Chapter 157: A Test of Strength
The young are often underestimated.
Recap: Ancient Jedi tradition! Six younglings are sent to the secret caverns of Ilum, where they are tested by The Gathering, an ancient Jedi ritual where each youngling must harvest a crystal, around which they will construct their own lightsaber. Along the journey, they underwent great perils, hardest of which was to face themselves. Now, having passed the test, they take their first step into a larger world.
Following the younglings' successful test on Ilum, Ahsoka, and Twilight escorted them back to the Jedi Temple to begin the next part of their training to become part of the Jedi Order. Ahsoka entered the room where Twilight was with the younglings as they were watching Petro do some training. The boy was spinning a staff as he had a helmet over his eyes and was deflecting shots from a droid.
Petro was deflecting the shots and spinning the staff around his body as he knocked the droid with his staff; it ricocheted all over the walls and some crates before rolling by the boy's feet as he grabbed it.
"I call that move the "Whirlwind of Destiny."
"Showoff," stated Zatt at Petro's display.
Ahsoka merely clapped at seeing the boy perform.
"What about you, Ms. Twilight?" asked Ganodi as the Rodian youngling wanted to see what she could do.
Twilight smiled as she got up and stuck her hand out to reel the practice droid into her hand. The princess began to mess with the settings as she set the droid to the highest difficulty and smiled. She activated it as the droid hovered into the air; the Jedi Knight turned her lightsaber on and held it close. The younglings all leaned in with their eyes paying close attention.
Twilight kept her focus as she stared at the droid. The droid scanned the girl as she tried to predict its movements. A few moments passed as Twilight kept her stance and calmed her breathing. The droid then moved as Twilight shifted her lightsaber behind her as she predicted the droid to fake her out and blocked a blaster shot. She then quickly brought it forward to block a series of shots before rotating and blocking a shot from her side. The Jedi Knight blocked some more before swinging her lightsaber up.
The droid in front of her beeped before it split into two pieces and fell to the floor. In just the blink of an eye, Twilight blocked its rapid-fire shots while destroying it. The younglings were all impressed by what the Jedi Knight did, as it blew their mind. The only thing that could have topped that would be a Jedi Master showing off in front of them. Ahsoka merely rolled her eyes at seeing her friend show off as the younglings all swarmed the princess and began to create chatter. Twilight smiled as she was glad the kids liked what she did.
"Okay, can everyone gather around, please?" said Ahsoka as she got the attention of the younglings from showering Twilight. "You have all successfully passed The Gathering and harvested your crystals."
The Wookie made a noise.
"So when do we start to build our sabers?" asked Petro.
"Place your crystals on the table. Your lesson begins now," instructed Twilight to the younglings as they turned to a table, "May I introduce you to architect and lightsaber designer Huyang?"
The girls stepped to the side as a droid turned the corner from the shelves behind them. The metallic whirring was heard as he moved toward the group and took in the younglings.
"These are them. I swear they get younger every expedition," stated the droid as he looked at the kids. "All have passed The Gathering?"
"Yes, sir," responded Twilight.
"Are you sure?"
"But he's a droid. You expect us to learn from a droid?"
"Who said that?" responded the droid as he looked at the kids. Soon Gadoni made her way to the front of the crowd and crossed her arms while staring at the droid. The droid saw the youngling as he began to speak.
"Many years I have been on this ship, teaching many a Jedi before you, and I will continue teaching many a Jedi after you. Call me what you want, but inside my memory banks, I contain a record of every lightsaber ever made and the Jedi who fashioned them."
The droid then projected holograms of different lightsabers. The younglings looked at all the images projected around them in awe.
"Whoa! Look at that!"
Twilight smiled at seeing the kids' excitement. She then looked at a specific design image as the princess saw the lightsaber she designed when she was making it.
"Which will you choose? A simple grip? The curved approach? One inlaid with the bone of the Cartusion whale, pastillion ore, or black onk? Well? From Battles of Rashfond to the Peacekeeping of Parliock to our very own Clone Wars, the lightsaber is a Jedi's only true ally. But how do they work, hmm?" said the droid as he picked up one of the crystals on the table, "Yes, you have brought me crystals, but they're all useless unless you give them life. Do you know how to awaken the Force within the crystal?"
