Lives Well Lived

by jim1195

It is said that great men will define the times in which they live, rather than be defined by them. In a time defined by greed, violence, and the machinations of evil men, can anyone truly remain uncorrupted? Ahsoka Tano lived in such a time, and she walked in the shadows of the men who would define it most. But this is her story, the story of a young woman and the man she loved.

14. Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

B-1 battle droids were never stealthy, it was just a reality of their design. Their frame, while almost skeletal thin by the standards of organic life forms, were still caste from dense metal and the cheap servos that drove their joints made their movements inelegant at best. The heavy footsteps and resulting clack of metallic heels against pavement echoed loudly through the duracrete canyons of an ancient, mid-rim city like Iziz, and even two of the machines could be heard coming almost a kilometer away down the near abandoned back alleys.

They also never shut up.

"Glad we're not over there." One of the two droids patrolling the perimeter wall of Iziz's main power plant said to its partner, gesturing with its blaster towards the faint sounds of an ongoing firefight in the central market square.

Ahsoka had heard from some of the older knights that earlier B-1 models had, for the most part, gone about their tasks mutely, speaking only when it was absolutely required of them. That had changed rather drastically between those old models and the droids the CIS was currently churning out, obviously, something about their droid brains not being able to handle the increased autonomy required of them now that whole brigades weren't slaved to central control computers.

"Someone help, please!"

The droids stopped their patrol and turned towards the young man who'd come running at them from out of an alley.

"Halt!" One commanded, both their blasters snapping to the potential threat as the war machines' base programming kicked in.

"No, don't shoot!" The man said, raising his hands as he skidded to a stop a few meters from the two. "You have to help me, the rebels…"

"Rebels?!" The second droid exclaimed, taking a step back and scanning its surroundings. 'Where?!"

"Back there." The man explained, pointing back down the alley he'd emerged from. "They have bombs. I think they're planning some kind of attack."

"An attack!" The first droid repeated, turning to its partner. "Quick, call for backup!"

"There's no time! You have to…" The man began before the rest of his protest was drowned out by a pair of synthesized screams and a single blaster shot as Ghes grabbed one of the droids from behind, pulling it to his chest and thrusting his vibroblade up through the underside of the machine's head while Saw dealt similarly with other.

"You shot me!" Lux said through gritted teeth, gripping the upper part of his right arm.

"The droid shot you." Ghes corrected, letting his victim collapse to the ground in a heap of useless metal. "They tend to do that when you surprise them."

"Well then you should have killed it faster!"

"For the love of… Let me see!" Ghes said, pulling Lux's hand away so he could get a look at the wound. "Quit whining, it barely winged you! Rub some dirt in it and move on."

He gave Lux a good smack on the injured arm before jogging his way over to the perimeter wall, leaving the younger man to mutter a curse under his breath as he went back to covering the burn with his hand.

Ahsoka rolled her eyes in Ghes's direction and handed Lux a bacta patch out of her first aid kit. Believe it or not, this was Ghes being nice, and that exchange had probably gone about the same as it would have if one of his troopers had been wounded the same way.

Not if it was me, though, Ahsoka thought.

It was funny how things seemed to work like that, everything was always more serious to Ghes when she was involved. She'd be inclined to say that he was just being overly protective of her, but Ghes was protective of his men as well, she could feel it from him, he just didn't let it show the way he did with her.

Lux caught up with the group now crouched at the base of the perimeter wall shortly after Ahsoka did, bacta patch now visible through the charred hole in his tunic.

"Who has the rope?" Ghes asked, staring up toward the top of the four-meter-high reinforced duracrete barrier.

"I do." One of the other members of their little raiding party, Mira, Ashoka thought her name was, said, shrugging the coil off her shoulder and handing it to Ghes.

"Alright then." Ghes muttered as he took the rope, standing up and beginning to uncoil it from the weighted end. "You're up, commander."

Ahsoka backed up a few steps and followed Ghes's gaze to the top of the wall, doing the math in her head.

"Can I get a boost?"

Ghes nodded and took a knee facing the wall, leaning forward and bowing his head so the backplate of his armor was presented to her. Ahsoka backed up another step and bounced on the balls of her feet a few times before taking off, stepping up on Ghes's back and launching herself into a Force-assisted leap that sent her somersaulting over the top of the wall.

"Show off." She felt as much as heard Ghes say after she'd landed inside the perimeter of the power plant.

The weighted end of the rope followed her quickly, Ahsoka grabbing it in the Force as it appeared over the wall and pulling it down to her. Once she had it in her grasp and felt sufficiently braced, she gave two quick tugs to signal she was ready and felt the strain as someone began climbing up the other end.

Mira was over the wall in less than a minute, and Ahsoka stepped aside so she could slide down. Lux was the next over, struggling to drag four satchels packed with the improvised charges Ghes had instructed the militia to make along with him. After Lux was the other of the two rebels Saw had picked to come along, Jon, if Ahsoka remembered correctly, then Saw, and finally Ghes, who took the rope with him and dropped down from the wall without it.

"Gonna feel that one later." He groaned after he hit the ground, shaking out his legs. "Let's get a move on while the droids are still busy."

"Right." Saw agreed, turning to the others. "Jon, Mira, grab the charges and start planting. You remember where?"

"Yeah." Mira nodded.

"Then get to it."

These were Saw's people, and this was Saw's mission, though Ahsoka and Ghes had come at his request.

"You're sure it's just the two workers on this shift?" Ahsoka asked after the two rebels had left to carry out their task and she, Ghes, Lux and Saw continued towards the plant control center.

"I don't see why they'd change it." Saw responded. "There's not supposed to be a lot that needs to be done around here at night."

"Can you sense anyone else?" Lux asked, less quick to dismiss the idea that they might be about to inadvertently cause civilian casualties.

"No." Ahsoka admitted after taking a moment to stretch out her senses and check. "Just the two."

"See?" Saw said, stopping at the corner of a generator housing and peaking around it toward the tower. "What did I say?"

"No harm in checking." Ghes said curtly. "People are already going to be annoyed enough at you for knocking out the power without giving the Seps any bodies to point to."

Not to mention the council, Ahsoka thought, remembering the aside she'd had with Obi Wan before he, Anakin, and Rex had left Onderon about keeping the rebels away from doing anything that would reflect poorly on the Jedi should their involvement become public. She'd gotten the impression that Obi Wan didn't really trust Ghes with the task, or, more concerning, expected him to be the one encouraging more… questionable tactics. Why Obi Wan thought this, Ahsoka didn't know, though it could have something to Ghes's initial objections to their mission. But the only thing Ghes had done since they'd left that she could think of the older Jedi objecting to was teaching the rebels to make a relatively stable home brew explosive for this mission.

Off in the distance, the erratic pang of blasterfire, barely audible even to Ahsoka over the steady hum of the plant around them, was overpowered by the roar of an AAT laser cannon.

