#roguerobin009

Shattered and Reckless

Ahsoka had found herself in very tight situations in her time as a Padawan, and after that during her years as a loose cannon in a galaxy in war and then as a member of a fledging rebellion… None of those situations had been as uncomfortable as this one: a tiny shuttle designed to inspect the hull of a Superdestroyer during repair and with only one other passenger; the friend that had once betrayed their family, killed Jedi, framed her and then tried to kill her Master. No, not even that time with the Hutt Lord propositioning Skyguy had been more awkward, even if Master Kenobi and she had had difficulties stopping her Master from crushing the Hutt like an insect.

This sort of ship wasn’t supposed to be equipped with an hyperdrive but Barriss had seemed sure of herself when she had pushed a hurt Ahsoka, bleeding, limping, onto that shuttle. A stray blaster bolt had graced her montrals a few seconds before they sealed the door, catching her off guard, and she had lost a few minutes of time, as always when her echolocation organs were hurt. She remembered explosions: did Barriss sabotage something before rescuing her? Their escape shouldn’t have been so easy. She remembered being sick, violently, and perhaps she had passed out for a few minutes. If her montrals gave her an edge in a fight, they were a terrible weakness when hurt enough to blur her senses.

And now, here they were. Kneeling in lotus on each side of the little ship, cataloguing all the ways the other had changed. Barriss wore a deep black, some loose robes that didn’t mark her species like she had worn before, only contrasted by the harness on her hip in a light red, and the grey headdress. Her face still bore the same tattoos as in their youth, half an eternity ago, but she also had an artificial eye - an overpriced one because it mimicked the real thing so well Ahsoka hadn’t noted it at first.

The Force wasn’t dark around Barriss, something that Ahsoka tried to take as a good sign, but it wasn’t exactly light either, more a muddy grey. The Togruta had refused the help of the other woman to dress her two wounds, and had carefully checked the seal on every medical product she had used from the little emergency box.

“Where is the ship going?” Ahsoka finally asked. She had so many more questions, enough that Barriss, if she wanted to answer them, could probably talk enough for the ship to go all the way to Wild space, but right now, it was the more urgent.

The Rebellion needed to have Fulcrum back and the information she had stolen. And when operatives, even very successful ones like her, disappeared for too long, their information was always suspect. She needed to make contact, and fast, before the last safe house was burned down by her fellow officers as a safety measure. Who was supposed to act as her contact this rotation? Yes, lieutenant Andor. Smart, capable, cool under pressure. He would probably wait longer than protocols dictated.  

“Vaynai,” Barriss answered and Ahsoka scrambled her mind to remember. That one, she had never set foot on, and she had visited a lot of worlds.

“Onto the Perlemian Trade Route?”

“Yes. Corrupt elite, booming tourist industry and seaweed offering euphoric delirium, probably the reason for said booming tourist industry. And the usual corollary for all of that: a vigorous criminal life,” smirked Barriss and the expression felt so alien on her face that the other woman winced. Barriss would never have smirked that way before, full of dark satisfaction and contempt, but then Barriss also wouldn’t have murdered, in young Ahsoka’s opinion, and she had.

“The perfect place for us to disappear,” continued the other.

“I can’t go so far. Thank you for the save, but if you could drop me on the first planet, I will find transport. I need to go back the other way. Quickly,” Ahsoka interrupted.

Barriss sent her a curious gaze.

“I suppose if I ask what is so urgent that you need to go back straight to regions more carefully controlled by the Empire, just after I helped you escape them, you won’t answer?”

Ahsoka grimaced and Barriss smiled, and for a second, she seemed so young…

“Cautious. It is wise of you. And if I told you what I was doing there? If I told you why I was stealing data, very important data, and what my partner and I will do with it?”

“Your partner?” Ahsoka asked, curious. Imperial safety protocols were in serious need of a makeover, really. Two indiscreet visitors the same day, in the same place! Some low-grades idiots were probably already executed for that.

“He’s named Slick and I met him in prison. You will hate each other, believe me, but it’s not the important part,” and Barriss smiled, feral. There was something unbalanced in her gaze, something rabid.