Hi guys! I hope you're doing ok and started this year great! For this chapter I wanted to do something rather calm, not action, so here it is. There should be at least 5 more chapters on this 'Corellia Arc', I mean, she's only been working for Star Jump for like what, one week and a half? So yeah, definitely more flying, space fighting, Sax and Geronimo coming. I'm also super excited about writing the Raxus Arc, but there are lots of things that will happen before that so be patient.

Lux' Sister - Thanks for reminding that the Army on Onderon is called the Onderon Royal Militia. I had completely forgotten about it. And yes, Sax and Geronimo will be there for a while, will get into some trouble as they always do and I even know what will happen to them once Ahsoka's contract is over but that's a secret for now, I don't want to spoil.

So, don't hesitate to write reviews guys and ask me questions, I'll answer them all and I read you all guys. It helps a lot to have feedback on my writing. So I hope to hear from you soon! See you next time!

TS


20 years before the Battle of Yavin / fifteen days after leaving the Jedi Order

Just as Ahsoka had feared, Bulack yelled at Sax and Geronimo so loudly that all the walls of the company shook, including those of her own quarters. And it took a while for the captain to express his anger. During that time, she mostly stayed in her quarters, but eventually walked out to do some shopping. She wasn't used to that kind of stuff, but there was always a first time for everything. She bought herself a third set of clothes which were a little bit more colorful than the grey and dark outfit she had on Myrkr. She also had her pilot boots repaired.

For a moment there, she wondered about Max and what he was doing which brought her to think about her past. It had already been more than two weeks since she left the Jedi Order and seeing Master Kenobi on the screen when they were back from Kriselist was the closest she had gotten to see a Jedi since her departure. She missed them, all of them, even Padme, the younglings, the Senators she was friends with and all the troopers, she missed even Jar-Jar.

But she knew she couldn't go back. She was often wondering though what she would do once her period of hesitation would be over. She hadn't decided yet, it was all too foggy in her head to see through things clearly. But she was less and less angry at the Counsel. The feeling of betrayal was gone, replaced by that of emptiness. She felt empty inside now that her life had been turned upside down just because one Jedi, a Padawan at that, wanted to make a point to the world. She wasn't angry at Barriss, just sad. She didn't know what happened to the Mirilan and truthfully, she didn't want to now at least for now. It was too soon.

And it was also too soon for her to reach a decision. The possibility of coming back in the Order after some time lingered in the back of her head, sometimes making her regret her decision. But she knew she had to get away. She wanted to see what she was able to do on her own and taste the freedom the Order forbade in certain ways of life.

In the shops of Coronet City, she also sold the blade she had bought on Myrkr to buy two vibroblades. She could have bought one vibroblade and one vibrosword, but it took too much place on her belt. She also wanted to stick to her usual combat techniques, but she couldn't exactly carry lightsabers. And, since she had lost her shoto at the military prison and her green lightsaber in the lower levels of Coruscant, she couldn't exactly use them. She was sure her Master found a way to retrieve them, maybe just in case she actually decided to come back or perhaps just as a souvenir. And building new lightsabers would take her a while. But these were the weapons she mastered and she felt bare without them, just like that time with the Trendoshians when she met Chewbacca. She always felt connected to the Force and wanted to keep practicing, but the question of if she'd someday build new lightsabers remained to be answered.

When Ahsoka came back to Star Jump, Sax was waiting in front of her door. He was full of energy like before, but when he saw her, he got all nervous and rubbed his hand on his hairless neck. To make up for his mistakes, he offered her to have a small party that evening, during her last free day. He was ready to pay for food and beer, nothing stronger, and thought that they could catch up a bit, learn more about each other. He spent five entire minutes apologizing until Ahsoka had enough of his blabbering and accepted.

That evening, since Bulack was out negotiating their future contracts somewhere in some VIP lounge in Coronet City, they set out in the landing bay and closed all the doors. Sax brought a dozen cushions for them to sit on and the food and drinks like he promised. They put the news on the big screen and even gave the droids fresh oil cleaning like it was some kind of celebration.

Sax was like his good old self and once Ahsoka told him she forgave him, he started joking again, as if nothing had happened. Geronimo had his arm in a sling and wasn't supposed to be working for a month. He complained every ten minutes about the pain in his broken ribs and the fact he couldn't do a thing without wincing. Bulack had threatened to throw them both out. From the bits Ahsoka had heard as the walls shook, she understood that it wasn't the first time both pilots had caused the captain trouble. Sax seemed to be the worst though. But Bulack couldn't fire them since he needed pilots. Since it wasn't Geronimo's fault this time, the human got nothing but the Zabrak's pay was cut by half for the current month. Sax shrugged; it wasn't the first time it happened. What the Zabrak didn't know though, was that Bulack was planning on giving that half-pay to Ahsoka at the end of her contract as a bonus for her efforts and dedication. But Ahsoka didn't knew that either.

