A New Padawan

by littlestarlight44

About year into the Clone Wars, Obi-Wan accepts to train a new Padawan: nineteen year old Ana Staphos. Ana, however, is also deaf. Obi-Wan quickly finds out that there is a lot to learn on both sides. How will a deaf Jedi fare in war? (I do not own Star Wars, only my original characters). (Story is mostly friendship and adventure, but will also turn to romance (not with Obi-Wan)).

12. Chapter 12

Hello again everyone! I know that it has been forever since I've updated. Admittedly I found my way back to this fic because of your comments for more and with the comeback of the Clone Wars series I found inspiration again. Although we're still waaay off from the last season (which I wish I could hurry to since I have so many ideas for Ana) this chapter takes place in S2E11 - Lightsaber Lost. Although the start of the chapter is more in tune with the episode, it does delve off a bit slightly as Ana joins Ahsoka on their quest to get her stolen lightsaber.

Let me know what you think of the chapter and if you have any constructive criticism! It's been a while since I've written about Ana (or at least at this point in the Clone Wars timeline) so I'm sorry if I'm a little out of sync. After this chapter it will likely be the Mandalore plot where Ana goes with Obi-Wan to help Duchess Satine (and certain revelations move on from there, as well as sassy comments with Anakin). Like I said I'll update as soon as possible, but it takes time going through each episode literally usually stopping it every two seconds.

Enjoy! Please let me know what you think!

Chapter 12

It had been a few weeks since Ana had been on Saleucami and watched Grievous's narrow escape from her and Obi-Wan and she had gotten used to a regular routine of different training with Obi-Wan. She hoped that she was getting better with her lightsaber and duelling skills, Obi-Wan told her so sometimes, however she knew she wouldn't know for certain until out on the field again.

However, bored with meditation and done training for the day, Ana decided to go back to the library and settle herself in one of the chairs that she usually sat in. As dim as the library could be, Ana always found comfort in it, as though it was soft mood lighting. And as the texts could make someone feel overwhelmed, she always found it enchanting, like a certain type of blue galaxy.

Settling in the chair for a few hours, reading a new holobook on the myths and legends of Kashyyk, Ana was quite comfortable in her spot, absentmindedly braiding her hair to fall over her shoulder as she read before a familiar pair of blue and white montrals caught her eye as they walked through the library.

Raising her eyebrow, Ana set in her last braid before putting in the elastic to hold it in place before asking out verbally, "Ahsoka?"

The Togruta immediately turned to her and Ana closed the holobook when she saw her worried and upset expression.

"Hey, what happened?" Ana asked, setting the holobook down on the arm of the chair while she got up.

Shaking her head, Ahsoka stopped so she could tell her, "something really, really bad. I'm going to get in so much trouble, Ana!"

"What happened?" Ana asked, confused.

"Well, the thing is…." Ana waited expectantly, an eyebrow raised as Ahsoka's features burrowed more and more into low anxiety. "My lightsaber was taken."

Ana's eyes shot wide open as she almost gaped at the other Padawan.

"You lost your lightsaber!"Ana almost screeched in her whisper.

"Would you keep it down!" even if Ana couldn't hear Ahsoka's tone, she could easily imagine it by Ahsoka's cringed and anxious yet mildly frightened face as she frantically looked around and held up her hand to Ana as a silent gesture for her to calm down.

It wasn't working.

"Do you want to say that louder? I don't think they heard you from Naboo!" Ana almost heard the Togruta growl as she looked back at her, glad that it seemed no one heard her. "And besides, I didn't lose it. It was stolen!"

"That explanation is not as comforting as you think it is!" Ana hissed herself, keeping her voice low in case any Masters came within hearing distance. She could sense Master Jocasta walking down the hall.

Ana gave a quick look around before she takes Ahsoka's wrist and brings her out of the main hallway and behind a few bookshelves closer to the wall. The redhead spins to face her again, some of her hair falling in front of her view in the process. Even if it was messy, Ana just quickly waves them out of her face.

"Alright, start from the beginning," Ana says, trying to calm herself because this could be bad. "What happened?"

Ahsoka sighed, flustered, looking down and rubbing her arm for a moment as she was thinking about her decisions. Finally, the Togruta chose to look up at the other Padawan again instead of keeping her head low and signing. She wasn't even sure if she knew the right words in BSL anyway. When Ana saw the guilt in her eyes, the redhead felt a little guilty herself for her reaction.

"Anakin and I were supposed to pick up this weapon's dealer in the lower levels of Coruscant. Anakin told me to stay outside while he went into this old dilapidated building," Ahsoka explained, her tone showing how anxious and upset she was, moving her hands slightly as she talked but making sure that her face was visible at all times as she hastily whispered her story. "And Anakin obviously quickly shows he's the Jedi, and the doors open again and this huge crowd comes past me and I—"

"Slow down!" Ana held up her hands, trying to understand how fast Ahsoka was rambling to explain her story, almost getting a headache. "I can't understand you when you're going that fast."

"Sorry," Ahsoka stops quickly, taking a small breath and she slows down, though only slightly, as she continues, "This crowd came out when Anakin turned on his lightsaber, and I had my hand on my lightsaber, I did!, but then this huge crowd ran out and past me and I tried to keep my balance but I fell anyway!"

Ana nods, brows furrowing as she tries to keep up with every word.

"I put my hand down and realized my lightsaber was gone and when I went to look I saw this short guy with it and I ran after him but he was gone by the time I got to the end of the alley," Ahsoka continued on. Ana took Ahsoka's large sigh at the end of her long sentence that she was done.

Ana sighed, closing her eyes briefly to take a breath before she looked back at Ahsoka.

"Does Anakin know?" she asked, making sure to keep her voice low.

Ahsoka shook her head.

"No…or at least I don't think so. He never asked about it," Ahsoka answered, "and now I'm worried because the guys that our criminal works with sells weapons to the Separatists!"

Ana nods, thinking for a moment of all her options but she could feel the slight panic of the situation coming into her own. A weapons dealer had a lightsaber and could either keep it or sell it to anyone. Either way, it was a bad situation, likely even worse if it didn't even get to the Separatists. At least they knew how to use lightsabers. Some regular criminals uses it to threaten or hurt people, without knowing how to use it or its power, was even more dangerous.

"I think you should tell Anakin," Ana verbalized her thoughts, focusing on Ahsoka again.

"I can't do that!" Ahsoka whispered hastily, guilt and fear creeping in her voice. "He'd kill me!"

"Despite the total over-exaggeration," Ana told her, keeping her voice calm even if her heart was beating fast, "he'll figure it out sometime. Better to get ahead of it, he might be more upset if he finds out himself." Besides, she was sure that of all the crazy things Anakin did, losing a lightsaber was probably on his list at some point too.

Ahsoka immediately shakes her head, "not if he never finds out."

Ana's one eyebrow arched so high she felt the rolls against the top of her forehead hitting her scalp so tightly it was almost getting her a headache.

"So, what? You want me to take you to Ilum and get you another crystal?" Ana asked in her own confusion.

"What? No, of course not!" Ahsoka replied hastily, still keeping her voice low, "I was thinking maybe we research where this criminal is and we get it back."

Oh.

Oh.

So that was another way she was supposed to be a part of this.

"Ahsoka, that sounds like a bad idea," the redhead told her, looking around the library as she sensed Madame Jocasta walking by. She pauses momentarily before looking at Ahsoka and nodding to silently tell her she was gone - not that the Master Jedi was within hearing range anyway but now Ana was getting too paranoid to not take precautions.

"I thought that you researched and read a lot in the archives. Don't you know things about the lower levels and criminal side of Coruscant, how to get around and where to stay away from, any tricks?"Ahsoka asked.

Gaping at the other Padawan, Ana shook her head slightly in disbelief.

"I've read history books and fiction texts, not 'Your Guide To The Criminal Underworld'," Ana replies.

"I meant," Ahsoka emphasized the world as she retorts, "that you would know the right way to start researching what we need to find out."

Ana thinks for a moment before shaking her head.

"Not really. It's not a topic that I take particular interest in," she replies before she sighs, looking off to one corner of the library, "but, I think I know where we could start when researching in the archives. The problem is that system is different since it's based on old records and new ones being updated as well as identification files. I don't know that system or how to use it properly to get to the information that we need. In order for us to use it, we'd need someone else…and they're going to ask why you are looking for a certain criminal."

Ahsoka sighs, shoulders dropping so hard her knees move down slightly as she looks over her shoulder for a few seconds. Letting her think her options over, Ana remained silent as she kept thinking over the whole situation.

Finally, Ahsoka turns to look back at her and asks, "do you think Madame Jocasta could help?"

Ana smiled lightly, letting out a small breath, "I'm glad that we were thinking along the same lines."

Ahsoka nods, looking down at her shoes slightly before Ana waves her hand up and down slightly to get her attention, "I think I know where she is." Ana tells her gently, signing each word as well before she gently pulls Ahsoka down the hallway. The Togruta is hesitant, but she does walk with Ana down the hallway and through the large shelves in the library.

Making her way almost to the other side of the library, Ana finds the older woman just where she thought that she was. There was a small stack of holo books that she was reading over and refiling, their blue spines glowing in the darker corners of each turn.

"Madame Jocasta?" Ana asked as they slowly stepped closer and closer.

Recognizing the voice, the older woman turned around and immediately gave the two Padawans a smile. She sets down the holo texts on the shorter bookshelf beside her almost immediately.

"Ahsoka, Ana," she signs her greetings as she says it. "It's nice to see you again in here again, Ana, I believe the books were missing your presence with your absence of regular attendance."

The redhead smiles and looks down slightly.

"It's different not coming here almost every day," the Jedi agrees, even if there was happiness of the reason why she was no longer regularly staring at the same shelves almost every day, alone with nothing but the texts.

The Jedi Master smiles and nods before looking between the two, immediately sensing the tension and anxiety between them. Still, she keeps a friendly face.

"Can I help you two with anything?" Madame Jocasta asks, patiently, her face still showing soft and opening features. One of the reasons why the redhead always felt so comfortable around her was because the woman had such a gentle, warm, yet guided and armoured personality. She could see through everything.

Ana looked over at Ahsoka, letting the younger Padawan answer the question.

Ahsoka looks down again, her one hand moving across her body to hold the wrist of her other arm.

"Madame Jocasta, we...I need help researching something," Ahsoka admitted, looking away slightly. Ana twisted her head slightly to try and see her mouth, "it involves searching for criminals and weapons dealers on Coruscant."

Taking a quick glance over at the Jedi Master for a reaction, Ana watches Jocasta's face twist slightly in shock, but yet the warmness and reassurance was still there.

"What happened?" Madame Jocasta asked, Ana still gracious that she was signing.

The redhead still stood by Ahsoka's side as the Togruta retold her story, or at least that was what Ana was sure was happening, with Ahsoka looking down or to the side so much it was hard to follow her mouth and words. However, as much as Ahsoka's shoulders sunk slightly with every sentence, and her anxiety was visibly high, the Jedi Master was patient and quiet to let the girl explain.

By the end, Ahsoka looked expectantly at the Jedi Master, and even Ana was slightly anticipating an angered rambling about how irresponsible her choices were. However, the older woman nodded, taking in the story and sighed before looking at Ahsoka.

