Chapter 158: Bound for Rescue
When we rescue others, we rescue ourselves.
Recap: Piracy in deep space! Infamous outlaw Hondo Ohnaka attacks a Jedi transport carrying six younglings who just received their lightsaber crystals. So rare are these crystals that Hondo knows he can sell them on the black market for a small fortune. In a desperate attempt to save the younglings, Ahsoka Tano is captured by Hondo and his pirate horde. Now, with a damaged ship, the younglings and Jedi Knight Twilight Sparkle are stranded and alone.
"Hand me that emitter," said Twilight as she was shown under the dashboard with her legs sticking out.
A hand gave her the tool she needed as she put it in place.
"Screwdriver."
Another tool was given to the teen as she began to unscrew a panel and saw some damaged wires. The Jedi began rerouting them as she ensured the voltage was even.
"Wrench."
Her small droid presented a tool to its creator as Twilight brought it to her face and looked at it before rolling out from under.
"I need a three-quarters one, not a five-eighths," stated the princess.
"Oops, my bad," said the small droid to the girl as it took back the wrench, opened its body, and began digging around before pulling out the proper wrench.
Twilight grabbed it and rolled back under. The princess had her tongue sticking out as she twisted the bolt.
"All that's left is to hold this lead wire in place while the auxiliary unit cycles," stated the Jedi Knight as she did that. "Katooni, try to see if you can make contact."
The youngling heard Twilight's instruction as she attempted to use the ship's transmitter to signal for help.
"This is the Crucible calling the Republic fleet. Come in, please. We need help." said the girl.
"This is General Kenobi. We have your transmission."
"The General Kenobi?" said Petro as he was amazed to see the great Jedi Master before him along with Cody.
"It worked," said Twilight as she rolled out from under; the other younglings were happy she could get it to work. "Master Kenobi, there's trouble."
"The pirate Hondo has attacked and severely damaged our ship and taken our chaperone, Ahsoka Tano," said Katooni.
"I'm dispatching Commander Cody to bring you back. We shall deal with Hondo on Florrum," said Obi-wan.
"Will Ahsoka be all right?" asked the youngling.
"Hondo would be even more of a fool than I think he is to hurt her. Once we've picked you up, we'll focus on rescuing Ahsoka," instructed the Jedi Master.
"But we could help Ahsoka a lot sooner than you can."
"Petro!" shouted Twilight as she glared at the boy for saying that.
"You've shown great bravery, but these pirates-"
"It was us who managed to drive them from the ship," said the boy as he cut off the Jedi Master. Twilight gave him a look that told him to be quiet as it worked.
"You will not jeopardize your safety trying to her heroes, understood?" stated Obi-wan.
"Yes, Master," said Petro as he put his head down.
"Twilight, make sure you keep them safe. Let nothing happen to them."
"Understood, Master Kenobi," said the princess as she nodded.
"Their coordinates put them dangerously close to Florrum. I do not want them getting any ideas. You will need to leave quickly, Cody." instructed Obi-wan.
"Sir, enemy fleets coming out of hyperspace!" said one of the navigators.
As if on cue, a Separatist fleet appeared before Obi-wan's fleet. They began to fire as the cruisers were caught off guard by the sudden attack.
"Battle stations. Launch all fighters. Cody, looks like you're staying here for now." stated Obi-wan to his clone commander as they had to deal with this surprise attack before rescuing Twilight and the younglings.
Following Obi-wan's command, Twilight had instructed the younglings to finish assembling their lightsabers with their extra time. While the princess was working in the cockpit to scan the damages to their ship, the younglings were in a room working on creating their lightsabers.
"Heh, what do you think?" said Petro as he turned on his properly created lightsaber and a blue blade appeared.
"I think you've finished your lightsaber. Doesn't mean you know how to use it," said Katooni as she turned to look at her friend.
"Well, if you hurry up with yours, maybe we could find out," said Petro as he got in a fighting stance as Byph and Gungi turned on their lightsabers, with the latter having a green blade as the other also had a blue blade.
