"War does not determine who is right – only who is left."
—Bertrand Russell (as quoted on brainyquote·com)
Preface
I've written this one shot to address anyone who may ask me how I would resolve the fact that I have an alternate universe (AU) Ahsoka Tano with a life on Earth at the same time she has been revealed to be a canon character on Star Wars Rebels (Rebels).
For those that have not read any of my Ahsoka's Legacy series, the series starts with Ahsoka narrowly escaping Operation Knightfall and crash-landing on Earth with little more than the clothes on her back. The experience left her shaken as she struggled to adapt to a new way of life and a Jedi Order with different rules.
Although I had some feedback regarding the story title, "War No More" was inspired by the chorus of the song Down by the Riverside.
This scene would take place in the chapter Something Familiar from my currently-ongoing story, The Other Half of the Family. For those that have read the story, I have included passages from there to indicate where exactly this scene would occur.
What this story is not is a story that will bash or otherwise flame the Rebels show and franchise. I've watched a handful of preview clips, but it wasn't enough to persuade me that Rebels is worth watching. That said, I realize a number of people enjoy the show; some enjoy it even more now that Ahsoka is a canon character. As a result, I feel it would be inappropriate for me to go out of my way to portray Rebels in a negative light. Still, I wanted to write something that would allow others to speculate who might take on the role of Fulcrum if it wasn't Ahsoka.
Obviously, this story won't be canon with Rebels. Because the story from which this spun off was initially written as unpublished writing back in 2011, Rebels didn't exist at that time. Consequently, I am not considering this a canon part of my Ahsoka's Legacy series, either.
Also, in terms of canon, this story will disregard events from Star Wars: The Clone Wars starting with the final Season Five arc.
Finally, conversation in «angled quotes» represents words spoken in a foreign language. Here, this represents dialogue in Togruti.
Acknowledgments
Very special thanks to the Walt Disney Company—the current owners of all Star Wars characters and concepts.
Special thanks to authors CC-645 (author #3528411) and iSparks (#4293830) for their input regarding the story title when I was brainstorming ideas. The latter also served as an unofficial beta reader.
Also, special thanks to author Fergus Flamacron (#2064553) for allowing me to use his idea that tribal Togruta mate for life.
Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
On Shili, Ahsoka and Sarah walked with their cousins: Da'Meon, the chief of the Tano; Cayanna, his mate; Shalene, their daughter; and Amarti, their son. As they walked together, Sarah heard comments from other Togruta they passed.
«Remain strong, dear warriors,» one of them said.
Another told them, «Until we meet again, sisters.»
Sarah smiled when she heard another person say, «Do not forget us, Mighty Princess.»
As the group reached the junction between the canopy forest and the scrub lands, Da'Meon, his family, and tribal sentinels stayed there. Ahsoka and Sarah stopped to wave to their fellow tribe members before they walked to where Ahsoka had cloaked her ship.
Before Ahsoka could act, however, she saw something peculiar. Her enhanced vision helped her see it was a bearded male, a human.
Who could this be? A human visiting the tribes is rare, isn't it? Ahsoka thought.
The man continued to walk towards Ahsoka. On the other side of her, the Sentinels chose to stay at the edge of the canopy forest, but they took positions that prepared themselves to protect their chief and his family should it be necessary. Beckoning Sarah to stay put, Ahsoka walked up to meet the man.
"Ahsoka?" the man asked her.
Ahsoka didn't recognize him, but given Togruta face markings were generally unique to the individual, it wasn't surprising for someone to recognize her.
"Yes, who are you?" she asked suspiciously. Wouldn't you know I left my lightsabers at home, she thought. Still, she remained ready to protect herself and her daughter in case this was some sort of ambush or trap.
"You honestly don't recognize me?"
Ahsoka nodded.
"I guess it has been a while, hasn't it? I'm Senator Bail Organa."
Ahsoka looked on in surprise. It was a name that was vaguely familiar.
"You'll forgive me if I didn't recognize you. I haven't been around in—what's it been?—14 years."
"Indeed. I had heard reports you had died in Order 66, but the Empire has been known to falsify the records. It wasn't easy to locate your tribe, but I'm glad I found you."
"What do you want?" Ahsoka asked with hints of both suspicion and anxiety in her voice.
"You might be aware about what's happened here over the past several years—," Bail began before Ahsoka cut him off.
"I know all too well. I was attacked in the temple and barely escaped," she told him.
"Ever since then, the Empire has risen to new levels of oppression. People live in fear under Imperial rule. I've been able to covertly maintain a relationship with some like-minded colleagues and we've started to establish a network of rebels. It's reached the point where we need additional help to coordinate our efforts to strike the Empire where it's most vulnerable."
"OK," Ahsoka answered. "So what exactly did you seek me for?"
"We could use your experience as a commander to help us."
Ahsoka froze and her lekku twitched. She found herself flashing back to the chaos in the Jedi Temple.
Ahsoka recalled yelping as flying shrapnel narrowly missed impaling her. The shock of explosions and people dying around her triggered her inborn flight instincts.
"Ahsoka? Will you help us?" Bail asked, interrupting her thoughts.
Ahsoka blinked her eyes and shook her head. "I'm sorry, I can't fight in another war. In the Clone Wars, I was captured, abused, tortured... I can't open myself up to that again, especially given who I am."
