Chapter 94: Wookiee Hunt
A great student is what the teacher hopes to be.
Recap: Jedi abducted! Ahsoka Tano and Twilight Sparkle are missing in action. Captured and released into a hostile jungle, they fight to stay alive with the help of a small band of Jedi younglings As Anakin Skywalker and Storm scour the galaxy, desperate to find their friends. Trandoshan sport hunters track the youngling prey. With the death of their leader Kalifa and separated from her friends, we find the girls on the run as the hunters close in around them.
Twilight and Ahsoka were still running away from the hunters. After the death of their leader's son, they were hopping and leaping about through the jungle tops. They stopped for a moment to catch their breath when they heard some howling in the distance. The pair quickly kept on moving as they took off seconds later; a Trandoshan appeared as he was sniffing the air. Once he got a whiff, he then ran.
The girls were moving about on the treetops; below them, the hunter was following their scent as he was on their tails. The Trandoshan stopped to spot a trail of leaves the girls stomped on as he put his claw on it and sniffed. Having the trail of his prey once again, he followed it. He came to an edge as he looked around. The girls were underneath him as they were hanging onto a large branch.
They were tired from all the running they had to do since the Trandoshan was like a predator. They tried to remain quiet in hopes that he would leave. The Trandoshan was sniffing the air and looking over the edge as all he had to do was look under and spot his prey. At that moment, a hover pad appeared before him, as on it was Garnac.
"Where are they?" asked the Trandoshan leader.
"These ones were faster than most. I have lost the scent," replied the hunter as Garnac snarled.
"They can't hide forever. Mark my words. I'll have their hide and nail it to the wall for killing my son." stated Garnac as he growled.
He lowered the hover pod and turned around as the Trandoshan jumped on it. The hover pod was at the same level as the girls; all they needed to do was turn around. And that's exactly what they did, both Trandoshan turned around as they felt someone was there, but there wasn't. They stared at it for a few seconds before turning back as they took off.
The girls had managed to silently and quickly move before the hunters turned. They had moved up a bit of branch and hid on the opposite side as they clung to it. Once they peeked out and saw the hover pod leave, they got up and began to make their way to the hideout.
By the time the girls made it back, nightfall was upon the island. The girl entered the hideout, and inside awaiting them were O-mer and Jinx. The boys had safely evaded their hunters to the hideout, awaiting the others.
"You made it," said Jinx as they stood up.
"We feared the worst," stated O-mer.
The girls walked in as they had their heads down.
"Where's Khalifa?" asked Jinx.
"She didn't make it," answered Ahsoka.
"She's dead? I... I can't believe it. She had been here longer than any of us, and now..." said Jinx as he was taken aback by what Ahsoka said.
"We're all going to die here. It's only a matter of time," said O-mer as he finished Jinx's statement and bent down to clutch his head. For he saw that there was no hope left for any of them.
"If it's only a matter of time till we die, I say we go down with a fight," stated Ahsoka.
"That is suicide," scoffed Jinx as even he gave up hope.
"You've said that every few days, they release new prisoners on the beach. I say we attack that drop ship head-on. They'll never expect it." stated Twilight as she was already formulating a plan.
"Is it worth a shot?" asked O-mer to Jinx with a sigh.
"Maybe it is," said Jinx as he and his friend stood up. It seemed the idea that Twilight proposed sparked a little more hope back into them.
It wasn't long before the next morning came upon the island. The Jedi had made it to the beach where the new set of prisoners would be dropped off. They were shown hiding under some vegetation as the ship's lights pierced through the fog.
"Get ready. We'll have to be swift," said Ahsoka to the boys.
"The drop point's not far," said O-mer to the girls.
The ship was slowly descending as they were about to peek through the fog.
"Now!" shouted Twilight.
The Jedi all ran out from the vegetation as they used the fog as a cover. They approached a bone skeleton of a large animal as they climbed one of its rib bones and then jumped high into the air. They all landed as Ahsoka landed directly on the window that the pilots saw.
"What the..?"
"It's one of those blasted Jedi welps. Get her!" shouted the other Trandoshan as he saw Ahsoka starting to climb up.