"That was a tank." Lux stated, dread creeping into his voice. "Steela and the others aren't going to be able to keep them occupied much longer."

"They'll be fine." Saw said dismissively. "Just focus on not screwing this up."

But Saw was just as anxious, Ahsoka could tell, and with good reason. Without access to a secure comm channel, the signal for Steela's team to disengage was the power plant's detonation. Even if the Seps had rolled out the heavy equipment, Steela wasn't going to withdraw until they'd completed the mission, that was the impression Ahsoka had gotten from the woman.

"Do you want point, Colonel?" Saw asked, about as close to deferential as he ever got.

"It's your show." Ghes grunted. "You and Bontieri take point, me and Commander Tano will pull up the rear."

"Roger." Saw responded, pulling off the corner and heading for the stairs that wrapped around the exterior of the tower.

There was about fifty meters between them and the tower, but Ahsoka doubted they'd be seen, she couldn't sense anything from the two technicians other than the general bored disinterest she was used to feeling from third watch Navy personnel during long hyperspace journeys.

Even so, as they climbed the metal stairs up to the control room, Ahsoka was careful to tread as lightly as possible, and silently urged Ghes to do the same as the weight of his larger frame and his beskar shook the stairs noticeably as he climbed behind her.

Saw signaled a halt as he reached the short landing in front of the door. It was a bit of unintentional good design that only Saw was able to fit on the landing with the remaining three of them stacked on the stairs behind him. Ghes signaled he was ready with a hand squeezing Ahsoka's shoulder, which she passed on to Lux, who in turn passed the gesture up to Saw.

The security protocols on the door weren't very advanced, and the probe Saw inserted into the lock hummed for only a few seconds before an audible click sounded as it disengaged.

Saw was through the door, droid popper primed and in hand, before it was more than halfway open, and Ahsoka heard the pop-sizzle of the EMP detonation just as Lux was passing through the door in front of her. Behind her, Ghes's boot caught on the last step with a clang, forcing him to catch himself on the railing and leaving him a few steps behind.

"Hands up!" Ahsoka heard Saw yell as she came through the door. "Don't try anything stupid!"

"Back away from the consoles!" Lux added, shifting the barrel of his pistol back and forth between the two technicians standing with their backs to their workstations.

Ahsoka pulled to the right once she was inside, moving along the wall while keeping her own weapon trained on the nearer of the two techs. The man's eyes shifted, first to his partner, then at a panel off to his left. She felt him tense…

And the panel exploded in a shower of sparks as Ghes fired two rounds into it on his way through the door.

"Manual alarm." Ghes said, rifle now on the tech who'd been eyeing the panel. "Wouldn't want anyone getting any ideas."

The other tech glared daggers at his partner and shuffled a few steps away from him.

"Lux, cuff 'em." Saw said, keeping his pistols trained on the techs as he moved closer to Ghes. "Charges?"

"Only need the one." Ghes answered, handing Saw a regular detonator out of a pouch on his belt. He went back and grabbed two pairs of disposable binders, which he tossed to Lux. "Bontieri, heads up."

Ahsoka and Ghes kept covering the techs for the few moments it took Lux to bind their hands behind their backs.

"Get them out of here." Saw called out from where he was working underneath the main control console. "This should only take another minute."

"You heard the man." Lux said, gesturing toward the door with his blaster. "Get moving."

Bound as they were, the techs needed to be steadied while they climbed down the stairs, and Ghes moved to help, leaving Ahsoka with Saw for the extra minute it took him to finish planting the charge.

"Ready?" Ahsoka asked when he started to stand up out from under the console.

"Yeah." Saw said, pulling his commlink off his belt. "just let me call my guys and make sure they're ready."

"Do it while we're walking," Ahsoka said, waving for him to follow as she went out the door.

"Mira, Jon, you guys all set?" Saw said into his commlink as he started after her.

"Just finished planting the last charge." Mira's voice crackled out of the older device. "We're at the east wall maintenance access now."

"Got it, we're going to detonate in five." Saw responded. "See you at the rally point."

Ghes and Lux were waiting with the techs near the bottom of the tower, but Ahsoka waved for them to keep going. They were slower pushing the two prisoners in front of them, and she and Saw caught up with them quickly. The only other obstacle on their way out were two droids on guard at the main gate, which Ghes took out with two shots from his rifle over the shoulder of the tech he was pushing.

"Mira, are you clear?" Saw barked into his commlink after they were outside the perimeter, taking a knee and pulling the detonator off his belt.

"We're clear, Saw!" The woman answered. "Blow it!"

Saw clicked the switch and the night sky was instantly lit, first by their bombs, and then by the secondary explosions that spread throughout the plant in the aftermath. And then it was dark again, darker than it had been before, as every light in Iziz winked out.

"And what has the Separatist response been thus far?"

"Minimal, master." Ahsoka said, absentmindedly turning a blaster power pack over in her hand.

She glanced over at Ghes, down to the faded black flight suit he normally wore under his armor, bathed in the pale blue light created by Anakin and Obi Wan's holograms, the only source of illumination in the small room. With the power grid still mostly down, most of what they could still use were devices with internal power units, like the encrypted holocom and a few other things provided by the Republic. This was a bigger problem for the Seps though, and they'd reacted by dialing down their operations to the point where droids rarely left their compound near the space port or the royal palace. Ahsoka and Ghes had taken the opportunity to step back and let the rebels run their operations by themselves, but over a week without leaving the safe house that served as their headquarters had left them both feeling… "cooped up" was probably the right words, but she was starting to think "stir crazy" might be better.

"It hasn't been long enough for all of their droids to be out of power," She continued. "we think they're trying to conserve resources until they can get the power grid back online."

"I'm going to guess they haven't made much progress on that?" Anakin asked.

"No, sir, they have not." Ghes answered, sitting against a small table with his arms folded across his chest. "The damage we did to the plant is too extensive for them to fix without bringing in heavy equipment from off world. Seps have been trying to make do with field generators, but our best intel says they only have one or two."

"Steela's confident that her people will be able to keep the Seps from making much progress when their equipment does get here." Ahsoka added. "That could delay them at least a month, probably longer. She's in this for the long haul."

It was Steela's cool headedness and ability to compromise and make peace between her brother and Lux that had made her the obvious choice to lead the band of insurgents, or at least that had been how Ahsoka had read the decision. That she was a crack shot and a capable battlefield leader certainly hadn't hurt things, and the woman had more than proven herself even during her short time in command thus far.

"We're happy to hear Ms. Guerera's leadership is working out well." Obi Wan said and Anakin nodded silently in agreement. "The Council is working on putting together another supply drop for you sometime in the next few rotations. Is there anything you're in particular need of?"

"Generator units." Ghes answered immediately, like he'd already been thinking about it, which was probably true. "We don't have enough power packs to last us more than a few days if the situation gets hairy. And some anti-tank weapons if you can swing it."

