The Unchronicled Adventures of Ahsoka Tano, Book Six

Chapter Twenty-Four: Battle Prep/ Cody's Questions

 *ARGH!!! Sorry I didn't post anything last night. I wanted to, but it was already the bedtime that my parents regularly force upon me (something way too early). I even had this chapter ready to go, but I couldn't put it online! Oh well. Here it is now...*

AHSOKA TANO

A tense few minutes later, Ahsoka was ready to go. At one point, Anakin had actually yelled through the door to ask her why she was taking so long and to tell her to hurry up, but she had paid it no mind. She had something special planned.

As she walked through the door, Anakin and Christo gaped. The change in her outfit was amazing!

She hadn’t actually changed any articles of clothing from her usual maroon combat suit and brown socks and boots. Rather, she had added things on. There was shiny beskar (a nearly indestructible iron ore from Concordia, the moon orbiting Mandalore) armor on her back and chest and over her shoulders. Her finger gloves, lower arms and her boots also had plating in the same material clipped on.

She had also somehow crammed her hips (now a little wider because she had grown) into her old black diamond-patterned leggings, and was wearing those underneath her socks and boots. It was an interesting mix of the old and the new.

There were also two twin blaster holsters clipped to her thighs, half-hidden by her short skirt. Two sleek shiny guns, Nubian by the looks of them, peeped out from under her cloak.

Her cloak was another thing entirely. It was of traditional Jedi making in a deep dark brown, not unlike the one that Anakin had been lent, but the similarities ended there. Ahsoka had apparently cut out different sections to personalize it.

There was a large diamond-shaped cut over each of her shoulders, allowing some of the armor to peek out and exposing some skin. Not unlike the leggings, more diamonds, decreasing in size, snaked down her arms, beginning a few inches below the cut over her shoulders. The sleeves were also more streamlined, emphasizing the design.

“Well, what do you think? Was it worth the wait?” Ahsoka said, putting her hands on her hips.

“It’s different… It’s really different. You look so grown up, Snips.” Anakin replied after a moment. “You’re nothing like the little padawan I trained anymore.”

“I’m not so young anymore!” She crossed her arms, but she couldn’t prevent a smile from creeping to her face. Praise from her Master still got to her.

Christo stepped forwards, slinging his long white hair, crisscrossed with its little braids, into a brown leather band. “Hey, I hate to break it up, but we should get going, if we want to be alive to put whatever plan Ahsoka’s some up with into action.” Ahsoka gave him a look. “You look great, by the way.”

Satisfied, she turned towards Lux, who was similarly outfitted with a large number of weapons and explosives. “Lead the way.”

He smiled, and took off down the hallway.

COMMANDER CODY

“Rex! Rex, wait up!” Cody called to his friend, jogging over to see him.

Rex had been acting really shifty lately and had a conspiratorial air about him. Cody hadn’t been able to pin him down for a good conversation for the past three days, because by the luck of the draw Rex had been on different shifts and would always come back to the barracks after he had fallen asleep.

Therefore he hadn’t been able to ask him about the whole thing in the briefing room. But now was his chance: they were in an empty corridor far away from the ‘stiffs’ as he and Rex liked to call a few of the stuffier Imperial officers…

“What is it, Cody? What’s going on? I thought you were patrolling the east side.” His face was an expressionless mask, but in a moment it cracked to allow a small smile through. “Or did you forget which way east is?”

Cody rolled his eyes. He and Rex rarely missed a chance to tease one another if it was just the two of them. “It turns out that there was an error. I’m not needed for guard duty on the west side of the ship, so I thought I’d come keep you company.”

They both put their helmets down on a nearby ledge. “Well, sure, but if I have to listen to you complaining about the Storm Trooper armor design one more time–”

“You won’t. I swear it this time.” Rex clearly didn’t believe him, but nodded anyway. “I actually wanted to talk to you for a couple of reasons. Why were you filming the meeting? And the plans of the Death Star? And why have you been avoiding me? Because I know you’ve been avoiding me.”

Rex pinched the bridge of his nose. “I knew that you would start asking questions eventually. It’s… It’s Vader. He sent for me again a few hours after he saw the two of us. He wanted me to–” He went quiet suddenly.

“What is it?” And then he heard what Rex apparently had. Footsteps.

“Put your helmet back on!” Rex hissed. They were both back in uniform just in time. A moment later, Captain Piett, an ambitious new stiff on the Executor came around the corner. He and Rex saluted, standing to attention.

“Ah, good. Captain Rex and Commander Cody, you have been summoned to Hangar 14. The shuttle that will take you to your cruiser will be waiting there.”

They saluted once more. As Piett left, Cody took off his helmet again. “You were saying?”

“It’s not safe here. We’ll talk when we get to Cialone. We’re on the same cruiser. Courtesy of Lord Vader.”

Although he wasn’t happy with having to wait for answers, Cody followed him to the elevator. It was time to find out just what was happening in the Cial system.