Hi guys ! I hope you're doing fine! Well, the year is ending so the first thing I want to say is Happy New Year because I probably won't update before that. So Happy New Year everybody!

Thank you for your reviews guys, I really do enjoy reading them. So, with this chapter we're finished with Myrkr but other interesting things are coming. To me, when Ashoka leaves the Order, it's already half of the year of 20 BBY, so there's like six months left before 19 BBY (even if with the SW universe, time is a big and difficult thing to figure out sometimes, since the rotations are not the same on every planet). I'm also currently doing reserch for every planet of the universe, even if I won't manage to research them all, but at least to have an idea which each one looks like and what could happen to Ahsoka there. So yeah, there's going to be some travelling. I don't want to spoil too much, so I'm not going to say more about what will happen in the next chapters. But with the way I end this chapter, I think you can guess where she's going next and to meet who.

As for Max, I imagine him as a mix between Han Solo, Hondo Onaka and Kanan Jarrus. Oh and Luxsoka will definitely happen in this story and I already know where, when and how. But here you go, and I hope you'll enjoy this one as well!

TS

20 years before the Battle of Yavin / one day after leaving the Jedi Order

Ahsoka woke up to the sounds of the birds in the jungle. Those beautiful songs made her smile and she sat up and stretched out her limbs. Pushing the blanket aside, she checked her leg and it looked better: it actually didn't hurt that much anymore. She quietly got up and tested her leg. Yep, she could walk.

She took her bag and started gathering some fruit that she found in the jungle and after a good half hour she came back, her leg starting to hurt. Max was still sleeping when she came back to the cavern. The fire had long been extinguished and she sat down again. Max's snoring was very loud, she wondered how in the universe he didn't wake her up with these loud noises, and he slept in the weirdest position she had ever seen. When she didn't move almost at all while she slept, it was the opposite for Max. His left arm was bent above his head, the other one was spread across the floor and his legs took as much place as Jaba the Hutt himself. A little string of drool escaped his mouth but didn't wet his entire face. It just stayed at the corner of his mouth and Ahsoka didn't know if that was actually better or worse.

Once she had peeled all the fruits, she tried to wake Max up but it was like talking to a wall: she got no answer whatsoever. No matter how she yelled his name, shook him or pushed his legs around, he kept on sleeping like a rock. For a moment, she was tempted to take his car and drive off, but she wasn't cruel. It would take him a whole day to reach the town by foot and after all, he had saved her. As for their deal, she didn't really bother giving him the Akul teeth: she had planned on changing her headdress anyway. Growing impatient, Ahsoka did the last thing she could possibly do: she slapped Max hard on the cheek.

He woke with a start and sat up in a hurry.

"Wha… what happened?"

He didn't seem to notice the red burning mark Ahsoka's hand left on his face nor the pain that probably came with it. Ahsoka just shrugged before sitting at her place again.

"Nothing. You were just drooling."

Max's embarrassment colored his cheeks and he quickly wiped his mouth. They ate the fruit and got into the car without exchanging any other word than Ahsoka saying a soft "thank you" while giving him the blanket back. This time around though, she climbed shotgun and let Max drive to the town she had come from. The young man told her it would take a little less than three hours to get there with the weight of the crates.

"What's in them?" She asked as the soft noise of the engines wasn't forcing her to yell like other cars usually did.

"You'll see!" He said with a wink. "I'll make you another deal. You help me discharge those crates once we arrive and I treat you to lunch."

She clasped his outstretched hand to seal their deal. They arrived in town in the time Max had guessed and stopped in a small corner of the spaceport. A small ship was waiting there and it was actually the only one present. Her name was Stellar Reef but Max basically just called her Stella. Ahsoka left the car and helped Max load the crates like promised.

"That's heavy! What in the universe did you put in them?" she said as they were finished and she was wiping the sweat from her brow.

He took off the lid of one of the crates; it contained black rocks of different sizes and forms. They seemed to be covered in silver dust but by looking closely Ahsoka realized these minuscule particles were actually part of the rock's mineral structure.

"These rocks can only be found here, on Myrkr. They're pricey for their unique capacity to fool scanners and all sorts of detectors."

"So you're a smuggler!" Ahsoka said as she crossed her arms on her chest.

"I'd rather call myself dealer of rare items but you get the picture."

He closed the lid and motioned for her to exit the small ship. The ramp closed and they left the spaceport in the direction of a dinner Max knew very well. Once they found a table, they sat down, Ahsoka next to the wall and Max near the alley.

