In which the Ghost crew faces Grand Inquisitor Tano.
The mission was, as far as missions went, going smoothly. The weapon crates had been secured, and they had found a small package of medical supplies. It was barely a dent in both the Imperial machinery and the Rebellion's needs, but every single bit counted.
The Ghost crew was in an optimistic mood. They had scored several victories against the troopers, and even the inquisitor chasing them had lost the surprise factor. He was a scary dueler, but his focus on light saber combat left him open to Sabine's creativity and Hera's shots. His anger at being bested by non-force users was definitely a plus.
And of course, with the Force's peculiar sense of humor, it was then when everything went to hell.
Ezra and Kanan felt it before the rest, and their silence alerted the rest of the team about the danger.
"Hot". The clipped delivery and fear in Ezra's voice sent a chill through the rest of the team. Kanan also sensed it. Such a burning and familiar anger.
As on cue, the main doors of the hangar they were in, opened with a steamy sound, to reveal a lonely figure. Seasoned fighters, the crew evaluated their opponent. Togruta, physically strong and covered in pitch black armor, similar to the Inquisitor's. A force user then.
The Force warned Kanan milliseconds before the Togruta swung at him with twin red sabers, barely allowing him to block her. Ezra tried to help but was sent to the side with a careless move from her hand, hitting his head against the wall.
As the rest secured the cargo, Kanan dueled the non-inquisitor, cursing at how FAST she was. His blade work was limited to defense, as the rain of swings pushed him back. "Sloppy" snarled the woman, voice filtered through a voice coder. "Master Billaba would be disappointed Caleb"
Only a miracle prevented Kanan from freezing. She knew who he was. Who he really was.
The onslaught continued, and the man was slowly being pushed back, towards the ship. Angry, he resorted to one of his favorite tricks against aggressive opponents. A double parry into a twist, faking a horizontal swing, turning it into a kick to the middle, sending your opponent to the ground.
Or at least that was the idea, if it wasn't for the lightsaber beam waiting for his foot.
The red beam pierced his leg, sending him to the ground with a scream. He felt in the background Sabine's and Zeb's panic, as they watched him laying before the woman, defeated, and injured.
The Togruta kicked his saber to the side, saying with an amused tone. "Good trick. It's a shame I was the one who taught it to you".
A chill ran through his spine as the inquisitor's mask retracted, showing a familiar face.
It was common knowledge that Aayla Secura was the most attractive Jedi. Back when he was Caleb Dume, padawan learner, he was uncomfortably aware of the ranking, considering how high his own master was in it. However, for the former padawan's generation, Ahsoka Tano was near the top of their particular ranking. There were other beautiful males and females, but contrary to Offee or Suduri, Ahsoka was always friendly and approachable, continuously helping with their techniques or their personal needs. Her status as THE Anakin Skywalker's apprentice only boosted her attractiveness.
The dark side had twisted her beauty. Yellow eyes pierced him, and the once confident smirk was now cruel, the twisted feeling of the dark side of the Force enveloping her.
Her attention twisted as Sabine and Zeb started to shoot, blasters trying to separate her from Kanan. She parried the shots effortlessly as she closed the gap between them. The rebels backed slowly, but the woman was ridiculously fast. With a swing, as soon as she found herself in range, a red saber cut cleanly through Zeb's leg, almost severing it entirely. The lasat fell with a scream, Sabine sensing the smell of burnt hair. The Togruta turned to the fallen warrior, forcing the young Mandalorian to jump in between Zeb and the descending sabers, blocking them with her armor.
The momentary confusion switched to playfulness, as she pressed on the lock between the red beams and Sabine's armguards. "Beskar is amazing," she said. "But the heat has to go somewhere."
Unlike other opponents, the imperial didn't attempt to swing to the rest of her body, instead choosing to push harder against Sabine's arms. Her bizarre comment started to make sense as the Mandalorian felt her own armor heat up dramatically quick, the metal burning her skin. Her legs failed her as she screamed, the thin layer of clothing between armor and skin doing little to mitigate the burns.
That pause had, fortunately, given enough time for the rest of the team to recover. Aided by Ezra, Kanan flew behind them, landing with a heavy noise and pushing the enemy with force. The small break allowed Zeb to kick her in the knee with his good leg, allowing Sabine to escape the burning weapons. Ezra jumped in front of her, blocking the retaliation swing before pushing her again, desperation giving him energy for a stronger usage of the Force. Having prepared the ship, Hera appeared on the ramp, shooting her own blaster, and screaming at Sabine. "Triple!"
Fighting her pain, the Mandalorian artist threw three of her detonators before running to the ship. With markswoman accuracy, Hera blew the middle one. The explosion forced the inquisitor back and altered the trajectory of the other two, one blinding their opponent from the left, and the other hitting the ceiling, causing debris and fire to rain over the Togruta.
Still with veins-full of adrenaline, the battered rebel group focused on escaping. Ezra helped Kanan and Zeb to their feet, the first being supported by Sabine, careful not to touch her burned arms. However, both force users froze as the darkside returned with a vengeance. The dust had settled, and only a couple of fires remained near the debris. Slightly in front, the inquisitor was raising her hand, a look of focused anger in her face. Lowering gently the lasat so he could crawl, Ezra and Hera moved to face the threat, being the least hurt of the team.
