—•—

Other than Colonel Gerrard, Captain Acham, Risè the pretty Twi'lek and Billy, all named characters are the property of Disney and/or LucasFilm.

Note: I am using the symbol /š/ to represent the sibilant 'sh,' so 'šš' would really be spelled 'shsh.' You will understand why in this chapter. I hope you can see the symbol on your device.

"Go With Me."

"Stay With Me."

Chapter 8

—•—

The hum of the ship went through her, from the soles of her feet, to her knees, all the way to her heart. Her heart. Her heart. Her heart had stabbed the back of her friends and all the crew. She had betrayed them. How could she have done that?

She had betrayed them all. And now, her only thought was to get off this ship, this ship where her friends were.

She had come through so much to be where she was at this time. She loved spacing ever since since she was a child. All she wanted to do was to get on a ship. To be on an actual warship was a dream beyond a dream. Her intuitiveness and initiative off of Bogden fighting slavers in ships ten times her size in her little corvette whose captain had been killed had impressed the Commodore. It was an unexpected honor to be asked to join the Plo Koon.

She also didn't expect to fall for the Commodore, but he seemed so lonely. She just didn't know until now that he was carrying a secret sadness in his heart.

Now, all she wanted was to get off the ship. An escape pod would be best, so she went up to one close by in a somewhat secluded area. However, she could see two crew members who were looking at the escape pod panel.

"Oh, Lieutenant," the soldier said as she saluted Risè, "Do you know what the problem is? All the escape pods have been de-activated."

They were on to her, she now knew. She looked at the Wookie with the woman. The Wookie just shook his head. "I'm not sure," she replied, "I will go and ask the Captain about this. This was very sudden."

"Thank you, ma'am," the woman said and the Wookie bowed. "I hope it gets fixed soon."

Risè nodded and she walked away. So, they were on to her. Well, she'll just have to bide her time. A warship cannot have those life-saving devices inactivated for very long or the crew would start to get very antsy.

Of course, she had no intention to ask Captain Acham what happened. She made as if to go to a comm station, but made a sudden detour to the rail-jet platform. She needed to get to the stern of the ship as fast as possible. There, it was less crowded and she had many places to hide while she was waiting for the escape pods to come back on line.

She knew the ship very well. From the day she was assigned, she would take trips on her time off, going to the different decks, meeting the crewmen there. Even going to the very bowels of the ship, where it was dark and very few went—only lit by the foundries and the LED lights around the Ugnaughts working them. She just wanted to be a better officer. Now, all that had been ruined.

Her only advantage at the moment was that the entire ship did not know about what happened. That she could see from the last encounter. So, she would have to play it cool and nonchalant.

She soon arrived at the rail-jet platform to take her to the engine rooms in the stern. She did play it very cool, only keeping a sharp eye out for the red-shirted security crew, who surely now knew what had happened. She just hoped there were no undercover after her yet.

There at the platform, she waited slightly off to the side, trying to cover herself behind some taller crew members. She nodded to a member of the crew who recognized her. Soon, a few more were looking at her and smiling. One came up, an older human man, and he saluted and started to talk with her.

"Hello Lieutenant. Are you out again, looking over the ship?"

"Yes, yes. You know me. I have a little free time and I just wanted to explore an area I haven't seen before."

"Would you like to join us? We are going towards the bow." He knew that Risè was close to the Commodore and could put in a good word for him, perhaps. Some of them had even started putting them together in a relationship.

"Thank you, no. I'm going somewhere different now."

"Yes, ma'am. Please visit us if you have the time."

"I will. But tell me, could I borrow your cloak? I feel a little cold."

"Yes, ma'am, please." The good man then gave her his cloak, which she quickly put around her with many thanks to the crewman. Then the rail-jet to the bow arrived and the friendly crewmen and women got on it and went towards the bow, after they said goodbye to the Lieutenant. It was the hardest thing Risè ever had to do, to keep up a good face to this honest man and these honest people.

