Ahsoka could hear the Imperials approaching. Her duel had made them hesitate, but now they were on high alert. She pushed aside her sense of urgency, even though she was in a hurry. Meditation came easily, as if she were sitting in safety in the Jedi Temple itself, instead of a dusty street with her enemies closing in. Her mind’s eye sorted the preassembled components and those she had just retrieved into order, locking each into place with the others. When Ahsoka opened her hands, she was not surprised to find that two lightsabers, rough and unfinished, were waiting.
They would need more work, but they were hers.
When she turned them on, they shone the brightest white.
Ahsoka found another side street that went in the direction she wanted and followed it back toward the compound. She was the Imperials’ only target now. She was going to need all the cover she could get. In her hands, her lightsabers were a reassuring weight. Her fight had given her back the focus she had lost. She wasn’t even breathing hard. This was something she could do.
She didn’t bother with taunts or banter. She had nothing to say to these people. She took the wall with a single flying leap and landed in the middle of the compound, much to the surprise of the stormtroopers on duty there. They began to fire, and she began to work her way toward the front door, easily deflecting their blaster bolts.
It took her only a few seconds to get there, her approach heralded by explosions and blaster fire, and then a few seconds more to cut the door open. Once she was in the corridor, she pushed the Force behind her, knocking everyone who pursued her off their feet. Ahead, she saw uniformed officers readying themselves to defend the inside of the compound. Apparently, all the stormtroopers were outside. She hoped they were too busy to think of calling in a Star Destroyer.
Ahsoka fought her way through the corridors, using her lightsabers to deflect blaster bolts and the Force to push her attackers out of the way. The cells were in the back of the building, she knew, and she wanted to waste as little time as she could getting to them.
Finally, she reached the prison hallway. There was a master door switch, which she activated, and the cell doors all opened. She checked to make sure there weren’t any ray shields and then went down the hall.
“Kaeden?” she called out. “Are you here?”
In her cell, Kaeden’s head snapped up and she scrambled to her feet. It was still difficult to balance with her arm, but the sound of Ahsoka’s voice encouraged her. She walked forward.
A few hapless prisoners had emerged from their cells, blocking Kaeden’s view down the corridor. Kaeden heard Ahsoka shouting orders at them to get out, to get to Selda’s cantina as soon as they could, and she followed the crowd toward her friend.
At last, Kaeden was face to face with Ahsoka. She knew her hair was a disaster, she was covered in dirt, her head wound looked terrible, and her arm was still bound uselessly to her chest — but she was on her feet. Ahsoka looked different: powerful, focused, completely beyond Kaeden’s comprehension. Ahsoka wielded a pair of bright white lightsabers, and even though it was Kaeden’s first time seeing them, she couldn’t imagine Ahsoka without them in her hands. Despite the circumstances, she smiled.
“Kaeden!” Ahsoka shouted, and ran to help her move faster.
“Ahsoka!” Kaeden ran toward her, but stopped short of throwing her good arm around Ahsoka’s shoulder. She knew that lightsabers were not to be trifled with. She could almost feel the power pouring out of Ahsoka anyway. It was amazing. “I could kiss you.”
Ahsoka stopped in her tracks. The look she shot Kaeden was mildly confused.
“Not now, I mean,” Kaeden said. She wanted to laugh for the first time in weeks but thought that might just be the hysteria setting in. “My timing is terrible and you have all those Jedi hang-ups. I just wanted you to know in case we die.”
“Oh,” said Ahsoka. “Well, thanks.” She paused. “And we are not going to die.”
“If you say so,” Kaeden agreed.
Ahsoka deactivated the lightsaber in her left hand and attached it to her belt. She kept hold of the right one. With one arm free, she supported Kaeden, and together they walked away from the cells.
Chapter 29
“NOW WHAT?” ASKED KAEDEN. They were free of the Imperial compound, but there were stormtroopers all over the place. “I hope you have a plan!”
“Of course I have a plan,” Ahsoka replied. “Selda’s. Now.”
She activated the communication device on her belt and hoped that Bail wasn’t doing anything he couldn’t get out of immediately. She was going to need him right away.
By the time they reached Selda’s, Kaeden was entirely winded but still pushing forward. They went through the door, and before Ahsoka’s eyes had adjusted to the lower light, she saw Miara’s small form leaping toward them.
“Kaeden!” she said. “You’re safe. You’re safe!”
“Yes, more or less,” Kaeden said. She let go of Ahsoka so she could wrap her good arm around her sister. “Are you okay?”
“It was a bad time after you were taken,” Miara said. “I couldn’t stay in the caves. Not with…”
She trailed off, and Ahsoka knew she was thinking about Neera and Kolvin and the others. She held her sister as tight as she could and looked back at Ahsoka.
Ahsoka could hear the sound of Imperial tanks moving in the streets. It was only a matter of time before they were found, or the Imperials decided to just destroy them all from orbit.
“You said you have a plan, Ahsoka?” Kaeden said. “I hope it’s already started.”
“It is.” Selda came up beside them. Gently, he picked Kaeden up and set her down on the bar. Then he began to examine her injuries. “Ahsoka sent us a message with your sister. Vartan is out right now, organizing people for the evacuation.”
“Evacuation?” Kaeden said. “Where? And with whom?”
“Some old friends of mine,” Ahsoka said. “I used to have a lot of friends. Most of them are dead now, but there are some who survived. And I make new ones.”
“I didn’t believe what that…thing said about that, you know,” Kaeden replied. “You lied to keep us safe. He lied because he enjoys the suffering. I may not be a Jedi who’s seen the whole galaxy, but I can tell the difference.”
“Thanks,” Ahsoka said. “And I haven’t seen the whole galaxy. Though I have seen a lot more of it than most people.”
“You can tell her all about it later,” Selda said. “Right now we have to make sure your friends find us before the Imperials do.”
“I don’t know if I’m going to be able to walk much farther,” Kaeden said. “I’m already feeling pretty woozy.”
“I was saving this for a rainy day,” Selda said. He reached under the bar and came up with a syringe. Kaeden flinched but then mastered herself.
“It doesn’t rain much on Raada,” she pointed out.
“I realized that almost immediately,” Selda said. “So I guess now’s as good a time as any. Look away, Kaeden.”
Kaeden did as she was told, and Selda injected her. The difference was immediate.
“Is this going to wear off, or am I actually better?” she asked as Miara helped her down from the bar.
“A bit of both,” Selda said. “So try not to overextend too much.”
“I’ll keep that in mind as we run from Imperial stormtroopers,” Kaeden said.
Ahsoka cocked her head, listening, and smiled.
“I don’t think we’ll have to run very far,” she said. “Come on, let’s go.”