As the news played on the giant screen, they sat on the big round cushions and criticized what the reporters said, occasionally giving their opinions about subjects and politics. For the first time since she left Coruscant, Ahsoka had to admit she was having a lot of fun. Sure, she was pretty much always having fun when her Master was around but this was a different kind of fun. It had nothing to do with competition, it could even be called 'silly' and she endlessly laughed at Sax's not so funny jokes like she was having the time of her life.

"Wait, I've got another one!" yelled the Zabrak as he was sitting straight, his can of beer at his side, his hands already moving like the greatest of Senators or the most talented comedian.

Ahsoka was still laughing from the last joke and was lying on two cushions, whereas Geronimo was slightly crying because his ribs hurt when he laughed.

"How is duck tape like the Force?"

They've been partying like this for three hours and during that time, Ahsoka had gotten very comfortable with the two pilots, considering them as her friends, even acting around them like around troopers she had known forever like Rex, considering them as her brothers. She got used to the fact that half of Sax's jokes, if not more, were about Jedi or the Force. It had been hard at first not to flinch or seem nervous whenever those two subjects were brought up but now, it seemed to be as normal to talk about it as about anything else in a daily routine. She had also discovered that normal people, that is, not-sensitive to the Force, knew actually very little about the Jedi ways, except for the things they were able to grasp when they saw Jedi. But how the Jedi Order or even the Force worked, they had no idea. Especially Sax.

"It has a Dark side, a Light side and it binds the galaxy together!" answered the Zabrak.

Ahsoka burst out laughing with Geronimo who then insulted Sax because of his ribs.

"And what do you call a female Mandalorian?"

Ahsoka had no idea what to answer and was pretty sure the actual answer wouldn't be very bright but she still wanted to hear it.

"A Womandalorian!"

Sax seemed particularly proud of that one and they all laughed before the screen caught their attention again. That time, it was the consequences of a new law that Chancellor Palpatine had installed once the Senate voted it. It was yet again something that involved the Banking Clans, more Clones and never seemed to solve the war.

"I hate that guy," Ahsoka let out as she was sitting up to take a sip of beer.

It was her third can that evening and she was surprised to see she could hold her liquor quite well. She then heard a noise near the left bay door but when she turned her head, she found nothing except a small ray of light that was coming from the slightly open door.

"Gero, did you close the door?"

"Yeah, why?"

"It's open."

The other pilots turned their heads and realized she was right, but Sax simply shrugged.

"Don't bother, these doors are as old as the company itself, maybe even as old as the old geezer himself! Sometimes they don't close entirely, it's nothing."

"If you say so…"

Ahsoka reported her attention to the screen while drinking more beer. The Chancellor's face appeared from time to time. He seemed to be aging ten years at every frame and looked more like an old man than the strong political leader he once was. It seemed the war was wearing everyone down, even him. She hated him because he had never actually acknowledged her. Every time she had met him was with Anakin by her side and her Master had always been the one the Chancellor talked to. That she was used to, especially since every Jedi Master became a General in the war effort. But other leaders always acknowledged her presence whereas Palpatine never seemed to even see her, as if she was a vulgar insect that didn't deserve his attention, not even a single stare. The second reason she hated him was because Anakin always was troubled when he came back from talking to him and seemed darker every single time. And third because Ahsoka had more and more the impression he was fuelling the war, not trying to stop it. She was no politician, so she couldn't tell what was truly going on in the Senate but she saw what Padme tried to achieve and she thought it was the right thing to do. Palpatine, on the other hand, was far from sharing the Naboo Senator's views as far as the Togruta could tell.

Another noise interrupted Ahsoka's train of thoughts, this time coming from behind Sax's fighter that had been placed back in the bay.

"This time I definitely heard something guys!"

"You're being paranoid! There's no one else here than us!"

"And what if Bulack came back from his negotiations? He'll be furious; we're not supposed to be camping in the bay like that!"

"Fine!" said Sax as he stood up. "I'll check it out. Maybe a lone Tooka found its way here somehow."

Ahsoka rolled her eyes and smiled. Gero raised his can to cheer and Ahsoka pressed hers against his.

"To Sax who finally did something out of the goodness of his heart!"

"Cheers!"

"So Crazy Ful… I heard from the captain he met you on Kashyyyk… you're a friend of the Wookies then, aren't you?"

Ahsoka was tempted to change the subject, but it was true: she was a friend of the Wookies and she had met Bulack on Kashyyyk. Besides, she did nothing wrong there, there was no reason for her to hide that. And she had promised herself she'd get to know the two pilots better, talking was one way of doing it.

"Yeah, you could say that."

"What about your family?"

Ahsoka looked away from Gero's face, away from the screen above them that kept showing other politicians and even away from her own can of beer, fixing a point in the empty space in front of her. She raised her knees and slung her arms around them, resting her chin on top.

"I had. But things happened and everything changed. No siblings though. And I don't remember what my parents look like. I'm not even sure they're still alive."