They left the platform only to Risè. What a stroke of luck! Soon, the rail-jet for the stern arrived and there were no crew members on it, just some crates. So, she pulled the cloak around her, hiding herself and her form a little better, and she boarded the rail-jet to her next destination.

II

In the meantime, while Risè was on the run and headed towards the stern of the ship, the commanding officers were interrogating the Imperial Agent Kallus. He had come quietly and seemed ready for his fate, whatever he thought that would be. While this was going on, they had Ezra in a cell, unlocked however, for his own protection.

It wasn't long before Commander Sato and Senator Organa, in a mask and a disguise and his voice altered, were present via hologram. Lux wished Ahsoka could have been there as well. However, Lux thought to call over Hera while she was on the search for the traitress, as the Captain of the Ghost knew the agent the best. He was sure Kanan and Ahsoka could pinpoint Risè pretty quickly and Hera agreed to leave the search up to them in the meantime. The interrogation started after Hera arrived almost out of breath.

The interrogation was intense and the Senator and Hera were especially pointed. Saw was gruff, but Commodore Bonteri was detailed, bringing ends to their logical conclusions, asking what Kallus what he would do if this or that happened and if he wasn't satisfied with an answer, he would drill in harder. It lasted for a few hours, this preliminary debriefing, and it was decided to keep a close watch on Kallus and to keep him in cuffs until Kallus could be passed off to another organization.

For this, the Commodore had an idea. He was due to pick up a rebel group far from their home but conducting recon in his sector of space. His idea was that this group could take Kallus for a year to their planet. They were a tough group that brooked no opposition, so he knew if Kallus were to turn Imperial, that that time would be very short. He would have to get permission from Captain Sato and the Senator, but he knew they would approve, knowing the group as well.

When he got out of the cell with Kallus left behind, he was somewhat surprised to find that Risè had still not been located, but Ahsoka and Kanan had a good triangulation on her and were headed towards the stern of the ship with Sabine and Zeb in tow. (Rex was still guarding the Devaronian smuggler.) He then asked Hera to accompany him and the two departed for where the hunt was on the high. He looked at the information from the security team, but they had little as yet. She seemed to be hiding well, as he feared, and biding her time until the escape pods could be re-activated. That was the only way he could think of off the ship, unless she were to stowaway on a corvette or a fighter. Realizing this, he had ordered the scouts and their fighter escorts back into the ship just before the debriefing.

III

Risè soon arrived at the platform at the end of the line, close to the engineering section. She supposed the crew there had worked over their break, if they even took one, so it was quiet where she got off. She then headed for the engine rooms. She would stay away from the hot reactors, but if she could get to the fantail, it would be much cooler there.

She entered the engine room towards the starboard as if she was just looking around. This was not the first time she had entered this engine room, so the few there were not surprised. She then went up to the Chief.

"Hello, Chief. I just had some free time so I'm just looking around. Will that be all right?"

"Azzz you wiššš, lieutenant," he responded.

"Thank you, Chief." She then went past him and headed closer to the stern. She wasn't pleased by the species of these engineers. She couldn't understand why the Commodore had such a degenerate species manning the engine room. But she didn't as yet see the value of looking past how someone looked, to the inner quality of a person, or species.

She continued to meander through the engine room, seemingly just looking at the equipment and the crewmen doing their work. At the end of the large room, when no one was around, she went through the bulkhead door, and entered the fantail, where there were many crates and supplies neatly ordered. Here she could hide, keeping an eye on the escape pod on the other side of the bulkhead. Here, there was nothing between her and void of space, except for a thin plate of durasteel at the very end of the ship. It seemed a lonely place. She had chosen well a place to hide, in the humming solace of the fantail.

But what then? What would she do? She had dedicated her being to the ship and the crew and the people populating the planets, trillions of them, between Umbara and Kiros. All she had to do was escape—and her face would be plastered from between the outer rim and the inner core—and who knows what scum of bounty hunter would be after her, shooting first and asking questions after. But she would take her chance because, fortunately, they were over a peaceful and honorable planet. She knew no bounty hunters would come after her there—if only she could get away.

