Chapter 1 - Meeting on Christophsis

DISCLAIMER: We do not own Star Wars or any of the characters in it, though we wish we did. xD

Plot: She was a slave until Count Dooku found her. Ever since, Ahsoka Tano has been trained to become his apprentice. Her sole goal is to please him, to become the best Dark Sider she can be. All that begins to change in her fateful encounter with Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. They see something behind the mask she wears, and they refuse to leave her in the dark.

Author's Note: As I'm sure you can guess, this is a dark Ahsoka story. :P It's almost like an alternate version of Brotherhood where Ahsoka is Dooku's apprentice, but it'll be very, very different... I hope y'all enjoy it! :D

~ Amina Gila

"No guards," Anakin Skywalker observes, bringing the speeder to halt in front of the towering building. It stands out high against the surroundings, spotted with lights from the endless windows. Night has fallen, the dark sky of Christophsis covered with black and dark blue swirls.

The only source of illumination on the platform outside is from the lights within the building, but it's still enough to see with. "No barricades," he adds quietly, looking from side to side as he and Obi-Wan Kenobi ascend the steps, "You'd think the Separatist headquarters would be better protected." After fighting so long, the Separatists should be expecting someone to find this place and come here eventually. They must be planning something. Typical.

"But clearly, keeping us out is not what they intend," Obi-Wan replies, walking up the steps to join his former padawan. He raises a hand, opening the tall double doors in front of them with the Force. It reveals a much darker room tinged with aqua. It's empty, so they continue forwards to another much larger room. Yellow light spills through the nearby windows. The walkway continues straight forwards to a high staircase.

"So, this is the belly of the beast," Anakin mutters, glancing around the room. He doesn't see anyone, at least not in plain sight. Even so, a thick darkness hangs over the room, putting him on edge. Not that he wouldn't be on edge being in a Separatist base, but there's something – more like someone – lurking in the shadows.

A noise from beside them catches Anakin's attention. A black-cloaked figure walks out of the darkness, moving forwards to stand in front of them. She throws back her hood, revealing her face. It's a Togruta, and – Force, she's still a child. Does Dooku really think someone so young could beat them? Has he gone mad? She's considerably shorter than both of them and judging from that and the size of her montals, Anakin's pretty sure she's about fourteen. Togrutas live longer than humans, so considering her age, her mind in human standards is probably closer to eleven. What is someone like her doing out here?

Her orange skin is covered with the usual white markings of her species, with blue and white striped lekku going just past her shoulders. She stares up at them, her blue eyes burning with fierce determination.

"And who are you supposed to be?" Anakin demands, crossing his arms. Is this some sort of joke?

"I'm surprised you didn't already figure that out," retorts the Togruta, shrugging off her dark cloak, letting it fall to the floor. She withdraws two lightsabers. The red blades hiss to life in her hands, held in the reverse grip. So, she's the Sith assassin there's been rumors about? Is she seriously going to challenge them? How could she presume to beat a Jedi Knight and Jedi Master in a fight, or is there some other purpose to this? Like a distraction. Well, it's a distraction they're going to deal with easily.

Anakin withdraws and ignites his lightsaber, as does Obi-Wan.

The Togruta turns and jumps up the stairs, spinning around to look down at them. "My loyal informant let me know you were coming," she smirks. Of course, he did, whoever he is. Anakin can only hope Rex and Cody have the situation well under control back at the base.

"Well then, we thank you for your hospitality," quips Obi-Wan as they walk up to the bottom of the staircase. Anakin is the first to attack, jumping half-way up the stairs. The assassin darts forwards to parry the first blow. He pulls back, striking towards her again. This time her left blade raises in sync with her right, and the three blades lock together.

Obi-Wan runs up to join the fight as the duel travels to the bottom of the stairs, and the Togruta flips over their heads, attacking from behind. She's on the defensive within moments between dodging and parrying their attacks, scarcely finding a time to attempt landing her own blows.

She begins backing up towards the stairs, finally reaching out and detaching a stone tile from the wall, throwing it at Obi-Wan. He whirls around and cuts it in half, but she takes the momentary distraction as an opportunity. Sprinting up the staircase in front of them, she turns right and darts up another.

