As the assassin droid malfunctioned and crumpled at her feet, Ahsoka locked eyes with the bounty hunter that was now standing on the balcony above. The figure had another blaster leveled at her.
"I would drop the saber if I were you, Lady Tano," a female voice said from under the bounty hunter's many wrappings. Ahsoka couldn't tell what species they were, but their frame indicated something humanoid. Underneath their cloak they seemed thick enough that Ahsoka would have a hard time barreling past them.
"You've been following me, you know what I'm still capable of even when unarmed," Ahsoka growled, barring her sharp canines. She wouldn't be taken like this.
There was a slight jovial tenor in the bounty hunter's reply. "Yes, but I certainly would feel more at ease if you dropped it." They leaned forward on the railing, and their voice hardened. "Drop. The saber."
Ahsoka sized up the weapon in the bounty hunter's hands. A pulse rifle of some sort. She couldn't place the model. It looked powerful enough to get the job done. Ahsoka tossed her lightsaber aside. It clattered to the ground somewhere behind her; better to feign compliance in order to get into a more favorable position. She would get it back before her escape.
"Thank you for your cooperation, Lady Tano. Your delivery to the empire will be nice and easy. I promise I'm not cruel," the bounty hunter shrugged. The carefree attitude had returned. "This is purely a business transaction."
"Yeah, I'm sure you're the one bounty hunter in imperial space with honor," Ahsoka scoffed. She found the easy-going attitude more annoying than anything else, she would have preferred another droid. "How much is my bounty this time, anyway?"
"Four hundred thousand alive," The bounty hunter brought a datachit out from a side pocket, displaying the floating hologram to the togruta. "Not many of your kind left, especially not on Coruscant. Bounty for them has been on the rise. Scarcity and all, of course."
"Of course," Ahsoka grit her teeth. Her kind. The Jedi. The bounty hunter knew she had been exiled years ago, now she was just rubbing it in her face. The order has fallen.
"Let me show you why Jedi bounties are so high."
The bounty hunter was thrown backwards, slamming hard into the wall behind her. Her gun clattered to the metal grate of the balcony. It was in Ahsoka's hand before the bounty hunter could recover. Two beams impacted the bounty hunter's shoulder and side immediately, leaving bad burns on the cloak they were wearing. The wrappings around their head fell away as the bounty hunter collapsed, revealing dark blue skin and crimson red eyes. A Chiss woman. Ahsoka didn't recognize her.
Ahsoka jumped backwards, landing on one of the many pipes in the vicinity. She extended her free hand and her saber returned to her from the darkness, followed by the go-bag she had come all this way for.
The chiss woman was on her feet and something was thrown into the rafters above. Ahsoka shielded herself as a glass vial shattered against the ceiling, and a sudden eruption of green liquid began to rain down upon her. Her flesh seared almost immediately, soliciting a surprised cry from the togruta before the pain set in.
She jumped back again, taking stock of her injuries: the chemical burn caused her orange flesh to turn a bright red on the arm she had used to shield her face. Already welts were bubbling up on the skin. She could see the Chiss preparing to lob a second glass vial.
Without hesitation Ahsoka pointed the blaster at the explosive pipes and pulled the trigger. The force of the fireball threw her and the bounty hunter as it engulfed the ceiling. Pipes burst, mechanical structures began to explode in a chain reaction. The building rocked with the force of the explosion, followed by various smaller blasts. The sound of crashing metal signaled the destruction of the catwalk seconds before it slammed down in the center of the floor.
Ahsoka got to her feet unsteadily. A hand touched the back of her head and returned coated in crimson. She dashed out the nearest exit, a side door that she had to kick in to open.
The smoke billowing from the building was drawing more than just a little attention. Ahsoka raised her hood, the slick blood on her head-tails soaking into the fabric as she made her escape. She had been careless. That bounty hunter would have killed her.
She had to get off Coruscant. Immediately.
