Chapter 14
"You believe that Fives went psychotic because he was drugged?" asked Shaak Ti's hologram.
"That is what 1-1B thinks," said Ahsoka. "His medical diagnoses have never been wrong before, so yes, I believe him."
"Hmm, secretive and narcissistic, the Kaminoans are," said Yoda. "Contact with Dooku, as Tyrannus, they likely have."
Skirata bristled at Yoda's statement. It still bothered him to hear that Dooku was the one who financed the creation of the clone army. He thought that if he couldn't find that out on his own, it was even less likely he would find a treatment for the accelerated aging all clones suffer from.
"I suppose that such a thing is possible," said Shaak. "I shall see what the Kaminoans have to-"
"I'm sorry for interrupting, General," said a clone who then walked into view of the holoprojector. "But there is a situation occurring in the Kaminoan council chamber that requires your attention."
"I will call you back as soon as this is resolved," said the Togruta Jedi Master.
While waiting in the hallway for the meeting to resume, Ahsoka saw Skirata walk up to Anakin.
"I am sorry we got off on the wrong foot, General," said Skirata. "It is just that most of the Jedi I meet don't seem to care about the wellbeing of the clones. As a result, I often neglect to notice that the Jedi need to make many sacrifices, such as your friends on Jabiim."
"Perhaps you could keep in mind that the Jedi need to balance the welfare of their troops with that of the whole galaxy," Anakin pointed out. "Zey does not strike me as uncaring, self-righteous, or even unpleasant in general."
"I know where you are going with this," said Skirata. "Yes, I suppose that I am just a racist old jerk who never bothered to look past my prejudice whenever I meet Jedi."
"Given how you think that everyone you meet believes the stereotype of Mandalorians as violent barbarians who openly enjoy being brutal thugs, maybe you should keep your bigotry to yourself," Anakin replied.
"I will try," said Skirata. "You and Ahsoka certainly weren't at all what I thought you would be like. And I guess that Zey isn't as bad as I think he is, if he has put up with me after everything I've pulled."
Then, Rex ran up to Anakin.
"Sir, the Council is reconvening now," the Captain said. After hearing that, Ahsoka and the others walked back to the council chamber. Shaak Ti's hologram was sitting on her seat once again.
"Lama Su just killed Nala Se," she revealed.
"What?!" exclaimed Ahsoka. "Why?"
"The security cameras present in the chamber reveal that she did indeed drug Fives during the flight to Coruscant," she explained. "The Prime Minister was angry at how you discovered her part in Fives's death. He ranted about how their whole contingency, whatever that means, was now compromised and then he shot her."
"Let me talk to him," said Skirata. "I will get him to tell us what contingency he was talking about."
"Unfortunately, Sergeant Skirata, that is impossible," she said. "Before I could cut through the door, he said he would be butchered like Ko Sai and killed himself before I could stop him."
"Fierfek," muttered the Mandalorian Sergeant to himself. "I knew I should've dumped her corpse back in that underwater trench on the resort planet I found her on."
"There is something very wrong with you, Sergeant Skirata," Master Ti said.
"True, that is," agreed Yoda. "But tell the truth, I sense he did, about her suicide. Reasons why the Kaminoans lied about the inhibitor chips, must be found. Until then, may the Force be with all of us."
Later…
Ahsoka was sitting next to Anakin. He had just ordered the Inhibitor Chips removed from every clone under his command. Ahsoka had done the same with her troops, and numerous other Jedi were following suit.
"There have been no new developments regarding the true nature of the chips," said Anakin. "No one has seen any trace of Narrisa either. What has Skirata turned up, Ahsoka?"
"He is going on leave," she answered. "He is looking for his birth sons and daughter in hopes of reconciling with him. Also, the fourth member of Omega Squad has just returned to active duty after a prolonged absence for reasons unknown."
"Well, hopefully Skirata is able to do so," said Anakin. "Because of our recent missions, we are being granted leave."
"Great," said Ahsoka. "It will be nice to catch my breath after everything that's happened."
"I am going on a vacation with Padme, to a place where no one knows who we are, so we can just be a normal married couple," said Anakin. "What would you like to do Ahsoka?"
"Lux offered to show me around Onderon," she said. "I feel like taking him up on his offer."
