AN: I still have yet to own anything even remotely close to Star Wars or any of the books but will continue writing for fun.
I am back after a month away. I am sorry it took so long but I am in the process of moving houses so anytime I am not working I am packing all of my things up and have not had much time to write. I thank you all for waiting.
Just a warning, this chapter like the previous ones is just a lot more talking and can get a little long winded.
5 ½ months ago
Asajj and Ahsoka arrived back on Florrum. There was some nerves as this was going to be the toughest job they have ever faced. Ahsoka has never gone after a Sith without an army as back up or Anakin to fall back on and Asajj was the same except she had the Nightsisters. Now it will be the two of them. While they have some back up, none of them are the kind you trust with your life.
They exited their ship and were met with a Weequay pirate that led them to the meeting room. On the way they noticed several ships that had not been there previously and Ahsoka was admiring them when she heard Asajj swear under her breath. She turned to her partner.
"Whats wrong?" She didn't want this to go sideways as she was already nervous enough as it is.
Asajj pointed to a ship to her immediate left and Ahsoka not noticing anything off about it gave Asajj a confused tilt of her head.
Asajj sighed. "That's the Slave I. It is Boba Fett's ship." Was all she said.
"Oh." Ahsoka remembered Asajj telling her about the job where they had worked together and she had tied him up and left him to replace some huge sleemo's bride. "I'm sure it will be fine." Ahsoka waved off her concerns as they continued on. Of course she was not as confident about it as she let on. Boba has a known hatred for all things Jedi and is definitely one for revenge. Although she is on board with his dislike of Windu. She shared that opinion.
They walked into the meeting room where Bo Katan was working on explaining the goal to all the bounty hunters that had been gathered. The room was full of round tables that had four people sitting around them.
It of course was Boba Fett who spoke up when she finished. "You want us to team up with a handful of Mandalorians to go against an army of them plus two Sith? We risk our lives and livelihood on this job. The Hutts, Black Sun, and Pikes are the people that supply most of the contracts that we bounty hunters take. If we do this job, even if we survive and win, we could lose much more in the long run." He yelled irritated. "Not only that we are supposed to go against Sith when your people couldn't?!" He was really worked up now. He may hot like Dooku but he knew the power of Sith and was not stupid.
Bo Katan sat calmly listening to his rant and was about to reply when she noticed the very two people she had been waiting for showed up. She looked at them and smirked. "That's what those two are for."
All heads in the room turned toward them and Ahsoka felt a little uncomfortable while Asajj just stared right back at them.
"Oh hell no!" That was definitely Boba shouting.
Ahsoka leaned over and whispered into her partner's ear "So maybe he isn't over it." Asajj snickered.
Asajj was ready to reply to Boba when she was interrupted by a gravelly voice coming from their left. Both turned to find someone they wished they hadn't.
"Well, well, well. The little Padawan wants to play with us bounty hunters. Does Skywalker know you are out past your curfew?"
"Bane." Ahsoka said in such a cold voice Asajj almost didn't recognize her.
The blue skinned bounty hunter sat relaxed in the corner with his hat tilted down while chewing on his tooth pick. He was still smirking at her and it infuriated Ahsoka to no end. This was the man who was going to kidnap children and sell them to Dooku.
"I heard you got yourself kicked out of the Jedi order, but I never though you would end up here with us lowlifes." He looked at her inquisitively.
"People change." She said impassively.
"Do you really think you could defeat a Sith? Even two of them? Ahsoka here is a failed Padawan that couldn't defeat me." He stated.
Ahsoka smirked at Bane. He underestimated her. She liked the idea of being underestimated much more than before where it felt like people were just calling her a child. Now she sees the difference because she was a child then. Not anymore.
"Don't worry about it. That's our job." She said stoically.
Bane raised his eyebrow in response. "We will see." He stood up and walked out of the room followed quickly by Boba who was still sneering at Asajj. Boba was followed out by his crew which consisted of Embo wearing his signature metal hat and his dog as well has a tall robot.
"I guess we will pick this back up tomorrow." Said Katan. The other 10 bounty hunters in the room got up grumbling and left the room back to their ships or to the bar to get a drink after seeing what they were signing up for. Out of those 10 the only bounty hunter the two recognized was the Trandosian, Bossk.
