Got Darth Talon on the mind I see. Did the plot bunnies whack you over the head with a new idea or did you just get distracted by the hotness?
The Separatist army being here means she’s within the time of the Clone Wars. It means Talon is in time. This is A'Sharad Hett’s time period, before Krayt exists but with the seeds for his birth already sown. She made it through the right door, in more than enough time to save his life and his dream and his rule of the whole galaxy, everything he deserves laid at his feet.
Relief twists through her, even as fear rises to meet it in an uncomfortable tangle. It’s too early for her to be revealed, and she might be able to escape unseen, but these droid armies are meant to kill Force adepts. If she draws too much attention, too, she won't be able to reach Krayt unseen, might draw the Jedi Order’s attention, or the attention of the Emperor-to-be. Both, potentially. Krayt as he is now can't face them alone, and Talon would die for him the instant he implied he wanted her to, but if she’s killed protecting him, here and now, he’ll be impossibly vulnerable.
“Show yourself,” the droid says again, and the other nine in its squad turn, blasters on their arms aimed right at Talon’s hiding spot. “This is your last warning.”
Talon digs her nails into her thighs, trying to think of a way out now that she’s been spotted, some way to wriggle out of this—
A hand grabs her arm, drags, and Talon only just manages to contain her cry as she’s pulled down into a narrow gap between the buildings, straight into an opening in the earth. It’s a cellar of some sort, a rickety staircase leading almost straight down, and the hand on her wrist shifts. An arm encased in metal wraps around her waist, hauls Talon up against a cold breastplate, and they drop straight down into the gap beneath the stairs, her armored rescuer taking the full force of the landing with a grunt. The person holding her drags her back, right up against the packed earth where the shadows are deepest, then goes still, and Talon freezes too, holding her breath as a wash of red light just misses their hiding spot.
“False alarm,” the droid croaks after a long second, and a moment later there's a tramp of metal feet continuing on.
Talon’s rescuer lets the silence stretch for another minute, braced and ready, then huffs. Their grip loosens on Talon’s waist, and right next to her ear, low enough not to carry, a woman’s voice says, “All right there?”
It’s close, and breath against sensitive lekku almost makes Talon shiver. It’s been a long time since she was with another woman, the only encounter she’s had since her appointment as Hand that unsatisfying and vaguely disgusting tumble with Skywalker. It makes her curl her fingers against slick metal, makes her catch a breath, and she forces herself to shift away, to step back as much as the tight space allows.
