The Final Battle: Part 8
Ahsoka and Tanya finally reached the elevator, Doctor Caust in tow. Ahsoka immediately began pressing the elevator button rapidly, as though trying to get the elevator to move faster. "Ahsoka, you do know that isn't going to do anything, right?" Tanya inquired.
"Do you have a better idea?" Ahsoka responded, continuing to press the button. Tanya sighed and turned to Doctor Caust.
"Why exactly were you working at this scout station, Doctor?"
Doctor Caust made an impatient noise and retorted, "I don't have to tell you anything, Jedi."
Tanya rolled her eyes at the doctor's reply. "Fine. I'm sorry for trying to ask a simple question," Tanya apologized. "You know, you were never like this before the war."
The doctor breathed deeply. "People change with the times, as you well know, young one."
"Perhaps, but I think it's more about the people you work for, doctor."
The doctor rolled his eyes in reply. "If you must know, I was gathering information about different environments. The more I know about different environments, the more effective my experiments will be."
"And by effective, you mean deadly," Tanya clarified.
"Whatever keeps the Seperatists supporting me," Doctor Caust explained.
"Finally," Ahsoka cried when the elevator arrived. The door slid open and Tanya pushed the Doctor inside in front of them. She punched the button to the first floor and the elevator began to descend. The trio stood in an awkward silence, interrupted only by the sounds of the battle outside. Until-
BOOM!
The elevator shook with the blast of the explosion.
"What was that?" Ahsoka asked, getting up from the floor of the elevator. Tanya opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by the sound of broken machinery and creaking metal above. Suddenly, the world seemed to fall out from under their feet, as the elevator plunged down the shaft.
The elevator's falling! Tanya exclaimed to Ahsoka through the Force.
What should we do? Ahsoka asked.
Follow my lead! Tanya stood up slowly, using the Force to balance herself, and activated her green lightsaber. Carefully, she cut a hole in the roof and jumped up out of it. Ahsoka followed her and they pulled Doctor Caust out behind them. Tanya took a grappling hook out of her belt and threw it into the shaft. Tanya, Ahsoka, and the doctor grabbed onto the line and held on for dear life when they were pulled off of the elevator, hanging by the line. The elevator continued to fall, until it hit the bottom of the shaft, exploding into a fiery inferno. Tanya let out a huge breath and released the rest of the line, allowing them to descend toward an exit. When they reached an exit, Tanya cut a hole in the door, kicked the metal inside, and swung through the hole. Ahsoka followed, and the doctor came through after them, all of them gasping for breath.
"That...was...terrifying," Ahsoka gasped. "How...do...you...do...that?"
"What?" Tanya questioned.
"Make those...plans...all of ...a sudden," Ahsoka cleared up.
"I don't know...instincts, I guess," Tanya said. "Well, we should contact the others. Barriss, Master Li, do you read me? We have the information and have captured Doctor Caust. Were should we meet you?" Tanya said into her communicator.
"Yes, we read you, Tanya," came Master Li's voice. "We've set the bombs on the shield generators but we can't reach the main reactors. They're too heavily guarded."
"I suggest that you fall back then, Master," Tanya advised. "If the shields are down, then the station is practically defenseless. Also, this station was built for defense, not offense, so if we take out their main defense-"
"We have a better chance of taking offense," Ahsoka finished.
"An excellent strategy, padawan," Master Li complimented. "We'll fall back and meet you in the main hanger. May the Force be with you."
"And with you, Master." Tanya deactivated her comm. and turned to Ahsoka. "Well, if we're going to get to the hanger, we need to find out where we are and where the hanger is. Do you think you can find out the locations?"
"Sure," Ahsoka answered. She hacked into the computer and found a holomap of the station.
"We are here," Ahsoka stated, pointing to a hall near the main elevator. "The hanger is here," she noted, motioning to the main hanger, which was only a few halls away.
"Then let's get moving," Tanya told them. "Time for us to be in the thick of things, just like you wanted."