The two of them were about to leave the room after that uncomfortable meeting when they heard a voice that could possibly make it more uncomfortable.
"Ahsoka." The two looked to the other side of the room where unnoticed sitting in the corner were two familiar faces.
"Kriff." Muttered the Togruta when she saw them. It was Lux Bonteri and Saw Gerrera.
Lux and Saw got up from their spots and walked over to the two bounty hunter partners. There was an awkward silence when they met where they just looked to each other.
"So…. How have you been?" Ahsoka broke the silence as nonchalantly as possible. Which was pretty obvious due to Asajj's eye roll.
"What are you doing here?" He said a little too harshly toward the Togruta and receiving a glare from the former Sith.
A little taken aback by his attitude she hesitates a little before responding. "Taking a job." She said slowly as if it should have been obvious and he was an idiot for asking. She was just confused by the way this conversation was going since she had hoped for a bit of a better reunion.
Asajj was ready to pounce on the idiot. She already didn't like him based on Ahsoka's stories. Asajj knew Ahsoka had seen him through her naïve eyes at the time. But now the way he was acting was showing Ahsoka the truth. She would have been happy seeing the veil being pushed away if he wasn't treating Ahsoka unkindly.
"You were the one who told me to stay away from Deathwatch because they were a bunch of terrorists and now I find you with them after being missing all this time!" He yelled at them suddenly. Asajj didn't like the way it seemed like he was more upset that Ahsoka hadn't contacted him and didn't know where she was.
"Not only that but you show up here with Ventress!" He continued.
Ahsoka was shocked at the reaction of her old friend. She didn't understand how he didn't see the difference between the two instances. "These people here are fighting to try and take back a planet from a Sith. They aren't burning down villages and killing innocents in the name of revenge. It's like I said before. People change." With that harsh rebuke she spun on her heels and stormed off.
Asajj glared at Lux and followed Ahsoka out the door speeding up trying to catch up to her partner. "What was that?" She asked when she did catch up. She was not jealous of the little senator. She was just surprised by how big of a reaction he elicited out of Ahsoka.
Ahsoka sighed roughly and slowed to a normal walking pace back to their ship. She was annoyed by everything that happened too.
"He just pisses me off! He sat there in the same spot I was. He showed up to aid Deathwatch on their assault and he wants to judge me for doing the same thing as him! Not only that the way he was treating you was unacceptable." She huffed and crossed her arms and then proceeded to pout. Far too innocent of a look for a bounty hunter but extremely normal look for Ahsoka.
Asajj laid her hand on Ahsoka's arm to calm her down. "No. That isn't what you are angry about." Ahsoka shot her a glare. "Well not completely what you are angry about." She conceded. "You forget that I know you very well."
Ahsoka's shoulders slumped after being read so easily by Asajj. "I was surprised and caught off guard." She admitted while walking up the ramp to their ship as they had returned.
Asajj followed her up. "And?" She asked expectantly.
Ahsoka shrugged and let out an exasperated sigh. She walked into their lounge area where they kept their books from Revan. She collapsed down on a sofa and waited for Asajj to join her before answering.
"Lux is the first person I have come across since leaving the Jedi Order and teaming up with you. Not counting Hondo or Bo Katan. Those two may have known me before but we weren't really friends or allies then. I didn't think about making friends with some of my former enemies but If Lux's reaction was the reaction of my first former ally, then I don't know if I could handle it if everyone reacted the same." She finished softly.
"Are you worried about how the Jedi will react?" She asked softly. No matter what the two of them had gone through, Asajj would always be worried about Ahsoka wanting to go back to the Jedi.
"No. Not all of them. I don't care what the council thinks." She said coldly before sadness settled in again. "I don't want Anakin or the others to see me as the bad guy. I don't think I could handle being looked at the same way they looked at Barriss. Obi-Wan, Plo Koon, Anakin, or the Padawan's from the gathering." She was close to tears now as she leaned into Asajj silently asking for support.
"I over reacted didn't I?" Ahsoka asked after a moment.
"A little." Asajj replied.
"I should apologize tomorrow."
"Why?" Asajj asked. "You may have over reacted a little, but he questioned your choices and insulted me. If you have no regrets about what you've done. About who you are. Then all you did was defend yourself. You have no reason to apologize." She explained.