"The Council's position on ordnance hasn't changed, I'm afraid." Obi Wan said, diplomatic as always, but Ahsoka guessed he was growing tired of Ghes pushing the point. "Generators should not be hard to obtain, however."

Ghes grumbled something under his breath, too quietly for the com to pick up, though Ahsoka could clearly hear the string of colorful, multilingual curses and complaints about Jedi moralizing. None of that was anything new, though.

"Is there anything else you need from us, masters?" Ahsoka said after a moment had passed without either of the older Jedi continuing.

"Not at the moment, no…" Obi Wan began slowly. "But there is one more thing we need to discuss."

His hologram tapped away at the air in front of him for a few moments, presumably on the controls of a console not visible in the image.

"A few days ago, Republic Intelligence managed to intercept a large data packet being transmitted between Separatist sector commands." He continued, seeming to find whatever he was looking for on the console's interface. "Mostly fairly routine, I'm told, but there was one file they believed needed to be brought to our attention."

The holograms of Obi Wan and Anakin were replaced by a flat recording of two men working in a room lined with control panels. It took Ahsoka a moment to recognize the location as the Iziz power plant control room, seen from a vantage point high up in one corner: a security feed. Nothing of much interest happened during the first minute of footage as she and Ghes watched the bored techs go about their business up until the door, visible on the edge of the image, opened. A small, silver blur flew into the room and the image cut to black, only to come back a moment later from a different angle in a lower resolution.

"Stang." Ghes grumbled as they watched their raid on the control room play out. "Must've been a hardened backup camera."

"That's not so bad, right?" Ahsoka asked aloud. "They don't know we're Republic agents?"

"Our colleagues in Intelligence believe they do." Obi Wan answered after he and Anakin reappeared in place of the security footage. "Or at least that Separatist Intelligence is aware we're involved."

"Which they'd have assumed anyway." Ghes pointed out. "Since RepIntel and S.O.B. have a hand in most of their problems. And that's the Republic, not specifically the Jedi, which is what you were worried about."

"Colonel Marczak's right, master." Ahsoka said. "Even with this, they can't tie what we're doing here to the Order."

"Granted, that is unlikely." Obi Wan admitted.

"Assuming the Separatists don't have a file on either of you." Anakin chimed in.

Ahsoka shuddered inwardly. Something about that idea weirded her out, that there was a file sitting on a datapad somewhere detailing everything some spook had been able to gather about her life.

"Oh, you can bet a few of them do." Ghes laughed. "Doesn't mean they'll share it, though. SepIntel is full of corporate espionage agents, they barely cooperate with each other, much less anyone else."

"That's… comforting." Obi Wan said, clearly thrown off by Ghes's glib assessment of the state of their enemy's intelligence service. "But I'll insist that you two be careful to avoid similar… exposure going forward."

"We will, master." Ahsoka reassured him, smiling.

"Alright, then." Obi wan said, returning a thin smile barely visible under his beard. "That's all I have for you. We'll make contact again when your next supply drop is on the way."

With that, Obi Wan's hologram winked out of existence, Anakin remaining a few moments longer to exchange pleasantries and glower at Ghes before he too disappeared. Then they were alone, just the two of them sitting in the even fainter light of the com unit's idling projector.

"Do you really think the Seps have files on us?" She asked Ghes.

"Probably." He shrugged. "But so does RepIntel. Hell, they probably have a file on us."

"Oh…" Ahsoka said, catching his meaning. "That's…"

"Yeah." He agreed. "It's really best not to think about it."

Ahsoka took that advice to heart, immediately pushing the thought of just how intimately their own people were spying on them as far into the back of her mind as she could. That was the sort of thing that would drive a being crazy if you let it.

"So…" Ghes continued, walking up to her and putting his hands on her hips. "We've got a few hours…"

"Really?" She smiled up at him and cocked an eyebrow. "You want to do this now?"

"Sure..." He leaned in and kissed her softly on her upper lip. "Why not?"

"No power for the 'fresher…" She continued the protest half-heartedly even as she wrapped her arms over his shoulders and returned the kiss. "I stink…"

"So do I…" He grabbed under her thighs and lifted her up so her eyes were level with his. "Doesn't really bother me…"

"Oh…" He was planting kisses up the side of her neck, she hooked her legs behind him. They were moving, she felt a table under her.

"You want me to stop?" He'd worked his way back to her lips, he kissed her harder this time. His hands searched under her for the hem of her dress.

"No!" She grabbed the back of his head and held his lips against hers. Her hand went for the fastener of his flight suit and she shimmied to give him an easier time with her dress.

"Oh gods…!"

Ahsoka swore and reflexively covered herself. Ghes whirled on the intruder with his sidearm out, flight suit still undone and hanging open down to his stomach.

"I'm sorry!" Lux shrieked and ducked behind the doorframe out of Ghes's line of fire. "I didn't know! Steela asked me to get you! The door wasn't locked!"

"I swear to the freaking manda, Bontieri!" Ghes screamed, very pointedly not putting away the blaster pistol. "I will…!"

"Ghes!" Ahsoka snapped harshly to silence him before leaning around and giving Lux an extremely fake smile. "We'll be out in a minute, Lux, thank you."

"Sorry." The younger man squeaked out one more time before scurrying away from what was probably just as embarrassing a situation for him as it was for them.

Ahsoka sighed, sliding off edge of the table and straightening out her dress while Ghes holstered his sidearm and refastened the front of his flight suit.

"I'm going to gut him." He muttered. "I'm going to gut him and make a shabla belt out of his entrails."

"I know." Ahsoka said, for once just as pissed off at Lux. She grabbed Ghes by the hand and took a deep breath to try and calm herself down. "But whatever Steela wants is probably important…"

"Arrgghh…" Ghes growled, clasping his other hand over his eyes. "Okay, but we are going to finish that later."

"Of course." She agreed, smiling wryly as she led them out of the room. "Always."

One of the nicer things about operating away from the rest of the Republic and GAR was that she and Ghes could behave a little more like a couple without having to worry about someone getting suspicious and bringing the wrath of the Council down on them. The rebels just didn't seem to pay any mind to the two of them hanging off each other, sharing the same seat, or any of the other casual displays of affection you could see a dozen times walking down any street in the Galaxy. Now, that didn't mean they were going to start making out in the common area or that she wanted to put on a show for anyone like had just happened with Lux, but still, it'd been a nice change of pace during the last few weeks.

Most of the rebels staying at this safe house were already assembled when she and Ghes entered the common area. This included the Guerrera siblings… and Lux, still skittish and very conspicuously avoiding eye contact with her.

"Everything okay?" Steela asked, glancing between Lux and the two Republic advisors.

"Yes!" Lux blurted out.

A few of the rebels started snickering, but a scowl from Ghes seemed to silence them.

"Everything's fine, Steela." Ahsoka assured the rebel leader.

