Disclaimer: George Lucas and his companies and their shareholders own Star Wars. Any unrecognisable characters and scenarios are mine.
Author's Note: I recently watched the Clone Wars and really liked the character of Ahsoka. So I thought I'd give her her own story about surviving the tragic Order 66.
Life After 66
Chapter 1
Thirteen year old Ahsoka Tano pulled off her sweaty pilot's helmet, flicked her orange, blue and white head-tails back and breathed a sigh of relief. The intense space battle that had been won only moments before by her squadron had raged above Hija Five, the desert-like Republic mining colony for almost a month. When a peace deal with the Separatist invaders had turned sour, Jedi Padawan Tano had been given her first official solo mission of the War by her good friend and mentor, Anakin Skywalker just before he had been recalled to Courisant to rescue the Chancellor from Separatist capture. "This was supposed to be my next mission but I suppose you'll do instead!" he had joked "G'luck, Snips". 'Snips' was his pet name for her, referring to her impulsive and feisty attitude. She looked at the scene of weary triumph around her and smiled. She would have a lot to tell Anakin when she returned.
"Well," she said over the comms link to her commander "we did it, Commander Yu'ri! Man, that was close, especially with those vultures. I thought I was toast! "
"Thanks to your quick thinking, Captain Tano," the clone replied.
"What you really mean is 'thanks to your ignoring all the rules of battle and charging ahead anyway', right?"
"Touché".
Ahsoka was just preparing a suitably witty reply when she noticed the incoming message icon flash in the corner of the screen. The message was for her commander. Something seemed strange in that it was an exclusive message, for Yu'ri's eyes only. Given her current good mood, Ahsoka brushed it off and hacked into Yu'ri's M.R.A., or Message Reception Address, more for curiosity than reassurance. The actual message however was equally strange and so was the Commander's reaction to it.
A hologram image of Chancellor Palpatine himself appeared, dressed in a full cloak that covered everything but his hands and lower face. The Chancellor's unusual choice of clothing was slightly unsettling. "Execute Order 66" he ordered Yu'ri.
"It will be done, my Lord" the Commander told his superior, an edge of obedient hardness to his voice that Ahsoka had never before heard in her friend. Now, she defiantly needed reassuring. "What's Order 66?" she asked with a rising sense of dread.
"This" he said simply and unleashed a salvo of lazer fire on her starfighter.