Ahsoka just nodded. The two of them both had started down this path together and swore to stand by each other. They were not going to turn back now. If Lux disagrees with her then he is a hypocrite. If she ends up in an argument with a Jedi it may hurt feelings and it may be hard, but so be it.
The two of them work up the next day and spent some time on meditation after the stresses of the night before they wanted to be calm before the meeting that was occurring today. They knew their patience would likely be tested by either Boba, Lux, or Bane. Not to mention Hondo was there and he has a way of testing ones patience.
The two of them finished their meditation and left toward the meeting room. When they arrived they found the bounty hunters and pirates to be mostly recovering from hangovers, except Bane and Boba.
The Mandalorians still seemed anxious. It was their home world on the line. Lux and Saw were calm sitting at the same table as before. The two force users chose to sit among some of the no-name bounty hunters on the other side of the room.
With the final stragglers finished arriving completing the group. Bo Katan got up to the front of the room and got everyone's attention.
"Thank you for coming and helping us take back Mandalore." She started nervously.
"We are getting paid lady! Just get on with it!" yelled a hungover annoyed human bounty hunter. If Ahsoka remembered correctly from the day before his name was Beckett. His comment through Katan off a little but she sneered at the man and continued on.
"Anyway, as I was saying, we will go in with a three prong attack. The Firs group will work as a diversionary force. That group will be led by Hondo with all of his pirates. Boba Fett and his group of bounty hunters will aid them. Their job will be to attack the hangers belonging to the other crime syndicates. This is where the pirates will be able to loot goods and stage it as an attack between criminals and divert the attention of the Shadow Collective while not really getting Maul or Savage interested in it. This will keep those forces away from the other two groups that are the real attacks. Of those one group will be led by Ahsoka with a few Mandalorians headed by Ursa Wren. This group will infiltrate the prison to rescue the Duchess." She stated gesturing to the other female Mandalorian in the room. "They will be joined by Cad Bane." Ahsoka looked over to the bounty hunter who tipped his hat at her and smirked. "Ahsoka, You are a part of this group as it is thought to be the one most likely to end up facing Maul as he wants to Keep Duchess Satine secure. I am sure you are aware of way?" Katan asked.
Ahsoka was surprised that Katan was aware of the connection between Kenobi and Satine. It was not well known and she and Anakin only know a little about it. She just nodded at the Mandalorian who continued with the plan.
"The third group will have Asajj Ventress and myself leading it with the rest of the Mandalorians with Lux Bonteri and Saw Gerrera. This group will be a part of an assault on the palace."
With that everyone broke up into their groups to discuss the individual plans for completing their tasks.
Ahsoka and Ursa Wren worked well together planning entry into the prison. It was made easy as they had the plans for the building and it was easy with their experience. Ahsoka liked Ursa Wren. She seemed to be a non-nonsense leader and her presence commanded respect. Even Cad Bane listened to her. When they finished up their plan Cad Bane left while Ahsoka stayed to spend some time to talk to Ursa. The group with Asajj had more people in it which translated to them taking more time working on a plan.
The two of them had been talking about themselves for a little while and Ahsoka had learned a lot about her. She was the leader of her own clan on Mandalore. She had worked hard to take care of her family and surprisingly her husband was artist. Apparently he had embraced peace. She also had two children as well. The youngest was her two year old daughter Sabine. Finally Ahsoka had a question that had been on Ahsoka's mind for a long time and she found this time alone with Ursa Wren.
"Hey Wren, why do Mandalorians dislike the Jedi so much?" With that sudden question it had Wren pause.
"There are many reasons but considering you decided to leave them yourself I guess you probably understand some of their problems." She stated wryly.
"That's true, but most of my problems with the Jedi are personal. I just want to know how people who aren't personally connected to the Jedi have such a dislike of them as a whole." She asked.
"That makes sense." Wren leaned back and stared off into space thinking about her answer. "You lived as a Jedi and have that point of view ingrained in you. How the Jedi see the galaxy. Then you have Ventress, a former Sith who was an enemy of the Jedi. They have an opposing view of the galaxy. Those two are enemies always fighting but you don't understand how this affects others that are neutral." She paused. "The members of Deathwatch may have done some things that I don't agree with but the ideas we have are correct. The Mandalorians are proud warriors and while I respect that honor I do not wish to fight just to fight. I have a family to protect and needless war would risk that. I do agree with Satine about not signing up with the Republic or the Separatists, but she wishes to be pacifistic to the point where our enemies could walk all over us. It was that reason why we had issues with black market smuggling and she had to call the Jedi to help with something as minor as an inner government problem."