"Does your Master know about this?" she asked, still signing.

Ahsoka shook her head, her head lowering slightly even more to give away her tell.

"Well, I don't know that system as thoroughly as I know the others, but it will not hurt to try and see what we can find," Madame Jocasta nodded.

Although Ana's shoulders deflated from anticipation and fear much more than Ahsoka's, the reassurance was comforting. Bless Madame Jocasta for being so calm and collective at the end of the tale.

"The system is down at the end," Madame Jocasta used her hand to gesture to the darker end of the library, already turning to guide them.

The younger girls nodded and gave each other a quick glance before they followed along, Ahsoka dragging her heels only slightly as the glow of the lights slowly became softer and softer as they walked along.

Madame Jocasta led the girls to a medium sized holo-screen and sits down on the chair before moving to turn on the screen.

"Was it here on Coruscant?" Madame Jocasta asked Ahsoka, turning her head to face the as she talked, hands and fingers still moving.

"Yes," Ahsoka nods, "it was from an aquatic planet, but I'm not sure which one. I don't know that species too well."

Madame Jocasta takes a glance at Ana almost expectantly before the redhead replies, "I wasn't there." Even if she did know more aquatic species, they could be hard to eyeball correctly for what planet they are from if they can also live above water easily. A lot of aquatic sentients had similar features.

The Jedi Master nods before opening the system and going through the filtering systems.

"Is there any other features you can tell me to help narrow my search?" the Jedi Master asked, lifting up her hands to sign again.

Ana looked to Ahsoka as she answered, "may have had convictions in weapons dealing, short...a little more than 100 standard units, orange, male… I think."

Madame Jocasta nods before she inputs the information. Despite all of the information the Jedi Master was learning, Ana still revelled in the fact that the older woman was so calm and gentle with Ahsoka for making such a mistake. Soon, the women watch as the screen is filled with different pictures of not exactly pleasant looking characters. Ahsoka moves closer to look over Madame Jocasta's shoulder at the pictures.

"Is there anyone that you recognize?" Madame Jocasta asks.

Ahsoka's eyes scan over the screen for a few seconds, crossing her arms over her chest before she asks, "can you make the profiles bigger?"

Madame Jocasta nods and soon the screen is filled with the profile, on the one side was a large picture of the criminal and on the left was their information and criminal history. As the Jedi Master flipped through them, giving Ahsoka a chance to look over them for a few seconds before moving on, Ana couldn't help but see the common thread that none of these beings seemed exactly prize worthy.

"None of these look like the person that stole my lightsaber," Ahsoka sighs, in worried disappointment so conveyed that even Ana didn't need to hear it to know how it sounded.

"I'm sure if you explain your loss to your Master, he'll understand," Madame Jocasta tells her gently, her face still full of soft features as she changes the screen to show the next profile and look over her shoulder at the Togruta.

Ahsoka shakes her head, shoulders dropping slightly.

"No," she replies softly, "He tells me over and over 'Your lightsaber is your life. Don't lose it'."

Ana frowns slightly and shifts on her feet. She had an idea about where he heard and learned that.

As Madame Jocasta changes the screen to look at another profile, Ahsoka glances at it and sighs before looking away, "there has to be a better way to find this thief."

They must not be anything close to who she was imagining, or anyone who was in the group that went past her out of the building. And even if they did find someone, the girls could spend hours scrolling through profiles and they would be more behind on finding Ahsoka's lightsaber. And, the pickpocket that took her lightsaber may not even be in the system if he wasn't convicted or came from another planet. They could spend hours trying as hard as they could and literally get nowhere in their inefficient system.

Ana placed a hand on her shoulder to offer Ahsoka some comfort. The Togruta looked back at her and gave her a small smile before she moved to turn around and take a few steps away, her back to the others.

"I'm sorry," Madame Jocasta tells her, pushing back on the chair so she could stand up herself. "Pickpockets aren't my field of expertise."

Ana watches Ahsoka's head move slightly and she twists to try and see what she says and just catches, "...take me years to find him."

Madame Jocasta take a few steps forward, "I might have another idea," the Jedi Master signs while speaking, looking between the Padawans. "There," the older woman points.

Both Ahsoka and Ana follow where her hand was pointing. Both of them see the back of a short sentient, and even at this angle they could see his neck was arched down. It was hard to notice anything else about him at this first glance.

"That is Tera Sinube," Madame Jocasta introduces, beginning to walk to him as Ana and Ahsoka follow closely beside her. "He is an elder Jedi. He happens to be an expert on the Coruscant crime world."

Ana watches Ahsoka look between Madame Jocasta and the apparent other elder Jedi. "I think he's sleeping," Ahsoka comments, moving her hands up to sign her words as well for the first time.

Ana turns her head to get another look at the being. Now that they were getting closer, she could begin to see the way his shoulders rose and fall with a slight shaking motion. Ahsoka must've heard what Ana could assume was either sleeping whistling or snores. No wonder neither of them could see much of the being from farther away so hunched over.

"Yes," Madame Jocasta agrees, her tone almost in fondness. "Well, he will be able to help you."

When they make it up to the chair, Ahsoka pauses slightly as she raises her hand. She glances back at Ana, who just shrugged lightly in return. If he could help, they should take it, right?

Ahsoka hesitates, still looking at Ana for one more second before she turns her head and moves her lifted hand closer to the sentient in the chair as Ana moves to position herself better so she could see both of them.

"Pardon me, Master Sinube?" she sees Ahsoka ask, her hand moving to gently pat the Jedi Master's shoulder.

The old sentient in the chair jumped lightly, head looking around in confusion. When Ana finally sees his face, she recognizes the dry, thin, long and narrow face of the man with long white hair hanging around to frame his face. She had seen him in the library plenty of times before, and knew he stayed around this area if he came in. Considering she hadn't come over here often, and he only spoke to her a few times over the years, she wasn't closely acquainted with him. But when he saw her, he always offered her a smile and signed "hello" to her.

"What? Who?" he asked as his large round eyes blinked rapidly a few times, still startled awake. As he looked around and found Ana and Ahsoka's slightly confused faces, "I was just resting my eyes."

The way he said it made it seem like he truly believed it and wanted them to think so too. Ahsoka and Ana glance at each other again, but don't say anything.

Madame Jocasta walks towards him, a smile on her face and her hands resting on her stomach in almost a diamond shape showing nothing but open peace.

"Hello Master Sinube," she smiles warmly to him.

Turning his long neck to look over his shoulder, he gives a small smile to the other Jedi Master as well.

"Good morning, Jocasta," he replies. He then turns his gaze to stare at the two Padawans beside her. His gaze quickly falls on the long haired red-head first. "And I remember...your name is...Anallah isn't it?" he asks lightly, signing each word with slightly boxy elements of the movement of aged fingers.

Ana nods but still clarifies, "Ana," as she gives him a quick smile.

Master Sinube smiles and nods once back to her before his gaze falls onto Ahsoka. His features twist slightly, "uh, I don't know you, do I?"

"My name is Ahsoka Tano," the Togruta replies, not missing a beat now that she was talking to someone that could be helpful to her cause. "I was told you could help me?"

Master Sinube raised his boxy eyebrows slightly, "help you, hmm?"

"I'll leave you to your business," Master Jocasta replies, looking between the three of them. Her gaze lasts on Ana a little longer, as though giving Ana the option to leave as well and perhaps the Jedi Master was wondering herself if she would. However, Ana knew she wasn't going anywhere, not now that she was involved.

As Madame Jocasta began to walk away, Ana's attention was caught on Ahsoka when the Togruta began to talk, almost excitedly in her reassurance that she may actually be with someone who could help her, despite any hesitation she had before.

"A thief stole my lightsaber, and I only got a quick look at him," Ahsoka tells him, moving slightly as though uncomfortable staying in the same position, or moving how her mind thought through the memories. She tries to sign the best she can knowing the words that she does, and even if choppy Ana is able to put the missing words together to create a sentence. "I could tell that he definitely came from one of the aquatic planets, you know, one of the water worlds?"

Master Sinube brings a hand up to his chin as he begins to think as he talks, a little like how Ana noticed Master Kenobi would do sometimes but it was only with a few of his fingers, his other hand lifting from the table to sign words he could with one hand. "So," he begins, "you're saying there was something fishy about him?"

As the Jedi Master begins to laugh, the smile widening on his face as he tells the joke, Ana and Ahsoka side glanced each other again in wordless communication, eyebrows raised before they turned back to the Jedi Master and neutralized their faces again.

When Master Sinube opens his eyes and sees the girls' unmoved faces, he grunts lightly and shakes his head and almost goes back to a calm, knowledgeable self again.

"Well," Master Sinube starts and Ahsoka immediately moves closer to the Jedi Master and almost leaning slightly against the chair. Ana moves to the other side of the chair so both Padawans could easily lean down to look at the screen with ease as Master Sinube continues, his voice getting more upbeat, "let's try and see if we can find out where he went, shall we?"

Ahsoka nods, staring closely at the holoscreen to where he was looking. Ana was too, curious to what system he would seem to use that Madame Jocasta wouldn't.

"We were near the slum district, G17," Ana caught Ahsoka say as she leaned back slightly from looking at the holo screen.

"Where would he go, your little pickpocket," Master Sinube agreed, typing something into the holo screen and moving through a different web page. Soon, a map of what must have been the lower levels of Coruscant. Moving around the orange and yellow screen of street outlines, he soon points to a spot and Ahsoka leans closer again to take another look. "To a gangster hangout? Unlikely but possible."

At Master Sinube's tone, Ahsoka leans back again and sighs in slight disappointment. To Ana, it didn't seem like too much of a lead either, unless at that hangout there was a lot of dealings that occured, however if Master Sinube didn't think it was likely then it probably wasn't.

"Does the system show a place where regular black market trading takes place?" Ana asked, trying to think on another lead.

Stroking his chin still, Master Sinube considers again, looking over the map.

"Maybe the gun market to sell the lightsaber within the radius," he considers as Ahsoka now moves to walk in circles behind his chair. Ana stares at her for a moment before turning back to the screen. The option wasn't a bad idea to pursue. Although they might specifically be marketing guns, any weapons would likely be seen if they were worthy enough. Those looking for a gun may have their eyes go to something else.

"Just...Just a moment. Let me see," the Jedi Master closes his eyes and Ana's brows furrowed in confusion, still trying to take this all in. It was almost as though she was on the outside. Ahsoka had her story and knew what happened and Master Sinube knew the place where it had happened and had experience with the history of it there. Ana was just tagging along trying to keep up, but she would make sure to close that gap between her and them. Ahsoka confessed to her because she needed her help, she wasn't going away.

"Ahsoka said he was short, would that help narrow down the sentient physicality type?" Ana asked, wondering if maybe giving him more information would help the Jedi Master get another answer.

Opening his eyes, Master Sinube continues, his face contorting into thought, "He was a Patrolian. That's a fish guy. Maybe…" at Master Sinube's more hopeful tone, Ahsoka turns to look back to the two by the chair

Soon, Master Sinube opens a new webpage and suddenly Ana is looking at a screen that has six profile pictures of definite fish-look-alike sentient beings of different coloured scales. Ana leans forward just as Ahsoka does too on the other side of the chair again, both girls looking closely at their features - Ana because of her curiosity, she had never seen this type of sentient before even if she read about them, and Ahsoka because she's looking for someone familiar.

