Chapter IV

Ahsoka quickly moves into the alley that separates Jarvana's and a droid repair shop. She hugs the wall of the hotels neighboring building and looks into the street. Her morning escape from Tunka City is so far not going as planned, then again nothing ever does.

Standing on the opposite side of the street is the man from the cantina. Ahsoka carefully looks around for his partners and she sees Zallar, the Thakwaash, standing in the doorway of an apartment building. Ahsoka looks through the crowd of Thakwaash and off worlders on her side of the street and sees the woman and Rodian standing next to a market vendors stand.

Ahsoka hears the familiar hum of tank engines coming from behind her, the same engines she heard last night. Indeed the morning patrol was coming straight towards her, straight towards the apparent insurgents.

A small heap of sand in the middle of the road catches Ahsoka's attention. When a gust of wind blows some of the sand over, it reveals a strange metallic shape under it. Callan's got landmines. Anti personnel landmines, the woman's voice echoes in Ahsoka's head.

Three Stormtroopers walking in front of the first tank with a commander taking lead get closer to the landmine. The commander steps onto the mines face that's still partially hidden in the sand, and in seconds the mine the explodes. The blast shoots to the sky, engulfing the commander in sand and shrapnel cuts through the two adjacent troopers armor before throwing them to the side. The street becomes chaotic as bystanders scream and try to run, the insurgents push through the terrified crowd with their blasters out and open up onto the patrol.

The woman hits one Stormtrooper as the Rodian plants a grenade under the first tank. The grenade explodes and the tank is violently thrown upward, while at the same time, cuts down a trooper on the opposite side of the street. The blast disrupts the tank's levitation router causing it to crash back down onto the street.

From the rear of the convoy - and the last operating tank - two Stormtroopers hurry outside to engage the insurgents. The remaining Stormtroopers take cover around the tank and continue to defend the last tank.

Ahsoka suddenly sees the tanks turret move and aim it's main gun at the woman and Rodian who are taking shelter behind the vendor's stand. Ahsoka feels the Force between her and the tank, it grows stronger and stronger, it begs Ahsoka to reach out for it. It's a feeling she has desperately tried to resist in the past. The last time she released it was on Raada when she used the Force to prevent Stormtroopers from executing Keaden and herself.

Ahsoka closes her eyes and focuses on the turret, she feels it, and starts to move it.

The tanks gunner cries "What the?" bewildered by the apparent malfunction. Ahsoka forcefully points the gun down at the tanks cockpit. She squeezes her hand and the cannon discharges with a loud bang, the tank erupts in flames. The force of the shot stirs up a cloud of sand that fills the street, red blaster bolts fly through the cloud and strike the remaining Stormtroopers.

Ahsoka can see the silhouette of a male figure climbing on top of the tank. He holds a blaster in the air and she recognizes the man's voice calling out to the populous, "Take up your arms! Rebel against the Empire!"

As much as Ahsoka wants to approach the insurgents and talk to them about joining Bail's Rebellion, she has exceeded her welcome on Thakwaa. She stole an Imperial officers code cylinder and used the Force to destroy a tank, she only hopes no one saw her. Ahsoka turns around to find another way out of the city and to her ship, only to find a blaster bing pointed right at her.

Lieutenant Dalmer hurries to Thrawn's study. He knocks frantically on the door into his quarters. The run from the bridge has left him out of breath, he can barely give his name as he request to enter. The door opens and Dalmer hurries in to solute the Grand Admiral who is calmly sitting at his desk and observing one of his treasured artworks.

Dalmer pants, "Grand Admiral, the insurgents on Thakwaa have assaulted a patrol in Tunka City. Just as you predicted."

Without taking his eyes away from the art, Thrawn cooly says, "Good. Deploy TIE fighters with orders to bombard everything within a two hundred yard radius of the assault location."
"Yes, Grand Admiral."

Dalmer solutes and turns to leave when Thrawn stops him, "And Lieutenant. Ready my shuttle."

The masked man doesn't take his blaster off Ahsoka. She looks behind her to see Zallar, the Rodian, and the man holding their blasters up to her.

