WHILE OTHERS FOUGHT FOR JUSTICE
Cast of Characters (Italics indicate an OC)
Ahsoka and Lux Bonteri
Steela and Saw Gerrera
Hutch
King Tandin of Onderon
Mina Bonteri
Captain Rex
Katooni
Sierra Bonteri – the youngest Bonteri child, three years Lux's junior
Hero St. James- the rebel who yelled "Look!" at the end of Tipping Points; Hutch's wife
Tav – Lux and Ahsoka's son
Commander Torrance, "Tor – a vicious Imperial commander with a vendetta
John Bonteri (deceased) – the patriarch of the Bonteris; gave his life to save the rest of the group
Explanation of the AU
This is the fifth installment of the "While Others" series. If you have not read the other stories, please go read them now. This story will not make any sense unless you have read them.
Since it's been a while since "While Others Raised A White Flag" was completed, I will try my best to jog your memory here.
This story takes place in an alternate universe where several characters who appear to die have survived due to a government program called the Lazarus Project.
The Lazarus Project was created by Palpatine as a measure to smooth the transition from Republic to Empire by having figures the people had thought to be dead return and distract the populace. Three of these people were Lux Bonteri's parents and Steela Gerrera.
After Steela's escape from prison and the exposure of the Lazarus Project, King Dendup was ejected from the throne and General Tandin became king of Onderon. He and the remnants of the Onderon Rebels escaped Order 66 when Captain Rex warned them.
This didn't prevent rebel losses, however. After stealing their money back from Tarkin, the rebels walked into a trap which ended up taking the life of John Bonteri.
Previously, Ahsoka and Lux (as well as a couple rebels named Hutch and Hero) got married and shortly after Order 66, Ahsoka became pregnant and had a son, Tavin John Bonteri.
And without further ado, I present the story.
AHSOKA
"Over in the meadow in the sand, in the sun.
Lived an old mother toad and her little toady one.
"Wink!" said the mother
"I wink!" said the one
So they winked and they blinked in the sand, in the sun."
Tav isn't old enough to understand my words, all he knows is that Mommy is singing while she rocks him in hopes that he'll fall asleep.
The sooner he falls asleep, the sooner we can start the briefings for the con. If we get that over with, then Mommy might have a chance to sleep!
I rock for a few minutes before I dare to look down at my son's face.
His eves are closed, and when I carefully put him down in the crib they stay that way.
Love you! I mouth, tiptoeing out of his room and shutting the door behind me.
Lux comes from around the corner. "Is he asleep?"
"Hopefully, he'll nap through the briefing and then some," I whisper. "I need to sleep."
"Hutch thinks it'll be pretty open-and-shut. I can take care of Tav while you sleep. After all, he's my responsibility too."
Words cannot describe how wonderful that sounds. Unlimited naptime!
"I'm going to take you up on that, Lux." I say as we walk into the room.
Our entire team jockeys for sitting space in our common room. Seated serenely in one of our chairs is Mina, a virtual encyclopedia of political and medical information and the galaxy's biggest Mama Bear. She may only have given birth to Lux and Sierra, in her book we're all her children.
Adding to our military knowledge is Captain Rex. He may not think like a Stormtrooper, but he can pretend to be a pretty good one when he goes undercover.
Following in second place for the ship parent is King Tandin, everybody's grandpa. Try messing with someone from our ship, and you will realize why Tandin was nicknamed "Ho Lee Schitt" by his coworkers. You'll realize it faster if that someone is Steela.
"Steela" being Steela Gerrera, the thief whose first heist was not a wallet, not a burglary, but a tank. From mints out of her nurses' pockets during the Lazarus Project to Grand Moff Tarkin's good name, I can't count everything she's stolen. She's also my best friend.
Her brother Saw is the group's resident muscle. Saw loves a good fight, and he scares the tar out of people. It's a perfect fit.
There's Hutch: a former rebel and Reddy Mart cashier turned hacker. His computer origins may have been humble, but his tricks have gotten us out of many a bind. He's married to Hero, probably the best cook in the galaxy.
And then there is Sierra, Lux's fifteen-year-old sister. It's her job to talk to the marks and get them to swallow a lie hook, line, and, sinker.
"I like acting." She told me when I asked her how she could possibly do it. "Plus, there are perks: I get to have lots of clothes and shoes."
Sierra has six pairs of shoes. I have two.
Following her is Katooni, the youngest. Katooni sits between Hutch and Hero. She's wearing a pink and orange paisley shirt.
"That's a pretty shirt. When did you get it?" Hero remarks, taking a pinch of the fabric between her fingers.
"It was a hand-me-down," Katooni explains.
Just then Sierra walks into the room. "Hey, have any of you seen my paisley top? I can't find it."
Katooni crosses her arms over her chest. Alas, the top has sleeves.
"You could have just asked." Sierra grumbles.
"I didn't know you could fit Sierra's clothes." Mina says.
Katooni relaxes, and I notice how baggy the shirt is on her. "I can't. But it's just so pretty!"
"Next time, ask." Sierra huffs as she takes a seat next to Steela. Big mistake.
Steela turns up Sierra's shirt collar and reads the tag.
"I thought it was my job to be the thief, whereas your job is ask for things and have the mark give them to you."
"I did ask you," Sierra says. "Remember when I asked you if I could handle your laundry?"
"Doesn't count, sister."
Lux and Saw start laughing, but it dies when Steela fixes them with the look of death.
"I want my clothes back." Steela says.
Hutch clears his throat. The bickering stops.
"If everyone's done with the shirt drama, it's time to do the con briefing." He says and turns on the hologram projector.
