Not Her

Chapter 22

"We were not responsible for the King's death." She replies evenly, "Although, now the ruler of Onderon is dead, the position of leadership falls to the Senator until a new heir is crowned."

Dooku stares at her for a few seconds before chuckling, "And who is the Senator of Onderon?"

"Lux Bonteri."

The Sith Lord stands from the throne and walks down the steps, making Ahsoka tense. Her hand twitches beside her lightsaber.

"And why is Mr Bonteri not here right now, Lady Tano?" He says, stopping a short distance away from them.

Because she doesn't want Lux in the same room as this Sith Lord who was responsible for his mother's death.

Behind them, Ahsoka hears blaster fire ring out- the distinguishable blasts of Rex's DC-17s and Steela's rifle.

"Lux is otherwise occupied." She says coolly.

"I see." Dooku raises a brow, "Your rebel friends are making quick work of my droids whilst we stall our inevitable battle, I assume."

"I would've been stupid to have come alone." Ahsoka says, not liking the way Dooku is standing so still, he's calculating something.

"Then it appears I am surrounded." Dooku taps his fingertips together, "What to do now?"

She's over this.

Ahsoka activates her lightsaber, getting into a threatening stance. "I'll give you two options, Count: leave Onderon, or die."

"I think it'll break Skywalker and Kenobi for their Padawan to return to Coruscant in a body bag." Dooku mirrors her stance with his own ignited lightsaber.

Ahsoka grits her teeth, "You're cocky."

He scoffs, "Don't forget, young one. I killed you on Naboo."

Her commlink crackles with Rex's panicked tone, "Ahsoka, two commandos took Lux! He handed himself over to them!"

Dooku grins, "The Senator can't rule Onderon if he's dead."

A fire ignites in her heart, and Ahsoka leaps towards the Sith, lightsaber raised.

If Rex is smart- which he is- then he'll get the rest of the rebels out of the palace and let her rescue Lux.

Initially, Steela and Saw wanted to join her fight against Dooku. Ahsoka weighed the risks, and knew she had the be the one to take the Sith on.

If the Separatist occupation on Onderon ends, who will the people look up to if all the rebels are dead?

Their blades are like fire and ice- two extremes working to eliminate each other. Whenever one takes the upper hand, there's a sizzling sound as the sweat rolls off their forehead to evaporate against the blade. Every minute or so, Ahsoka has to wipe the moisture off her forehead before it can drip in her eyes.

You can't afford distractions in a fight, Anakin's voice echoes in her head.

Beyond their grunts and the swooshes of super-heated plasma cutting through the air, their fight is silent. With both fighters constantly thinking about their next move, there's no time for exchanging petty insults.

Don't bark if you can't bite, Fives once said to her during a spar. It doesn't look good to throw an insult at your opponent and then get a tooth knocked out.

She may have learnt how to cope with Skipper, but the paralysed arm is a huge hinderance, and she's also tiring quicker than normal. On Naboo, she and Anakin trained all day long, but fighting Dooku is both mentally and physically exhausting.