Ashla... Ashla!... come on, wake up, please..."
Groggily, Ahsoka felt her head being rolled from side to side. Her eyes blearily opened, and no shapes made sense. The voice she could hear, but somehow couldn't. Her mouth tried to form words, but they came out slurred and incomprehensible.
A low-pitched warning alarm beeped periodically.
"Ashla?... Ashla, say something again! Hello?!"
"I'm... where..."
Asger's face swam into precision. A nasty red burn scorched the left side of his face, and the entire left side of his mechanic suit was charred and blackened. His face, however, was full of blossoming relief. "Thank the stars. I thought... for a minute there... well, I'd lost you. She's alright!" he called to someone she couldn't see. "Get her one of the med kits!"
A different form came above her, a white box in his hands. The navigator. He seemed relatively unharmed, at least to her.
"You're going to be alright," he said soothingly.
"Wha...what happened?"
Asger and Karrde looked at each other with dark looks. "Hoffner's removal of the hyperdrive's safeties took us right into the tail of a comet going through the system. The engines are mostly intact, but the fuel cells ruptured. We're trying to fix them right now so we can get moving."
A small pain pricked her wrist, and she flinched. "Relax, it's shock reliever," Karrde said. "You'll be able to get on your feet in twenty minutes or so. Just take it easy."
But she had no time to take it easy. She took a deep breath and allowed the Force to run through her. The pain left her body, the lightheadedness vanished. Her eyes took in the rest of the hallway more clearly. With a grunt, she sat up.
Karrde looked at her with surprise. "I said take it easy, not get ready for round two," he reprimanded her. "Relax-"
"I'm fine," she said clearly. "Just give me a hand, will you."
Asger looked at her, tight-lipped, then extended a hand. She grasped it and he pulled her to his feet. "Anything I can help with?" she asked.
Karrde looked at her with wonder a moment longer, then shook his head. "Unless you know anything about healing. We lost five members in the collision, and we got six more injured. I've done what I can, but I've just never seen damage on this scale before."
Ahsoka considered him. "For a smuggler, you seem a lot warmer compared to others."
"Because I'm an outlaw I should lose my humanity?" the other countered. "I prefer to thank more positively, thanks." He put the white package in her hand. "I have the other in the cockpit; go to the gunner pods; they got singed pretty badly."
She nodded, and he went deeper into the ship. Asger stood motionless, avoiding her eyes. "Coming?" she asked. His head twitched in what she guessed was a nod. "Come on."
XXX
The pods were a shattered mess. Emergency vacuum-shutters blotted out the stars. Red emergency lights bathed the bodies in a bloody glow.
Besides the blood that already covered them.
Two of the three were dead, and the last she could already tell wasn't going to make it. Apiece of the control station had been exploded into his chest, but for some reason he was still conscious. He was a Gotal, and he bleated with terror.
The Clone Wars had shown her a lot of violence. Clones ripped to pieces before her, singular rebel groups killed doing what they believed. Gore was nothing knew to her; she did what he could with the small medical pack, but in the end the other was simply beyond her help.
A lump formed in her throat. She had not known the smuggler, but pain was pain. She put a hand on his forehead, and used the Force to make his mind warm and fuzzy. The Gotal's bleats became less distressed, and more drowsy, until he slipped into a painless unconsciousness.
"You're a Jedi." It came out not as a question, but a statement. She turned; Asger leaned against the bulkhead, his left hand out of sight in his charred suit.
"I was," she said after a moment. "Like you were, I'm guessing."
"What makes you think that?" he snapped.
She smiled. "The fact that besides you're a terrible liar, I know a lightsaber when I see one."
He blinked, and then his gaze hardened. The usual warmth radiating from him was gone, leaving that bone-chilling presence instead. This time, however, she didn't allow it to affect her. She stood up and faced him, even took a step forward. His hidden hand flashed out, silvery hilt of the lightsaber in his hand. "I won't let you take me back," he said with fiery determination. "You hear me? I'm not going back."
"I didn't come here to take you back to the Jedi Order," Ahsoka said calmly. "I ran away from it myself, only a few weeks ago."