The younglings shook their heads. Ahsoka and Twilight all smiled as they went through the same thing.
"No? Then I suggest you listen and learn until you think of a question this droid cannot answer," said the droid as he noticed Gungi. "A Wookiee. Rare you are to the Jedi. Proud your people must be."
The Wookie let out a response.
"Unique, just as your lightsaber will be. Hold out your hand, Wookiee. Describe what you see your saber to be."
Gungi let out a sound.
"No, no, no, not what you imagine but what you feel in your hand. Concentrate. What will make you strong in battle and humble in retreat? What connects with your Force?" stated the droid to the Wookie as he was helping him to visualize what his weapon would look like.
Gungi closed his eyes and concentrated his mind before he responded.
"Ah, yes, wood. Not a common choice. And only wood from the brylark tree is as strong as metal. Let me see. Where would we find that all the way out here, far from anywhere, deep in space?" said the droid as he moved to the shelves behind him full of drawers and began to push some buttons from his multiple ligaments.
"Let's see what we have. Let me see. Let me... Yes, yes, yes. No, no, no, no, no, no. Ah, I wondered where I put that. Oh, that's not mine. Ah, ah, what do we have here?"
The droid pulled out a box of stuff, put it on the table, and quickly assembled a lightsaber. The kids were amazed by what they saw as soon a lightsaber hilt was presented before them.
"It is my job, before you leave this ship, you will have everything you need to build your lightsabers and the knowledge of how to do it. So let us begin. There is much more work to be done." stated the droid as the younglings were more excited to begin constructing their own weapons.
Twilight watched the kids' excitement as it reminded her of her own.
(Flashback)
"This is her?" said Huyang as he examined Twilight. "She's rather young, isn't she?"
"I passed my classes, and I got my crystal," stated a young Twilight as she presented her kyber crystal on the table for the droid to examine.
"Oh, my. A rare purple crystal. I've only ever seen it once before."
"So, is that a good thing?" asked Twilight.
"That depends. Now, young one, what do you envision your lightsaber to be? What do you expect it to be made of?" asked the droid to the young girl.
Twilight thought about what the droid said. Soon she reached into her pocket and pulled out something. The girl then placed the thing on the table as the droid picked it up.
"Can I make my lightsaber out of this?" asked the young princess with a cute face.
"My word!" said the droid as he examined the metal, and his scanners went crazy. "What is this extraordinary metal?! A tough metal component. An alloy that's stronger than steel and three times lighter its weight. It's completely vibration-absorbent. Fascinating. Where in the galaxy did you manage to find this?"
"It's from my home," answered the girl. "It's a metal that the royal army uses to make armor and weapons. We call it Equisium," stated Twilight.
"Equisium? Extraordinary!" said the droid as he couldn't get over what he saw. How was something like this common in the girl's homeworld?
"So... can I use it to make my lightsaber?" asked the girl.
"I believe I can," said the droid.
(End of Flashback)
Twilight looked at the lightsaber in her hands. The princess saw how Huyang delivered on her request and used the Equisium she provided to make her lightsaber. To the princess, having her lightsaber hilt made from metal from her home... it just felt right.
As the Jedi began working on their lightsabers, another ship was shown. Turns out someone else had business with the Jedi as the person in charge was a familiar pirate.
"Well, where are they?" asked Hondo.
"The Jedi ship is right in front of us, sir," said one of his men as he looked at the ship's scanners.
"Lose them, and you'll lose more than your head. Our attack must be swift and devastating. They cannot have time to get away." stated the space pirate.
"I thought we weren't going to mess with Jedi anymore," asked another pirate.
"These aren't Jedi. My sources say they're just younglings headed back to the Jedi Temple from a training mission with the most important treasure in the universe- Kyber crystals, used for making laser swords. The price for just one would make a man rich, and we all know how much I like to be rich, don't we?" stated Hondo. He then ordered that they move in closer.
