Chapter 12 – Boris Ascot
Amir moved forward steadily, completely unaware that an unfamiliar ship had just docked beside his own at the access bay.
"Just like Saynir said—the ship's stopped. Let's move!" A group of five quickly boarded the vessel.
"We have to rescue Jeda and Hark, no matter what!"
"Ahsoka, don't rush in too fast. Spatial recovery takes time—plenty for us to complete the rescue," said a human male with glasses to the cloaked figure ahead of him. The gray cloak bore two high, pointed protrusions, and two curved-hilt lightsabers hung at her waist.
"Mm," replied Ahsoka, the Togruta woman. She stopped at the corner and scanned her surroundings.
Amir felt a wave of unease. He turned to look behind him. He had just slipped past a hovering patrol droid, and by his calculations based on patrol routes, this section should have been clear.
He picked up the pace, lowering his body whenever passing an occupied cell to avoid being seen.
Most of the cells aboard the prison ship were empty, and even the few prisoners were too weak to glance outside, so Amir moved through without trouble.
"Left turn first. I need to find someone," he said to the BD-4 unit mounted on his back, then turned left.
Beep-beep-bzzt!
"There's someone there? Based on standard patrol patterns, that person should've left a minute ago..." Amir frowned. He had calculated the patrol timing using knowledge from his days at the Imperial Academy.
Bzzzt--
Amir reached a corner and cautiously peeked around. He spotted someone in black armor walking away with their back to him.
"An Inquisitor?!" Amir's heart skipped. He hadn't expected an Imperial Inquisitor aboard this prison ship.
Judging by the helmet's shape, he guessed it was the Fifth Brother.
He glanced into the middle cell—it was the person he'd come for.
He waited silently until the black figure turned the corner before stepping into the corridor.
From brisk walking, his pace gradually slowed, and finally, he stopped in front of the cell door.
"Long time no see, Mr. Ascot," Amir said, peering through the alloy-barred window at the old man inside.
The man sat slumped in the corner, wearing tattered clothes like a homeless drunk beside a street bin. His hair was matted with dust.
He looked up, and his eyes were startlingly clear.
"Oh, it's you. On internship here?" the old man asked, his gaze fixed on Amir by the window.
"Sorry. I've left the Academy."
Huh-huh! Ascot's laugh rasped like a failing engine, but he had always liked to laugh. "Left the Academy? What do you think that is, some rinky-dink mechanic shop you can walk out of? That's desertion!"
"I submitted my withdrawal request a long time ago. They approved it," Amir replied. Though he had his doubts about how easily it all went through, he hadn't dwelled on it.
"Approved? Huh-huh! They'd never let you go so easily."
"What do you mean? You told me the Academy could help me uncover my past. But after two years, nothing happened." Amir stared at the frail old man.
"Your past..." The old man's smile faded, and his eyelids drooped.
A few seconds later, he looked up slightly. His gaze became foggy, like a drunk in a daze. "Amir, are you lucky… or cursed?"
Click! With a sharp snap, the cell door unlocked—BD-4 had successfully hacked it.
"Come on, let's go!" Amir urged.
"No! No! I'm not going anywhere." The old man suddenly stiffened and shrank further into the corner. "It's pointless… pointless to run!"
"Go, Amir. While you can. Do what you want to do."
"They'll control you eventually. It's coming. Coming soon… No one escapes." Though the old man was clearly delusional, the fear in his eyes was real and intense.
"Whatever happens, let's just get out of here first," Amir said patiently. But Boris Ascot had completely withdrawn into his own world.
Amir began calculating how to haul the old man out, but suddenly red lights started flashing around them. He knew these lights well—security alert!
Beep-beep-beep-beep! BD-4 beeped frantically, signaling it wasn't the cause.
Amir gave one last look at the old man, but didn't linger. He shut the cell door again before leaving, hoping to prevent suspicion from falling on him.
"Someone else triggered the alarm?" He released his spider drone again. "Let's go straight to Saynir's objective!"
He moved more cautiously now. When an alarm goes off, stormtroopers tend to flood toward the source. Without knowing the cause, one could easily be exposed.
If discovered, the only way to maintain stealth would be to stun every witness. Amir tightened his grip on his blaster.
As he mulled over his next steps, the sound of hurried footsteps approached. Amir looked around—nowhere to hide.
The Empire's devotion to utilitarian efficiency meant most ships and bases had narrow corridors, clean walls, and tight doorways. The only hiding spots were ventilation shafts—but this one was too small to squeeze through.
The footsteps drew closer. Amir was preparing to blitz them and knock them all unconscious when he suddenly had an idea.
The squad of stormtroopers marched quickly down the hallway—but Amir was nowhere in sight.
BD-4 dropped from an overhead vent, then opened a nearby cell. Amir emerged from inside and continued forward in silence.
"Sorry!" Ahsoka stood before a bisected security droid, sighing. The blaring alarms were her doing. "But Hark and the others are close. Let's push through!"
With that, she surged forward, dual lightsabers in hand.
The curved hilts ignited, casting a bright white glow.
Most lightsabers were blue or green, their hue linked to the kyber crystals and their wielders' connection to the Force. In contrast, Sith lightsabers burned crimson—kyber crystals corrupted and bled through the dark side.
After leaving her twin sabers behind post–Clone Wars, Ahsoka had journeyed alone. During a battle with an Inquisitor, she had defeated them and claimed their lightsabers. Through her unique bond with the Force, she purified the corrupted kyber crystals—giving them their distinctive white glow.
With lightning-fast spins, Ahsoka deflected incoming blaster fire as she charged a newly arrived squad of stormtroopers.
They had no hope of winning. Faced with her agility and superhuman speed, the stormtroopers quickly lost all will to resist.
Even more demoralizing—none of their blaster bolts landed. Either Ahsoka dodged them or they were reflected back into the attackers themselves.
Are we just that bad? We aimed so carefully! Must've been that huge lunch we just had—ahhh!
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