Chapter 132

Ahsoka Tano had fought clone troopers before.

She had fought droids before. She had fought through burning cities, collapsing ships, and battlefields where the sky itself seemed to rain fire. So when the corridor of the Imperial convoy ship filled with rushing clone troopers and cargo droids, something old and familiar settled into her bones.

Rhythm.

The first wave opened fire the moment they saw her. Red blaster bolts filled the corridor in a deadly storm, but Ahsoka moved before thought could slow her down. Her white lightsabers spun in her hands, catching the first shots and sending them straight back into the armored bodies of the troopers who fired them. One bolt struck a clone squarely in the chest. Another slammed into the shoulder joint of a cargo droid lumbering behind the formation, making the machine stagger into the wall with a shower of sparks.

Beside her, Quinlan fought with a grin on his face.

His green lightsaber moved nothing like Obi-Wan's careful discipline or Yoda's lightning-fast precision. Quinlan fought like a man who had learned every rule, disagreed with half of them, and survived by breaking the rest. His blade flashed in wide, unpredictable arcs, catching blaster bolts at strange angles and sending them ricocheting into troopers who had thought themselves safe behind cover.

"Just like old times!" Quinlan shouted over the noise.

Ahsoka ducked beneath a volley and kicked a trooper hard enough to send him crashing into two others.

"Old times usually had more explosions!"

As if answering her, one of the cargo droids exploded behind Quinlan after a reflected shot struck its power core. Fire burst through the corridor, smoke rolled outward in thick black clouds, and several clone troopers stumbled back from the blast.

Quinlan coughed dramatically.

"There. Better?"

Ahsoka gave him a sharp look.

"Don't encourage the universe."

More troopers rushed around the bend ahead. Unlike the first wave, they came in proper formation, kneeling and standing in disciplined ranks with rifles raised together. For an ordinary boarding party, it would have worked. The corridor was narrow, the fire concentrated, and there was nowhere easy to hide.

For Ahsoka and Quinlan, it only meant more bolts to send back.

Ahsoka stepped forward into the storm.

Her sabers became circles of white light. Blaster fire struck and bounced away, redirected with deadly precision. One shot returned into a trooper's rifle and detonated the power pack in his hands. Another struck the ceiling, showering sparks over the squad and breaking their timing. A third slammed into a cargo crate, sending it sliding into the legs of two soldiers.

That moment of confusion was all she needed.

Ahsoka leapt.

One moment she stood at the far end of the corridor. The next she landed in the middle of the enemy formation. Troopers scrambled to retreat, but she was already among them. Her sabers flashed through weapons and armor, disabling rifles, cutting through droid limbs, and striking hard enough that no one she passed rose again.

Her movements were clean and efficient.

The Clone Wars had taught her speed.

Dathomir had taught her ruthlessness.

Bogano had given her purpose again.

By the time she reached the rear of the formation, the corridor behind her was filled with fallen troopers and smoking droids.

Then the ramp of the Gryffindor hissed open behind them.

Ahsoka turned.

Sebul stepped out.

The pilot had a blaster in each hand and a wide, reckless grin on his face. The sight was so unexpected that Quinlan nearly tripped over a fallen droid.

"What are you doing?" Quinlan shouted. "Get back in the ship!"

Sebul fired twice without slowing down. One bolt struck a cargo droid in the head, and the second punched through the chest plate of a clone trooper trying to rise from behind a crate.

"I'm going to the cockpit!"

Ahsoka stared at him as if he had completely lost his mind.

"You're what?"

Sebul ducked as a blaster bolt screamed over his head, then returned fire immediately.

"We're taking this ship!"

For a moment, even the battle seemed to pause around the absurdity of the statement.

Quinlan blocked three bolts and snapped, "That was not the plan!"

Sebul fired again, forcing two troopers back behind a bulkhead.

"The plan is dead. We don't have time to loot supplies crate by crate. The convoy is scattering, reinforcements are coming, and this ship is full of everything we need. So we take the whole thing."

Ahsoka looked down the corridor, then back toward the Gryffindor still wedged into the side of the transport. The idea was insane. It was reckless, dangerous, and exactly the kind of plan that should never have been suggested by anyone with survival instincts.

It was also exactly the sort of thing Anakin would have suggested.

That made it worse.

Because somehow, it also made sense.

The rebels needed food, medicine, weapons, fuel, and replacement parts. They had come to raid the convoy, but the battle was already becoming too large and too chaotic. If they wasted time unloading supplies, Imperial reinforcements would catch them before they could escape.

But an entire transport vessel?

That would change everything.

Quinlan seemed to reach the same conclusion at the same time. His expression twisted with visible annoyance.

"I hate that you're right."

Sebul grinned.

"I love when people realize that."

Ahsoka moved beside him, both sabers raised.

"Stay behind me."

Sebul looked offended.

"I can shoot."

"Yes," she said, deflecting a bolt into a wall-mounted turret. "You can also die."

