The Unchronicled Adventures of Ahsoka Tano, Book Eight

Chapter Sixty-Nine: The Bonteri And The X-Wing

JANIRA ELT

Janira flew past an Imperial Star Destroyer at breakneck speed, pushing her favorite, sticker-plastered X-wing as far as it could go. She dodged the incoming laser blasts from the nearest cruiser, sending her craft into a tight spin.

Under her pilot's helmet, which was equally sticker-plastered, she smiled. This is where the fun begins, she sang to herself. She couldn't say it out loud, or someone would call through the comm for her to stop talking and concentrate on the battle at hand, but she could still build up her own excitement with her thoughts.

Suddenly, she was struck with a brilliant idea. Keeping one hand firmly on the clutch to keep the small ship in a straight line, she used the other to program a new course into the ship's computer, her fingers dancing across the assorted glowing displays and keypads.

"Mistress, whatever are you doing?" asked her Astromec, R4-C1, the droid's query appearing on a screen in the corner. Although she could understand an R2 unit when it was speaking using only beeps and whirrs, she relied on the screen during battles, as there were other sounds blocking out the silence of space.

"Something crazy. But don't worry, we're going to be okay," Janira said, then turned on her comm. "Blue Leader! Blue three! I could use a hand over here!"

"Copy, Blue seven. We're on our way," came Saw's voice. He was Blue Leader, while Blue three was Lees Ariah, a close friend of theirs who often flew in their squadron.

Blasting two TIE fighters to bits, she zipped past a burning Imperial Star Destroyer that was locked in a battle to the death with one of the Morvolo defense cruisers, the latter of which appeared to be winning. She headed directly towards the lead cruiser.

In a moment, the two X-wings she requested were behind her. "Okay, Blue seven, are you going to tell us what your plan is yet?" Saw asked.

"Just cover me," she replied. With the two other X-wings in tow, she made for the coordinates that she had set earlier. They brought her northwest of the lead cruiser, not far from its bridge.

"Keep all of the incoming TIEs except the one at mark four-seven off my back," she instructed. "I have something special in mind for the other one."

And so, as Lees and Saw shot down any unfriendly craft that got a little too close, Janira concentrated hard. She turned on her targeting computer, aiming for the center of the unsuspecting TIE's right wing.

She fired, and the shot found its mark. Its usual engine roar began to sputter, before it found itself spiraling down towards the vulnerable gap between the bridge's shields and those protecting the rest of the ship. A smirk grew on her face as the unwilling missile came closer to its mark.

And then, with a giant explosion, the TIE collided with the Star Destroyer. Once the smoke had cleared and the fire had been put out by the lack of oxygen to feed it, the three X-wing pilots could see a gaping hole just below the bridge.

With its supports too compromised to hold its weight, with the sound of grinding metal, the bridge and the ship detached. The lights on the cruiser flickered, then died.

As the broken ship found itself being pulled into Morvolo's atmosphere, Saw and Lees cheered. Several others echoed their cries of victory over the comm, but Jani didn't join them.

"They were innocents," she whispered. "Poor innocents brainwashed by the Empire to do bad things. Rest in peace, lost souls."

And then, as the other Star Destroyers scrambled to get their second-in-command online and the TIEs retreated to protect the larger and slower cruisers, the small fleet of Rebel ships made for Onderon's atmosphere.

The Onderonian Rebel cell had claimed its first victory in space.

*The Rebels that make up the cell on Onderon have won against the Empire for the first time. But what could the Imperial forces be planning? What new challenges await our heroes on the planet's surface? And what sort of vengeance is Shima planning to exact on Ahsoka? You'll find out in the next thrilling chapter of The Unchronicled Adventures Of Ahsoka Tano!

Please, may all of you have been mature enough not to laugh at the chapter number.

Aside from that, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. It was really fun to write and it felt like that awesome scene in The Siege Of Lothal where Hera outsmarts Darth Vader... But anyways, this chapter was actually ready yesterday, but for some reason, I forgot to post it... Sorry.

I'm working on the next one now, and it should be up soon. Bye!

Reveal that you are in fact Luke Skywalker's father in an attempt to get him to join you and may the Force be with you,

Sharron