Author's Note: Here's the next chapter a little earlier than I said it would be. Enjoy! And as always, here's a little quote for you all as well.

Do or Do Not, There Is No Try

-Master Yoda

Chapter Eight: First Patient

The next morning, Kaeden showed up early at Ahsoka and Plo's door. Only Ahsoka had been awake at that time, while Master Plo had remained asleep. As she opened the door to meet Kaeden, she noticed that she had two ration packs and some sort of machine that in all honesty looked like a pile of scrap metal.

"What is that?" Ahsoka asked.

"Your first patient, if you are interested." Came Kaeden's cheerful reply.

"I can't exactly fix it if I don't know what it is supposed to do." Ahsoka protested, but put out her hands anyway, which Kaeden took as an invitation to enter, depositing the machine into Ahsoka's hands and placing the rations on the table, before sitting on Ahsoka's bed. This gave Ahsoka uncomfortable feelings same as the day before, but for the moment she paid no attention. If Kaeden felt strange for sitting there, she didn't show it. Unbeknownst to them, however, Master Plo was awake and was watching through a small gap in his door, while reaching out in the force to get a sense of what is happening, at the same time sensing the emotions of both Ahsoka and Kaeden.

"It's the thresher I lost a fight with," Kaeden answered. Ahsoka spread the pieces on the table. She supposed the pieces could make up a thresher, but for all the mess it was in, it could be a protocol droid for all she knew.

"I'd hate to see what happens when you win fights," Ahsoka retorted.

"It wasn't my fault," Kaeden said with the air of a person who had made the argument, unsuccessfully, several times before. "We were just cruising along one moment, set to make the quota, and the next moment, disaster."

"How's the leg?" Ahsoka questioned, as she moved her fingers across the table, rearranging the parts and trying to figure out what was potentially salvageable.

"It'll be well enough to go back to work tomorrow. I'll keep my harvest bonus, particularly if I don't have to replace the thresher." Kaeden replied, which Ahsoka then gave a long look at her, causing Kaeden to straighten up.

"I'll pay you instead, I mean," Kaeden said quickly. "Starting with breakfast, dig in," she continued, tossing over a ration pack. Ahsoka didn't recognise the packaging, only that it wasn't Republic or Imperial.

"No place like home," Kaeden said, ripping open her own pack that she pulled out of her pocket. "Not much point in importing food when you can eat what you already grow. Besides, it just makes it easier to know who got what."

"I guess that makes sense," Ahsoka said. Ripping open her pack, she took a sniff at the contents, slightly recoiling. Slightly. She had eaten worse after all.

"Anyway, can you fix my thresher?" Kaeden asked.

"Why don't you tell me what went wrong with it, and I'll see what I can do," Ahsoka replied.

Ahsoka turned back to the table, before continuing to move around the various parts while Kaeden explained to her about the mishap. Ahsoka had been used to the war stories spoken by the clones, but even Kaeden could have given a run for their credits. To hear her tell it, it seemed that the machine had suddenly developed sentience and objected to its lot as a farming implement, and only Kaeden's quick thinking- and heavy boots- had prevented it from taking over the galaxy.

"And when it finally stopped moving," Kaeden said, winding up, "my sister then pointed out that I was bleeding. I said it was only fair, as the thresher was bleeding oil, but then I passed out a little bit, so I guess it was worse than I thought. I woke up in medical with this fancy bandage and the stupid machine in a tray beside my bed."

Ahsoka laughed, surprising herself, before holding up a bent piece of metal that she thinks was once part of the thresher's coolant system.

"Here's the problem," she said. "Well, part of your problem. If you can replace this part, I can rebuild the thresher."

"Replace it?" Kaeden's smile died. "Do you think you could, I don't know, just unbend it somehow?"

Ahsoka looked down. This wasn't like the temple or even her field experience of commanding troops. There were no supply lines and no backup, not without cost. A replacement around here then would be a last resort.

"I can give it a shot," Ahsoka said. "Now tell me more about how things work around here."

The previous night, Kaeden hadn't been overly curious as to why she and Plo came to Raada. As the girl chattered on about work rotations and crop cycles, it occurred to Ahsoka that having reasons might not be important. As Kaeden described it, Raada was a good place to lead an unmomentous life: hard work, ample food, and just enough official enforcement that local freelancing was discouraged. No one asked too many questions, and as long as you met your work quotas, your presence was unremarkable. Ahsoka Tano and Plo Koon wouldn't do well here, but Ashla and Plorren would do just fine.