The other Trandoshan got up from his seat and went to handle the Jedi. He popped the hood of the ship open as he saw Ahsoka. From behind, O-mer and Jinx knocked the hunter down as they jumped on top of him to keep him pinned.
"We'll take the pilot," said Ahsoka as she and Twilight jumped into the hatch.
The boys pinned down the Trandoshan before he managed to overpower them and toss each off of him. He looked at Jinx as he was about to strike. From the side, O-mer leaped into the air as the boy waved his arms. He used the Force to launch his friend toward the Trandoshan as he nailed a fist into his face to knock him down. From there, they jumped on him again.
Meanwhile, the girls entered the ship and silently went to the cockpit. They crept slowly as they were about to reach the pilot. Just then, his chair turned around as he fired a stun net at the pair. The girls jumped out of the way and did a flying kick to the pilot as he backed up against the controls. Both jumped on him as they had him pinned down; however, his body was directly over the steering wheel when he turned a bit, which caused the ship to suddenly tip over.
On the outside, the boys and the Trandoshan also tipped over as they were about to fall off. The younglings managed to grab ahold of the ship. The Trandoshan also fell but managed to hold on at the last second. He then began to climb as he got a hold of one of the boy's legs.
The ship turned and leaned over as the girls were thrown off the pilot. He aimed his shotgun at the pair as they used the Force to wave it off when the shots fired. Twilight's hand glowed as she thrust it out, and a magic beam of sparkle collided with the pilot, sending him crashing headfirst into the windshield as he lay unconscious. Soon sparks began to fly near the girls as the controls were on fire and short-circuiting.
The front part of the ship broke off as it appeared it was going to crash into the beach. The boys were still hanging on, as was the Trandoshan, who was only being saved from falling by hanging onto O-mer's leg. Jinx jumped down as he kicked off the pirate; he was sent flying and screamed.
The girls were in the cockpit seats, trying to see if there was any way to save the ship. At that moment, Jinx appeared as he had jumped and landed on the window.
"Get out of there! Come on!" shouted the boy.
"But the prisoners, they'll die!" said Ahsoka.
"Hit the release! Hurry!" said Jinx.
Twilight did what he said as she pushed the button. The cages opened the floor beneath them as the ship was about to crash. The girls quickly got out of the cockpit through the shattered window as they leaped off the ship and into the air with the boys. An explosion followed them as they all safely landed. The ship crashed a few meters away from them as an explosion occurred. Sand and rock bits were kicked into the air as they created a veil.
"Well, I guess we won't be escaping on that ship," said O-mer, as it seemed their plan didn't quite go as expected.
"We'll find another way," said Ahsoka.
Just as the group talked about what to do, they heard something. A metallic clatter sound was heard, followed by a groan. It got their attention as they all looked toward the wreckage. They didn't see anything but small sparks of electricity crackling.
"What was that?" asked Jinx.
"A survivor. It could be one of the prisoners they were dropping off," said Twilight as the group slowly approached the wreckage.
A shadowy figure was shown exiting from one of the hulls of the wrecked ship. The group of Jedi saw it as the figure turned its head in their direction and began to walk toward them.
"What is that?" asked O-mer.
The figure soon stepped out from the shadows and into the moonlight. It was a tall hairy creature that walked on two legs.
"It's a Wookiee," said Twilight. However, it wasn't just any Wookiee; this Wookiee was someone special.
The sun came on the island as Garnac, and his men were now on the island. They had heard the reports of what had gone down. They were now shown scavenging the wreckage of the ship.
"It's the younglings that did this. They're getting bold," said one of the Trandoshan to Garnac.
"What about survivors?" asked Garnac.
"Both of our men were killed, and there was only one prisoner. A Wookiee. And... he's missing." replied the Trandoshan as others were taking the dead body of their comrade away.
"So, now the younglings are organized, bold, and they've got a Wookiee," snarled Garnac as he let out an angry howl.
With the Jedi, they had made it back to their hideout. Accompanying them was the Wookie as they began to talk with him.
"Your name is Chewbacca?" said Ahsoka.
The Wookiee gave a growl when translated and confirmed that was correct.
