Chapter 8

Judgment

With a grunted 'Gyaa!', Ahsoka Tano kicked off from the wall she had been clinging on to and flipped effortlessly backwards across the cave. She landed hard on a kinrath, practically squashing it against the hard rock floor, then leapt again, kicking a second kinrath as she flipped. She landed between her two friends, and with a powerful kinetic blast of Force energy, she sent the kinrath in front of her flying backwards towards their matriarch.

Jyssa fired several more blasts into the mass of kinrath between them and the door. "This doesn't look good!"

The kinrath were climbing up the walls, surrounding them. Arc's blaster clicked, and stopped humming. It was fully charged and ready for more. But the caves were spewing out more. Far more than both pistols could take out without having to recharge or put in a new power pack.

Ahsoka closed her eyes. She knew what had to be done. There was no way to get her crystal and save her friends. She reached out to the squealing and chittering mass of kinrath and touched their minds.

A flash of confusing thoughts, simple, but overwhelming in their strength and numbers, almost overloaded her mind.

Attack defend attack defend bite call for help bite attack protect protect eggs defend

With an amount of focus and effort that would have been impossible before her time as Anakin Skywalker's padawan learner, she turned their thoughts. In her mind, she pictured a lance made of pure thought, piercing the primitive ganglia that translated complex pheromones into simple thoughts and overriding the signal. At once, the kinrath stopped screaming and clacking. One by one, they backed away, leaving a several feet of space around the three humanoids.

"I don't know... how long... I can hold it..." Ahsoka had her eyes closed and her hands splayed on either side of her. Her voice didn't show signs of strain, but rather of deep concentration. "We have to... go... now..."

"Jyssa, grab her belt and pull her along. She won't be able to concentrate on where she's going in this state," said Arc as he slowly started walking towards the exit. Lacking a smart comment, she shoved her glow rod into her pocket and grabbed Ahsoka's belt, still holding her pistol in her right. Arc strode forward, slowly but confidently. The kinrath parted around the group, seeming to keep at least two meters away from Ahsoka at all times.

Two turns of the corridor later, and Ahsoka dropped her hands. She collapsed to her knees, suddenly dizzy. "Whoa... I had trouble breaking away there. I think I got entangled in their thoughts or... something."

Without warning, she bent over and gagged. Arc stood guard, keeping his pistol trained in the direction they came from in case of attack, while Jyssa knelt down and put a hand on Ahsoka's back.

"I'm okay... I just... erp... sorry. I had to tap into a primitive part of their brain. And I guess when I went back to just my own brain it jumbled up some of my... oh stang..." Jyssa patted Ahsoka's shoulder while she dry heaved a few times. A moment later, she stopped and breathed heavily. "I'm okay. Honest. Just gotta reset my brain back to Togruta mode, I guess. Some of my nervous signals got screwed up. That's never happened before."

"Have you ever tried that before?" Jyssa asked as she squeezed Ahsoka's shoulder.

"I've used the Force to calm animals and people before. I don't think I've ever actually tapped into something's nervous system before. Especially not something as primitive and vicious as a kinrath." Ahsoka coughed a few times. "And I've definitely never tried it on that many at once."

She stood up, shaken, but the dry heaves seemed to have gone. "There's still dozens back that way. I don't think there's any safe way to get that crystal. If I already had a lightsaber, it would be a breeze." She paused and cocked her head. "Huh. I can't feel the crystal anymore. Whoa..."

She swayed and stumbled. Jyssa tried to catch her, but completely missed. Ahsoka fell, and there was a loud crunch. Jyssa flinched, and said, "Sorry... I missed you. Again."

"That's okay, it wasn't me that broke." Ahsoka looked at the broken bits of rock she'd landed on. She tore off a few chunks, and realized that it wasn't a solid piece of stone. "Hey... this is hollow. I think it's a cluster of fossilized kinrath eggs..."

"Those look ancient." Jyssa shone her glow rod at the odd rock formation.

"I think they are. Wow... um... guys... I think I may have found something." Ahsoka reached into the broken rock and pulled out a crystal. Then another. Then another.

"You're kriffing kidding me. Seriously? We walked right by this? Into the jaws of those things? Grife!"

"Apparently," said Ahsoka as she pulled out a few more crystals. "We should get out into the light so I can actually see what these are."

Arc pointed behind him, towards the other two. "The way out is that way. I don't hear any more kinrath coming our way, but I suggest we double time it just to be safe."

"No arguments here," Jyssa said, as she held out a hand to Ahsoka. Ahsoka dropped the gems into a belt pouch and grabbed Jyssa's hand. Jyssa pulled her back up to her feet, and Ahsoka swayed for a moment.

"I'm good to go."

"You're still a little unsteady. Maybe we shouldn't do that double time thing," said Jyssa.

"I said I'm good to go. Trust me." Ahsoka started jogging in the direction Arc had pointed.

"Whatever you say, kid," replied Jyssa as she followed. Arc trailed behind, keeping an ear out for the sounds of any following feet. A few minutes later they found themselves passing the body in armor they'd found. And a few turns later, they were back in the ancient campsite. After what seemed like hours exploring the dark caves, it only took a few moments to find their way out into the sunlight.

Ahsoka poured the gems out of her pouch into her hand. Now that her mind was back in order and she didn't feel like she was going to throw up, it was easy to concentrate. "Two of these are lightsaber crystals. But I think... it feels like these other two"–she said as she pointed to an orange and light violet one– "look like they're actually secondary crystals. Which means that these last two are up for sale, if you want them."

Ahsoka slipped the four lightsaber crystals back into her pouch, and held the other two up to the light. "This one looks like an Ankaran sapphire. And this one..."

Jyssa's eyes went wide. "Is that what I think it is?"

"Nope. Not a diamond. Still, it's the biggest Kubaz zirconia I've ever seen in my life. It's still going to be worth a lot, even if it's not quite a fortune. I think the sapphire is payment to you. For everything."

"Ahsoka, you're the best damn guard and mechanic I've had on board my ship for years, and the second best pilot and gunner after me. You don't owe me a... ah grife." She snatched the bright blue stone. "I guess I can accept it."

The young Togruta grinned, and turned to Arc. "And this is for you."

"I don't even know what to do with this kind of payment." He looked genuinely confused.

"Maybe not, but a stone like this is valuable to anyone who works with semiconductors. It'll be an easy trade for a cybernetic arm that's high tech enough for you to be able to contact juggle some day."

"Grife," said Arc, looking at the stone, "you really know how to give a down on his luck clone a hand when he needs it."

"Hey, language!" Jyssa interjected. "You're only thirteen, you shouldn't be talking like that."