"I'll finish mine when I'm ready," responded Katooni hesitantly as she couldn't seem to get her lightsaber to work.
"Seeing as how our rescue party has forgotten us, you'll have plenty of time," said Petro as Gungi let out a Wookie sound.
"They probably just got delayed," stated Katooni.
"Delayed? Ahsoka needs our help, and we're sitting around like children," said Petro.
"We are children. Besides, we're supposed to listen to Twilight. She's our chaperone." responded the girl, not wanting to disobey the orders of Master Kenobi.
"I vote we mount a rescue mission," stated Petro as Gungi let out a sound. "Gungi is with me. Byph?" His companion also let out a response. "That's three votes for and- "
"One against," said Katooni.
At that moment, the door opened as Zatt and Ganodi were sent by Twilight to inform the other of some news.
"Perfect timing," said Petro, hoping to get their opinion on his plan.
"There's a problem with the ship," said Ganodi.
"What kind of problem?" asked Katooni.
"According to Twilight, breaking away from the pirate ship ruptured the entire filtering system," stated Zatt.
"What does that mean?" asked Petro.
"It means she's venting coolant, and if we don't land soon, the engines will explode. We'll have to land and let the system reset," responded the youngling to his friend.
"Then it's settled. If we stay out here, we'll die. We go to Florrum, let the engines cool, and rescue Ahsoka." stated Petro.
"A rescue mission?" stated Ganodi as she couldn't believe her friend's suggestion.
Twilight was leaning back in her seat in the cockpit as she had a tablet. The princess touched it as the diagnostics she ran kept saying the same thing. The girl sighed as she looked up at the ceiling.
"What am I going to do? The ship's filtering system is too damaged, and the coolant will eventually cause the engines to explode if we don't find a place to let it reset. But the closest place also happens to be the one place where Ahsoka is held captive." stated Twilight as she touched her tablet and the planet of Florrum appeared. "Master Kenobi said to keep them safe and watch over them. If we land on Florrum, the kids will want to save Ahsoka. But I can't put them in harm's way. Then again, if we don't land, we will be in danger anyway. What do I do?"
The Jedi Knight let out another sigh as she slumped over the steering wheel and onto the ship's dashboard. Her head was in her arms as she lifted and looked out the window into the void of space.
"I wish you were here, Storm. You would know what to do. You'd know what to say to cheer me up." responded the girl as she longed for her partner to be by her side in times like these.
Twilight closed her eyes as she imagined Storm being present. The boy touched her shoulder, getting her to look at him. He then picked the princess up and set her firmly on his lap as she rested her head against his chest and under his chin. The Jedi stroked the princess' lavender hair as he spoke.
"Sometimes you have to bend the rules to do what's right," said the boy.
Twilight opened her eyes as she leaned back into her chair. The girl heard her partner's voice as what was said rang in her head.
"You know how I feel about breaking the rules? Gees... do you make me do stupid things. And I love you for that." smiled the princess as she thought of her partner.
The door to the cockpit opened as in came Gadoni.
"Ms. Twilight..."
"Inform the others we're gonna land on Florrum. Tell them to make preparations," said the Jedi Knight as she looked at the youngling before setting a course.
"Um, okay..." responded the Rodian, as she didn't need to tell the princess about their plan to leave alone to rescue Ahsoka.
On the planet Florrum, the pirate's hideout was shown. Inside was Hondo and his crew behind the pirate, and Ahsoka was suspended as her hands were bound. The signs of exhaustion on the Padawan's face began to show.
"It would be wise if you would let me go," stated Ahsoka.
"No, it would be unprofitable if I would let you go, and why would I do something as shortsighted as that?" asked Hondo as he turned to look at her.
"If you don't let me go, you will wish you had been born a protocol droid," taunted the girl.
"Sometimes I do anyway," chuckled Hondo in a carefree tone before getting up and circling his prisoner, "But you are really in no position to make threats, young lady. You look stressed. Are you thirsty? A drink, perhaps?"