Quinlan stepped to Sebul's other side and looked down the corridor.

"We escort him. Fast. If the cockpit locks down completely, we lose the chance."

Sebul pointed forward with one blaster.

"Then stop talking and start walking."

The corridor became a tunnel of violence. Ahsoka led from the front, her white sabers carving open the path with relentless precision. Quinlan guarded the rear, turning every attempt to flank them into a disaster. Sebul stayed between them, firing at anything that moved too close and shouting directions whenever they reached intersections.

"Left!"

Ahsoka turned left without hesitation.

Three cargo droids blocked the next passage, each one a massive machine designed to move heavy crates. Their arms had been fitted with emergency cutting tools, likely never intended for combat but dangerous enough in close quarters. One swung at Ahsoka with enough force to crush a human skull.

She slid beneath the strike and severed both of its legs.

The droid crashed down heavily, shaking the floor. Quinlan vaulted over the fallen machine and drove his saber through its central processor before it could drag itself forward.

"Cargo droids," he said, pulling his blade free. "Terrible manners."

Sebul shot the second droid in the optical sensor. The machine stumbled blindly and smashed one of its arms into the wall, tearing open a panel in a burst of sparks. The third droid grabbed that same wall panel and hurled it toward them.

Ahsoka raised one hand.

The panel stopped midair.

For a brief second, a memory flashed through her mind.

Anakin standing in the middle of a battlefield, shouting over explosions as though he were teaching in a training hall.

"Use everything, Snips! The enemy won't wait for you to look elegant!"

A faint smile touched Ahsoka's face.

Then she hurled the panel back.

It crushed the droid against the wall.

They kept moving.

The ship fought them every step of the way. Security doors slammed shut ahead of them. Quinlan cut through the first one. Ahsoka carved through the second. Sebul cursed at the third, shot the control panel, and looked extremely pleased when the door opened halfway.

"See? Engineering."

Quinlan shoved him through the gap.

"That was vandalism."

The deeper they went, the heavier the resistance became. Clone troopers gathered around defensive positions made from cargo containers and overturned equipment. Portable shield barriers activated, bathing the corridor in pale blue light. Blaster fire hammered toward them from behind cover, forcing even Ahsoka and Quinlan to slow.

Sebul crouched behind a crate and looked over the top.

"That looks annoying."

Ahsoka studied the formation quickly. Six troopers behind the first barrier. Four behind the second. Two heavy guns near the rear. A commander stood behind them, barking orders while watching the Jedi carefully.

"Shielded position," she said. "Two barriers, two heavy guns."

Quinlan tilted his head.

"Want to go over?"

Ahsoka smiled slightly.

"I was thinking through."

Together, they moved.

Ahsoka sprinted forward low, her sabers spinning to catch the incoming fire. Quinlan reached out with the Force and lifted one of the fallen cargo droids from behind them. With a grunt, he hurled it straight into the first shield barrier.

The barrier flared violently under the impact.

Ahsoka struck the same spot with both sabers.

The shield failed.

She rushed through the opening before the troopers could react. Quinlan followed beside her, laughing as the formation collapsed into panic. Sebul popped out from cover and fired at the heavy gunner on the right. His shot struck the weapon instead of the man, but the resulting explosion disabled both.

"Meant to do that!" he shouted.

"No, you didn't!" Quinlan shouted back.

"It worked!"

The final defensive line fell apart within moments. Ahsoka Force-pushed two troopers into the ceiling hard enough to crack the panels. Quinlan disarmed three more with a sweeping slash that cut through their rifles. Sebul stunned the officer before he could trigger another alarm.

The path to the cockpit opened.

But now the entire ship knew where they were.

Sirens blared through the corridors. Red lights flashed across the walls. A cold mechanical voice echoed over the internal speakers.

"Boarding party approaching command deck. All units converge. Repeat, all units converge."

Sebul winced.

"That sounds like us."

Ahsoka rolled her shoulders and tightened her grip on her sabers.

"Then we move faster."

They ran.

The last stretch became a blur of smoke, blaster fire, and flashing lights. Troopers appeared from side corridors only to be knocked aside before they could form proper lines. Droids tried to block the passage and were cut apart. Ahsoka ripped weapons from enemy hands with the Force, sending rifles clattering uselessly across the floor. Quinlan used fallen machines as shields, hurling broken droid bodies into squads before they could fire.

Sebul fired constantly, not with Jedi precision, but with the desperate determination of a pilot who had decided the cockpit was his and everyone else was merely in the way.

At one intersection, a squad of troopers rushed from the right just as another charged from the left. Ahsoka spun, catching bolts from both directions while Quinlan dropped low and swept his saber through the weapons of the nearest group.

Sebul slid between them, both blasters raised.

"I hate corridor fights!"

Ahsoka deflected a shot inches from his head.

"Then stop trying to steal ships that are mostly corridors!"

He shot a trooper in the leg and kept running.