As this happened, the younglings were all seated as they had the parts they would use to build their lightsaber. Now the tricky part was using the Force to assemble it together as they had to imagine it. Ahsoka and Twilight walked about the room, offering advice and tips for the younglings to help build their sabers.
"What's the rush, Petro?" said Zatt as he broke his concentration on constructing his lightsaber to see the boy next to him quickly put together his sword.
"With this lightsaber, I'm going to challenge Obi-Wan Kenobi to a duel and kill Grievous. Maybe even battle against General Storm." said the boy, boasting a bit.
The girls giggled at hearing that. Twilight couldn't help but shake her head at hearing the boy say he wanted to take on her partner in a duel. She wasn't a gambling person, but if she was, she's bet it all on her partner, no matter the odds.
"The only person you are going to kill with that, my young friend, is yourself. You have inverted the emitter matrix, which will cause the power grid to backfire. Light this, and all that will be left of you and your lightsaber will be your crystal." said Huyang as he grabbed Petro's lightsaber and unveiled the crystal inside it as he saw how quickly and faulty it was. "Start again, and this time, please follow the diagram." the droid stated as he gestured to the massive hologram blueprint in the middle of the room for all to see.
"Just so you know, you wouldn't stand two seconds against my partner," whispered Twilight to the boy as she smiled smugly and left him.
"Remember, quiet your mind and concentrate. The design will become clear," stated Ahsoka to the younglings as they focused.
"Good. Gently. Trust the Force." said Twilight as the younglings listened to the princess.
At that moment, an explosion went off. It rumbled throughout the ship as the younglings lost focus and dropped their pieces.
"What was that?" asked Katooni.
"I don't know. Hold on," said Ahsoka as she went to the cockpit where the droids were while Twilight stayed behind to watch the younglings.
"R2, what's happened?" asked the Padawan as she entered the cockpit.
The blue astromech beeped rapidly.
"We're under attack!" said Twilight's droid as the small thing sat down and held the steering wheel.
"Where?" asked Ahsoka as Hondo's ship came into view as they passed over the cockpit. "Oh, no. Ugh, they're aiming for the hyperdrive. Get us out of here!"
The droids scrambled as they rushed to the port before colliding with each other and falling over. They quickly got back up as they started to prep the engines to jump to lightspeed. Soon, some shots were fired as they hit the cruiser, sending off many alarms.
"I don't like the sound of that. Stay here. I'll check on the younglings." said the Padawan as she left the droids.
"Excellent shot. Fire the grappling harpoons," stated Hondo as he laughed. One of the pirates at the controls did that as he made the ship's grappling hooks embed into the cruiser. "Now reel them in, and let's get what we came for."
The pirates began to reel the cruiser in as the docking tube was being extended out so that it could allow them to board the cruiser. With the younglings and Twilight, they could feel what was happening as the princess had a defiant look.
"What's happening?" asked Katooni as she hugged one of the droid's legs.
"We're being boarded," responded Huyang.
"Here? Why?" asked Zatt.
"I don't know. Quickly, give me your crystals, and I will hold on to them until we are safe," stated the droid as he pulled out a part in his chest, which was a container, and asked the younglings to deposit their crystals inside. The younglings obey as they put their crystals in; Petro was the last one as when he turned away, he opened his hand to reveal he actually kept his crystal.
At that moment, the pirates had made their way into the ship. Smoke happened as they began to walk in. Ahsoka was returning to the younglings when she turned the corner and saw one of the doors sparkling and sizzling before it was busted down by smoke and pirates. She quickly turned in the other direction and went down a different hallway as she pushed the button on the side to seal the door behind her.
"Younglings! Younglings!" shouted Ahsoka as she turned the corner to see them, along with Huyang and Twilight.
"Who's attacking the ship?" asked Ganodi.
"Pirates," confirmed Ahsoka.
"What?" stated Twilight.
"Pirates? They'll kill us all," responded the youngling Rodain as she began to panic.
"Perhaps we should hide in the ventilation shaft," suggested the droid to the teens.
"Follow me," stated Ahsoka as she bent down and removed the grating from the ventilation shaft.
