75: Trust Me
“There,” Ahsoka said, several minutes later. “All done.”
The Togruta finished tying off the white medical wrappings and sat back in her chair, feeling spent. Beside her, the as-yet nameless human woman was gingerly trying to rest her stump of a left arm against her chest. In some ways, she was lucky. Lightsabers cauterize the wounds they make, otherwise she would certainly have bled out. On the other hand, melted bits of her uniform jacket had fused with the charred flesh and had had to be carefully pried out before becoming vectors for infection. That couldn’t have been pleasant, and they weren’t lucky enough to have stolen a ship with painkillers.
“…Thanks,” the woman managed, leaning back in the copilot’s seat and closing her eyes.
“I’m the one who should thank you. You risked everything to help someone you’d never met before in your life. Not many people would do that.” Ahsoka paused, but when the other woman said nothing, coughed a little awkwardly. “Anyway… I’m Ahsoka. Ahsoka Tano. Pleased to meet you.”
“I… go by Dawn…” she muttered softly, still not opening. “Talk later… please.”
“Of course,” she watched the human woman nod off almost immediately, not that she couldn’t understand why.
The Togruta wished that she could join her, the energizing blend of adrenaline and Force energies was already starting to wear off, and her body was beginning to remember that she’d been starved and denied sleep for weeks. But she couldn’t sleep, not yet. They had to stop off and do several more hyperspace jumps in random directions before she could let herself rest. Otherwise Anakin – no, Vader – would be able to trace them easily. She sighed.
“There’s,” Ahsoka began, several hours later, walking back into the cockpit.
“No food in here,” Twilight finished for her. “I checked the shipping manifest.”
“Mechanical parts and lubricants mostly,” Ahsoka said with just a touch of bitterness as she sat back down. “Couldn’t the Empire at least spring for some emergency ration bars?”
“Guess they didn’t think anyone was going to need them,” the alicorn pointed out. “This was just a ground-to-orbit cargo hauler on Shyish, after all. I doubt they expected it to go very far.”
“Isn’t that just our luck?” the Togruta mumbled irritably, before looking up and blinking. “Sorry, I shouldn’t be complaining.”
“You were tortured for days,” Twilight said in a low tone.
“Weeks, actually,” Ahsoka muttered, before shaking her head. “But it was just pain. Vader wanted me to turn, not die. You lost your arm.”
“It’s not that bad,” Twilight lied. In truth, the endless throb hadn’t dulled at all until she’d done a little magic while Ahsoka was searching the cargo hold.
“You can be straight with me. I’ve seen amputations before, back in the Clone Wars. I can tell it’s pretty bad.” She looked sympathetic. “Most of the arm just outright hacked off, then messed with only a few minutes later. And no painkillers.” She paused. “Did your master ever teach you to go into a healing trance? Now would be a really good time.”
“No need,” Twilight shook her head. “I’ll be alright.”
“You need medical attention. Anesthetics, antibacterials, and neural therapy. If we don’t work to save those nerves in your arm you may not be able to get a prosthetic that works right.” Ahsoka looked down. “I just wish I knew someone we could trust for that. The Empire’s been drafting a lot of best surgeons in the galaxy for its military buildup. Not really sure who’s left that’d be up for it.”
“I’ll be alright,” Twilight answered, a little more forcefully.
“You don’t need to pretend to me,” Ahsoka said gently. “I know you must be in a lot of pain, and you don’t want me to worry, but it’s alright. I won’t think less of you for admitting it hurts. How could I?” she smiled dryly. “You gave it up to help me. I owe you big time, and the first thing I need to do is make sure you have two working arms again.”
“I’m serious,” Twilight sat up straighter, wincing at the shot of pain. “I really don’t need urgent medical attention. We should focus on meeting back up with Spike before anything else. He needs me.”
“Your friend? I’m sure he’d understand a brief detour to at least make sure your arm is stable and can be fitted with a prosthetic.” Ahsoka frowned. “Do you genuinely not understand how serious that injury is? You could wind up crippled for rest of your days, and after what happened with Vader, that’s a death sentence guaranteed.” She held up Twilight’s saberstaff. “You can’t use one of these with one hand.”
“I’m not worried about that right now. My friend’s safety is more important to me.”
“And how can you protect him if you’re crippled for life?”
“I won’t be, trust me.”