"Is it one of these fishes?" Master Sinube asks.

Ahsoka's face suddenly lights up as she exclaims, pointing to a profile at the top line, "that's him!"

"Interesting indeed," Master Sinube replies as he opens up the criminal's profile and Ana's eyes scan over the words while also trying to follow Master Sinube's fingers as he signs while he speaks and looks over at Ahsoka so that Ana could still understand him, "according to the file, his name is Bannamu, a petty thief. He hangs out in the slum district."

Ahsoka's smile is still prominent as she looks over the profile, excited that she not only found a lead but she actually found an answer, "Thank you, Master Sinube!"

Ahsoka is already turning away from the desk, quick with her steps in her excitement and determination.

"I'm sure, I-" Master Sinube tries to say but he is cut off.

"Your help has been invaluable," Ahsoka promises him, already moving one step back.

"You're welcome," Master Sinube replies.

"If there is anything that I can do-," Ahsoka continues, now almost a nervous smile peering on her face as she takes more steps backward from the desk, eyes also glancing to Ana who had her brows furrowing again.

"Yes there is," Master Sinube replies and as he moves to push the chair back so he can get to his feet, Ana moves back away from the chair to give him space. The Jedi Master looks over his shoulder at Ana and to help him talk to both of them she moves to stand beside Ahsoka even if he moves his fingers to sign, "I haven't been on an assignment in years."

That made Ana's brows spike high in surprise. Ahsoka glances at Ana nervously but Ana is watching Master Sinube slowly grab his cane while he sat in the chair, facing and looking at Ahsoka directly even if he signed, "And if you don't slow down, you're not going to find what you're looking for."

Ana had a feeling where this was going.

Master Sinube suddenly moves to jump out of the chair and it was the first time Ana realized that his legs were not completely touching the ground.

"I'll come with you," Master Sinube decided for himself.

Ana was right.

Ahsoka looked panicked for a brief moment and turned to look at Ana while Master Sinube was getting his proper footing again. Even with slightly wide eyes at the implication of the Jedi Master coming, Ana stared at Master Sinube. Truthfully, she understood Ahsoka's slight panic of having a Jedi Master follow them, especially one that appeared as old and slow as Master Sinube who spent probably a lot of time in the Jedi archives resting his eyes. However, he was knowledgeable and Ana couldn't help the creeping anxiety in herself about going into the lower levels of Coruscant. Although she could sense danger and trust in the Force to help her, there was a difference between that and not being able to hear someone creeping up behind you or planning an attack.

Biting her lip a little, Ana shrug lightly and signed to Ahsoka silently, "it's not a bad idea."

Ahsoka took one brief pause before she sighed in defeat, shoulders sinking slightly.

"Okay gramps," Ahsoka sighed as Master Sinube walked towards her. Ana followed as well and Master Sinube turned to look at her

"You are coming as well?" he asks with a small smile.

Ana nods and looks over at Ahsoka with a smile, who graciously smiles back. As the three of them begin walking, Ana's own hand moves to the lightsaber on her own belt. Her hand rests on the top as she thinks. She didn't like going into the lower levels without a weapon, but at the same time they were going because of a lightsaber thief. As they go past the spot where Ana was sitting before, Ana unclips her lightsaber and sets it down on the seat beside the holobooks without missing a step. If needed, she still had her com-link to contact Cody or Obi-Wan. Jedi Knights and Masters may say that it was her life, but she didn't quite think so. She had more skills and trust in the Force than that.

~.~

Ana didn't know exactly how they got to where they are. She remembers walking the steps down the streets after leaving the Temple and taking certain turns, but it was all from MAster Sinube guiding them. If she had to, Ana knew that she would be unable to try and make it back on her own.

As they walk she looked around. Slowly things got darker the deeper into the lower levels that they went until the only light came from neon signs displaying what places were. However, it seemed that most of them needed to be updated or taken down as they or the buildings were old and falling apart. The streets almost illuminated the same atmosphere as as an engine room of an old, broken down battle ship. Some of the steam coming from the buildings and the old technology outside of them resembled one too.

The group was mostly silent while they walked, not wanting to catch anyone's attention as other sentients and humans walked past - especially with any of them signing. That would definitely make them noticeable. So, they mostly relied on non-verbal cues and as Jedi, thankfully they were easy to pick up on them. An older gentleman with a cane was already catching a few eyes after a certain few turns as they went closer to the darker proceedings of the lower levels.

Turning a corner and walking down a long straight road, soon the group were slowly coming up to a more lit place showing a place where you could sit and eat - though Ana doubted that they would pass any type of inspection. Master Sinube turns to Ahsoka and gestures ever so lightly towards it. Ana raises her eyebrows ever so lightly before watching Ahsoka take steps towards it.

Ahsoka shows confidence as she walks towards the dining area and sits at a table beside a large and burly sentient with a large body almost like a giant lung but with long thin neck and arms that stretched out in humps. Sitting down, it looked almost double the size of Ahsoka, or Ana for that matter. Although Ana was hesitant on getting so close to something that she was weary about, she followed Master Sinube when he went to sit on the other side of Ahsoka, so she sat down too and made sure to look unbothered while Ahsoka talked to the owner when the slender sentient with a prosthetic bright green eye leaned in closer to her to speak with her. Due to his long beard, Ana had no idea what he said.

But while she gave her appearance, she made sure to keep her guard up by focusing on sensing those around her. In this area, most of the humans and sentients had the same kind of rough aura around them. But in focusing on the Force it allowed her to see, in a way, behind and around her so that she could be prepared without setting alarms off by doing it physically. Ana kept her gaze on Ahsoka so it seemed like she was listening, however she kept her focus on sensing those around her. Surprisingly, not too many beings were out tonight and the street was mostly deserted.

Ana barely realized that they were moving until the owner walked in front of her to the side of the building to leave while Master Sinube and Ahsoka got up from their chairs. Ana got up immediately as well, following behind the other two along the front of the side of the shack to the small alleyway beside it.

Ana's eyes immediately went to the parked hovercar in the middle of the alleyway and the tall green skinned Twi'lek leaning against it as well as a being that looked similar to the owner, holding a rather long blaster that did not make Ana feel at east, that looked over at the new three with interest. She noticed the way the Twi'lek's eyes panned over her and she had to contain herself from not rolling hers.

As the owner leaned against the hovercar too and by the way his beard moved Ana could tell he was saying something that was catching Ahsoka's attention so she walked to the other side of Ahsoka and put herself on a slant so that she could see all of them talk, but after over an hour of trying to follow lips she was starting to get a headache, especially in this lower light. And she still did not like having her back even slightly turned to that long blaster. It wasn't the lack of lightsaber that made her nervous, it was that criminals could be trigger happy.

"If you have it, you'll give it to me," she watches Ahsoka say as her face twists into demand and annoyance, hand outstretched towards him. Ana instantly squares her shoulders when the other two beings on the other side of the hovercar lean up slightly at Ahsoka's tone. When the twi'lek takes a step closer, Ana does the same to help be near him to block an attack if he started one. The Twi'lek side glances her and Ana just gives him a warning glare.

Master Sinube immediately steps forward, still leaning on his cane as he interviens.

"What my little friend is saying is," Master Sinube explains, keeping his voice light with explanation, "how much?"

Ana hoped that was a ploy to get more information or actually see the lightsaber in hand because there was no way he could think they would actually give money to them. But while Ana is still looking over the conversation, she is keeping herself ready for the attack on the other side of her.

The owner, however, doesn't seem bothered.

"Twenty thousand?!" Ahsoka asks suddenly in shock. Even Ana had to admit that was a fair amount of money, yet still she was surprised. She expected more.

When the owner moves up from the hovercar and crosses his arms, Ana tenses slightly again, but Master Sinube sways lightly towards her and back, giving her a silent tell not to get too excited. She takes it, but still keeps herself ready. She didn't like not being able to read his lips and only getting half of the conversation. It was hard to tell where the discussion was going.

"Do you even have it with you?" Ana asks a little sharply, arms folding over her chest. She hadn't seen it and didn't think it would be easy to hide in the clothing they were wearing.

The way the owner's shoulders deflate shows his defeat and her answer as he leans against the hovercar again.

Ahsoka suddenly brings out a holo from her back pocket and it suddenly projects an image of the pickpocket that had taken Ahsoka's lightsaber.

"From him?" Ahsoka asks expectantly and for the moment she may be short but her body language made her seem taller than even them.

Immediately, all three of the beings stand up straighter and more alert as the owner looks between the three in both confusion and slight concern.

"They are Jedi!" the Twi'lek suddenly realizes, pointing to the group. Huh, Ana thought briefly. So apparently he didn't know what Ahsoka's chain along her montrals meant or could make the connection with Ana's more beige and brown clothing.

Ana stood side by side with the other two, suddenly feeling like they were a wall against the others.

"And if we are?" Maser Sinube asked, all three of them looking at the criminals with serious and warning glances while the owner turns around, his anxiety making him pace. Ana watches his beard move while he says something again and her eyes narrow slightly before she looks back at Ahsoka to catch what she is replying to.

"Well I think it's time that you forget about him and do me a favour," Ahsoka responds assertively but with growing anger, "that's my lightsaber he stole."

The sudden change in the owner's and other's demeanor from trying to look like at-ease big shot criminals to slightly passive in fear was entertaining, even if Ana would never admit it. The owner now keeps his distance even if the Twi'lek doesn't. They were looking at the ground, not as confident as they were before but the three Jedi still kept their hard gaze and dominant postures.

"I want you to tell me where he is," Ahsoka suddenly responds, tip-toeing the line between patience and impatience.

The Twi'lek glares at the three of them slightly, taking a step towards Ana. While she keeps herself more on guard, she doesn't change her demeanor or her stance as she stares at him.

"I hope you remember this and someday do me a favour," the Twi'lek says pointedly to the other two, but he gives a small grin towards Ana and she has to stop herself from jumping or cringing when the Twi'lek's hand immediately goes to the brain hanging off her shoulder. Wisely, he chose it near the collar bone instead of where it hung lower.

She immediately notices Master Sinube and Ahsoka tense up and lean forward in the corner of her eye, but she keeps her eyes dead set on the Twi'lek's while he does it. Before the other two could say anything, the Twi'lek's hand moved back.

Ana looked down at where his hand had been on her braid before slowly looking up at his slightly grinning face. She offered a sly smile, her arms still crossed in front of her.

"You tell us and the favour will be that I don't break your arm," Ana tells him, keeping a slightly sweet tone to her voice that was still laced with the underlying threat.

The Twi'lek grins slightly but she could see the smile and his eyes falter slightly at the implication of her tone.

"That doesn't seem very Jedi-like," he says.

She offers him another sweet smile and replies in mock worry, "Oh dear me, isn't that terrible."

In the corner of her eye, she sees Ahsoka smirk and even Master Sinube grinned a little. She wondered if the Jedi Master condoned this type of threatened light violence if it was justified, or rather he knew that Ana wouldn't go all the way if needed but close enough to get him to talk. Ahsoka certainly did at least.