"Okay then…" Steela said, obviously not convinced, but impatient to move on. She glanced quickly around the assembled crowd and began. "That propaganda stunt we pulled in the market this morning seems to have rattled Rash, because they issued a response, and it's… something."

She gestured to the woman nearest the controls for the holoprojector they'd set up in this room. A moment later, an image of a frail looking old human appeared, floating and rotating slowly.

Around them, many of the rebels present gasped.

"It's the king." One said quietly

"He's still alive." Another added.

Ahsoka looked sidelong at Ghes and caught his eye. While Lux and the Guerreras had always insisted that the man Rash had overthrown, King Dendup, was being held captive, they'd been operating under the assumption he'd been killed. Ghes scowled, and she could feel his apprehension. This might have been good news to the rebels, but it certainly complicated things.

Dendup's image stood silently for a moment

"People of Onderon," His voice was thin and shaky. "I have failed you. For several months now, radical elements have waged war on the crown in my name. They have sown terror among us, attacking our infrastructure and our Confederate allies. To all loyal subjects of the crown, I call on you to reject these extremists and their terrorist methods. And, to those who stand in rebellion against our king, I call on you …"

The old man's voice caught in his throat.

"I call on you to lay down your weapons. Your fight is over."

The image of Dendup vanished, replaced by that of a much younger man in ancient, but still recognizably military styled garb; Rash.

"The recent assaults on our world's sovereignty will not go unpunished." Rash's harsh face glared venomously out at the viewer. "Steela Guerrera and her insurgents would have you believe that I am just a puppet of the Confederacy, but, loyal citizens, I tell you that it is they that have involved foreign interests against us."

The image shifted again, this time to a slowly rotating still. Ahsoka's heart climbed into her throat. The image was from the footage Obi Wan had shown them, zoomed in to show her and Ghe, a little grainy and slightly out of focu, right as they breached the control room. There was more murmuring at this, and Ahsoka caught more than a few rebels out if the corner of her eye glancing in their direction.

"This image from the sabotage of Iziz's power grid shows two offworld mercenaries we have identified working with the insurgents." Rash reappeared. "Even now, reinforcements from our steadfast allies are on their way to assist our own beleaguered forces in combating these terrorists. With them, we shall finally end this threat and return peace and stability to Onderon. For his role in birthing this treachery, Dendup shall be executed at noon tomorrow. I advise all insurgent forces to heed his final advice and lay down your arms. You have my word no harm shall come to you so long as the traitors; Steela Guerrera and Lux Bontieri are turned over to us along with their mercenary hirelings. This will be your only opportunity. You have two days."

The recording ended, Rash's holographic form lingering, frozen in that final frame, for a moment before Steela turned off the projector. No one commented, not immediately.

That had been shocking for most of them; finding out Dendup was alive, and that Rash planned to execute him. The rest, though, that was bluster, and Ahsoka doubted any of them gave much thought to Rash's ultimatum, not when they'd yet to suffer any serious setbacks. Morale was high, even if the progress they were making was fairly limited at the moment. But Dendup… that had the potential to cause serious issues.

"We have to do something!" Saw was, predictably, the first to speak up, but Ahsoka noted the murmurs of agreement from elsewhere in the room.

"Do what exactly?" Steela's voice held a feint note of exasperation. She'd probably recognized the same potential problem Ahsoka and Ghes had and was dreading the confrontation it would force her into.

"Rescue the king!" Saw scoffed, like it was obvious, which it was, but that hadn't been why Steela had asked for the elaboration. "Now that we know he's alive, we can't just let Rash execute him!"

Steela sighed, a final reprieve before saying what she must have known had to be said, despite how unpopular it would be.

"You know we can't do that, Saw." She began quietly, choosing not to match her brother's intensity. "If Rash is holding him, he has to be in the palace, and any attempt we made to break in and rescue him would be walking us right into a trap."

There was more murmuring at that; some still disagreeing, insisting that something had to be done, but others recognized the obvious truth of what Steela was saying. And it was obvious; this, revealing Dendup and announcing his execution, was a transparent ploy to provoke the rebels into overplaying their hand in an attempt to free him. Ahsoka would be willing to bet a considerable amount, if she'd had the credits, that every available droid and Onderonian soldier was lying in wait at the palace right at that moment.

"Of course, it's a trap!" Saw continued, enthusiasm disturbingly unphased by that admission. Obvious trap or not, whoever had thought up this scheme had at least found the right bait to hook him. "But since we already know it's a trap…"

"We'll have to act surprised when they gun us down?" Steela finished for him, cocking an eyebrow.

Saw glowered at the joke, which was surprising. For all his bluster, he usually avoided direct conflict with his sister. But he really had settled his mind on this issue, and he wasn't ready to back down.

"Steela has a point, Saw." Lux moved in between the two to try and defuse the situation. That would be the politician in him, but not a very good one, because he'd clearly already taken a side.

"Stow it, Bontieri!" Saw growled, jabbing a finger at the shorter man. "Just because you're a coward…"

"Saw!" Steela cut him off, finally raising her voice. "That's enough!"

Ahsoka re-crossed her arms and glanced sidelong at Ghes, looking uncomfortable as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. It had been a while since an argument like this had broken out, and the two advisors had invested considerable time and effort into squashing that bug in rebel leadership.

Saw stared daggers at his sister, a hint of what looked like betrayal just visible beneath the anger.

"You know what? Fine." He said after a moment, sounding suddenly much calmer, though there was still an obvious edge to his voice Ahsoka didn't like. "You want to abandon our king to die, that's your call."

"Saw…" Steela started to say, but he put up his hands and backed away.

"No." He turned around and began walking away, the silent crowd parting to let him pass. "It's done, we're done here."

After Saw departed, the other rebels, beginning with those who'd been sympathetic to him, trickled out from the meeting back to whatever it was they'd been doing prior to Steela's summons. It wasn't hard to guess what the most popular topic of conversation would be once they were out of earshot.

Once all were gone except Lux, Ahsoka, and Ghes, Steela, who'd remained stone-faced even during her brother's outburst, seemed to take on the distress of the confrontation all at once.

"Steela," Lux moved to the woman's side and placed a hand gently on her shoulder. "he's just upset. You know how Saw gets."

"I'm sure he just needs to calm down." Ahsoka agreed, though there was a nagging part of her that wondered if that was really what Saw had in mind when he'd left. "You're making the right decision, Steela, he'll come around eventually."

Steela took a slow, deep breath, and nodded.

"Thank you." Her voice was steady despite the stress obvious on her face. She shook her head. "He's always been idealistic like that, can't let anything go."

Lux nodded solemnly, and Ahsoka was also inclined to agree. Saw's hot-headed nature wasn't exactly news to anyone who'd met the man more than briefly.

"You sure he won't try anything?" Ghes nodded in the direction Saw had stormed out. "He gave up pretty quick."

Steela furrowed her brow.