Ahsoka looked for something heavy to hit the part with. If she was going to fix it professionally, she was going to have to invest in some tools. She mentally counted the credits she and Plo had left and tried to figure out how much she could spare them both against an unknown future. The pair of them would have to make an investment at some point, and for Ahsoka, buying tools would help sell her cover story.

In the end, Ahsoka ended up using her boot, and hitting the piece on the floor to avoid breaking the table, silently cursing and apologizing to Plo for waking him up, though she needn't have worried. When she was finished, the part wasn't top quality, but at least it wouldn't leak coolant anymore. She then set to reassembling the thresher around it.

"We left our ship at the spaceport," Ahsoka said. "Do we need to register it with someone?"

"No," came Kaeden's reply. "Just make sure you lock it uptight. There are more than a few opportunists around here."

Ahsoka knew that opportunists meant thieves, but they didn't need to worry about them breaking into the Dorin Akul, considering the lock system she managed to implement.

"That's why I left most of my gear on board," she lied. "It's more secure than this house is."

"We can help you with that." Kaeden chimed in. "Me and my sister I mean. She's good at making locks, and I'm good at convincing people to leave you alone."

"When you aren't losing fights with machinery, I assume?" Ahsoka joked.

"Most people lose arms and legs when things go bad," Kaeden said. "But not me. I'm too good for that."

Kaeden then rolled off the bed and walked over to see how Ahsoka was doing, humming approvingly before looking at some random pieces off to the side.

"What are those for?" She asked.

"To be honest with you, I have no idea," Ahsoka replied. "But they have no place in the machine by the looks of it, so I left them aside. It should run smoothly once you refill the coolant and refuel the lines."

"I can do that when I reattach the blade," Kaeden said. She flipped a switch and watched as the repulsors fired up, lifting the thresher up about a meter above the table, before turning it off just as quickly.

"Excellent," she said. "I'll test the steering and the other parts when I'm outside. It was the repulsors that I wasn't sure about. It's not much good if it doesn't fly."

In her opinion, Ahsoka wasn't sure how good it would be if it couldn't steer, but she also wasn't the expert, so she let it pass. "Your welcome," Ahsoka simply replied, before emptying the contents of the ration pack before eating it quickly, while Kaeden watched.

"I'll pay you and your father in food then?" the girl asked. "I mean, it's a good start, since we have plenty leftover from the last harvest, and then we can work out other arrangements at a later date."

"I was going to ask if I could trade rations for tools, but from the sound of it, I doubt that would work."

"You would be right. Rations aren't worth much to those of us who have been here a while."

Ahsoka considered her options. She hadn't bothered buying any tools to use for anything like this as she hadn't been sure what her cover story was going to be when they left Polis Massa. However, she was pretty sure that there were some tools in the engine room when she and Rex bought the Dorin Akul. But she did need to eat, as well as Master Plo, though he would have to go into his room on the Dorin Akul which he had since changed the atmosphere in so he could eat and drink. It was tedious, but she doubted that they could change the atmosphere in his room in the house to be suitable for Kel Dor, so regular journeys to the ship would have to do. Besides, it would probably be easier for them to leave the planet if Plo was on board all the time come to think of it, and she could just deliver the food to him when he needed it, which he could easily ask for over their old force bond. Though come to think of it, she hadn't really seen him eat much over the years she knew him, so maybe he had something on his mask that could allow him to eat.

"Just this once then," Ahsoka said, looking over at Kaeden, hoping she sounded like someone experienced in driving a hard bargain. "Next time we're going to negotiate before I do any repairs."

Kaeden smiled before picking up the thresher. She still seemed a little guarded, which suited Ahsoka just fine. She was, Ahsoka reminded herself, not trying to make friends, particularly not friends who were at perfect ease sitting on her bed. That bespoke a sense of intimacy in most cultures. She didn't even do that with Rex, and yet they were in a proper relationship. The Jedi temple wasn't a place where such things were encouraged, and Ahsoka never felt motivated strongly enough to go around the rules the way certain others had. And if Kaeden held any sort of feelings for her, Ahsoka didn't return them. She only had those feelings for Rex, and even that wasn't as intense as her master's relationship with Padme. She cared for Rex, that was a given, but she wasn't as explicit with relationships as Anakin had been.