The girl isn't that good of a fighter, Anakin realizes. She's hardly padawan age, so it's not surprising. She small and fast, and insanely agile compared to humans, which she's using to her advantage. But that doesn't mean he's about to let her escape.

He bolts after, Obi-Wan a step behind. Seeing them coming, the Togruta skids to a halt a few feet away from the top of the next staircase, ripping a dozen tiles off the wall with the Force and throwing them at the Jedi. Though apparently, she's really skilled in the Force, Anakin has to add to himself, throwing his hands up to catch them all, following his former master's example. The tiles spin around, flying back towards her.

The assassin starts raising her hands again, but she's not fast enough. She dodges most, but one of them hits her, throwing her to the ground. She lands on her back a few feet away.

Anakin stalks forwards as the girl sits up, raising her head. Anger burns in her eyes, mixed with a sense of fiery determination. He barely hears Obi-Wan's shout of warning before her lightsabers ignite through the floor, the tiles cracking instantly, then giving out altogether.

The Jedi Knight lands on his back many feet below, glancing over to see Obi-Wan beside him. Apparently, not even Obi-Wan was far behind Anakin enough to escape when the floor gave way.

"You've served your purpose," the girl informs them, pacing back and forth at the edge of the shattered stone.

Clearly, she was trying to trap them. There's no way Dooku would be an idiot enough to send someone like that to actually kill them. Which means... "We have to get back. Now!" Anakin hisses, scrambling to his feet. Whatever is happening back at the base, it's more than he was afraid of. He can't shake the feeling the clones are in danger, and they have to go help them.

"Maybe you didn't realize, but it's already too late," the Sith assassin – if that's what she is – retorts with a smirk. "So hard to know whom to trust these days, isn't it?"

"I was expecting someone who actually knows how to fight," Anakin retorts, smirking at the irritation that flashes across her face. He glances over at Obi-Wan. "What's the plan, Master?"

"Bringing us here was a mistake," the Jedi Master calls up to the Togruta. "You've overestimated your abilities."

"To the contrary, it seems you've overestimated your intelligence," she promptly retaliates, "Come on and get me, boys!" She whirls around, sprinting out of sight.

Obi-Wan Force-jumps up to the edge of the broken floor above them, Anakin landing next to him a split second later. The girl is racing across the room with remarkable speed, heading towards the window. They follow, but her lightsabers are cutting through the glass even as she runs. It shatters from an unseen wave through the Force, and she jumps right out.

The Jedi jump through after, landing outside on a platform. The assassin is out of sight, but the edge of the platform is surrounded by a railing, which they immediately head to, lightsabers still ignited. Down on the ground floor below, the building is surrounded by droids, and there's a spider droid on the side right under the balcony. They are way outnumbered, and alone. Besides, the clones need their help.

"You didn't tell us you were bringing friends," Obi-Wan quips, staring down at the Togruta as they spot her standing on one of the droids far below.

"Was there a reason I had to tell you?" the girl smirks, "Now we're gonna take control of this world."

Anakin casts a sideways glance at Obi-Wan, a silent communication going between them. Sure, they could win this battle alone, but the clones clearly need their help back at the base, and they have to hurry. Moving in unison, they jump over the railing, landing on the parts of the droid anchoring it to the building.

The Sith assassin stumbles atop the droid, but Anakin doesn't risk sparing a glance back at her. The droid is in free-fall now, hurdling to the ground a hundred feet below. Two droids on speeders are coming towards them. Anakin jumps onto one, throwing the droid off and sliding onto the seat. The speeder flies around the left corner, circling around to the front. Obi-Wan is rounding the opposite corner.

Together, they fly into the night, leaving the Sith assassin far behind. As they fly, Anakin can't help but find his mind wandering back to the Togruta. How did she even end up with Dooku? She's so young, far too little to be in a war like this.

"I still can't believe someone so young was sent to fight us," he remarks at last.

"She has some skill," Obi-Wan admits, "And she was just being used as a distraction. Dooku wouldn't have sent her if she was meant for anything else."