"Chewbacca, does anyone even knows you were taken?" asked O-mer to the Wookies.
Chewbacca merely growled negatively before he began to speak in Shyriiwook, his native tongue. Both girls could understand what he was saying and his growls and sounds.
"No, but he says his home world is very close," said Twilight as she translated what Chewbacca said.
"That's great, but it might as well be Coruscant as far as I'm concerned. We've got no ship," stated Jinx as he kicked up some dirt before sitting by the fire.
Chewbacca gave some growls and sounds as he began to tell them of an idea he had thought of.
"He thinks he can contact his home planet if we find a way to transmit a signal," translated Ahsoka.
"Right, and how would we do that? Send smoke signals? We don't exactly have a transmitter lying around if you haven't noticed." said Jinx to the Wookiee.
Chewbacca gave another set of growls as he explained his plan.
"Chewbacca says he can build a transmitter from the wreckage on the beach," stated Twilight.
Chewbacca gave another growl as he seemed to nod along with the girls.
"Well, we can't just sit here," said O-mer to his friend.
"Fine. We'll do it the Wookiee way," said Jinx, as he was willing to go along with this plan.
The group soon made their way back to the crash site as it was nighttime. The group was shown under a tunnel of vegetation as they saw the wreckage.
"Chewbacca, Ahsoka, and I will go out to inspect the crash site. You two stay here and signal us if you see anything," said Twilight.
The boys all hopped to a nearby tree and hid behind their roots. The girls and Chewbacca began to make their way to the ship. They kept a watchful eye out in case it was a trap. They soon made it to the hull of the ship and entered. At that moment, a patrol was shown.
"Get back! It's a patrol," said Ahsoka to Chewbacca as they all hid behind some debris.
The boys hid behind the tree roots as the patrol flew above them. The patrol stopped on the tree the boys were hiding underneath as a Trandoshan got out.
"Happy hunting," said the pilot as he took off.
The Trandoshan then lay down on the tree as he saw the wreckage. He had his sniper aimed at the wreckage as he expected the Jedi and Wookiee to approach it in search of materials. Once they saw the patrol leave, the girls and Chewbacca continued their search.
"Hopefully, that patrol won't be back for a while," said Ahsoka.
"What are we looking for?" asked Twilight to Chewbacca.
The Wookiee gave a growl as he began to take some stuff apart from the ship.
"Are you still feeling optimistic about making a transmitter out of this junk?" asked the princess to the Wookiee.
Chewbacca gave a confident growl to the girls as he continued to scavenge for more stuff that he thought could be useful in creating a transmitter.
"Now, what do we have here?" said the Trandoshan hunter as he saw through the scope of his rifle Chewbacca going through the clutter of the ship.
Jinx and O-mer saw the sniper as they nodded and began climbing up the roots. Chewbacca turned on a small flashlight inside the ship as he tore apart a control motherboard. He then ripped out some wires and tossed them onto the pile next to the girls.
"We better get going. That patrol may come back," said Ahsoka.
The girls began to leave as Chewbacca grabbed the crate he had the stuff in and followed behind.
"Come on, pretties, one more step," said the Trandoshan as he could see his targets nearly in range.
"It looks clear. Come on," gestured Ahsoka as they looked out of the ship and began to walk.
Chewbacca let out a growl as he felt a bit concerned.
"It's OK," assured Twilight to the Wookie as Ahsoka kept walking.
O-mer and Jinx were climbing up the roots as they were about to reach the sniper, who now had Ahsoka clear in his sights.
"Time to join the Force, Jedi," stated the Trandoshan.
He was about to take the shot when Jinx reached up to grab his arm, making him miss his shot as he felt the tug. The blaster shot zoomed by Ahsoka as it almost shot her.
"Sniper! Get down!" shouted Ahsoka as they all ducked.
With the boys, they were trying to take care of the Trandoshan. They managed to pull him off as they all crashed onto the ground, with the pirate landing on top of O-mer. The Trandoshan got up as he was about to deal with the boy when Jinx jumped on his back. That allowed O-mer to grab his arms as they tried to take down the pirate. However, the boys were soon overpowered as he flung them off him. He approached Jinx, who was on the floor; the boy turned around as the Trandoshan put his foot on the boy and pulled out a knife.
