With the frustrating first meeting between Ahsoka and Luke being so awkward, I hope the fact they actually meet and talk a bit more this time a bit more satisfying. I use a lot of canon, but I don't always stay on canon. It's a fan fic, it's just for fun and I don't take it too seriously. I love Ahsoka, and have been wanting to write a story with her and Luke and Leia in it for some time. Thanks for reading.
The ship that Cracken assigned Ahsoka this time was less than steller. Already in space, she had problems with the motivator and had to fix a few wires to get the hyperdrive to work properly. When she asked for something a little less glamorous, she didn't expect something like this. It wasn't long before Ahsoka began to learn some of the quirks of this ship, and wondered if somehow the galaxy was testing her on her skills. She actually enjoyed the experience of getting into the guts of the ship. It was what she wanted after all, something she could make her own. It took an hour to get it out of the hanger, but once it got flying, she thought it was good until it wasn't. Didn't Cracken want her to get to Bardotta as soon as possible? It may have been all that was available that didn't scream, Rebel Alliance, she assumed, but whatever she could say, it wasn't boring.
When she finally got into hyperspace, and she could finally relax somewhat, her thoughts drifted to her encounter with Luke Skywalker. It was just so strange. Of course she was aware that he had some kind of injury where he lost his hand, and was still in some kind of recovery, but it was just so odd. And why would he ask her if she was a Jedi? 'Oh, the vision', she thought to herself, he did say he had one. She did intrude, looking for Leia, and she did want to meet him, after learning he was possibly the son of her former master. Even though he believed it, as Mon Mothma told him, she wasn't sure she did. Was it because of what she knew had happened to Anakin, or that he was a Jedi and Jedi didn't tend to have families? She didn't know. It was obvious he was having a hard time with something, and that was understandable. She drifted off into sleep, hoping to get a good rest while the ship made it's way to it's destination, and hoping another alarm wouldn't go off indicating something else was broken.
She was able to get on planet with no trouble, and the meeting was to be at the same playhouse cafe where she met Minra on her prior trip. She sat in the same corner, in the dark, and waited for Ceedan, her contact. Ceedan never showed up. She kept waiting, and the server droid started to question her presence, having been there for hours, and she then left. She knew Ceedan may be in the playhouse, in the backstage area, and if not, certainly someone would know where he was. Would it cause suspicion asking for him? She had to use a mind trick to even get back stage, and more than one person questioned her presence. She dropped Minra's name once or twice, saying she was an old friend. She got nothing but strange looks. It was then that someone found her, a young woman quietly whispered, "Ashla?" and motioned for her to follow. They went up some stairs then into a dark area above the stage, then through a corridor and to a small room that was being used as storage. The young woman looked all around, quietly checking every crevice and behind large objects. For what, Ahsoka was not sure. Ahsoka herself got suspicious, and reached out into the Force to feel if she could detect anything out of the ordinary. It seemed clean, as far as transmitters or listening beings. It was then that the young woman introduced herself. "I'm Spinda, Ceedan's assistant. I knew you were coming, you see, he's missing."
Ahsoka thought about this information. She remembered from her trip to Cag Suprine's ship that Spinda worked for him, as well as for Ceedan, or at least she assumed that from Suprine's statement to Minra about how he knew about her involvement with Ceedan and her secrets. "Don't you work for Suprine? I mean, I was led to believe..."
"Oh that. Yes, Suprine has me watch Minra and Ceedan when they are here. Suprine isn't involved though whatever this is. I know about his and Minra's involvement with the Rebel Alliance. I swear, though I am not a mole from the Empire. I hate the Empire, and I have been working with Suprine's cell for sometime in the hopes of destroying it. I am also his contact with an Alliance cell here on Bardotta. And Suprine just, pays me well which doesn't hurt. I never knew everything about what they were up to, really, just Suprine was more concerned with their relationship, and his own interests right now, and his freedom. And he does want to help the Alliance, this time, this is not about that. Minra and Suprine don't know he's missing. I didn't tell them the last time I had contact. I went to his apartment to bring him his daily schedule and go over a few things and he was gone. The door was not locked, and there was evidence of a scuffle. I don't know where he is." Spinda said with concern.
"This apartment, can we go have a look? How far away is it?" Ahsoka asked with concern.
"It's not far, he also keeps a room here in the playhouse. I checked there as well." Spinda replied.
The apartment was a few blocks away, and as they approached, they noticed two stormtroopers outside the building, standing and chatting on the front steps. "Wait here." Ahsoka advised the young woman.
