The Unchronicled Adventures of Ahsoka Tano, Book Eight

Prologue: I See Pain... Suffering

“You can do this. Just breathe,” a young Twi’lek woman said, her arms full of delicate medical instruments and vials. She put down her precious cargo and ran over towards her. “It will all be over soon."

“I… I can’t, Amni!” she whispered to her. “It’s… it’s too… too much for me to–” She broke in a yell off as more pain came.

Sweat dripped down her face, some of it running into her mouth, which was open, gasping greedily for breath. She couldn’t seem to get enough air.

“You can! I swear by the Force you can!” Amni turned towards a young Zabrak boy. “Jinoyar, you have to get help!”

He nodded, and ran out of her line of sight. After a few minutes of terrible pain as she tried to stay awake to hear his reply, he came back. “Master Chelsu! There was no reply! The comm system has shut down, and Computer isn’t responding!”

“This isn’t good.” Amni rubbed a hand across her face.

An explosion suddenly made the room tremble, and dust puffed from cracks in the ceiling. It was made of plaster, with angular, painted designs running a perimeter around it. And there was something oddly familiar about it, but she couldn’t place it.

But she was too distraught, too tormented too give remembering where she had seen it before too much thought. She began to see black spots. Summoning every last bit of willpower she possessed, she resisted her body’s attempts to pull her into unconsciousness. If she fell now, then both she and her baby would surely die.

Increasingly painful waves of agony suddenly hit. She gritted her teeth, but a scream managed to escape her lips regardless. This was it. The big finale.

Suddenly a young man burst into the room, his face covered in sweat, dust and maybe even a little blood. Firing two shots down the hallway outside, which was full of rubble, he turned towards her. Then he closed the door again.

“It’s all going to be okay, Socks. You’re doing fine,” Lux said, running a hand over her face, managing a weak smile. “We’re going to be parents!”

Suddenly she heard a shot, and his smile faded. Time slowed, and she could see him gasp for breath. The shot had punctured his lungs. He fell to his knees, giving her full view of the door, which was open again. There stood a hooded figure with a blaster, its nozzle steaming. Suddenly she knew that she was going to die.

And then all was black.