“How can you be sure of that without even the most basic medical attention?”
“I…” Twilight paused for a moment, uncertain. “I… It will grow back.”
“Grow… back?” Ahsoka blinked. “You… what?”
“My arm will… grow back after a while,” Twilight admitted quietly. “Any prosthetic that was fitted on would be outgrown and useless in weeks, if not days. I’d much rather go make sure Spike is alright than waste time on that.”
“Did Vader give you a concussion when he slammed you against that wall? Humans don’t regrow lost-” Ahsoka’s eyes widened, then narrowed. “First the teleportation, now this? You… aren’t a human, are you?”
“No,” Twilight shook her head.
“What… exactly are you, if you don’t mind my asking?”
“That, I do mind,” Twilight answered. “I prefer no one really know.”
“Well, um… alright. If you’re sure.” Ahsoka looked her over. “Doesn’t change the fact that I owe you my life.”
“Likewise,” Twilight said. “Vader would have killed me if not for you.”
“You wouldn’t have been in danger at all if it weren’t for me. And he was going to do much worse to me.” Ahsoka sat back on her chair. “So, you’re certain you want to go straight to your friend?”
“Positive.”
“Alright,” the Togruta sighed. “Where to?”
“Dantooine,” said Twilight. “He’ll go to Dantooine.”
On board the Devastator, Sergeant Ilis Oansen, the luckless man who had been charged with overseeing the detention corridor during the breakout, was on his knees. One hand was clawing at his own throat, the other was outstretched desperately, almost pitifully, as if silently pleading for help or mercy. He was to receive neither.
“I do not tolerate failures,” Darth Vader said to the Star Destroyer’s assembled officers as his chosen victim choked slowly behind him. “I do not tolerate insults.” He raised black gloved hand, and Oansen was pulled off the ground with legs kicking, still frantically trying to breathe. “And I do not tolerate losses.” He clenched his fist, and the man’s neck audibly snapped.
The corpse collapsed to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut, but almost no one dared take their eyes off the Sith Lord. None did so when they imagined him looking at them. Fear, raw and primal, oozed from these men’s every pore, despite the almost-universal attempts at appearing disciplined. He could feel it in their minds, taste it in the darkest corners of their hearts. He gave them a moment to fester in it, before continuing.
“Captain Orion,” he said. “Step forward.”
Even without the aid of the Force, the man was obviously on verge of fainting on the spot, but all the same did as bid. Many officers had coveted his station before, none did now.
“Perhaps you can explain why it was that a cargo shuttle was allowed so close to the ship yet so far outside its primary firing arcs.”
“M-My lord,” he swallowed. “The shuttle was an i-inbound cargo transport from the planet. All codes were in order. We d-didn’t have any r-reason to believe it would be a problem.”
“After having been infiltrated by a similar cargo shuttle.”
It went without saying that the remainder of the crew the strange woman had arrived with had already been seized, alongside everyone on the planet’s surface having anything to do with personnel assignments to it. To allow an enemy agent onto Vader’s own ship was incompetence far past redemption. The only question was how much could be learned of the woman from them before they died.
“We thought to keep the a-arcs clear of friendly vessels,” Orion managed. “In case of a launch from a bay or an escape pod being jettisoned.”
“Give me one reason to let you live.”
“I-It won’t h-happen again, my lord! I s-swear!”
“No,” Vader closed his fist. “It won’t.”
When the Captain’s corpse hit the ground, the cyborg turned his baleful gaze onto the remaining officers. There were more here who should die, he knew, from gunnery officers that had so dismally failed to disable the shuttle to squadron commanders who had made their fighters such easy targets for the escapees. And perhaps they would, in time. But for now, the point had been made.
“Return to your stations,” he ordered. “See to it that the Devastator is ready to be under way as soon as I give the command.”
They scattered like drochs fleeing sunlight, his men, so eager to put distance between themselves and their master that they practically ran out the doorway. If any had dared harbor the slightest doubts about their lord’s potency after the breakout, they were now thoroughly laid to rest. It was as it should be, the cyborg thought as he turned away from them. At least one thing was.
But then there was that girl, that girl who had dared to steal his future apprentice from him. And not just that, but also to raise a blade against him and to display an ability with the Force that he, a Dark Lord of the Sith, did not know. The insults she’d raised against him were manifold, her crimes far beyond the pale. The severed arm now carefully frozen by his medical droids was but the first taste of the wrath she would come to know. Anger filled him as he stormed through the corridors towards his chambers, feeding his power over the dark side.
