Upon our arrival to Alderaan we were greeted by Senator Bail Organa with open arms. Ahsoka took it upon herself to meditate further on her premonitions and this time received a much clearer picture on the assassination attempt. With a view of the room, Ahsoka was able to predict the time and location of the attack, meaning that Aurra Sing was probably already here. Leaving Ahsoka to guard Padmé I remained at the back of the conference hall as the gathering commenced with Senator Organa leading with an introduction before Padmé then stood to speak. "Thank you Senator Organa. I wanted to first thank you all for coming. This is a cause that is very important to me. I can remember after the illegal blockade of my home world, Naboo, by the Trade Federation, how many lives were thrown into chaos."
Continuing her speech, both Ahsoka and I continued to remain vigilant, scanning for any irregular activity however when our sense began to warn us to the threat of Aurra Sing, Ahsoka took off running to the upper levels where I could also sense the disturbance in the Force, however instead of going after Ahsoka, I moved towards Padmé. Her eyes widened in shock as I raced straight for her and tackled her, locking my arms around her body and dragging her to the ground just as a blaster rifle fired. Ahsoka made the shot go slightly wide, and with me tackling the senator to the ground it missed by bare millimetres, burning a mark into the floor as everyone yelled and gasped in shock.
"Padmé!" Senator Organa was quick to react as I pushed myself up from Padmé, looking down at her with a calm expression.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes I'm fine, go!" Ensuring that Padmé was unharmed and now being protected by the other guards, I rushed to seek out Ahsoka who had gone after Aurra, however my former fellow padawan had already escaped and completely disappeared.
"I'm sorry Theca, I lost her."
"She is clever and has had training in the ways of the Force before. She will not be so easily outmanoeuvred." Reassuring her that it was alright and that Padmé was unhurt, we quickly returned to where the conference had been placed in temporary suspension on account of the attack. We joined Padmé and Senator Organa in her chambers in order to discuss what should be done next, Ahsoka hurrying towards Padmé with an apologetic expression.
"Padmé, I'm sorry."
"For what, Ahsoka? You did all you could, and as you can see I'm not injured." At that she turned to me and thanked me for protecting her. Senator Organa then asked if we were successful in capturing the assassin, but we could only report that she had escaped before either of us could reach her.
"She?"
"Yes, she. I am positive now that it is Aurra Sing who is out to get you. Please return to Coruscant immediately for your own safety." Imploring Padmé to think of her own life first, Ahsoka spoke with a good sense of reason as the three of us stood facing Padmé who considered our efforts to persuade her to leave for her own sake, Organa also agreeing with Ahsoka, reasoning that it was far too dangerous for Padmé to remain.
"If someone wants me dead, they will follow me wherever I go."
"But you know that my visions are all mixed up. What if what I saw was the attempt that just happened?" Ahsoka reasoned, both she and Organa attempting to dissuade Padmé from returning to the conference as he was unwilling to gamble with her life, until Ahsoka then had an idea. "Wait a minute. I think I have a way we can get around putting you in jeopardy and have you attend the conference." Curious to know what this plan Ahsoka had concocted was, I encouraged her to speak her mind. We all pulled together in order to make the arrangements for Padmé to speak at the conference without leaving the safety of her quarters and, with Ahsoka escorting the droid which had been dressed to represent Padmé to maintain appearances, I swept through the area in search of Aurra, trying to locate her before she could make another attempt on the senator's life.
"Come in Theca, Aurra is not here. She didn't take the bait." Ahsoka called in, opening a communication between us so I tapped the communicator chip on my gauntlet in order to respond.
"Hurry to Senator Amidala, Ahsoka. I think I know how Aurra has been moving around undetected. Make sure to remain with Padmé." I instructed her before looking up into the grating of one of the ventilation shafts. Using the Force to open the grate, I then propelled myself up and climbed inside, using my instincts and senses to move towards where Padmé's quarters were as well as the presence of Aurra Sing. The ventilation shafts were large enough to allow proper movement, but too low to crouch and so I had to crawl my way along until I neared Padmé's room and could hear not only her, but Ahsoka and Aurra from inside.
"Why are you doing this? Killing me won't stop the relief effort."
"Honey, this isn't about your cause. This is about revenge. My employer wants to get even with you, simple as that." Aurra replied with dry cynicism as I slowed down and ensured to move without making a sound, even holding my breath so that I would not alert Aurra to my presence. From the sound of her voice, I could hear how much she had changed since I had last seen her over twenty years ago. It was dark and gritty, evolved from the arrogant pitch of the padawan I had once known into a twisted being full of loathing and hatred.
"Who hired you?" Ahsoka demanded, holding her ground as she stood protectively in front of Padmé with her lightsaber drawn. Inching closer, I could almost see Aurra standing with her back to the opening, holding two handguns and training them on Ahsoka and Padmé as she spoke, completely ignoring Ahsoka's interrogation.
"Enough talk. Time to see what you're made of, kid." When the shooting started, I quickly pulled myself forwards and through the gap to land inside the chambers just as Ahsoka was shot in the arm.