Hondo held his cup to Ahsoka's face as the girl moved her mouth to attempt to drink from it before the space pirate pulled it away.
"Ah, ah, ah, ah. Sorry, but I do not like to share," said Hondo as he gulped down his drink; his men laughed, making Ahsoka even angrier.
Meanwhile, with Obi-wan, he and his fleet weren't doing so good.
"Our forces are being overrun. The droids are sending out boarding parties," said one of the navigators to the Jedi Master.
"We must get to the main hangar to repel them," stated Obi-wan as he and Cody ran with multiple batches of clones to prepare.
The Separatists' ships traveled between the crossfire and took out any Republic fighters. A Republic fighter was shot down as it began to head for the open hanger of the cruiser. It crashed into the runway as it exploded. Obi-wan instructed the clones to where it was, as behind the smoke that occurred were several ships and dropped-off droids. A shuttle landed, and out came some Mangaguard droids as the person responsible for this surprise attack was behind them. Grevious chuckled as he made his presence known.
"We're being overrun! Push forward!" shouted Cody to the rest of the men.
The clones tried to rally and push back the enemy as they took cover and began to fire. Obi-wan and Cody were fighting against the droids as a few clones attempted to take down Grevious. The cyborg disposed of them rather easily as he tossed a clone to the floor, had one of his metal feet on the clone's throat, and kept him pinned down.
"Kenobi," said Grevious, looking up at the Jedi. He then stomped his foot as the clone's arm lingered in the air before flopping down as Obi-wan had to witness it.
"You'll regret that," stated the Jedi Master to his rival for killing the clone.
Grievous chuckled as Obi-wan lunged forward, and the two clashed their lightsabers.
The ship carrying the younglings and Twilight were shown approaching their destination.
"Florrum," said Gadoni as everyone looked out the window.
"Guess we're in the right place," stated Katooni.
"I thought I'd never see this planet again," said Twilight as she began to push some buttons and made the ship descend. "Alright, listen up, kids. Once we land, you listen to my command. Stick close and don't wander off."
"Yes, Twilight," said the younglings as they all left to get their lightsabers.
The princess was left in the cockpit as she began to pack herself a backpack. The younglings returned to the hold where R2 was as the blue astromech was still attempting to attach Huyang's limbs to his body.
"R2, finish reassembling Master Huyang, will you?" said Zatt. "I hate to see him like this."
"Ganodi, you stay with the ship," stated Petro.
"And who put you in charge?" stated the Rodian, as she knew Twilight was their commanding officer.
"We're going to need to make a quick escape, and you're the only one that had flight simulator training at the temple," responded the boy.
"Oh, seeing as you put it like that," said Ganodi as the door opened, and in came Twilight with a backpack and carrying her small droid.
"Ready to go?" the princess asked the younglings as they nodded. The Jedi Knight then approached Ganodi as she bent down. Twilight set her droid down next to the youngling. "TS-01, you stay here and help R2 assemble Master Huyang."
"Yes, Twilight," said the small droid to its creator.
"Ganodi, keep an eye on the ship. It should be ready to go by the time we return with Ahsoka. If anything happens..." Twilight then showed the youngling a switch on the back of her droid, "Flip this switch, and my droid will switch to assault mode. She'll keep you safe."
"I understand, Ms. Twilight," said the youngling.
The princess smiled and explained other things to Ganodi while the others exited the ship. They were looking at their surroundings.
"I don't see anything. There's no one. Are we sure we even landed near their base?" asked Katooni as she looked through some binoculars.
"Well, we couldn't land too close, could we?" stated Petro.
"My scanner's indicating a strong power source. Uh, that way. It must be their base." stated Zatt as he pointed.
"You have no idea how we're going to get inside and find Ahsoka, do you?" asked Ahsoka.
"I'm working on it," responded Petro as Byph made a sound and pointed. "Byph is right. We better get moving. We'll figure out a strategy on the way."
"I already have a plan," said Twilight as she made her presence known. "Everyone stay close and listen to what I say."
The Jedi Knight walked down the ramp with a backpack. She then began to lead the way as the younglings followed the princess.
