Chapter 35 – Departure

I have the large part of these chapters figured out, but I keep getting stuck on dialogue a few times. This sometimes causes me to take a bit more time to write a chapter than I originally thought. Apart from that, work and school takes up a great deal of time. I'll be trying to update one of my stories each week. It may take more than a week at times, so I hope you'll be patient with me.

I've mentioned in one of my earliest chapters that I'm not sure about the rating system used by fanfiction. I saw a review mentioning it and I've decided to change the rating to T, just to be safe. If there are some 'heavy' topics mentioned in a chapter I'll leave a little warning in this section.

Last chapter Ahsoka discovered a little secret in the prince's thoughts. Let's pick up where we left off.

Hope you enjoy.

;-

Ahsoka stood in slight shock in the office of the Prince of Shili. He had been evasive to her questions so she had read his mind. What she had learned from his thoughts was even more shocking than she could've imagined.

"It was you." She said to him. "All those years ago, it was you in that bar." She looked him in the eyes. "You're Rosette's father…"

Prince Zolar was panicking immensely now, his fear rolling off him in waves. His lekku paled and his hands trembled. Just like that, one of his biggest secrets had been uncovered.

Ahsoka looked at him in disbelief. "I can't believe this." She said. "How come you never told anyone? Why haven't you tried to explained this to her?" she asked him.

Zolar shook his head and moved back to his desk. He sat down quickly, not sure how much longer his shaking legs would be able to support him. "Y-you don't understand. You can't tell anyone!" he replied in a somewhat shaking voice.

Ahsoka moved in front of him and stood at the opposite side of the desk. "You're right, I don't understand." She replied somewhat angrily. "Why didn't you tell anyone?" she asked him again. She sat down in front of him and crossed her arms over her chest. "At least explain to me just what happened. You owe me that much." She said in a slightly calmer voice.

Zolar looked at Ahsoka. By the look on her face he could clearly tell that he had no other option than to explain. He took a deep breath in an attempt to steady his nerves. "Please understand, I never meant to hurt her or…" he said shakily. "At that time, I was very depressed. Things weren't going well for me." He continued slowly.

He pointed at a portrait hanging at the wall. Ahsoka looked at it for a moment. The portrait was that of an elderly Togruta whose facial markings shared a few similarities with the prince. She then looked back at the prince.

"My grandfather…" he told her. "We were very close and he had just passed away." Ahsoka felt a bit of her anger fade away when she noticed him blink away a tear. "I was incredibly down and as a result I made a mess of my studies. In the end I just couldn't take it anymore. I just wanted to rid myself of those feelings of pain, even if just for a little while."

Ahsoka nodded, she understood what he meant by that. "So you went down to a bar to drink everything away." She said. She had seen it before during some missions; People lying wasted in the streets, unable to even comprehend what was going on.

Zolar nodded in return. "Yes…That's right." He replied. "I disguised myself a bit and went to a small bar with the intend of getting wasted." He looked at Ahsoka again. "After a couple shots of Kashyyyk Vodka I saw Marina in that bar. Everything that happened afterwards was one big blur. But when I woke up in that hotel room with her lying next to me I knew what had happened." He said with shame in his voice.

Ahsoka looked at the prince with pity. She could sense how bad he felt; She couldn't find it in herself to be mad at him anymore. "Why didn't you try to talk to her about this?" she asked him. "Especially after learning that she was pregnant, don't you think that she had a right to know?"

"You have no idea how afraid I was." He admitted to her. "When I saw her again at school a few days later I was so worried that she was going to hate me. But… she didn't remember who she was with. And I was too afraid to tell her." He said, shaking his head. "What you said is true, I do like her. I've liked her for a long time."

Ahsoka was somewhat confused by what he said. "But if you liked her, why didn't you ever tell her?" she asked him.

He rested his head in his arms. "I was too shy to tell her." He replied. "It was…really difficult. You can't imagine what kind of popularity you have at school as a member of the royal family. There were dozens of girls always trying to get on my good side. I was worried that if I told her about my feelings that she might misunderstand my intentions or that she would get into some kind of trouble with others." He took a deep breath. "A few other members of my family would've frowned on it if I started a relationship with someone like her. There were others of 'a higher class' I could choose. I think that that whole class stuff is just nonsense, but others wouldn't have agreed and they would've caused her harm. I wanted to avoid that."