At last, they reached the command deck doors.

They were locked.

Thick enough to survive an internal breach.

Quinlan looked at Ahsoka.

"Together?"

She nodded.

They plunged their lightsabers into the door.

White and green blades cut through the thick metal, carving a glowing circle into the surface. The door hissed and melted, molten streams dripping onto the floor. From inside, voices shouted in panic. Someone was giving orders. Someone else was trying to seal secondary barriers.

Sebul stepped back and raised both blasters.

The cut section fell inward with a deafening crash.

He fired immediately.

The first two officers dropped before they could turn.

Ahsoka and Quinlan surged in after him.

The cockpit was wide and filled with consoles, holographic displays, and terrified crew members. Several reached for weapons. Others tried to lock navigation or wipe data from the system. Ahsoka raised one hand and slammed three of them against the wall with the Force. Quinlan knocked another unconscious with the hilt of his saber.

Sebul ran straight for the captain.

The man raised a pistol.

Sebul shot first.

The captain collapsed across the navigation console.

Sebul shoved him aside and dropped into the command chair.

"Mine."

Ahsoka stared at him.

"You are enjoying this too much."

Sebul's hands were already flying across the controls.

"I was born for this."

Quinlan stood near the ruined doorway, green blade ready as more troopers shouted in the corridors beyond.

"Can you actually fly something this big?"

Sebul gave him an insulted look.

"I can fly anything."

The ship shuddered as something struck its hull from outside. The battle was still raging beyond the viewport. Rebel ships and Imperial fighters flashed across the darkness, plasma fire lighting the void in brief bursts of color.

Sebul adjusted communication frequencies, bypassed Imperial locks, and forced the transport's systems to respond to him. Red Imperial security warnings flooded the displays, but he worked through them with impressive speed.

Ahsoka watched the screens shift.

"What are you doing?"

"Breaking their command lock."

"Can you do that?"

"I am doing it."

Quinlan blocked another burst of blaster fire from the doorway.

"Soon would be good."

Sebul muttered something under his breath and slammed his palm against one console.

The displays flickered.

Then the red security warnings vanished.

Neutral command access appeared.

Sebul grinned.

"Done."

He opened a channel to the rebel fleet.

"This is Sebul aboard Imperial Supply Transport Seven. Status report."

Static crackled across the comms.

Then Berch Teller's voice answered.

"Sebul? How are you aboard their transport?"

"Long story."

Berch sounded exhausted already.

"We captured one supply vessel and are unloading what we can. Two others escaped. We cannot pursue. Imperial reinforcements are likely minutes away."

Sebul glanced at the cargo readings on the display.

Food.

Ammunition.

Fuel.

Medicine.

Spare parts.

Enough to keep rebel cells alive for months.

Enough to change the situation on Kaiser completely.

He smiled.

"We don't have time to unload this one."

A pause followed.

Then Berch asked carefully, "What are you saying?"

Sebul leaned back in the captain's chair.

"I'm taking the whole ship."

For a moment, the comm line went silent.

Then Quinlan, still guarding the door, said loudly, "For the record, we also think it's insane."

Ahsoka deflected a blaster bolt that came through the doorway and added, "But necessary."

Berch was silent for another few seconds.

Then he asked, "Can you jump?"

Sebul checked the systems quickly.

"Hyperdrive intact. Navigation responding. Imperial locks broken."

"Do not jump directly to Bogano."

Sebul rolled his eyes.

"I know. Harry would murder me."

"He would lecture you first," Quinlan said.

"That is worse."

Sebul entered the coordinates. First a false route. Then a second jump. Then home. Harry had drilled that lesson into all of them so many times that even Sebul followed it without argument.

Ahsoka grabbed a railing.

"Everyone hold on."

Quinlan braced himself near the ruined doorway.

Sebul pushed the final control.

Outside the viewport, the stars stretched into lines.

The massive stolen transport lurched forward.

And in a flash of light, it vanished from the battlefield.

For a moment, the cockpit was silent.

Then the ship settled into hyperspace.

Sebul exhaled slowly, then spun once in the captain's chair with a victorious grin.

"Well," he said, "that went better than expected."

Quinlan looked around at the dead officers, smoking consoles, melted door, blaster marks, and sparks still raining from the ceiling.

"This is what better looks like?"

Ahsoka finally laughed with the fierce joy of someone who had found her place again.

Her white sabers still glowed in her hands. Her breathing was heavy. Smoke clung to her clothes, and the command deck smelled of scorched metal and blaster fire.

But for the first time in a long while, she felt completely present. She looked out at the blue tunnel of hyperspace and smiled.

"Yes," she said. "This is exactly what better looks like."

Behind them, the battle continued at Tetrashen Point.

Rebel ships scattered into hyperspace with whatever supplies they had managed to seize.

And somewhere in the chaos, the Empire finally realized one of its largest supply transports had been stolen.

By Jedi.

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