Author's Note; Please pardon the long absence. I recently moved into my first apartment, and the transition has been a bit awkward.
Fun Fact; Ventress' first name is misspelled 'Asajji' in the character list for SW CW.
Darth Snips
The Forest
Ahsoka followed close on Ventress' heels as they ran after the surviving Garthim. The damage to their camp, particularly the hut, meant the force users would literally be left out in the rain. Much of their food had been destroyed as well. The more Ahsoka thought about these things, the angrier she became. What did we ever do to them, she thought, damn bugs have been hostile since the minute we got here!
The Togruta skidded to a halt when Ventress raised her hand. They'd arrived at what looked like a giant termite mound. "The nest," Ventress announced
Both force users cautiously made their way toward the mound. They noticed several entrances, but each had a pair of sentries standing diligently on watch. Ventress was about to simply attack one such pair when Ahsoka grabbed her shoulder, "I know how we can get in."
Ahsoka lead the way to a more deserted area, though they still had to be weary of patrols. She dashed right up to the side of the mound and began feeling the outer wall of the mound; the same method Barriss had used to get them into the catacombs on Geonosis. Ventress gave the Togruta a quizzical look, but stayed quiet, instead looking out for guards.
Finally, Ahsoka felt a hollow area and quickly carved a hole to allow her and Ventress access. Ventress patted her friend on the shoulder and the two made their way into the tunnels.
Both force users could feel a large concentration of Garthim down a certain tunnel and, after some twisting and turning, came upon a ledge overlooking a large chamber filled with Garthim. Ahsoka glared down at the belligerent creatures with contempt. Beside her, Ventress drew each of her lightsabres and got ready to springe into the chamber, "On the count of three. One…two…three!"
As both warriors leapt into crowd of Garthim, Ahsoka sliced one warrior across his exposed stomach on the way down, and then stabbed a second. After that, things went into a hellish haze of screaming and violence. Ahsoka was running almost entirely on instinct, only able to think of her anger and hate for the Garthim.
When the haze finally lifted, Ahsoka was standing over an eviscerated warrior. Looking around she saw the room was fill with dead Garthim, she also noticed she now had one of Ventress' red Lightsabres. Just then, the Togruta heard a loud yell, higher pitched then a Garthim warrior's war cry. Ahsoka turned on her heel ready to defend herself, only to freeze in shock.
A tiny Garthim, slightly shorter then Ahsoka with a white exoskeleton, rushed up to the dead warrior next to Ahsoka. The Garthim child desperately shock the warrior and whined loudly as if hoping to wake him up. Moments later an adult, this one with two three fingered hands rather than a crab-claw, scooped the little one into its arms protectively. Eying the shocked Togruta with fear, the female Garthim backed away cautiously, before sprinting away with her wailing infant.
Ahsoka again looked at the carnage around her; she spotted more than a few females and even children among the dead. "What have we done?"
#*#*#
Hold of the Resolute
Captain Rex of the 501st Legion stood at attention, Cody and a few of his other brothers at his side. The veteran still couldn't quite believe the commander was back. The whole Garthim situation never had sat well with Rex. Ahsoka had gone off on far more reckless ventures and come out alright, albeit with a few close calls. But this time nothing happened, at all. The young Togruta's Delta-7 had suffered 'interference' and that was the last anyone had heard from her.
Until now, the captain thought. It was regrettable that Ram hadn't returned as well; guess that'd be too much to hope for.
Rex was brought out of his reverie by the Twilight entering the docking bay. The captain and his fellow troopers stood slightly taller as the aging ship landed. The Twilight set down and sure enough, Ahsoka Tano descended the ramp flanked by her master and Obi-Wan. The Togruta was a bit taller with more defined horns and longer lekku, but there was no mistaking it.
"It's good to have you back, sir." The captain said crisply. Ahsoka simply rolled her eyes and threw her arms around Rex. Hearing a snicker from Chopper, the clone captain sent a slight glare the trooper's way, then returned the hug.
Finally, Ahsoka released Rex and turned to the other assembled troopers. "You guys don't know how good it is seeing you again." She said, then noticed something, "Where's Echo?"
Rex hesitated and Cody and Fives shifted awkwardly. "Echo's gone, sir, commando droid blew him to bits." Rex explained, "But, let's not dwell on it. C'mon, I'll reintroduce you to the boys."
Rex proceeded to show Ahsoka the new Interceptor Fighters, and other new installments on the Resolute, as well as sharing stories and running into familiar faces (though this was a slightly relative term on a ship filled with clones.)
Eventually, the two stopped in the mess hall for a meal. As she sat down, Ahsoka looked around and saw that things seemed just as they were when she'd last been here. At first this was comforting, but it soon dawned on the young togruta that it meant the war was still as active as ever. "Can't believe we're still fighting the separatists," she sighed.
Rex nodded in agreement, "At the very least we've got 'em on the run. Most of the fighting is confined to a bunch of sieges in the Outer Rim."
"The Outer Rim Sieges?"
The clone captain gave a chuckle, "Yeah, the news casters aren't too creative are they?" Over Ahsoka's shoulder, Rex noticed Obi-Wan and Anakin enter, chanting like old times. "It's good to see those two getting along like they used too." He said gesturing to the generals.
Ahsoka looked over her shoulder, then back at Rex, looking perplexed, "Whaddya mean, Anakin and Obi-Wan are like brothers?"
