Chapter 28 – A Friend in Need
Author's Note: In which Theseus meets Lux. :)
~ Amina Gila
Theseus can hardly believe that this is really happening. It's strange being back on Mandalore again, in the throne room itself. Somehow, it seems, he always ends up back here. But at least this time it's not to investigate fraud or the like, but rather for the ongoing peace talks between the Republic and the Separatists. The discussions have been going on for a while now, and while it doesn't sound like they've made a whole lot of progress, he supposes it's actually progress that they're sitting in the same room with each other without anyone trying to kill anyone else. Well, at least not yet.
He wishes he and Ahsoka could have brought their lightsabers with them, but he supposes announcing themselves as Jedi might not be the best of ideas anyway. It's just that the last time he was on Mandalore without his lightsaber, things didn't go very well. Shaking the thoughts from mind, he turns his attention back to the meeting. And now they're back to arguing about the legitimacy of the Separatist movement, which Theseus really doesn't get how it's so important right now. Shouldn't they be focusing on trying to end the war? Ugh, this stuff all flies way over his head.
"I have something to say about the legitimacy of the Separatists," an unfamiliar voice calls out. Theseus turns to see an older teenage boy with dark hair striding into the room. He walks between the assembled Senators, heading for the front of the room.
Ahsoka's eyes widen in surprise at the sight of him. What? Does she know who this is? "Why is Lux Bonteri here? What could he possibly have to say?" murmurs one of the Separatist senators, "He was not invited."
"Wait, that's Lux?" Theseus whispers to Ahsoka, from where the two of them are standing on either side of Padme's chair. He doesn't really know what he was picturing. Of course, he's just an ordinary boy if Ahsoka befriended him. He knows the Separatists aren't evil, at least the common people aren't, but still.
She nods, then leans closer to Padme. "You didn't mention that Lux Bonteri would be here."
"I didn't know," Padme replies, obviously as confused as everyone else.
Lux steps up to one of the stands at the front of the room, after sharing a glance with Satine, as if asking silent permission to speak here. The Duchess only nods, her expression remaining otherwise neutral as it has throughout the entire debate. Honestly, Theseus is surprised she can even stand listening to all the arguing that's been going on, considering how much she hates fighting.
"I stand before you, son of Mina Bonteri," Lux begins, "Loyal Separatist, a patriot, a friend." He throws a glance at Ahsoka at that word, and she returns the gaze with a small smile. Theseus isn't quite sure what to make of it. "It has come to my attention," he continues, "That my mother was murdered by Count Dooku in cold blood." The words have barely left his mouth and had time to register in Theseus' mind when all out chaos erupts.
"That is a lie!" shouts the green skinned Separatist Senator, leaping to her feet.
"Remove this traitor immediately!" another yells furiously.
Ahsoka moves forwards, but Padme holds up a hand, pushing her back.
Two assassin droids stride into view, grabbing Lux by the arms and dragging him away from the stand. Ahsoka's eyes widen in alarm as she watches. No, this isn't going to end well. Speaking out against Dooku like that is suicide. "I will not be silenced!" Lux protests as they continue to pull him away.
"Stop this!" Satine orders, standing up as she glares at the droids.
"We would ask you to respect that we deal with this matter ourselves," the green skinned Senator says, looking to the Duchess. After a moment, she nods in acquiescence.
"No! Dooku is deceiving you!" Lux protests frantically, "You will all be betrayed, just like my mother!" The droid's shove him out a side door, ignoring any further protests.
"I apologize for such a rude interruption. Please let us continue," says one of the other Separatist Senators.
"We can't let them take him," Ahsoka whispers desperately, "He'll be killed."
"Do what you can, but be discreet," Padme whispers back.
"I'm coming," Theseus adds in a low voice. This is the kind of thing he wanted to keep her out of. So much for that.
Ahsoka nods determinedly, and the two of them turn and slip out of the room. It doesn't take them long to catch up with the droids. They're leading him across the landing platform towards the waiting Separatist ship. Both of them crouch behind a nearby column as they watch. Other droids are stationed about as guards, which makes getting closer a little more difficult. They'll have to be fast.
"Kill him," Theseus can just make out Dooku's voice ordering on the other side of the door, once they finally manage to sneak onto the ship and track down the room he was taken too. Of course, the Sith would do that. That's what people like this always do when someone dares stand up against them. That doesn't stop his surge of anger. How can anyone treat another being's life as if its meaningless?
