Chapter 13

"And what is your mission, Ma'am?" Rex asked.

Ahsoka answered without hesitation and outlined what had transpired on the planet and what she intended to do. She glanced back to where Chewbacca was removing datachips from the various computers before turning back to her old Clone Commander.

"Rex, we have about a minute or two before the Imps come crashing in through that door, so we better get out of here before doing a proper reunion."

"Yes, Ma'am." Rex replied with a grin. "This way. Eleven, Twelve, you take the rear. The rest, with me."

Ahsoka noted that before they moved, they all disabled the tracking devices in their helmets. Another point for them.

She followed them as Rex led them down a side corridor and away from the trash compactor she had entered through.

Are you certain we can trust them?

Even as she followed the former Stormtroopers, she chuckled. "No. But Rex trusts them, and I trust him. We went through a lot together during the war."

As if to emphasise her point, a pair of stormtroopers came around the corner, but before they could do more than stare at them for a few seconds, Rex and his point men had shot them in the chest. He led the group into a narrow passage that only allowed them to walk single-file. He was taking point with Ahsoka right behind him. Ahsoka recognized it as an old utility tunnel, even though it had probably not been used since the compound had been built.

"This leads us to the slave pens, Commander."

"Will there be a guard on the other side?" she asked.

"Only two. We discovered this access when we... they attacked. Some animal came running out of it. It was judged as too narrow so they didn't use it."

It was then that Chewbacca spoke.

None of the clones could understand him, so they were surprised when Ahsoka nearly tripped over her own two feet.

"You did WHAT?"

He repeated.

Ahsoka sighed and then urged them all to move even faster. "He set a timer on the slaver's power core. We have twenty minutes before the damn thing explodes."

"So how were you going to save the slaves?" Rex asked, and Ahsoka couldn't help a grin when she heard his reply.

"He says that if you hadn't interrupted him, he wouldn't be in a hurry now."

Rex chuckled and Ahsoka could almost see the smirk on his face through the armour of his helmet and the back of his head.

They needn't have bothered.

When they emerged from the tunnel, they were confronted by two stormtroopers who immediately opened fire. Their shots went wide, the bolts fired by Rex and his pointman did not. They both displayed the expert marksmanship.

But it was too late. The last shipment of slaves had been brought in by the original owners of the site even as both groups of attackers approached, but all they could see was the last few of them being herded aboard a shuttle. Chewbacca was about to move towards the shuttle even as it took off, but most of the Stormtroopers were assembling in the same area, presumably awaiting transport to withdraw. He was so enraged that he clearly contemplated charging against them anyway, but thought better of it.

The stormtroopers instantly opened fire. True to form, Rex and his men took cover behind whatever was available. Ahsoka and Chewbacca on the other hand remained out in the open, the Jedi parring shots with her sabre and the Wookie picking of one stormtrooper after another.

But everyone involved knew that they couldn't afford to be drawn into a long fight here. Paqua was nowhere to be seen but Ahsoka was certain that she would have to face the Sith again before leaving this planet. Right now however...

It was Rex that broke the moment. "We need to fall back, Ma'am!"

"I know!" Ahsoka yelled, trying to be heard over the din of battle around them. "We need transport too, I hadn't expected so many passengers!"

Rex only nodded and changed a few words with his men over the comms built into their helmets. Ahsoka knew better than to expect him to use anything other than a channel that was safe enough for tactical communications.

One after another the clones fell back towards the nearby perimeter of the compound until only Ahsoka, Chewbacca and Rex remained. They needed to get away from them, so Ahsoka reached out into the force and generated a moderately strong Force Wave attack. The skill she had been taught by what the old Order had seen as Grey Jedi, most of whom she knew were dead, worked best in confined spaces, not out in the open. The distance was also a bit long for the Force Wave, but in this instance the combat technique was only meant to distract the Imps.

In that it worked perfectly. Even at this distance and with the effect dispersing into the open air, most of the stormtroopers were still thrown to the ground. This allowed her, Chewbacca and Rex to flee, with Rex taking the lead. At this point she was beyond surprise when the clone led them to low building she had seen the speeders delivering the slaves disappear into.

