she had seen in the Clone Wars. It was a new era now, a new world; and yet, outside she could feel the same chaos and desperation that she had once felt in the Clone Wars. It was a feeling she had not felt since the Siege of Mandalore, a feeling she had wanted to forget. But as she contemplated the current galaxy and compared it to the past galaxy, she became unaware of what was about to happen next. Tuk'ata aimed carefully, focused all of her attention onto the gunship in front of her, and opened fire onto its wing. "We're losing altitude! Brace for emergency landing!" Using whatever control and balance he had left, the pilot steered the gunship down towards the rebels' position and performed the closest thing to a controlled crash that was able to.
"Time to go in for the kill!" smirked Tuk'ata.
Meanwhile
"Hold the line!" yelled Captain Thyst. The Imperials in the command centre had pulled out an autoturret and placed it in line with the doorway which prevented Thyst and his team from entering the room.
"It's too much, captain" said one of the rebel soldiers "We have to fallback"
"No!" exclaimed Thyst "We've got this far! We can't turn back now! When Commander Skywalker comes—"
"I don't think he's coming, sir" replied the rebel soldier "Sir, I think we have to leave!"
"Just hang on a little longer!" said Thyst "Whatever's holding him up, he'll be here at any—"
"Hold it right there!" said a voice. Thyst turned his head around to find a group of stormtroopers, led by a stormtrooper captain, were standing before them with their blasters poised.
"Good work, captain" said the Imperial commander "Now finish them!" Thyst and the rest of his team looked on in horror and helplessness as the stormtrooper captain and his men opened fire upon them. As this happened, a smug look of satisfaction appeared on the Imperial commander's face.
"Commander, the rebels are falling back" said a stormtrooper lieutenant's voice out of the Imperial commander's comm device "They're re-boarding and retreating back to their fleet"
"Continue advancing on them, lieutenant" said the Imperial commander.
"Sir, the rebels are retreating very rapidly and a number of them have already escaped" said the stormtrooper lieutenant "Their sudden turn confused us. At this rate, I doubt we can stop all of them from escaping"
"You don't have to stop all of them, just enough to remind the rebels of the cost of challenging the Empire" said the Imperial commander.
"Understood, commander" said the stormtrooper lieutenant "I'll inform the rest of the troops" The Imperial commander turned back to the panoramic window and once again overlooked the battle. He observed the Imperial vehicles from the base as they pushed back the rebel forces on one side whilst the AT-ATs cornered them from the other. As he looked up at the rebel transport ships either retreating or getting shot down in their attempts to flee, the Imperial commander's smile lengthened.
Meanwhile
As Luke regained consciousness, he found that he was being dragged away from the gunship's wreckage by someone unseen. The fact that he could not see his rescuer gave him a sense of uncertainty and anxiety; but as he opened his eyes wider, he was relieved to find out that it was Wedge.
"You're awake?" said Wedge "Good. You alright?"
"Yeah" said Luke "Well; as "alright" as I can be, I guess. Wait, where's—"
"Don't worry, she's over there" said Wedge whilst gesturing to his left. Luke turned his head to that direction and saw Ahsoka lying on the ground not far from him. She appeared to be unconscious with R2 and A3 by her side. "Don't worry, she's breathing. She just got knocked out in the crash. The rest of the passengers survived as well, but the pilot ended up having to sacrifice himself to get us down" By the boarding ramp of one of the rebels' transports, the rebel major stood and barked orders at the medical staff as they came down whilst carrying stretchers and other field medical supplies.
"Get the injured aboard, now!" yelled the rebel major.
"What happened to the TIE?" asked Luke.
"It turn-tailed and vanished" replied Wedge "We don't know where it is now, but I have a feeling it won't be gone for long. Which is why we have to—" Before Wedge could finish his sentence, Luke heard a sound above them which was unmistakably that of a lightsaber emitting.
"Watch out!" exclaimed Luke. Summoning up whatever strength he had, Luke launched himself forward towards Wedge and pushed him out of the way just before Tuk'ata leapt down from the top of the gunship wreckage and slammed her lightsaber into the ground where they had been only a second ago. As Wedge got back up onto his knees, he pulled out his blaster and aimed it at Tuk'ata.
"You'll regret that!" snapped Wedge.
