I'm kind of declaring this chapter "unfixable", but I actually like the detail enough to be alright with it. Xur has little influence on this, which I guess isn't that bad. Besides, you shouldn't mess with the first chapter too much!


Chapter 1: Heroes on Both Sides

With the Clone Wars raging on without any end, the Republic's debt has risen to an alarming size. The Banking Clan has attempted to negotiate a de-regulation of the banks to pull in more money to fund the war. The Senate is far too divided to truly find a decision, and won't discover one any time soon. While the Banking Clan goes for more drastic measures to tip the scale, Senator Amidala has decided that meeting up with her old friend Senator Bonterri to discuss peace is the best way. Accompanied by Ahsoka Tano and Xur Eon, she now heads to Raxus to attempt to bring the war to an end…


Xur was restless. The black cloak he wore was all that concealed his obvious annoyance. As much as he enjoyed the presence of his companions, he hated the idea of their mission. Laying low was not how he liked to get things done, especially when dealing with Separatists. His "shoot first, ask questions later" instinct was bound to trigger in tense situations such as these that could absolutely jeopardize the mission.

But he just couldn't resist seeing how his enemy worked, and most of all, be able to find potential weaknesses he could exploit. He looked through his helmet inside the cargo ship where they had "smuggled" the Senator to Raxus. His idea was to give off the "bodyguard" impression to most so he wouldn't be questioned by any curious ones. He kept his black and red gloved hands visible along with his armored legs and boots so no one would even think about him.

He could sense Ahsoka glance at him for a second, but he did not turn to look at her. He just kept looking outside at the planet. It was actually a pleasant one, containing many bodies of water and a green-ish landscape. Once they reached the city, he was truly impressed. It was designed seemingly in a way so the senate building was the center and towered above all. It gave him a sense of importance for the area.

It wasn't long before the ship had landed on the platform with a slight shake and they were being lowered down. He could sense his companions' worry, but he elected to save the sarcastic comment in this kind of situation, as to not blow their cover. The first sight of a battle droid told him to cut it down, but he refrained in every way possible. They asked others for identification, and noticed one heading towards them as well. He prepared for the worst, but one of their associates distracted it and they snuck by. They were lead to a woman standing at the edge of the platform, looking out. Xur kept his hands behind his back to keep himself from snapping as she turned to see them. She was in her middle years it seemed, 30s or 40s it seemed. She didn't look very different from other Senators in the Republic, which at least gave him a sense of security.

"Hello old friend," she greeted Padme. Xur stopped behind Padme and Ahsoka, since his height didn't obstruct his view. He didn't break his stoic stare. He wasn't here to play nice.

"This is Mina Bonterri, she was my mentor when I was growing up on Naboo," Padme introduced. Ahsoka almost seemed disgusted.

"You're a separatist?" she asked. Xur raised his hairless brow, holding back a "grasp of the obvious" comment.

Mina laughed. "Well of course my dear, what were you expecting? Now come, I have a transport waiting," she ushered them towards a floating craft at the edge of the platform.

Xur leaned forward towards Ahsoka. "Not trying to kill us. This might work out alright."

She was less convinced. "Maybe."


The transport took them to an estate that anyone could only hope to have. It was quite large, and isolated with its own landing pad. Xur ditched his cloak and helmet, wanting to at least give off the impression that he was approachable, although there was no guarantee that he would respond kindly. His red Zabrak face was already repulsive on its own.

When the door opened, he waited for everyone to leave in front of him since he didn't have any kind of luggage that he took along with him. He was taller than everyone else, something he noticed as he walked out. He also noticed a human boy, he assumed to be 16 or 17 looking down on them, seeming unpleased with their arrival. He didn't blame him, Xur wasn't happy to be here.

"Lux!" Mina called. "Come down and help our guests with their luggage please!" The boy reluctantly descended down the stairs. Ahsoka gave him one quick look and then rolled her eyes, not impressed with him in the slightest and kept on. Amina and Padme seemed to be caught up in their own discussion and hugged each other. Lux took Padme's case before letting them pass and then offered to take Ahsoka's, in which she jerked it away from him.

