Think Twice

Chapter 8

            He dodged the training droid’s blast, rolled to the side and slashed wide. He didn’t really need to practice, but he was always so bored he had to find some way to pass the time. The radio buzzed in and out in the background. He wasn’t really listening to the holonews, but it was nice to have some noise in this imposed isolation. He spun around, deflecting more bolts and then he heard her name. One of the blasts hit him in the arm when he’d stopped to listen. He cursed and threw his lightsaber at it, slicing the droid in half. He rubbed his arm where it was stinging and moved over to the radio.

            She’d been arrested apparently, for bombing the Jedi temple. He rolled his eyes. He didn’t even know her that well, but he knew she was innocent. She was too good to do something like that. Well at least in prison he wouldn’t have to worry about her getting in the way of his missions anymore. He sat back against the seat and stared at the wall blankly. It had been several months since she’d met him on his ship. He shrugged his shoulders and tried to ease the tension out of his bones. He had plenty of scars from that failure. He’d known when he ordered her to leave that he’d be punished for sparing her. And he had been. One of the rare times he actually got to be face to face with his master turned into unimaginable pain. He’d only been on one mission since then, but he supposed he deserved it. Why would his master trust him? He’d let a stupid padawan get in the way of all his plans.

            So, she was in jail now, good riddance. Maybe now his master would let him get back into the fight. He started to scoot out but missed the edge of the seat and fell onto the floor, staring at the radio in disbelief. She was sentenced to death for it? He got to his feet slowly and started pacing. Wrongfully imprisoned was one thing, but put to death? He knew the Jedi could be cold, but that was just… his hands clenched into a fist. Sidious was behind this, he was sure of it. He’d failed to kill her when ordered so his master was trying to get her out of the picture. His blood started boiling. He punched the wall so hard he left a sizable dent in the metal. He ignored his bleeding knuckles.

            Who cared if she was a threat? She was his and he wasn’t going to watch her be put down like that. He was angry at the Jedi, but even more so at his master. He marched towards the bridge and started the engines. If what she said was true, that if he turned on his master, the war would end he’d be free… then he was damn well going to end this war. He didn’t know if Ahsoka was worth the pain of trying to break free, but he didn’t want to lose the only person that cared. Even if he doubted she could do any of the things she promised. But maybe disillusioned with the Jedi, she’d finally let him train her. After their last fight, he couldn’t stop thinking about how she’d taken his instruction to heart. Her skills had improved dramatically because of the things he’d shown her. If she was willing to use that potential, maybe they would have a chance at bringing down Sidious.

            Of course, if he managed to convince her to come with him, they’d be on the run from both sides for awhile. He looked up at the stars and swallowed. Breaking away from Sidious wasn’t going to be as easy as disobeying his orders to not only stay put, but also taking her out from under him. It would be a long hard fight, and he really hoped she was ready for it. He’d felt her honesty when she’d said she wanted to help him, but he doubted she knew just what she was getting into.

            At least thanks to his master, he knew just where the prison complex was on Coruscant. He didn’t really have a plan, but he knew exactly what he wanted to do. He got up to go retrieve his lightsaber. He just hoped he got there in time. He hadn’t been far away since he’d been on standby, but knowing his master, he’d want her out of the way as soon as possible. He really hoped he knew what he was doing.