"Hiding is for cowards. We should stand and fight," Petro stated as they entered the vents.
"Huh, we're gonna fight, just not the way they expect," stated Ahsoka.
Soon some sizzling was heard as the girls looked the way Ahsoka came in and saw the pirates starting to break in.
"Time to go!" stated the Padwan.
"Is this part of our training?" asked Katooni to the teens.
"It is now," assured Twilight as she and Ahsoka were the last ones in, with the former putting the grate back on just as the door burst open.
The smoke seeped in as the pirates walked in. The teens saw the pirates walking over them as they instructed the younglings to remain quiet. The pirates then began to speak.
"Hondo says find the kids and bring 'em to him."
"Dead or alive?" asked another pirate.
"Yes," responded the other pirate.
"So, what's the plan?" asked Ahsoka as she and Twilight crawled to where the younglings were.
Twilight had a thinking face as she began to formulate some thoughts. The younglings were looking at the teens, more importantly, at the princess since she was the highest-ranking person in charge. Twilight could see the kid looking to her for guidance as she took a deep breath, knowing this was another test to see if she could have what it took to lead people when taking the throne.
"We must have courage, young Jedi. Here's the plan. Ganodi and Zatt, I need you to get to the cockpit, find R2 and my droid, and secure it. The rest of you, take Professor Huyang, seal yourselves inside the hold, and wait for our command." instructed Twilight.
"What are you going to do?" asked Petro to the Jedi.
"I'm sending Ahsoka to reroute enough power to the engines so that we can break free of the pirate ship's hold on us. Okay?" stated the princess.
"Wh-what about the pirates already on board the ship?" asked Katooni.
"I'll distract them," said Twilight.
"Once the docking tube is ruptured, when the ships pull apart, a vacuum will be created, which will suck the pirates off our ship and into space," stated Ahsoka as she chimed in.
"Will we be sucked into space?" asked Ganodi.
"No, the cockpit and the hold will be sealed and still have air," assured the Padawan to the kids that they would be fine.
"Do not-and I mean do not- engage the pirates. Your only job is to stay hidden. Do you understand?" asked Twilight in a firm tone to the kids as they nodded. "Now go. Once I've lost the pirates, I'll head to the cockpit. Ahsoka, once you've finished your part, you head to the hold and stay with them."
"On it," said the Padawan to her friend.
"May the Force be with us all," stated the princess as everybody began to move.
Twilight approached the vent they hid under before popping it off. The pirates heard that as they turned and saw the princess landing. Twilight had her hand out as it sizzled with magic; the girl lifted her head and smiled.
"I smell profit!" Hondo laughed as he was with some men in another part of the ship. "Nice, juicy, fat, warm profits. Well?"
"We've secured the ship, but she seems deserted," said a patrol as they turned the corner and saw their boss.
"Imbecile! That is the oldest trick in the book. The runts are probably hiding in the ventilation system, " Hondo said, being the only smart one.
"Oh. Right. Didn't think of that," said the pirate.
"Why does that not surprise me?" scoffed Hondo. "All that matters is you find the younglings and bring me the crystals. If anything gets in the way, kill it."
"But, boss, they're just kids."
"They're just kids. When will they learn?" muttered Hondo to himself before placing his staff on the shoulder of the pirate who said that and addressed him. "In case you lack motivation, remember that on the black market, these crystals are priceless."
The pirates then bent down as they lifted a grate to the shafts.
"We can't fit in there," said one of the pirates as just by looking at the vents, they were too big to squeeze in.
"Smoke them out," ordered Hondo.
"You heard the boss."
The pirates then began to take all the grates off in their hallway and threw smoke bombs into them. Soon the entire hallway was filled with the stuff as a cloud formed.
"I do love me a party," chuckled a pirate as he walked through the smoke.
Ahsoka crawled in the vents as she made her way to her destination. She looked back to see the smoke seeping in as she began to hold her breath. The Padawan kept on crawling, knowing she didn't have much time. With Twilight, the princess silently took out any isolated patrols as she used the smoke to her advantage and masked her presence.