"I'll gut you, whelp," said the Trandoshan as he looked to bring his dagger on the Jedi youngling.
Before the pirate could bring his weapon down, he was grabbed by Chewbacca. The Wookiee grabbed his arm as the creature's pressure made him drop his dagger. Chewbacca then turned the Trandoshan to face him as he kneed him in the gut to drop him to his knees. The Wookiee put his hands on his throat as he started to choke out the hunter.
"Wait! We should take him prisoner," said Jinx to everyone.
"Fine. Chewbacca, let's take him," said Ahsoka as she gave the command to the Wookiee.
Chewbacca let out a growl as he released his hold of the Trandoshan. He tossed the pirate to the floor before he put his hands behind his back and tied them up. With their new prisoner in tow, the Jedi and Wookiee made their way back to their base.
"How's it looking, Chewbacca?" asked Ahsoka as the Wookiee was working hard with Twilight in assembling the transmitter.
Chewbacca let out a growl as he answered Ahsoka's question. He then made another set of growls at Twilight as he pointed with a wrench to tighten a bolt and reroute the wires.
"Will it work?" asked Twilight as she did what the Wookiee said.
Once the princess did her final set of instructions from Chewbacca, the device began to beep. The antenna began to move as it made beeping sounds while it looked to be transmitting something.
"Well, something's working," said O-mer.
Just when things seemed to go their way, the transmission stopped working. The antenna short-circuited as electricity crackled and sparks flew. Chewbacca let out a growl as he started to push some buttons, but nothing happened. Twilight let out a sigh as even she couldn't get it to function.
"We've got a prisoner. We should be using him to our advantage while we have a chance," stated Jinx to the girls.
"I thought the prisoner was the backup plan," stated Ahsoka.
"It's clear enough that we cannot rely on that device," replied Jinx.
Chewbacca growled at the boy as he took offense to that.
"No offense. But we just can't sit here any longer," stated Jinx.
"We should wait," stated Ahsoka as she felt like they were rushing a bit into their plan as they hadn't fully considered that maybe the transmitter needed more time for it to work.
"I... agree with Jinx. We have to act while we have an advantage," stated O-mer.
"Let's say we do it your way. What's the plan?" asked Twilight.
"We can use the prisoner to trick the enemy into flying one of their pods down to us. Then we hijack the pod, fly up to their base and take them by surprise," stated Jinx.
"It sounds easy in theory, but I'm not sure if it'll work," said Twilight, thinking about the pros and cons of that idea.
"Ahsoka, Twilight, you got us to believe in ourselves again. And, well, I believe Jinx's plan will work," stated O-mer as he tried to convince the girls to trust his friend's plan.
"Look, do what you want, but O-Mer and I are leaving with the prisoner in the morning," stated Jinx as they turned.
"Their hearts are in the right place," said Ahsoka to Twilight and Chewbacca as she walked to them. "You know I can't let them go alone."
Chewbacca let out a growl as he addressed both girls, saying to go on without him as he was going to work on getting the transmitter to work.
"We're not going to be able to do this without you. We need your help," said the Padawan to the Wookiee.
"We're a team, and we need to stick together if we're all gonna escape and go home. Please, trust us," said Twilight to Chewbacca as she put her hand out.
The Wookiee looked at the princess as Twilight smiled. He owed the girls for saving his life and helping him get the things they needed to build the transmitter. Not to mention, Twilight was able to follow his instructions on building the transmitter based on memory alone after seeing the drawing in the dirt for the first time.
Chewbacca looked at the girls as he let out a growl that said he was willing to join them. He shook the princess' hand as it confirmed what he had said.
"Thank you," smiled Twilight.
"Who knows? Maybe our luck is just about to change," said Ahsoka.
Chewbacca let out a growl as he hoped the girls were right. Soon everyone fell asleep as they needed to get some rest. Twilight was silently up and trying to work on the transmitter to signal for help. The princess decided to execute a backup plan if things went south.
"Don't worry, Storm. I'm fine. You told me to never give up." said the girl, who couldn't wait to be back in her partner's arms.
