Ahsoka had barely had time to get into an escape pod and eject before her ship was destroyed by the cyborg monster that had caught her as she was coming out of an asteroid field. But now, she was stranded on Nal Hutta without any transport, any credits, or any means of communicating with her husband, the rebel warlord named Lux Bonteri… who she loved deeply and missed greatly, more than he would probably ever realize. But she walked away from her crashed escape pod out in the murky swamp lands with every intention of finding civilization.

When she finally reached the planet's capitol city after a week or two, she saw storm troopers in the area. Even though the empire hadn't seen or heard much about her since 5 or 6 years ago… if she used her real name to identify herself, it would mean blowing her cover. So, she adopted the disguise name 'Fulcrum.' She didn't have very much to trade with, save a few rations of food and a few extra clothes. But it sure wasn't enough to sell that would get her a ride off the planet. Even if she could get a ride, she'd need to know where Lux was… and she needed a com link for that, anyway. Her old one had finally died on her. So, she couldn't use it anymore. "Great…" She mumbled to herself. No sooner did she feel like moping, she thought about Lux. He never gave up… and he never let go of her. The last time he tried to move on was before they got married… and he hadn't switched on her ever since then. She knew she couldn't give up, either. But then she could have sworn someone nearby had spoken his name. "Lux?" She said to herself quietly as she used the force to try and listen in on the conversation two men were having.

"If I could only track him down and face him off alone again, somehow… I could easily kill him! Then maybe the emperor would notice me," said the Zabrack Inquisitor, Xulbon… whose dream it was to work his way up and eventually replace Darth Vader as the official apprentice of… and left hand man to… Darth Sidious.

"You're getting really ambitious, now aren't you?" Bounty Hunter Boba Fett answered. "I've heard rumors about Bonteri. He's hard to track down… and nearly as hard to best in combat. One. He almost never fights without help from a force sensitive protector. Two. Even if he does, I've heard from some that he has a way of getting around the fact that you can use the force and he can't."

"I know that." Xulbon paused. "That's where you come in. How much do you want for tracking him down and taking care of his helpers?"

"I would suggest a sneakier way, with him." Boba pulled out a vial full of lethal food and drink poison. "Now, as for my help… I'll require no less than a million credits, in advance, for it. A million more, if we succeed."

Xulbon growled in frustration. He didn't have that much to spare… neither in imperial currency nor spice. "I can't pay that!"

Boba shrugged and said, "Hey. You want my help? You'll get what you pay for, assuming you can afford it."

The angry Sith apprentice wannabe stormed off, as Ahsoka watched and listened from the distance. She couldn't let herself be caught and identified correctly. Because, if she was killed, she'd break her husband's heart as soon as he knew. Now, she'd been able to come to him in a force dream to let him know she wasn't dead. But that was all it would allow her to reveal to him. She didn't seem to be allowed to tell him more than one important thing at a time, when she used the force to haunt her husband in his sleep…. which could only happen if she and Lux went to bed at the same time, which was pretty rare. But she'd done it twice before. Once to tell him she wasn't dead… and the second time to warn him about an attack on his men's secret base she'd seen coming through her excellent sense of foresight.

Then suddenly, someone grabbed her shoulder from behind. She turned around quickly with her hands over the hilts of her new white lightsabers… ready to defend herself, if need be. That's when she discovered it wasn't an enemy. It was an old friend from her days as a Jedi, before she left the order. Captain Rex of the 501st legion… who had recognized her, and wanted to help her escape. Now, since the Clone Wars had ended, the Clone armies had disbanded and been replaced by imperial storm troopers. Rex told her, "Come with me. I can get you to safety." She pulled her old friend into a hug then asked permission to use his com link, if he had one.

Ahsoka was able to remember Lux's contact number… and send him a message to let him know that she still loved and missed him, first and foremost. But before she could tell him anything else, the call was cut short. Rex's comlink was pulled out of her hand by the force and into the hands of a smirking Zabrack Inquisitor… who promptly. "Well, well, well. What have we hear? You say you're Warlord Bonteri's WIFE? In that case, you're exactly what I need… to take away his will to live. Your death will surely drain away his motivation and destroy his heart."

