Ahsoka groaned as she regained consciousness, feeling the full extent of her fall backwards. She opened her eyes and looked around. The room seemed to shake, and her eyes were having a hard time focusing.
Her arms were restrained above her, keeping her against the wall. Her shoulders burned from holding the weight of her body, as her feet were a few inches short of touching the ground.
"Great," she muttered. "Just great."
"Ahsoka!"
She blinked a few times, willing the dizziness to dissipate. Lux sat on the other side of the prison cell, but he didn't appear to be chained to the wall. He straightened his posture, and she couldn't help but notice his puffy eyes.
"How long was I out?" Ahsoka asked. "And where's Ventress? Don't tell me she ran off."
He stood up and walked over to her side. "Long enough for me to worry," he said "Ventress should be here any minute. She said she'd find you and then get me out of here."
Ahsoka swore under her breath. Trust had never come easily to her, and if relying on Ventress was the wrong call, she was never going to forgive herself.
She gave Lux a once-over. He was a little pale, and his hands were shaking. "Are you okay?" she asked.
"A little banged up, but I'm fine. I'm a terrible liar, so it didn't take them long to figure out I was stalling. I'm sorry."
"It's okay, Lux. These things happen sometimes."
She surveyed her surroundings. The room was relatively small, and the lights were dim. Unlike the other prison cells she'd seen, there was a metal door on the other side of the ray shield. There was a vent on the other side of the room, but she wasn't sure it was big enough for Lux to fit through. Her restraints were electric rather than metal, so she couldn't pick the lock.
That didn't leave many escape options left.
"So what's the plan?" Lux asked. "What do you usually do when something like this happens?"
"Well, every situation is different. There's no one solution, Lux."
Though her master's overbearing and protective nature felt unnecessary and uncalled for when she was younger, it did mean that she didn't often need to escape prison. She wasn't savvy enough to talk her way out like Master Kenobi, and she wasn't strong enough to force her way out like Anakin. In a situation like this, there was really only one option.
"We wait."
He crossed his arms and began pacing in front of her. "Years of Jedi training and that's the best you come up with?"
"Yeah, it is. Ventress will be here soon to get us out of this."
"How can you trust her?" He scoffed. "She was a Separatist and a danger to the galaxy! People don't change that much."
She smiled. "You did."
"I–" he stopped and turned to face her. He opened his mouth and closed it repeatedly. It wasn't often that she left him utterly speechless, and it never failed to make her smile.
He took a few steps forward and kissed her cheek. "Well, if patience is the plan, I can think of a few things to do while we wait."
He slowly pressed his lips to hers, but this time, it was a more passionate than playful gesture. Regardless of the way her insides melted when he kissed her like that, she couldn't help but giggle.
"Lux, we are not doing this here!" she said between kisses. It was one thing to be affectionate when they were in private in his office or her quarters, but in prison? She was sure not even Anakin had gone that far.
She closed her eyes as his kisses trailed down her neck to her collarbone. "And why not?"
She opened her eyes and lightly kicked his shin. "We are being held prisoner by one of the most powerful crime families in the galaxy, I'm literally chained to a wall, and Ventress could show up any minute! Not to mention the cameras recording our every move!"
"The Pykes don't scare me," he said, kissing her again. "Though Ventress does."
She rolled her eyes as she wrapped her legs around his abdomen. "That's not a very compelling argument, Senator," she teased.
"No, but I have a feeling it worked." As he kissed her lips again, she heard the almost imperceptible hum of the power cut out, and she fell forward on top of Lux in a heap of entangled limbs.
"Ouch," he muttered.
She chuckled and kissed his cheek. "Sorry, love." She tried to sit up, but Lux pulled her back down into a kiss.
Fine. Just for a minute, and just this once.
She laced her fingers in his as she let her guard drop. Even in prison, being with him felt safe and comforting. He rolled over on top of her and kissed her harder as someone behind them cleared their throat.
She shot up and pushed Lux off of her, mortified that she had been seen in such an unprofessional state.
"You have got to be kidding me," Ventress said with a smug grin.
Ahsoka felt her face heat up, and she couldn't look Ventress in the eye. She uttered a particularly vulgar Huttese curse.