The droids were in the cockpit when the grate behind them opened up. Zatt and Ganodi made it to the cockpit as the droids turned to see them with Twilight's droid sitting on top of R2's dome head. However, a pirate passing by saw the droids and the younglings getting out.
"Hold it!" shouted the pirate.
The younglings quickly went for the controls to seal the door as the pirate stopped it using his body and peeked his head in. He pushed the door back as he grabbed Zatt.
"Get off him!" shouted Ganodi as she banged her fists against him in an effort to do something.
"Easy, there. That's no way to make friends, now, is it?" taunted the pirate as he shoved the youngling to the floor and lifted his weapon to strike her.
R2 quickly rolled forward with Twilight's droid holding onto his head as he shocked the pirate with his taser. The princess' small robot then jumped and delivered a punch to the chin of the pirate as he fell back and was knocked out.
"Thanks, guys," said Zatt to the droids as R2 whistled and Twilight's droid petted its head that she was sitting on.
With the others, they were following Huyang to the hold.
"Come on, keep up. The hold is not much further," said the droid to the younglings behind him.
"Something's wrong," said Katooni as she pointed ahead.
A smoke bomb was dropped into the grate ahead of them as it went off. It hissed as the younglings began to cough from inhaling the substance. Huyang looked up as he removed the grate; however, standing over it were pirates as a bulky one grabbed the droid's hand and yanked him out.
"Unhand me, brigand!" said the droid as he was behind, held by his throat before being thrown into the wall.
"Well, hello, girls and boys. We've been looking forward to meetin' ya," said the pirate as he looked down and saw the younglings, which caused everyone else to laugh. They were soon taken out of the vents individually as they had the younglings in front of them.
"Now, be nice, and hand over your crystals."
"Over my dead body," stated Petro.
"That can be arranged," said the big pirate to the small boy.
Petro then pulled out his lightsaber hilt, opened it, and dropped the crystal.
"Petro, no," whispered Huyang as he had a weapon to his chin.
"Your emitter matrix is still inverted," whispered Katooni, knowing it would explode if he turned it on.
"So which one of you is first?" asked Petro as he turned his lightsaber on; the blade showed for a second before fizzing out.
"All bark, no bite," said the pirate as Petro threw his lightsaber at him, which he merely caught with his hand and chuckled. "Ah, that's for me. I always wanted one of these."
"You sure you can handle it?" taunted the boy.
The pirate laughed as he turned the lightsaber on and swung it. However, the lightsaber began to flicker as it was starting to overheat.
"Huh?"
"Everybody get down!" warned the droid as they all returned to the vent below as the explosion happened.
Once the smoke cleared, it showed the pirates lying on the floor.
"Let's go," Petro stated as he grabbed the crystal that fell before him and stood up.
"Hurry, hurry. This way, younglings," said the droid as he helped them out.
They all began to rush down the hall as the droid hobbled behind them. They all turned the corner and got a moment to catch their breath.
"You could have killed him," said Katooni.
"Look, we can keep running, or we can stand and fight and show these pirates we're not afraid," stated Petro as Gungi gave a Wookie roar.
"I cannot approve of such action. Besides, I have been damaged and cannot aid you in battle," stated Huyang as he took some damage from the explosion.
"Petro's right. It's our only choice: fight or be killed," stated Katooni after Byph gave a response.
Ahsoka had managed to reach her destination as she made her way toward the console. She then touched her comlink to communicate with the younglings in the cockpit.
"Zatt, come in. I am overriding the emergency power fail-safe and routing energy to the engines," stated the Padawan as the younglings looked at the screen in the cockpit.
"It's working," responded the younglings.
"Any word from the others? Have they reached the hold?" asked Twilight as she joined in on their channel.
"Uh, not yet," responded Zatr.
"Where are they?" asked Ahsoka.
"I don't know. I didn't hear from them," responded the youngling.
"Great. I know what that means," stated Ahsoka as she groaned.
"Ahsoka, finish rerouting engines and head to where the others are. Keep them safe at all times. Ganodi, Zatt, I'm on my way to you two, " said Twilight as the transmission ended.
