Smuggling Hope.
Sequel to 'Learning to Live.'
Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. The names of the planets are not created by me.
Author's Note: There will be no Rex/Ahsoka romance
Also, those of you that are reading 'Father's Gift', the next chapter should be up soon!
The clawdite had a big job ahead of it. It first needed to locate the Togruta Jedi, kill her, then get to the rebel leaders and kill them. The woman who had hired her hadn't said who she worked for, but even a brain dead person could tell she worked for the Empire. The clawdite made its way to the archives on Coruscant and searched the Jedi's name. Before the clawdite had left, the woman had slipped a piece of paper into its hand.
Ahsoka Tano.
The clawdite typed the name in.
Jedi Padawan to Anakin Skywalker that survived Order 66 and went missing for eight years, only to be killed by Darth Vader, who blew up her ship.
Not much information to go on. "Anything else?" The clawdite asked the computer.
Was rather fond of her clone troopers in her command. Created a friendship with clone captain CC-7567, whom was referred to as, "Rex."
"This might be helpful." The clawdite said. It typed it in the clone captain's name. It gave some standard information that didn't really help it. Then the clawdite saw it.
Deserted from the Imperial army. Was last seen with smuggler Damari Anaka. The clawdite then typed in the name Damari Anaka. Nothing much came up.
Died in prison explosion on Iswa Ion. The clawdite rubbed its chin. It was rumored that Iswa Ion was blown up by rebels after they took all the prisoners. The clawdite began to put things together.
"Ah, so Ahsoka Tano became Damari Anaka, and she worked with the clone captain. Now the Jedi is on the loose." The clawdite smiled, and left the archives. All it needed now was a ship and a clue.
Ahsoka jolted awake. Something was wrong. Something terrible. A dark presence filled up the room she was in. She couldn't sense what it was. She was still on Alderaan in a spare room in Senator Organa's castle. She quickly made her bed and took all her possessions, then slipped out the window. She used the force to cling to the outer wall. Soon, she could hear voices.
"But please, this is……no one is here! I told….yes, I'm sure!" She heard Senator Organa say. An unknown female voice answered him.
"I am here on direct orders of Emp….himself." She could hear more now that they were coming closer. "I was ordered to search the whole premises of the Royal house of Alderaan for the missing slaves, many of whom were traitors to the Empire." A door opened.
"You, Senator, are under suspicion of alerting the Rebels to the plans of the Empire."
"That's absurd!" Organa insisted.
"Is it?" The woman asked. There were a few more minutes of quiet. "Everything looks good in here." She said, and Ahsoka heard them leaving. Ahsoka gave a sigh of relief when she heard yelling.
"Look! Someone is up there!!" Ahsoka groaned, and then began to climb. Blaster bolts began to shoot up at her. She did her best to twist around them, but it wasn't good enough. She felt one bolt graze her leg. Pain seared through her whole body, but she didn't stop. She got to the top and crumpled. She used all the strength she had in the force and healed her leg. When she felt strong enough to stand up, she heard voices getting closer. They, whoever they were, were almost upon her. She stood up.
"There she is!" A voice called out.
Another voice yelled, "Don't move!" She recognized that voice as one of a clone.
"Blast it." She muttered. The empire was here. She now had to make it seem as if she wasn't a former Jedi, smuggler and traitor to the Empire.
"I wasn't planning on it! I don't mean to be rude, but why, exactly, am I being hunted down?" She called.
"You are under suspicion of being a part of the Rebellion, and therefore a traitor to the Empire!" The same voice called out.
"Why am I under suspicion?" She asked. There was a long pause before the trooper answered.
"We saw you fleeing up the roof." The trooper answered in a way as if it seemed ridiculous that that was the reason.
"I was merely exercising! I've been sick for the last week and I was regaining my strength!" Ahsoka lied.
"Oh. We beg your forgiveness." The trooper said. Ahsoka nodded to them, even though it was dark.
"You are forgiven." She said, and they left her alone. She let out a breath she was holding and began to climb back down to her room.
Darth Vader looked out of the viewing area on the smaller Star Destroyer. His own personal Destroyer was just beginning to be built. Already it was larger than the fully completed destroyers.
"Lord Vader. You are instructed to see the Emperor. He is it is the matter of most urgency." An Imperial officer told him. Vader turned to the officer.
"Turn the ship around and bring me to Coruscant, then." He responded.
"Yes sir. We'll be there shortly." The officer replied, then left.
'What could my Master want?' Vader asked himself. For some unknown reason, he had a feeling it had to do with his former Padawan. But that was impossible, for she died in the Iswa Ion explosion. But even as Vader had this thought, he knew it was not true. If there was anyone that could survive that, it was Ahsoka Tano. After all, it was what he had taught her to do. Survive.
'I shouldn't have hesitated in the Council room.' Vader admonished himself.
Ahsoka felt as if it were better for Senator Organa and his family if she just left. But she had nowhere to go now. She could go to Coreilla, but Rex, Dri and Fru all thought she was dead. Even little 'Soka thought she had perished. She couldn't go back and bring more trouble onto them. Of course, if they heard her now, they would be angry and tell her that she was a part of the family. But she just couldn't do it. She slipped out of the window again and left in the light of the moon.
"If only I had Sweet Revenge." She said to herself. "Then I could go anywhere I want." She went back to the ship that had brought her to Alderaan. It was still there. She looked around. This could be a trap. She closed her eyes and focused on the force as hard as she could. She couldn't sense any danger. She opened her eyes and approached the ship. There was no trap waiting for her when she entered the ship. She heaved a breath and turned the ship on. Still not sure what, or where, she was going to do, or go, next, she lifted the ship off the ground and set off to nowhere unparticular.
Darth Vader reached Coruscant in record time. He wasted no time in getting to the Emperor. Upon reaching his master, Darth Vader bowed.
"You sent for me, My Master?" He said.
"Yes, Lord Vader. I sense that our mutual friend, and your former apprentice, survived the explosion at the prison mine." Palpatine said. Vader had been right in his thoughts.
"I want you to find her, Lord Vader. And when you are done, bring her to me. She has escaped death too many times for my liking. And if you are unable to do this, then you shall be punished." Palpatine said. Vader noted that he didn't like being bested by the Twenty year old Togruta.
"Yes, my master." Vader answered, rose, and then left. 'You will no escape me this time, Tano.' Vader thought to himself.
'You will no escape me this time, Tano.' Ahsoka was staring at the stars streaming past the ship when she heard the voice. She wasn't all that surprised to hear it, but what she was surprised what that she and Darth Vader still had a force bond. She figured that it would have been severed when he betrayed the Jedi, betrayed his Padawan, and embraced the dark side. But apparently it was still there.
'I don't think so, Vader.' If she was right and the force bond was still intact, then he would get the message.
The clawdite learned from a drunken man that Damari Anaka had been living on Coreilla. The clawdite got into its ship and punched in the coordinates for Coreilla. If anyone could find the former Jedi, it was him.
I am SOOO sorry this is so late! But I have a good excuse!! My family got seven bummer lambs two weeks ago and I've been so busy with them! And when things got less busy with the lambs, I injured my left hand so bad I couldn't type. (Much less anything else.) So I wanted to make this chapter a lot longer to try to make up for it being so late. I hope I succeeded. Also, I wanted to try writing from the perspective of the 'bad guy' more, like DV and the clawdite. (Which I've still not named.)
Thank you all for being patient with me and my taking forever to update!! But I do promise that I'll always update! I won't forget my readers!!
MLV.