Batch 76003. He stood over the ordeal, a cold exterior masking his discomfort. Under the new empire, the small underground trade that had ruled his childhood was now a thriving business. The nine year old boy inside him, and even the jedi knight just below the surface, cringed at the way things had turned out. But he was a new man. Hardened by death and sin, the jedi was all but gone. It wasn't so much he was angry or evil. Just numb. There was no light in him, not that he could find at least. No joy. No happiness. Nothing.

As he glanced over, his eyes caught something. A flash of familiarity in a sea of anonymity.

Ahsoka.

The name was sweet to his charred lips. His old padawan. One last remnant of Anakin Skywalker.

She'd survived all this time. She'd been away during the order. Someone must have warned her. For the past few years he'd dreaded the day he found her. He'd cut down jedi after jedi, abandoned all old friends and mentors, betrayed everyone he'd ever known, and yet, she still held a special place in his stubborn, rotting heart. In fact, he wasn't sure he'd truly tried to find her.

Curious, he watched her. Even towards the end of the war, she had remained lively, happy. Through the death and suffering she'd remained a beacon of joy and hope for those around her, and at times he'd thought she was the only thing keeping him going.

Now, the happy spunky teenage girl had given way to a woman hardened by pain. He'd seen that look in the yes of other jedi. He'd seen that look in himself. He knew what it meant. This was a girl who had lost everything; everyone. Her home. Her friends. The people she'd come to call family. No doubt she'd watched many of them killed right in front of her. But she'd survived. She'd found her old family again. And through she appeared submissive, accepting the life of slavery she was being forced into, he knew better. That was not the face of someone broken. That was the face of someone determined. She still had that spark, under her own cold skin. She was not about to let her family be hurt. Anyone who messed with them would be in for it.

The ships were being loaded up. Batch 76003 was ready for distribution. Some as a work force, but many were not so lucky. Ahsoka was one of them.

She was angry. But contained. Waiting for the right time. The realization almost made him laugh. He wasn't sure where she'd learned patience, because it certainly wasn't from him.

She was a feisty one. She'd certainly give them a handful. They would enjoy trying to break her.

But she wouldn't be broken.

In fact, he was sure soon enough he'd hear of a missing shipment.

And he wasn't sure he would report it.