Unknown to Risè, those more powerful than a bounty hunter, those who could sense her every move and feeling, her every breath in fact, were after her. If only she had known that, she would have given up then, and begged mercy from the Commodore, who she knew was good man. She only hoped it wasn't that General Gerrera who found her. She knew she would have no mercy from him. (Fortunately, the Commodore ordered Masters Tano and Jarrus not to engage the traitress until he could arrive. But she didn't know that, so she still held out hope of a quick escape the moment the escape pods were re-activated.)

IV

Risè might have thought she was safe. But it was only a matter of time before she was caught. Even then, as she thought she was safe, Ahsoka and Kanan had closed their eyes, concentrated on The Force, and found her. They decided to wait until Commodore Bonteri and General Gerrera could arrive. Soon, they did, with Hera beside them. Then together, they entered the engineering area.

The Commodore first entered, talking to the Chief of Engineering. "Chief, we need to get your people out of there. Can you do this for me?"

Then a sound like hiss and slither and a squealy cry came through the door. It was a sound that set the others, or, at least, those who had dealt with Trandoshans before, especially Ahsoka, on edge. The Commodore came back through the door, soon followed by reptilian after reptilian Transdoshan coming through the same bulkhead door. Lux didn't seem fazed by the presence of the engineers. He just looked at them, and suddenly remarked, "Where's Billy?" apparently referring to a missing crew member. The Chief looked at the assembled crew and then went to the bulkhead door, letting out some quiet, high-pitched cries. It wasn't long before a younger Transdoshan came through the door.

"Ssssorrryy sssirrr. I wass jussst fluššing the bafflezzz," said young Billy, the Transdoshan. Commodore Bonteri nodded to the young crewman.

"Commodore? Very few have Trandoshans for crew members," queried Kanan, right in front of the very crew members he was talking about. They looked a little taken aback by that.

"Well," responded Commodore Bonteri, "In addition to being temperamentally and biologically suited for engineering work, Chief here has saved this ship not a few times. I fully trust my life with him." The Chief then saluted modestly and bowed at the same time, seemingly embarrassed by the accolade. "I suggest you all do the same."

"I had some very bad experiences with Trandoshans," Ahsoka interjected, "It may take some time for me." The crew members looked at her with sorrow by bowing their nozzles. The Chief was about to say something, but the Commodore interrupted him.

"Chief, later. Right now, we need to find— we need to do something. Chief, if you could, please take your crew to the mess. I'll call you when it's all clear."

"Yessssirr," said the Chief with a slight bow—and with experience enough to know how to read between the lines, but smart enough not to let on to his subordinates. He then led the rest of his crew for an unexpected, but welcome break.

After they were gone, Lux looked to Ahsoka.

"I think she's in the very back of the ship," she said, "Let's go." The two Jedi then went into the ghostly, unmanned engine room.

As soon as they entered the engine room, Hera rushed in as well before anyone could stop her. She seemed to be on a mission. Commodore Bonteri called for backup.

"Security. Send me a detail to the starboard fantail. Immediately."

"Yes, sir," came the response.

Ahsoka and Kanan entered the fantail very quietly. Ahsoka entered to the left and Kanan to the right—the better to triangulate the position of the traitress. Slowly they walked, little-by-little through the empty space, concentrating on the Force to pinpoint the girl. Suddenly, Ahsoka gave an inaudible hitch to her breath.

She found her.

But she was surprised and, as she would admit later, proud of what she sensed. It was not fear she felt; but determination. She now knew that Risè was a very brave officer.

But that didn't matter anymore. Ahsoka walked quietly towards where she sensed the Twi'lek girl. She could sense her getting her gun ready.

Back in the engine room. Commodore Bonteri ordered the escape pods back on-line. 'The better to flush her out,' he deduced.

