Ahsoka woke with a start, her head still ringing with the sounds of gunfire from the vision that she had just had, of a figure wielding a red lightsaber blowing up a medical station above Felucia.
Ahsoka immediately went to the ship's bridge, where Lux and Barriss were piloting the ship.
"We need to reset our course," she said. "Set our destination for Felucia."
Barriss looked slightly confused but Ahsoka's expression must have convinced her because she quickly did it.
"Ahsoka," she said. "If you don't mind me asking, why are we going to Felucia? That's under Republic control, isn't it? I thought our goal was to avoid all Republic systems as to not be found."
"I had a vision," said Ahsoka. "Someone's going to attack the Republic medical station that's orbiting the planet. I've sent an evacuation signal to the station but there are still patients there that can't be moved. We've got to protect it."
One long, tense trip through hyperspace later, the Nebula arrived at Felucia. Barriss guided the ship into one of the station's hangars while Ahsoka used the Force to sense that there were barely any life forces left on the station. It seemed that her signal had gone through.
A few moments later, another ship emerged from hyperspace. It was a small, black shuttle that landed in the hangar that Ahsoka, Barriss, and Lux stood in.
The door opened and a red lightsaber ignited. Ahsoka and Barriss both turned on their lightsabers and Lux pulled a blaster from his pocket.
"Lux," said Ahsoka. "Jam the doors so he can't get through. Then find some cover while Barriss and I hold him off. We can't let this Sith get into the medical station to hurt the patients. We've gotta keep him here."
Lux nodded and ran off towards the back of the hangar while the figure exited the ship. The figure wore a long, black robe and a mask that distorted the voice of the figure.
"Surrender," said the Sith., pointing his lightsaber at them. Ahsoka and Barriss stayed put. The figure chucked. "Then you'll die; just like all Jedi should." The figure charged at them.
Barriss rolled out of the way as Ahsoka engaged the mysterious Sith, blocking and parrying with her two white blades. Barriss made her way toward the Sith's ship while he was distracted with Ahsoka, hoping to discover some clue of the Sith's identity.
Meanwhile, Lux had reached the doors to the hangar and closed them, firing at the control panel next to them so that they could be opened from the outside. Then Lux ducked behind a pile of crates to watch the fierce fight that was going on.
The Sith's aggression was proving to be his greatest weakness. Ahsoka was finding all kinds of chinks in his fighting style. She stayed on the defensive, hoping to buy Barriss some time to examine the Sith's ship. White clashed against red as Ahsoka used her agility and newfound power with the Force to counter the Sith's strikes.
Use the weaknesses of your enemy against them, Ahsoka heard Anakin say in her head. She remembered that specific day in training. She had been disappointed in herself that she hadn't been able to beat him in their training match, so he'd given her that advice to help her. The next match they had, she'd followed his advice and had her very first victory over him. Ahsoka just had to use this Sith's anger and aggression against him.
"Where do you come from?" she asked him. "Are all of your people as incompetent in a fight as you are? Or did you just happen to inherit that trait?"
The Sith growled in anger and Ahsoka smirked internally. It's working.
"I've fought younglings more proficient than you!" Ahsoka taunted. "I guess Sith aren't quite as talented as Jedi." Well, ex-Jedi, she thought.
The Sith's eyes practically glowed with rage as he slashed at Ahsoka in large, sweeping arcs. Ahsoka pressed her advantage and kicked him in the stomach. She followed up using a Force Push to knock him into a pile of crates.
"Any time now, Barriss," Ahsoka said.
On board the ship, Barriss was looking for any sort of clue as to where the Sith might have been from. She heard Ahsoka and the Sith engaged in their duel outside. Barriss found nothing but a data pad, which she tucked into her robes, and she approached the bridge. She pressed a few buttons and a hologram of a man wearing a robe appeared. The robe covered his face so Barriss couldn't tell who he was. But when he spoke, Barriss's eyes widened in surprise and she gasped in shock.
"That's…the Supreme Chancellor!" Barriss gasped. Just as she spoke, an alarm blared, and a monotone voice began to speak.
"You are not permitted to be in here," it said. "Self-destruct will begin in 10…9…8…"
Barriss sprinted out of the ship and vaulted over the Sith, who Ahsoka had just Force Pushed into the ship. Barriss landed next to Ahsoka as ship exploded, flaming debris spewing every which way. Ahsoka and Barriss used the Force to keep the debris away from them, Lux, and the Nebula. The Sith was not so lucky and was hit on the head with a chunk of flaming ship.
Lux approached them and Ahsoka deactivated her lightsabers.
"What happened?" asked Lux. "Why'd the ship explode?"
"I found a recording of a message from someone on the ship," said Barriss.
"Really?" Ahsoka asked eagerly. "Were you able to see who it was or hear a voice or anything?"
"I heard a voice," said Barriss. "It was the Chancellor."
"The Chancellor?" asked Lux. "We have to warn the Republic! Did you get a recording of the message?"
"Well I would have, but the ship heard my voice and figured out that it wasn't the Sith and initiated self-destruct."
"We still have to warn them!" said Lux.
"We can't," said Ahsoka. Lux seemed like he was about to protest so Ahsoka cut him off. "For one, we're fugitives. Plus, there's no evidence. We can't just contact the Jedi Council and tell them that the beloved Chancellor is involved in some shady Sith attack!"
"I guess you're right," said Lux.
"But we did get something out of this," said Ahsoka. She approached the unconscious Sith and took his lightsaber from his hand, disassembling it quickly. She took the Kyber crystal and took the Holocron out of her belt pouch. She inserted the crystal into one of the indents on the side of the Holocron. It pulsed with energy.
"What do we do with our friend here?" asked Barriss, nudging the Sith with her foot.
"I found these in a crate back there," said Lux, holding up a pair of Force-binding handcuffs. He snapped them onto the Sith's wrists.
"We should probably get out of here before the Republic comes back," said Barriss. The three ascended the ramp to the Nebula, pulling out of the medical station.
"One crystal down, three to go," Ahsoka said. Then the Nebula made the jump into hyperspace.