"I left the crate outside," Kaeden said. "You can come and get it." Ahsoka followed out the door and saw the promised payment- food to maybe last both of them a few weeks, maybe a month, maybe even longer if the pair of them were careful with it. Kaeden was right though- food was only good to trade if you were new, so there probably isn't going to be a shortage any time soon. As she dragged the crate inside, she noticed that Kaeden's limp was much less noticeable than the day before. Alone again, or so she thought, Ahsoka lifted the crate onto the table, resisting the urge to lift it up with the force. The force was not meant for such frivolous use as throwing boxes around, which would hardly count as training as it is. Besides, her focus needed to be elsewhere. Using the force was a natural extension of her as well as Master Plo. To not use it was strange. They would both need to practice, really practice with meditation, or someday they would need their abilities and be unable to respond in time.

They had both been lucky, Master Plo especially. For all she could know, she could have been alone, she could have been too late to save Master Plo and she would feel a lot worse about it. Even still, they were both lucky to have survived Order 66. The other Jedi, the ones who had died, hadn't been able to save themselves, whether they were powerful or otherwise. The only council members who she knew had survived were Master Plo, Obi-Wan, and Yoda. The others could all be dead. Again she felt the familiar tightness in her throat, the same strangling grief that came every time she imagined what had happened elsewhere in the galaxy when the clones had turned. How many of her friends had been shot down in an instant by the men they served alongside the entire war? How many of the younglings had been murdered by a man wearing a face they implicitly trusted? And how did the clones feel after it was done? She knew that those who removed their chips were horrified by it, others who they hadn't saved had fallen into guilt and grieving while others just tried to drink the pain away.

She knew the temple had burned; both she and Rex heard the warning to not return while on the way to Corellia. And she had told Master Plo not long after leaving Polis Massa. But she didn't know where her friends had been during the disaster. She only knew that she couldn't find them afterward in the short time period after leaving Rex and the other clones they had saved, she couldn't feel their signatures through the force, as if they ceased to exist. She had managed to feel Barriss's signature for a brief moment until that was gone as well, though why she felt that signature, she had no idea.

Ahsoka felt herself spiraling down through her grief and desperately reached out to grasp something, anything, to remind her of the light. She found the green fields of Raada, fields she hadn't seen yet with her own eyes. At that same time, she felt Plo Koon flood her thoughts with peace and serenity through their force bond, with Plo Koon leaving his room and walking up to Ahsoka, placing a hand on her shoulder. For a few moments, she let herself get lost in the rhythm of growing things that needed only the sun and water to live. That simplicity was heartening, even if at that particular moment she couldn't remember exactly what Master Yoda had said about plants and the force. She was broken out of her thoughts by Master Plo.

"Ahsoka, are you alright?"

"Yes, just relived some bad memories, that's all." She replied

"Are you sure?" Plo continued. A pause.

"It's not just that," Ahsoka said. "I think Kaeden likes me, but in an uncomfortable way."

"I could tell throughout your whole conversation with her just now."

"Wait. You were listening to us the entire time. I thought you were still asleep." Ahsoka responded, eyes slightly wide.

"I was awake the entire time," Plo replied. "And I can also sense the feelings Kaeden has for you."

"But what do I do though. I already love Rex. You were there. And I don't return those feelings towards Kaeden, but I don't want to tell her that and risk what we have gained here."

"Ahsoka," Plo said gently. "You do not have to tell her straight away. Use the force, and let it guide you. When the time is right you will tell her."

"Thanks, Father," Ahsoka replied, a smile creeping along her face.

"Your welcome. My Daughter." Plo responded, causing Ahsoka to giggle before she noticed the extra pieces of Kaeden's Thresher still on the table. Leaning down, she picked them up, inspecting them in her hand before placing them in her pocket, allowing them to jingle against the rings she had pried off the Dorin Akul's ship console the day before. If she kept accumulating tech at this rate, she would need bigger pockets.

Speaking of needing things, Ahsoka decided that she should go back to the ship and grab the tools if there indeed were any, and any other items on board that may prove useful. Turning to look at Plo, she spoke to him not as Ahsoka but as Ashla. "Father I'm going back to the ship to get my tools."

Getting the hint, Plo responded as Plorren. "Okay Ashla, don't be too long, I want you back by noon."

Giving him a nod, Ahsoka left the house and closed the door. She didn't need to worry about anything: the box was nondescript, the panel by the shower was secured, and Master Plo was in, which made it even more uninviting for thieves, but Ahsoka still felt uneasy as she started walking away from the house.

"I hope Kaeden finds something for me to fix soon," she said under her breath to a non-existent R2-D2. "I'd feel better if we had a lock."