"You think I'm an idiot?" The room, if possible, got even colder. The red warning lights seemed to dim; it was as if he was sucking life itself out the room. Behind her, the Gotal's breath gave a deathly rattle, then stopped.
"I'm telling the truth."
"You LIE!" The lightsaber VMMMMMed to life, and she found herself taking an involuntary step back. The blade was a brilliant purple, something she had only seen with Master Windu. Purple crystal's were incredibly rare, she knew.
She recovered herself, used the Force to calm her. "Where did you get a saber like that?" she questioned.
"I stole it," he goaded. "Stole it from the Temple's artifact room. They had the gal to rob me of being a padawan, so I robbed them back!"
"Why did they reject you for being a padawan?"
His gaze narrowed. "What's it matter to you? You already know, don't you? They sent you here to bring me back!"
It was her turn to look menacing. She took two steps towards him, and he flinched away, flattening against the bulkhead. As if remembering he had the weapons till, he angled it towards her. His face illuminated in the dark purple glow, she could see the spasms of fear crossing it.
"I'll say it again; I'm not with the Jedi Order anymore. I left it, like you, although I was already someone's padawan when I left." She paused, thinking. "My only guess is that for some reason, the Force has drawn us together."
"Yeah? Why?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. I know I consciously came onto this ship with the intention of abandoning my past life, to make something new for myself. I didn't think I'd ever meet another Jedi, let alone a Force sensitive."
He snorted. "I am no Jedi." But all the same, he closed down the lightsaber and reattached to his belt, out of sight. He folded his arms and looked at her with his piercing green eyes. She looked back but said nothing. Slowly, warmth creeped back into the gunner pod.
"So what now?" he asked into the silence. The ship vibrated beneath their feet, and then made a sputtering sound. The red lights vanished and were replaced by the dim normal ones.
"Sounds like they fixed the ship," she said. "But I'm not staying here. I have some leftover credits; I'll get a ride somewhere and maybe start a solo career." She shook her head. "Force or not; I can tell you don't want to have anything to do with the Order anymore."
He gave an awkward nod. "Let's go to the bridge and see what's happening."
They walked back in. R3-46 met them in the main hallway, burbling with thinly veiled anger. Asger patted him on the dome. "Yeah, glad to hear you made it, too."
Her thoughts again traveled to Anikan, looking at her with pain and loss as she walked away from him and the Temple. "I didn't think I'd ever meet another Jedi, let alone a Force sensitive," she murmured.
He snorted. "I am no Jedi." But all the same, he closed down the lightsaber and reattached to his belt, out of sight. He folded his arms and looked at her with his piercing green eyes. She looked back but said nothing. Slowly, warmth creeped back into the gunner pod.
"So what now?" he asked into the silence. The ship vibrated beneath their feet, and then made a sputtering sound. The red lights vanished and were replaced by the dim normal ones.
"Sounds like they fixed the ship," she said. "But I'm not staying here. I have some leftover credits; I'll get a ride somewhere and maybe start a solo career." She shook her head. "Force or not; I can tell you don't want to have anything to do with the Order anymore."
He gave an awkward nod. "Let's go to the bridge and see what's happening."
They walked back in. R3-46 met them in the main hallway, burbling with thinly veiled anger. Asger patted him on the dome. "Yeah, glad to hear you made it, too."
XXX
There were six of them left by the time they limped back into civilization.
Six. Of fourteen. She shook her head. The Force was certainly with her, still.
Hoffner came back with the advance payment he had been contracted with; little enough. Ahsoka knew better to complain; she could see the gambling Captain was absolutely furious. His ship was a total loss; he would be able to sell it, she reasoned, for a sizable scrapping price. But it would never fly again, not without being totally refitted.
The estranged Captain stood before them on the ramp. "It's certainly been a good run," he said, his voice ragged. "But this old bird isn't going into space again. Best find some job elsewhere. The black market here isn't that good, but you'll probably find something.
Two of the survivors left without another word, obviously eager to get back into the business as quickly as they could. Karrde mumbled something about fetching his things, and Ahsoka followed suit. Her spare money, enough to buy her passage to any Outer Rim planet, was all there was besides some spare clothes.