Ahsoka quietly made her way closer, trying to listen to the stormtroopers. There didn't seem to be more of them in the area, just these two right here, nor did there seem to be any large Imperial presence in the city in general. She listened in and could make out the words 'routine'and 'search', but could make out not much else from their conversations into their comms. She decided to get into the building somehow, see what was going on, and slipped into a trash chute that left the building into a large container. She slowly made her way up, as quietly as she could. The smell was bad, and she had been in worse situations. She could only hope that the chute wasn't going to be in use while she was hiding in it. As she made her way up to the top, she opened the door slightly, to see if she could see anything. The hall was empty, so she climbed out, and quickly made her way to a stairwell. She heard voices, and ducked into a corner. As the voices came closer, she climbed up the walls and made herself flat on the ceiling, with her hands and feet tightly bracing the walls, as to not be seen. Two more stormtroopers had walked out of the stairwell and into the corridor, silently, carrying a box of items. After they left the corridor, Ahsoka jumped down and made her way up the stairs from the direction from which the stormtroopers came. From the corner of her eye, she saw four stormtroopers carrying a body wrapped in a sheet, into the apartment. After the stormtroopers left, she came out of her hiding space and went to the apartment. She went and checked the body, and found it be cold. She sensed that it was still alive, and touched it gently. There were bruises and cuts all over the Rodian's body. She saw his face and realized that it was indeed Ceedan, he wasn't dead, but he was in bad shape. She heard more sounds coming, then she hid somewhere in the apartment, hoping not to be discovered. The stormtroopers returned, gave the body a shot of some kind, left and closed the door. A few moments later, the Rodian woke and sat up.
"Ceedan?"
"What, what happened." The confused Rodian said in Huttese and in a very groggy state.
"I don't know, you tell me?" Ahsoka asked.
"Ashla? Ashla, you need to get out of here. Now!" Ceedan demanded in Huttese. "They are watching me, don't let them see you." He pointed to the window. "I will be in contact. Just go!"
Ahsoka went to the window and saw a fire escape. It wasn't a very sturdy fire escape, but it was enough to have something to hold onto as she made her way down the outside building. She jumped down, and saw stormtroopers off in the distance. She had hoped Spinda was in a safe location. She knew of no where to go, so she went back to the playhouse, to the area where she had met Spinda, the supply area over the stage. She waited there a while, and Spinda eventually found her. "I was hoping you would find your way back here. I saw the stormtroopers and came back to the playhouse. I've heard from Minra. She can't come back to the planet. Ceedan has been found out, and the Empire is on to him about his secret messages. She left you something though, it was in her apartment. It will be brought to you. As for you, you can stay here if you like, I can get you a pallet and some food. I know it's not much, but staying at Minra's or Ceedan's 'nap room' just aren't a good idea right now. We can't afford for you to be found out as well. The Empire is using Ceedan as a trap, I imagine. We have ways to contact Minra though, and we will get you a rendezvous point. I, well, I have to leave. Suprine will have someone come and get you soon. Just stay here."
Spindra came back with some bedding, some food, water and a datapad. "Everything you need will be right there. Give the datapad to your contact, they will know what to do. Just stay here. If you have to leave, they will find you."
"Where will you be?" Ahsoka was confused, and had a bad feeling about the whole situation.
"I have to go to Ceedan. He knows too much." Spindra said with sadness. "And so do I."
Ahsoka checked over the datapad, couldn't make out all the cryptic messages, and sat and had some of the food. After a while, she took a nap and was awoken by a noise. She slowly ducked into the cupboard in the corner, hoping to hide in as to not be discovered. A large Besalisk man in an elaborate costume, and a Twi'lek woman, appeared coming in through the door. The Twi'lek woman called out softly. "Ahsoka, are you here? We are with the Alliance."
Ahsoka never told Spindra her real name, nor did she tell Ceedan, she wondered if they had been sent by General Cracken, or something else was going on she wasn't privy to. Ahsoka made her way out, quietly, lightsaber at ready in case she was in need of it. Minra knew her real name, so it's possible they sent them. Still, it was safe not to trust anyone at this point. Without saying much, they directed her out of the room, and into a staircase that went to the roof. On the roof, was a small air speeder. The three of them hopped in. "Where's your ship." The Twi'lek woman asked and Ahsoka gave her the docking bay number.
