Chapter 3: The Only Way Forward

Ahsoka woke up to a world that was blood-red and soundless.

Clones in night-black armor surrounded her; their visors twisted into ferocious scowls.

Every instinct in her screamed at her to run, but her body remained stuck in place. She couldn't move.

In eerie unison, the clones around her all lowered their rifles and aimed at her. As she stared down the blaster of the clone nearest to her, it cocked the weapon, and blood started to drip out of the barrel. A series of clicks around her signaled the cocking of the other weapons. She looked around frantically as blood began to drip out of all the blasters and run towards her, pooling around her feet.

Suddenly, the clones all spoke simultaneously, breaking the silence.

"GOOD SOLDIERS FOLLOW ORDERS," they droned. And then they fired.

Ahsoka's eyes flew open, and she awoke, her heart racing. Almost immediately, she was plunged back into another world.

Clones… Clones attacking her…

Rain falling. Shouts echoing through the air. Her lightsabers batting away stun bolts.

She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the images that flooded her mind. Instead, the darkness only magnified the flashbacks.

A gunship roars overhead, searchlights flaring in her face.

"No… No…" She clapped her hands over her ears.

A traitor to the Republic. The fate that awaits you is death.
"Stop…" she whimpered.

Save yourself!

"STOP!" Her hands clenched into fists and she shoved her legs forward, throwing the blankets off her bed, and jerked up, finally regaining full consciousness.

She sat, frozen and panting, for several seconds and scanned the room. It was pitch-black and deathly silent. Finally satisfied that her flashback was completely over, she groaned and slumped down. That had been no dream—it was a vision. It had been as vivid as her vision of the Sith in the Jedi Temple.

What was the Force trying to tell her through these visions?

Oh… Oh, no. No.

The promise that she'd made to Riyo yesterday—"Forget the war. I swear, right now, I swear by the Force that I will do my best to protect you."

Was the Force warning her to get off Coruscant?

She got up and slid her door open. This was too big of a problem to ignore. She needed to meditate.

Quietly, she entered the living room, walked to the window, and crouched down on the floor, facing the skyline outside. She crossed her legs and closed her eyes. Breathe.

She took a deep, slow breath, timing the inhalation and exhalation with her heartbeat. As her heart slowed, she concentrated on her senses, feeling each one and closing herself off from it. Sounds, smells, and touches faded into the background until they were no more distracting than the rhythm of her heart. She began focusing on the Force. At first it came slowly, in gentle ripples around her. She immersed herself in the Force, letting it wash over her and urging it on. The ripples became waves, and soon, the Force was swirling around her. She started to rise off the ground, and finally, the world opened up around her. She could sense everything—Riyo's presence in her room—she was an island of energy, even in sleep. Further down, Edose was asleep as well, with a much more sedate presence in the Force. And outside the suite, Jorys was standing guard, radiating vigilance. Past that, the billions of inhabitants of Coruscant buzzed around them. Pulling away from the outside world, Ahsoka turned her thoughts inward, and the Force followed. Indecision and anxiety churned within her.

Before she could contemplate anything further, however, something registered distantly in her ears.

Ahsoka opened her eyes to find Jorys staring at her.

"Tano?" she asked, in a guarded tone. "What are you doing?"

Ahsoka uncrossed her legs and flipped down to the ground. "Meditating."

"You were hovering in the air."

"Oh, that's normal," Ahsoka said. "Don't worry about it."

"Normal? How—" Jorys stopped herself and shook her head. "You should get some sleep."

"Sure." Ahsoka glanced past Jorys at the view of the Senate District and caught sight of the Jedi Temple. A memory tugged at her mind… That brief vision of a smoldering ruin.

A Sith in the Jedi Temple, clone troopers attacking her, the Jedi Temple in ruins… What was going to happen?

It seemed more and more like this was a warning to get off Coruscant. And suddenly, she remembered the smuggler from Cato Neimoidia that she had a score to settle with.

"Tano?" Jorys asked, cutting into her thoughts. "Everything all right?"

"Oh, uh, yes" Ahsoka said, blinking. "Look, Jorys, I have to go take care of something—can I borrow your speeder bike?"

"What for?" Jorys asked skeptically.

"…Something."

"Are you going to wreck it?"

"Of course not."

Jorys sighed. "I guess I can let you take it. The passcode to unlock it is 'JORYS.' Please don't wreck it."

"Thank you. I won't."

Ahsoka left the suite, and a short turbolift ride later, she was climbing onto Jorys's blue-and-white Senate speeder and turning it on. With a gentle whirr, the speeder came to life and rose off the ground. She floated out of the building and flew off in the direction of the Freight District.

