A/N: Two more chapters! Wow, where has the time gone? At the end I finally get to use a Tumblr trope that I've been thinking about for months!
Next time: Three unforgettable duels. Someone gets their final revenge.
Through the Daybreak
Part Eight
It takes less than a minute for the lieutenants on duty to send a reconnaissance team equipped with blasters to investigate the failed transmission, and less than three for the Ghost crew to be shaken from their beds.
Hera is the first to arrive, followed by Kanan, who is still struggling into his armor. They'd just barely dozed off in their shared quarters when the alarm sounded, and she'd nearly crushed him in her efforts to climb over him and reach the closet. Kanan was mere moments in a dream about flashes of red in the darkness...seething rage...the screaming of his apprentice…
"They're never going to make it back," Hera says grimly, referring to the recently departed patrol. She didn't have to be force sensitive to feel the tension in the air.
Ahsoka is next to arrive, a little unsteady on her feet. She'd long since adjusted her balance to the missing montral, but her leg brace had only come off in the past few weeks. Crossing the room with several broad strides, she removes the sabers from the crook of her arm and stows them in the holsters on opposite sides of her hips. "Status on Phoenix Home?"
The wide eyed lieutenant-Snayder, Kanan thinks-glances down at his console. "Twenty-eight hours."
"Better have them push it," Zeb remarks, emerging from the corridor with Rex in tow. The expression the young man gives them lets them all know that he's already asked them to do just that, and he was terrified of dying at the hands of these intruders.
She sighs, squaring her shoulders and preparing to dole out orders. A quick glance to Kanan confirms that he's thinking the same thing. "We'll wipe them out with one swift attack. Saneetra is vulnerable and can be taken down more easily than last time. Kanan, Ahsoka, and Ezra will accompany me to the border. Rex and Zeb, we need you to stay here and guard the base with the pilots. Keep an eye out just in case they have reinforcements coming."
The lasat and the clone appear somewhat dismayed to be taken out of their first real firefight in months, but nod smartly. Ezra scrambles in and almost slips, only to have Zeb grab hold of his collar and pull him to his feet. He's breathing hard, struggling to get the words out.
"She wants to come with us," he gasps, doubling over. "I told her she can't, it's impossible, but-"
None had to ask who he referred to, for in the next moment Sabine made an appearance, dressed in her civilian clothes with a blaster in one hand. "I'm coming with you," she declares with such frightening conviction that for a second no one wants to correct her.
"Out of the question," Hera says, "You haven't healed. You'll be staying on the Ghost."
The fingers on her free hand clench and unclench as she processes this. Her reply is plaintive: "Please, mom. She's taken away my life. I have to-I've got to-"
"I'm not going to watch you die!" Captain Syndulla exclaims, her voice an octave higher than normal. The background chatter all but dies in the room; even the Rodian attendant stops his warbling. Sabine steps back; she can feel the emotion in her voice. Finally, she bridges the gap between them, drawing her daughter into her arms. Through the network of the girl's fingers on her lips, she continues, "This is about keeping you safe. I'm sorry, Sabine, but you're not coming with us."
"She's not, but I am." Having something to prove, Ketsu materializes seemingly out of nowhere, stepping over the threshold and relieving her friend of the blaster.
The bounty hunter ignored the incredulous look from Ezra and made direct eye contact with Kanan, whose expression was mercifully blank. "I've got a score to settle."
-0-
The procession of the three speeders across the desert is completely silent. They roar towards the eastern border with Kanan in the lead, his lightsaber held aloft like a lantern to the night. Ezra sits behind him, his hands wrapped around his waist for stability. They don't even need to discuss it-he can sense the boy's unease, and feel his shaking.
He doesn't blame the boy. The closer they grew to confrontation, the more the space behind his cybernetics throbbed, recalling a moment when nothing had been there at all. His mind was working a mile a minute. Every part of him wanted to end this once and for all, striking down Saneetra where she stood. But this was not the jedi way, and seeking revenge had never been his personal philosophy. Right now, his first priority would be to protect his family...or so he kept telling himself.
Two vertical beams of light cut through the darkness. They arrived in visual range just in time for Maul to cut down the last of their patrol. Spinning on his heels, he reached out with one hand, fingers twitching minutely.
Ketsu's speeder suddenly increases speed, the engine working overtime to keep up. Before any of them can react, it lurches sideways, sending itself and its occupant careening across the sand. Tucking her arms into her torso, the bounty hunter tries to get out of the way of the rolling speeder, but is unfortunately pulled underneath it by another flick of the Dathomirian's wrist.
Ahsoka doesn't even wait for Hera to stop the vehicle. She runs a few steps before dropping to her knees, unsheathing both sabers, and rising into flawless Form V starting position. "Maul!" The togruta shouts, issuing a personal challenge.
For the most part he ignores this, instead focusing on the young man dismounting the speeder. "Ah, my apprentice has arrived."