Morning came as the Jedi and Wookiee made their way to the beach. They were about to exit from the vegetation path as they also had their prisoner with them, who Chewbacca held.
"Alright, we better get started," said Ahsoka to the crew.
"Right, time to call your friends," said Jinx to the Trandoshan they had.
"I'm not helping you, whelp!" said the Trandoshan as he growled in defiance.
"Chewbacca, we need him at eye level, please," instructed Twilight to the Wookiee.
Chewbacca made the Trandoshan drop to his knees as he was now eye to eye with Jinx as the youngling stepped forward. Twilight stood beside him as she put her hand on his shoulder.
"Remember, concentrate," said Twilight to the boy as he was about to do the Jedi Mind trick on the Trandoshan to influence his mind.
"You will listen to me," said Jinx as he waved his hand.
"No, I won't," chuckled the Trandoshan as he wasn't affected by the Jedi's tricks.
Chewbacca let out a growl as he punched the prisoner in the face, put his hand on his head, and forced his head to look directly at the Jedi youngling.
"You will listen to me," said Jinx as he waved his hand again and concentrated.
Some struggling was heard as the Trandoshan tried to resist. Soon his mind was affected as he was under the influence of the Jedi.
"I will listen to you," repeated the Trandoshan.
"You are our captive, and now you've escaped," said Jinx.
"I was your captive, but now I've escaped," repeated the Trandoshan.
"You need to call a speeder to pick you up," said Jinx.
"I need to call a speeder to pick me up," responded the Trandoshan.
The Jedi then slowly bent down to grab the vines that bound his hands and untied him. The Trandoshan lifted his comlink up to his mouth as he touched it and began making the call.
"Smug, where have you been?" asked the voice on the other end.
"I need a speeder to pick me up," said Smug as he was still under the Jedi's influence as their plan seemed to be working.
Within a few moments, a hover pod was shown flying toward the island. Smug was shown near the entrance to the forest as he waved to his comrade to signal where he was. He then looked behind as the Jedi were hiding, with Jinx making a hand motion as the Trandoshan nodded.
"Get in. Let's go!" said the pilot as he turned the hover pod around so Smug could enter.
"Now!" shouted Ahsoka.
She emerged from the treetops, and she jumped. She grabbed onto the overhead beam and swung to kick the pilot into the controls. The pilot recovered as he turned around and quickly tackled the girl out of the pod; as they tumbled onto the sand. Twilight and the others all emerged as the princess did a kick to Smug to knock him out.
The pod was still spinning as O-mer jumped into it and took the controls as he stabilized the vehicle. Ahsoka and the Trandoshan she hit were in a fighting stance as Chewbacca landed behind the pirate. He turned around as he came face to face with the Wookiee. He was a bit scared as Chewbacca towered over him; the Wookiee let out a growl before hitting the Trandoshan and knocking him to the floor and unconscious.
"Want a lift?" asked O-mer to the group as he had gotten the pod under control.
The girls smiled as they gestured for everyone to get on board. In the hideout, the transmitter that Chewbacca and Twilight worked on was shown. For a while, nothing happened. Soon a beeping sound began to produce. The transmitter began to function as the antenna moved about. It moved back and forth before it found a signal and locked on. Soon the voice of Chewbacca was heard as it was a recorded message that the Wookiee was trying to send last night. A moment later, more Wookiee voices were heard as, when translated, they knew where their comrade was and was coming to rescue him.
In the air fortress that floated above the clouds, there were several Trandoshan walking about the deck.
"Krix and Smug should be back by now," said one of the Trandoshan leaning against the railing.
The hover pod carrying the Jedi and Wookiee was shown at that moment. They arrived at the aircraft, and Chewbacca let out a growl. The Trandoshan saw them as the hover pod turned, which allowed Jinx and Twilight to get out and take down some of the Trandoshan with some kicks to their chests. Ahsoka and Chewbacca jumped off as the Wookiee grabbed the other Trandoshan and, without hesitation, threw him off the ship as he was falling and screaming.