"Wedge, no!" exclaimed Luke. Tuk'ata leapt forward at blinding speed and cut Wedge's blaster in half before force-pushing him to the side. As Luke was about to get up to help him, Tuk'ata turned her lightsaber towards Luke and grinned evilly.
"You didn't see that coming?!" mocked Tuk'ata.
"You…You…" breathed Luke. As he stuttered to get his words out, Tuk'ata reached down, grabbed a hold of the jugular on his neck, and began squeezing.
"Careful…if you agitate me enough, I might just rip your throat out!" smirked Tuk'ata. As she said this, Ahsoka's eyes shot open. "Truth be told, retrieving things was never my speciality; I always preferred destroying them! But with your capture, Lord Vader will be pleased by my accomplishment; I can't wait to see what reward he has in store for me!" Abruptly, Ahsoka pulled herself up and, using her remaining strength, launched herself at Tuk'ata, and pushed her back whilst grabbing a hold of her wrist to keep her lightsaber back. "You…You're certainly persistent! But if you insist on using your bare hands…" She extinguished her lightsaber's blade. "…then I'll comply!" She pulled one of her wrists out of Ahsoka's grip and began punching Ahsoka in the stomach rapidly, using her force speed to increase the swiftness and impact of her punches tenfold. Finally, as Ahsoka became overwhelmed, Tuk'ata finished her with a powerful headbutt which rendered her unconscious and sent her flying back onto the ground behind her. Seeing their downed positions, Tuk'ata walked over to the unconscious Ahsoka and the barely conscious Luke, looked down at them with a predatory grin, and began chuckling evilly. Unexpectedly however, her grin vanished and her expression changed from one of triumph to one of unanticipated pain. Luke looked up confused as the Inquisitor who stood before them collapsed onto her knees and began panting agonizingly.
"Get over here, now!" yelled the rebel major as he reached the crashed gunship's position with a group of rebel soldiers. The medical staff rushed down, pulled Luke and Ahsoka onto stretchers, and began marching them up to the transport ship. "We'll take it from here" Two of the rebel soldiers rushed over to Wedge, helped him stand back up, and began escorting him back to the rebel transports behind the stretchers. The rest of the rebel soldiers stayed with the rebel major and made their way over to Tuk'ata. "Careful, this one was able to get the better of Commander Skywalker" As the rebel major and the other rebel soldiers slowly and carefully surrounded Tuk'ata with their blasters ready, the Inquisitor's breathing calmed down and she slowly gripped the sand in her hands. "Halt! Steady, steady! She might be doing something…keep your guard up!" In what seemed like the blink of an eye, Tuk'ata's eyes shot open and she quickly grabbed her lightsaber and reignited it before launching herself at the rebel major with a guttural war-cry like scream. "Open fire!" The rebel major and the soldiers began shooting at Tuk'ata, but it was no good as the Inquisitor slashed her way through the major before turning her attention and her blades towards the rest of them.
Meanwhile
As Luke and Ahsoka's stretchers were loaded into the rebel transport's cargo hold and laid down next to each other, General Rur limped his way from the bridge area whilst clutching onto the wall beside him.
"Is that…Is that it?" asked Rur "Is everyone accounted for?"
"Afraid not" replied Wedge as he was brought aboard with the two rebel soldiers supporting him step-by-step "Some of our soldiers stayed behind to fend off one of the Inquisitors. She attacked us but collapsed afterwards as if she was exhausted. Whatever happened to her, I don't think they have a chance against her if she regains her strength; but now that we're all inside, they should come back before something else happ—"
"No need…" said a voice. Everyone turned their sights to a badly wounded rebel soldier (who appeared to have been slashed in various places by something that scorched his skin) as he lurched his way up from the ship's ramp and into the cargo hold before abruptly collapsing. Wedge pulled himself out of the rebel soldiers' grip and rushed over to the wounded soldier's side, accompanied by various rebel medics.
"Soldier, what happened?" asked Wedge "Where's the major and the others?"
"She…She killed them!" gasped the wounded soldier "She killed them all! They're all dead!"
"Slow down!" said Wedge "She killed all of you?"
"Yes!" gasped the wounded soldier "We thought she couldn't move, but she got up and…slaughtered us! It was all so sudden…I didn't even realize what was happening…until I was wounded…and saw…what was left of the others…"
"What happened to her?" asked Wedge.
"She collapsed again…" replied the wounded soldier "She seemed to be…unconscious…this time…I didn't know what to do…so I ran…" Abruptly, he began coughing blood.
