ɪᴛ's ᴏᴋᴀʏ... [ᴇɴɢʟɪsʜ ✓]

07. Confrontation

Ahsoka's shoulders slumped in relief as Rex joined his brothers.

She didn't want him to know what ailments she actually had. And the thought of having to describe them to Master Windu now didn't sound very friendly.

Still, if it let her not to hurt her brothers, it was worth it. She wouldn't have minded following the instructions again, but she didn't want the clones to be forced to take over against Mace's will.

That would not end well for anyone.

So she walked, as upright as she could, out of the cave. Not far from the entrance stood the Jedi bathed in the golden light of the rising sun.

"Master?", she addressed him in her usual, confident voice. Albeit a tiny bit quieter.

The man turned and his expression darkened instantly, insofar as that was still possible.

He couldn't stand her, but he didn't want her to die either. And her pale skin, the red bandage with blood dripping from underneath, or the Togruta's feeble movements indicated that she probably didn't have much time left.

"Padawan Tano", he greeted back.

Ahsoka could have sworn she saw a small, worried glint flit across his dark eyes for not even a tenth of a second.

"I wanted to talk to you again about the upcoming aggression."

She refrained from pressing her hand to her aching side and now stood, both arms hanging at her side, in front of the Jedi Master.

Windu said nothing back, but waited for her to continue speaking. She took one deep breath and began.

"I am well aware of my poor condition and what I am capable of. I do not want to retreat from a fight by any means, but my field of vision is limited and my vision is blurred by the pain. Therefore, I am not able to deflect shots coming at me properly or unerringly. And I don't want to harm anyone unintentionally."

As she spoke, she fixed her counterpart's eyes with a steady gaze. Windu considered, but answered nothing. So the girl continued.

"I am also aware that I am barely capable of leading a unit as my strength is fading and I cannot react as quickly. On top of that, I'm constantly losing blood and I don't know how much longer I'll survive like this."

Ahsoka felt a cold shiver run down her spine, her voice getting hoarse and scratchy towards the end. It was creepy to think of the slim chance of survival herself.

It had all been clear to her before, but this made it even clearer to her once again that she would probably not return from this mission.

Not alive.

But what was the point of talking everything up when everyone knew what it was really like? She only didn't want to tell Rex that directly. He shouldn't worry too much.

And she hadn't even listed her pain yet. She felt a thousand knives in her stomach and hip, fire on the gaping wound and an uncomfortable pressure where the temporary bandage stopped.

It took a while for the older Jedi to regain his speech. He had indeed not expected her to have the courage to openly admit her weaknesses to him.

"Master, please, I don't want to hurt anyone..."

He sighed. "As far as I'm concerned, just stay in the background during the battle."

Ahsoka exhaled in relief. It was a load off her mind. She didn't want to hurt her brothers for anything in the world.

But what she didn't know was that describing her condition scared someone else.

Rex had overheard the Jedi's conversation after he had been released by Fives.

At the edge of the entrance, but still in the cave, he stared at the floor in shock. He couldn't believe that Ahsoka saw little chance for herself.

The girl who was so strong, so stubborn and had never given up, no matter how hopeless the situation was.

One thing was clear. He had to act immediately. Just one push of a button was enough to call for help. Why hadn't he thought of this before?

He was so busy taking care of the little girl that he hadn't thought of the simplest possibility.

And already the Jedi's comlink was flashing. Another fighter exploded until he accepted.

"Skywalker?"