The Twi'lek then chuckles slightly, as though a way of easing his tension and forcing himself to let the notion of his 'favour' go.

"He's not that far away," the Twi'lek replies, looking up as though to search his mind before looking at the three again. "He's at the Spider Arms Hostel."

Ana was hoping that Master Sinube knew where that location was or at least heard of it, because Ana certainly hasn't.

After giving their quick thanks and last warnings, the three turned around and went off, Ana still keeping her mind on what was behind her in case those other trio decided to change their minds.

"I can see that Master Kenobi is rubbing off on you," Master Sinube comments to her.

Ana sees Ahsoka grinning on the other side of the Jedi Master as she looks up to make eye contact with the redhead. Ana sighs not with disdain but with acceptance.

"Yeah."

~.~

The district where the Spider Arms Hostel was incredibly more upheld than the last. The roads were a bit more narrow but were much more well-kept and had expensive, illuminating signs that flashed and shone bright in the darkness. While it appeared to be more busy with all of the working stores and buildings despite a lack of people walking, Ana knew not to let appearances get the best of her. If the criminal was here, then criminal dealings took place too - and probably things much worse or seedy. At the very least, Ana could appreciate that it was lighter and could therefore see her companion's lips better.

Still walking at a steady, slower pace that Master Sinube set with his cane, soon he led the girls to a building that appeared smaller, but when the girls looked up they saw how it extended high into the sky. Ana was more concerned with the surroundings as she looked around, seeing a few beings - one with a pegged leg to say the least - leaning down almost head to head playing something on the dirty ground. Her eyes went to the old, artistic diamond design windows to see if she could look inside, but the glass was too thick and she could only see shadows through the blue light.

Ahsoka took quicker steps to the door, but stopped herself and turned back to wait for the other two as Ana stayed close to Master Sinube's side. While she could see her world much better here than the other district, she didn't want to be too far from the only person who had background experience here.

When they came to the entrance, the door quickly opened and the three walked towards what would appear to be the dimly lit lobby - a long desk with bars at the front with only an opening to do business and on the other side was a not too impressed or friendly looking Rodian who looked at them as though they were nothing but a nuisance. The hostel almost seemed like a symbol to the district - nice on the outside but with something dark and lurking when you peel back just one layer.

"May I help you?" the Rodian asked almost with tired body language but with a glare that didn't match as Ana felt something light flowing up the back of her mind. She looks sideways for a moment, thinking before she turns back to the Rodian.

Master Sinube waved his hand up in front of the Rodian's face.

"We know where we are going," he says steadily.

Ana raises an eyebrow and looks towards Ahsoka, who just shrugs as the two follow close behind Master Sinube - who seemed now much more eager and steady than Ahsoka had been considering how quickly she wanted to enter the hostel in the first place.

The graffiti on the walls of the hallway were a nice touch.

Looking over his shoulder once they were inside the hallway and put a bit of distance from the front desk, Master Sinube signs while he speaks, "We must be careful not to warn him."

"But Master, we don't know where we are going," Ahsoka's voice stays low while she signs as well. Even in this light Ana was not having a particularly easy time distinguishing what they were signing, but her mind was more distracted as she light flow of her mind was soon warming the back of her head like the sun was shining on it. What was it? "He could be in any one of these rooms!"

Ana gave a quick 'shh' when she could tell that Ahsoka's voice rose when she saw the Togruta's look of impatience.

"You need to be more quiet, young one," Master Sinube agreed.

Ahsoka's shoulders shake lightly as she nods and her entire body hunches slightly, but with the tension still in her shoulders.

"Okay, okay," she agrees.

Master Sinube shakes his head lightly, "Not quiet with your mouth, quiet with your mind."

Ahsoka stares at him, her shoulders tensing up a little more now.

"You're so anxious to find this pickpocket that your worry is equal to his," Master Sinube clarifies as Ahsoka looks down with slight girl, arms held close to her side as though appearing to look smaller.

Looking at her with soft eyes, Ana stays behind with the other Padawan for a few seconds.

"Can you try to see if you can sense it?" Ana asked her, still keeping her voice low as the two began to follow Master Sinube.

Although Ana couldn't see it, she was sure that he was smiling.

"Can you?" Master Sinube asked Ana, turning his head around.

Ana's brows furrowed as Ahsoka looked at her.

"I think so...I'm not sure," Ana admits. "It's different than my own."

Master Sinube still smiled, "as it would be. Everyone's connection to the Force is different, and how you connect with one's kyber crystal is too."

Ana was about to ask something else - that prospect opened up a whole new set of ideology for her, but Ahsoka realized something too fast.

"You mean, if I relax, I could sense my lightsaber and Bannamu's anxiety?" she asked.

"Yes," Master Sinube agrees, signing with one hand so Ana could follow as he turned to look back in front of him as he walked down the hallway. "If you relax, you would realize he is in this room."

Master Sinube suddenly stops and points to a room to their left. Ana raised an eyebrow before she turns to Ahsoka and signs silently and quickly, "I didn't sense that either," hoping it may help her feel better. The redhead was too busy thinking about how the ray of warmth and light was stroking the back of her head. But even then, that didn't seem consistent to the doorway that Master Sinube pointed to.

Ahsoka nods, but already has a look of determination on her face as her mind was already set onto the process of justice. Going up to the doorway quickly, Ana watches Ahsoka force the doorway to cave in on itself and fly back before the redhead had a chance to stop her.

Well, if people didn't know that Jedi were in the hostel, they likely did now.

Running inside the room, Ana was quick to follow as she sensed Ahsoka's anger rising.

"Bannamu I assume," Ahsoka's entire body was hunched over in anger as she stared at a greenish-yellow Patrolian that was hunched over at a desk looking over a holo screen. Apparently the sound and immediate crash of the doorway didn't startle him.

"Who are you?" the Patrolian asked, eyes narrowing, though he got a little more bewildered and flustered as Ahsoka got closer, "What do you want? Hey!"

Ana could imagine the scream that the Patrolian made as she watched Ahsoka pick it up by his shirt and place it hard on the desk again to look up at her. Even Ana felt the vibrations of the interaction hit her feet. The redhead took a step forward to stop the interaction.

"Ahsoka!"

Although Ahsoka's face got closer and closer to the pickpocket as she likely made her threats, she looked around at Ana. Even if the older Padawan didn't sense Bannamu's anxiety before, she definitely did now.

"What?!" Ahsoka snarled towards her, but Ana kept her face even more steady than before.

"That's not going to help anything," Ana told her. She didn't want to say 'that's not the Jedi way', but she was sure that Ahsoka had seen that behaviour before and she likely wasn't the first Jedi to lose control of their anger in a stressful and personal situation.

"Besides," Ana sighed, "I don't think it's here."

Ahsoka's eyes flared up again before she turned back to Bannamu and Ana went forward even more, moving Ahsoka back so that her face wasn't so close to the Patrolian's.

"Ahsoka!"

"He'll tell me!" the togruta replies, her face still harsh before looking down at Bannamu, "won't you."

"Hey, hey, hey, hey!" the Patrolian holds up his hands in defense. "Your friend is right. I no have it, I swear. I got rid of it, yeah. I almost killed myself with that thing."

Well, Ana had to admit, darkly, that she was right and that a criminal hurting himself over a lightsaber would surely give him and others a lesson. However, with Ahsoka's current attitude, she was sure that Bannamu wouldn't risk stealing another lightsaber out of fear of facing another angry Jedi that could find him.

"What did you do with it?" Ahsoka asked darkly, Ana watching how her hands gripped the front of the Patrolian's shirt tighter.

"No, no, no, I don't recall," Bannamu shook his head while he said it.

Despite the Patrolian's complete and see-through lie, both Ana and Master Sinube could see Ahsoka get closer and sense how the air in the room was getting thicker and darker almost dramatically. As Ahsoka's hand came up, Ana took another step forward to grab it and almost sensed the atmosphere change and she could only assume Master Sinube said something as well.

Ana watches as Ahsoka freezes, her eyes moving to look back as though over her shoulder, but her head barely moves. Her eyes then meet Ana's and the redhead keeps her gaze with her own hard eyes. Ana feels the strength and the tensed arm lighten in her hands and she releases it as Ahsoka reluctantly leans back and lets go of the pickpocket. However, her face still expressed her anger.

"It's not smart to steal from a Jedi," Ahsoka's jaw was tight as she talked, and Ana still stayed in her position close to her.

"Uh, you're looking a little too young to be a Jedi," Bannamu replied and was instantly scrambling to get forgiveness as Ana watched him be lifted off the ground.

Ana stretched out her arm and caught Ahsoka's again before Ahsoka could drop the pickpocket right up against the wall and door. So, Ahsoka stops the assault, but keeps the Patrolian in the air as she stalks over to him.

"Convinced?" Ahsoka snarls and Ana walks up with her, not just going to hold for Ahsoka anymore, but glaring towards Bannamu as well. Even she was also getting tired of his lies and games.

"Come on!" Bannamu whines but watches the two Padawans get closer.

"Okay, okay, okay," he replies when Ahsoka comes close to him again, "His name is Movers. Yes, uh, Nack Movers."

With his body language and the way his eyes looked down, Ana wasn't quite convinced, but Ahsoka lets Bannamu fall onto the broken doorway that was on the bed before the Togruta's head whips around to look at Master Sinube.

"Nack Movers?" Ahsoka asks, the questions between the lines clear on if Master Sinube either knew the name or if it was code for something else.

But, it seems that Master Sinube was familiar with the criminal as he nods and looks down in thought as he searches his mind.

"He's a very dangerous one," Master Sinube admits, "well known in the underworld."

Great, Ana's inner monologue is thick with sarcasm as she thinks that relevation over. Because the last thing that they needed was Ahsoka's lightsaber to fall into the hands from a fumbling pickpocket to a well-known dangerous criminal.

Immediately piggy-backing onto that assessment, Bannamu excitedly nods and points to Master Sinube while also rubbing his head from the blow of the fall, "Yes, exactly! Yeah. I sell it to him, yeah yeah!" He stares up at Ahsoka with narrowing eyes as the girls turn to him again, "You should be afraid."

Ana rolls her eyes as he extends the last word to make it more syllables than it usually is. Half of her was now wondering if that was the true buyer.

"I got a good price, huh," Bannamu nods, "He was very, very motivated!"

Likely, Ana agreed in her thoughts.

"You can find him with his girlfriend. She has a place on the upper east side of our happy land," Bannamu insists, still eager to give the information. "I bet he's there now. Oh, he's always there!"

"You can stop talking now," Ahsoka warns, obviously done with the Patrolian's rambles too.

Barely pausing, Bannamu replies, Ana barely catching it as his face drops.

"Okay, I shut up now," he agrees, head falling.

Ana looks back to Master Sinube as he walks forward and waves his hand so that Ana knows he's going to say something.

"Well, at least you know where your lightsaber is," Master Sinube signs each word while he talks.

"You believe him?" Ana asks incredulously.

"You don't?" Master Sinube asks.

