Whirlwind of Chaos

Chapter 10 - Tatooinian Nights

The moons are shining brightly as Ahsoka brings the speeder to a stop at a cliff overlooking a large camp of Tusken Raiders. All of the huts are lighted, with a campfire burning in the midst of them. She gets off the speeder, jumping over the edge of the cliff and landing soundlessly on the sand a short distance away from the camp. Now that she's actually here, she can distinctly feel her mother's pain and track it to the right place.

Several animals right near it snarl at each other as they fight over a bone. Her lightsaber makes too much noise for her liking, but the guards seem preoccupied. She cuts through a small section of the back wall and crawls inside.

A small fire is burning in the corner of the hut, providing just enough light to see. Her mother is tied to a wooden frame in the center of the hut. She's covered in blood, clearly from repeated beatings. Her anger is more than simmering now. Those monsters. They tortured her mother.

She hurries over to her, untying the ropes on her wrists and lowering her to the ground in her arms. "Mom," Ahsoka calls quietly. Her injuries are severe, and Ahsoka may not know much about healing but she knows if she can't get her mother to a medcenter soon... it might be too late. It probably already is. Why? Why did she have to ignore her feelings for so long? But she's here now, and that's all that matters. They're together again. She can get her mother out of here, take her somewhere to heal her.

"'Soka?" her mother murmurs, eyes opening painfully, "Is it you?"

"I'm here, Mom. You're safe." No one is ever going to hurt her again. "I'm getting you out of here." Ahsoka will get her to a medcenter, but she needs to make sure her mother is actually in a position to be moved, which won't work if she's conscious. But her mother is here, finally, finally here after so many years, and Ahsoka aches to just hold her and be with her, but the circumstances won't allow it.

"I'm so glad to see you, Ahsoka," she barely manages to get out, "Now... I am complete." She weakly raises a hand, gently touching her cheek. Her eyes blur with tears as she tightens her grip slightly on her mother. No, no, no, no. She only just found her again after so many years. Sharlan can't die now. Ahsoka doesn't know if she'd even be able to handle it.

"Everything's going to be fine, Mom. Just stay with me," Ahsoka pleads, her voice shaking.

Sharlan stares back at her for a long moment before speaking again, but with great difficulty. "I'm so proud of you, 'Soka. So proud. I missed you so much. I love you." Her strength is slowly fading, each word becoming more and more strained. Then she becomes silent, her head falling back as she suddenly goes completely motionless.

Ahsoka doesn't want to believe it, that this is really the end. But if the physical evidence wasn't already obvious enough, the bond with her mother that she can still feel, suddenly tears apart. It's been so long since she's seen her mother, she didn't even realize how strong their bond still was, at least considering that Sharlan isn't a Force sensitive. And now it's gone. Nothing more than a gaping hole in her mind... and heart.

Nothing could describe the agony tearing through in this moment. For ten years she spent every moment hoping that maybe one day she'd be reunited with her mother. And now she's just gone. Forever.

She failed her mother. She should have come back for her. Maybe if she'd reacted to the nightmares sooner, she could have saved her, but it's too late now. Nothing will ever bring her back.

She's not sure how long she sits there as the pain tears her apart before it starts to turn into something entirely different. A furious, burning uncontrollable rage. Those Tuskens, those monsters killed her mother. They won't get away with it.

Sharlan didn't even just die. She was murdered. She didn't spend the last days of her life in peace. They were spent in pain.

She knows she should stop, but she doesn't care. They deserve it. Every last one of them. Ahsoka gently lays the body of her mother on the ground, shaking as she rises to her feet. Like the predator she is, she stalks out the front entrance of the hut. Her lightsabers activate in unison, slashing through the startled guards before they have a chance to react.