General Fissa Sart'Kla Memorial Spaceport was a massive, sprawling area that stretched for kilometers upon kilometers. It was one of the largest of its kind on Coruscant. Here, freighters from the Republic's galactic holdings unloaded their cargo to be whisked off to all parts of the urban planet.

She strolled down the central plaza in a set of robes, scanning the ships around her. Despite the size and importance of the spaceport, the Freight District was just a few steps above the Coruscant underworld, and it showed. The place was crawling with armed security guards and shady-looking characters. It didn't surprise Ahsoka that a smuggler would be hiding here.

Inside a docking bay at the extreme end of the plaza, there was a heavily modified blue-and-white YT-1300 freighter. There it was. That was the one that the double-crossing smuggler had escaped in. She checked her datapad.

Ship name: Screaming Japnek.

Cargo: Gh'anstbeast furs.

Planet of Origin: Elcorth

Perfect. If she played her cards right, this could be her ticket to Cato Neimoidia.

As Ahsoka approached, she saw an Iktotchi lounging on the ship's loading ramp and smoking a pipe. She recognized him immediately. This was the smuggler who'd gotten away on Cato Neimoidia. He'd called himself Kevor Rosgrest. He'd been an annoying waste of time the first time they'd met, and now it was time for a little payback. She pulled the hood of her cloak over her face and approached him.

As she came up, Rosgrest followed her with his eyes, but made no movement until she was directly in front of him.

"Need something?" he grunted, not removing the pipe from his mouth.

"Are you the pilot of this ship?" Ahsoka asked.

He nodded. "Yup."

Ahsoka smiled. "Good."

Rosgrest returned his pipe to his mouth and took a long draft before speaking again. "What do you want, anyway?"

"Look, I'll cut to the chase. I know you're a smuggler," Ahsoka said.

Rosgrest pulled his pipe out of his mouth. "Eh?"

"Kevor Rosgrest," she continued, ignoring the pilot's startled expression at hearing his name. "You were on Cato Neimoidia several months ago, before you made off with a thousand credits' worth of Republic spice. I don't know where you've gone since then, but what matters is that you're here now. And I would like a favor from you."

Rosgrest's hand went to his blaster at his hip. "Who are you? What's your business with me?"

In reply, Ahsoka dropped her hood, revealing her face.

Rosgrest's reaction was dramatic, to say the least. He let out a yell and scrambled back into the side of his ship.

"YOU?!" he yelped. "The Jedi from Cato Neimoidia!"

"That's me," Ahsoka said, crossing her arms.

"What do you want?" Rosgrest growled, getting up, as his hand hovered over his holster.

"Do you plan on going back to Cato Neimoidia?" Ahsoka asked.

"What's it to you?" he snapped.

"I'm looking for a ride there," she said. "I'll pay."

Rosgrest squinted at her. "You aren't here to arrest me?"

Ahsoka held out her hands. "No, I'm not going to arrest you. I didn't even bring my lightsabers."

Rosgrest finally moved his hand away from his blaster, but he still looked disbelieving. "You actually want a ride to Cato Neimoidia?"

"I said, I'll pay you for the journey," she repeated.

"Hm," Rosgrest said, finally displaying an expression that wasn't deep suspicion. "I still don't know… That planet's a war zone…."

"That didn't stop you from going there before," Ahsoka said.

"Wee-elll—" Rosgrest said evasively, glancing around. "Hmmm. I guess it would be all right—for a decent price, of course."

"Name it."

He looked skyward and muttered under his breath for a few seconds before deciding on a sum. "Four thousand credits."

Ahsoka choked. "Four thousand?! I could buy an entire ship for that price!"

He shrugged. "That's not my problem. That's the price of illegally going into an active war zone."

"Twenty-two hundred is more than reasonable," Ahsoka countered.

"Yeah, well, a free ride would be a reasonable price to you," he shot back. "Since you seem like a nice person, I can come down to thirty-eight hundred."

"Twenty-five hundred."

"Nothing doing."

"You're asking for an unfair price."

"Well, life's unfair, too." Rosgrest took a puff of his pipe. "It's a pity that we can't come to an agreement." He looked at her curiously. "You're a Jedi, anyway. Why're you bargaining with me to get offworld? Don't the Jedi have personal ships that you can use or something?"

Ahsoka blinked. Did this smuggler not know that she had just very publicly left the Order? All right, then. That would help her bluff. "That's none of your business," she said firmly.

"Well, then… My offer stands. Twenty-eight hundred."

Ahsoka considered her options. The more money Rosgrest asked for, the longer it would take to get to Cato Neimoidia. Well… she needed to stay on Coruscant at least until the Sector Governance Bill was voted on and Riyo was out of danger—and that was still five weeks away. At eight hundred credits per week…

"Would you do three thousand?" she asked.

