Shadows of Tomorrow

Chapter 14 - Mind Control

Ahsoka turns for the door, only to see Barriss standing right on the other side. "You're back!" she exclaims in relief, "Were you successful?" The girl doesn't respond, instead standing there staring at her the same way those clones first did back in the cafeteria. Oh no. Was she taken over by the brain worms too? "Barriss, what's wrong?"

"She's possessed," Theseus breaths, igniting his lightsaber.

The Mirialan raises a hand, shattering the glass with the Force, hurling the shards straight at them. "We're your friends, Barriss! Snap out of it!" Ahsoka yells.

"I don't think that's going to work," points out Theseus frantically.

"It won't hurt to try," she hisses back. The Mirialan stalks into the room, smiling cynically as she ignites her lightsaber. She jumps at them, but Theseus has his lightsaber out in a moment, stepping in front of Ahsoka to block the blow.

She pulls back, slashing at him again and Ahsoka runs forward to intercept the strike. "Barriss, it's not you!" she insists. "It's the creatures! Fight them!" Barriss is a Jedi. She should be able to resist it, right? To fight back? And after what they went through together, Ahsoka really, really doesn't want to fight her.

"There's no use," Theseus warns, swinging forwards to catch the blue blade with his own. "We have to run." She doesn't exactly want to, but she knows they have little choice. They can't stay here and fight, or the clones will find them. There's nothing she can do right now, either.

Ahsoka swings at Barriss again, their blades clashing into a saberlock. She kicks the girl across the room into wall, before spinning and sprinting out of the room, Theseus close behind. She's eternally grateful that at least he's here with her. It would be very bad if he was possessed also. He's one of the best lightsaber duelists of his age, and Ahsoka doubts his skills would be diminished, even if he was being mind-controlled.

She hears Barriss running close behind them. The Force suddenly slams into her, and she doesn't have a chance to counter the push. She's thrown down the hall into the far wall. Theseus jumps in front of her again, lightsaber ignited.

He parries Barriss' strikes, forcing her back a couple steps as Ahsoka scrambles to her feet again, throwing a Force-shove at Barriss that sends her flying down the hall this time. They both turn and run without a word.

"Back in the shaft?" Theseus whispers as they run. She nods in confirmation. The still-open shaft is right up ahead, and they can't keep running. Without wasting a moment, she jumps through the opening. Theseus follows a moment later, just before Barriss rounds the corner. The other girl pauses beneath them for a moment, then continues down the hall.

"That was close," Ahsoka mutters.

"We're not out of this yet."

"We'll have to wait for Anakin to call," she whispers. But for now... they should probably hold still and stay out of sight. Silence settles over them, and they back completely out of sight of the vent covers, staying crouched in silence. She longs to talk, because the silence is simply a sharp reminder of the dangerous situation which they're in. The darkness, the narrow area... it's making memories of the factory nag at the edge of her mind again, as hard as she tries to suppress them. If not for Anakin, she would have died in there. A sudden beeping draws her attention to her comm. "This is Ahsoka," she responds instantly, pressing the button. "Come in."

"Ahsoka, listen to me. The worms are affected by the cold," Anakin says.

"Cold?" Theseus echoes.

"Rupture the coolant system." Right on cue, a clone walks past, stopping and looking up at the grate. Ahsoka jolts back, instantly covering her comm. She can hear Anakin's muffled voice talking but waits until the clone heads off before uncovering it again.