But there was no visible aggression, no lighting searching through air for flesh, not projectiles flying to the ship, powered by the force. If one of the cameras in the hangar had remained intact, the holorecording would have shown a shadow emanating from the woman, slithering through the ground, barely visible from above. The rebels were not above, and therefore they only realized it when tendrils made of darkness bolted from the ground.
Ezra fell with a pained scream so brutal that the rest of the group shivered. Despite his penchant for theatrics, he was not the type to overreact during a mission. When Hera left a similar sound, despair destroyed the morale of the small group. The two were being pierced by darkness, not leaving physical damage but inflicting a pain so brutal they both kept shaking from it, weeks after the encounter.
And here we say weeks after thanks to a miracle. That incident should have been the end of the Ghost cell, fallen to a fallen jedi. But Chopper, the astromech, made a straight line towards the Inquisitor. The living force didn't catch the determined droid, and the woman had put too much focus on her Sith technique, so she neglected her acute montrals.
The C1 droid unleashed 10000 volts over the woman, enough to knock out troopers in a couple seconds. Unfocused and immersed in the dark side, she wasn't able to react in time. The electricity broke her grasp on the force, dispelling the black shadow and dissolving the tendrils attached to it. The droid unleashed their power for 10 seconds, the time it took her to regain control of her body and swing towards the mechanical rebel.
Fortunately, 10 seconds were more than enough for the experienced rebels. With a yell, Zeb dragged Ezra and Hera onto the cabin, in time for Kanan to push the door button. In the last minutes, he force-pulled the droid pieces, barely acknowledging that the saber missed the processor by millimeters. With tears in her eyes due to her burned arms, Sabine ran to the cabin and launched the ship.
As the ship took off and disappeared into the atmosphere, the First Brother, a tall Pau'an, was heading the stormtroopers of that base, cursing as he saw the Togruta standing in front of an empty and ruined hangar.
"Did they escape, master?"
The woman stood silently for a couple of seconds, before whispering to the inquisitor. "It seems, First Brother, that your failures with this particular rebel cell are not solely because of incompetence."
The man barely widened his eyes, and wisely chose to remain silent. That was as close to an apology as he would receive, and you didn't live long within the Inquisitorius by being cocky. Except for Seventh. The Seventh Sister was weird.
"I attached a tracker in both the Mandalorian armor and the kid's lightsaber." She said, as she gave him a couple of signal receptors. "You should follow them immediately, before they have a chance of lick their wounds and regroup."
The inquisitor stood straight and dismissed the officers and troopers before heading towards the exit. However, Ahsoka wasn't finished yet. "The Third Sister will reinforce you."
The Pau'an froze, and he started to protest before being interrupted. "Don't let your arrogance blind you, brother. They managed to escape me, albeit injured."
The man gritted his teeth before accepting, fleeing before she could impose him Seventh or Eighth. At least Second and Third sisters were effective, even if they were annoying.
Impatient and angry at the failure, Ahsoka made her way to her ship, an improved version of the Inquisitorius TIE that was totally not a gift from Vader. The Sith apprentice didn't give gifts, but tools to improve their work. Absolutely not a gift.
In the privacy of her ship and before entering hyperspace, she contacted the promised reinforcements for First Brother. The Third Sister answered immediately, as she should. Ahsoka was not known for her patience. Grand Inquisitor Tano even less.
A Mirialan face looked at her with respect, said face without the restrictive helmet, meaning that she was in the privacy of her rooms. They were safe. Ahsoka had checked them throughout. "Grand Inquisitor"
"Third Sister" Ahsoka removed her mask, to show her it was safe to talk. "I have a mission for you"
Barriss Offee relaxed, before smiling to her boss-friend-lover. "Do tell"
Despite her anger, Ahsoka allowed herself to smile. The Mirialan had that effect on her. Maybe that was why Vader had allowed her to live. "I need you to help the First Brother, near the Lothal system. He will give you more details, but there are Jedis involved"
Barriss scoffed. "Of course he needs help. I'm on it"
"Careful lover" anger crept over her voice, Ahsoka's defeat fueling the rage inside her. "They have just escaped me" she left the hanging her annoyance in the following silence
The hologram opened her eyes with surprise before jumping into action. "I will depart immediately"
The Togruta nodded. "Make sure you don't fail. I don't want Lord Vader involved in this"
Barriss nodded. Ahsoka might be Vader's favorite, but that didn't mean that she was immune to failure. "Any specific instructions, or should we focus on extermination"
The Togruta thought for a second before answering. "Disposal should be your priority, the young Jedi could be an asset for project Harvester, but he's not of high value. Focus on destroying that cell"
"Understood master"
"Oh, and Barriss" the Grand Inquisitor said before cutting the communication. "The astromech, I want it in pieces"
AN1: Without the main character status and the PG rating, the Ghost cell would have had a significantly worse time against Vader. Here, Ahsoka is the protagonist, and this is rated M.
AN2: Ahsoka using Sith sorcery is probably my favorite cliché.