"Look." She didn't turn; she had sensed his approach. Asger fumbled for words. "I know... uh, we've had sort of a rough start-"
"I don't really like lightsaber's pointed at me, no."
"-and that you want to do a solo career or whatever-"
"You were able to listen in between nearly killing me?"
"- but is there room for one more!" He waited with baited breath, at least until Arty bumped him indignantly in the back. "Well, two."
She thought about it, she really did. Certainly, doing things her own way often worked out well. She was headstrong, intelligent enough to survive in a backwater society. It was entirely possible she would manage.
But for all those times things hadn't gone her way? Anikan or Obi-Wan or someone had had to help bail her out. Alone, that wouldn't happen. There weren't many smugglers like Karrde, she knew, who were generous and compassionate towards their brethren. Most were cutthroat criminals, and they would not lift a finger to help her unless it suited them.
Plus, it was a big galaxy. Things could be lonely out there.
"How much money do you have?"
"Not much. Three-hundred credits. Arty has another hundred."
She wondered at what a droid could possibly have use of money for, but didn't give her thoughts aloud. She shrugged. "I have a couple hundred; we can buy passage to Ord Mantell. I know a guy there who can set us up for a quick buck."
"Anything sounds good to me."
She laughed. "That's good, because whether you agreed or not I was going anyways."
XXX
At the foot of the ramp, Hoffner was talking his way through a customs official. Karrde was off to the side, his hand clutching a small disc.
"Thanks for getting me this job, I suppose," Ahsoka said with a wry smile.
The other returned it grimly. "If you're expecting me to apologize, don't. I lost a lot of good friends doing this. I suppose not getting two kids killed should ease my conscience."
She shrugged. "I meant that seriously. You're a good guy, Karrde. What are you going to do now?"
His hand fingered the disc subconsciously. "I'll find my way," he said at last. "And you?"
She gestured to Asger and Arty. "We'll find our way."
The other smiled at the jest, then reached a hand out to shake. She grasped it. For Asger, whom he had served with longer, he offered a small credit chit. "Put that to good use," he said to the young boy. "Stay safe out there, you three." The smuggler left, going into the city.
There was no time to lose. Elsewhere, she wondered what Skywalker would be doing. Fighting the Separatists on a distant planet, or talking with Rex about strategy?
She brushed it away. She had herself to worry about now. She would make ends meet.
"Come on," she said, not waiting for their response. "Let's get this show going."
TWO MONTHS LATER
XXX
They had just finished a supply run bypassing a Separatist blockade around Muunilist when they got the message. She didn't know how they had found out she had become a smuggler, or which ship they even used. It was entirely possible the Republic had been tracking her all this time; she was, after all, a former Jedi padawan. And Jedi didn't leave the Order all that often.
Even so, she wasn't sure what to do. Asger walked in on her, staring at the comm board. "What's the matter, Ashla?" he inquired. An involuntary shiver ran up her back. Two months of working together had cemented a powerful smuggling team, overcoming incredible odds at time.
But she had still not told him her actual name. Why, she couldn't even tell herself. Maybe it was fear of reawakening those old memories; the nightmares of the past had certainly lessened the more she through herself into the black market business. Either way, him calling her by that fake identity felt like claws scratching at her insides. And now this-
"What is it?" he asked again, coming to sit in the copilot seat. The flash of blue from the comm caught his eye, and he turned, flicked it. His face instantly went rigid. "Republic High Command." He gave a weird chuckle, turned to look at her. "Republic High Command? It's a joke, surely."
She cleared her throat. "It has the proper decryption code and seal of the Council. It's them."
"But- but why?" He was paling now; she had noticed the very mention of the Jedi Order got him agitated and angry. "We're done with them! Why are they calling us now?"
"Let's find out." She activated the message, and a small, holographic figure appeared on the control station. "Greetings, smugglers," Obi-Wan Kenobi said. "My name is General Obi-Wan Kenobi- well, of course you know that. You're probably wondering why we're calling you."
"Get on with it," Asger hissed beside her.