They made their way to Ahsoka's ship, Ahsoka puzzled, as she was still not sure what was going on, and the Twi'lek woman motioned for Ahsoka to board the ship, she followed. The Besalisk man loaded a crate onto the ship, and left. The Twi'lek woman lifted the ramp and pushed in some coordinates. "And just where are we going?" Ahsoka asked.
"We are going to Suprine. Ceedan and Spinda are dead." The Twi'lek woman answered.
"How?"
"Spinda killed him, and then killed herself. They knew too much, it was the only way. The Empire were using them as a trap. I just hope he didn't give away anything while the Empire had him. They are after Minra. The whole cell on Bardotta is in danger. Spinda was working for us. That's all you need to know right now. Minra will fill you in on the rest." It was then that Ahsoka noticed that the Twi'lek woman had taken control of the ship. Her ship. She was so startled she didn't care to notice.
"I guess I'm just along for the ride now?" Ahsoka asked.
"No. Just wait and see."
It was some time before they got to Suprine's freighter, where Minra was waiting. Minra hugged the Twi'lek, who never gave her name, and Ahsoka, and brought them to a dining room, and told them to take a seat. Cag Suprine arrived, with a few of his men, and sat down, making a motion with his hand to one of the men, who then proceeded to leave. Minra took his side. Food was brought to the table, and Suprine passed a bottle of an unlabeled beverage. "Nectar of Muja fruit. It's a bit sweet. You may want to drink it with water. It goes nicely with the dish." Suprine offered everyone.
They sat quietly and ate their food, and Suprine spoke. "It seems we have a problem on Bardotta. Spinda has told me that Ceedan had been captured by the Empire. As you all are aware, Spinda was also working for me. Ceedan was delivering messages in code in his holonet works for the Alliance. I assure you that I was not involved with his being traced by the Empire. I have been in contact with your superiors in the Alliance and I am willing to work with them. You are to take me to them, and I am going to go over my plans and information with your High Command, and my ships will be sent to a location that I have already put in place until they are needed. We will have to leave soon. I will take two of my men, and Minra along with me. I understand your ship is small, but undetectable as a Rebel Alliance ship, and it is also not connected with my own fleet. We will need to use a larger ship for part of the journey, I will give you the coordinates, prior to our rendezvous with the Alliance. Ravon, you will get off there in the larger ship, your details will be on the ship, your commander has already arranged it. Minra will show you. Ahsoka, you will be escorting us then on to your Rebel Fleet. You can clear the details on your ship with your General Cracken. I assure you that I intend to fully cooperate in this mission. It's starting to look like they may actually win this thing, and I want to cover my own bases. They have given me the assurance that I can in the event of a takeover. Unfortunately, as you may already have been aware, Spinda and Ceedan have both been silenced. Let us hope that Ceedan has not been compromised of any of his information."
Minra then spoke up. "Ceedan was not informed of most of his information. He was only told what code words to use, he didn't know their meaning. He would not have given them much, but Spinda, Spinda was aware of much more." Minra had a sad tone to her voice. She took a swallow of the beverage and continued. "They were both not only people who I have worked with, but they were like family to me. It's been hard, I was the one who told Spinda what she had to do."
Cag Suprine hugged and caressed her. Ahsoka really thought the both of them were a very odd couple, but she was beginning to see the appeal. Minra was so glamorous and Cag so hard and rough looking, but here he was, this powerful so called "terrorist" hugging and comforting his love in her time of sadness. "Well, we must not dwell on what we can't change."
Ahsoka and Ravon were offered quarters so they could clean themselves up and rest for the journey. After the events of Bardotta, Ahsoka was glad to be able to sleep in a real bed for once. After a good rest, and another fine meal provided by Suprine, who seemed to have elegant tastes, they were on their way. First they congregated on the larger ship, Ravon going over her assignment on the datapad, classified and not sharing with the rest of the group, and Minra, Suprine, and two of Suprine's henchmen in tow. General Cracken had left instructions for the team, and Ravon brought them up on the datapad before Ahsoka and the small group departed the larger ship on the smaller shuttle. Right away, the ship started malfunctioning, and Ahsoka was immediately put to work trying to get it right again. Suprine had brought a gift for High Command of fruits that had been smuggled in, thinking they probably didn't get too many fresh fruit these days, which was probably true, as a bit of a peace offering. While they were fighting for the same cause, they weren't always on the same side, and Suprine was beginning to believe that it was time to remedy that, and he had the means to help them achieve their goal. Ahsoka was still foggy on the details, but she was beginning to learn that the less you knew, the safer it made you or more importantly, the Alliance.