"Perhaps you misunderstood me. I wouldn't think of having you on the front lines, not unless I had no choice. I'd rather have you work secretly with me behind the scenes. You could help keep our efforts balanced, be a fulcrum of sorts when it comes to our rebel cells."
"I'm sorry, Bail, I've seen the horrors of one war. That was more than enough for me. I can't do it again."
Bail looked on in disappointment. "At least give me one good reason. You owe me that after all I've done in trying to find you."
Ahsoka nodded. Perhaps he was right. She turned and said, «Sarah, come here.»
Sarah came up to join her mother. Ahsoka had Sarah stand in front of her off to the side. Placing her hands on Sarah's shoulders, she said, "This is my daughter, Sarah. She's 12 standard years old."
Now Bail looked on in shock. If Ahsoka was a mother, did it mean she renounced her Jedi past? After asking Sarah to go back to her original waiting spot, Ahsoka spoke again:
"As I told you, I barely escaped the temple with little more than the clothes on my back. I was pursued and crash-landed in another galaxy. Long story short, I'm married now. I have an obligation to my family and my current way of life. More importantly, I've seen the horrors of war as a teen. I wasn't prepared for some of what I witnessed and experienced first hand. I even had nightmares for a time after my escape. There's no way I want my daughter to be exposed to war, and what I went through, at her age. I'll do whatever I can to keep her out of it as much as possible. That's why I can't help you. I can't abandon her when I know she'll need me most. I can't abandon my husband, either, not for everything he did since we first met."
Bail looked on in amazement. He didn't expect Ahsoka to have such strong sentiments. But if what she said was true about the nightmares, he could understand her perspective. The rumors about Darth Vader were enough to give anyone nightmares.
"I guess you gave more than one good reason, after all," he finally told her. "I really hoped you'd join us, but I can't ask you to do something you feel so strongly against doing. Still, I'm pleased to hear you have a new life for yourself. I just hope you stay safe given the Empire is still hunting Force-sensitives."
"I probably shouldn't tell you the details, but that's taken care of. As soon as Sarah and I leave for home, we'll be safe," Ahsoka assured him.
"And perhaps I shouldn't say too much, either, but please know you're not alone."
"What do you mean?" Ahsoka asked, arching an eye marking.
"Others of your colleagues have escaped, too. One in particular is maybe two to three years younger than yourself, and he's part of one of our cells."
After learning that most of her colleagues died in Order 66 and its aftermath, news of survivors led Ahsoka to crack a small smile. As curious as she was about who survived, she felt it was best not to ask questions.
"Perhaps you really don't need me after all," she stated.
"I disagree, but that doesn't matter now. I'll respect your wishes and leave you be." Bail then turned to walk away.
"Bail, wait. For both your sake and mine, please do what you can to forget this conversation. It could be problematic if anyone finds out about it," Ahsoka told him.
"Agreed. Best wishes, Ahsoka, and stay safe," he replied before leaving.
Ahsoka waited until Bail left her sight. She wanted to make sure he wouldn't try to spy on her or follow her once she and Sarah begun their return trip home.
I can't believe anyone would want to thrust me right into the middle of another war, Ahsoka thought.
Sarah ran up to Ahsoka. "Mom, are you OK?" she asked.
"I think so, let's go home now." Ahsoka than waved to her tribe's sentinels and her cousins to let them know she'd be OK and as one last good-bye.
Ahsoka looked around before she removed her fob from her waist pouch. She then pressed the button that uncloaked the ship. Once the gangway dropped down, both Ahsoka and Sarah boarded.
Closing Commentary: For anyone who was hoping that Fulcrum was someone other than Ahsoka, I hope this story will help bolster your head canon.
As much as my AU Ahsoka was traumatized by her experiences fleeing Order 66 and Operation Knightfall, I did my best to keep her reasoning from becoming too much of an anti-war rant, but rather an emotional response that her Clone Wars experiences weren't always pleasant and that she would do anything to keep her daughter from having the same horrifying experiences she did, especially because Sarah will become a padawan back home in less than a year.
I hope that anyone that still feels Ahsoka is a good fit in Rebels working under the mysterious Fulcrum alias will be open to the idea of an alternate Ahsoka refusing to become involved in the rebellion.
In The Wrong Jedi, Barriss Offee seems to drive the point home to Ahsoka that both sides in the Clone Wars are corrupt and far from perfect. To me, she even seems to imply the war has been orchestrated to rage on indefinitely. If Ahsoka really did leave the Jedi Order in part due to Barriss' comments and not solely because the Jedi Council abandoned her in a time of need, I find myself questing why she'd be so eager to participate in the start of the rebellion—another war. Her new color scheme and body/lekku markings raise other questions, but I digress.
Now that Ahsoka has been introduced as a canon character in Rebels, one can hope Dave Filoni and his writers have a plausible explanation to reveal to Ahsoka's fans. I'd be very interested in something that provides a back story about Ahsoka's life during her 15-year gap between the Clone Wars and the start of Rebels—and something that explains what prompted her to be part of the rebellion. As an Ahsoka fan, I also hope her post-Rebels fate, even if it's her death, is handled better than her departure in Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
END