Ahsoka shoves the door open, in time to see the two droids taking aim at Lux who's looking around the room in a panic. There's a holo-transmission device which is now off. Likely, Dooku promptly disconnected the call as soon as he casually gave the order.
"Ahsoka?" Lux exclaims in surprise. Theseus throws the first droid into the wall while Ahsoka goes after the second.
"Lux, I think it's time to go. Don't you?" the Togruta responds as the now destroyed droids clatter to the floor.
"Come with us," Theseus urges, sprinting out of the room into the elevator.
She grabs Lux's hand as he stands there still looking unsure and pulls him out into the elevator. A flare of annoyance runs through him at the gesture. Maybe the two of them are little closer than he thought? But he brushes the thought aside for now. They need to focus on getting out of here. The rest is completely unimportant.
"Artoo, fire up the engines. We're leaving!" Ahsoka calls through her comm.
The elevator finally stops back on the main level of the ship, and they race out, Ahsoka running down the ramp in the front and tackling the first of the droids to the ground. Another one immediately stalks towards them, but Theseus throws it backwards over the railing with the Force.
Lux runs down the ramp after them and they take off across the landing platform. Three droids immediately spot them and run after, open firing. Now would really be a good time to have a lightsaber.
The droids don't let up their pursuit, even when they run into a nearby building as shortcut to where the ship is waiting.
"Ahsoka!" Lux yells as they run through another hall, lined with blue designed glass. "I appreciate your help, but –!"
"Just hurry!" Theseus cuts him off. It's moments like this that Theseus remembers how little experience civilians have with things like this. Knowing how to fight off and avoid droids is something he almost takes for granted now.
A blaster shot strikes the glass wall, and it shatters, glass flying all over the hall. Lux gives up trying to talk and runs after them.
Finally, the race through the doorway on the other side of the building where their ship is waiting. Several Republic guards are stationed by the entrance. Finally.
"Captain Taggart, we've got incoming clankers!" Ahsoka yells as they make a beeline for the ship.
"We'll cover you, sir," the guard calls back. 'There now much greater than three "escort" of droids runs into the hanger, still shooting. The guards start firing, and the three of them run up the ramp amidst the chaos.
"That was close," Theseus pants as he scrambles into the pilot's seat and takes off. Artoo and BD are waiting in the cockpit for them, both beeping in greeting when they arrive.
"Yeah, it was," Ahsoka agrees, before turning to Lux, "I didn't expect to see you there."
"I wasn't expecting to see you there, either," he replies, "I wasn't invited to the negotiations, but yeah."
"Well, it sure went south pretty quickly," Theseus replies, "I'm Theseus Shan, by the way."
Just then, the ship's communicator suddenly beeps. Ahsoka reaches over, answering the call. A hologram of Anakin appears. "Ahsoka, Theseus, Padme just contacted me. She told me the peace negotiations have all but collapsed. Where are you?"
Of course, they would have. He should've guessed. After that commotion, none of the Senators would be interested in talking to each other anymore. If only there was a way he could actually do something about this insanity. But it's not like anyone would listen to a sixteen-year-old padawan.
"I'm en route to Coruscant, Master," Ahsoka replies.
"Lux Bonteri is with us," Theseus adds.
"Master Jedi, I'm sorry if I've caused you any trouble," Lux interjects.
"It's nothing," Anakin assures.
"You will be safe now with the Republic," Ahsoka promises.
He turns back to the padawans. "All right, bring Bonteri to Coruscant immediately. We'll discuss giving him amnesty."
"Yes, Master," the Togruta responds, disconnecting the call.
Lux suddenly stands up. "I can't go with you," he insists, and Theseus looks up to see that he's pointing a small, hand-carried blaster at them. Seriously? He really thinks threatening them with that tiny weapon is going to work? He feels about as uncertain of his own actions in the Force as he looks. Theseus doesn't even feel the slightest hint of danger, and he's pretty sure Lux wouldn't even fire no matter what they did. No wonder Ahsoka befriended him.
BD beeps in alarm at the sight of it, but Theseus motions him into silence. Artoo is already gone – luckily for Lux, or he'd probably be zapped unconscious.
"What?" Ahsoka asks dubiously, eyeing the weapon.
"Are you really trying to intimidate us?" Theseus asks in a deliberately bored tone.
"I told you, I had a plan." Lux looks more desperate than anything.