"He did…" She turned to Lux. "You don't think…"

"It certainly wouldn't be beyond him." Lux said reluctantly, not like he didn't believe it, but more like he didn't want to. "And he was quite upset…"

Ahsoka and Ghes sighed together. Why did everyone she know always seem to do things like this? It was bad enough with Anakin; no matter how much trouble he charged headlong into, he could be relied upon to dig himself out of it, but with someone like Saw…? What had been Ghes's assessment? "Just capable enough to get himself into trouble".

"We'll go find him." Ahsoka volunteered. She tapped Ghes on the arm and waved for him to follow as she moved for the door.

"It'd probably be better if I went…" Steela began to protest.

"No, your face is all over the place now." Ghes dug a worn jacket out of those hung next to the door for himself and handed Ahsoka her cloak. He pulled the jacket on over his flight suit and fastened the front. "Seps might know about us, but they don't have a good idea what we look like."

"And we're pretty good at staying out of sight." Ahsoka added, throwing the hood of her cloak over her head. Togruta weren't that common on Onderon, but her montrals hadn't developed to the point that they were impossible to conceal. "Don't worry, Steela, we won't let anything happen to him."

It was early in the evening and the streets of Iziz were crowded with people returning home for the night, patronizing the city's cantinas and restaurants, or shopping in the markets despite the city's continuing lack of power. Saw had a lead on them, but not an insurmountable one despite the crowds. Ahsoka had spent enough time around the man over the past few weeks to be familiar with the feel of his presence in the Force, though she was initially unsure if she was familiar enough to pick him out among so many others. But, once she'd stretched out her senses, she found that she needn't have worried. Saw was in a different place mentally than everyone around him; nursing a lingering anger, probably with Lux and his sister, along with a cold sense of determination Ahsoka recognized. He was about to do something stupid, alright.

"That way." She nodded in the direction that she'd felt Saw.

Ghes, better able to push through the crowd because of his size and generally unconcerned with people noticing his face, took the lead. Ahsoka followed behind, keeping her head down and tapping Ghes on either side to give directions as they slithered their way through the street-level foot traffic and occasional slow-moving speeder.

They'd tracked him a few blocks when Ghes finally got eyes on him turning down a side street about fifty meters ahead of them. Ahsoka didn't have the layout of Iziz one hundred percent set in her mind, but, from what she did remember, they were heading in the direction of the government district and the palace. Not a good sign, but, at this point, what was she really expecting?

"On the left." Ghes muttered tilting his head ever so slightly in that direction.

Ahsoka stole a glance that way and caught sight of two Onderonian Army regulars standing on the corner, leaning against laser lances and chatting back and forth between them. She quickly ducked her head back down a bit further and adjusted right to put more of Ghes between her and the soldiers.

"G'evening, gents" Ghes waved to the men as he passed, trying his best to disguise his voice with a Mid-Rim accent. It wasn't great.

"Evening." One of the soldiers returned half-heartedly, barely looking up before going back to their conversation. Despite Rash's claims of an imminent crackdown, the two obviously weren't expecting any trouble.

The side street Saw had disappeared down was narrow, almost an alley, really. What doors there were looked like side entrances and emergency exits, but there were still lamps mounted at regular intervals, alternating sides; lamps that were just starting to glow with what little power was left in the grid as the last light of the day faded in the sky. But Ahsoka didn't see Saw.

"Where'd he go?" Ghes grumbled, slowing to a crawl and visually scanning the seemingly empty street.

"He's here." Ahsoka confirmed. She still felt him close by, within twenty meters to their front.

Ahsoka stepped around Ghes and headed for an alcove in the duracrete side of a building to their right. Peaking her head inside, she found a sharp corner, then a short staircase leading up to a door. She scowled; not here either.

"Don't move." A voice behind her that sounded an awful lot like Saw growled.

This was followed pretty much immediately by a scraping of mental on leather and Ghes loudly clearing his throat; "Eh-hem."

Ahsoka turned around to see Saw with his pistol out, seeming very confused for a brief moment as he looked back and forth between her and Ghes, standing behind him with his own sidearm. She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Really?" She cocked an eyebrow at the man, who smiled sheepishly and holstered the blaster.

"My bad, commander." He laughed awkwardly. "Didn't think I'd be able to get the drop if it was you."

"Sure." Ahsoka deadpanned. She looked over his shoulder at Ghes, who glanced to his right… at the narrow gap between the building she'd been investigating and the previous one. A gap she'd overlooked in favor of the more obvious hiding place of the alcove. Frustrating.

Saw turned better to face both of them and backed up against the building

"So, what? Are you guys coming to help me?" He sounded optimistic, almost naively so, to the point were Ahsoka wondered if it was an act.

"What do you think, kid?" Ghes said. He still had his pistol out and down by his side, quietly signaling to her that he didn't expect this to end civilly.

"Steela's worried Saw." She explained. "She thinks you're going to get yourself killed."

Saw scoffed.

"Steela worries to much." He was trying to play it cool, but Ahsoka could sense how on guard he was. "I'll be in and out before anyone knows I was even there. Though, if you to wanted to help…"

"That's not happening, Saw." She corrected as gently as she could while still making clear that was a non-negotiable. "We're not here to help you get yourself killed."

"So, you're here to stop me?" Saw set his jaw. He started to edge his way out from between them, but Ahsoka took a step to block him.

"If we have to." She said.

"Don't try anything stupid." Ghes warned. He bent his arm, bringing his blaster up into a better ready position closer to his hip. "Just come along quietly and you can talk this out with your sister."

Saw's eyes flicked back and forth between them. He knew he was trapped; he wasn't a match for either one of them on their own, let alone together. But still, Ahsoka felt a defiant sense of confidence in him. He smiled thinly.

"Sorry about this, then."

Before either could ask what he meant, Saw started shouting.

"Help! Guards! Help! It's the rebels!"

Ghes brought up his pistol. "Okay, the hard way, then…"

"Hey!"

Ahsoka looked towards the shouting, seeing the two soldiers they'd passed before now jogging towards them with their laser lances held at port arms across their chests.

Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, and with a wicked grin plastered across his face, Saw pushed his way off the wall and sprinted in the opposite direction the guards were coming from, shoving his way past Ahsoka.

Reflexively, she turned and reached out to halt him with the Force, but stopped herself when she thought better of it. No overt use of the Force, not unless she wanted to kill these men, which, all things considered, she'd prefer to avoid.

Ahsoka turned back around and took a few steps towards the soldiers, slowly, hands out to her sides, palms facing front. Ghes stuck the hand holding his blaster behind his back as he turned to face them as well. Not the smartest thing, it was extremely obvious, but also quicker than holstering it.

"What's going on here?" The first soldier said. Ahsoka didn't recognize any insignia on his uniform, but he seemed to be the senior of the two.

She'd yet to see the Onderonian Army in action. They were supposedly a well trained and professional force, if inexperienced at much other than minor police actions. Best not to discount them, especially after they'd just been, as Ahsoka now realized to her aggravation, outmaneuvered by Saw.