"Go ahead," encouraged Anakin. "It would give you to a chance to explore your feelings."
"Really?" asked Ahsoka. "I thought you didn't like him that much."
"I was a little suspicious of him at first, and I definitely didn't like it when he dragged you to Carlac," Anakin explained. "But I can't really blame him for his parents being fooled by Dooku. As for trusting Death Watch, we all hastily do things we might later regret while grieving. I would know."
Ahsoka nodded. Anakin had implied that, when his mother died, he did something he wouldn't normally have done. He hadn't elaborated and she didn't want him to talk about a subject that made him uncomfortable.
"Well, I hope that you and Padme have fun wherever you are going," she said. "I now going to take Lux up on his offer."
"You two also have fun," Anakin said to the young women he thought of as his sister.
Later, at 500 Republica…
Ahsoka was just outside the door to Lux's apartment, knocking on the door. After looking through the security camera, he opened the door.
"It's nice to see you, Ahsoka," he said smiling.
"You too, Lux," she replied. "I am here to take you up on your offer to explore Onderon."
"That's great, Ahsoka," he said back. "I will tell Saw to get the ship ready."
"Saw is your chauffeur?" she asked incredulously. Saw Gerrera, the brother of the late Steela Gerrera, was one of many Onderonian rebels she worked with. He and Lux were a bit confrontational at first but tensions later cooled between them. Still, she couldn't imagine Saw ever agreeing to be Lux's driver.
"No, General Tandin supposedly received a message from my father and he didn't want to discuss it on an open channel," Lux explained. "Since he couldn't come himself, he decided to have Saw deliver the message."
Ahsoka was shocked. The first time she met Lux, she learned that his father was killed by clones, later learning it was Delta Squad who did so.
"You aren't going to check it out?" she asked.
"It is probably a trick to kill or capture me," he said. "The entire base he was at was destroyed, with no survivors. That was almost two years ago. There is no record of him in the POW system."
"But what if it is your father?" she asked.
"My father was a Separatist fanatic," said Lux. "If that really is him, he has most likely bought Dooku's lies about Mom being murdered by the Republic, me falling for Republic propaganda, and is trying to re-educate me to his way of thinking. To tell the truth, a part of me was relieved to hear he wouldn't be coming home. He was very demanding of me and generally unpleasant."
"Your mother seemed to think he was a good person, if a bit hot-headed," she pointed out.
"They were actually considering a divorce at the time he was supposedly killed," Lux explained. "She was just thinking of an idealized image of him, not who he actually was. You wouldn't like him anyway."
"Why not?" she asked.
"He was an old-school Onderonian isolationist," Lux explained. "As such, he was disdainful of both Jedi and most nonhuman races, he actually criticized Dendup on several occasions for not being stricter when it came to immigration. If he found I was friends with you, he would probably disown me."
"I see why you don't like to talk about him," she said.
"Indeed," said Lux. "It's just depressing to think about."
Just then, the door opened and in walked Saw Gerrera.
"Ahsoka?" he asked.
"Nice to see you again, Saw," the young Jedi said back.
"It is nice to see you again to, Ahsoka," he said. "I haven't seen you since…" he stopped himself. Ahsoka couldn't help but feel bad. Clearly he hadn't forgiven himself for causing Steela's death.
"Yeah," she said, deciding to quickly change the subject. "You must be wondering why I am here. Well, I decided to take Lux up on his offer to show me around Onderon."
"Well, in that case you need my help," Saw said. "This city dweller can't show you around Onderon like I can."
"You know, I know how to fly a Drexl to," Lux teased his friend.
"I know, but you'll never be a Beast Rider like I am," Saw joked back.
"Guys," interrupted Ahsoka. "We have already fought through one civil war, let's not start another."
The three friends left the apartment for the spaceship that would take them to Onderon.
Hey there, I've finally gotten back to The Enemy Within. I think that Nala Se and Lama Su would know what would happen if Skirata got to them. Just so you know, I am going to feature Tor, Ijaat, and Ruusaan Skirata later. I always wondered why Lux never so much as referenced his father, this is my interpretation. Also, my headcannon is that Lux and his family grew up in Iziz while Steela and Saw are descended from the Beast Riders (if you have questions about them, look them up on Wookiepedia.) As always, read and review.