Ezra takes in the sight of the older man, bent over and haggard yet drunk with misused power. The idea of abandoning his father is simply appalling to him; he couldn't believe there was ever a time he considered joining the dark side. He has to step over several fallen pilots to reach him, activating his saber as he goes. Assuming the defensive position, he all but backs up to Ahsoka. "I'll die before I become your apprentice."
"That can be arranged," Maul replies, and charges.
In the meantime Hera runs over to their fallen companion, who is breathing through clenched teeth to keep from crying out. With the sum of their strength, the women manage to push the speeder to one side, forming a makeshift shield. This time Ketsu actually does release a howl of pain, which is quickly strangled off by biting her lip. "Are you alright?" Hera asks, somewhat rhetorically.
"My leg," she gasps. Her armor from hip to feet appears to have been crushed like a piece of paper; there was little doubt that something was broken. Above their heads, Ezra cries out as Maul swipes him across the face, leaving a criss-crossed addition to the scars already there. Without another word, Hera pulls Ketsu into a sitting position and places a blaster in her hand. The two women make eye contact, concern turning into steely resolve.
Seeing as Ezra and Ahsoka are otherwise engaged, Kanan draws his saber and steps toward the second cloaked figure. Her stature, the way she carries herself, still reminds him so much of Depa. But then Saneetra turns to face him.
One side of her face is mangled beyond recognition, half-healed scars leading into an empty eye socket and a permanent scowl. The Lesser Mark of Illumination still stands out on the bridge of her nose, what's left of her hair pulled back into looped Chalactan braids. As he watches, she lifts her saber and activates the spin, creating a circle of light in the air.
"How did you find us here?" He demands.
Out of the corner of his eye, Ezra narrowly avoids decapitation at the hands of Maul, bending backward nearly in half to dodge his blow. Ahsoka lunges between them, disrupting his balance and causing both to stumble outside the circle of the barricade.
"You're not the only ones who can access the security footage on that base," she answers, nonchalantly deflecting a volley of blaster fire from the two women huddled behind the speeder.
Kanan holds up a hand, urging them to stop. One perfectly aimed reciprocation could blow them to high heaven. In the heat of the moment, though, he didn't blame them for trying. "Your actions almost killed an innocent girl."
Their blades lock in the next instant, each bearing down for dominance.
"Consider it collateral damage. It drew you out of hiding, did it not?"
With one foot, he spins out of the deadlock and aims for her lower body. She jumps, bringing her knees to her chest. "Why bother with my daughter? I'm your target, Saneetra."
"The woman known as Saneetra Billaba has gone away," she corrected, "You may call me New Seeker. And you're the only thing standing between me and retribution."
Arguing with her was futile. Whatever he said, she was to continue thinking that the jedi caused her mother's murder and her own unhappiness. Kanan swings again, carving a little nick through her black jumpsuit just above the hip. "How would Sar react if she knew you joined the enemy?" Bringing up her mother was fine and good, a legitimate way to get her thoughts off the battle.
New Seeker falters, allowing him to get another jab to her side in. Holding her flank with one hand and lunging, she barely misses his neck. "How would Depa feel about you taking a twi'lek whore to bed?"
He has to pause momentarily to reign in his anger. It started as a fire burning in the pits of his stomach, giving rise to clenched teeth and slitted eyes. Kanan's cybernetics are impossibly wide as he tracks her position in the near darkness. His apprentice briefly glances over his shoulder, having heard this comment, and takes a step towards them.
In the next moment Kanan strikes again, going on the offensive through intermittent blaster fire. Just out of audible range, Hera leans back and takes her finger off the trigger.
"They're moving too fast," she mutters, concerned that with the rapid changes in position she'd strike one of their own. Glancing over at Ketsu, she's shocked to discover that her companion is fighting to keep consciousness amidst the severe pain she's in. Hera squeezes her arm and urges her to stay awake.
Something occurs to her in that moment. Even though the beacons are deactivated, the wildlife had yet to make an appearance. Just where were all the krykna?
Her question is soon answered in the form of a low rumbling underneath their feet. It grows louder and louder until it is almost deafening, and then the ground opens up underneath Ahsoka.
The togruta falls through the growing rift, which quickly swallows up Ezra and Maul. This is just the distraction New Seeker needs to deal a nearly fatal blow to Kanan, who falls backward and strikes his head on a rocky outcropping. His saber tumbles from his hand, rolling away before coming to a stop.
Hera is up in an instant, jumping over her fallen pilots to reach them. Saneetra pays her no mind, creeping forward with weapon held aloft. It's just the opportunity she's been waiting for; her target lays unconscious at her feet. Bending over, she prepares to sink the saber deep into his chest…
And is taken by surprise as a saber just misses the curve of her ear. It's a wild swing, one made by an unpracticed hand. Rising to her feet, she finds that Hera has collected the light saber and is holding onto it for dear life with both hands.
It's heavier than Kanan's graceful style of combat would have lead her to believe. But it inexplicably fits her grasp. Energy travels from the base along her upper body, setting her skin to tingle. She may not be force sensitive, but she sure knew how to handle a weapon. Hera widens her stance and lifts the saber. The look in her eye says something unmistakeable.
Bring it on.
(to be continued)