"I can handle it," she insisted. They both stared at each other intently, looking as if they were analyzing each other. Xur stopped in between them and gave each of them a look.

"Are you two done?" he chuckled. Their intensity amused him in a strange way. They both seemed to drop it immediately and Ahsoka made her way up. Lux turned to Xur for a second. He obviously noticed his four lightsabers and was wide-eyed at the sight. "What? You've never seen these before?" he snapped before he followed Ahsoka up the steps. Lux shrugged off the rough meeting between the two and followed them up as well.


Xur had no interest in the conversation the two senators were having, so he decided to wait outside in the courtyard and practice his focus with his lightsabers. He didn't care if Lux was watching. What did it matter? He probably wouldn't understand anyway. He just sat and suspended a blade over each of his hands and spun them quickly, choosing not to ignite them here. He kept his eyes closed to avoid any sort of distractions. He could sense Lux watching him, but kept on.

It was when he sensed Ahsoka's presence that he opened his eyes. Lux observed her utility belt intently and noticed her lightsabers hanging there.

"You're a Jedi, aren't you?" he asked. Ahsoka seemed annoyed towards his question.

"Yes, why do you ask?" she almost snapped. Xur chuckled a bit and stopped both of his lightsabers from spinning.

"Give the kid a break, he's probably never seen one before," Xur urged before he returned his blades to his belt. She just simply gave him an unconvinced glance and turned back to Lux.

"It's just…before the war…I was always told Jedi were good," Lux answered. Xur raised an eyebrow.

"And now?" Ahsoka asked, interested in what he had to say.

"Now? Well…I really don't know anymore," Lux said honestly. Xur nodded. He could see that when he put himself in Lux's shoes. They certainly looked like murderers to them, slaying their leaders single-handedly and downing entire armies at will. Ahsoka smiled.

"I'm the first Jedi you've ever met, aren't I?" she asked. Xur laughed as she was obviously working him and hopped up on a ledge to sit higher.

Lux struggled to speak almost. He seemed unable to find his words, something that caught Xur's eye. "Um…yes,"

Ahsoka turned and presented herself to him. "Well, look at me. I'm not so bad, am I?" Lux moved his eyes up her body as he gave her a good look. She definitely was not bad looking at all, but her personality was….curious.

He smiled. "No, not bad at all," Ahsoka seemed uncomfortable and she shrugged. Xur cocked his head in interest.

"Ugh," she shrieked. "Well, it seems boys are the same weather they're republic or separatist." She said before turning her back on him. Xur rose to his feet, with a confused look on his face.

"Funny," Xur mocked. He chuckled a bit, but still remained stern. "I'll remember that."

Ahsoka rolled her eyes as she walked past him. "Whatever," Xur shook his head and placed his hands at his hips. Lux was looking down before he chased after her, almost pushing Xur out of the way in the process.

Wow, he's persistent. Xur observed. He decided to back up away from the two. There was definitely something going on between them.

"How many separatists have you met?" Lux asked.

"What?"

"Like, have you met anyone personally, and droids don't count," he continued. Ahsoka really took his question to heart. It was true, she had never really met a real separatist before. Maybe he was on to something.

"Besides military officers like Ventress and Grevious…no I haven't," she admitted. Lux took the opportunity to present himself in front of her. Xur facepalmed.

"Well, look at me, am I so bad?"

Ahsoka paused. Maybe he was right. He didn't seem the slightest bit hostile. Maybe she needed to give him a chance.

"I'm going to…head upstairs…," Xur interrupted before he made his way back up. Lux watched as he left, intrigued.

"Your friend gives off mixed signals. He looks unpleasant, but the way he acts doesn't reflect that," Lux observed. Ahsoka scoffed.

"You should see him in the field. You'd change your mind pretty quickly, especially when he…," she stopped herself. It probably wasn't a good idea to bring up his abilities to a Separatist.

Lux was interested nonetheless. "When he what?" Ahsoka shrugged, trying to look like it was a sensitive topic and take him off her trail. He fell for it pretty easily. "I see," he finished.