Just then, one of the Trandoshan that the Jedi kicked began to make a sound. It was heard around the ship as the others picked up on the alert signal. They all ran toward their comrade with their weapons; Garnac was shown exiting his quarters as he looked over the railing and to the bottom to see the Jedi and Wookiee.
"Kill them! Kill them! I want their skins!" shouted the Trandoshan leader to his men.
Some of the men began to open fire on the Jedi as they all ducked and ran. They came to another one of the hover pods as Chewbacca flipped it on its side, and they all hid behind it as cover. One Trandoshan was heading to another hover pod when Ahsoka spotted them.
"Hey, let's give him a lift," instructed Ahsoka to Jinx.
The pair then lifted their arms. The Trandoshan was climbing to get in when it was lifted off the ground. The pair then threw it, tumbling along the ground, and crashed into some Trandoshans. With the enemy fire now down, the Jedi and Wookiee emerged from their cover and began to engage the enemy as they got up.
Some of them tried to shoot at the Jedi, only to use the Force to swipe it out of their hands. Some more appeared behind them as they were running toward the group. O-mer, still piloting the pod, saw them and began to fire at them as the pirates all ducked and leaped out of the way.
Garnac saw this as he ran to one of the turret guns positioned on the railing of the top level. He was now aiming it at the Jedi youngling as he began to fire; the boy was piloting the pod, and the trail of gunfire was right behind him. Down on the ship, the Jedi and Wookiee were still fighting it. Twilight was now tapping into her hidden abilities as her hands glowed. The princess let loose some magic beams as they were taking the pirates out before they could get close to the Jedi Knight.
Garnac was still operating the turret when he managed to hit the hover pod. It caught on fire as O-mer lost control. He turned the pod so that it was heading for the ship. The others saw it as it was about to collide with them. They quickly dove out of the way as it crashed into the railing, sending the pod tumbling as O-mer managed to jump out. Once the pod came to a halt, the Jedi and Wookiee began to get up as soon they had guns pointed at them.
"A valiant effort, little younglings. Especially you, Togruta. You will be a prize trophy in my collection." stated Garnac as he was about to tell his men to kill them.
Chewbacca then looked up at the sky and gave a growl. He pointed up to the sky as above them was a ship. However, on that ship were some Wookiees who were being led by Wookie General Tarfful as they had gotten the coded message for help.
"Guess it worked," smiled Twilight.
"Make it quick, General, we charge by the minute, and if my ship gets damaged, it will cost you extra," said the pilot who was the bounty hunter Sugi, the one who helped the Jedi back on Felucia to work with the farmers to drive back Hondo and his gang.
The Wookiee General gave a growl as he and his men jumped out of the ship. The Trandoshan began to shoot as the Jedi took that moment to push them back and allow the Wookiees to safely land. Chewbacca kicked the Trandoshan over him in the leg, allowing the Wookiee to get up. He then grabbed his foe and threw him off the ship. The Wookies that remained on the ship fired at Garnac was running to operate the turret when it was shot by the Wookiees.
General Tarfful was battling a pirate as he slammed his foe down on the ground before bringing his foot down. The arm of the Trandoshan was shown before it stopped flailing and hit the ground. He let out a growl as he saw Chewbacca. Garnac had turned tail as he fled inside his quarters.
"Can you get me up there?" asked Ahsoka to Chewbacca as she saw Garnac retreat.
The Wookiee gave a growl as the Padawan nodded.
"Twilight..."
"We got this, Ahsoka!" assured the princess to her friend as she thrust her hand out to fire another magic beam.
The Padawan nodded as she turned to get a running start. Chewbacca bent down as Ahsoka ran at him. She put her foot in his hand as Chewbacca tossed the girl over his head and into the air. Ahsoka landed on the upper level as she began to head toward Garnac's quarters.
The doors opened as the girl walked in. She took in the room as all around lay tons of trophies that the Trandoshans had collected from the things they hunted. She was disgusted to see how many things were killed but noticed the big chair at the end of the room. The Padawan silently made his way toward it as she expected the pirate to hide behind it. Once she was near the chair, she took a deep breath before jumping behind it.