Ahsoka dew her sabers and activated them. Rex drew his pistols out. Older though he was, he was still prepared for a fight. "We'll take him together," Ahsoka said. But then a squad of storm troopers came outside to help Xulbon… along with two Gamorean axe men. Rex quickly gunned the enemy troopers down and Ahsoka deflected some of their fire. But then the retired Clone captain found himself locked in battle with the axe men and Ahsoka engaged in a lightsaber duel with Xulbon himself.

As twenty more storm troopers started to rush towards the area, Ahsoka could sense them coming. Rex could hear them on the way, too. He yelled to his old friend, "Go get to my ship in the spaceport! It's in hanger C16! GO! Fly for your life! Don't worry about me!" Ahsoka force pushed Xulbon away from her and into the wall behind him, to knock him senseless. Then she quickly cut down the Gamoreans and ran off WITH Rex as the storm trooper reinforcements showed up too late to catch them. But when Rex and Ahsoka got to the spaceport, they found imperial storm troopers were already putting the place on lock down. Getting away wasn't going to be easy.

Inside the spaceport, ANOTHER old friend of Ahsoka's was lost among the crowd. But when Kidd Kareen, being the young Twi'lek pod racer she'd once met… and friend zoned… on Tatooine, learned that his old friend/ex-girlfriend was trying to get off the planet, something told him he HAD to help her. Maybe it was because he still had feelings for her, deep down… despite knowing he'd been friend zoned for another guy, named Lux Bonteri… and couldn't bear to watch his old friend get killed. When he saw Ahsoka and Rex surrounded by storm troopers and an imperial officer about to give the order to gun them down, he shot the officer in the head with a blaster he'd just stolen from a storm trooper he'd throttled from behind. Then the storm troopers began shooting at him. But Kidd was saved in return by Rex and Ahsoka who resumed fighting. After getting out of that room, Kidd was able to hardwire his way past the ray shields guarding the closest hangar…. which housed his own ship. He got a hug from Ahsoka, as well… but that was as far as she went with him. Her heart still went with her husband.

But as they were about to get on the ship, a group of 15 storm troopers who were already hiding in the room emerged, and a gunfight began. Ahsoka started to deflect their fire back at them as Rex and Kidd took cover and started to return fire. But then when all the Stormtroopers were bested, Ahsoka could sense Inquisitor Xulbon coming back. So she and the others got on board the ship quickly and took off… not knowing there was a tracking beacon on it. So, the short dogfight with about 3 imperial TIE fighters was the least of their problems. However, once they were away, Ahsoka sensed the beacon and said, "Stop this ship as soon as you can. I can feel we're going to have to." So, they stopped at the nearest refueling station to them.

Upon getting to the nearest station, they refueled their ship a little as Ahsoka located the tracking beacon and removed it. But then they saw a ship come in that looked all too familiar to Ahsoka. The Slave I… which was owned by Boba Fett. Their ship was blown to smithereens by the turrets of the oncoming Bounty Hunter's vessel! They weren't going to go anywhere, anytime soon. "Drat!" Kidd shouted.

But as if Boba Fett weren't bad news enough, the sky darkened as the Executor came into view! Darth Vader's imperial flagship! Ahsoka knew she couldn't avoid her fate any longer… and she decided she'd face it like a true Jedi… and fighting to the last breath. Rex said, "Commander, I'm with you to the end."

"As am I." Kidd Kareen added.

"Thanks, guys." Ahsoka gave half a smile and ignited her sabers saying, "If these are our last moments, let's make the end memorable."

Kidd got a painful tug in his heart when he heard that… and as the Slave I landed close by, he said, "No, Ahsoka. If you CAN save yourself… please do it. I'd hate to see you die… and I'm certain your husband will miss you." Ahsoka looked him in the eye as the bounty Hunter emerged from his ship. The Twi'lek then said, "Please. Save yourself, if you can. Don't worry about us."