"But how did she even end up with him?" Anakin asks the rhetorical question, "Why would he have an apprentice so young?" The question is left unanswered and silence settles over them once more. If she was a Jedi, she'd still be a youngling. She really shouldn't be doing things like this – Wait. Why he is being protective of a Sith, anyway? It's not like he even knows her. The question almost immediately answers itself. No child so young should have a life like that.

**w**

Ahsoka Tano leaps off the droid right before it can smash to the ground, landing a few feet away. The distant sound of engines reaches her, and she looks up. The retreating figures of the two Jedi on droids' speeders disappear between the buildings. It's perfectly fine with her. The mission was accomplished already, and Slick did his work. That's all that matters, provided he did his part of the plan and destroyed most of their weapons. All she needed to do was keep the Jedi occupied so they couldn't interfere.

"Prepare to march on the city," she orders the droids, "Have General Loathsom delay the Jedi as long as possible. I will need time to execute the next part of my Master's plan." All the Jedi need to be fully occupied, especially these two. They might track her if they aren't. No one can know her destination until the next mission is fully accomplished.

"Yes, Mistress," the droid replies dutifully in its mechanically monotonous voice before turning and striding away to carry out her command.

Good. It's finally time for Ahsoka to make her departure from Christophsis now. She'll be heading straight to Tatooine to kidnap Rotta, Jabba's son. It doesn't sound too hard, at least not compared to fighting Jedi who have much more experience than she does. After all, the battle sure to ensue will be mostly in the air. There's hardly a way she could lose a space battle against non-Jedi, especially if they didn't suspect it. And for once, she doesn't care an ounce about the people who will die. After all, who wants those gangsters? The galaxy is better off without them.

A sigh escaping her, Ahsoka heads around the building to collect her cloak. She doesn't need to leave that behind here. She hates this war. She hates running around the galaxy thrown from one mission to the next without enough time to stop and just breathe. Especially when it's a conflict she wouldn't be in if not for Dooku's master, Sidious. Ahsoka shudders at the very thought of him.

In some ways, though, she's not sure she minds fighting against the Jedi and Republic. They've completely forgotten their original purpose. They're utter failures. Dooku is confident the war can change things for the better, though Ahsoka has no idea how. She doesn't see anything changing for the better, just causing more destruction everywhere. It's not been helping anyone, at least not from what she can tell. There's a lot going on she don't know, she supposes, because Dooku doesn't want to tell her much. Either because he thinks she's too young, or because Sith Masters don't tell their apprentices everything. Maybe both. But all Ahsoka sees everywhere is destruction, and she hates it.

She hates seeing it happen and being a part in it, but she still can't deny a small measure of satisfaction fighting the Republic. They've failed everyone. They failed the people, they've failed her, they've failed everything they ever stood for. It was Dooku who saved her. It was him who practically raised her. Not the Jedi. He is her master, no one else.

Ahsoka scans the room the fight started in. The objects scattered hither and thither are the only reminder of the fight that just occurred, aside from the hole and broken window farther up. Nothing major. If the Separatists get control of this planet – she has her doubts they will – at least this place won't be hard to fix up.

She picks up her cloak and pulls it back on, flipping the hood back over her head. Something about wearing it feels a lot more Sith-like, which is probably why she does it so much. It's time for her to go, now, to carry out her next mission.

Not long later, the Trident assault ship is exiting from hyperspace above the sand covered planet of Tatooine. The droids' scans quickly track down the landspeeders moving through the desert, carrying Rotta.

Ahsoka seats herself in the pilot seat, maneuvering the ship over the three skiffs beneath. This will be easier than she thought.

"Fire on the right one," she orders, glancing at the battle droid controlling the guns.

"Yes sir... I mean ma'am, sir," the droid replies obediently as it open fires. Red laser bolts rain down on the skiff, instantly exploding it in flames. It crashes onto the sand below in a smoking pile of debris. She immediately hit the control for the long tentacle arms of the Trident ship. They close around the center skiff carrying Rotta, lifting it far above the ground.