To her surprise, there was nobody there. She then stood up and walked a few meters. Emerging from one of the upper walkways was Garnac, as he had an ax in his hand. He jumped and looked to attack the girl. Ahsoka sensed it as she rolled backward without looking as she avoided the swing from the Trandoshan and rolled under his legs. She quickly leaped over him as he went for a swing to which she landed and kicked him in the face. The Padawan leaped up on his chair to avoid his next swing as she landed, and Force pushed him into the wall.
He got up as he and Ahsoka slowly walked at the same time. He was going for a lunge as the Padawan thrust her arms out again. However, this time, Garnac dug his claws into the ground as it allowed him to avoid being flung. He then lunged at Ahsoka as he tossed the girl into one of the tables before grabbing her to throw her into another. The Trandoshan then pulled out a dagger and brought it down on the girl, who caught his hand with both of hers as she tried to stop it from stabbing her.
The blade was mere inches from her nose as she moved it to the side and kicked the Trandoshan in the face. It backed him up, allowed the girl to get up, and kicked the knife from his hand as it stuck into the far-away ground. Ahsoka delivered more kicks as Garnac caught some of them with his claws. He grabbed Ahsoka by the throat as the Padawan used her legs to push him back. The Trandoshan fell into a table as he grabbed the weapon and fired. Ahsoka ducked to the side and leaped as she put her hands out to use the Force again, flip Garnac over the table, and tumble to the floor. Ahsoka jumped on the table as she saw the Trandoshan lying on the ground.
"You're beaten," panted Ahsoka as she pointed at the pirate.
"You murdered my son! And you need to pay for what you did!" shouted Garnac to the Jedi.
"Your son died because of your own actions. Not mine!" stated Ahsoka as Garnac glared at her.
He then noticed the weapon behind him as it was within arm's reach. Ahsoka also noticed it.
"Don't!" stated Ahsoka.
The Trandoshan reached for it and grabbed it. Ahsoka put her hands out as Garnac fired but missed, sending him flying back. He crashed into the doors and then tumbled over the railing as he screamed. Ahsoka quickly rushed out as she leaned over the railing to see what had happened. There, surrounded by Wookiees, was Garnac as he lay dead.
On Coruscant, the sun was starting to set. Anakin, Master Plo, and Celestia were shown as the ship that rescued the Jedi was landing. Some of the Wookies and the Jedi younglings were being talked with by Master Windu and Yoda. However, Anakin had a worried look as he scanned the area. Soon a Wookiee walked behind him, revealing Ahsoka and Twilight talking with Chewbacca.
"Ashoka!" stated Anakin as he almost burst into tears.
"Twilight!" shouted Celestia.
The girls saw their masters as they said goodbye to Chewbacca.
Twilight was immediately hugged by Celestia as the Jedi Master was shown crying tears of joy and sadness. She was glad to have her student back safe and sound as it calmed her worrying heart.
"It is good to see you safe, little 'soka," said Master Plo to the Padawan as Anakin had both hands on her shoulders.
"Ashoka, I am so sorry," said Anakin as Master Plo left to handle the business with the Jedi younglings.
"For what?" asked the girl.
"For letting you go, for letting you get taken. It was my fault," said Anakin as he blamed himself for allowing Ahsoka to endure what she had to endure.
"No, Master. It wasn't your fault," said Ahsoka.
"I should have paid more attention, I should have tried harder, I..." said Anakin as he panicked in his voice until Ahsoka silenced him.
"You already did everything you could. Everything you had to do. When I was out there, alone with Twilight, all I had was your training and the lessons you taught me. And because of you, I did survive. And not only that, I was able to lead others to survive as well." said the Padawan to her teacher as she smiled.
"I don't know what to say," said Anakin.
"I do. Thank you, Master," said Ahsoka, bowing her head and putting her hands together.
"You're welcome, my Padawan," responded Anakin as he returned the gesture.
The pair then turned as they began to walk side by side. While watching them, Master Yoda, the small Jedi Master, happy to see the duo back together, also shook his head as he could sense something dreadfully between the pair.
"I'm sorry," muttered Celestia to her student. "I'm a horrible teacher."
"No, you're not, Master," said Twilight as she pulled back to look at Celestia. "I was able to use the lessons you gave. And it's because of that that I could come back home. Thank you, Celestia."