Risè herself was surprised. How could they have found her? Then, suddenly, she saw that the escape pods were re-activated, were back online. If only she could make a break for the closest one, not a decimeter away. She got ready to rush to the close one. Then, unexpectedly, she heard a small noise to her right. No matter. Now! Make break for it!

And she just as she got ready to pounce to the closest escape pod, she felt a hard, cold ellipsis of metal against her left temple.

"Don't move!" said a voice she knew was Ahsoka's.

Risè moved her eyes, but not her head, to her left. She then saw Ahsoka, who was pushing what she rightly assumed was a lightsaber against her left temple, Ahsoka's thumb poised over the button to activate it.

"I will use this on traitors. Don't move."

Risè had heard of the weapon, and how stealthily deadly they could be. She wisely decided not to move.

"Put the gun down." Risè did so.

"Get up," Ahsoka ordered, "Very slowly." Risè did so; very, very slowly. After a short time, she stood up, with Ahsoka's lightsaber still against her head. Unfortunately for Risè, Hera, a Ryloth sister, fuming mad, came up.

Rushing up, Hera chided her, "Yes, move!" just before she hit Risè hard to the deck—a hit even harder she gave to the traitor Gall Trayvis. She almost broke, and certainly bloodied, Risè's nose.

Commodore Bonteri then came to them, looking ready to lock Hera in irons. He was followed by Captain Acham, who had taken an interest in the chase.

"Captain Syndulla. You do not assault my crew members. Stand down! Do I make myself clear?!" the Commodore said heatedly.

"Yes, Commodore," she replied still in her Ryloth accent, which she never used with outworlders. "I am sorry sir. But please understand Commodore, she has double-crossed all of what Ryloth stands for with what she has done."

"I understand," the Commodore responded quietly. "Do that again, and I'll slap you in cuffs."

In the meantime, Captain Acham, ignoring Hera, had come to Risè to help her up. As he did so, Risè felt something she had never felt, even when she was with Commodore Bonteri. As he helped her onto her feet, she looked at him fully with her eyes. She didn't take her eyes off him while he wiped her nose with a handkerchief. All the while, Captain Acham was looking sourly at Hera.

Risè felt embarrassed more than dejected at her actions now, looking at the good Captain. Now, here, before her was someone she could relate to, someone closer to her age. Someone who seemed to have feelings for her. How could she have missed this?

The security detail the Commodore asked for came up to them, ready to cuff Risè, but Lux waved them off for the meantime. He didn't see Risè as a threat anymore. But he had to know.

"Why, Risè?"

Risè only looked down for a moment. But when she looked back up, she didn't look at her commanding officer.

"Why did you leave him?" she asked straight to Ahsoka in her Ryloth accent. Now it was Ahsoka's turn to look down. "I have seen him so lonely. Command must be so lonely, and maybe, I thought, if I could help him, perhaps he could be a little more happy." She then paused a bit. "And space—space is so cold."

"And you would have made him happier? Kept him warm?" Hera asked for Ahsoka.

Risè only nodded her head. "I wished I could have, but not anymore, not anymore." (Ahsoka scrunched her eye marking together on hearing that.) She was about to say more, say how much she could see the love her Commodore had for Ahsoka, but she was interrupted by General Gerrera, leading in the former Imperial Agent, Kallus, hidden in a cloak.

"Terry, our new friend here has something to add."

"May I?" asked Kallus as he let down the hood of the cloak. This was the first time for him to see Risè in the flesh.

"Certainly," replied Commodore Bonteri.

"She didn't say everything."

"What did she leave out?" Lux asked, but Risè seemed a little anxious at Kalus's remark.

"She left out that the Empire has her parents and sister under watch. She was threatened with their death if she didn't cooperate."

There was a silence. Then the Commodore broke it very softly, "I'm sorry to hear that, Risè." Then Commodore Bonteri looked as if he was deep in thought. "I have an idea. I need to make sure of this with Commander Sato, but I think I have a place with a group for the both of you." He then turned to his lieutenant, "But Risè, I wish you would have come to me about this early on. We would have been able to get your family out."

