Chapter 2

"We could've destroyed Sidious!" Maul screams, pressing into her with his lightsaber.

"Only for you to take his place!" Ahsoka yells back.

Maul screams, deactivates his lightsaber, twisting his body to the side, reactivating his saber, and stabs Ahsoka in the back.

Ahsoka leaps out of bed, activating her lightsabers, panting. She stands there for several seconds, reality finally hitting her. She deactivates her blades, sitting on the side of the bed. She puts her face in her hands and sobs quietly, eventually crying herself back to sleep.

16 hours earlier

"I'm glad you felt as I did, Major." Ahsoka says, clipping her lightsabers to her belt.

"Yes, well, it looks like I don't have much choice." The Major says, looking down.

"So, when do we get out of here, Major?" Rex asks.

The Major looks up, "We're preparing a halfway house as we speak, as well as a statement from our President, making your existence public. I get the feeling if we don't you will."

Ahsoka smiles, "Thank you, Major Parker. We'll keep your kindness in mind when we start the invasion."

Parker freezes, "What?"

Ahsoka laughs, her eyes shining with mirth. "I'm kidding. Geez, take a joke."

He lets out a large breath he didn't know he was holding, relaxing a little.

"Major?" Ahsoka asks again.

"Yes, Ahsoka?" He replies.

"Is there a place we can get some food around here?" Ahsoka finishes, smiling.

Parker nods, "This way."

Parker talks into his radio, a few minutes later another man joining them. The man pauses for a moment before introducing himself to Ahsoka and then Rex.

"I'm Petty Officer James Dune. I'll be your protection detail and legal representative, as well your medic should anything go wrong after the two of you leave here." The man says, shaking both of their hands.

"So y'all are soldiers too, eh?" James asks between bites of his lunch.

Ahsoka nods, smiling. Rex nods as well, lacking Ahsoka's attentive smile. Parker watches intently, keeping quiet.

"If you don't mind me asking, Ahsoka, what are the…" James moves his hands around his head.

"Lekku and montrals. Togruta use them for hunting primarily, the montrals are hollow, allowing for echolocation and proximity detection." Ahsoka answers, pointing at her lekku and then montrals as she speaks.

"If I ask anything offensive, please, tell me, so I won't do it again. As your 'doctor' it's helpful to know some biological tips and tricks." James states.

"I'll keep that in mind." Ahsoka replies, laughing, taking another bite of her meal.

Ahsoka screams as she steps into the low-sitting car, immediately falling out. She clutches her montrals in a moaning, writhing heap on the ground. Rex runs over, kneeling next to her.

James finally makes it over to them, asking, "What's wrong? What happened?"

"I think she hit her montrals getting into the car. Ahsoka, are you okay?" Rex replies.

After a few seconds she sits up, blinking, "Yeah, I'll be fine. I'm just not used to low ceilings."

James sets his rifle in the passenger seat, Ahsoka and Rex get into the backseat, Ahsoka this time placing her hand on the top of the doorframe as she gets in, her montrals just shy of rubbing the ceiling of the car. To the top of her face, she was only five foot six, but her montrals added a solid nine inches, making her an even six foot three.

"So, the current plan is to stop for the night at the halfway house, figure out any issues before we fly, and then head to the airport about an hour north of there. We don't expect any problems, but nobody knows about you two yet." James explains from the front seat.

"Where are we flying to?" Rex asks.

"The north-eastern part of the country, to meet with the President. You'll be revealed to the world there. Keep in mind, none of us have ever seen any intelligent life other than humans. And nothing but rocks from space. We don't really have much of an idea as to how people will react, that's what I'm for." James replies, shifting to a more comfortable position.

"If that's all, I think I'll take a nap, if you don't mind." Rex states, laying his head on the side of the car door.

"Go ahead. Ask your question. I can feel it biting at you." Ahsoka says.

"How did you- Okay. I saw the report about when you took Major Parker's gun without even touching him. How does that work? Is that something your species does or…" James trails off, eyeing her in the rear-view mirror, Ahsoka's crystal eyes staring back.