"You know the Republic won't pay a ransom for me, and the Separatists can't be trusted. They'll betray you and kill us both," said Ahsoka to Hondo.
"Yes, I know this, my dear. The Separatists are no friends of mine. Don't ask me why, but Dooku holds such a grudge against me since our little "I held him hostage" affair. Pah!" stated Hondo with a scoff, circling the suspended Padawan. "The truth is, I have my sights set on more nefarious criminals than I, a businessman who will pay handsomely for a Jedi- a female Jedi at that."
"You don't scare me, Hondo," stated Ahsoka.
"Ooh! Oh, by the way. They don't care if you're dead or alive. I mean, I prefer alive. Less messy. But I find my moods so changeable these days, " Hondo said as Ahsoka looked at him.
Back with Obi-wan, he was still combating General Grievous aboard his ship. The cyborg kicked the Jedi Master back into a gunship as Obi-wan clutched his side.
"General, the fuel barrel!" shouted Cody as he knelt, shooting at some droids.
"Right," stated Obi-wan as he put his hands out to grab a barrel off the side.
He flung it toward Grievous as Cody shot at it. The blaster ignited the barrel as it was on top of the cyborg, who looked away when the explosion happened. Obi-wan quickly walked through the gunship and closed the doors behind him as Grievous chuckled while having some burns.
"Fall back. Fall back!" shouted Obi-wan as he and Cody excited the hanger and gave the order to the men to retreat. "This is General Kenobi. Abandon ship. Abandon ship!"
"Sir, shouldn't we stay and fight? We can't lose the ship now," stated Cody as he ran alongside his general.
"Cody, the ship is already lost. We must face it. But you and I are going to give Grievous a little parting gift." stated the Jedi Master as they ran.
On Florrum, Twilight was shown on a cliff as she was peering through some binoculars. Byph was also next to the princess as he looked a bit to the side and got the attention of the others while pointing.
"A ship? What kind?" asked Petro as he took his friend's binoculars and looked at what Twilight was seeing. "The side of the ship says, "Preigo's Traveling World of Wonder." They're a traveling carnival act."
"Carnival?" stated Twilight as she removed her binoculars. The princess had a thinking expression. "I have an idea."
"Faster, you lazy creatures. Faster! Oh, Hondo will be furious if we're late. You hear me?" shouted the ringleader of the circus, who was a Dug.
The ones driving the convoy were some Aleenas. They saw the younglings in front of them as they quickly pumped the brakes on the transport. Twilight was shown behind her cover as she hoped her plan would work.
"Hey, hey. You, there. What are you doing? I said faster, not stop," stated the show's proprietor as the younglings all walked forward.
"Sir. Are we to understand you are on your way to the pirate stronghold?" asked Petro.
"Yes, what's it to you? Who are you? How did you get out here?" asked the ringleader.
"Sir, our ship crashed, and we've been stranded, but our misfortune is to your benefit."
"Oh, really? And, uh, how is that my curious friend?" asked the Dug to the boy.
"We... are... acrobats! Entertainers. We would love to join your act and travel with you to your next destination." stated Petro as they all did some quick flips and posed.
"Really? All of you wish to join my act, huh? Right. You would like to come with us when we go to entertain Hondo and his pirate horde?" stated the proprietor, still a bit unsure.
"Very much so, yes," responded Katooni as they continued to hold their pose.
"Oh, no, no, no, I'm sorry. The pirates are an unforgiving audience. I couldn't possibly- What- How did you-"
The younglings were shown stacking on top of each other while balancing on each other in a tower formation, as the ringleader was impressed by what he saw from the kids.
"Oh, my, my. Artists, true artists! Young man, how many of these tricks can you do?"
"How many do you want?" stated Petro as they formed another tower before flipping off and landing to strike a pose.
"Oh, hо, hо, welcome to the show!" stated the ringleader as he liked what he saw.
The younglings all rushed to get on board as Twilight appeared from her cover and made her move. The transport was starting up and began to move as the princess sneaked around the back and held onto it. The princess then went undetected en route to their destination to save Ahsoka.
