Slaves Of The Empire {1}

Eight | Lessons Learned

Besides, as she noted with a wince, the three defectors were rushing back to avenge their fallen compatriots, and the one other remaining nearby was hurrying to join their ranks and make the charge with them. Lux had his work cut out for him, and he'd be too busy to monitor her all that closely.

"How do I stay in the moment, like you told me to?" he whispered suddenly, moving closer to her. She turned to snarl a comment about how he could possibly think this was the right time. His raised guard, low stance, and sharp focus on the incoming brigands made her hold her tongue.

He wouldn't back down. He'd go into this with or without advice, but here he was, asking for it – asking how he could best use what skills he had to serve her.

"You're full of surprises," she murmured, and he smiled at her through his look of intense concentration. "Your senses can deceive you if you put too much emphasis on one or two–" they sprang apart as a bottle was hurled between them, "–so you need to cycle through them all to get a complete picture. Sight is good, but your ears will help you judge the distance and speed of blows you can't see. So will changes in the air that you feel on your skin." Angling her chin toward the bottle, she added, "The smell of drink will be a pretty good indicator of position, too."

"Right," he said as the first two reached them. This time, he struck first.

Ahsoka had learned after a few bad fights early in her tour of duty in the war not to go on autopilot when there was a conflict at hand, even one far beneath her skill level. Where one felt the most confident was where they were most prone to slipping up. Nevertheless, as she kneed the nearest man in the groin and knocked him down by the shoulders when he caved, she kept a close eye on Lux.

She'd suspected after his display in the training arena that Lux was simply a slow learner in disciplines he was less keen on. His reaction time now proved her wrong. His footwork was clumsy and the way he blocked brought his guard dangerously low, but he reacted to every blow that came his way. He'd taken her advice to heart, and if he wasn't profiting by it, at the very least it was keeping him from getting knocked down.

It was satisfying to see, but Ahsoka was by no means an optimist. Considering there were still another two to go, he shouldn't have been having so easy a time of it. What had happened to them?

Ahsoka shot a glance down the hallway. All clear. That was strange.

Leaving Lux to incapacitate his opponent, she moved to the nearest junction on silent feet. Her efforts were quickly rewarded: quiet, disoriented mutterings and the clicking sounds of plasticoid on metal reached her as soon as the scuffle was behind her. She peeped around the corner, and she found their two missing people trying to load a power pack into a blaster with as much efficiency as they could muster. Given the drink in their system, that was not a lot.

Could she send the power pack into overdrive from here, using the Force to press the right buttons and catch them off guard? The scorching heat of the plastic would startle them long before it could explode, and make it useless in a blaster. But then again, she had no way of knowing if they had a spare.

Lux jogged to a halt behind her, his green eyes bright and hair tousled. His breath was warm on her shoulder when he opened his mouth to speak. Thankfully, he nodded in understanding and kept quiet when she held up a hand. Instead, in one smooth gesture, he reached for the back of his belt beneath his jacket, drew a tiny blaster from it, and clicked the safety off.

One warning shot at the two brigands' feet sent them scrambling back with shouts of surprise, the power pack clattering to the ground between them. When they caught sight of Ahsoka and Lux standing there unharmed and unperturbed while their friends were nowhere to be found, they turned tail and ran.