A sparkle appeared in Rosgrest's eyes. "Well, now you sound reasonable. I can do thirty-five hundred, but that's the lowest I can go. Any less, and it's not worth it. Take it or leave it."

Ahsoka considered her options as Rosgrest slowly exhaled a cloud of pipe smoke, staring at her. This was her only chance to get to Cato Neimoidia, and possibly her only chance to get back into the fighting for a long time. That price wouldn't leave her with a lot of credits, but she could deal with that later.

"All right, that's a deal," she said finally, holding out her hand.

"Wonderful!" Rosgrest shook her hand. His entire demeanor changed, and he stood up straighter, taking on a more cheerful tone. "Thirty-five hundred credits! A very good price for both of us. When do you want to leave?"

Ahsoka took a deep breath, anticipating some dismay at this answer. "Five weeks."

"FIVE WEEKS?!" Rosgrest yelped, staring at Ahsoka like she'd just morphed into General Grievous in a stripper's outfit. "It's going to take you FIVE STANDARD WEEKS for you to pay me?! Do you expect me to stay here the ENTIRE TIME?!"

"Yup."

"YOU—" Rosgrest made a strangled noise of protest. "I never spend more than a WEEK here at a time! I've got to be on Talus in five DAYS! I'll lose at least a thousand credits if I don't get out there!"

Ahsoka closed her eyes, feeling a headache approaching. "Look, it's the best that I can do in this situation. You'll lose thousands if you don't stay on Coruscant, understand?"

To her satisfaction, Rosgrest stopped yelling. "You really won't pay me unless I stay here?" he asked.

Ahsoka nodded. "I don't trust you not to get stuck, arrested, or killed," she said. "The way you act, I'm pretty sure that you have more than a few enemies out there."

"Well, the only way that I'll stay here is if you pay me more," Rosgrest said defiantly.

Ahsoka stared at him. "A raise?! I'm already giving you plenty!"

"I want six thousand credits," Rosgrest said, ignoring her.

"Six thousand credits!" Ahsoka choked. "I don't even have five thousand!"

"Tough luck, then," Rosgrest said, turning away. "Get the Jedi Council to pay for it. They're rolling in credits."

Ahsoka gritted her teeth. "I can do four thousand." That would leave her with absolutely no extra money, but if this was what it took… she could figure out to do once she was there.

Rosgrest snorted. "Please. I'm not stupid. That sum's barely worth its weight in bantha fodder. Six thousand or no go, lady."

Irritation spiked in Ahsoka, and this time, she'd had enough. "Listen, Rosgrest. I don't think you realize just how little power you have over me. I could turn you in right now to security. Right. Now. And they would listen to me. They'll do whatever a Jedi tells them to do, and they'll definitely put you in prison for all the illegal smuggling you've done. How would you like that?"

Rosgrest scowled. "You wouldn't."

Ahsoka smirked. "Watch me." She raised her comlink, deliberately letting Rosgrest see the Republic insignia that adorned it.

Rosgrest gulped. "You're—you're lying. That's not a—a Jedi thing to do."

Ahsoka tapped the comlink. Several seconds later, Jorys's voice came through the speaker. "Tano? What's the matter?"

"You won't do it…" Rosgrest said weakly.

"Jorys, I need you to come over here and make an arr—"

"ALL RIGHT!" Rosgrest yelped, reaching out in a desperate grab for the comlink. Ahsoka pulled her arm back and let him flail past her.

"Four thousand?" she asked smugly, lowering the comlink and putting out her hand to seal the deal.

"Four thousand," Rosgrest said in a defeated tone. He shook her hand limply before turning and slinking up the boarding ramp to his ship.

Ahsoka turned away and started to leave. Then, suddenly, she sensed a nudge in the Force.

She stopped short, and her hand went automatically to the small blaster strapped to her hip.

Halfway up the boarding ramp of his ship, Rosgrest turned around. "What is it?" he asked.

"Someone's in here," Ahsoka said, scanning the docking bay. She zeroed in on a stack of empty crates near the exit.

"How do you—"

Ahsoka held up a hand for Rosgrest to be quiet. He obeyed. Her eyes narrowing, she drew her blaster and approached the crates.

"Stay back," she said to the smuggler.

Rosgrest, who had drawn his own pistol by then, didn't seem inclined to disobey as Ahsoka drew closer to the crates. She could definitely sense something behind them now.

But before she could get any closer, a flurry of movement sent the pile of crates flying towards her.

"KRIFF!" As Ahsoka dodged one crate and batted the rest of them out of the way with a Force push, she saw a hooded figure streaking towards the exit.

"HEY! STOP!" she yelled.

The spy didn't stop, even as Rosgrest fired a shot at its retreating figure.