"This is Lower Moff Ichabod Crossway. He runs the Empire's fiscal responsibility in the Concordia system." He says. "Now, so far this guy has been pretty lax about Imperial rule, but he's starting to tighten his fist a little bit in the healthcare department."
"Why healthcare first?" I ask. Most Moffs go after politics, then commerce, and then work their way down to things like healthcare.
"I thought about that too," Hutch says. "And here's what I came up with. Crossway used to work with the Republic Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Disease, they booted him out of that field because he got a little extreme when it came to epidemics. This guy thinks there's no such thing as too much preparation. A few years ago, he tried to pass an incentive to supply all public buildings so they could become emergency treatment centers and give everyone in the galaxy a gas mask. The proposed budget was 78 billion credits."
"Not afraid to throw money around. I like this guy." Saw observes.
"Me too, especially because the Empire just gave him a huge budget. And by a huge budget, I mean 250 million credits."
Rex whistles. "The 501st never got more than 3 million!"
"I know, right." Hutch crosses his arms. "Lux, what are you thinking?"
Lux nods. "He loves nothing more than spending money. Why not spend a little on us?"
"How are we going to do that, O Mr. Mastermind?" Hero asks.
"I have a couple ideas. Sierra, how's your corporate bulldog?"
….…...
Sierra's corporate bulldog is "awesome."
That's wonderful news. It means that we can follow Plan A, and I can go to sleep sooner. I just have to get through the trials of getting ready for the con.
Steela opens the door to her room. "Is Tav still asleep?" she asks, stepping aside so I can come in.
"Lux is taking care of him when he wakes up. Mommy needs a nap." I announce. "I haven't seen you in that sweater before. It's pretty."
"Thanks. It's Hero's."
Is it even possible to live in an eternal slumber party and not go insane? It is. We're living evidence of it.
I cut to the chase. "I need to borrow your soap. I forgot to get some when we last went shopping, and I'm all out.
"Sure," Steela agrees, rummaging through her shower caddy and grabbing her body wash.
Sierra looks up from filing her nails. "How's he doing?"
I shrug. "He's tired, but aren't we all? He's also a little confused about some of the finer points of fatherhood…"
Lux, I may love you dearly but you put Tavin's diaper on backwards. Again.
Sierra shrugs and goes back to her nails. "He can be a dolt sometimes, but he's a lovable dolt."
I decide to change the subject. "Do you have your identity planned out?"
Sierra nods. "Yup. Hutch made it a long time ago. This one's good."
Hero turns from Steela's vanity, half her makeup on. "They're all good. They just don't last long because you go through aliases like popcorn, sweet cheeks." She announces before going back to doing her eyeliner.
Sierra rolls her eyes.
"Who are you going to be?" I ask Steela.
"Mail room worker named Deanna." Steela says. "And you?"
"I'm working the phones with Hero."
Hero gives a thumbs-up with her free hand. "Hooray. We can keep Hutch and Lux from driving us insane."
I grab Steela's body wash and turn to go take my well-deserved nap, when a baby's cry comes from our room.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath, when another sound comparable to an angel's choir comes appears.
"It's okay, it's okay. Daddy's got you." Lux says. "Do you want a bottle? Just wait until I warm it up."
Lux has the baby handled. I can nap!
Steela wraps an arm around my shoulders. "All right, let's get you to bed before you pass out on the floor or something."
My eyes close when my head hits the pillow.
But right before I fall asleep, I hear Steela mutter something as she tucks me in.
"I am such a good friend, aren't I?"
LUX
"Waaaaaa!"
I bounce Tav on my hip while mixing up the formula with one hand.
"Shh…shh…" I croon, putting the bottle in the microwave. "It's okay, Daddy's got you."
Tav's wails only increase in volume. The timer on the microwave moves at a snail's pace.
"Hush little baby, don't say a word." I sing. "Uh…Daddy forgot the rest of the words."
"WAAAAAAA!"
I shoot a prayer up to the baby formula gods: Please, please let the formula heat up to just the right temperature, and that Tav's hungry and not just cranky.
The microwave dings. Thank the Lord.
I squirt a little bit of formula onto my arm to test it, and then place the teat at Tav's lips. He takes it and starts sucking hungrily.
I lower myself into a chair, Tavin's warm body resting against mine.
"Is that all you needed, buddy?" I ask.
"It better be," Saw says, removing his headphones from his ears now that the crying is over. "Yeesh Bonteri, that kid is an eating machine. I can see why Ahsoka got so hungry when she was pregnant with him."
I remember those nights, the nights Ahsoka would eat an entire tub of ice cream.
"He's worth every minute of it, though." I say fondly.
"He's cute." Saw concedes. "So, about the con. How many people am I going to be beating up?"
"As few as possible."
Saw looks down at his knuckles. "Shoot. I was hoping to get some practice in."
"We have a punching bag."
"Punching bags don't fight back."
"We also have Rex and Hutch."
"That's just sparring."
I roll my eyes. "If you want to start a real fight with Hutch, tell him that Hero's ugly. Or Katooni's a brat. Or that the University of Onderon is the worst team in the galaxy."
Two lies and a truth. How lovely.
Saw stands up. "You know, I think I might go with the last one."
I tense up, almost dropping Tav's bottle. "Saw, I wasn't serious!"
"Thanks, Bonteri!" Saw calls as he runs from the room.
A/N: Yes, it has been a month since I last updated, but I'm back with another While Others story!
I apologize for the wait, but it took this long to get a good headway on the story. This one took a lot more planning than I imagined, which was helped immensely by the insight of 082 Martian Scout. A huge thank-you to you.
So far, how was this chapter? Please leave your thoughts in the review box on the way out. Reviews really make me happy and keep me motivated for writing this story!
Until next time,
Lux's Sister