He looked up at Ahsoka again. "I'm ashamed of myself for admitting it, but I was somewhat relieved that she didn't remember that I was with her." He said to her. "It avoided a lot of social troubles. I was thinking about telling her, but in the end I was just too afraid. We were such good friends and I was worried that she would hate me for the rest of our lives."

Ahsoka studied him for a moment. She understood what he meant by not wanting to cause Marina harm. There were tons of people in the galaxy that believed themselves superior due to what family they were born in and things like that. "So that's why you never told anyone, to protect her." She replied.

Zolar nodded slowly. "And when I learned that she was pregnant I tried to help her without drawing to much attention to her. I've tried to support her with her career and helped her become the Senator." He explained to her.

He looked at Ahsoka with fear in his eyes. "What…What are you going to do now?" He asked her after a short moment of silence.

Ahsoka looked down for a moment, considering her options. She sighed. "I won't tell anyone, but I do think that Marina has a right to know." She replied. She tried to sense the Force to find an answer to this dilemma. The feelings she got from the Force were quite varied; Obviously there were several outcomes possible. "What do I do?" she asked herself. "Marina has a right to know. But how can this whole situation be resolved without causing a large scandal?"

She checked the options available to her with the Force and came to a conclusion. "I think that it will be for the best if you told her." She said. A look of fear quickly appeared on the prince's face again. "If you tell her what you just told me, about what happened and that you wanted to protect her, I think that she will understand." She sighed. "I can't know how she will react, but truthfully, she does deserve to know." She told him as she looked him in the eyes.

Zolar looked at her nervously. "Y-you're right, but…" he replied a short moment later. "How am I supposed to tell her this?" he asked.

Ahsoka shook her head. "I don't really know. I think that it might be best if you ask her if you could have a word in private. And simply be honest with her." She said. "I won't tell her, you'll need to do that yourself."

Zolar nodded slowly. "A-alright, I understand." He replied. "I'll try to do so tomorrow. I don't think my nerves can handle it right now." He admitted with a little nervous laugh.

Ahsoka smiled at him. "Yeah, I can clearly sense that." She said. "Take it easy for the rest of the day. Try to steady your nerves. Just avoid the vodka this time." Zolar gave a little smile back and Ahsoka left the prince to his thoughts.

;-

Ahsoka went to the barracks of the royal guard where she would meet with Aurora to discuss the last parts of their mission. Her conversation with the prince had shaken her up quite a bit, but she was able to use the Force to ease her mind.

"How in the name of the Force is this going to play out?" She asked herself as she walked through the halls. "I just hope that Marina doesn't freak out too much; Same for mom." Ahsoka winced a little bit. "I doubt it's going to be pretty…"

"Ahsoka, there you are." A voice called out to her. Once again she had been so absorbed in her thoughts she hadn't really been keeping an eye on her surroundings; Not that that really mattered seeing as how she was inside the royal palace.

She turned around and spotted saw two female Togruta walking towards her. She immediately recognized Aurora, but the other woman she didn't know. Judging from the red-skinned Togruta's armor, she was also a member of the H'Raani M'Kai.

She walked up to the two Togruta. "Hello Aurora, great timing. I was just on my way to see you." She greeted her.

Aurora smiled at her. "Great timing on your part as well then." She gestured at the Togruta beside her. "Ahsoka, this is Silara Triball. Silara, this is Ahsoka Tano." She introduced them to each other.

Silara smiled at her as well. "So you are the young warrior I've been hearing so much about." She said as she studied Ahsoka a bit. "You've made quite an impression with the people of Shili. It's an honor to finally meet you."

Ahsoka smiled back at the two women. "Likewise, it's great to meet you." She replied. She studied Silara a bit too. Just like Aurora, the red-skinned warrior was just as trained as the rest of them.

Aurora's face turned a tad more serious. "Alright then, about the mission." She told Ahsoka. "Everything's ready for our departure tomorrow. The team is complete, the ship is prepared, all of the supplies loaded and our weapons are prepped just in case."

"Everything's all set." Silara added. "All we need is the destination from you."

Ahsoka nodded in return. "Alright then." She replied. "Our first destination will be Florrum. That's where the pirate Hondo has his base." She informed them. "I think that it will best to pay him a visit first. That way, in case things take too long getting the proof we need of the attack, we'll at least have some shield generators… I hope."