"I'll follow him! Stay with the ship!" Ahsoka yelled at Rosgrest, sprinting out into the spaceport. She skidded to a halt outside, looking around the massive, crowded building. The cloaked figure was nowhere to be seen.

She closed her eyes and reached out with the Force, feeling for the franticness that she'd felt coming from the spy right before they made a break for it.

Right there! Her eyes flew open, and she caught sight of it shouldering through the crowd. Ahsoka took off into the crowd.

As she closed in on the figure, it slowed to a walk, obviously confident of its escape. Ahsoka slowed down too, to a careful stalk, as she prepared to apprehend the spy. But then it glanced over its shoulder, and before she could duck and hide, it saw her and broke into a run again.

"Kriff," she muttered, shoving past a startled Rodian and breaking into pursuit again. Her opponent was surprisingly fast.

The spy broke out into the open and sprinted across a speeder lot, with Ahsoka still in hot pursuit. Suddenly, it veered to the right and made a beeline towards a bridge that extended out over the speeder lanes, connecting the spaceport to a line of buildings on the other side.

Ahsoka glanced at her surroundings. By the time she reached the bridge, whomever she was chasing would be on the other side, and it would be all too easy for them to vanish into the lower levels. Unless…

The bridge took a long, twisting route over the speeder lanes. The lanes themselves were a much more direct way across, and right in front of her was a slow-moving public transport.

She took a deep breath, focused, and ran towards the edge of the building. One focused jump into the air got her onto the transport. She sprinted across the top of the vehicle, angling towards the bridge again while keeping the spy in her sights, and drew deep into the Force, letting it surround her. The strength in her legs increased tenfold as she ran out of ground, and when she jumped, she sailed far over the lanes, landing gracefully on the bridge, her blaster already drawn, ten meters in front of the spy.

The spy stopped short, almost falling over, and backed away. With one route now cut off, it turned around and fled back down the bridge.

But before the spy had gotten very far, Rosgrest's blue-and-white freighter rose out of nowhere and landed on the bridge, with its gun turrets poised to fire, cutting off the other escape route.

Ahsoka resisted the urge to smile as she advanced on the now-trapped spy. Maybe that smuggler wasn't as brainless as he seemed.

"Now," she said, coming to a halt in front of the spy, "Who are you?" Even when facing it head-on, Ahsoka still couldn't make out its face, as their hood was pulled down too far. It didn't matter. She'd find out soon enough.

"No—" the spy said, looking around wildly. The exclamation was in a male voice, Ahsoka noted. He was backing up now, towards the edge of the bridge, his hands raised.

Ahsoka raised her blaster, and the spy jerked back again, pushing his back against the bridge railing. "I said, who are you?"

"I—" He glanced over the edge. "I—" And then, unexpectedly, he turned and vaulted over the railing.

"What in the name of the Force?!" Ahsoka rushed to the edge and looked over, just in time to see a red speeder blast under the bridge and catch the spy mid-fall, before diving into the lower levels of traffic and disappearing from view.

"Kriffing hell," she muttered, pocketing her blaster.

The boarding ramp on Rosgrest's ship lowered, and he ran out.

"He jumped?!" he asked, peering over the edge. "Is he dead?"

"No. Someone in a speeder caught him," Ahsoka said. "There's nothing we can do now."

Rosgrest sighed in disgust. "You don't know who that was, do you?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Ahsoka said, shrugging. "You know anyone who might be following you?"

Rosgrest paused, and after a minute of deep thought, he shook his head. "Nope. Nobody."

"Right," Ahsoka said dubiously. "Well, even if that spy didn't seem to want to hurt us, you should be on your guard. Move your ship someplace else and find a place to lie low, just to be safe."

"I can do that," Rosgrest said. "What about you?"

"I'll be fine."

"We'll meet again in five weeks, then." Rosgrest turned around and walked back to his freighter, leaving Ahsoka alone on the bridge.

She gazed out at the sprawl of Coruscant below around her. For now, she would remain here and then, in five weeks, she would be gone, back to fighting in a war that, despite everything that she'd been through, she'd never wanted to be back in so badly.

In the distance, the spires of the Jedi Temple were just barely visible. Ahsoka watched them contemplatively. She couldn't ignore the sense of foreboding that crept up on her.

Not for the last time, she wondered, What in the Force is going to happen? And, more importantly, she thought, Will I be part of it?

A/N: There you are. I know it's a little behind schedule and a little short, but I've had the worst homework load over the last month. But my winter break's coming up. I bet I can put out a chapter or two in the next month. As always, please leave a review and tell me what you thought. I appreciate all feedback, and it makes my day to see a review. Feel free to ask questions as well. Thanks for reading. Air Force Muffin out.