"Hands in the air." Ahsoka hears the woman demand from behind.

Ahsoka does as she says not wanting to start any more trouble than she may already be in. She can't attack them and make her escape; she might at least mortally wound a couple of them, but she would be blasted in the seconds. Besides, her values adapted from the Jedi restrain her from doing so.

Ahsoka feels the woman walk up from behind her, then feels her blaster being pushed into her lower back. "Move and you're dead." she taunts as she steps around Ahsoka, not once pulling the blaster away from Ahsoka's body.

The woman gets in front of Ahsoka and pushes the blaster hard into her stomach. With her free hand she takes Ahsoka's blaster and clips it to her belt. She steps back and Ahsoka gets a better look at her. Her attire is the same as it was the last three nights at the cantina. Her hair is black and pulled back behind her head, and her eyes are stern and gray. Her facial features are sharp and thin, she is very pretty if one can overlook the long scar running down the left side of her face.

She orders Ahsoka, "Your bag. Open it and hold it out. Reach for anything inside of it-"

"And I'm dead. Got it." Ahsoka mocks.

The woman glares at her, "Open it." she demands.

Ahsoka takes the cloth bag and opens it. She holds the flap up then holds it out as told. The woman looks inside the bag to find what was left of Ashoka's credits after paying Javana and the holopad and voice dilator. Ahsoka managed to hide the code cylinder in her right boot.

"Just some credits and a holopad." the woman says.

She hears the man demand, "What were you doing following us in the cantina?"

"She's a spy." the woman states, "How else would she know we were here?"

"Because if she knew she would have alert the Empire." The new group member says. "Now, what is your name and why have you been watching us?" He calmly asks Ashoka.

Ahsoka remembers what happened last time she lied about her name. But she doesn't know very much about these people and doesn't want to risk exposing Fulcrum, so she lies. "Ashla." she lies, "My name is Ashla. I have been watching you the past few days because I am interested in what you are doing to fight the Empire. I am considering joining your cause, do you have any openings?"

"That's something to decide back at-"

"TIE fighters incoming!" Zallar interrupts.

The group looks out into the street and sees groups of shining black hexagons of TIE fighter wings circling around the city and coming straight at them.

"Everyone back to base!" the mystery man orders. He runs up to Ahsoka and grabs her arm. "Looks like you're coming with us, Ashla."

The group runs out into the street with a TIE fighter moving quickly at them from behind. Ahsoka follows them closely, the cape of her robe flapping behind her. The TIE fighters screaming thrusters get louder as it gets closer. Suddenly the deafening sound of it's laser cannons echo through the city. A precise line of green lasers strike the road in sequence. Mounds of earth and clouds of sand fly into the air with each lasers impact.

People hurry out of the buildings to their left as another fighter flies low and turns the block into rubble. The group pushes through the crowd of panicked civilians before turning right down another street. The end of the street opens up into the plains, their escape guarded by two Stormtroopers. Zallar lets out a cry as he shoots the troopers at point blank. They run into the plains tallgrass right as another TIE fighter makes another pass, it screams low over their heads.

For a hundred yards they run before reaching a brush of trees. Behind the trees, three speeders covered by a camouflage netting sit idly by for them. Zallar and the Rodian quickly take off the netting and stuff it into one of the speeders. Once the camouflage is away, they mount two to a speeder. Ahsoka moves to get on with the new guy, but the woman pushes through her to get on the speeder before her. She gives a cunning little glare at Ahsoka as the last speeder available is with Zallar.

Ahsoka gets on the speeder behind Zallar. She tries to ignore the faint smell of motor oil and body odor in his brown hair.

He grumbles, "Hold onto me tight, we're going to make a quick get away!"

Ahsoka wraps her arms around Zallars waist and rests her head on his back - again trying to ignore the smell. The speeders take off into the plains. She looks back at the city to see the TIE fighters make their final run on the city. Flames climb up what remains of the buildings and black smoke fills the sky. Ahsoka can't help but think about what happened on Raada, and now Thakwaa. Ahsoka can't help but think that wherever she goes, the Empire and destruction seems to follow.