Silara nodded. "Let's hope that this pirate doesn't try anything funny. It will be his loss if he does." She said. "Our brothers and sisters on Kiros have already begun building the defensive wall. It should be ready soon. Combined with those shield generators we will be able to make a good stand against the droids."

"I don't think that Hondo will try anything." Ahsoka replied. "When we 'met' again a few months ago Grievous attacked his hideout as revenge for Hondo taking Count Dooku hostage. They took quite a lot of his wares. He won't be able to afford taking chances."

Aurora smiled. "So the advantage will be ours, good." She said. "We will go and inform the others and finish the last of the preparations. We will depart tomorrow at 11 in the morning. I suggest that you finish your own preparations and make sure you're well rested." She informed Ahsoka.

Ahsoka nodded. "Alright, thanks Aurora. I'll do that." She replied. "It was nice to meet you Silara, I'll see the both of you tomorrow." She told the other Togruta.

The three of them parted ways. Aurora and Silara went back to the barracks to inform the others of their destination and finish up the last of their preparations. Ahsoka headed back to her home to ready herself.

;-

A few hours later, back at the Tano residence.

Ahsoka had spent a long time meditating after she got back to her house. She had desperately needed some time to quiet her mind after her conversation with the prince earlier that day. She was somewhat glad that Marina and Lilo had been attending some political business so she wouldn't have to face her sister right away. As much as she might want to tell Marina the truth, she felt that it was essential that it was the prince who needed to tell her.

The whole situation still troubled her immensely, but right now she needed to focus on her mission. She would not be able to help with this particular situation, Marina and Zolar would have to sort things out for themselves.

She put her things away and checked her bags one more time. After making sure that she had everything she needed for the mission, she made her way downstairs.

When she entered the living room she saw Lilo sitting on the couch, reading through some files. "Not surprising, considering all that's going on." Ahsoka thought as she made her way to the couch and sat down next to her sister. Marina and Rosette were at the other side of the room, playing with some of her toys. Her earlier conversation with the prince came back to her again. She wondered to herself how Marina would react.

She was snapped out her thoughts by Lilo's voice. Ahsoka turned to her sister. "I'm sorry sis, I didn't catch that." She said in return.

Lilo smiled a bit. "Nervous about the mission?" she asked softly. "Do you really think that everything will be okay? I remember visiting Kiros shortly after our people were freed. It was so horrible to see them in that condition." Lilo said in a slightly shaking voice. "I really want to prevent that from happening again."

Ahsoka nodded in agreement and looked at Lilo's worried face. She shuddered as an image of her covered in blood and bruises suddenly popped up in her mind. "Ahsoka? Are you alright?" Lilo asked when she saw the expression on Ahsoka's face change.

Ahsoka swallowed to try and clear her suddenly dry throat. "Don't worry Lilo. I'm going to do all I can to prevent our people from going through that hell again." She replied softly, but in a determined tone. "Can you just promise me one thing?" she asked in return. When Lilo nodded Ahsoka took a deep breath. "Please stay here on Shili." She requested her sister.

Lilo's face showed great confusion. "Ahsoka, I'm the Senator of Kiros. I can't just stay away. I need to be there for my people." She replied.

"Lilo, please." Ahsoka said before she could continue. "I'm sure the people would understand. But please, just stay here on Shili. That way I know you'll be safe."

Lilo looked at her younger sister for a moment as she considered her words. "I'll discuss it with the Governor tomorrow." She replied.

Ahsoka smiled slightly. "Thank you Lilo. That makes me feel somewhat better." She told her. Lilo nodded in return. Shortly after that their mother called that it was time for dinner.

;-

The next day

Ahsoka stood on one of the landing platforms of the royal palace, about to depart with Aurora and the others on their mission. Her family was there with her as well as family and friends of the warriors. It was pretty clear that everyone was wishing them well and hoping that they would all return safely.

Ahsoka promised her mother two more time that she would be careful and that she would return safely. After that, it was time for them to depart. They said goodbye and Ahsoka and the group of warriors boarded their ship and headed off to Florrum.

;-

That's the end of this chapter.

As you can see, in the next chapter Ahsoka will visit Hondo. How is that one going to end? It's going to be an interesting time on Florrum, that's for sure.

Like I said, I'll be trying to write one chapter each week. I will vary from this if I'm not yet satisfied with the chapter. I'd rather take a bit longer instead of posting a half-complete chapter.

Until next time.