"Nothing, officer." Ahsoka angled her head down to try and better hide her face, but she doubted that they wouldn't notice she wasn't human. "That man just started screaming nonsense and ran away. I think there might be something wrong with him."

The senior man looked at her appraisingly. He didn't mention the obvious, but it was clear from the heightened alertness in his presence that he'd noticed.

"That's not how it looked to me." He grumbled. "I'm going to have to ask you two to come with us, ma'am."

He glanced to his partner, then gave a slight nod towards Ghes. The other soldier, the junior of the two if Ahsoka was correct, took a hesitant few steps towards the man he was probably supposed to be securing. That slight amount of hesitation gave away more than the soldier realized. They had some idea who she and Ghes were, and it put them on alert. Not a good sign as far as getting out of this without hurting anyone. There was still one more thing she could try…

"You don't need to take us in." Ahsoka put the Force behind her words, waving her hand off to the side in the small gesture she'd been taught as a youngling.

The movement caught the man's eye, and, for a moment, his gaze seemed to grow distant…

But only for that moment. He shook his head, looked back at her, and scowled. Ahsoka swore inwardly.

"I'm afraid we do, ma'am." The soldier was suspicious, he had been already, but did he suspect? Probably not, mind tricks weren't exactly common knowledge. "If you could come with us back to the…"

The rest of his sentence was lost in a squelching crunch of cartilage and bone as Ahsoka lashed out with a quick jab to his nose. He yelled out in pain and took a step back. Ahsoka followed, wrapping her right arm around his lance, keeping close against the weapon so it couldn't be brought into the fight.

Off to the left and a little behind her, the other soldier, who'd been working up the nerve to try and restrain Ghes, turned to face the sudden violence. Ghes lunged at the man as soon as his eyes were off him, taking the hand holding his blaster from behind his back and shoving the muzzle of the weapon into the soft armor covering the soldier's stomach, he pulled the trigger. There was a brief and muffled whine as a stun bolt traveled the infinitesimally small distance out the barrel and into the man's gut, and a clattering of weapon and body onto the pavement. Thankfully Ghes was carrying a service pistol with a stun setting instead of that overcharged Westar of his.

The soldier wrestling Ahsoka over his lance realized what was happening, letting go of the weapon and backpedaling for space to draw the pistol at his hip. Smart move, against most opponents anyway, but against a Jedi, not so much. The laser lance had an awkward, uneven shape, but Ahsoka had no intention of doing anything fancy. She quickly adjusted her hand to just below the flared handguard and swung the weapon out in a wide arc that connected with the side of the soldier's open-faced helmet with a loud crack, sending him tumbling to the ground.

"Har'chaak." Ghes muttered next to her. "I didn't think he'd have it in him…"

"Yeah." Ahsoka didn't need to ask for clarification. Ghes realized the same thing she had; Saw had played them. "We have to get out of here."

The man she'd knocked down made a halting attempt to pick his head up and Ghes put a stun bolt into him, this time not even trying to muffle the sound. They'd made plenty of noise already.

"No way we can catch up to him now." He shook his head and holstered his blaster. "Won't take anyone long to figure out what happened to these two and come looking for us."

"I know." Ahsoka readjusted her hood, it had started to slip back during the struggle, and turned in the direction Saw had fled.

Their best bet was to circle back around the long way to the safe house. It was probably better that way; she'd have more time to think of what she was going to say to Steela.

Ahsoka strained trying to look over the shoulders of the shuffling crowd around her and orient herself. The citizens of Iziz had begun packing into the palace square early on the morning, testament to a morbid curiosity that was a better motivator than order Rash had issued the night before.

"All citizens will attend." The announcement had been delivered late, played on portable projectors spread around the city much like his first one had been. "And bear witness to the death, not just of the traitor Dendup, but of the insurgent ringleader; Saw Guerrera."

The image of Saw presented had been of a man beaten, physically if not spiritually. Ahsoka knew enough to guess that he hadn't gotten that way as a result of any serious interrogation, they'd just beaten him until he was bloodied and bruised enough to make for a grisly holo. It was a targeted bit of propaganda, a dare aimed directly at Steela. And, coolheaded as the woman was, she couldn't help but take the bait.

Ahsoka felt someone brush up against her shoulder, and she glanced to the side to see Ghes, looking bulky in a cloak she knew to he draped over his armor. He nodded in the direction she'd been facing and started off into the crowd again. She followed, feeling better knowing that she hadn't lost her bearings as much as she'd thought.

She didn't blame Steela, it would have been hypocritical. Ahsoka would have done the same thing in her situation, she imagined most people would have. But this was a trap. They all knew it, and they'd tried to plan around it, but there were too many ways this could go to do much more than guess. She'd even tried meditating on it, but, as usual, guidance from the Force was limited to a general sense of danger.

She and Ghes had moved another fifty or so meters towards the front of the crowd when something like a horn sounded out over the plaza. Around them, the buzz of conversation fell silent as the crowd turned its attention toward the stage in front of the gateway that led to the palace grounds proper. There were already battle droids lining the edges of the stage and the plaza, the first Ahsoka had seen in a long time, with the odd Royal soldier interspersed among them, but the crowd looked on in silence as another group emerged from the opening gate. A squad's worth of hulking super battle droids led the way out into the noon light, one arm held up at the ready. What followed behind was less expected; Magnaguards, made immediately obvious by the high-shine finish of their plating and weapons. There were four, marching in escort formation around two humans; Dendup and Saw, moving with difficulty obvious even from this distance. Finally came Rash, flanked on one side by an older man in the armor of the Royal Army, their commander, General Tandin, and on the other…

"You see that?" Ghes whispered, shuffling closer to her.

"Yeah." It was one of the new super tactical droids. "I've never seen one before."

"Me neither."

Ahsoka didn't know how much smarter these new droids were supposed to be, the intelligence report she'd seen had been sparse on detail, but the theory was; "very". She'd only seen that report a week or so before coming to Onderon, though. The droids were that new, there shouldn't be many of them in service yet.

The honor guard of supers split in opposite directions upon reaching center stage, leaving a ten-meter gap between the two elements that the Magnaguards and their two prisoners stepped into, followed closely by Rash's party. By himself, the usurper king stepped around and in front of the polished war machines to address the crowd.

"Citizens of Onderon," He began, voice magnified by something not immediately obvious. "today you shall bear witness to the first step on the road to a new era of peace and prosperity for our planet."

He waved for something behind him, and two of the Magnaguards stepped forward carrying a large, "U" shaped metal device which they placed down next to him. One tapped its wrist and a red energy field sprang to life between the two prongs of the device. The other tossed something, maybe a stone, maybe a piece of fruit, into the field, where it was caught and held in place. On a nod from Rash, the two droids activated their electrostaffs and touched them to either side of the device, sending a surge of energy through the field that severed the suspended object cleanly in half.

