“Miara, what is this?” she whispered, after checking to be sure the Imperials weren’t back yet.
“Oh, sorry,” the girl replied. “I passed you the wrong charge. I must have packed that by accident.”
Miara spoke like it was no big deal, but Ahsoka couldn’t let the subject drop so easily. She didn’t remember Miara’s making that kind of charge, and it certainly wasn’t included in any of the plans Ahsoka had gone over with Vartan.
“Are you planning your own operations without me?” she hissed in Miara’s ear, but before she got an answer, the searchlight turned on.
Both of them froze, and Ahsoka hoped that Neera and Kolvin were similarly concealed. This time the troopers stepped into the yard — only two or three steps, but far enough that Ahsoka prepared for the worst. Tucked in beside Ahsoka, Miara wasn’t breathing at all, but Ahsoka could feel her trembling. For the first time, Miara was really scared. After a few more nervous moments, the searchlight went off and the troopers moved on. Ahsoka put the more dangerous charge in her pocket and held out her hands for a proper one. Miara handed it to her without asking for the other one back.
They didn’t speak for the rest of the mission, not until all the charges were placed and Neera and Kolvin had caught up with them at the other end of the yard. Ahsoka could already hear the sound of failing metal struts, straining to stay upright, and knew they had done their job well.
“Back to Selda’s,” she commanded.
Neera shot her a surprised look. That hadn’t been the plan. Ahsoka didn’t give them any time to protest. She led the way back over the wall and then down the unlit streets to the cantina.
There were more people inside than there should be, Ahsoka could see, but they were staying away from the windows at least. She barged right through the front door.
“Hey, now!” Vartan had jumped to his feet, a blaster in his hand. There was the sound of several chairs scraping back as others leapt up. “Wait, wait,” he said. “They’re friends of ours. Put your weapons down.”
Something was very wrong. Kaeden wasn’t there. Ahsoka couldn’t imagine she was at home if Vartan was in the cantina. And yet if she were present, she would have run toward Miara immediately. Worse, Kaeden wasn’t the only person who was missing.
“Where’s Hoban?” Ahsoka demanded.
There was no immediate answer. Neera slumped into a chair and gestured to Vartan as if to say, It’s your problem now, boss, so Ahsoka turned her attention back to him. She took a tally of who wasn’t there. It was fully half of Vartan’s recruits. He’d mixed up the crews. The older ones, the slower ones, were all there. The ones who could run were gone.
Wearing her most fearsome expression, Ahsoka pulled out the chair opposite to where Vartan was standing and they both took a seat. He leaned as far back as he could, scared of her even though he held a blaster and she was, to all appearances, unarmed. When she reached into her pocket for Miara’s charge and set it on the table, he flinched as if she had struck him. Ahsoka didn’t care. Kaeden was out there, doing something stupid, and Ahsoka didn’t know if she’d be able to set things right.
“Let me see if I have this figured out,” she said. “You thought I would be distracted by the walker operation and it would be a good time to run your own mission.”
Nobody said anything. She wasn’t even sure they were still breathing.
“You picked a target. The admin building, maybe? I hope it’s not the barracks.” Vartan flinched again, and she knew her guess was right. “You sent them out, your own crews, to lay explosives.”
“We had to do something.” That was Kolvin’s crew lead. Ahsoka didn’t know the woman’s name. “We can’t just sit here.”
“Any moment now, a pair of stormtroopers are going to find out that their walkers are damaged,” Ahsoka said. “All of their walkers. And they’re going to raise an alarm, and that will wake up all the other troopers. And where do you think those troopers are going to go to receive their orders?”
Miara gasped and made a break for the door. Selda caught her and held her until she stopped struggling against him.
“We didn’t know,” Vartan said.
“You didn’t even try,” Ahsoka said. “What were you thinking?”
“We can go help them,” Kolvin’s crew lead said.
“No,” Ahsoka said. “Now you are going to listen to me. Those of you who are here have to go home. Right now. If anyone asks, you disavow any knowledge of what went on tonight. You lie.”
“We can’t leave them,” Vartan protested.
“You have to,” Ahsoka said. “Or every member of our group is going to end up arrested, dead, or on the run tonight. We need operatives in town.”
“She’s right,” Selda said. His tone brooked no argument, and he received none. He pointed to the door. “And I think the bar is closed.”
“I’m not going home,” Miara said, pushing through the crowd to stand next to Ahsoka. “I’m sorry, Ashla, I’m so sorry. She’s everything I have.”
Ahsoka looked at Vartan, who was directing people through the door with Selda’s help, and then locked eyes with Neera. Ahsoka could see that she was just as determined as Miara was.
“Fine,” Ahsoka said. “But you do everything I tell you to.”
They both nodded.
“And bring the charges.”
Chapter 13
STEALTH WAS IMPOSSIBLE, so they just had to run for it. The streets were mostly deserted, thanks to the curfew. Ahsoka and the others were almost halfway to the Imperial compound when the alarms sounded. The damage to the walkers had taken a while for the troopers to detect. That was good news, as far as Ahsoka was concerned. Anything that bought them more time was good news.
As she ran, Ahsoka put aside her anger. It would do her no good in the coming confrontation. She also put aside her desperation to make sure Kaeden was all right and every thought about her failures over the past year. She focused on her strengths: her speed, adaptability, and familiarity with military procedure. That was going to get them through this.
They were a block from the compound when the first explosion rocked them back on their heels. Ahsoka looked at Miara with some surprise. She’d had no idea the girl was capable of building anything that big.
“That wasn’t one of mine!” Miara said. “They must have found something else. That or…”
She trailed off, unwilling to voice the other option.
Ahsoka waved them both close. They were behind the cover of the last non-Imperial building before they’d be exposed to the artillery. She needed to know more before she stepped out into the fray. Once they went around the corner, they’d be in full view and wouldn’t have time to confer.
“Tell me everything about the plan,” she said. “Numbers, objectives, all the details. Quickly.”
“Hoban split the group into three, one for each door,” Neera said. “They all have explosives, and most of them have blasters, too.”
“Where did you get blasters?” Ahsoka asked.
“Here and there,” Neera said. “Vartan said most of them are in pretty bad shape, but they’ll get the job done for a little while at least.”
“I hope it’s long enough,” Ahsoka said.
They walked the last block cautiously, even though they met with no resistance. The Imperials must have been busy with the others. It wasn’t exactly a cheery thought.
“Miara, can you find the caves again in the dark?” Ahsoka asked when they stopped again. She took a look around the corner, to see how the fight was unfolding, and then came back to finalize the plan.
“Yes,” Miara said. She sounded sure.
“Then you wait here,” Ahsoka said. Miara started to protest, but Ahsoka held up her hand. “This is one of those things I said you were going to listen to me about, got it? You wait here, and Neera will start to channel our people toward you. Tell them where to meet up on the edge of town. Not Selda’s. Pick someplace random. Then lead everyone out to the caves as quickly and quietly as you can.