On the inside the rest of the rebellious clones had already 'requisitioned' a freight speeder that would be able to take them all.

"Chewbacca?" she asked.

I will help you, Jedi. the Wookie replied, I gave my word, so I will help you find the Rebels.

Ahsoka only nodded and watched him climb into the speeder.

With Rex at the helm they managed to break through the apparent confusion that reigned outside without taking more than a handful of shots. Apparently the Imperials had discovered Chewbacca's tampering and were now in a frantic evacuation. Still no sign of Paqua.

And no pursuit either. This was too easy; she should have to assume that they were being tracked in some fashion.

She wouldn't know until some time later that Paqua was sitting in her shuttle, smiling thinly at the thought of Ahsoka Tano doing her work for her.

Minutes after leaving the compound behind they could all hear the thundering explosion as the power core failed. It did nothing to ease the tension Ahsoka felt at their apparent easy escape, but it prompted Rex to speak to her for the first time since he had taken the driver's seat. Now that he was without his helmet, Ahsoka could study the familiar features. Like all clones he'd aged faster than a normal human, but he was still pretty much the same person she'd fought alongside during the war.

"I'm sorry, Rex. You were saying?"

"I said that back there... it felt like the old days, Commander."

"Yes..." she replied with a sigh.

"All that was missing was the General doing something reckless."

He glanced at her for a moment without saying anything. Ahsoka heard the unspoken question.

"Oh he's fine, Rex."

"So you've spoken to him since the war?"

"Him and... a few others."

"So you ran into them?"

"Just before Order 66. And I've since rejoined the Order." Ahsoka said nothing more and instead stared out at the passing landscape.

She put her mind to the matter at hand. First they needed to get rid of this speeder, the get alternate transport that wasn't as easily traced then go to...

"Chewbacca? Where exactly are the Rebels?"

Half a local day later, a strange procession could be seen working its way through the wooded foothills of the eastern mountains. It was led by a hooded figure, a wookie and a stromtrooper, with several more troopers following behind.

The only observer that there was not inclined to be appreciative of the view. As one of the rebels Ahsoka was seeking, the human woman was more inclined to open fire, but her orders were strict. The Master could be a pain in the posterior, but she had kept them all alive for years now.

What was really odd was not only that the wookie wasn't a prisoner but also that it was only such a small group. True, they still outnumbered those that were left now, but with the advantage of position...

So she called it in and moved back to where the rest of the group was waiting.

The Jedi Master was there with the rest of them, and she asked the first question. The scout gave her report, and the Jedi Master instantly sprang to her feet and had the group assume positions. The ambush had been planned long ago, as the spot chosen was the best one on the only passable track that led to the area where they had their base. They had expected raiders, slavers and other assorted local criminals to come up the trail, not the Empire. They would just drop out of the sky and leave again after having razed whatever target had drawn their wrath. Yet these were coming up the most obvious route, on foot, and in a group far too small to ensure success. But the Jedi Master had never been someone to look a gifted Bantha in the mouth, not that she had much of a choice in this case.

Once at the site, they all took long since rehearsed positions and waited.

Twelve minutes later their weapons were aimed down the track as the group approached. The hooded figure in front raised a gloved hand and they all stopped, the stormtroopers covering their surroundings. They were too far away for the rebels to hear what they were saying, but the Wookie and the lead stormtrooper seemed to disagree with her about something. But the figure stepped forward into the stretch of sunken path where the rebels lay in wait. Once there, the figure reached up and removed the hood, revealing an orange and white face that the Jedi Master knew only too well. She blasted herself for not recognizing the presence earlier or even really looking for it, but now.. what was Tano doing with the Empire?

And with that, Jedi Master Luminara Unduli used the Force to jump out, activating her lightsabre in mid-air.

tbc

Rex and his people have turned from Stormies back into Republic Clone Troopers, so of course they can shoot straight again.

I'm not happy with the pacing of this chapter, but I couldn't think of a better way to get it where it ended. It's also too short but as stated above, I had serious pacing issues.