Daughter of Mortis

Broken Chains

    "Even I have limits. Forcing hallucinations on someone is one of them."

    "Not hallucinations. Visions. They were trying to make me see something in particular, but instead, it showed me my fears." Ania faced the door.

    "What...did you see, exactly? I assumed it was pretty bad from what I saw."

    "It was worse than a nightmare and the bad part about visions is you can feel everything."

    Kein's black eyes glittered but he gave no reply. The lift hissed to a stop and opened to a dusty hallway. "No one ever comes down here."

    Ania spotted tracks in the dust. "Then what are those?" She knelt and brushed a finger over it. Stormtroopers dragged an unconscious boy to the lift. The vision was gone in an instant. "He's not down here." They stepped back into the lift.

    "I told you. They said he's dead."

    "No, he's not. I would have felt it and I can still feel him. He's alive." Ania sighed. And so is Ahsoka. She cast her senses out, ignoring the throbbing it sent into her head. She sent it spiraling throughout the Palace, searching for Ezra. A faint glimmer of his presence touched hers. "He's on the middle levels, in a courtyard."

    "I know the place." Kein entered a floor number into the lift's keypad. They stopped abruptly a few levels up. "I can't go with you from here or they'll know I was involved." Ania stepped off the lift and nodded to him. "Happy hunting." Kein closed the lift.

    Ania stepped through a doorway as it hissed open. She entered a large courtyard, surrounded by towering stone walls. The clouds above were gray with a coming rain. AT-ST's lined the walls. Stormtroopers were lined up, watching her. None moved towards her. Ania moved further into the courtyard.

    I'll have to get close to that outer wall or we'll never escape. She continued walking, ignoring the growing number of stormtroopers. She reached the outer wall and stopped. "Sabine, have you made it out?" She whispered into her comm.

    "Yes, we just got through the atmosphere. Have you found Ezra yet?"

    "He's close but we're still in the Palace."

    "Be careful." The comm switched off.

    The doorway hissed open across the courtyard and Darth Vader strode out, his cape billowing in the breeze. Behind him, two stormtroopers dragged Ezra out. Ania's eyes widened and her heart lurched at the sight of him. Vader's questioning appeared to have been thorough.

    Ania gritted her teeth and stalked forward. "Let him go!"

    Ezra's eyes blinked open and widened in terror. "Get out of here!" He rasped.

    "You know I won't."

    Vader flicked two fingers and she was halted in place. Two stormtroopers ran towards her and slammed their blasters into the back of her knees. She buckled, still unable to move. "You know what you must do to survive this," Vader growled. "Tell me what I wish to know and you and the boy may leave."

    "You're a liar and a monster! Even if I did know, I wouldn't tell you!" Ania shouted.

    Vader waved a hand and the stormtroopers holding Ezra slammed their rifles into his gut. Ezra gagged and slumped forward. "Where is Ahsoka Tano?" Vader demanded.

    Ezra glanced at Ania, questioningly. She ignored his gaze and focused on the rising storm within her. "I've already told you. I don't know what you're talking about. She's dead!"