"So where do you plan to smuggle them?" Ahsoka said to make small talk until their dishes arrived.

She was also curious and her instincts yelled her to be careful. She already had some suspicions, after all who camouflages a car in the middle of the jungle and comes prepared for days in the wild? Now that she knew Max was a smuggler, she felt she had to be even more cautious. She wasn't a big fan of those guys. Of course, she knew some of them who weren't that bad, Hondo Onaka for instance had his good days and could be helpful, but usually she didn't trust them. Their moods relied too much on profit and they were ready to commit any crime to get that profit. Max must have read her thoughts or maybe her threatening stare gave her away, probably her entire body language, because he laughed as he was putting his right arm on the back of his chair, slightly pushing it off balance as if to have a bit of fun while waiting.

"You see me as a threat now, don't you? You think I'm a bad guy."

She didn't say a word, just kept looking at him.

"Well, I guess you're partly right, I do deal in illegal stuff to survive. But that doesn't mean I'm going to kill innocent people or kill at all. Don't take everyone for generalities." She was about to reply but he cut her short. "I'm going to sell them on Nar Shaddaa."

"The smuggler's moon. I should have known." Ahsoka sighed and pressed her back against the wall while looking away.

"It's actually not such a bad place when you know which places to go and who to talk to. There a whole district where people are actually nice and you can find some decent food, supplies and even rent a room!"

"Yeah, still not my favorite place in the galaxy."

"You've already been there?"

She nodded and he was about to ask how when a waiter brought their dishes and Max paid right away so he wouldn't have to do it later. Ahsoka asked him how much she owed him for the food but he said it was his pleasure and refused to take a single credit from her. She dug in and so did he. They started talking about food and completely random things until she thought he wouldn't bring the Nar Shaddaa subject back, but unfortunately he did.

"I can't believe you've already been there, Fulcrum."

She winced at the sound of the name but slapped herself mentally: she'd have to get used to it if she was to stay hidden and away from her former life.

"I mean, it's not a common place to go to unless you're into that kind of business."

"Well, I've been there with my ma… mentor. We were looking for his friend and didn't stay long. It was long enough for me to realize that things are way different there though."

A moment of silence came between them and only forks and knives on plates could be heard but Max quickly broke that moment of peace.

"So, what are you going to do next? How do you plan on starting that new life of yours?"

"I think I'll try a few different jobs to see what I like most."

"You know what you're good at? I mean, you look pretty young. Pretty and young actually."

He said that with a smirk as if he didn't believe she could have any kind of skill, but somehow, Ahsoka didn't feel insulted. She even slightly blushed and took a sip of water before the redness spread on the integrity of her orange face.

"I'm sixteen, thank you very much."

"I didn't mean that as an insult, I'm nineteen myself. See, we're almost the same age!"

She took a moment to think how to answer his previous question.

"Well, I'm good at repairing ships and droids and I'm a great pilot, so I guess I could work at a spaceport or any big city that daily deals with ships."

"Really? Then you should come to Nar Shaddaa! We're actually lacking a truly good repairer. Well, one that has affordable prices anyway. But I guess you wouldn't want to meddle with scum and all sorts of other criminals and smugglers."

Max shrugged at his own comment and Ahsoka thought about going to Nar Shaddaa. If what Max told her was true, she could actually live there and the Jedi would never find her there nor even think to look for her there for that matter. And she had experience dealing with scum and criminals, she wasn't afraid for her safety. But she was afraid she'd actually find her place there and become one of them. One of the people that she, as a Jedi, swore to fight and bring to justice. She didn't want to become a troublemaker or even help them. But maybe by being there, she could change things out. Maybe she could bring some justice to that kind of place once she became one of them?

She shook her head to clear her thoughts. She should find a legal job, not reach so low as to become a criminal although she already technically had some criminal acts to her record.

"Well first, I've got to see a friend. I need him to do me a favor. Only then will I look for a job."

Max then proposed to give her a ride and she unwillingly agreed. She wasn't planning on being even more indebted to the young smuggler even though he didn't mention the Akul teeth again as if the matter was closed, but she had no choice if she wanted to leave Myrkr that day. A ship only landed there every week and she just couldn't see herself staying in this town or jungle for six other days before being able to leave. Max didn't mind taking her to the planet where her friend lived since it was on his way to Nar Shaddaa. He was surprised though when she told him about her friend, after all, not everyone had a Wookiee for a friend.