"I'm not completely sure," Ana admits. While the Force didn't warn her and she sensed something earnest in Bannamu's words, she also didn't get a sense that there was complete truth to them.

When Ahsoka leans closer to Bannamu and the Patrolian immediately looks down again and Ana can guess that Bannamu was trying to defend himself before he saw Ahsoka's glare again.

"And if it's true," Ahsoka agreed almost in the middle, eyes cast down in thought, "then it's in the hands of a killer."

It seems Ahsoka has heard of him too.

"This is exactly what I was afraid of," Ahsoka said with tense guilt and Ana stares back at her.

"We can at least check it out," Ana tells her, trying to comfort her. Despite Ahsoka's anger, it was all in fear and Ana couldn't blame her for feeling it - however she didn't want the Togruta to feel that either. It was a mistake and Ahsoka should've been more careful, but at the same time it could happen to any one of them. "And if he's still on Coruscant, then he might not have actually used it on anyone yet."

Ahsoka stares back at her but nods before her eyes cast to the side as something comes back to her mind.

"How could you sense that it wasn't here?" Ahsoka asked. "How can you sense my lightsaber but I can't?"

Frozen, Ana is quiet for a few seconds before she shakes her head.

"I don't know. But…" Ana nods to Bannamu, "if you keep your fear in your head I don't think it will uncloud things for you."

Ahsoka looks down again, but nods. Ana could see the words in the Padawan's head without her saying them, that she was too stressed.

Sighing, Ana turned around to look at Master Sinube.

"Well, Master, do you know the quickest way to the upper east side?" Ana asked.

The Jedi Master just smiles and nods. They had quite a bit more walking to do.

~.~

The upper east side were apartments and buildings that Ana usually imagined when she thought of Coruscant. The high rise apartments were shining in almost a gold view from the lights around and below it at the medium level before slowly darkening as they got taller. She was a little surprised that a killer criminal could live in a building such as this, but I guess when it came right down to expenses and rent on Coruscant, money was money. Not to mention, who would deny such a person?

Hover cars soared around the buildings quickly, almost as quickly as Ahsoka running up to the building and elevator to hit the floor they required. It was only Master Sinube who was able to use a Jedi Mind trick long enough to get the information from the front desk about which floor they needed to look into.

While Ahsoka practically bolted from the elevator, Ana stayed by Master Sinube's side, looking around and taking in her surroundings as she walked down the hallway. It was also dimly lit with some lamps along the side every few standard units, and the floor was a much nicer carpet then the seedy Spider Arms Hostel that they had barged into. However, looks were still deceiving. There was still a light prickle from the force slowly moving up her spine, like something was slowly tapping along it with a needle - not to make her hurt but to give her a warning to pay attention.

Ahsoka kept going down the hallway, realizing she was alone after a few steps and stopping to wait before going forward again in haste while Ana looked around. When they moved to turn a corner, it seemed that Ahsoka finally had enough as she stopped again to wait for them, turning around impatiently.

"Master, we've got to hurry!" Ahsoka told Master Sinube as he kept his steady walking stride the entire way. Ana wondered if his feet were beginning to ache just as much as hers were. Not to mention she didn't even want to look at the time on her com-link out of fear for how late it was at this point. She certainly hoped that Master Kenobi wasn't waiting for her.

"Patience, young one," Master Sinube insists, following her. Ana stays at his side, looking around at the new hallway before her eyes catch on Master Sinube as he signs again. " You worry that if people die at the hands of your lightsaber that you will be guilty for their death as the one that strikes the blow."

Honestly, Ana could understand that statement. She knew how she would feel if it was her lightsaber stolen and she knew that it was used to kill someone else - even if she wasn't the one that killed them. It was her weapon, even if stolen. What was that Ahsoka thought Anakin would say, one that he likely learned from Obi-Wan? 'Your lightsaber is your life'. She didn't quite believe the trueness of the sentiment, however she understood the implications

As Ahsoka looks away, Master Sinube elaborates, "A valid concern, young one, and one for you to puzzle out. Both of you, perhaps."

Ana caught eyes with Ahsoka and the Togruta looked away in thought again, feet coming to a stop. Ana wanted to tell her that it wasn't her fault, that a stolen weapon - even if one you created - used to kill someone else wasn't like she killed the person herself. It wasn't as though Ahsoka handed the weapon to Nack Movers herself. But at the same time, it wasn't her lightsaber that was stolen, it was Ahsoka's. Perhaps another thing to remember was, however, that Ahsoka cared what her lightsaber would be used for and was searching for it to make sure that it wouldn't happen. It was an accident, but her heart was still in the right place.

Realizing that the Jedi Master was still walking forward, Ana looks up when he suddenly stops in front of a particular door.

"What?" Ahsoka asks, putting her hands at her hips. After the slight philosophical lecture, Ana understood that Ahsoka may not want to hear more guilt-inducing words.

However, Master Sinube only gestured to a doorway, "I believe we have reached our destination."

Both Ana and Ahsoka turned closer to stare at a door lock that was cut in half, wires still sticking out and sparks visibly flying every few seconds. The sight of it made the anxiety in her body and the warning in the Force suddenly flare up inside her. Well, that was certainly one way to tell.

Ahsoka immediately launched herself forward and with her hands she tried to pry the doors apart. Ana moves closer as well on the other side of the Togruta, pushing down while Ahsoka pulled at the opening of the doorway until they felt the door give way and open. Ana turns to look through the opening and feels her stomach drop while she watches Ahsoka quickly run to the still body that laid sprawled on the floor by a broken table.

Ana runs inside as well while watching Ahsoka kneel before the body.

"Nack Movers, I'm assuming?" Ana asks, stepping closer to get a better look at the Trandoshan body on the ground, but she already knew her answer, and the non verbal question she was asking while she got closer.

"He's dead," Ahsoka reports, shoulders slumping slightly before she leans back.

Frowning, Ana looks around, the pricking of the needle at the back of her neck still there as she searches out in the room.

"What do you think happened?" Ana asks before tension fills her and makes her go rigid before she turns to look over the sofa. Eyes narrowing, she looks over the area but the force signature was definitely hanging in the air.

"Who is there?" Ana calls, her voice in a lower tone of seriousness.

When she watches a lamp fall, Ana immediately bends her legs in a defensive position while Ahsoka beside her stands up, hands out and ready for an attack as well before she moves closer. Both girls try to lean forward and move their heads up to get a better view while Master Sinube stood on the other side of the redhead.

A door opens slightly and Ana watches a tall, lanky girl come out. Her purple skin and bald head was adorned with darker artistic marks that were in more blocks and blocked lines with more curved lines under her large yellow eyes. She was definitely some sort of aquatic species, however it was not one that Ana was familiar with.

"Is she gone?" the female asks, looking around almost hurriedly, curving into herself slightly and showing a fearful appearance.

Only Master Sinube moved forward while Ahsoka slowly lowered her arms but eyed the girl lightly. Ana however, stayed where she was.

"Who's gone?" Master Sinube asks, Ana just barely catching the words before he moves out in front of her and she can only see the back of her head.

"The men who killed Nack," the girl answers, eyes still hurriedly looking around before Ana watches her lip quiver and soon, the girl places her face in her hands.

Master Sinube moves his head and all three of them somehow connect their glances. Ahsoka's face shows some slight doubt, not sure to believe the girl in front of her or just judging the act of visibly crying as she was, but both Ana and Master Sinube had their eyes narrowed lightly.

Ana didn't like it. There was still the prickling feeling of the Force moving up the base of her neck and into the back of her head, and the air almost smelled like smaug to her. Something wasn't right and she didn't like it, and it seemed that Master Sinube didn't think this was all either.

"Who are you?" Ahsoka asks.

The name isn't familiar to Ana, and it's hard to see the girls lips in the dark of the room she was in, and she glances at Master Sinube for clarification, who quickly letter spells the name 'I-O-N-E M-A-R-C-Y' so fast it probably didn't look like anything to the girl whose name he was spelling out.

Ana crouches even more slightly when the girl steps forward to sit on the steps, eyes moving to look past Ahsoka and at the body on the floor.

"I came home and found him here like this," Ione explains and Ana narrows her eyes again.

Ana's eyes glanced back at the doorway that she and Ahsoka had to pry open themselves before she looked at the other female again. She places her face in her hands again, shoulders shaking with apparent sobs, and Ana wishes to tell her to stop doing that. She didn't like not being able to see Ione's face and what she is saying, or being able to watch her facial expressions for any tells.

"Ione, did you call for help?" Ahsoka asks, leaning forward closer to the other female, but Ana still didn't leave her stance, "and why were you hiding?"

Master Sinube was also a little still beside Ana, taking in the scenario too. She wondered if he smelled the smaug or felt the prickle of the Force too.

Lifting her face from her webbed hands, Ione explains, "I was afraid."

Ahsoka looks behind her, eying Master Sinube. Seeing the need for a conference, Master Sinube gestures her to come back. While Ahsoka moves to come back, her back to Ione, Ana's eyes barely left the sentient.

"She seems terrified," Master Sinube whispers, signing while he talks. Ahsoka looks over her shoulder to look at Ione, who is sobbing into her hands again.

"Seems," Ana whispers, her eyes also on Ione.

"I agree," Master Sinube nods, bringing up a hand to sign again. "I sense something else is troubling her."

"Something is wrong," Ana replies lightly, eyes looking around the room. She was missing something, she had to be. She stares at Ione again. "Ione, how did you open the door?"

Ione looks up, almost startled.

"What do you mean?" Ione asks.

"The doorway," Ana gestures behind her to the pried open door. "It was sealed shut. How did you get in?"

Ione sniffles slightly, wiping at her eyes before she finally answered, "same as you. I had to push it open."

"By yourself?" Ana asked, eyes still narrowed. It took both girls to pry open that door.

Ione saw her gaze and immediately frowns while getting a defensive look.

"Why are you looking at me like that?!" Ione Marcy asks defensively. "I saw the lock and was worried! I wanted to make sure that Nack was okay! I just came in and saw my boyfriend dead. Why are you questioning me?!"

Ana's eyes were still narrow. How did she know that Nack was in here?

Sensing Ana's discomfort and Master Sinube's implication, Ahsoka looks back and tells them, "I'll search the other rooms."

Ana nods before looking at Ione.

"I just want to make sure I understand what is going on," Ana asked while watching Ahsoka walk up the steps past Ione to search the other rooms.

If Ione was so scared, why did she come out when she heard people forcibly enter her apartment?

She didn't like how Ahsoka went alone once she was out of sight, especially as the pricking against the back of her head was turning from a needle to a hammer. The redhead turns to Master Sinube and tells him, "I'm going to follow Ahsoka."

As she moves to step up the steps next to Ione, the redhead looks down at her. The smell was thick now, even if it was invisible to anyone else. Walking up the stairs, Ana looks around before noticing the open door that Ahsoka must've gone through. She creeps forward, looking around with hard eyes.

Walking forward, Ana suddenly senses something else, the pounding against her head was to a certain heartbeat.

She almost runs forward, eyes searching down the hallway and into the room to see Ahsoka heading to the closet.

"Ahsoka something is," she is cut off when she sees the shadow emerge from behind the bed and Ana is suddenly sprinting as she sees the glint of blue skin in the low light while Ahsoka uses the Force to suddenly open the closet door.