They arrived at the fleet, greeted by General Cracken who led Suprine, Minra and the others to another location, leaving Ahsoka alone with the ship. She was told that she would be given a new assignment shortly and to feel free to make any repairs to her current ship that she liked. She got the feeling that she and this ship might be stuck together for the time being. 'Well, let's see what makes you tick' she thought to herself.
After some time, she heard a cough and then saw General Rieekan standing in the hanger trying to get her attention. She had been too engrossed in her work, she hadn't even realized he was there. "Commander Tano, a word please."
"Yes, General?" She said as she hopped down from the stool where she had been working.
"General Cracken asked me to speak with you. We'd like it if you stayed on the Redemption for the time being. Your quarters have been kept for you, and we can find ways to keep you busy. You can keep your ship here on hanger. It's basically a medical facility, with some offices and residences, many of High Command end up in various capacities here for various reasons. I'm actually assigned on another ship, for instance. We may occasionally send you elsewhere in the fleet, for various jobs and the like, but as it stands, this will be your assigned post. I'd also like to make it official, and as of right now, my calling you Commander Tano is not just out of nostalgia, congratulations, Commander Tano." General Rieekan shook Ahsoka's greasy hand, she laughed, he laughed, and she went and got a rag to wipe it off. "It's quite all right, really, I manage a lot of the pilots here in the fleet, and you would not believe how often that happens."
"Oh, I can believe it." Ahsoka stated with a grin.
As General Rieekan and Ahsoka were standing and chatting, they were joined soon by Princess Leia who greeted them with a smile. "General Rieekan. Ahsoka, it's good to have you back."
"Princess." General Rieekan said. "Ladies, I'm afraid duty calls. If you will excuse me, I need to get back to post. Congratulations again, Commander."
"Commander, so now it's official. Do you have your next assignment yet?" Leia spoke.
"No, they want me to stay on this ship for now. I've been making modifications to this ship in the meantime." Ahsoka said still wiping grease off her hands.
"Well, if you like, you can join me for dinner. I was just heading there. You might want to clean up first though." Leia laughed giving her a look up and down. "I'm meeting Luke."
"I met him looking for you before my mission. I'm not sure our meeting went very well." Ahsoka explained.
"He told me. You have to be patient with him. He's a very kind and thoughtful person, he wasn't trying to be rude, he just, he's different. He needs time. We all have to be patient with him." Leia said as she followed Ahsoka onto the ship. "I'm heading off on a diplomatic mission myself. I thought I would check on him before I left. I hate to leave him, but my duty is important and I need to make up for lost time."
They started down the ramp when Ahsoka stopped and said. "Hold on, I almost forgot." She went back into the ship and came out with some fruit. "Something a little extra from my last mission." She smiled.
"I was starting to miss real food again. That will be a treat." Leia smiled.
"Well, when I first got here, you fed me real food, I thought I might as well return the favor." Ahsoka laughed.
"That was probably more Chewie than me, but I'll take it. I do miss Chewie's cooking. We are back to nutrition pouches and ration bars again, I'm afraid." Leia explained.
They got to the cafeteria and Luke was there waiting for them. He stood up, shook Ahsoka's hand and said, "Nice to see you again, about the other day..."
"It's fine. Good to see you, Luke." Ahsoka said as she put the fruit on the table, eyes from the other table stared. "Maybe it wasn't a good idea bringing it here. My last passengers brought a crate of them to share with High Command."
"It's just so rare we get fruit here." Leia explained. "Maybe we should put it away."
Ahsoka put it back into her bag, and Luke said, "Meet me at my quarters after, and we can have it there. I want to talk to you anyway, Ahsoka."
"OK, you got it." Ahsoka said smiling.
After they ate, and everyone got caught up with the Alliance gossip, the three of them went to Luke's quarters. Artoo was waiting there, Threepio was elsewhere with what he called "Important duties from High Command." which he was taking very seriously. Artoo beeped with glee with Ahsoka's arrival, and it amused Luke and Leia. "I can't believe he is so excited to see you!" Luke smiled and patted his droid friend.
"Artoo and I go way back, we..." Ahsoka caught herself, she didn't want to say too much. "I worked for Leia's father in the early days of the rebellion and Artoo was a big help." She couldn't go into the fact that Artoo had gotten her out of many jams during her time in the Clone Wars, nor how excited he had been to see her again on the Alderaanian ship when she first went to work as Fulcrum." Artoo just beeped. It was amazing to Ahsoka that Artoo knew exactly what to say and what to keep quiet. "How long has he been with you now?"