"Shooting us is not going to be part of it," Ahsoka says flatly, reaching over and pulling the blaster away. "What are you doing with a gun, anyhow? You're not a fighter."
"I'm no longer a Separatist either," he objects.
"That's why we're taking you to Coruscant," Theseus declares.
"I won't join the Republic," he insists stubbornly. Well. He can't exactly blame him for that, but he's not sure what other options he'd even have. Especially not now that Dooku is going to be after him.
"What other options do you have?" Ahsoka echoes his own thoughts.
"There is a different way," Lux insists.
"I understand everything that you've been through. I understand you feel alone. But the Republic will help you," the Togruta declares.
"Like they helped my mother?" he snaps back.
"You can't blame the Republic for that," Theseus reminds. While he is mildly annoyed right now, taking it out on the other boy who really needs help of his own right now won't help anyone. "It's not like we even knew Dooku was going to go after her. What's this plan of yours?"
"I've already made contact with a group on Carlac," Lux responds, "Who are noble and are allied with my cause." For some reason, he doesn't have a very good feeling about where this is going.
"And what cause is that?" Ahsoka inquires warily.
"To kill Dooku."
Wait – seriously? He's planning to blindly go after a Sith Lord? Theseus has no idea who this group is, but he knows they're going to be no match against someone who literally dozens of Jedi have fought and been defeated by. "You sure you've actually thought through this plan?"
"The only one you're going to get killed is yourself," Ahsoka declares, "I'm sorry, but we're taking you to Coruscant." She sits back down in the seat, turning to the controls.
"Without us, how did you think you were going to escape those droids?"
"Like this!" Lux exclaims and the next Theseus knows, Ahsoka is slumped over in his seat. He barely has a chance to register that she was literally zapped unconscious when Lux hits him with something, and the last thing he hears is BD scream beeping in protest before the world spirals into darkness.
Consciousness returns slowly. Wasn't he in the cockpit? And Lux just – Jolting upright, Theseus quickly realizes that he's in the hold of the ship. Ahsoka is slowly sitting up next to him, looking equally as disoriented.
BD walks over to him, beeping wildly. "Don't worry, I'm fine," he assures the worried droid.
"Lux?" Ahsoka calls, but there's no response.
From a simple glance out the viewport, he quickly realizes that they've landed on a planet somewhere that definitely isn't Coruscant. Snow is falling past the window, and the surrounding landscape and trees are covered in it.
"Where are my lightsabers?" Ahsoka mutters, reaching for them to find nothing, "Lux?!"
"Something tells me he's not on the ship anymore," Theseus remarks, "And by the way, this is embarrassing."
"What is?"
"We're supposed to be Jedi and he took us both down in one second."
She huffs. "Save it for another time. We need to find him."
"I think I just did," Theseus responds, moving to a stop next to the viewport. A familiar figure is standing in the middle of the snow in a distance away,
"Artoo, take a look around and see if you can find where Lux hid them. We're going to have a little chat with Mr. Bonteri," declares Ahsoka with an undertone of severe displeasure. Artoo whistles affirmatively and rolls off as the two of them head for the ramp.
"Stay here with the ship, BD," Theseus calls over his shoulder.
"Lux! Lux, where are we?" Ahsoka demands, as they approach the boy, "And what did you do with our lightsabers?"
Lux doesn't even glance over his shoulder, like he's waiting for something to happen. "You should've stayed on the ship."
Suddenly he has a very, very bad feeling about this, and he can't shake a sudden, serious feeling of foreboding. "This is Carlac, isn't it? What group exactly –" He cuts off at the sound of jetpacks whooshing through the air. An armored figure suddenly lands right in front of them. Several more start dropping to the ground in a circle around them, cutting them off from any possible escape.
Theseus freezes at the all too familiar sight. "Death Watch," whispers Ahsoka in equal horror, realizing the exact same thing. This is bad. This is very, very bad. What has Lux gotten them into? He literally made a deal with Death Watch. He obviously did not do his research on their background very well, that much Theseus can tell. He supposes he can understand Lux's desperation to get revenge over what happened to Mina, but right now, Theseus' only focus is on the armored terrorists surrounding them.
He can only be silently grateful that he and Ahsoka are both wearing coats with large hoods pulled up over their heads, mostly concealing their faces, at least when they're not looking directly ahead. He briefly scans the figures once more, his blood running cold at the all too familiar armor of one of them.