"As you know, the Clone Wars is still raging around us. Countless planets are falling victim to the war around us, even though it is clear we have the upper hand. But now, a new battle is forming, this time on the planet Mandalore."
The two former Jedi looked at each other. "Mandalore?"
"I know what you're thinking. Mandalore had rigidly remained out of the war since the beginning. But now, they've had a change of heart. The new Prime Minister Almec has the planet under his control, and we believe he will hand it over to the Confederacy. We cannot let this happen if we want to maintain a grip on the Outer Rim."
"But that's not even the worst of it." Obi-Wan's face grew even more serious. "I myself recently escaped Mandalore, after trying to save the Duchess Satine. While there, I discovered Almec is nothing but a puppet. The true mastermind of the new government is the former Sith Lord Darth Maul."
Asger snorted. "So what does this have to do with us? We're smugglers!"
"All Jedi are tied up; General Skywalker and I will brief you on the assignment before we take off to continue the war elsewhere."
She felt herself grow cold inside. She was right; they knew. This wasn't just some sort of couresty call.
Obi-Wan's hologram seemed to look through her. "We need you back, Ahsoka. This one time, at least. Come to these coordinates, and we will tell you all we can."
The hologram winked out, and Ahsoka leaned back in her seat. They needed her... again? She would see Anikan, Obi-Wan, and Rex again? She didn't know how to feel. She had spent two months carving a new life for herself, and they wanted to bring her back!
"What are you thinking?" Asger was looking at her intently. His warmth filled her, and she relaxed. "It sounds like they really need us."
"So? We're not apart of them anymore!" He was getting angry again, working himself up. "They have no right to just- to just summon us back there like a pack animal!"
"I know it's not our fight... I don't really want to go back either. But it's the right thing to do?"
"And what if we don't care?"
She gazed at him steadily, and he faltered. "I care."
"Yeah, well, I don't."
She sighed. "I'm charting us a course to those coordinates General Kenobi gave us. They might pay us well, after all. And even you said you were getting tired of the same smuggling trips."
Reluctantly, he gave her a small smile. "I guess. That episode at Jomark wasn't too bad, though."
Ahsoka rolled her eyes. "That's because you managed to anger the entire city by interrupting their festival."
He chuckled. "Yeah. It's a good thing you were there to help me out." He looked at her, suddenly serious. "I never thanked you for that, sorry. That was the closest I've been to going out since Hoffner's botched depot trip."
"Don't mention it, flyboy." She'd started calling him that more often, now, he often reminded her of Anikan so much.
He looked at her a moment, then away. "That Jedi General- what did he call you?"
"Sorry?" She knew very well what he was talking about, and maybe he did because he quickly said, "Nevermind."
The sound of metal rolling got their attention, and they saw Arty strolling in, beeping a question. "We're going to Mandalore," Ahsoka told him. "I'm just finishing putting in the coordinates."
Another series of raspberries. "The Republic needs us... they know Ashla was a former Jedi in the war," Asger said with a trace of bitterness. "They need her back so they can stop the Mandalorians from siding with the Confederacy. They might pay well, in addition."
The astromech gave some disgruntled beeps, then went gave a final whistle of agreement. "Glad you're deciding to tag along," Ahsoka said dryly. "Buckle in, boys, we got a long jump ahead of us."
XXX
The New Republic Fleet was only a few parsecs away from Mandalore, close enough their scout ships could go to and fro quickly but far enough the planet's long range scanners wouldn't find them.
They settled their ship down in the command ship's hangar. Out the cockpit window, Ahsoka could see Anikan and Obi-Wan and Admiral Yularen, waiting. Her stomach twisted itself into an unpleasant knot. So soon after leaving.. how would he react?
"Great. They got a committee." Asger stood up from his seat. She saw his hand was fingering his lightsaber nervously.
"Maybe you should leave that here," she said diplomatically. "I don't think they know you're a former pupil. Maybe it should stay that way."
"Yeah, good thinking." He opened a secret compartment, slid the cyclindrical device inside it. He turned to face her and mockingly held himself up for her to see. "How do I look? Presentable enough for the Jedi?"
