Ahsoka, Daughter of the Light (Book 4): Hidden

Chapter 15: Seeker

LYDA RAN

Lyda sighed as the ship approached Yerbana.

Although she had never been here before, the place already had a heavy weight on her, knowing that this was where Rex went MIA.

As the ship approached the surface, she saw a city on one end of a chasm, where there was a single bridge leading across it. Rex had been lost in a fight on that bridge, despite the eventual Republic victory.

She piloted the ship toward's the city's starport. This planet had only recently come out of Separatist hands at the end of the Clone Wars, so the security here would be even more over-the-top than anywhere else in the Empire. She was wearing a cloak, though, so maybe that would hide her identity.

The city looked big, really big. It was going to be hard to find the child here, but so long as she followed her feelings, she could find her. And maybe Rex, too, but she shoved that idea into secondary priority.

The ship landed and she walked right off. Looking around, she saw skyscrapers tower around her.

She didn't know where to start, honestly. There was just so much here.

She walked into the streets of the city, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath, letting the force guide her to where Christi was.

And she found something. It wasn't much, as it felt sort of like a fuzzy signal. But it was there, and something about it felt... sad. As if something bad had happened to the little girl.

Nonetheless, the signal was far away, so she had to take a Speeder.

Fortunately for her, there was a Taxi station right near the starport.

She sat and waited for a while before the Taxi Speeder came around.

"Good day," said the man driving the Taxi, "Where would you like to go?"

The Taxi driver seemed to be just your ordinary citizen. He had blonde, scruffy hair, and a light skin tone.

He was obviously not a clone.

Stop thinking about him, Lyda thought to herself, he's gone now.

"Is there anything in that general direction?" Lyda asked, pointing in the direction to where she felt the presence of the child.

"Eh," said the Taxi driver, "Not much back there but suburbs. Also, it doesn't exactly sound like you know where you're going."

"Are there any Taxi stops at those suburbs?" Lyda continued.

"Well," he replied, "I could drop you off at the market in the area. That's where everyone in the suburbs goes to."

"Good," Lyda said. "Take me there."

Lyda hopped in the cab.

"You got cash?" The Taxi driver asked.

"Yes, how much would that be?" Lyda replied.

"Eh, I'd say about eight credits."

"Deal," Lyda said, handing him the money.

"Thanks," said the Taxi driver, who started to drive the Taxi Speeder down the road.

It took a few minutes, but they finally reached the suburb area. Her hunch was correct, the force signature she was homing in on was somewhere here.

"Thanks," she told the Taxi driver.

"Any time," he replied, as he drove off into the distance. Then, she turned and walked towards where she felt the presence of Christi.

But she was so focused on trying to find the signature, she accidentally bumped into someone near an alleyway.

"Unf!" She exclaimed. "Sorry!"

"Wait," said the person she bumped into, "You sound... familiar..."

That voice sounded familiar too. It was an unmistakable voice throughout the galaxy.

It was a clone's voice.

She turned around.

"REX!?!?"

"LYDA!?!?"

He quickly grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into the alleyway.