He saw her before; he fought her when he, Obi-Wan, and Satine were trying to escape that mining factory. She's the one who looked so much like his mother. It's been so long since it happened, he'd almost forgotten all about it. Almost forgotten all those worries about having Mandalorian relatives who are literally part of a terrorist organization. Although his biggest concern right now is what if she recognizes him? What if she realizes that he's a Jedi? It's probably a good thing Lux hid their lightsabers after all. He can only hope the Mandalorian doesn't place him.
"Hey, kid," one of them greets, "You're late."
"Did you get us what we need?" asks another.
"Yes, I have the information with me," Lux answers.
One of them steps closer, scrutinizing Ahsoka and Theseus. He does his best to remain perfectly calm. He's suddenly grateful for Windu's training, because there's no way the younger him could have succeeded in maintaining a perfectly blank expression. "Who are these?" one of the figures demands finally. It's a woman – not the mysterious possible relatives of his. And from the way she's acting, it's almost like she's the one of the groups with the greatest authority. Oh, great. How are they supposed to answer this?
"I'm his..." Ahsoka hesitates, "I'm his betrothed!" She steps closer to Lux, pointedly resting her head on his shoulder. Wait, what?! Did she –
All his thoughts pretty much run together in a blurred scream of horror. Where in the world did she even pull that from? It was a desperate, last moment explanation he knows, but it stings in a way he can't quite understand. Even if he's always ignored it, pretended it wasn't there because that's what he thought he was supposed to do, he can't deny that somewhere deep inside, his affection for Ahsoka is something beyond just a friend. It's a deeper, more intimate connection, something the Jedi aren't supposed to have, which is why he never mentioned it. Now he has to wonder, does she know? Does she remember or still think about that moment last year? When they were searching for Boba? No, it's not something he can dwell on.
"Right... right," blurts Lux awkwardly.
"And I'm the third wheel," Theseus deadpans. Ahsoka shoots him a glare.
Artoo beeps loudly behind them, and he turns to see the droid rolling towards them, holding out two of the lightsabers. Theseus shakes his head slightly, and the droid immediately retracts the hilts into its internal compartment. Now is not the good time to start a fight. With so many well-trained fighters here, he's not even sure they'd be able to win it.
The leader of the group eyes Artoo for a moment before she turns and starts to head off, rudely shoving past Ahsoka on the way. "We leave now. The snow is coming," she declares.
Lux turns to follow, but Ahsoka catches his arm. "What have you gotten us into?" she hisses.
"It's all under control," Lux says stubbornly.
"Do you have any idea who these people are?!" Theseus demands.
"They're Death Watch, Mandalorian terrorists. They'll kill us all," Ahsoka snaps. She's not angry, just worried.
"Are you coming?" asks the leader, turning and looking back at them.
"Yes," Lux assures, stepping away to follow the others as several speeders drive up, parking a short distance away.
"Uh, we should stay with the ship," Ahsoka replies, exchanging a glance with Theseus who nods. Especially with his various obvious padawan braid, they don't need to spend any more time around these people then they already have.
"No," the woman cuts in curtly, "You're coming too." Well. Okay. He doesn't protest. It's not worth starting a commotion right now, not when he feels like one is going to start if he so much as breathes wrong.
Two of the Mandalorians step forwards and pick up a screeching Artoo, carrying him to one of the speeders. Somehow, he ends up on the back of the same speeder as the female Mandalorian who appears to be the leader. Ahsoka is sharing with his-possible-terrorist-relative. The only one who knows about his worries is Anakin and he suddenly wonders if he ought to tell Ahsoka after this is over. Not that it matters right now anyway.
He can hear blaster shots echoing in the distance as they speed across the landscape for whatever settlement Death Watch has here. Finally, they pull up into the middle of a number of small houses and tents. Death Watch members are target practicing on droids which are desperately trying to avoid them. For a moment, he could almost feel bad for them, but it's not as though he doesn't spend all day every day destroying droids himself.
"The boss will see you in there," the female Mandalorian declares, motioning to a nearby tent as they stop the speeders and get off. More than a little eager to get away from all these terrorists, Theseus hurries after the other two into the tent.
The door to the tent flaps closed behind them, finally leaving them alone. "Don't ruin my plan, okay?" Lux sighs.
"Plan?" Ahsoka repeats, "What plan?"
"Yeah, what kind of plan involves Death Watch, exactly?" demands Theseus. He has no idea what's going on here, and he'd really like some answers. From what he's seen about Lux so far, and heard from Ahsoka, he didn't seem the type to make deals with terrorists, so he's really confused. Ahsoka always said he was a good person, so Theseus has to wonder how much the boy even knows about what's going on.