"Try not to talk anymore, soldier" said one of the medics "We'll get you to—" The soldier's heartbeat (which was being tracked on one of the medic's datapads) began flatlining.
"Life-sign's almost gone…" said the medic who held the datapad "He's dead"
"General, we should leave while we still have the chance" said a rebel soldier who stood beside Rur "We're in no condition to defend ourselves" Outside the transport ship, the distinct sound of an AT-AT firing could be heard, which only solidified the desperation of the situation.
"Let's get going, NOW!" yelled Rur as he turned back towards the bridge area.
Meanwhile
As the last rebel transports took off and made their way up to the rebel starships in orbit, Afanc Scylla (still lacking his Inquisitor armour) appeared on a nearby hill and made his way down to where the rebels' position once was. There he found an unconscious Tuk'ata who was lying in the middle of the remains of several mutilated rebel soldiers. As he walked over to her side and kneeled down to check her neck's pulse, a smirk appeared on his face.
"Your amplified force speed has always been an anomaly that, with proper training and creativity, could become an ideal asset to both yourself and the Empire as a whole" said Scylla "But it seems that you let your impatience get the better of you, once again, and have worn yourself out. I did warn you to use it sparingly: the longer you use your gift without rest, the greater the toll will be" He lifted her body up and slung her over his shoulder. "But I have no room to gloat, for it seems that we're both failures today" He turned back to the hill and made his way back towards it. "But as long as Lord Vader's prizes live, the chance to complete this mission shall remain open to the both of us"
Meanwhile
The battle between Admiral Ackbar's fleet and the unexpected Imperial fleet had heated up by the time the rebel transport ships had passed the atmosphere of Socorro's orbit. Within the cargo hold, General Rur began breathing heavily and held onto the wall next to him to steady himself.
"General, what's wrong?" asked one of the rebel soldiers.
"It…is done…" breathed Rur before collapsing.
"General!" exclaimed the rebel soldier "Medic, get over here!" As the rebel medics rushed over to Rur and began attending to him, Luke sat himself up on his stretcher with R2 by his side, who was beeping mournfully.
"Hey Luke, you feeling alright?" asked Wedge as he walked over to the young Jedi.
"All of that…All of that was a trap" said Luke "And I fell straight into…We fell straight into it…"
"I know that it's not good, but think of what would have happened if you didn't find out that it was a trap" said Wedge "More people would have died and we would have continued throwing our lives away for nothing. If anything, it was thanks to you that we even got out at all"
"But…But those Inquisitors, they were there for me" said Luke before letting out a sigh "Was this…Was this whole operation just to—"
"Let's not single that out just yet, it could have been a variety of reasons" said Wedge.
"Right" said Luke, but Wedge could tell by the tone of his voice that he did not seem convinced. Luke turned his attention towards Ahsoka, who was still lying unconscious on the stretcher beside his. "Is she going to be alright?"
"Hard to say" replied a rebel medical officer who was examining Ahsoka "From what I saw, she took a pretty heavy beating. One thing's for sure; once we're back on the ship, we'll have to take her to the medical bay immediately alongside the general and the rest of the injured" Luke felt relieved that she was still alive, but he still remained anxious. But as Ahsoka's body laid unconscious on the stretcher, painful memories began to resurface within her mind.
Ahsoka's flashback
Everything was white and everything was silent. Gradually however, the whiteness began to fade and the sound of an alarm slowly emerged. As Ahsoka regained her vision, she found herself rushing through what appeared to be the hallway of an Imperial base. Up ahead was a door; and although the circumstances of her situation were still unclear to her, the one thing that was certain was that the door ahead was her objective. When she reached the door, she shot its controls with a blaster and entered through it. In the middle of the room behind the door, sitting at a desk with a cold and calm expression and demeanour, was a man that she recognised to be Tarkin (dressed in an Imperial uniform and wearing a rank plaque that indicated he was a Moff).
"Oh, it's you" said Tarkin in an unimpressed tone "I was wondering when you were going to come out of hiding and do something rash"
"I'm surprised that you remember me" said Ahsoka as she leapt up onto the desk and kneeled down to Tarkin's eye-level.
"I never lose track of my enemies" said Tarkin "It's why I've gotten as far as I have. I had a feeling that you had survived; you seem to have a habit of escaping justice" Ahsoka pulled out what appeared to be a vibrosword and held it at Tarkin's neck. "No lightsaber? Interesting!"