She studied him out of the corner of her eye. He had certainly grown more muscular as the adventures of smuggling demanded of him. She could almost call him handsome.
Almost. "If you looked good enough to get that Hutt's attention on Muunilust, you're good enough for the Jedi."
"Oh ha ha ha, very funny. Come on."
They both went to the ramp. Arty opened it for them, gave them a low-pitched whistle of good luck. "Mine as well keep the ship on standby mode, Arty," Asger called as the ramp released steam. "They may not be smugglers, but I sure don't trust them any more than one."
An affirmative beep, and then the ramp was fully lowered. Taking a deep breath, she stepped out.
"Well, I have to say I was certainly not expecting to see you again, Ahsoka," Admiral Yularen said formally, holding out a business-like hand for her. She took it, suppressing a smile. The regal officer had hardly changed, except for a slightly graying mustache.
"Yes, it's very good to see you again, Ahoska," Obi-Wan said, keeping his place. He glanced over at Anikan. The other was avoiding her gaze entirely, and Ahsoka felt another guilty pang.
Obi-Wan instead turned to Asger, who was standing defiantly tight-lipped. "And who's your companion here?"
Anikan looked. Ahsoka stumbled for her words. "He's...
13h agowell, we- we're smuggling partners."
Yularan gave a snort of disdain. "Smuggling? Really? Of a former Jedi padawan?"
"There's worst things that could have happened," Skywalker said stiffly. "Good to have you back, Ahsoka." She noticedhe was still staring hard at Asger, and the other was looking back with malicious eyes.
"Well, let's pretend this is going perfectly," Obi-Wan said irritably. "I take it you're accepting our plea for help?"
Leave it to Obi-Wan to tell it how it was. "We are," Ahsoka said strongly. "What do you want us to do?"
"Putting it simply, bring Mandalore under Republic control," General Kenobi said. He handed her a datapad, and she turned it on. A full strategic analysis lit up for her to see, showing her all the information gathered by scouts. "Admiral Yularen will obtain orbital occupation; they have no flying craft so you wil certain aerial cover. You and Captain Rex need to infiltrate the city of Mandalore itself. Apprehend Almec... and Maul."
"He's a former Sith Lord," Anikan said stiffly, putting his hand and scrolling it down for her to see. A red-and-black Irodian Zabrak snarled furiously back at her. "And he's armed. Which means you'll need these."
From his waist, he withdrew two familiar looking lightsabers; her own, before she had turned her back on the Order.
And him. She could see the buried pain and confusion in her former Master's eyes, demanding why, why, WHY-
"Anikan and I have a mission elsewhere, Ahsoka," Obi-Wan said, putting a hand on her shoulder full of comfort. "I have faith you can do us this great favor."
"What about payment?" Asger interrupted. "We didn't come as a mercy mission. We came because we expect good money for this!"
Yularen looked affronted. Skywalker, however, waved him off dismissively. "We'll drop you a line of say 25000 credits."
Asger's jaw dropped, recovering only when he saw Anikan giving him a snarky smile. "Th-that's acceptable," he muttered.
"Good. best you go along with the Admiral." They had another fierce staredown, then Obi-Wan said, "Anikan, let's get going."
"Yeah, just a moment. Alone."
No one said anything, but they nevertheless moved away. Anikan looked at her, and this time it was her who couldn't meet his gaze.
"What are you doing with... him?"
"He's my partner."
"You know what I mean."
"He's... my partner. In the business."
Skywalker shook his head. "You left the Order... to be with him? A lowlife?"
"He's not a lowlife!"
"He sure smells like one, Snips."
"Don't call me that!"
His face contorted, and then relaxed. "I just wish I was going with you instead of him," he said quietly. "I'm sorry..."
"It's okay-"
"It's not. A Jedi isn't supposed to have attachment, of any kind." She turned to face him, and saw watery eyes. "And you were one hell of an apprentice, Ahsoka."
"And you were a good Master. Take care of yourself out there, flyboy."
He pointed to the lightsabers at her waist. "And you, too."
He walked away, jogging after Obi-Wan. With a tearful sigh, she walked the other way, towards Asger and Yularen.