Ahsoka couldn't find it in herself to leave her companions behind. So she shook her head. But then a laser blast came in and nearly hit Kidd in the heart, if Ahsoka's light saber hadn't deflected it away. The Mandalorian Bounty Hunter fired another shot as he flew through the air with his Jett pack. Rex and Kidd tried to fire back, but then TIE fighters came zooming in to fire at them from the sky! They immediately ran for cover, as Ahsoka deflected the fire from Boba, who was chasing them. But despite all their efforts, they were probably going to be caught and killed. What chance did they have of escaping anyway?

Then Rex was shot in the back… and fell down injured. Then from the front by some oncoming troopers who were in turn shot by Kidd's blaster. "REX!" Ahsoka yelled as she found herself fighting back a few tears. Her old friend from the 501st legion had FINALLY died on her.

Eventually, they found themselves trapped between a brigade of imperial troops and the Bounty Hunter. So, they put their hands in the air! They were caught! As Darth Vader, the dark lord of the Sith himself, came out of the crowd of storm troopers… menacingly and dramatically as ever… his breathing sounds preceded his robotic voice as he said, "There is no escape, this time. It ends here, once and for all."

Ahsoka said calmly and in a very sincere tone of voice, "Master… I'm sorry for leaving you that day. I didn't know how much it would hurt you. I'm sorry."

The dark lord only grew angrier as he started to strangle Kidd Kareen. "It is too late for that. Your master is dead. I killed him myself."

Ahsoka continued. "No. He's still alive. You just won't admit it. Please. It's not too late. Come back to the light! It's never too late to change the course of your life." She then whispered. "Master… please."

Vader only tightened his grip around Kidd's throat. "You underestimate the power of the dark side!" He shouted.

With that, Ahsoka knew that, if her former master was to have his redemption, today wasn't going to be that day. She switched to a different strategy to save her friend's life. "Stop! Let him go. I would prefer to face you alone." She requested a trial by combat as she got into a defensive position with her lightsaber hilts in hand.

Vader didn't see the harm in granting her this last request. "As you wish." He let go of Kidd Kareen, who fell senseless onto the ground… and ordered his troops to stand down and let him face her alone. Then he ignited his red blade as she ignited her white ones!

The duel of the fates had begun! It was the former master against his old apprentice. She raced up to him and started to swing at him, strategically and swiftly with both her sabers. But Vader was just as good on the defense as Ahsoka was on the attack. He blocked every swing of hers then made a few attack movements of his own once he got the chance. Then he brought his saber down over her head. They found themselves in a saber lock. Although she was strong, he was stronger. But then she kicked him in the guts and he stumbled back a bit. Then the duel resumed. She swung at him some more only to continue getting her every attack countered or blocked perfectly. Then the dark lord force pushed her backwards. She flew back a little, but landed gracefully on her feet. Then he slowly approached her, ready to attack or defend, depending on what her next move was. She used the force and back flipped onto a rocky ledge in the area. But he wasn't going to leap after her, now that she had the high ground. Instead, he used the force to make the ledge crumble. Then she hopped down, shortly before she was able to fall, and brought one saber down over his head and brought the other one down at his side… and actually hit him a little bit with that one! He cried out in mild pain but then pushed her blades off of him with his own and pressed his attacks again. But soon it became clear that his old padawan had come a long way since being 'Snips.' She pressed her own attacks once more… until she finally hit him again, on the right upper arm. Then she force pushed him back into a hard rock wall… and Vader had his head bashed up against it, shattering his helmet and part of his mask into shards. He got up and tried to recover… but then a small rock fell on top of his uncovered head… and he fell down onto the ground. He was knocked out. DEFEATED!

With that, all the storm troopers became so scared of Ahsoka, that they all ran away and fled! Now, even though Ahsoka could have chosen to finish off her former master, right then and there, she instead chose to leave him where he was and flee the system on a stolen imperial TIE fighter… taking Kidd Kareen with her. Unlike her Darth Vader, she wasn't a vindictive person…. and she still believed he could be redeemed.

After dropping Kidd off in a safe place, she would fly back to her husband and reunite with him! It had been too long since she had been given the pleasure of seeing her beloved Lux Bonteri, face to face. He missed her something awful… but she missed him even more.

The End.