She would pay dearly for her affront, of that much she could be certain.
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I think the freezing is going to prevent Twilight's severed arm from transforming back. However I don't think that Vader’s medical droids are going to be able to understand it when they study it leading to an even unhappier Vader becuase he will not admit to this failure to the Emperor, if the Emperor already doesn't know about the failure.
8765335
I don't think the arm was going to transform back in the first place. If the transformation was actively maintained rather than static, the lack of magic from Twilight would have already transformed it back by now.
I'm still seriously hoping Twilight cannot regenerate that lost limb.
And now Twilight done royally pissed off Vader. You are in for a very bad time. I'm still not sure whether Twilight's arm will retain it's shape or not, but thinking on it, I wonder if her shapeshifting/transformation actually affects the DNA in her body at all. Does it still show as Pony? Or does it show as her body should?
If Luna/Noctis gets involved in this, I think I can see how this will go. There will be a trip to Equus/Equestria, and Twilight's Mother, Father, Brother, and the rest of the Mane Six will be arrested as guilty-by-association, and promptly placed in holding facilities around the galaxy. If any one of them is broken out, signals are sent to have the others executed immediately.
The time for "playing nice" with Twilight is officially over.
And thank you once again for the update.
HOLY CRAP her arm actually WILL regrow?
That's it, I'm shutting my trap, lest other crazy things come to pass...
Great work!
Nice, added bonus if twilight is right about her regeneration, Vader's agents are going to be looking for a woman with prosthetic arm or no arm which coupled with if she changes her appearance further is going to make her a even harder needle in the haysack to find.
Wild mass guess, the emperor was behind this mess somehow for a number of goals from messing with his apprentice distracting him from any plots while getting data on how a non-cloned Alicorn regenerates and recovers from wounds as part of his larger scheme to gain immortality.
I admit that is unlikely because that would mean that the emperor knew about twilight but finds her useful to furthering his grand plans.
8765490
The Emperor has Celestia in close proximity to himself. I doubt very much that he is unaware of Twilight.
Just wait till Palpatine finds out that's an alicorns genetic structure in a humanoid form.
You know. What he wants to build from Celestia.
Hmmm... So it takes weeks for alicorn to grow back severed limb, and maybe some hours or something less to heal from medical sample taking (no idea how big samples thou), both with horn intact... So how long in theory would take to grow horn back?... I mean Luna had a decorative one after losing it. Was there some kinda off-screen effort to at least try to treat it?
Also I wonder what they will do with Twi's arm?... Luke's was kept as a trophy and later used as a clone dna-base.
8765395
I think that more productive would be to move down the list and go bother Celestia for not having lost a limb in this story.
The two good girls succesfully escape! Maybe Twilight will accept to show Ahsoka her true form in the future... Spike isn't going to like seeing his caretaker missing an arm.
8765602
I am not sure he precisely wants a humanoid body. Humanoid or equinoid, as long as he's in it and is immortal... coupled to flight and the additional magic horn.
8765752
As I said in another post, Celestia's already got plenty of mental scars that are practically worse than any physical injury. Those mental scars are leaving her vulnerable to Sidious and the Dark Side.
8761102
It is such a quiet thing, to fall... there are some alternative options for Ponies to become.
8763676
At least it can never happen again
Whew... another well done chapter, nice nice nice
If anyone ask if Twilight's severed arm will return to being pony, it will depend on what spell she used. If she used some kind of illusion then it will but if she used a polymorph or transmogrification then it wont.
8765395
Twilight's parents died during the droid invasion. Also to do so would draw the attention of her masters to this and implicate and endanger Equestria even further. I don't think that Luna is at the stage yet for her to harm Equestria just to hurt Twilight yet, if her recent interactions with Imperials and how she kept herself from revealing anything damning in front of the emperor are any indication. If Vader bothers to tell Luna what happened she will quickly be able to connect it to Twilight just like how she did in their first confrontation. If he does tell her maybe Twilight will get lucky and Vader will explain things in a way that doesn't implicate her like, "A Jedi came to rescue Ahsoka and they escaped capture when they jumped into hyperspace with a cargo ship."