Chapter 37 – Into the Underworld

DISCLAIMER: We do not own Star Wars, even if we wish we did. xD

Author's Note: In which Ahsoka follows leads into the underworld... And don't worry! We're only planning to include the most important scenes with the Martez sisters. :P This arc is extremely important. ;)

~ Amina Gila

The sun has already sunk below the horizon of towering buildings, darkness creeping up from the other horizon, consuming the pink remaining from the sunset. I've been searching in the underworld all day and haven't gotten anywhere. Any possible clue I've gotten always leads directly to a dead end.

Now I'm flying through Level 1313 of Coruscant, a trip that will probably also lead nowhere. Pressing down on the gas pedal, I zoom off through a tunnel before exiting into open air again. Below me, a line of traffic – although with less vehicles than some other areas – is driving by. I drop the speeder down, falling in line with the rest of them.

As I push down on the peddle again, the whole speeder suddenly jolts as a sudden explosion violently shakes the speeder bike.

"Oh no," I groan as I struggle to regain control but instead am thrown right off the edge of it. I catch onto the steering bars as the speeder flips upside down and continues to speed along, with me hanging in the air.

And now I'm heading straight for a head on collision with a large cruiser. Struggling to get out of the way barely in time, I manage to get the speeder flipped over again and resituate myself on it. But I get the feeling that its continued functioning is going to be very short lived. Suddenly, just as I'm hoping it might be fine long enough to get somewhere safe, it starts plunging downwards almost as if in freefall. It's all I can do to steer it enough to avoid crashing.

I spot a platform ahead on the outside of what looks like a repair shop. Good. I can make it to there, but I don't know about any farther. The speeder strikes the ground with a crash, skidding across the area and flipping onto its side. It comes to a stop at the very edge with me holding onto the steering bars again.

I swing myself upwards and climb onto the platform. What was I even thinking buying something like that? Any clues nearby will be long gone by the time this thing is fixed. Perhaps I should have gotten a little more expensive speeder which would have been less likely to malfunction like this. It's practically a piece of junk. How am I supposed to continue now?

Just then, I hear the door of the repair shop opening behind me and glance up to see a human girl stepping outside.

"What a piece of junk," I groan as I inspect the damage, "Now, how am I gonna fix this?"

"Oh!" exclaims the girl, "Bad crash. Nice roll, though."

"Thanks... I guess," I mumble in response.

"That bike is trash," she observes from over my shoulder.

"I don't know what I was thinking when I bought it," I groan, "Look at this mess. The repulsor blew. The compressor is shot." I don't think there's anything I can even do to fix this out here.

"Sounds like you know a thing or two about engines," she remarks as she observes me.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" I inquire, turning towards her and rising to my feet, holding my hand to her in greeting. She accepts it.

"I'm Trace," she introduces herself, shaking my hand.

"Ahsoka," I reply after a moment of hesitation. Better to leave my last name unsaid.

"As for your bike," she declares, turning to it, and bending down to get a better look, "You're in luck. You happened to crash onto the best repair shops in 1313."

"So, you're a mechanic?" I query.

"I am. And I'd be glad to fix your bike... for a price." Yes, a price. Something I really don't have money for.

"I can fix my own bike," I object, glancing back at it, "With the necessary tools, of course."

"Have it your way," she replies, "But the tools are still gonna cost you." True enough.

"I don't have much in the way of credits," I point out.

"Don't worry. Down here no one does. Come on," she replies, motioning me into the shop. As I step inside my eyes fall upon a larger ship that appears to be undergoing some repairs.

"That's a Nebula-class freighter," I observe, "Or at least it was."

"Good eye," Trace complements, walking over to it, "I'm turning it into something with a bit more speed, I think." I nod in understand. "Your space is over there," she motions to the corner of her shop, "Why don't you get that thing inside and settled in?"

"Thanks," I acknowledge, grateful for her help. I haul the bike to the corner of the small workshop and get to work, trying to fix it.

"Why are you helping me?" I question as I work on fixing the engine. This is going to take longer than I originally thought. Ugh. I probably should call Anakin. He's going to want to know what happened.

She shrugs. "Shouldn't I? It seemed like the right thing to do. You can leave if you want."

I shake my head and keep on working. "No, it's alright. I'll stay, thank you." At least I have somewhere safe to work on it, for now. And there's no time to wait.

"That's good, I really need the money," she sighs, before getting to work on something else in the shop herself. Hopefully by the time I'm done here, all the clues won't be completely lost. Even if we do end up finding the bounty hunter, though, I'm not sure it would really lead back to Sidious. He covers his tracks far too well for that.

"How's it going there? Need any help?" Trace's voice breaks through my thoughts several minutes later. Honestly, I'd like some but –

"Not if you're gonna charge me," I reply.

"Hey, I don't know where you're from, but everything down here comes with a price. If you're gonna stick around, you better get used to it." I sense a wave of annoyance from her through the Force as she replies. Well, I don't have all the money in the world, so what can I say?

"Well, you might be in luck," I announce, looking up at her, "The engine isn't going to run without a new sparker. Got one I can buy?"

