Ahsoka, chapter 6: Confrontations
Baylan held his left wrist near to his mouth, speaking into his comlink. "… could feel the loss. You can recall the search for them, they are both here now."
"I'm going to send you reinforcements," the nightsister answered.
There was no need for more words and Baylan tipped onto the device to close the line of communication. He glanced at the globe map to make sure it was still being held upon the ancient pillar to be finished reading its data by the nightsister's former cast magic. The erected decoding and data-transmitting machine at the side also continued to click in its work of progress.
Statisfied with what he saw, Baylan turned and spoke up to Sabine and Ahsoka, who were just entering the circle with its illuminated canopy of planets and galaxies far, far away: "You have killed my apprentice, Shin. Of all people, you and your master should know what it is like to loose someone dear."
"It wasn't the first time your former apprentice tried to kill me, you know," Sabine replied.
"So it was the deed of your hands!" he growled and slowly took his hilt in hands while he continued to speak to them, never leaving eye-contact:
"How could you both even be on terms under these circumstances?" He ignited out of his unique-styled one and half hilt the orange hue of his blade.
"That's none of your business." Sabine stated coldly. She held up Ezra's hilt and positioned herself.
Ahsoka, standing beside her, raised her left hand with her shoto hilt in hand in a short, defensive wave towards her apprentice. Surprisingly, Ahsoka returned her shoto to her belt.
At this, Sabine's hand stopped in midair, not unnoticed by their opponent.
Then Baylan Skoll looked directly towards Sabine in an accusing and provocative way, which demanded an answer.
Sabine complied instinctively: "Habit is a bitch. Bad habits are worse. They happen to cross and hit you!"
"So she may forgive you your kill on your path on the Jedi's way as you may have forgiven your master fighting and killing your people and family on Mandalore, haven't you?"
Sabine stared at him shocked, choking visibly. Her jaw muscles tensed and the halted hand slightly started to tremble.
"Are we all here to discuss the past again?" Ahsoka retorted, grabbing her longer curved hilt with both hands now.
"Was it not your scheme of doing, your share of responsibility and guilt?" the older man teased.
"…. says the one who conspired with evil schemers and foul mystics," Sabine mumbled, more to herself.
Ahsoka held her chin a bit sideways and scrutinized the bearded man before replying: "Don't talk to me about guilt. Sabine and I may have our differences, but we have our respects for the other one's culture, motivation and reasons, too."
Baylan raised an eyebrow. "If you say so…" and took his blade up in a stance, calmly expecting an attack within moments.
With a shivering voice, Sabine regained her composure to participate in the exchange of words:
"I've sworn to a dying person to take revenge for her."
"Revenge is not the Jedi way." Ahsoka replied gently.
"I am no Jedi and I'll live to keep up my promises," Sabine stated back and finally ignited Ezra's lightsaber.
Ahsoka's tone didn't change and her gaze stayed fixed on their opponent, as she returned:
"You are not bound to the relson'are and its Mandalo…" and her voice trailed off in mid-sentence because Baylan, supported by the force, leaped forward.
He aimed for Sabine, but the Mandalorian woman dodged aside nimbly. Now being further away from her master, again the taller man launched an attack with his blade, which sudden impact she could only block by rising her free arm and meet the blow with her vambrace. Before Sabine could forward the blade in her other hand, Ahsoka interfered by using a force push.
Baylan flew a few steps away from them and struggled for a moment to regain his footing.
A clicking sound broke through the seconds of silence and all three of them paused to turn their heads to look between the calculating machine at the side and the pillar with its floating map in the middle of the circle.
Baylan had stood before the two things, now Ahsoka used the opportunity to jump forward in an attempt to reach the calculating machine. The movement was enough distraction to turn Baylan's attention towards the Togruta woman.
At that instant, Sabine intervened with Ezra's green blade in hand and the older opponent could only hastily block her swing as a reaction out of the corner of his eyes.
It gave Ahsoka the time she needed to extract out a data stick out of her pockets and to plug it in the terminal port of the machine. A tipping of the latch secured its receiving of the data, too. Ahsoka turned her eyes up again to check the situation.
Before her, Baylan and her apprentice exchanged sword thrusts and Sabine had to use all her agility to counter for the man's composed strength. Yet, as her eyes went further and checked their surroundings, Ahsoka saw that she could not support her. Several dark dressed figures with dark red helmets and dark red marks at their armor appeared at the rim of the circle. She ran to the nearest natural rock within the circle, jumped on it and used its momentum to be intensified by the force. She turned by somersaulting not to high in the air, but achieving to overfly the two combatants in the middle. Afterwards, Ahsoka landed in a crouch at the other side of the circle and ignited her curved lightsaber in her right. She had her hands full to duel the five new mercenaries of the incursion. Trying to circumvent them to only being confronted by one, two or three at most in a direct fight, she tried urgently to keep the other two or three ones that much occupied to not interfere the battle going on within the circle. Just as a flicker of silvery reflected by a ray of sunlight caught her eyes while evading, she dared to hope that this sudden help might turn the chances to their favor, only to hear a faint scream from Sabine.
Ahsoka dared to jump aside for risking a look. She caught a glimpse of Sabine falling from the ledge, which was being illuminated by the glow of Ezra's green blade, and vanishing in her fall.
Now it was Baylan's turn to face Ahsoka and hence to enlarge the battlefront.
Shocked, the only option Ahsoka saw was to retreat – even with the new and formidable helper, but at the same time the data transfer had to be defended at all costs.
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A/N: Thanks for reading so far. Hopefully, I will be able to update the next chapter(s) next weekend.