"Ahsoka!" Ana cries out, realizing that the other Padawan was completely unaware of her surroundings.

Holding out her hand, Ana forces the other assailant away when she sees the being raise her arm to strike. Ahsoka whips around and Ana just makes it to the doorway to see the other being stand up on the other side of the room. Up close, Ana could see it was another female, or at least Ana assumed so by her hair. She was tall and lanky like Ione, but even more so. She could tell from the beings reddish eyes and thin-skinned face that she was a Terellian Jango Jumper.

"Time to die," she declares, eyeing the two others with a slight sneer.

And just like that, Ana's eyes land on the silver thing that the being brings out from behind her. She can tell that the girl tries to ignite it, but then struggles and hits it against her thigh, face cast down to look at it.

"My lightsaber!" Ahsoka realizes beside her.

Those words made the other being's head look up quickly and any sneer that she had before was an obvious act as her eyes suddenly widen with terror.

"You're a Jedi?!" she suddenly asks.

Before Ana could say anything, the other girl quickly turns around, lightsaber still in hand before running to the window, kicking it out before jumping through. Both Ahsoka and Ana launch forward towards the window. Ana looks down to see the blue-skinned woman in the middle of scaling yet falling feet first down the side of the building.

Ahsoka quickly jumps after her without a word, falling down the side and letting her feet scrape against the wall and roof of the other apartment buildings as she jumps and follows the other girl.

The redhead quickly moves to jump over the side as well before she stops. There was a better way she could do this, but she needed more information. For now, she knew Ahsoka could fend for herself against a criminal who didn't know how to use the weapon in her hand even if her acrobatic skills and physical attributes could make her move fast. Ahsoka had just the same skills in balance and acrobatics, and could use the Force.

Watching the Terellian Jango Jumper jump to the next building, Ana quickly moved back and ran quickly back to the main room, seeing Master Sinube and Ione's shocked faces. Ana quickly moves towards Ione, a glare on her face, stalking towards her.

"If you were so concerned about the person who killed Nack is in the apartment then why were you hiding a Terrelian Jango Jumper that is holding my friend's lightsaber?" Ana demanded, moving her face closer to her.

Master Sinube raises an eyebrow and looks over at Ione as well. "A female?"

Ana nods and then turns to Ione again, kneeling down and almost snarling. "Where would she be going?"

"I-I don't know what you are talking about," Ione tries to shake her body and voice. "She must've been the intruder, hiding!"

Ana glares at her. Not believing her story for a second.

"You've already killed someone with that, for those reasons are your own, but you better tell me where your associate is going before someone else gets hurt," Ana tells her.

Ione looks between them.

"That was her lightsaber?" Ione almost tries to quiver. "But...Bannamu…"

"Bannamu is a pick-pocket, and I'm a Jedi," Ana said. "Are we done stating the obvious, because if anything happens we're holding you responsible. Now, and I don't want to ask this again, where would she be going?"

Ione looked around, eyes going to Master Sinube as though looking for a more calm and friendly person.

"If it is an intruder, perhaps you should be trying to help us any way that you can," Master Sinube tells her gently, moving to sit down beside her. "Do you know any Terellian Jango Jumpers who may want to her Nack? Or you?"

Ana didn't have time for this, Ahsoka was out there running after this criminal. She looks over at Nack, and it wasn't until she was at this position that she noticed one incredible detail.

She turns to look for Ione beside Master Sinube but already sees her across the room at another table.

"What I find interesting is that Nack must not be a great fighter," Ana comments as Ione raises a cup to her lips, not missing how her hands shook ever so slightly. "The intruder didn't need to use the lightsaber."

"Yes," Master Sinube agrees. "Almost as though he was...poisoned." In the corner of her eyes, Ana notice him move another glass with his cane.

Ione immediately looks over her shoulder, "What?" she asked, almost surprised.

Master Sinube and Ana glance at each other and catching the look in her eye, he nods. While Ana understood what his method was, she wanted a quicker result to help Ahsoka.

"Do you have a speeder?" Ana asked.

Ione looked even more confused and shocked, looking between the two.

"Wh-what?!" she asks surprised.

"You want us to get that intruder for you, right? Well she's on the run, and my friend may need some help. However, I'll be able to move faster with a speeder and help her corner the intruder in," Ana said, knowing that Ione was lying and playing to it. "You wouldn't want the person who killed your boyfriend to get away, would you?"

Ione pauses for a moment, and Ana has to stop herself from grinning.

"I...yes, yes I do," Ione admits, nodding slowly.

Ana holds out her hand.

"I'll be needing the keys then, or else the speeder is useless," Ana tells her, trying to hide her impatience.

Ione nods and although with light hesitation, moves to take a keycard activator from her wrist.

"Of course," she agrees, holding it out to the redhead.

Smiling and hoping it didn't look too smug, Ana nods and takes the keycard to place it on her own wrist, already moving out the still pried open door and running down the hallway until she found windows. At each one, she took a quick glance out to see if she could spot where the speeders were. When she finally looked out her third window farther down the hallway and sees a set, she presses a button on the activator and sees a semi long, simple older model, dark green speeder activate right below the window and slowly rise from the ground it was resting in. Ana looks around before making her final decision and she kicks as hard as she can against the window. Feeling the glass break against her boot, she brings her foot back down and takes a look at the damage both at the glass and on the ground. Seeing the speeder still slowly rise, Ana carefully jumped over the edge of the window and let herself fall down into the speeder. The hover of it jolted slightly and swayed as she jumped in, almost a little flimsy before she moved to sit in the driver's seat. Looking over the controls quickly, she found it a similar, though much more simplified, set up of the speeders she had seen at the temple and compound. Starting up the speeder fully, she presses the button to put it in the right gear.

Settling down in the speeder, Ana turns on her comlink and puts in Ahsoka's contact and a request for an image message.

"Ahsoka, I got a speeder. Where are you?!" Ana asks, now moving the hovercraft up in the air and turning around the corner, moving towards the direction of where the bounty hunter headed to get a head start.

Not a few seconds later, Ahsoka's image pops up at her wrist and she leans it up slightly so that she can look at it as well as where she was going easily without needing to look down and up. She sees Ahsoka running quickly in the image, just being able to catch her lips while she answers, "I think I'm close to J Street! It looks like I'm along the outskirts of one of the consumer districts!"

Still keeping an eye on where she was going while heading past a new building, Ana watches Ahsoka pause for a moment, looking down before she resigns to something and jumps down onto some type of large cylinder object.

"On my way!" Ana promises, shutting off the communication so that both of them can focus on the chase.

Although Ana did not completely know where J Street specifically was in comparison to her, she knew enough about the commercial district and surrounding area of Coruscant to go in the right general direction. Quickly moving down different streets, Ana only wished this thing had a navigation system on it, but it was a cheaper system, which surprised her since Ione found a way to snag a high profile boyfriend with a lot of sleezy-made money, a nice apartment on the upper side near the commercial district, has a lower grade speeder without a functioning navigational system. But then again, that may be just so people couldn't track it.

Turning another corner and merging in with dozens of other speeders, Ana picked up her speed to get ahead of them, noticing the large holoscreens in front of her. Squinting her eyes, she notices how a few are beginning to fall, or are slanting in one direction. If this was where Ahsoka and the bounty hunter were, then they definitely made their mark.

Driving closer, she soon notices a speck on one of the slowly slanted screens, being held up by one good motor but still heavily fallen and slanted. Only getting closer does she realized that a form appears on the face of the Chancellor.

"Ahsoka!" Ana cries in alarm, instantly going at the highest speed the speeder could go.

While all the other drivers quickly move to avoid the banner and holoscreen, Ana went directly towards it, only slowing down at the last second. She didn't know how Ahsoka was able to hang on to something that had no grip, but she was glad that physics was on the Togruta's side or it would've been a hell of a fall.

"Ahsoka! Jump!" Ana cried to her, stopping quickly right below the Togruta, slamming herself on the steering and side of the speeder as she halted to a stop, moving to also go sideways so that they could easily move around it.

Looking over her shoulder, Ana saw Ahsoka stare down at her for barely a second before jumping down. The speeder jolted as Ahsoka landed in the seat beside Ana, elbowing the redhead slightly as she landed and tried to get her footing, but it was just a number of different soreness against her right now that she could recover from.

"She went that way!" Ahsoka pointed towards a building to the left.

Sure enough, when Ana looked she saw the familiar blue skinned being moving up a metal pipe for the building. Ana immediately launches the speeder forward towards it and catches Ahsoka sign in the corner of her eye, "I'll get down and follow her, you get to the top so we can box her in."

"Got it," Ana replies.

The redhead moves the speeder close enough to the building, but doesn't slow down as Ahsoka stands up in her seat and jumps out without hesitation. The redhead barely catches Ahsoka rolling into the stop before getting on her feet while Ana drove up around the building and to the top.

Just as Ana makes it to the top and jumps out of the speeder, making sure it is parked not too far away and the activator key is still solidly on her wrist, she suddenly feels the vibration on her wrist while she moves to get ready closer to the edge the Terellian Jango Jumper should be coming up. Looking down at her com-link she sees the light flash and she hits the button and sees Master Sinube's image immediately project from it.

"Our friend Ione is on the run," Master Sinube signs while he talks. He looks over his shoulder and Ana sees a city police droid suddenly appear in the image before disappearing, "she found a speeder, so I'm sure she'll be coming up on you soon if you are close to the bounty hunter."

"How did she get a speeder?! I took hers!" Ana asked incredulously.

"It appears Nack Movers had one as well," he signs back.

Ana's eyes quickly search the sky and soon enough, on top of the tall building, she recognizes a purple skinned bald figure in a black speeder hurtling through the street trying to dodge others.

"Karabast!" Ana mutters before she ends the communication quickly. Running to the edge, Ana looked down to see that instead of trying to follow her up, Ahsoka must've brought down the pipe because it was now fallen and barely hanging against the building horizontally.

While the blue skinned bounty hunter stood at the end of the pole, Ahsoka was slowly walking along it to get to her. Fair enough, the bounty hunter would seem to have nowhere to go, but she watches as the bounty hunter begins to bounce on the pole and even with Ahsoka's physical inheritance of balance, she was already faltering. Ana was more slightly concerned about the speeders zooming past and making sure none got too close. Seeing the black speeder coming closer, Ana watches as Ahsoka suddenly falls off as the bounty hunter jumps into Ione's speeder with complete ease. Running back as quickly as she could, Ana jumps into the green speeder again and quickly drives it down around the building and under Ahsoka. Seeing her on her way, Ahsoka easily lets go of the pipe with precision timing and the speeder jolts again as she drops onto the passengers side but Ana expects the knocking around this time.

Making sure that Ahsoka was properly inside, she then puts the speeder into the next gear and accelerates to follow them.

"Do you think I could borrow your lightsaber?" Ahsoka signed.

"Don't you think if I brought it I'd be using it as well?" Ana asked, dodging a few other speeders as they gained speed on Ione and the bounty hunter.