"It's a Jedi's weapon, and I'm not one of them!" said Ahsoka "Now tell me: where is Rex!"
"The clone captain?" said Tarkin "My apologies, ex-clone captain taking into account his desertion. You were separated from him about two years ago, haven't you given up already? Can't you see that it's hopeless to continue looking for him if you have not succeeded already?"
"It was difficult and it was painful, but I know now that he is still alive and that you have him" said Ahsoka "Your security isn't as full proof as you'd like to think. Hand him over!" A smug look befell on Tarkin's face.
"Nothing's changed…" replied Tarkin "…you're still an annoyance!" Abruptly, Ahsoka felt herself pulled back by something unseen. As Ahsoka landed onto her back in the hallway, she lifted her head up to see who or what caused it. Standing before her was unmistakably Afanc Scylla, although here he looked to be only an adolescent and a few years younger than she was.
"We have you now!" smirked Scylla as he ignited his double-bladed lightsaber "Lord Vader will be most pleased when we present you to him!"
"You're wasting your time" said Ahsoka as she pulled herself to her feet "I'm no Jedi anymore"
"Doesn't matter!" roared Scylla as he leapt at her. Just as he was about to attack her, everything suddenly turned white and everything around her changed. The hallway had disappeared and she now found herself on a platform outside the Imperial base; she did not recognise the planet she was on, but it appeared to be in the middle of the night. In front of her was Scylla, who she was duelling with her vibrosword. Her vibrosword seemed to be able to hold its own against Scylla's blade so it must have been coated with something that could repel a lightsaber. As the young Scylla became preoccupied with keeping up with her attacks, Ahsoka let out a kick and knocked him back.
"Enough!" said Ahsoka "You're only wasting my time" Surprisingly, Scylla let out a chuckle.
"You may claim to have cut all ties with the Jedi Order; but even without a lightsaber, I can still the see the Jedi influence in your fighting style" said Scylla "No wonder the Empire kept hunting you, but the hunt ends now!"
"What are you talking about?" said Ahsoka.
"I was just a warm-up" replied Scylla "The real challenge…is here!" A chill rushed down Ahsoka's spine as she heard the sound of deep and ominous breathing above her. She looked up and almost froze as she saw Darth Vader standing on the roof of the base above her and who was clearly looking down back at her.
"No!" breathed Ahsoka. Vader stepped off the ledge of the roof, landed down in front of her, and ignited his lightsaber.
"You have served your purpose, Inquisitor" said Vader "Begone!"
"Of course, my lord Vader!" said Scylla before rushing away in an obedient manner. Vader turned back to Ahsoka and began walking over to her.
"I have you now!" said Vader. As he moved closer and closer towards her, everything suddenly turned white again and everything around her disappeared. Ahsoka found herself within what appeared to be the stasis pod that Luke had found her in. She looked around at the pod's confines desperately and began breathing heavily as panic swept over her. As she looked up, she saw Darth Vader who appeared to be typing into the pod's control panel. Before Ahsoka could do anything to escape, the pod's door closed over and trapped her. She desperately punched her fists against the pod's window in an attempt to shatter the glass, but it was no use as the glass was too thick and could not even be cracked. When she began realizing this, the feeling of panic was replaced by a feeling of absolute dread and despair; but even with no hope of escape, she had no time to comprehend this despair. Around her, air jets activated and released a steam-like substance into the insides of the pod. Everything began to slow down before fading to black.
Her resurfaced memories had given Ahsoka a better understanding of what had happened to her, but there were still questions that remained unanswered or new things that also confused her. What happened to Rex? What lead her to that base? What was Tarkin's involvement in what happened there and why had she survived this long if he knew she was alive? And most of all, why had Vader spared her when he could have easily killed her? If there were any answers to these questions, Ahsoka would have to figure them out on her own.
Author's note: This marks the end of the Socorro phase of my fic. I'll admit, it may have dragged out a little longer than I had hoped, but it was important to me that I took my time with it rather than rushing it.
scottusa1: Nice to see you too! Thank you for the review!
Martin: Admittedly, I took some inspiration from Shaak Ti's boss battle for Ahsoka's fight with Scylla. Grabbing a Togruta by the lekku really seems like something a brutal opponent would take advantage of.