The Unchronicled Adventures Of Ahsoka Tano, Book Ten

Chapter Twenty-Four: Escape From The Base

JANIRA BONTERI

The three Jedi and the Rebel pilot swept through the Separatist base like wildfire, firing blaster bolts and swinging lightsabers every which way. The droids fired back, but were cut or shot down before they could pose too much of a threat.

As more and more droids rushed to confront them, the group fell instinctively into pairs. Janira and Lux worked together like a well-oiled mechanism – she would play offence and fire at the battle droids, and her brother would cover her with quick swipes of his lightsaber to slash the lasers out of the air. Kaya Ti and Ahsoka moved around each another like binary stars in tandem, shielding one other from incoming fire through a complicated dance of beams of blue and white light.

The limited numbers the droids were able to throw at them were no match for them, and it wasn't long before the four had reached the outer wall of the compound. But as Lux and Kaya Ti, who were in the lead, rounded the corner, Janira saw the brown-haired Jedi Padawan's twin blue lightsabers flash to life.

"Master!" she yelled back to Ahsoka. "Destroyers!"

Sure enough, standing between them and the door were five droidekas. The droids came to bear and activated their shields, chattering to themselves in Droid Binary, as soon as the Rebel pilot and three Jedi rounded the corner.

Suddenly, the clank of metal against metal cut through the air, drawing closer and closer with every second that passed. Janira whipped around to see droids towards them down the corridor. She turned to one side and then the other, and, much to her dismay, realized that they were approaching from all three junctions.

She aimed her blasters at the incoming droids. "They're trying to box us in!"

"We're going to have to make a run for it." Ahsoka's expression was grim as she turned to look at them. "Everyone ready?"

Lux and Kaya Ti nodded. Janira smiled, and, sheathing her blasters for a moment, she reached into two side pockets in the pants of her baggy flight suit. Lux stared curiously back over his shoulders, but the second he caught sight of what she had pulled from her pockets, a grin lit up his face.

"Droid-poppers!" He turned took two of Janira's five and poked Ahsoka in the shoulder to get her attention. "Remember these, sweetie?"

Ahsoka grinned, and she was lost in memory for a moment before she came back to the present. "Jani, Lux, you take out the droidekas and get that door open. Kaya and I will cover you."

Then, on an unspoken signal, the Bonteri twins, shielded by the white and blue blades of their Jedi Master and apprentice, snapped into action. They took off down the hallway, and, once they were close enough, Lux sheathed his blasters and readied the two droid-poppers. Bending low to the ground, he rolled his two droid-poppers through the droidekas' shields.

They went up in a surge of blue light before crumpling, deactivated, to the floor, and then it was Janira's turn.

She was glad to find she had her brother's touch. The droid-poppers rolled right through the defenses of the first two droids she targeted, and before long, she was ready to take down the third, which was closest to the control panel...

But the droid-popper had no effect on it whatsoever.

"Damn! It's a dud!" Janira stifled a gasp as a blast shot past her ear. The droid reinforcements were getting closer, and as skilled as they were, Kaya Ti and Ahsoka couldn't block every shot. She had to act fast so Lux could get to the controls.

Okay, looks like we're doing this the hard way.

She dove down on her side, sliding under the droideka's line of fire and through its shield. Once underneath, she riddled its tough metal hide with enough blaster bolts to fell a bantha.

"My smart baby sister. You must've been with us for the Rebellion of Onderon in spirit." Lux darted past her and to the control panel, but paused to toss her his lightsaber. "Take this. I'll be able to guess the codes to override the blast doors, but I can't cut through it at the same time."

Janira glared at him. "No way. Last time you gave me this, you nearly died!"

"Jani, please. It's the only way to–"

"Hate to break up the friendly sibling argument over here, guys, but we kind of have to go," Kaya Ti yelled back at them.

Lux nodded, and the same strange sense of severity that had been floating around him like a cloud earlier returned. "Right."

As Lux entered the old Separatist codes into control panel and continually refreshed the sequence to keep the blast doors to keep them from closing on her, Janira ignited the cool greyish-blue blade and began carving an square exit hatch into the metal.

Before long, she had completed her circuit, and Lux reached out with the Force to pull it free. As soon as Ahsoka saw what he was doing, she reached out to steady him with her own grip, and together, they sent it flying into the approaching droid squadrons.

Janira took a moment to bask in the rich, reddish twilight, before turning to her comrades. "Okay, people! We're moving, now!"

The four of them filed through the still steaming opening and took off sprinting across the clearing around the base.

"The planet life on this planet releases toxic chemicals into the air when the sun sets," Lux called as they ran.

"Kriff!" Kaya Ti yelped, her hazel eyes wide. "And I thought this planet was messed up as it was!"

"We have to be back in the ship where the air filters can keep us safe in..." Lux checked his wrist chrono. "Twenty-three minutes. Otherwise we're dead. Think we can make–"

Suddenly, the ground before them was torn up in a storm of blaster fire. A trio of vulture droids had flown in from where they must have been doing an aerial patrol, and were shooting up the ground towards them. Kaya Ti leapt to one side and pulled Janira with her, but she lost sight of Lux and Ahsoka through the flying stone and metal debris when they hit the ground and hurried for cover.

"Ori'vod!" Janira yelled through the swirling dust. "Ori'vod, where are you?"

"Over here!"

Coughing, Janira began to scale the pile of loose stones separating her from her twin brother. "Hang in there, I'm coming!"

"There's no time!" he called. "Ahsoka and I are both fine, but we're cut off from the mountain pass we took in. We'll find another way out. You two just go!"

"But I still have your lightsaber!"

"Keep it! I'll be fine! Just go; get back to the ship! You're wasting time!"

Janira exhaled softly, closing her eyes. Although there was no one there to see, she tried not to let her worry show. "All right. Meet you back there. But you had better be there when we get there, okay? You had better be there!"

"We will! I promise."

Nodding, Janira scrambled to her feet. She took a moment to make sure her brother's lightsaber was clipped safely to her belt, and then, she and Kaya Ti took off running back towards the safety of the New Hope.

*Brother and sister suddenly find themselves separated. Unable to take the same path in, will Lux and Ahsoka manage to find their way back to the ship in time? The native flora release toxic chemicals into the atmosphere after dark, but is that the only threat this planet presents to our heroes? What other dangers could await them just around the bend? You'll find out in the next thrilling chapter of The Unchronicled Adventures Of Ahsoka Tano!

HAPPY ALMOST 2017!!!

It's currently about 11pm where I am, and I've been working away for the past couple of days to finish up some treats for you all: a double update for UAAT, plus another SUPER AMAZING SPECIAL SURPRISE that you'll get with the start of the New Year... so sometime after midnight.

If you're all willing to stay up until then, I promise you'll find it was worth it... although you should brace yourselves, because that many feels at 1am is never a good thing for me and I assume the same applies for many of my fellow Star Wars fans...

Anyways, enjoy the next update and enjoy the special surprise... ;D

ONWARD!!!