"Sorry," Lux said, sitting up and rubbing his head.
Ventress removed Ahsoka's lightsabers from her belt and tossed them to her. "Careful, or I might keep them next time."
Ahsoka stood up, feeling a rush of dizziness again. "Do you have a brilliant plan to get us out of this too?"
"As a matter of fact, I do. Our ride is waiting for us outside, but we have to be quick. Bonteri," she said, glancing at Lux, "do try to keep up. I'm not rescuing your sorry carcass twice today."
Before Lux had a chance to fire back with what was sure to be a sarcastic remark, Ventress bolted in the opposite direction.
Ahsoka looked Lux in the eye, mustering her best Commander Tano face. "You do exactly as I say. This is going to be messy, and I don't want to have to die for you today."
She grabbed his wrist and broke into a sprint, dragging Lux along with her. After a few seconds, the ground seemed to sway beneath her, and she lost her footing. Lux caught her before she hit the ground and quickly helped her back to her feet as the Pyke guards started following them.
"Hey! Stop!" one of the guards called out, drawing his blaster.
She picked up her pace, following Ventress down a series of hallways as the guards chased them. After she started feeling a little winded, they finally made it to the exit. Ventress punched in a code, and the door slid open.
"I hot-wired it while you all were getting all lovey-dovey. You can complain about our ride later," Ventress said, running out on to the landing platform.
Outside, there was a single ship waiting for them. She recognized it immediately to belong to Death Watch, a Mandalorian terrorist group she'd faced on Carlac. It couldn't be a coincidence that they were here.
Lux stopped. "Wait, isn't that–"
"Yes," Ahsoka finished.
"But–"
"Come on!"
As soon as they made it into the opening, three Mandalorians on jetpacks swooped down and covered their escape. She recognized the helmet of the one in the middle almost immediately.
You've got to be kidding me.
The engines of the ship came to life, and Ahsoka picked up her pace. Just as she was about to reach the ramp, she felt the balance around her shift ever so slightly. Before she knew what she was doing, she jumped in front of Lux, taking the impact of a stray laser just below her ribcage.
She winced and dropped to her knee, clutching her side.
"Ahsoka!" Lux yelled.
"I'm right behind you," she squeaked, motioning for him to go. She tried to stand, but whenever she moved, stabbing pain shot through her body like a current.
She fought back a scream as Lux scooped her up in his arms and carried her on board. "You are not dying today, Ahsoka. Not because of me."
She was already starting to see spots by the time they reached the inside of the ship. Lux gently laid her down on a small bench outside the cockpit. "You're going to be fine." He took her hand and squeezed it tightly. "Just hang on."
She was still breathing on her own, though, which meant she still had a chance if she made it to Coruscant in time. "I'm fine," she whispered, clutching her side with her free hand. She was starting to taste blood, which wasn't a good sign.
She did her best to use the force to numb some of the pain. Her eyelids were heavy. "Chest compressions, Lux. When I black out..."
"No. You're not dying!"
She looked him square in the eye. "I'm going to if you don't listen to me!" She spat. She ship took off, and the slight movement sent another shock through her body. She grimaced. "When I stop breathing, do chest compressions. Call Anakin and have him ready the second we get back."
Lux's face paled. "I... okay. Okay, I will."
She closed her eyes, hearing the sound her bombs explode as she ship fled the system.
A/N: Hello and happy new year! I hope you liked my take on the Ahsoka walkabout arc here. From here on out, the story is going to loosely follow canon, but it will have certain events altered slightly to fit this timeline and these characters. I'm really excited to share the rest!
Okay so a quick note about that update schedule... After much deliberation, I have decided to put Ashes on hold until further notice so that I can give this story the attention it needs. That means that updates for this will be on Fridays, and if there's a double update, I'll post on Tuesday and Friday. All of this really depends on how much I'm able to write this week and next week. I'm not as far ahead writing-wise as I was when I started posting In the End, but if I can finish writing it before I go back to school, we'll be in good shape.
Thank you so much for your support! Your comments always make me smile :)
I'll see you in the next update, and may the force be with you!