Before she could finish her thought she dove forward, catching herself as a blade slashed down the empty air just behind where she had been. The bounty hunter's blade let out a high-pitched hum; were togruta not hyper-sensitive to sounds, Ahsoka wouldn't have heard it coming. The Chiss woman was hunkered down in a defensive stance, a vibroblade in one hand and a vibroknife in the other. Ahsoka's lightsaber jumped back to life. They were both significantly wounded – the Chiss' was limping, Ahsoka noticed – but they were ready to fight to the death.
They clashed, the vibroblade gleaming with the black sheen of cortosis as it caught Ahsoka's lightsaber. The Chiss brought the sword around, but Ahsoka had disengaged the smaller blade in order to block the larger. Lightsaber against metal, the two continued their struggle as the building burned behind them. Sparks flew as she guided the vibroblade away from her vitals and into the buildings surrounding the alleyway they were in. Though she was reacting defensively, she continued to move further and further back as she lost ground. The Chiss was skilled with a blade – too skilled for a normal bounty hunter. Ahsoka slashed upward, aiming to carve off the Chiss' arm at the shoulder. A boot hit her in the chest, knocking her backwards another five feet. She force pushed to get distance and the bounty hunter careened backwards. Ahsoka turned and ran while the bounty hunter was thrown off-balance.
Ahsoka didn't get far before the bounty hunter caught up again, slashing across Ahsoka's chest with the vibroblade as she turned to block. The injury wasn't deep, but it got her attention. The bounty hunter lashed out, and Ahsoka fought back.
Suddenly, Ahsoka felt something quiver within the force.
"Halt!" Shouted a voice parsed through a helmet's filter as floodlights trained on the pair of them. Both Ahsoka and the bounty hunter stood fast as a unit of imperial clone troopers swarmed around them, forming a loose semicircle. "Ahsoka Tano, you're under arrest!"
"Your imperial friends come to collect I assume," Ahsoka spat, continuing to hold their standoff. However, the bounty hunter looked just as surprised as she was.
"Harena Veros, drop your weapons!"
"What is the meaning of this?" The Chiss demanded, her red eyes squinting. "I found the fugitive! We had an arrangement!"
One of the clone troopers whose regalia was more substantial step towards the pair locked in combat, his blaster still raised. "The deal has changed, Veros. On your knees!"
Ahsoka watched Harena's face shifted from shock then anger, then desperation. Harena looked to her and Ahsoka could feel the tension behind the vibroblade lessen. Ahsoka and the bounty hunter shared a look.
"I said drop your weapons and get on the ground!" The commander shouted. "Company, prepare to fire!" Nine blasters began to charge with a soft hum.
Ahsoka considered her options.
"Open fi–"
Before the commander could finish the order, his head rolled from his shoulders, a small gout of fresh blood staining the white of his armor. Ahsoka had broken the duel.
The remaining troopers opened fire. Blaster shots ricochetted around the narrow alleyway as Ahsoka's lightsaber spun, alternating between defensive forms she had written to muscle memory long ago. Harena, who had been behind her, used Ahsoka's cover to slash her way through three clone troopers before they realized what was happening. Two more fell as blaster bolts were reflected into them, burning holes into their armor. The remaining four were cut down as both Ahsoka and Harena advanced.
Ahsoka looked down at the clone troopers under their feet, recalling a time when the sight would have meant a catastrophic failure. Now, these clones were no more than agents of the empire. She still couldn't bring herself to look at their faces beneath the featureless helmets. Her attention turned to Harena, who seemed almost as winded as she was. Both of their weapons were still at their side.
"The empire went back on their word," the togruta extended her free hand, motioning towards the fallen troopers. "You can't expect credits if you bring me in. What will you do now?"
The other woman seemed to mull this over for several seconds before letting out a flurry of swears. One of the helmets at their feet was kicked down the alleyway as Harena vented. Ahsoka winced, wondering if that clone trooper had been at her side during the war. She shook it off.
Finally, Harena exhaled. "I think I broke a toe on that thick head of theirs."
"Harena. What will you do now," Ahsoka repeated, firmer this time. Her lightsaber flickered at her side.
The bounty hunter swore once more, then spat on one of the pure white chestplates beneath her. "My ship is nearby. Come with me if you want off Coruscant."