As they got closer, Ana waited until they turned a corner and were out of the main street and no other drivers were around to drive as close to the other speeder as possible. Moving to crouch on the passenger seat, once close enough Ahsoka jumped onto the end of the black speeder. Watching as the other girls swerved to look behind him. The bounty hunter immediately stands up in the passenger seat as well, Ione making corrective measures to stabilize them before Ana watches the green blade ignite.

As the bounty hunter begins to swing the blade before Ahsoka, the Togruta easily dodges it while still coming closer. Grabbing at the hand of the blade when she came close, the bounty hunter easily moves to bring her one leg out and swipe it hard against Ahsoka. Although the Togruta gets knocked over, she keeps hold of the lightsaber handle and the other's wrist, bringing both of them tumbling off of the other speeder and falling towards the top of a nearby building. As Ione quickly moved to dive down and help her partner, Ana braces herself before slamming into the other speeder. Ione jolts as well, but before she can recover Ana's desired effect kicks in as the black speeder hits against the top of the building as well some feet away from where Ahsoka and the bounty hunter were in a hand to hand combat. As the speeder lands on its side before moving upright, Ana quickly lands her speeder as well before jumping out and onto Ione.

Ana feels them topple and roll against the hard ground, using her body to create momentum to make sure she would be on top. With Ione below her, she quickly moved to pull off the activation card along Ione's wrist before feeling the sudden kick up against her lower ribs. Grunting slightly, Ione takes the split second of Ana's whiplash Ione kicks up both feet, throwing Ana off of her. Hitting the ground with a grunt, Ana quickly looks up and is on the move again when she sees Ione moving towards Ahsoka to help the bounty hunter as Ahsoka keeps dodging the blade as the bounty hunter threatens her with each swipe of her arm.

Once close enough, Ana moves to bring her leg under Ione's, however with her lanky figure the other girl was able to keep herself upright. As she moves to bring out her hand in a punch, Ana quickly dodges it before grabbing Ione's arm, keeping it in place before Ana turns herself and elbows Ione in their close proximity. Recovering quickly, Ione brings her other hand out to punch in at Ana's side, so the redhead kneels down slightly and uses her strength to flip Ione over her back and shoulders until she is sprawled on the ground in front of her. Still holding her wrist up that holds the keycard, Ana goes to try and move it off again.

Focused on Ione, Ana barely sees the green glow in time to propel herself backwards as the bounty hunter swings to strike. Needing to let go of Ione to keep her balance, Ana moves back and body checks herself against the bounty hunter's other side, just barely hitting her before Ione swiftly kicks her stomach, throwing her back again and out of the bounty hunter's reach. Groaning slightly, Ana's limbs ache with the multiple blows and falls to the rooftop, but that is nothing to her stomach feeling suddenly hard yet twisted, feeling bile rumbling in her stomach. The redhead looks up enough just in time to see Ione get into the black speeder again, the speeder hovering up again before the bounty hunter runs quickly towards it as well, slashing the end of Ione's green speeder before jumping into passenger seat of the other beside Ione. Her partner had barely got on before Ione lifted the speeder higher and blasted away. Ana lifted her arm, trying to use the Force to try to halt or at least slow down the speeder while Ahsoka runs to follow it, only stopping once she gets to the edge of the building.

Sitting up, wincing slightly as she feels the ache in her ribs from the struggle beforehand, Ana's gaze moves from Ahsoka to the speeder, now watching as sparks flew in the spot where the lightsaber blade cut into it.

"Well that option is out," Ana grunted lightly, getting to her feet, all fight in her flared out by now as Ahsoka walked back to her, the Togruta's eyes wild with both energy from the fight and dejected from the loss.

"Are you okay?" Ahsoka asks, watching Ana almost lose her balance getting to her feet.

Leaning over slightly, hands on her legs as she tried to give her ribs a bit more time to heal before standing up, "nothing I won't heal from," Ana replied lightly.

Ahsoka nods, staring at her for a few moments before she looks over at the speeder. Taking the few steps towards it, Ana watches her kick the side and the speeder actually jolts slightly from the impact.

"Woah, hey!" Ana tells her, walking forward, "Ahsoka, this is not worth hurting yourself over."

Ahsoka whirled around to face her friend, her eyes no longer wild with anger but thick with hurt and guilt.

"What is it worth?!" Ahsoka cries, her hands up in the air and fists clenched as though wishing she could pull and tear at something more than the air. "Ana, we lost! They took my lightsaber and are on a speeder, they know we are following them and will try to get away as soon as possible! Who knows where they could be by the time we could even try to follow them on foot!"

Ana shakes her head, "Ahsoka, if fighting in this war, even for a little bit, has taught me anything - it's that it's never over. Nothing is."

"Until it is," Ahsoka comments and Ana doesn't need to hear the slight growl of disappointment in her tone to know it is there.

"No," Ana shakes her head, "we can contact Master Sinube and figure out our next plan...and let him know where we are."

Ahsoka shakes her head, her hands moving up in frustration again.

"And what are we supposed to do?! Follow them all across Coruscant?! Or to another planet?!" Ahsoka asked, her tone high.

Shaking her head and mumbling something else that Ana couldn't even dream of catching, Ahsoka then moved back to the edge of the building and dropped down almost like a sack of potatoes, her back to Ana. Bringing her legs up to her chest, Ana watches the Padawan wrap her arms around them and rest her chin against her kneecaps.

Pausing for a few seconds, Ana finally sighs before she walks towards Ahsoka and moves to sit down beside her, keeping her legs relaxed and stretched out as she moves to lean back and rest a bit on her hands at her sides. She looks over at Ahsoka, the other girl not looking at her but still straight forward as though pointedly trying to forget she was there.

"This isn't your fault, you know," Ana tells her gently, yet with a confident tone.

Ahsoka stares out into the streets around her, watching speeders go past before she finally brings her hands out, but keeps her arms close to her legs and her chin rested against them. Ana hated how hopeless she looked; she'd never seen Ahsoka like this.

"I should've been more careful," Ahsoka signs, not moving her lips. "I shouldn't have been so cocky about having a lightsaber when Anakin went into the building."

"Even if you weren't, something like this still could've happened, it's just unfortunate that it happened to you," Ana insists.

Ahsoka shakes her head and sighs before she signed, "I just don't want to think about what they will use that lightsaber for. One person already died because of it."

"Nack died because he was a murderer looking for a better weapon and Ione is a backstabbing girlfriend who would've killed him if he found another powerful weapon she wanted," Ana insisted further, a pointed tone in her voice.

Ahsoka shrugged again.

"Maybe," she relents, still only signing. After a few moments, she continues on another thought, "I don't even want to think about what Anakin will say about this."

"I don't know why you are so concerned, I don't think Anakin will be too mad. Maybe for a bit, but not long, and he'll help you figure this all out."

"Anakin will give me this big lecture about how stupid it was that I let it happen, and I don't want to see his look of disappointment over it and then lecture me all throughout trying to get another crystal to make another lightsaber."

"It's not like he hasn't made mistakes or had bad things happen to him either."

"Nothing like this."

"Really, Ahsoka?" Ana asks, making a face, "if I immediately commed Obi-Wan right now and after his long as afterlife lecture asked him how many dumb things Anakin has done to top this incident, he would immediately think of at least 55 stories. Give him 30 extra minutes to think and he would come up with at least 150 others, at least 10 of them from the past month."

Ahsoka snorted and tried to rub her cheek so hide her slight smile, but Ana didn't try to hide her soft one at seeing hers. Ana sighs and sits down beside Ahsoka and looks over at her.

"The point being," Ana continues, keeping her voice gentle but also with a tone that demanded attention, "this is a horrible situation, but it's not your fault and you don't deserve to beat yourself up for it."

Ahsoka stares at her for a few seconds, eyes searching her face while she thought before she looked down again.

"I just wish I'm done with all these inner lectures," Ahsoka now talks while she signs.

"Not to sound like Obi-Wan, but sometimes we learn lessons the hardest way possible."

Ahsoka nods in agreement.

"Also, not to completely complain because he's helped us most of the night but honestly, but I am really tired of Master Sinube trying to lecture me about patience and being in a rush," Ahsoka admits and this time it was Ana's turn to laugh.

At the changing atmosphere, Ana can see Ahsoka's shoulders losing their heaviness as well.

"Oh, speaking of which we should probably message him as soon as possible because he's going to take the slowest time possible to get here," Ana agreed and watches Ahsoka snort lightly again, shoulders shaking lightly with soft laughter. "The more we wait in minutes likely the longer he'll take in hours, like a conversion rate."

Ahsoka visibly open mouth laughs and Ana beams as she watches her. The redhead goes to say something else to try and make the Togruta smile, however, when a glare starts to appear against the corner of her vision, Ana turns her head and looks out in front of her before she realizes the light glinting against all of the other speeders and that the sky was getting brighter. In the chase, she hadn't even noticed that before.

"Is that the sun?!" Ana asked, shocked. "We've been out here all night!"

"It doesn't seem like it, hmm?" Ahsoka asked, signing as she talked.

Ana looks out in front of her again before looking down at her feet, moving to roll her ankles against the edge of the building. "No wonder my feet are so sore...although I'm surprised because Obi-Wan hasn't tried to contact me, unless he hasn't noticed I'm gone."

"Now that you mention it, Anakin hasn't either," Ahsoka agrees, still signing while she talks, her eyes lost in thought, "although sometimes he just...disappears at night and is gone all night himself."

"Really?"

Ahsoka nods. "Don't know what he does though, and I stopped asking a while ago."

Ana nods back and after a moment she sighs, "I'll contact Master Sinube, get him started on his way here."

"Good idea," Ahsoka agrees, "and...thanks. You didn't have to come with me tonight."

Ana smiles and then shrugs, "what else would I be doing tonight that could stop me from helping a friend?"

Ahsoka just smiled back.

~.~

It wasn't as long as the girls thought it would be before Ahsoka's head turns from looking at the ground. Seeing the motion, Ana looks up and forces herself to see past the glare of the still rising sun and sees Master Sinube slowly making his way up to the girls on a bike-like speeder.

Raising her eyebrows, Ana gets to her feet and Ahsoka soon follows.

"I see you two have learned patience, young ones," Master Sinube says, slowly coming to a stop in front of them.

"Where did you get that speeder?" Ahsoka asked, signing the words as well when she looks over the speeder, a little surprised.

"I asked one of the police droids to lend me some transportation," Master Sinube explains. "They were kind enough to oblige."

Huh, Ana thought. Fair enough.

"Come along then, we still have a lightsaber to find," Master Sinube told them,

Giving each other a last glance, the two girls then soon make their way onto the small speeder. With Master Sinube still in the front, Ahsoka in the middle, and Ana at the end, all three of them barely had enough room to stay on as the girls held on to the person in front of them.

Soon, Master Sinube lifts the speeder and drives it to the main road that Ahsoka and Ana had been driving on before. In the morning traffic, Master Sinube keeps the speeder lowered so that others can pass them easily. Ana didn't know whether it was because when they were in the earlier speeders that they were going so fast, or from being able to clearly see details in buildings they passed, or with all the other speeders passing them that she realized how slow they were going after a while. Apparently, Ahsoka had noticed as well.

Ana watched Ahsoka lean in to say something to Master Sinube, likely complaining about the speed they were going and honestly Ana wouldn't think they were unneeded.