The Padawan finished her task as she began to book it to where the others were.
"Set them to the highest level," stated Katooni.
The younglings were messing with their lightsaber-training droids. They placed all of them in a group as outside, Byph was gaining the attention of two pirates as he ran from some shooting.
"Get him!" shouted one of the pirates, chasing the youngling.
He ran into the room where the others were as Gungi inadvertently bumped into Katooni after they finished laying their trap.
"Gungi!" the youngling told the Wookie as he helped pick her up.
The three then entered the next room; they closed the door just enough to peek into the room as the pirates entered.
"Here, kiddie kiddies. You can come out now. No one's gonna hurt you." stated one of the pirates as they looked about the room.
"Zatt, close the door to the training room."
"Katooni, where are you guys?" asked the youngling as he was being contacted by his friend.
"No time to explain. Just close the door."
"R2, close the door!" stated Zatt as the blue astromech rolled over and plugged himself in. He closed the door as the room went dark.
"Hey, what's-what's going on?" said one of the pirates.
The training droids that the younglings set activated as they circled the pirates. Soon they began to go off as they were attempting to shoot the pirates, as they let out cries. The younglings and Huyang then turned down the hall and pushed a button to open the door as Hondo and his crew were down the hall. The pirate turned his head as he saw the younglings; the group turned as another group came behind them. Huyang then pushed the button to close the door and used his blowtorch to damage the controls.
"We can't make it. There are too many blocking the hold," stated Katooni.
"Well, children, you have put up quite a fight, but playtime is over. Now, hand over my crystals, and no one gets hurt... much," stated the space pirate leader as he chuckled.
The door to the side of him opened up, and there was Ahsoka. The Padawan quickly put her hands out as she flung his men into a wall and knocked them out.
"Hondo, the Jedi Council will not take kindly to this attack," stated Ahsoka as she stood between the group and the space pirate while looking at him and keeping her distance.
"Ahsoka, how will they know who is responsible if there is no one left to tell the tale?" asked Hondo to the Jedi.
"You seem less hospitable than our last meeting," stated the Padawan as she reminded him of their encounter on Onderon a while back.
"My mood is based on profit, and today I am in the mood for crystals."
"Do you want the crystals? Come and get 'em," stated Ahsoka as she turned on her lightsabers and spun them.
Hondo turned to the last member of his crew as they lunged forward and attempted to swipe at the Padawan. Ahsoka dodged and knocked the pirate away, leaving Hondo, who turned on his electro-staff and began to combat the Jedi.
"Oh, easy, now," said Hondo as he and Ahsoka dueled.
"Hurry, hurry," stated Huyang as he instructed the younglings to follow him as they ran past Ahsoka.
"What about Ahsoka?" stated Petro.
"Trust her. Now, get in there," stated the droid to the boy as he shoved him forward.
The pirate Ahsoka knocked out, aimed their blaster, fired at the droid, and shot his head. It rolled next to his body, but he was still functional.
"Oh! How dare you? I've lived on this ship a thousand years and never lost a fight. I'm not about to start today." stated Huyang as his body was still moving and began to fight the pirate who shot him as his head leaned against the wall.
The pirate shot the droid's arms out, but it used its legs and kicked the pirate in the midsection into the wall. Petro grabbed his arms as he and the body of Huyang began to run, with Gungi picking up his head. As the younglings ran, Ahsoka was still dealing with Hondo.
"You know, had I known you were here, I would have simply asked for the crystals directly, and we could have avoided all this," stated Hondo as he stepped back and moved out of the way of Ahsoka's attacks.
"I don't want to hurt you, Hondo," stated Ahsoka as their weapons clashed and held in place.
"I know, and I appreciate that," smiled the pirate.
The younglings made it to the hold as the door closed behind them. At the same time, Twilight had managed to arrive at the cockpit; she was glad to see that Zatt and Gadoni were safe, as well as R2 and her droid. They soon got a transmission from the others.
"Where are you?" asked the princess.
"We're all in the hold, but Ahsoka's still out there fighting the pirates," stated Petro as Twilight instructed Zatt to contact her.