There was a soft murmur through the crowd as the two halves fell. Ahsoka glanced sidelong at Ghes, who met her eyes with just a hint of concern. The demonstration was effective, she had to give them that.

"Thus is the fate of all who would go against our people." Rash continued, a definite note of self-satisfaction in his words. "Bring forward the prisoners!"

The other two Magnaguards each grabbed an arm, one on Saw, one on Dendup, and roughly guided their charges forward to the executioners.

"First, the false king, in whose name the rebels fight." Rash commanded.

The droid holding the old man forced him to his knees and leaned him forward until his neck rested in the energy field. Rash raised a hand, the mechanical executioners bringing up their weapons in time with the motion…

And a blaster shot rang out across the plaza, a blue bolt screaming through the air into the red secondary photo receptor in the center of a Magnaguards torso. The machine, chest spewing sparks and thin wafts of smoke, dropped its weapon and crumpled to the ground with a clatter. The crowd let out a collective gasp of fear, and Ahsoka sidestepped out of the way of the involuntary few steps backward taken by the civilian in front of her.

The other three Magnaguards reacted quickly and in accordance with their core programing, abandoning their prisoners to form a tight circle around Rash and retreating away from the crowd. The super battle droids leveled their arms and moved forward, scanning over the crowd for the threat. One took a bolt to its faceplate and toppled, the others snapping their aim towards one the buildings lining the opposite end of the plaza and spraying fire from their heavy wrist blasters. They advanced towards the edge of the stage, dangerously close to a crowd that, while thinned from what it had been as people tried to slip away or just put distance between themselves and the droids' thundering blasters, was still far from dispersed.

"Now! Go!" Ahsoka just barely heard someone shout over the din of blasterfire.

At the front of the crowd, about twenty meters ahead of Ahsoka, more blasterfire erupted as rebels close to the remaining B-2s, distracted trying to kill with saturation the sniper they couldn't quite pinpoint, drew blaster pistols and let loose into them at close range. The hulking machines fell quickly, their heavily armored torsos not doing much good against vicious, point-blank fire. What B-1s where nearby moved to reorient to the new threat, but took sniper fire and attacks from elsewhere in the crowd.

It was that last part that got the crowd moving; pockets opening up around scattered rebel as bystanders tried to distance themselves from anyone likely to draw return fire. Oddly enough, though, there was no mass exodus, disorderly or otherwise, from the area as they'd expected. The crowd was pulling back, but it didn't seem to be leaving.

Ahsoka hazarded a glance over her shoulder and saw a lot of people trying to push their way to the back of the plaza, but none was moving very far. Either there was something blocking that end of the plaza, maybe more droids, or the people down there were hesitant to move toward the sporadic blasterfire coming from those buildings.

Steela and Lux came out of the crowd and joined the others rushing the stage, going right for Saw and Dendup. There was a feint sort of cheer, mostly lost in the general noise of a nervous crowd, but recognizable nonetheless.

Rash, half hidden behind the Magnaguards trying to shield him simultaneously from potential sniper fire and attacks from rebels on the stage, barked something inaudible to the super tactical droid next to him. The machine nodded, bringing up its wrist and tapping something on its com unit.

That's it, here it comes, Ahsoka thought, feeling herself tense and glancing around for the trap they all knew was coming. She took a step closer to Ghes and touched his mind, finding him in a similar state if vigilance.

For a moment, had to be no more than a second, but it felt much longer, nothing happened. Then, there was a low-pitched metallic whirring, distinct and instantly recognizable; destroyers. Four of the machines rolled out of hiding along the perimeter and up onto the stage, surrounding the small group of rebels. One, a man whose name Ahsoka couldn't remember off the top of her head, took a wild shot at one of the war machines as it unfolded in front of him, the bolt digging a furrow in the droid's carapace but not hindering it, and earning the man a blaster cannon round the chest. Another shot came from one of their snipers, only to impact harmlessly on the ray shield bubble that sprang to life in its path.

The snipers, there were only two, Steela hadn't wanted to risk too many people on this, shifted their fire to where Rash stood hiding amongst his remaining Magnaguards. But the machines were alert now, and, while they were nowhere near as good as a Jedi, their sensor packages and reflexes were more than up to the task of intercepting what long-range fire two blasters could throw their way. Steela waved a hand over her head, signaling them to cease fire, and, if the two followed the plan, retreat.

"Ms. Guerrera," Rash began once the shooting had stopped, sounding a little too smug for someone still cowering behind droid bodyguards. "you are surrounded. Order your fighters to put down their weapons."

Ahsoka's hands went instinctively for her lightsabers. Four destroyers, three Magnaguards, a little under twenty meters between her and the stage. Rash probably wasn't a real threat, but the super tactical droid and Tandin were wild cards…

She stopped herself. There wasn't a good way out of this, not without making it obvious what she was and, consequently, completely abandoning the Council's orders. Was she willing to do that? Better question; was she willing to stand by and watch Lux, Steela, Saw, and a dozen others die so… what? So the Jedi Order could maintain deniability here?

"You have a plan?"

Ahsoka tore her gaze away from what she was sure was about to turn into a slaughter and looked at Ghes. She'd almost forgotten he was standing there, stupid as that might seem given what she was considering doing. He seemed to be having similar thoughts, the front of his cloak rustled with movement and she heard the feint whine as he primed the rifle concealed beneath.

"I don't know." She admitted softly. "We can save them…"

"But you'll have to use the Force." Ghes finished for her. He let out a low growl that would have told her he was just as conflicted as her even if she hadn't been able to feel his mind. "General won't be happy."

Ahsoka nodded solemnly, even though she wasn't exactly sure who he was referring to. She'd guess Obi-Wan, but, if they went through with this, he and Anakin would be the least of their worries.

Up on stage, at Steela's reluctant signal, the surrounded rebels began tossing down their weapons. It was hard to see faces from where she was standing, but Ahsoka got the sense they were all aware this act of submission wasn't going to save them.

"This won't end, Rash!" Steela called out, much louder than she had to for just the false king to hear her. "Even if you kill us, the people of Onderon won't stop fighting!"

"If we're going to do something…" Ahsoka began, letting the statement hang in the air between her and Ghes as she unclipped her sabers beneath her cloak.

"Screw it…" Ghes swore. He produced his helmet from under his cloak and stooped down to pull it on. Around them, a few civilians seemed to notice the highly conspicuous action, but none seemed inclined to say anything.

"On that, Ms. Guerrera, I am afraid we disagree." Rash's voice carried out over the crowd again. Ahsoka backed up a step and tensed, preparing to launch herself into the air. Ghes brought his rifle at low ready out into the open. "Commander, you may fi…"

Ahsoka paused. Something about the way Rash had just stopped mid-sentence…

"Tandin!" She heard Rash begin again, quieter and more frantic. "What are you doing!"