"No!" My sudden outburst made Aurra whirl around but it was already too late, my foot swinging around to sweep across her face and knock her into the wall before I then stretched out my hand in order to drag the guns away from her hands and tossed them across the room. "It's been a long time, Aurra. Remember me?" Recognising me in an instant, Aurra's eyes narrowed darkly as she lay on the ground below me.
"Heard you'd made it back from that backwater planet you got dumped on. Guess it has been a while." She said to me, managing to rise back to her feet though remained low in a defensive crouch, readying to flee or attack. "So you managed to survive and crawl your way back to the Jedi on your own even after they forgot all about you. Others didn't get so lucky."
"Our past circumstances may have been similar, Aurra, but our current paths could not be more different."
"We shall see." Behind her the door was forced open from the other side where Captain Typho and two guards burst inside, whereby Aurra made her escape. She forced her way through them, taking them out with a powerful series of strikes as I dove after her but was cut off by Typho being pushed into me, forcing me to catch him before he fell.
"Ahsoka!" Looking to the young padawan, she was already up on her feet and running towards the door as I too charged after Aurra. "We cannot allow her to escape this time, we must capture her now or we'll lose the advantage!" Agreeing that this was the best option, Ahsoka and I split off in order to cut Aurra off, making to flank her and force her to engage before she could leave Alderaan and hide away somewhere until her next assassination attempt. Despite her injury, Ahsoka moved quickly in order to catch up to Aurra, engaging her lightsaber in order to cut Aurra off.
The former padawan turned bounty hunter was quick to dodge Ahsoka's attacks, ducking and weaving before kicking her in the stomach with enough force to wind her, and in the next moment had disarmed her of her lightsaber. "I think I'll keep this, thanks kid." Clutching her stomach and her injured arm, Ahsoka glared at Aurra and responded with a hot-headed retort just as I came flying at Aurra's back. The green blade rose up over Ahsoka's head, and in that moment I feared for her life. This time I did not think about what would happen when I touched my own lightsaber, because the only concern I held was the life of little 'Soka, and nothing else.
My weapon leaped to my palm in a heartbeat and with an intense flourish, slid past Aurra just as she brought the lightsaber down on Ahsoka, meaning that I had to fix my block behind my shoulders and hold her back, the turquoise glow gleaming at the corner of my eyes as I glowered heatedly at Aurra. The blades locked and our eyes met, an unspoken challenge passing between us as memories of our past together rose to the surfaces of our minds. All the sparring matches, the training, the competing against one another from early childhood came sweeping back all at once like a torrent. I was grateful for it, because it was better than the alternative of memories filled with terror and fear.
Disengaging from her I turned and lashed out, pushing Aurra further away from Ahsoka before rushing at her with my weapon in hand, seeking to subdue her as soon as possible and end this conflict between us. I quickly found that although Aurra had not trained in two decades, her natural talent had not yet left her, and was quick to engage in our duel. "Looks like you've improved since the last time we fought, Theca, but remember you could never beat me!"
"That was then, and this is now Aurra. I have become a whole new person since we were children. I am a Jedi, and you are nothing more than a murderer who is no longer in connection with the Force." Not losing my focus, Ahsoka tried to move in to help me but I held out my arm to signal that she needed to stay away as our fight intensified. My defence held against her and it came as a surprise to Aurra just how far I had advanced compared to when we were both younglings and padawans, for where she had once managed to beat me so easily in the past, she now found that I was an unbreakable fortress, and my skill, experience and training proved too much for Aurra who began to stumble. Within a few moments, I had broken her stance, another second later she was off balance and then finally, I disarmed her of Ahsoka's lightsaber and had it fly back into her hand as Aurra then fell to her knees with one side of my lightsaber pressed against her neck before Ahsoka then appeared at my side, holding the tip of her blade to Aurra also.
"You're beat, Aurra Sing." And so she was, because at that moment the rest of the Republic guards arrived and, with all weapons trained on Aurra, she had no way out. Seeing that she was caught, Aurra surrendered herself to Republic captivity where she was stunned then placed under a close guard to be escorted back to Coruscant. "Thank you for being here, Theca. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't been here."
"You would have managed, Ahsoka. I did very little here and it is because of you that Padmé is safe and alive. Do not belittle your own achievements. I know your master will be proud when he hears of what you have accomplished." Holding her face for a moment, I then looked up to see Padmé herself and Senator Organa approaching us, so I bid them farewell as I was to join the escort to take Aurra Sing back to Coruscant to pay for her crimes, whilst Ahsoka was to stay with Padmé to ensure her safe return also. Our task was complete and Padmé was safe, and we had also captured a dangerous bounty hunter who was a living threat to the Jedi. It was a victory, and as I looked down to my hand which still held my lightsaber hilt, I found my heart was steady, and that I had no hint of a flashback to accompany it. With a hint of a smile, I turned aside and went to see my task through to the end, and when I last saw Aurra, she was in full restraints and being escorted away by the Republic guards, though not before she swore to make me pay for this defeat, marking me as a priority target should she ever escape, and knowing Aurra, I saw it as a distinct possibility that she somehow would.