"Three years. My uncle got him by chance from some Jawas on Tatooine. He kept saying he had a message for Obi-Wan Kenobi and had to find him. Leia sent that message. He's been with me since wouldn't believe how amazing this droid is. I think of him as a person." Luke said stroking his chrome dome. Artoo beeped.
"I believe it. I really do. Artoo is very special." Ahsoka laughed.
They shared the fruit a while and just talked about trivial stuff, Leia shared a funny story she heard on the Remembrance, the ship she was currently assigned to. Ahsoka didn't want to get too much into her secret assignments, but she told a few stories she knew that she was able to tell, about some strange worlds and things she had seen. She was surprised to hear that Luke had never left his home planet until just three years ago. Ahsoka started talking about her current clunky ship and how she was in the process of fixing it, and Luke said it reminded him of the Millennium Falcon, and he and Leia got really quiet for a bit, and then Ahsoka put it on her mental reminders of topics not to bring up. After a few more laughs, Leia got a comm to report back to her ship, gave her hugs and departed. Luke got quiet for a bit, and after she had been gone for a few minutes spoke up.
"I saw you again, when I was meditating."
Ahsoka got nervous, "I hope it wasn't bad."
"No, not this time. It was Ben. Did you know Ben Kenobi? I mean Obi-Wan?" Luke said.
"Um, well." Ahsoka didn't know if she should really tell him she did.
"He talks to me, sometimes. I saw him a lot on..." Luke paused, he wasn't sure he should tell her this. "Where I was training."
"Training?" Ahsoka asked. "Was someone training you? Did he have a red lightsaber?"
Luke stiffened up. Jolted by her mentioning a red lightsaber. "Ah, no." Luke turned away.
"What did Obi-Wan say?" Ahsoka asked a bit worried.
"He said, Yoda. He said tell Ahsoka to go to Yoda." Luke explained. "Does that mean something to you?"
Ahsoka thought a moment. "Yoda is probably dead by now. How can I go to Yoda?"
Luke sat there a moment, closed his eyes and meditated a bit. Ahsoka recognized that position. Luke had been trained in some way by someone. Luke came out of it a moment or two later. "Yoda was alive the last time I saw him. You knew him?"
"I did. Master Yoda?" She shook her head. "I don't believe it." Ahsoka was quiet. How did Luke find him, or did he just see him in visions? How could he see him in visions though if he never met him? What was going on here? Had Master Yoda been alive all this time?
"I know where he is. It's hard to find. I promised him that I would return, but I'm not ready. I was there after the battle of Hoth, with Yoda. Ben told me to go. I saw him in the snow on Hoth. I honestly have been trying not to think about Ben, uh, Obi-Wan Kenobi, sorry, I think of him as Ben. See, they told me not to leave, and I didn't listen. I should have listened." Luke said.
"Try not to be so hard on yourself. It could have been as the Force willed it. Can I ask you something?" Ahsoka asked. "What happened to your hand?"
Luke turned and stared at his mechanical hand. He couldn't answer, he was quiet, thinking of the pain of actually losing his hand wasn't as bad as the pain of losing his father. Darth Vader telling him what he told him in Cloud City. Growing up, he had in his mind who his father was, what he was, and later when Ben Kenobi told him he was really a Jedi, it made him so proud. Then, the meeting with Darth Vader. Was Darth Vader really his father? He couldn't wrap his mind around it. He felt all kinds of mixed feelings. That was why he fought the images of Ben Kenobi. Did Kenobi lie to him? Did Yoda? Was he being trained to kill his own father? He was so confused. He just said, "Vader."
Ahsoka gasped. She didn't know what to say. She got really quiet. It was a lot to take in.
She said, "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. ..." She got quiet again. Change the subject, change the subject. Did Darth Vader know who Luke was? He almost killed her some years before, but would he injure his own son if he knew?
"I haven't told too many people. There's more, but I can't talk about it." Luke said quietly.
"I understand. Really. More than you know." Ahsoka put her hand on Luke's shoulder.
"I'm not sure you do." Luke replied.
"Yoda really was alive?" Ahsoka said, trying to change the subject.
"I can help you get there, but I can't go back, not yet."
Ahsoka felt that this was really something she should do, but when?