Chapter 18

Ahsoka winces as she wraps some gauze around her missing lek, the numbness still a phantom pain.

"Let's go over the story one more time," Ahsoka says, Kenobi nodding.

"There was a blast shortly before Rex was shot, shredding the lower half of your right lek, shrapnel cutting your montral. Rex was shot in the head by battle droids, killed instantly," Obi-Wan recalls.

Ahsoka purses her lips, "Good. I think it'll work. My Force signature is masked to the point there's very little difference from before."

"Dismissed, you are, Padawan Tano," the aged voice of Yoda orders.

That could've gone worse, Ahsoka thinks.

Ahsoka is jerked out of her thoughts by a familiar voice, "Ahsoka!"

"Macy?" Ahsoka asks, turning around.

The young girl pulls Ahsoka into a hug, holding her tight. She pulls away and holds Ahsoka at arm's length, "Do you remember?" Macy asks.

"Earth?" Ahsoka whispers.

Macy nods, pulling Ahsoka back into a hug.

Ahsoka eases her toward the wall, out of earshot of others, "Ahsoka? What's happening?"

Ahsoka rubs circles on her back, "I don't know, sweetie, I don't know. What's the last thing you remember?"

"I was doing homework while you and James were on your date, and some men broke into the house with guns. As I ignited my sabers, I woke up here, like it had never happened. It felt too real to be a dream though."

"What did they look like?" Ahsoka asks.

"Middle eastern. They were looking for you. Is James okay? Rex?" Macy answers.

Tears well up in Ahsoka's eyes, "I don't know about James. He was shot in the shoulder. Rex… Rex was—"

"Macy? Look at me. You can't tell anybody about what happened. As far as the council is aware, Earth never happened. Never existed. If you need help with anything, come to me or Master Kenobi. No one else. Understand?"

Macy nods, her eyes red.

"Oh my god, Ahsoka, what happened?" The soft voice of Padme Amidala asks.

"Minor injuries. May we speak in private?" Ahsoka replies.

"Of course."

The door hissing shut behind them, Ahsoka starts, "Captain Rex was killed in combat recently. This has left Anakin rather… Unstable. I need you to do what you can to keep his feelings in check."

"But Master Skywalker and I aren't really that close, I don't know how I could be of any—" Padme starts

"Padme. I'm not stupid, I know there is something between the two of you. I don't know what level it's at, but you are the one person that can keep Anakin from destroying himself over this."

Padme nods, understanding the reality of Ahsoka's words.

"This conversation never happened," Ahsoka states, turning to leave.

"Ahsoka," Padme starts.

Ahsoka pauses at the door, waiting.

"Thank you," Padme finishes.

Ahsoka nods, the door hissing open. She does her best not to yelp as she sees Chancellor Palpatine standing before her.

"Everything okay, miss Tano?" He asks.

"Yes, Chancellor, you just startled me," Ahsoka stutters out.

Getting a hold of herself, Ahsoka focuses. At first, she senses nothing, but upon closer inspection she notices a tinge of darkness, a chilling cloud surrounding him.

"Take care, miss Tano," Palpatine tells her.

Rounding the corner, Ahsoka wants to scream, her heart beating out of her chest. How had they never noticed before?

Ahsoka jumps as her commlink chirps, Anakin's garbled voice speaking, "Ahsoka, we're being sent to Cato Neimoidia. Briefing in two hours, ship out in six."

Shit, Cato Neimoidia already? Ahsoka runs her hand along her lek, rubbing it.

Half an hour, Ahsoka thinks as she wanders in search of her old friend.

"Hey, Barriss. How are you?" Ahsoka asks.

"Ahsoka, good to see you. I trust your injuries are healing well?"

Ahsoka nods, pulling her friend into a hug, paying close attention to her Force signature. Holding her back out at arm's length, Ahsoka takes note of the hastily hidden sliver of darkness in her friend, glancing at the temple security cameras.

"So, how have you been since we last talked?" Ahsoka asks, struggling to remember the details of the timeline they were in.

"Knighthood has been… Interesting. It's weird not living with Master Unduli anymore. I— I don't know, it's just been a lot to get used to. How are you?"

"I've had a lot on my plate recently actually, a lot to deal with. I just lost Rex, and I'm getting deployed again today, to Cato Neimoidia, I'm on my way to the briefing."

"This is my stop. It was good seeing you again, Ahsoka," Barriss says.

Perfect. As soon as Barriss is through the door, Ahsoka hastily makes her way to the analysis department.

"Scan for nano-droids. Reconstitutors, specifically," Ahsoka tells the droid.

"Scans show a large number of the droids on the fabric specimen," The droid says.

"Perfect. Save the data to two discs. Include security recordings from section 8001A for the last hour."

The droid hovers in silence, two small metal disks sliding out, Ahsoka sliding them into her belt.

"Master, do you know where Artoo is?" Ahsoka asks, side-by-side with Anakin after the briefing.

"He should be onboard," Anakin replies, his voice monotone.

Ahsoka simply leans into him as they walk, wrapping her arm around him, Anakin doing the same, Ahsoka realizing how much she'd missed him.

"Ahsoka!" Macy says, running up to the two of them.

"Hey, Macy. What's up?" Ahsoka asks.

"The sky, duh." Macy replies.

"You've been spending too much time around—" Ahsoka stops herself.

"Ahsoka? Are you going to introduce me to your friend here?" Anakin asks, some of his mirth returned.

"Master, meet Macy. Macy, meet Anakin Skywalker, professional doofus."

Anakin takes a knee, getting eye-level with Macy, "I don't know what Ahsoka has been telling you, but I wouldn't believe her. She probably said she has to save me a lot," Anakin says, smiling up at Ahsoka.

Macy nods, a shy smile on her lips, starstruck.

"I do have to save you all the time," Ahsoka states.

"Well, maybe there's some truth to Ahsoka's stories. I'll leave you two be, I need to talk to the Jesse," Anakin says, winking at Macy.

"Macy, stay safe. We'll be back soon. You know what's coming, right?" Ahsoka says, waving her arms around the massive hangar bay.

Macy's smile vanishes, replaced by fearful recognition. She nods, pulling Ahsoka into a hug. Smiling, Ahsoka pulls one of the data discs from her belt.

"Here, take this. It has evidence of my innocence. Keep it safe, don't let anyone find it. Got it?"

"Mmhm," Macy mumbles, fearful.

"Hey, I'll be okay. I know it's hard being back here again, but we're going to fix things this time around, okay?" Ahsoka says, patting her on the back, joining Anakin on the gunship.

As they lift off and the doors close, Ahsoka gives Macy a final wave, distracting everyone on the transport from the silver disc being inserted into Artoo.

Author's Note:

Not exactly thrilled with a few parts, but it works to set up what's coming. Everything can and will be fixed in the second draft of the story. Some of it's just basic wording that I couldn't figure out. Also, not sure when Barriss became a knight, but it's fanfiction so who cares.

If any of you have questions about writing or how to start a story, just PM me or leave a review while logged in, I'll get back to you as soon as I see it, I'm always excited to help people start writing.

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