One of the problems Ahsoka had when spending lots of time with an Astromech, whether it be R2, R7, or some other Astromech she knew, was that she tended to continue talking to them even when they were no longer there to talk to.

Ahsoka walked up the street, towards the center of town and the spaceport. This time though she paid more attention to her surroundings than when she and Plo first walked through here, noticing the little shops perched on corners, waiting for customers. Most of them sold the same goods and sundries, which Ahsoka needed none of; she doubted Master Plo would need any of them either. The larger houses in the town center no longer looked intimidating now that she had a home of her own to retreat to, along with a father figure to care for her when she may possibly need it. Two places, if she counted the Dorin Akul, which was still where they had left it in the spaceport. Ahsoka lowered the boarding ramp and then headed inside.

It would draw too much attention if she did a flyover of the hills near the house. If she wanted to explore the caves, she would have to do so on foot. The house and the ship were a good start, especially considering that she had Master Plo with her, but it would be nice if they had somewhere they could go to in case of emergency.

"Food, tools, safe place if we need to run," she said out loud, before silently cursing to herself. She really should stop that. She missed R2. At least she had R7 on the ship that she could try and repair in the future, but that wouldn't be for a long time yet. It wasn't much of a plan, but it was better than nothing.

Author's Note: Here is the next and final chapter for now. Yes, you heard me, this phase is going on Hiatus. Note that I said phase, not the story. And also remember that this story is not being discontinued, so sleep well tonight. But I have come to a decision to take a break from the Ahsoka Novel Chapters and move further down the timeline to Star Wars Rebels, specifically around Season 1 Chapters 8-9. This will mean that the format of the story will change from just being one story, but shown and explored over the course of several multichapter stories. Think of it as the same sort of format as user xxTheTruMan196's Legacy Of Jarik Shan story, which I highly recommend by the way. So if you want to keep up with this story, keep an eye out for a new story titled Ahsoka and Plo: Rebellion, though when the first chapter of that story will be ready, I'm not sure, considering the amount of schoolwork I am having to do, so you would be lucky if I was releasing new chapters regularly. However some good news, the rough storyline for the entire thing is done, I just need to get around to writing it all, which will take a lot of time.

Moving on to something less sad, the Mandalorian. Be aware that there will be major spoilers for the new chapter, so read at your own risk, discretion, or whatever they say when it comes to spoilers. Oh, you're still here, fine. But don't say I didn't warn you. Talking about the actual chapter, I must say that Dave Filoni did a great job bringing Ahsoka over to live-action. The acting and lines were great, but I have a couple of problems with it. One, it's going to be hard getting used to seeing Ahsoka Tano but hearing Rosario Dawson and not Ashley Eckstein. And two, the way she looks. I have no problem with her outfit, but her montrals and lekku are just too short for the time period. If I can be honest with you, they look a lot like her montrals and lekku that appear on the front of the Ahsoka Novel. However, I think the reason for this is just practicality. If they used full-length montrals and lekku, then after a long enough time wearing them, then it starts to feel heavy and would make the action scenes worse. Also, each episode has a budget of around $15 million I think, correct me if I'm wrong. Also, her facial markings below her eyes shrunk a bit compared to the same markings in Rebels. I'm also going to say that in the final fight between Ahsoka and the Magistrate, again SPOILERS, Ahsoka appears to struggle a bit. Whether that's just because portraying her combat in live-action is difficult, or that she's holding back, beats me. Personally, Ahsoka should have mopped the floor with her, considering that around 10 years earlier, she went toe to toe with Vader, but it was still good. And the reveal at the end was fantastic. This I won't spoil as it is very major for the future of Star Wars, so watch it yourselves to find out.

When it comes to Ahsoka's looks, then there are a few fanarts created already on Instagram that correct her montral and lekku issue. Some of these accounts include critter_of_habit (who's version has a slight scar going down her left eye, for what reason I don't know, she doesn't have it in canon),suja_janee,letoscrawls, and arbor_draws, plus several more, these ones were my personal favorites.

Also, I watched Samuel Kim's new Ahsoka Mandalorian theme version on his Youtube channel, Samuel Kim Music, which I really should recommend, as it's stunning.

Anyways, that's enough fanboying over the Mandalorian, I have to say thank you to everyone who likes this story, I promise I won't let you down, I have massive plans, which I have written on my phone. See you all soon, and again, keep an eye out for my continuation of this story, Ahsoka and Plo: Rebellion, which will probably be in the Star Wars category, not the Star Wars the Clone Wars category.