She shakes her head. "Got bad news. The only sparkers I got are right here." She motions to her unfinished freighter project, "I ain't got no more." Great. Just what I needed now.

"That won't do," I sigh, rising to my feet, "I need to get out of here." And continue with that investigation.

"Why? You running from something?" Trace asks as I head for the door. No, more like running after someone. I opt for not responding as I step outside to look up at the sky. It's completely dark out now. "Look, you can stay here as long as you like, if you can pay me," she adds. Which I really don't think I can.

The whir of my bike working suddenly catches me ear. What? It must've started working again. I turn and step back inside to see that Trace has gotten to work on it.

"No sense in keeping you here if you're gonna be miserable," she says by way of explanation.

"I appreciate the help," I admit, walking back over and sitting down, "What's it gonna cost?"

"It's on the house," she shrugs it off. Well, that was unexpected.

"You know, where I come from is very different from here," I remark.

"Obviously," she concludes, "So where do you come from anyway?" Perhaps I shouldn't have so hastily made that statement after all.

"I... umm..." I scramble to recollect my thoughts without sounding suspicious, "Used to live in the upper levels of Coruscant."

"Ah, up there where the air is clear, huh?" she asks, "You're probably better off down here."

"Why's that?" I wonder.

"I'm sure you have your problems up there with the Jedi running around starting wars and policing everything," she says. What?

"The Jedi didn't start the war," I object slowly, frowning, "They're trying to stop it."

"Sure. Sure, they are," she retorts, a sarcastic note in her voice before she sighs, "It doesn't really matter. They've forgotten all about us."

"What do you mean?"

"It's just... when you're a kid you hear stories. I guess they're not what I thought they'd be. It's not safe down here or anywhere on Coruscant. That's why I've got my ship, so I can make my living in the stars. Just me and my sister, Rafa. We'll get away from the Jedi, this war, all of it." I sigh softly. She agrees, then, that the Jedi have lost their way. I'm definitely not going to tell her that I once was a Jedi. It'd be best if I didn't. It would raise too many questions, and she'd probably not trust me.

"Martez, your sister said she was paying me today," a gruff voice rings out from near the doorway. Both of us spin around to face a large brown creature lumbering in the doorway. The two tall, green beings that stand behind him look like thugs to me. I don't like the looks of this at all.

"Let me handle this," hisses Trace, motioning for me to stay back as she steps towards them, "Don't do anything. Got it?" If that's really what she wants.

"Alright."

"Hey, hey, Pintu. Rafa said she was coming to see you." Trace greets him. I can sense her nervousness, though she's pretending to be polite.

"Well since she's not here, I guess you're gonna have to pay me instead." Pintu growls, "So where's my money?"

"I got it," mumbles Trace, moving to shuffle through some of her tools, "Right... here!" She whirls around, swinging a nearby piece of equipment at the nearest green being. She hits it hard several times, and it stumbles back a few steps. The other lunges forward and as she swings to hit it, the first attacks again.

It punches her hard, sending her faceplanting to the floor, dropping her makeshift weapon in the process. As she rolls over to get up, the first green creature grabs her around the neck, picking her up. She punches him hard again and he lets go, stumbling back a step.

"On second thought," she grunts, "Some help would be great."

As the creature swings for her again, I jump easily over the table, blocking the thug's next blow. I shove him backwards and shift into my fighting stance between them and Trace. I attack the first, sending him stumble backward before attacking the second. With a few kicks and punches, he nearly falls to the ground. I spin back to the first, shove him backwards before kicking away the second. As they both start moving towards me, I spin in circles, kicking them away. I jump off the table I'm standing on and kick it towards the first. I kick the second one last time, sending him stumbling to the ground.

"I think you want to leave now," I comment as they both stagger away from me.

"Tell Rafa this is far from over," warns Pintu, before turning and stalking out after his cronies.

"Whoa! Where did you learn to fight like that?" questions Trace nearly in awe as I help her up.

"My older brother taught me," I explain. It is the truth. Anakin is my brother, in every sense of the word.

"Maybe you can teach me someday?" she suggests with a smile before her expression grows grave again. "Come on, we gotta go tell my sister about Pintu."

**w**

I stand off to the side as Trace and Rafa discuss the situation. Finally, Rafa looks past her, scrutinizing me. I can sense a faint amount of suspicion from her. "Who is this interesting creature?" she inquires finally. Creature? I guess she must not see Togrutas very often.

"My name is Ahsoka," I introduce myself, stepping forward.

"Lovely name, Ahsoka," she smiles politely. But something about her politeness seems a bit forced. I get the feeling she's not near as nice as the younger.

Trace steps forwards. "Ahsoka, this is my sister, Rafa Martez."

"How'd you end up with this moof-milker?" Rafa asks, looking back to me.

"She fell from the sky. I mean, really. Dropped right in on the mechanic bay's platform," Trace answers for me.

"Where exactly are you from?" she presses,

"I'm from Topside," I inform her, "Your sister's been helping me out."

"Really?" she scoffs, throwing a glance at her, "How much is she charging you?"

"Not enough to pay your debt."