Eventually the Separatist Senate voted on the chance at peace, an assembly Xur didn't bother to pay attention to. The holographic image of Count Dooku disgusted him, and couldn't bear to look at him through his helmet. He sat through it nonetheless, arms crossed. He clenched his fist every once in a while to show his disgust, causing alarm between his two companions.

When it finally ended, and the vote had been passed, they found themselves at the platform waiting for their transport to be ready. Mina and Padme socialized about the vote that had taken place. Xur stood behind his two companions with his hands behind his back, warding off anyone who wished to question them. All he wanted to do was get out, and fast.

"You really think the republic will vote for peace?" Lux asked, more towards Ahsoka he assumed. She moved towards him.

"I don't know…I hope not to meet you on the battlefield…for your sake," she joked. Lux couldn't help but look at her quizzically. They both seemed lost in each other's gaze, something that sent the wrong signals to Xur.

He cleared his throat to get their attention. "Can we leave? I'm getting tired of all of this sneaking around."

Padme nodded. "Of course," they then made their way onto the transport. When they were finally raised into the ship, they took off into the atmosphere.


The Senate Building Lobby was one of the best places to come back to your senses. It was shockingly quiet, and Xur always enjoyed the consistency. He chose not to watch the Senate vote, since he was pretty certain what the outcome would be.

He sat in one of the waiting chairs, pondering, and by pondering he meant being half-asleep. All he could hear was the broadcast of the meeting as he left his eyes shut. He was thinking…about Ahsoka…about Lux. They seemed too close for their first meeting, almost as if they knew each other well. He couldn't help but remember the look in their eyes when they left. Was it…love? No…it couldn't have, Jedi were forbidden to have personal attachments such as those. But then again, Ahsoka wasn't quite a Jedi. She was only 16, probably too young to realize what was happening.

Then he looked at himself. He really didn't find the Jedi code important to him, especially since his ability prevented him from being controlled by the Dark Side. He controlled the Dark Side inside of him, or at least that's what he's been able to do. He wondered if it would one day control him, and he would kill all he held dear.

He decided to drop that thought and go back to Ahsoka. He wondered why he was angered by the two. He wasn't jealous….was he? Maybe there was something else going on inside of him that he didn't realize. Did he care for her more than anyone else? No...not possible. Besides a Zabrak and a Togruta didn't look right, did it? Something told him it did.

He remembered when he first saw her on Crystophsis, when he had just barely become a Jedi knight at the amazing age of 16. She looked confident, but much younger, innocent almost. Now she had grown in the past two years of her apprenticeship. She was stronger, possibly more than him, as much as he didn't want to admit it. There weren't very many people in which he considered "stronger", those being his former master Mace Windu, Master Yoda and Obi-Wan. He thought about those names and placed her with them. Was she really that way, among that kind of company? For some reason…he felt that it was right. It was all one big explosion.

Explosion? What did that mean? Xur rose from his position to his feet. Something was wrong…very wrong. He assumed the worst and took off towards the stairs to the higher levels. He was heading to Padme's station to warn Ahsoka of…something. He eventually made it to her level and noticed her standing at the door, watching. He was going to warn her until the building rocked, the lights cut out abruptly, switching on the emergency ones. Xur turned to see a power conduit, and it looked as if it was overloading from the sudden rush of power. He wasted no time ripping it out of the wall with the force, causing sparks to fly in every direction. With the danger avoided, he pushed on. Ahsoka noticed him, still confused as to what happened.

"Xur! What happened?" she yelled. He panted from exhaustion when he finally stopped running. "Why are you exhausted?"

"I don't know. I felt something…an attack it seems," he answered, still panting. Ahsoka looked behind him to see the power conduit on the floor, still sparking. She then looked back to the senate hearing, now in chaos.

"Well, it looks like that vote won't be going through at this point," she pointed out. She was right; this attack destroyed any chance at that.


Thanks for reading. This is my first Star Wars fanfiction story, and I wanted to start off here to introduce my OC. If you want to learn more about him, I have his bio in my profile. This series of Clone Wars episodes is made to set up the next phase, and I'm excited for that. Also, if I've spelled any names wrong I apologize, but I'm just going off of what I hear in the episodes. If you enjoyed, please follow/fav and review so I can get some feedback! Thank you!