"What does this have to do with the question?" Ahsoka cut in.
Wren laughed a little. "I am just giving you a little background on Mandalore. For Mandalore the best warrior with great deeds is made leader of the planet. In the past the honor is usually fought over by the clan heads to represent them all. This idea and structure has always been an important part of our culture. Fighting has always been a show of power and superiority over other clans. That was until the Mandalorian Wars. The Mandalorians may not have been good people but they always have fought honorably. In the war the Mandalorians were defeated by Revan, not the Jedi. Revan fought a war against us and was seen as a great warrior. Yet after this war was done Revan was considered an outcast and the Mandalorians were seen as evil by the galaxy. An idea perpetrated by the Jedi and the entire galaxy looks to the Jedi for them to decide what is good and bad. The Jedi and Republic came into our planet and told us our way of life and culture was wrong and evil. They forever watched us and stepped in to stop us when we did what they considered wrong forever changing and altering our culture. Yet the Jedi do it continuously for all planets. They go to every planet and try to tell them how to live and how they are wrong with their ideas. It is like a galaxy wide forced conversation to the Republic. They use the senate as a backing to perpetrate their ideas and beliefs on the entire Republic, and as they are the main military force that the Republic relies on, the allied planets are afraid to go against it. It isn't even about trade alliances or politics. The Jedi try to change races of people to be more like them. Yet they do this by conquering and fighting until the planet joins them. If you look across history, every war that has raged across the galaxy, every fight where millions or billions have died, the Jedi are there leading the charge forcing their ideas and culture on others. So the answer to your question is that the Mandalorians believe that the Jedi are hypocritical group force their ideas on others with force while also condemning others ideas. The Mandalorians were seen as beneath them for doing the same thing and have been restrained for millennia for it."
"But the Jedi are just trying to help." Ahsoka interrupted. "They try to save lives."
"The Jedi start the problems in the first place. Do you know how many people have died during the clone wars?" Wren asked harshly.
"Millions. But The Separatists are the ones attacking and conquering!" She defended.
"Really?" She asked with a dangerous smirk that scared Ahsoka a little more than it should have. "The Jedi started the Clone Wars. They are the ones that invaded Geonosis. A group of independent planetary leaders were meeting to discuss agreements and alliances with each other as they were not a part of the Republic. Yet with the sole reason being that one of these leaders was The Count of Sorreno, who happened to be a Sith, the Jedi decided to invade the planet on their own with a secret army that had been prepared years in advance. The Jedi did not ask the Senate to declare war or anything. The Jedi started it on their own and dragged the Republic with them. Did Dooku or any of the other leaders do anything to warrant such a full scale invasion?" She finished her final points leaving a thoroughly perplexed Ahsoka who just had her world shattered.
Ahsoka thought through everything the Mandalorian said and could not find a single lie. She remembered how the council looked at her after they labeled her as scum. They would not be swayed by anyone else as they were assured that their decision was right and there could be no escape.
"It's the same anywhere you go. The Republic encroaching on culture and traditional ideas of every planet. I am sure you have seen it on Shili. The Togruta were nomads that lived with nature as predators. Then the Republic came and now the Togruta have cities and mostly trade. Besides the traditional Akul hunt there are very few hunters among them left." She finishes before leaving.
Asajj found Ahsoka sitting at the table staring off into space quietly with a blank expression. "What happened?" She asked her partner concerned.
Ahsoka turned to look at Asajj and she seemed lost. "What is the point of it all?" She asked in a defeated tone.
Asajj's eyebrows rose in surprise. She decided to lead her back to the ship to find out what happened to shake her so thoroughly.
AN: Thank you for reading the latest chapter. I again apologize for my little rant through Ursa Wren's mouth but truthfully the Jedi did start the clone wars all because they followed a bounty hunter to Geonosis. They then invaded the entire planet with a recently discovered army because of Count Dooku. It seemed rushed and idiotic when it should have been a diplomatic mission which is what Jedi are supposed to do. It just seemed extremely out of character for a peaceful group of diplomats. Again sorry for my rant on this topic.