The Unchronicled Adventures Of Ahsoka Tano, Book Nine

Chapter Fifty-One: I Trust In The Force

KAYA TI AREEKO

Kaya Ti had been locked in combat with Grievous for so long now that it felt like the fight would see no end except her surrender.

And, despite her rapidly dwindling energy, that was not an option.

Grievous kicked out with one clawed foot, sending her flying into the wall. Kaya scrambled to her feet, her breathing rough and pained. For a moment she saw eight red lightsabers instead of four, and she shook her head, igniting her blades.

"And still you continue to fight! Foolish Jedi, you are only prolonging your own destruction!" Grievous crowed, slamming his blades down on hers in a blow that pushed her back a few feet.

But, not about to back down, Kaya summoned the energy to flash a tired smirk in his direction. "I could do this all day."

Her eyes widened as she suddenly found herself having to fend off a quadruple blow, each lightsaber coming at her from a different direction. In the space of an instant, she forced one back with the Force, moved her lightsabers to absorb the next two, and darted underneath the fourth.

She just barely made it in time, but a few of the short locks that had come free of her braid weren't so lucky: as the crimson beam of plasma whizzed overhead, she was faintly able to smell burnt hair.

Grievous lunged again, and she blocked him, now totally on the defensive.

However, a moment later, she was thrown back down the tunnel. She rolled to absorb the impact, jumping to her feet as smoothly as she was able. But the second she was up and moving again, another blow knocked her back... without any of his clawed hands having touched her.

"You can use the Force?" she gasped, returning one of her lightsabers to its clip on her her belt to cradle her aching side.

Grievous laughed malevolently. "Time to die, Jedi slime!"

He rushed her again, and this time, she could easily feel the sheer power of the Dark Side radiating off of the evil cyborg. Kaya's heart sank. Her own strength was long gone now. The only things that had been keeping her exhausted muscles moving were the Force and the adrenaline flowing through her veins.

Once those were gone – and they weren't far already – she would be weakened to the point of being utterly defenseless.

Taking a deep breath, she raised her blades to meet his once more. She feinted right just as he was about to strike, and, darting under his right arms, managed to land a hit along his armored spine.

But before she could so much as congratulate herself, Grievous let out a yowl of rage, spinning around with nearly impossible speed to smash her away with a clawed foot.

The sheer power of the Force behind the move tore through Kaya like four vibroblades, each claw creating wicked a wicked cut, and sent her sailing through the air.

She landed in a heap, her head pounding. Her eyelids fluttered up and down weakly, and she curled in on herself with a low cry of pain. When her eyes did open enough to absorb a blurry image of her surroundings, black and grey spots danced across her vision.

Grievous's heavy footsteps were like the drums in a funeral march. Suddenly, despite her reeling senses and frazzled mind, she heard Master Yoda's voice:

Death is only a natural part of life...

But it was followed quickly by another voice... this one Han's.

Hey. Hey, it said. You are not gonna start talking like that. You need to get up and get out of here. Kaya, get up. I said get up.