"Yes, sir. I'm sorry, sir."

Just then, the security detail extended the cuffs for Risè, but Lux stopped them. He looked to the young woman and smiled. "That's OK for now, officer. Please take the lieutenant to the detention center. We will be there presently."

"Yes, sir," was the response. So they all left the fantail through the bulkhead door, Saw grimacing back that his friend was way too trusting.

And, suddenly, only Lux and Ahsoka were left in the open space.

V

"Thank you, Ahsoka."

"Certainly, Lux. I'm sorry this happened." Ahsoka was about to leave but Lux stopped her with his voice.

"Umm, Ahsoka?"

"Yes?"

"In the office where you bandaged me—"

"Yes?"

"I just wanted to say that there was nothing between me and Lieutenant Risè. I—"

Ahsoka's response was completely unexpected:

"Why are you telling me this?"

"I—"

"What is it to me?"

"I—"

"Do you need my permission or something to be with other women?"

Lux was silent, in a state of shock.

"You can do what you want. You don't need my OK." There was no repose from Lux. "Listen. If you want to be with other women, you don't need to come to me for the OK."

"I didn't—"

"This conversation is over. Goodbye." Ahsoka left through the gangway, disappearing with a glaring glance back at Lux, leaving him totally confused and lost. He thought he would reassure her, not make her angry. Soon, Saw came back into the fantail.

"What was that all about?" he asked, pointing with a thumb back to where Ahsoka had just disappeared.

"I— I just told her there was nothing between me and Risè."

"Terry, Terry, Terry," said Saw exasperated. "You may understand besting Thrawn, but you don't understand women."

"I—"

"Listen, whenever you are with a woman, only she matters. You do not bring up other women. Even if there was nothing between you. You got it?"

"I think so. What can I do?"

"Ahsoka probably thinks you are some weakling now, needing her permission to do this or that."

"I suppose so."

"I know so. Now, we can only hope that something will happen to get you on her better side."

"I really messed up, didn't I?"

There was growl through Saw's throat. "Let's just be patient. Something will happen. It always seems that way in this part of space."

"Thanks, Saw."

"That's what friends are for. We need to get you hitched, Terry. Maybe then, you'll start to understand women."

"Yeah," Lux said quietly.

"Mmm. I just hope I don't need to call my wife, get those pictures of the 'possibilities,' as she calls them, back ready."

Lux then smiled to his friend. Together, they went to a large, open area of the ship. They needed to make things right between the crew on the Plo Koon and Hera's crew.

—•—

Thank you for reading this. I hoped you liked it. There was little action but there were some loose ends I needed to tie up before ending this story.

I decided to end this here since it seemed a good place to leave off (another cliff-hanger?). I am also having trouble with the next section, the meeting alluded to at the end here. I need to reconcile seemingly un-reconcilable concepts, that the crew need to be told of the deaths of their friends (from the last chapter) and that the Ghost crew, which they thought were the enemy, had nothing to do with it, in addition to making it right between the two crews. I'm not a professional writer so I hope I can pull it off convincingly.

The next chapter as well ties up some loose ends. Despite the problems, I have a detailed outline and have already started writing the next chapter so it should be up shortly. Then, I promise, there is some exciting space action and Lux will use the Ghost Nebula to his advantage in the final chapters, but one.

I am still on track to finish this before the Ahsoka novel comes out, but not before Season 3 starts. Speaking of which, I need to put in some Kanera soon.

Take care,

johnt

For better or worse, I sometimes make small modifications to a story before I post the next chapter. The reason I do this is that I sometimes get reviews that make me think of small ways to make the story a little better. For the last chapter, reviews by Jake Solo and starwarshobbitfics made me think of slightly re-doing the scene where Ahsoka is bandaging Lux. (Alleluia00 I know what you mean. I'll be correcting some of that you mention before the last chapter is up.)