She straightened up and looked toward where Rash and his retinue had been standing. The Magnaguards and super tactical droid had opened their circle and were facing inward, weapons at the ready. Rash was still where he had been, but with General Tandin standing directly behind him… holding his sidearm to his neck.

"I can not stand by and let you continue like this anymore, Rash!" Called out a strong voice Ahsoka assumed belonged to Tandin.

Onderonian soldiers began to run up onto the stage, surrounding the destroyers and Magnaguards with lances leveled, making sure to keep out of reach of the later.

"Traitor!" Rash hissed. "Traitors, all of you!"

"Call off your dogs, Rash." Tandin growled back. "Call them off or you die, here and now."

For a long moment, it wasn't clear what was going to happen; whether Rash would comply, or if he was enough of a madman to go ahead with the execution. Judging by the man's silence, Rash must have been asking himself the same thing.

"Now!" Tandin repeated, louder this time.

"Stand down!" Rash relented finally; his own distress clear in his voice. "Let them go."

The droids, uncharacteristically, hesitated, remaining rooted in place despite the order. Then, the super tactical droid gestured, and they obeyed; destroyers shuffling aside to allow the soldiers to form their own protective circle around the remaining rebels.

"Go." Tandin ordered once the tense exchange of position had played out.

His men appeared hesitant, but obeyed, moving with the rebels off the stage and into the crowd. That left the general alone, with two options Ahsoka could see; either kill Rash in what was essentially cold blood, or let him go. Either way, he was unlikely to survive.

"Let's get out of here." Ghes said, lowering his weapon back into concealment and turning to watch the progress of the escaping rebels and soldiers towards the end of the plaza. He made to follow, but hesitated when Ahsoka stayed where she was.

"We can't just leave him here." She said.

Ghes sighed.

"You know what'll happen."

She did. It was the same action she'd been considering only a few moments ago, with pretty much the same consequences. But it wasn't right to leave Tandin to die like this. Not after what he'd just done, not if there was anything they could do about it.

That determination made, Ahsoka didn't have to think much about anything else afterward, she just acted.

She crouched, then launched herself into the air with a boost from the Force, tumbling over the thin crowd with her cloak trailing behind her and landing next to one of the destroyers. Distantly, she heard shouts of surprise, but she wasn't paying much attention to who was doing the shouting. The destroyer took a half second to register her presence, but by then she was already reaching through the its ray shield. She activated her lightsaber and burned through the droid's brain before rolling away from volley of blaster cannon fire that immediately came from the other three.

That brought her within striking distance of a Magnaguard, but the machine was torn between two priorities; the direct threat to Rash posed by Tandin, and killing the Jedi that had suddenly appeared in their midst. A whole second passed, an eternity for either a droid brain or a Force user, before the droid made the decision to swing at her, but by then she was already lashing out at the machine's ankle, severing a foot and throwing it off balance.

She kept moving, staying ahead of the crab-legged shuffling of destroyers trying to bring their weapons to bear in her and out of reach of the other two Magnaguards. They wouldn't close with her on their own, not so long as that meant blocking the more heavily armed destroyers' line of fire. She leaped over the nearest just as it drew a bead on her and fired, feeling the heat from the scorched stone where she'd stood nanoseconds before. Coming down on the other side of the machine, she immediately dropped to the ground, barely ducking another volley of cannon fire that instead hammered the shields of the droid she'd just vaulted, causing a flicker of vulnerability she immediately capitalized on, slashing her saber through the weakened barrier and severing its rear tripod leg. Ahsoka rolled out of the way of the destroyer as it stumbled backwards, folding into its wheel mode to keep its balance. A quick backhanded strike finished it off, but that still left two.

It was at that point that Ghes joined the fight, emerging out of the crowd and coming up the steps onto the stage. The destroyer closest to the edge, focused on her, didn't notice the new threat until blaster bolts burned through its casing from within its own shield. Ahsoka registered this, but didn't really see it happen, as she was already moving, dodging out of the way of another volley from the sole remaining destroyer. She heard metal feet on stone behind her and spun around just in time to catch an electrostaff on the blade of her saber.

Two of the Magnaguards had moved on her now, the third lagging slightly behind hobbling on the stump of the foot she'd severed. Ahsoka ducked another blow aimed at her head, feeling the heat of the energy field on her skin as it passed just centimeters away from her face. She activated her other saber and parried the follow up from that droid even as she lashed out at the first with a strike that was meant more to force it back than do any real damage. Behind her, Ghes rushed the last destroyer before it could reorient, throwing himself through its shield and struggled with one of its weapon arms trying to stab his vibroknife into the machines casing.

This was a tenuous position to be in. Ahsoka was confident she could beat three Magnaguards, they we're good, but they weren't not that good, but it would take time, time she wasn't sure they had. There would be more droids coming, either from the palace grounds, in which case they were basically already there, or from the spaceport, which was ten minutes away at most. She and Ghes could take on lot of droids by the in the right circumstances, but she'd guarantee there were more than that on their way right now. They needed to extricate themselves sooner rather than later.

"Go!" She shouted in Tandin's direction, which was about all she could manage while keeping up with the ongoing assault from the two Magnaguards.

The general seemed to get the message, or, at least, Ahsoka assumed he did because suddenly Rash was free and shouting at his droids to stop the man now running down the steps and through what remained of the crowd. Unfortunately for Rash, the Magnaguards, focused on Ahsoka, weren't inclined to obey, and Ghes seemed to have gotten the better of the remaining destroyer, so the only one in any position to react to Tandin's flight was the super tactical droid, which still wasn't able to do much beyond taking a shot with its sidearm.

Disentangling himself from the wrecked destroyer, Ghes turned his attention towards Rash, still shouting uselessly at the tactical droid about Tandin. He brought up his rifle and fired, but the wounded Magnaguard had given up on engaging Ahsoka with its compatriots and instead inserted itself between this new threat and the man it was supposed to be guarding. It caught one bolt on its electrostaff, a second glancing off its shoulder without causing much harm.

The droids fighting Ahsoka seemed to notice the shift in threat, letting up slightly, probably looking to disengage. One lunged at her, staff whirling. The blows themselves were simple to avoid, but she was forced back a few steps, giving the other room to back off and return to covering Rash. She made sure the droid that remained paid dearly for that, taking first an arm, then slashing through the processor housed in its torso.

"Let's go!" She heard Ghes shout.

He was closer to her than she'd realized, about a meter off her left shoulder, rifle still at the ready. Rash and his remaining droids were retreating slowly towards the palace gate, the wounded Magnaguard leaving a thin trail of fluid. Off in the distance, she could hear the sound of droid reinforcements moving in their direction. Time to leave.

Ahsoka deactivated her sabers and returned the hilts to her belt, acutely aware of the thin crowd of spectators still behind her. Before the day was over, everyone on the planet would know the Republic was here. No going back now.

She turned and ran, keeping pace with Ghes as they crossed the plaza and returned to the city streets. They needed to get back to the safe house and find out were Steela intended to go from here.