It was Gero's turn to confess.

"Well, I had a sister."

Ahsoka looked at him.

"I'm sorry."

"Oh, don't be. I mean, she was my sister and all but she was taken when she was very young and we didn't keep in touch afterwards." Ahsoka wanted to ask who took her and what happened but Geronimo kept talking and she didn't want to interrupt him. "I missed her though. And I couldn't even tell her that before she died. Her name was Kalifa."

Ahsoka's heart stopped and her blue eyes widened at the sound of the name. For a moment there, she was completely away, remembering how she had met Kalifa, Homer and Jinx, how they had stuck together, how Kalifa had been injured then shot in front of her very own eyes. She had been yet another person Ahsoka didn't manage to save. Geronimo seemed to have noticed her uneasiness because he put his can down and grabbed her by the shoulder with his good arm.

"You knew her! Didn't you?"

Ahsoka shook her head in denial and looked away, her head buzzing with memories and nervousness. She couldn't let Geronimo find out. She could always pretend she met her as a civilian, after all Jedi had been traveling a lot during the Clone Wars and Kalifa had once been a Padawan, she certainly visited several planets. But Geronimo's hand on her shoulder was like a steel grip, cold and piercing, that she couldn't get away from. And somehow, he just knew.

"You were a Jedi, weren't you?"

She met his gaze again and was surprised to find sadness and pity in them and not the mischief or anger, maybe even fear she expected.

"I was right. From the moment I saw you, I thought you looked like that Togruta Jedi that had had a military trial. That did make quite the news!"

Ahsoka cursed under her breath. She just knew she had to get rid of the Akul teeth sooner. Or maybe it was her face altogether. It now seemed to her that changing clothes and abandoning her lightsabers wasn't enough. Maybe trying to find a job in the open wasn't such a good idea. Maybe Nar Shaddaa was the only place for her to go after all.

"Don't worry. I won't tell anybody. There's a reason why you decided to change, to leave everything behind and I'll respect that because it takes more than just some courage to do so. You probably had your reasons and I'll listen to them if you want to talk about it, but I won't force you, Crazy Ful."

Ahsoka felt like she could trust him and she thanked him. She had no insurance he would really keep his word, but he owed her one and she was starting to know him better. He didn't seem like someone who you sell her out. And it wasn't like her horned little head had a price on it, not anymore at least. She was about to tell him a bit about it when a huge noise came from the room where all the droids and tools were stashed and Sax came back, but he wasn't alone. He was holding a kid by the scruff of the neck and lifted him up at some good meter above the ground.

"Let me go you horned bastard!" screamed the kid.

He was probably around nine, maybe ten years old and was wearing the typical civilan corellian clothes. The Zabrak threw him on one of the cushions and crossed his arms. The kid would have to confront either Ahsoka or Sax to get through because the wall with the giant screen was right behind him.

"I found this lost Tooka snooping around my fighter! And when I saw him, he tried to make it to the droid room but I caught him."

"Told you the door was open," Ahsoka said while shrugging her shoulders.

"Hey! Don't start Fulcrum! Anyway, what are you doing on the Star Jump property kid? You don't know it's a restricted area?"

The kid imitated Sax and also crossed his arms, apparently not willing to talk.

"Fine, don't talk. I'm sure you'll be screaming like a girl once we toss you off the landing bay."

The kid seemed afraid and stepped back only to hit the wall.

"You're bluffing!"

"Oh, he's capable of doing it, believe me!" replied Geronimo, still comfortably sitting on his cushion.

The kid lowered his head and Ahsoka knelt next to him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"How about you tell us your name and what you came to do here. You should also explain how you managed to get here since we're not on the ground. If you do so, I'll personally take you home and we won't tell our boss."

"But…" Sax started.

"We won't!"

Sax lowered his head and kicked his empty beer can, throwing his hands in his pockets rather violently. "Fine!"

The kid nodded.

"I'm Han and I wanted to see the C-21 Starfighter from up close. They are considered to be one of the best fighters Corellia ever constructed! As for how I came here…"

He pointed his small boots and Ahsoka recognized the same kind of propulsors Cad Bane used to have on his own boots to make them fly. After that, they agreed to let the kid go and just like promised, Ahsoka took him home, even allowing him to get aboard her fighter. It was a bit tight and difficult to maneuver with the kid sitting on her lap, but she managed to get him home safely and came back to the landing bay as quickly as possible. During her absence, the boys had cleaned up the cushions, beers and food and shut off the screen before Sax committed a murder on a droid after seeing Palpatine's face again. From what Ahsoka learned later on, Sax knew very little about politics and therefore disliked every single politician and loved making fun of them. Geronimo went to sleep early because of the medication for his broken arm and ribs and Sax did some maintenance on his fighter. Ahsoka later joined him, working on hers and she was greeted with yet another joke. But somehow, the more stupid jokes she heard from the Zabrak, the more funny she found them.