"No, it's not particular to any one species, though a few have stronger affinities for it. It's called the Force, the basic premise is that every cell, every living thing has micro-organisms called midichlorians in them. Those of us who have an excess of midichlorians can manipulate the Force, to an extent. More midichlorians, more control, or rather stronger control. Even with extremely high levels, it still takes years, decades of training to truly master it." Ahsoka answers.

"So, you can move things with your mind? Is there a limit to the size of what you can move?" James asks.

Ahsoka sighs, "Master Yoda always said, 'Size matters not', but larger things, in my experience, always took more effort, more concentration. But the Force is more than that. So much more. The Force is… It's like a situational awareness." Ahsoka says, closing her eyes. As she does, all the loose objects in the car begin floating up, her eyes opening.

"With enough meditation, force-sensitives can see glimpses of the future, it's part of what makes us such great warriors. By the time an opponent makes a move, we're already three steps ahead of them." Ahsoka finishes.

James shifts again, "There are warriors like you? That can use the Force?"

Ahsoka looks out the window, crestfallen, "We were supposed to be keepers of the peace, not soldiers, but all I've ever known is being a soldier. The Jedi order wasn't supposed to be involved in a war, but it was."

"Is that what the Force warriors are called? The Jedi?" James questions.

"Yes, and no. There are two sides to the Force, the light, and the dark. The Jedi were 'believers' in the light, if you will, or practitioners. The Sith were the opposite. They would allow themselves to be consumed by the dark, for their own greed and personal gain." Ahsoka answers.

"You said there was a war. Were the Sith part of it?" James inquires.

"They had everything to do with it. A Sith lord, Count Dooku, once a great Jedi, led the Separatists against the Republic. For three long years the galaxy was at war, the clone army of the Republic against the droid army of the Separatists. My master Anakin, Rex, and I fought alongside each other through more battles than I can count. We crash landed here coming out of a battle." Ahsoka replies.

"Is that how it works in the Jedi, each younger generation has a master?"

Ahsoka nods, "We all start at a very young age, living in the temple, and eventually, in our early teens, we are chosen by a Jedi master or knight for training and granted the rank of padawan. Although I was a bit different. The council decided my master needed to learn patience, so they assigned me to him without his approval. I was deployed to Christophsis to meet him, in the middle of a battle. It was a rough start, but he got past it."

"How old were you then?" James asks.

"I was fourteen." Ahsoka says, pursing her lips.

James shakes his head, hardly believing a fourteen-year-old could be thrust into war. Especially a war on the scale Ahsoka was talking.

"Here, the law requires anyone that joins the military has to be at least eighteen. That's when I joined, at eighteen. I'm twenty-two now, seen my fair share of evils, but can't imagine what you've seen." James states.

"Rex, Ahsoka, I hate to wake you, but we're here." James says from the front seat.

They both stir, slowly awakening. James gets out of the car, opening the trunk. He pulls out a few boxes of food and drinks, carrying them inside. After a few seconds Rex and Ahsoka both get out and follow him inside.

With a sigh Ahsoka crawls into bed, pulling the covers over her, her lightsabers on the nightstand. For once, she isn't entirely sure how the coming days will play out. Regardless, she closes her eyes, drifting to sleep, the hum of a lightsaber greeting her in her dreams.

Author's Note:

Thank you to all of those who review, it really makes me want to keep writing. It absolutely makes my week when I see someone has reviewed my story.

Q&A:

A Fellow Scout: I'm kind of having everyone in the government facility kind of take the alien stuff in stride, most medical/biological/armor/technology questions wouldn't really add much to the story itself, so those questions and answers are just kind of skipped over as they don't progress the story further.

Jaxen: Thank you for your kind words, it's reviewers like you who keep me going.

There was another guest who left kind words, and I thank them for that.

Another Guest mentioned time skip indicators, thank you, the dashed lines I had been inserting were not showing up for some reason. They have been fixed.

If you would like to support me and my writing endeavors, I have a T-shirt store (remove the #s):

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