Immediately increasing elevation, Ahsoka speeds the ship directly up into the sky, leaving the other skiff far behind. As soon as she's a safe distance away from any life forms, she needs to get down there and bring Rotta onto the main ship to ensure nothing happens to him. Really, this has gone really smoothly so far, maybe too smoothly. Hopefully, it will stay that way.

Ahsoka presses a few buttons, and a hologram of Dooku materializes. "Master," she begins, bowing slightly in respectful greeting. "I have brought Jabba's son to the abandoned monastery. He will be safe here."

"Good, good," nods Dooku. Suddenly, another figure materializes in the hologram beside him, making her heart skip a beat. She lowers her gaze instantly, kneeling in front of the figure, not wanting to look upon Darth Sidious. Being a Sith, there's really only three things that scare Ahsoka, and Sidious is top on the list.

"Everything is going as planned," the Sith Master rasps.

"Yes, my lord," she repeats automatically, a shiver running down her spine. She much prefers dealing with Dooku. At least she has something to respect him for. Dooku has the best of the galaxy in mind, even if the method is not exactly appreciated. Sidious only cares for himself. The rest of the galaxy could be reduced to smoldering ash and he could care less as long as he remained untouched.

"Soon the Jedi will not only be at war with you, Count, but with the Hutt Clan as well," he gloats, before the transmission finally breaks, leaving her feeling strangely on edge, even though he's already gone. It always feels like a tangible darkness lingers in the room after she talks to him. Ahsoka hastily rises to her feet, moving to look out the viewport of the ship at the Teth landscape. Before long, the action will begin. She cannot fail.

**w**

As the gunship slowly lands, Anakin spots Obi-Wan talking to Yoda a distance away. Large groups of clones surround them, assumedly the group that flew in with Yoda to reinforce them. The worst of the battle here is over, and they haven't seen or heard from the mysterious Sith assassin anymore, though they did manage to at least get her name out of Slick. Ahsoka Tano.

Anakin steps out of the ship, pausing to glance back to his clone commander. "Thanks for the ride."

"Anytime, sir," Rex replies.

"Master Obi-Wan," Anakin acknowledges, approaching the pair. "Master Yoda."

"Anakin," Obi-Wan greets him warmly. "We were just discussing the discovery of Dooku's assassin."

"She's hardly a threat," Anakin objects, crossing his arms.

"No," Obi-Wan agrees, "But could easily be used as a distraction, like she was here."

Of course. There's not much else she can do, other than running around on random, unimportant assignments from Dooku. Anakin feels a sudden surge of irritation that he would send a child on missions like that.

"Hmm. An important part of the war, she is not," Master Yoda interjects finally, his gaze turning to the Jedi Knight. "But an important mission you have, Skywalker."

Something about the way he says it gives Anakin the instant impression he's not going to like what the Jedi Grandmaster is about to say. "What?" he asks, almost warily.

"Go to the Teth system, you must. Kidnapped, Jabba the Hutt's son has been," Master Yoda relates.

"You want me to rescue Jabba's son?" he exclaims incredulously. Why is this even a job for the Jedi? Anakin has no desire to get involved with those Hutts again. They're the ones who sold him and his mother into slavery, and – Force. That will no doubt lead him straight back to Tatooine, the planet he hoped never to lay eyes on again. He doesn't even want to go in the vicinity again.

"Anakin, we'll need the Hutt's allegiance to give us an advantage over Dooku," Obi-Wan interrupts his former padawan's thoughts.

"Negotiate the treaty with Jabba, Obi-Wan will," Master Yoda adds, "Find the renegades that hold Jabba's son, your mission will be, Skywalker." There's almost a hint of sympathy and understanding in the grandmaster's tone.

Anakin does not like this. At all. "We can't trust the Hutts!" he argues.

"If we don't find him, then Dooku will," Obi-Wan points out.

Anakin sighs in resignation. It doesn't seem like he has much of a choice in the matter. If it will really help bring a faster end to the war, it will be worth it. "Fine, then. I'll go."

Final Note: I love seeing favorites, follows, and/or reviews... :)