Rex sighed, as if weighing whether or not to let Ahsoka in on a secret. Finally, he explained, "We had a mission on a planet called 'Mortis', and found an ancient Force Citadel, or some damn thing. Anyway, Skywalker and Kenobi are the only ones that went in. To us it felt like they'd been in there an hour or so, but they looked like it had been a couple of days."
"What happened?"
"That's just it; we don't know." Rex said with a helpless shrug, "Nobody does except General Kenobi and he'll not breathe a word of what happened, even to the Council."
"But what about Anakin? Did he just forget?" Ahsoka asked with a smile
"Yes actually," Rex said, "and if you ask me, I think whatever happened is best left forgotten."
#*#*#
The Jedi Temple
Ahsoka made her way determinedly through halls of the temple. Somehow, Rex's story had chillingly reminded the Togruta of her vision on Garthim. She needed to talk to Obi-Wan. Immediately.
The padawan rounded a corner and saw Barriss coming down the hall toward her. "Ahsoka, there's something-"
"Not now, Barriss," Ahsoka didn't break stride as she spoke, "I need to see Master Kenobi, right away."
Barriss grabbed her Togruta by the elbow to stop her. "Please," was all she said.
Surprised by the Mirialian's tone and expression, Ahsoka sighed, "Okay, Barriss." The two Jedi made their way to their shared quarters and force locked the door, not wanting any intrusions. Ahsoka sat on the bed and turned to her lover, "So, what's bothering you?"
Barriss was silent for several moments, as though unsure of how to respond. After a deep breath, the Mirialian spoke, "A few weeks back, Senator Amadala asked me to accompany her to a planet called 'Raxus'; she was going to see a woman called Bonteri. While we were there I met her son…Lux."
You know where this is going. Ahsoka flinched at the new voice, then froze when she recognized it as Ventress'.
"Ahsoka, are you okay?" Barriss asked
"Yeah, I'm fine," Ahsoka said as casually as possible, "So…what about this guy Lux?"
Barriss stiffened abit and continued, "Well, we spent a good deal of time together while his mother and the senator discussed matters… and he was quite well spoken. He showed me that not all separatists are as cruel or heartless as Grievous or Ventress." Ahsoka winced.
Here it comes.
"I…I started to have feelings for him; we shared a kiss before I left Raxus. Just before word got back that you'd been found, we were planning on meeting again." Barriss looked at Ahsoka shamefully, "…I'm sorry."
Tell her.
Ahsoka sat in silence for several moments, unable to speak. Finally, she was able to choke out words. "Barriss, I…"
Tell her.
"…I forgive you." Barriss wrapped her arms around Ahsoka's shoulders, buring her face in the Togruta's chest. Ahsoka returned the hug, rubbing comforting circles into the Mirialian's shoulder, and trying to hide her guilty feelings.
You're a coward, Ahsoka.
#*#*#
The Camp
Ventress and Ahsoka made their way back to the remnants of their camp. The assassin went to examine the pair's ruined hut to see what could be salvaged. Ahsoka had mutely followed her friend back. The young Togruta now stood near the fire pit, lost in her thoughts.
Ventress smirked with satisfaction when she found the skin containing the moonshine was intact and turned to the other force user. "Good news, the grog's okay…" her tone became concerned when she saw Ahsoka's face, "…something wrong?"
"Some of those Garthim were just babies," Ahsoka said distantly, "they were terrified of us."
"Exactly," Ventress said, a bit confused, "Now they wouldn't come back."
"What?"
"They're afraid of us now," Ventress explained, "That's the whole point. The Garthim won't dare come near us now."
"That's-I can't…" the Togruta struggled to find the right words. "I'm a Jedi! I can't do things like this."
"You were a Jedi." Ventress corrected.
"I can't do things like this, Asajj!" Ahsoka shouted, "I'm not evil, I'm not like…"
A long, awkward silence set in after the last word died on Ahsoka's tongue. Finally, Ventress asked, "Not like what, Ahsoka?" Ventress took a few steps toward her former enemy, "Not like what?" Ahsoka struggled to think of something, anything. Ventress took the last few steps and leaned forward, she was now face to face with Ahsoka. "Not like me?"
"No! That's not what I was-"
"Was I being evil when I save your life, not four hours ago? Was it wrong of me to comfort you when you woke up crying? Were those rolls in the proverbial hay wicked?"
"What about when you scarred Anakin?" Ahsoka shouted, "What about when you killed my entire squadron?"
"Who's fault was that?" Ventress shouted back.
Snips, you'd better get back to the Resolute until we can figure out who that is.
"If you hadn't shown up, I'd of just left and we'd be blissfully trying to murder each other right now!"
You sure, miss?
"Who's fault is it that we're stuck here?"
We're just gonna make a quick detour, it'll be fine.
Ahsoka stood still, shocked. It's my fault, she thought, all of this is my fault. Ventress turned and walked away, shaking her hairless head. Ahsoka uprooted herself and went after the assassin. She put her hand on Ventress' shoulder, only to have it shrugged off. "Asajj, I'm sorry."
Ventress kept her back turned for several long seconds, but finally turned toward Ahsoka, her express was much softer now. The assassin was about to say something when a familiar sound rang through the air; the engines of a gunship.
Both force users looked up at the sky and, sure enough, several Republic Gunships flew far overhead. The fleet moved smoothly for a few more seconds, then dozens of droid fighters rushed up to intercept them.
The war had come to Garthim VI.