In space, the battle continued to rage on. However, it seems the Republic and its forces were in a losing effort as many fighters were shot and destroyed. As for the crew on cruisers, they were all making their way toward the escape pods. Grievous was shown entering the bridge of Kenobi's cruiser.
"General, we have secured the ship," said a droid.
"Excellent. Waste no time, and get me every last piece of information from the data banks," stated the cyborg.
Another droid was at a control panel attempting to extract the information. Suddenly a hologram of Obi-wan appeared.
"General Grievous, you have defeated me and taken control of my ship. Congratulations. However, if you are watching this message, that means I'm boarding an escape pod and shall soon be safely away from the ship, which is about to self-destruct. General Grievous, you have defeated me..."
Grievous heard the recorded message from his rival as he turned and ran as fast as he could. The droids left behind were confused; at the same time, Obi-wan and the remaining clones were boarding the escape pods as they ejected just in time.
"Sir," said one of the droids guarding Grievous' shuttle.
The cyborg was running as he swatted the droids out of his way to save his own hind.
"Ah!"
"Wah!"
The cyborg didn't care about any of his men but himself as he took off and escaped.
"Wait, wait! What are you doing?" shouted a droid as he saw his leader abandon them. "Uh oh. Uh oh."
The explosion blew up the droids and the rest of the ship. Watching this from his escape pod was Obi-wan as he let out a sigh.
"I'm afraid the younglings are now on their own. I hope Twilight is keeping them safe," stated the Jedi Master as he felt disappointed that he couldn't save them.
On Florrum, nighttime had fallen. And the circus had arrived as lively music played. The pirates had gathered outside to watch the show as it approached them. Hondo was being brought out on his chair as the ringleader made his presence known on top of a creature. He then flipped off it and landed before the pirate.
"Preigo," chuckled Hondo as he saw the Dug.
The younglings were putting on their costumes behind the boxes Twilight was hiding behind. They all then peeked through a small gap to look outward.
"You'd better know what you're doing because I don't see Ahsoka," stated Katooni.
"Patience," responded Petro.
Twilight was looking out as she pulled out her binoculars for a better view. The princess was looking about as she glanced at the many pirates. It wasn't long before she noticed Ahsoka as the Padawan was in cuffs and being held by some guards.
"I see her," stated Twilight, putting away her binoculars and gathering the younglings in a circle. "Okay, so here's the plan..."
"I, Preigo, your humble servant, have searched far and wide, oh, illustrious plunderer of the universe, and found you a most special entertainment."
"Good," laughed Hondo, "I would hate to be forced to cut off their heads like I did your last act. You remember those guys." He gestured to one of his men holding a skull as they dropped it to the floor, which got some younglings to gulp, as even Preigo was a bit worried for his own safety. "You are a brave man to come before me again."
"Look. He has Ahsoka's lightsabers," said Petro as they saw Hondo lift his coat a bit to show the Padawan's weapons on his belt.
"I'll get them," said Katooni.
"Where is my Jedi?" cackled Hondo as he clapped his hands, "I would hate for her to miss the show, which I'm hoping will be better than last time."
Ahsoka was brought forward a bit and pushed onto her knees as she had a defiant look.
"Don't worry. Just stick to the plan, and we'll get her," assured Twilight to calm the younglings' worries.
"Excellent. Let the show begin!" declared Hondo as he kicked over a droid bringing him a drink.
"Ah, yes, of course. May I present the, uh, Animal Instincts!" said Priego as he introduced the younglings as they flipped and posed with a spotlight shining on them.
"Oh, no," said Ahsoka, as she knew what the younglings were doing. She saw Twilight faintly in the dark as the princess had a big nervous smile.
"I love a kiddie act," said Hondo with a chuckle as the carnival music continued to play.
The younglings then got to work as they followed Twilight's plan. They began doing flips and acrobatics as the pirates were impressed by what they saw. Soon one of them approached Hondo and offered their hand.
"What is this business?" asked the pirate.