"I'm just glad you're safe, Twilight," stated Celestia as she spoke in her motherly voice and hugged the princess. Twilight enjoyed the embrace of a warm hug as she sighed.
"Come now, you still need to pack. I believe after what you went through, you've more than earned the right to head back home," said Celestia as she released the hug and began to guide Twilight as they walked.
"Right. I also need to let Storm know I'm back," said Twilight.
"That will not be necessary!" stated Celestia; within a second, her tone changed. "You need not concern him with that. I'll let Luna tell him that you're back. You need to pack and get ready."
"But... I..."
Twilight looked at her master as Celestia made a stern expression on her face. The princess noticed it as she nodded to avoid upsetting Celestia anymore.
Storm was in his room as he looked out the window. The boy had been trying his best to obey Luna's orders to not leave his room without her permission, but he couldn't handle that Twilight was in danger. He'd tried to sneak out earlier, but Luna caught him as she glared at him. The Jedi Master put her apprentice through some strenuous exercises as punishment.
The Jedi Knight flopped on his bed face first as the door to his room opened. In came someone, but it wasn't Luna.
"Storm. Storm. It's me."
"Twilight," muttered the boy as he turned his head.
He saw the person standing next to his bed as he trailed upwards. Once he got to their face, the boy gasped. He couldn't believe his eyes as there was none other than the princess herself.
"Twilight? Is that you?" said Storm as he shifted to sit on his bed.
"I'm back," said the girl.
"Twilight! I'm so sorry! Please forgive me!" said the boy as he felt he had failed to keep her safe. "I'm sorry you got captured. If you want to execute me when we get to your home, then..."
The boy didn't get to finish his statement as he was immediately tackled. Storm fell back onto his bed as Twilight was now hugging her partner. The princess had a tight grip on the Jedi Knight as she wasn't willing to let go.
"Twilight," spoke Storm as he could feel the girl hugging him tightly.
"I'm not executing you," spoke the princess as her face was directly above Storm's.
She lowered her forehead to touch the boy's as she closed her eyes and sighed. The boy did the same as he now wrapped his arms tightly around the princess' waist as he refused to let her go, lest he risks her being gone again.
"Thank you for being worried about me. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared. But I remembered that even if we're far apart, we'll always be there for each other." said Twilight as she opened her eyes while keeping their foreheads pressed against each other. "Because of this."
The girl showed the ribbon to her partner as Storm looked at it.
"When you gave that to me, you said I made you smile. Well, I can say the same thing. You make me smile." said Twilight. "And know wherever you go, no matter how far apart we may, I'll always be with you."
"I'm always with you too, Twilight," said Storm as he brought his hand up to brush some of her hair that had fallen on their foreheads as they were still touching each other.
"I'm looking forward to going home," smiled the girl.
"Need help packing?" asked Storm.
"Yes, but... tonight... I wanna stay like this," the princess said as she lifted her hand to stroke Storm's cheek. "Hold me, my Jedi Knight."
Storm rested his palm across her face, with his thumb rubbing her lips. Her tongue darted around a little, flicking at his digit.
"As tight as I can, princess," spoke the boy softly.
Storm tightened his grip around the girl as Twilight smiled. The pair remained in that position as they relished being in each other's arms. Soon night fell as both fell asleep; Storm pulled Twilight closely to his chest as the girl buried her head into his. With one adventure coming to a close, the pair were looking forward to some relaxation upon returning to Twilight's world. But little did they know that what was awaiting them was the start of another adventure. And more importantly, something was developing as soon as the answer to the riddle that was asked by the Father on Mortis to Storm was about to be revealed.
Author's Note: And so we have the debut of none other than Chewbaccawho has helped the girls and their friends to escape. And speaking of that, it seems that our heroes have made it back and are reunited with their friends. And just in time, cause now that we've reached the end of this season, it's time to turn our attention to other matters. Such as the wedding that Twilight has to head back for, and let's not forget, the riddle that Storm was tested back on Mortis by the Father. We're inching ever close to finally unravelingthis mystery. In fact, it might be right around the corner. As always leave a review expressing your thoughts and comments on the chapter.