Lux holds up a small device. "This is a holotrace device," he explains, "It can identify the origin of any holo transmission. I knew if I accused Dooku of murder, I would be brought to face him."
"And?" Theseus prompts.
"Well, it worked. And I now know Dooku's exact location. If Death Watch moves quick enough, we can destroy him. Is that enough of a plan for you?" He looks so hopeful. Theseus hates to burst his bubble.
"That's... a good plan, except for the part where you're making deals with terrorists and have no idea when they'll turn on you," Theseus quips.
"This is not some idealistic political group!" Ahsoka retorts, "They will take the information and kill you."
Lux sighs dejectedly. "I knew you wouldn't understand."
"The Death Watch are murderers!" Ahsoka exclaims, "Sworn to destroy the Jedi. You don't know what you're doing! This –"
Theseus senses them coming the same moment Lux spots the Death Watch members approaching outside the tent door. And Lux reacts before Theseus has a chance to hiss at Ahsoka – very suspiciously – to be quiet. Lux pulls Ahsoka closer, kissing her.
Theseus just freezes for a moment. Of all things, he wasn't expecting that. And it's so much like that moment back in the Coruscant cantina that he and Ahsoka both promised never to mention again. He's struck with a sudden, irrational jealousy. He knows Lux freaked out and did the first thing he could think if – much like Theseus did that time – but that doesn't mean he's not upset. Especially not when he can't help but remember these looks he's seeing the two of them exchanging from time to time, and how Ahsoka definitely unnecessarily grabbed Lux's hand before to pull him into the elevator. Maybe... she cares about Lux more than Theseus realized. And he can't help but feel a stab of jealousy, but this is her choice, even if it hurts him.
"Am I interrupting something?" asks a voice Theseus instantly recognizes as Vizsla. His heart nearly skips a beat at the sound. Yes, he already knew he was leader of Death Watch, but he never thought much about the fact that they were going to be meeting face to face. He literally spent several hours around him when he was still the Governor of that moon. There's no way Vizsla isn't going to recognize him. Theseus shoves his anger aside, focusing on the more pressing matter at hand. He turns his gaze to the ground, grateful his hood is hiding so much of his face. If Vizsla recognizes him, they're done for.
"No, of course not," Lux answers smoothly, "We were just..."
"It's time to talk business," the man says, removing his helmet, "Tell your woman to leave us." Just Ahsoka? Not him too?
"Of course," Lux agrees, giving the Togruta a pointed look. The female Mandalorian shoves Ahsoka towards the door, and Theseus barely resists the urge to punch her for such harsh treatment. Seriously, is the only reason they don't want her around because she's a Togruta? Speciesists aren't exactly uncommon in the galaxy.
"Now, give me what I want," Vizsla demands as he takes a seat. After a moment of hesitation, Theseus sits down next to Lux. He can't let himself be recognized but staring straight at the floor would be beyond suspicious, so he looks up to the wall, pretending to occupy himself with studying his surroundings.
"When I know that you will use it correctly," Lux asserts. Maybe he learned something from what they were telling him after all, but it's a little late for that now.
"Don't toy with me, boy," Vizsla snaps, "You see this scar? It was a parting gift from Count Dooku." He unnecessarily runs a hand across the scar under his eye. Wait, he fought Dooku? What an idiot. How did he even survive? "If you question my resolve to destroy him again, I will give you one just like it."
Lux stands, holding out the device. "This device will tell you his location."
Vizsla stands up too, taking it from him. "Good, that was painless, wasn't it?" he says, patting him on the shoulder.
It seems awkward to keep sitting there, so Theseus stands up, though he positions himself a distance behind Lux. Hopefully the relative darkness of the tent will at least somewhat obscure his features – Except great. Now Vizsla is looking right at him. And carefully avoiding his gaze would seem seriously suspicious. Theseus looks at him, trying to keep his face blank. It's hard. He's not arrogant enough to believe that he could escape the Death Watch, especially alone and without his lightsaber.
For a moment, he's certain he feels a hint of recognition flare in the Force. But the man's expression doesn't even change. And that honestly puts him on edge even more. If he knows he's a Jedi, why is he not reacting? "Now, let's celebrate," Vizsla declares, brushing past them and heading for the exit to the tent. Theseus really wants to be anywhere but here right now.
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