"Ahsoka, Ahsoka, come in. They've made it to the hold," stated the younglings as she pushed Hondo back.
"Then what are you waiting for?" stated the Padawan, meaning he had to do the next part of the plan.
"But what about you?" asked Zatt.
"Do it!" shouted Ahsoka.
The youngling looked at the princess to see if he should listen to Ahsoka. Twilight nodded as the youngling began to push the buttons as the engines fired up. The ship then began to move, as did Hondo's ship, due to the pair being connected by the boarding tube. With some evasive maneuvers, the Jedi broke free of the pirate's hooks as the tube broke off, creating a vacuum sucking anything through the opening. Hondo and Ahsoka were still fighting when they and the rest of his men were lifted into the air and sucked down the hall where the tube once was.
"What are you doing?" stated Hondo as he held on.
"Getting you off my ship," stated Ahsoka as she held on.
She then began to let go and run along the wall and kicked Hondo off as the two were sucked in by the air vortex. They bounced along the walls and corridors following the air current. Some pirates held onto the tube as they saw their leader approaching them. Ahsoka was able to stop herself at the door's control as she turned to see another pirate, to which she stuck her hand out and flung him into Hondo and the others as they were sucked back. The Padawan then jumped to the opening and pushed the door to seal it off as she held on.
"We're all clear. Make the jump to hyperspace." stated the Padawan as the door was just about to close when one more pirate came her way and bumped into her as they both were sucked out of the ship with the door closing.
Twilight pushed the lever as their ship made it to hyperspace. Not aware that Ahsoka was not on board. Moments later, they exited hyperspace as they were far from the pirates. The cockpit door opened as in came the others.
"Yes! We did it! They're off the ship." exclaimed Petro.
Gungi and Byph made some noises as they held parts of the droid.
"Oh, Professor," stated Katooni, seeing the droid in pieces but still functioning.
"It's alright. Bring him here. We'll fix him." stated Twilight as she turned around in the captain's seat.
"You should have seen Ahsoka. She took them on all by herself," said Petro.
"Where is Padawan Tano?" asked Katooni.
"Wasn't she with you?" stated Twilight as she looked at the four younglings who entered the cockpit. They all shook their heads as Twilight got a bit worried.
"Padawan Tano, come in. Ahsoka. Ahsoka! Ahsoka, are you there?" said Gadoni as she attempted to call the girl but got no response as her voice echoed among the ship.
The younglings then looked at Twilight as the princess had a dreaded look. If Ahsoka wasn't answering, then it only meant one thing. Her fears were confirmed as Hondo's ship was shown traveling through space. On it was Ahsoka as she was captured and restrained by Hondo's men as the pirate addressed her.
"You have cost me greatly today, young one. And since you lost me so much profit, I am left with no choice..." said Hondo as one of his men hit the back of his blaster to her head and knocked her unconscious. Hondo then bent down and lifted her face,"... But to turn you into a profit. Good night."
The Padawan was unconscious, as it seemed Hondo had plans. With Ahsoka's capture, Twilight had to contact the Jedi High Council and report what had happened. Hopefully, they could be able to come up with a plan to rescue the Padawan from certain doom.
Author's Note: It seems what was supposed to be a simple and safe trip back to the Temple has resulted in an ambush by some pirates. And some familiar pirates whose leader we know all to well. In the chapter, we get to see the small glimpse of after Twilight got her kyber crystal, she was talking with Huyang about using a piece of her home planet's metal to create her lightsaber. It allows Twilight's lightsaber to stand out among the many other lightsabers that were mentioned and shown, like Anakin's, Obi-wan's, even mentioning a curved lightsaber as a reference to Dooku.
There are tons of ways to create a lightsaber that it becomes hard to find one that truly represents you. And here's a piece of knowledge about kyber crystals and lightsabers. It's this idea that a Jedi gets this crystal in the color that comes to you as you attune the saber and turn it on for the first time. However, it seems Twilight now has a dilemma on her hand. As always, leave a review, expressing your thoughts and comments.