Looking back so that both of them could see his face and Ana his lips.

"Patience," he insists, "We'll cut them off at the train station!"

"How do you know they are there?!" Ana asks, surprised and when Ahsoka turns to look back at her, she realizes the Togruta must've asked the same question.

"Did I mention that I planted a tracking device on Ione, the girl that ran away?" Master Sinube asked, knowing that he had clearly left that out and moved to look down and take a tracker out of his pocket, lit up to show it was still activated.

Ana almost rolled her eyes in the surprise and relief, "no, you failed to mention that detail," she called to him.

"Well, I did now," Master Sinube replied, turning his head to tell Ana before he looked forward, still moving towards the train station.

After a few minutes when the train station is in view, Master Sinube lowered the speeder and soon parked it at the edge with some of the other speeders close to the one entrance. While Ahsoka and Ana immediately left off the speeder once Master Sinube stopped it, they both only got one more step before realizing that they couldn't rush forward again. Turning back, they still saw Master Sinube slowly lifting himself off the speeder before getting comfortably on his feet and taking his cane out again for balance.

The station wasn't packed, but it was busy enough for the morning. They must've either beat or were after the main morning foot traffic. Looking around the station, Ana's eyes go to each face that she can find. There were multiple different spentient species walking around or talking to each other. She saw holo screens telling train routes and travel times mostly in basic but a few were in other languages from other worlds that had a large live-in or travel population on Coruscant. There were also a few maps of the train station and Ana took a little longer to stare at them before moving on.

Eyes casting to more faces, all three of them walked down the station to see more faces. Both girls periodically looked down at the tracker, as though making sure by the timing of the flashes if they were going in the right direction, however as they moved closer to the center of the station, the tracker suddenly turned off. Pausing slightly, all three Jedi looked at each other, realizing the tracker had been seen. With a new sense of urgency, the girls looked around with a sharper eye, going from face to face faster while walking down the station a bit faster.

It was Ahsoka who saw the faces they were looking for first. Nudging Ana, she silently gestures down the station to where you could line up to get tickets. Seeing the familiar faces, Ana immediately looked behind them and barely caught Ahsoka pointing to the pair as the two began running, "stop them!"

Police droids that were littered along the train station immediately looked to the pair while Ahsoka and Ana were running as fast as they could, Ahsoka ahead of Ana by a few steps as the police droids quickly circled in on the girls. Ione was easy to grab, as two police droids grasped her arms and two others moved to quickly move in on her partner. However, before they could grab her and Ahsoka could make it there, the bounty hunter reached down to unclip the lightsaber and within a second she ignited it and cut into the two police droids advancing on her.

Picking up their speed, both Ana and Ahsoka followed the bounty hunter as she ran through the station. In the corner of her eye Ana could see the shocked and worried faces of other people around the station as they watched someone swinging a lightsaber as they ran through the station. Trying to keep up with the Terellian Jango Jumper's long legs as she ran, Ana could only yell to the crowd as they ran, watching how hazardly the lightsaber was swinging.

"Get out of the way!" Ana called to them, watching as the bounty hunter would push others or literally swing close enough to their faces to feel the heat of the blade in order to get them out of her way.

Running towards the train, Ana hoped that they may have had their final break when she pushed someone to get out of her way to step onto the train, only to have it shut in her face. Pushing their legs to go faster, Ana and Ahsoka almost circled in on the bounty hunter as she turned around to look at them. However, it only led to the lightsaber being clipped against her belt again before she turned around and jumped onto the now moving train. While Ahsoka quickly jumped on after her, the two jumping up easily with their physical skills up each level of the train, Ana could only skid to a halt as she watched them jumping and soon running down the top of the train as it left the station.

Ana thought of jumping up on the train as well, however she knew that she didn't nearly have the jumping skills or balance as the two sentient beings. She would likely fall off and Ahsoka didn't need to save her.

Turning around, Ana quickly ran back to the police droids that were holding the now handcuffed Ione as Master Sinube seemed to be talking to them. Slowing down her steps, she didn't care if she was interrupting a conversation.

"Is there a way to get in contact with the service driver and have them bring the train back to this station?" Ana asked, looking towards the police droids.

She could see their monitors move, indicating that they said something so she turned to Master Sinube to translate.

He shakes his head and signs, "the trains run on an automatic system. There is a system to stop it, but it would be along the tracks."

Honestly that wouldn't be too much help either if they were stuck in a spot where it was harder to get them.

Ana then looked back to the spot where the train was, looking at the wall above to see the train number before she got another idea. Moving quickly to one of the screens a few steps away and reading over the schedule. Tapping against the screen, she picked the train number and saw it moving across a map in real time. Getting the location of the next station on its route, Ana turned to look back at Master Sinube.

"Think we could borrow that speeder again, Master Sinube? We're going to need to hurry if we need to get to the next station," Ana reported.

Master Sinube could only grin, "I was thinking of just the same thing."

~.~

Getting off the back of the speeder after Master Sinube parked it, Ana looked around the station. It was almost as lightly crowded as the last one, however the station for the train number they were looking for was still empty. Thankfully, they had made it before it came.

Walking with Master Sinube towards that part of the station, weaving through crowds calmly, Master Sinube also flagged down more police droids as they prepared for the entrance of the train.

Seeing the light come on to indicate the station would soon be greeting the arrival of the train, Ana saw a crowd getting ready to form and she turns to them, warning them to stay clear away. Seeing the police droids, especially after Ana pointed to them, most of them didn't disagree.

Feeling the rumble against her feet, Ana turned to look back at the station and watched the train slide into position. They moved themselves as well, going to the main entrance and getting ready for the doors to open. Preparing for the door to open, Ana's legs moved into their familiar light stance however, admittedly, out of all the images in her head she did not expect to see the bounty hunter at the front entrance of the train, holding Ahsoka's lightsaber closely to the faces of a mother and son Twi'lek pair.

While Ana moved forward, her hand stretched out and ready to hold the lightsaber with the Force, Master Sinube was already standing at the doorway, his hands resting on his cane. The bounty hunter and Jedi only made eye contact for a few moments before Master Sinube looked down. Ana watched as he took off the top of his cane and, to her bewilderment, a white blade of light and energy ignited from the opening of the top of the cane.

Sensing the new fight, the bounty hunter moved the green blade back so that the mother and son could quickly walk away. Jogging forward again, Ana quickly took the mother's arms and helped to guide her away from the fight as Master Sinube was already swinging his blade against hers.

Making sure the mother and son were safely away, Ana turned back and came forward again, watching as Master Sinube struck against the lightsaber again, and twisting his swing with enough force to make the green blade leave the bounty hunter's hand. Watching it flip in the air a few times, Ahsoka caught it, blade down.

Realizing that she was without a weapon, before the bounty hunter could try to run again, Master Sinube brought up the normal half of his cane and slammed it so hard against the bounty hunter's chest that she flies back and hits the other side of the train. Coming to a stop beside Master Sinube, Ana raises her eyebrows and looks towards Master Sinube.

"I got to admit, I did not see that coming," Ana tells him as Master Sinube looks over at her with a smile, moving to put his cane back together. Ana had to admit, it was a great cover and no one suspected what it actually was based on it and his appearance.

Having her own light smile as Ahsoka confidently held her own lightsaber again, Ahsoka moves forward as she agrees, "for a guy who moves slow, you always seem to get ahead of me."

"The value of moving slowly is that one can always clearly see the way ahead," Master Sinube tells her, leaning against the put together cane again, "also, Padawan Staphos also thought of the same idea."

Ana grins lightly before watching three polie droids run past them and to the still struck down bounty hunter, this time one had a gun raised ready if she were to fight again. However, still out of it from the blow, the blue skinned girl still laid barely conscious on the ground.

As Master Sinube moved to step out of the doorway, Ahsoka walked up to them, looking down at her lightsaber again and smiling before she disignited it. Giving Ana a small smile, Ana gave her a relieved one back before her eyes caught something else. Both of them turning, they looked at the mother kneeling down on the floor, hugging her son tightly with relief. Thankfully, this whole nightmare was over.

~.~

Back at the Temple, with the sun fully raised over their part of the world, Ana and Ahsoka walked on either side of Master Sinube as they entered and walked down the Jedi Temple's hallways. It was still early enough for things to be peaceful and quiet, not that the Temple was ever rowdy anyway but it was still nice to come back to something quiet, settling, and familiar.

"Well, I best be getting back to my Master before he misses me," Ahsoka declares as though hinting at the goodbye.

"I should too," Ana agreed, "I'm surprised Obi-Wan hasn't contacted me about anything yet."

"Certainly," Master Sinube agrees, walking with his steady pace and still signing with one hand, "But first, Padawan Tano, I need one last favour from you."

Ana raises her eyebrows and Ahsoka looks over the Master at her before shrugging and looking down at him.

"Sure," Ahsoka agrees, "name it."

"Pass on what you have learned," Master Sinube replies with a smile on his face.

Ahsoka smiles and the two Padawans continue walking forward until they get to one of the small training rooms. Looking inside, Ana sees Master Yoda with four younglings with helmets on, all of them have ignited lightsabers in their hands. Turning to Ahsoka, Ana smiles to her, "I'll leave you to it."

Ahsoka nods and tells her with a small smile, "thank you, again."

Ana just gives her a last smile before she thanks Master Sinube for his help as well and turns to walk back down the hallways to the library to retrieve her lightsaber.

Upon entering the familiar library, Ana is quickly seen by Madame Jocasta again. The older woman gives her a wide smile and tells her, setting the holobooks in her hand down so she could sign, "ah Ana, I'm glad that you are back! I'm assuming Master Sinube and Ahsoka are as well."

Ana nods, "yes, they are doing a quick teaching first."

Madame Jocasta nods, "well, you Master came looking for you late last night and I told him you and Ahsoka were out with Master Sinube, but he took your lightsaber back to your room. I'm sure that's what you came in for."

Ana nods again, a smile still on her face.

"It was. Thank you for all your help Madame Jocasta," she replies.

The woman smiles back to her and Ana makes her final goodbye before heading back to her room.

Not bothering to knock or give warning, Ana pressed the button and once the doors slid open, the smell of Obi-Wan's regular morning tea filled her nose. The Jedi Master looks over at her and makes a face between a smile and a grin.

"I heard that you went on some spontaneous lesson and adventure with Master Sinube," he comments from the kitchenette area, taking a sip of his tea.

Ana shrugged but gave him a smile.

"Something like a field trip," Ana replies, coming in and shutting the door behind her.

"I was a little concerned and surprised that you didn't bring your lightsaber with you," Obi-Wan commented as Ana already began moving to her room.

"Well," Ana shrugged, "turned out I didn't need it. Not to be rude either, but I'm exhausted. We were walking around all night...pretty sure we went to three different districts."

Obi-Wan smiled.

"Fair enough," he said, or at least Ana thought he said because his cup was partially blocking some of his mouth.

Ana gave him one last smile before entering her room and shutting the door behind her. Seeing the lightsaber on her bed, Ahsoka smiled as she picked it up, opening herself to the connection of it. Just like it usually was, it was like the connecting flow of air moving through her and the crystal in the Force.