"I believe he wants you to, uh, be a part of the next stunt," clarified Priego.
"Oh, does he now?" stated Hondo.
"Come with us," said one of the two Twi'lek women as they grabbed the pirate from his seat and downed his drink.
"Which one of you said that?" stated Hondo before laughing as he let the women lead him to the act. "I may not be as young as I once was, but I'm older!" chuckled the pirate.
"Stand right here," said one of the women as they positioned the pirate on one edge of the seesaw.
"Who wants to see Hondo's moves?" shouted the drunken pirate to his men as they cheered him on. "Talk to me, hey!"
As he was distracted, Katooni was near him and managed to slip her hands to grab Ahsoka's lightsabers. Soon a spotlight was shown as on top of the ship was Byph in his disguise as he peered down, ready to jump. All the while, Katooni silently made her way to Ahsoka.
"You guys shouldn't be here," stated the Padawan to the youngling.
"Don't worry. We have a plan. I think." responded the girl nervously, hoping Twilight knew what she was doing.
At that moment, they looked up as Byph jumped. He rotated and landed on the other end of the seesaw as Hondo was sent into the air.
"I'm flying!" exclaimed Hondo as he crashed into some crates. "Ah!"
"What the- Oh, no, no, no, no, no. Not again. Oh!" stated Priego.
Katooni turned on Ahsoka's lightsaber and sliced her binds off before handing her weapons.
"Ah. Well, that was a good act," said Hondo as he popped up.
One of the pirates saw Ahsoka free and running with the acrobats.
"It's those bleeding Jedi kids!" said the pirate as the others all ran after them.
"What? The children are Jedi? Oh!" stated Hondo as he tripped.
The pirates began to fire at the Jedi as Ahsoka turned along with the younglings and turned on their lightsabers to deflect the shots. All except, Katooni, who hung back. Twilight jumped and landed beside Ahsoka as she turned on her lightsaber and covered Katooni.
"This part of the plan?" asked Ahsoka.
"It is now," responded the princess to her friend.
"Get to those speeders," said a pirate to his comrades as one of them was taken out from a deflected shoot.
"We've got to run for it! Those blasted kids have screwed everything up! Hondo's going to kill us." stated Priego as he started up the ship and looked to get out of there to avoid being associated with the Jedi.
The ship's engines started as the dust was kicked up and created a cloud to blind the vision of the pirates on the speeders. They crashed into some crates and were knocked off. The Jedi noticed their cover moving as they began to use the veil of dust and headed to a speeder."
"Quick, get to that speeder!" shouted Twilight as the younglings got on. She and Ahsoka held off and provided cover for the kids before they flipped onto it.
"Get us out of here!" shouted the Padawan.
Their speeder took off as the pirates got in one and chased after them.
"What is going on? Where's my Jedi? Someone stop them! Hurry, Gwarm, get after them!" said the slightly drunken Hondo as he gestured to one of the creatures left behind and nudged the pirate. "Ah. I know how you feel. You lost your master, and I lost my Jedi. Ugh." He hugged the creature.
The Jedi were on their speeder as Ahsoka and Twilight kept looking behind them, seeing if the pirates were following them.
"How do you feel?" asked Katooni to the Padawan.
"Better now," said Ahsoka as she turned off her lightsaber and sat down to face the younglings. "I could pretend to be angry, but you were all very brave. Thank you." Twilight handed Ahsoka a canteen.
"We disobeyed orders," said Petro.
"Well, I've learned from my Master that sometimes doing the right thing means bending the rules," said Ahsoka.
"Ganodi, come in, please. Get the ship ready. We need to take off." stated Petro as their speeder continued to ride into the horizon.
Author's Note: After the ambush, it seems Twilight and the younglings have taken it upon themselves to rescue their friend while at the same time letting the engines charge. And it seems that Obi-wan has failed to rescue them, meaning the girls and the kids are on their own if they can escape. Still, even though our heroeshave managed to save Ahsoka, things are far from over. As always, leave a review expressing your thoughts and comments.