After the first speeder, Wheeler let Ahsoka head back to her own workspace and work on some of the smaller repairs on her own. This actually suited Ahsoka pretty well because she could work on these with her eyes closed. It let her focus on some of the things she had been thinking about for a while.

She didn't really know what Granger was like, having only just met him, but she got the feeling that he had something against her. Wheeler kept insisting that it wasn't personal but Ahsoka wasn't so sure. She was used to picking up on ill intentions. When she went with Anakin to pubs or bars to track down rogue hunters, it was one of the things she searched for through the Force. If there was someone in the room with a particular distaste for Jedi, it normally ended up being the person they were looking for.

Maybe it wasn't against the Jedi, but Granger definitely did not appreciate having her around. It could have been just against her, though, too. Ahsoka tried to think about what she could have done that might have gotten her on Granger's bad side, but there were so many possibilities that she just abandoned the notion. For whatever reason, it was probably best if she kept her distance from him.

Ahsoka had gotten the vibe that Wheeler was a little bias against the surface as well. It didn't seem as personal, but whatever had happened up there must have resonated deeply with her, and Ahsoka made a mental note to not bring up the surface if she was with her, if she could avoid it. Wheeler seemed very vocal about her criticisms of surfacers.

Rya, on the other hand, seemed to want to keep her past quiet. It kind of surprised Ahsoka, that she would open up on having just met her, but there was clearly a story behind her, and none of the others knew about it. Ahsoka didn't know either, but it wasn't her job to know, so she just kept it in mind. She could do that.

After about an hour of working by herself, a knock disturbed her from her rhythm. She looked up and saw Luce hanging out by the balcony. "Company?" He asked.

Ahsoka smiled. "Sure. It couldn't hurt."

Luce walked over to a clear spot on the counter and hopped up to sit there. Ahsoka, at the moment, was tinkering on a broken microwave, of all things. She was almost finished, though, and just needed to put the repaired pieces back together.

"So, what's been your first impression of the workshop?" Luce asked, motioning to the rest of the building. "Probably different from what you're used to."

She nodded. "Nearly opposite, actually, but that doesn't mean it's bad." She looked around. "I guess I'm still trying to understand parts of it, is all."

"What parts of it?"

She thought for a moment before answering. "Well, you guys, first of all. You seem so at ease with each other. Well, most of you."

Luce smirked. "All of us have been here for at least six months, and most of us longer than that. Leslie is probably the newest addition, after you. After that long, you get to know the people you work with."

"That makes sense," Ahsoka agreed, screwing in the body of the microwave. "I guess I'm just used to more professional conditions. I've barely ever seen so many people so relaxed with each other. At least, not at work."

"If you work with politicians all day, they will definitely be more professional than us," Luce laughed. "Down here, we don't have anything to prove, just a job to do. You do your job, you do it well, and that's that."

Ahsoka opened her mouth to protest but realized that the Rhodian was right. Her whole life had been spent preparing for the Trials of Knighthood. The entire rank system of the Jedi Order was based on proving yourself to your master and to the Council. Even senators had a reputation of showing off, and why else would they feel the need to show off if they weren't trying to prove something?

Luce grinned as he saw Ahsoka work his words through her head, then paused and conceded. "Well, I mean, we do have a quota, and you have to do a decent job to get in, but..."

"No, I get it," Ahsoka assured him. "I guess...I've never thought about it. None of you are ranked any differently than the others. The only distinction is what you do."

"Yeah," Luce agreed. "But up there, even after you get the job, it's who does it best."

To Ahsoka, whose entire life had been built upon being good enough, it was a bit of a shock. It couldn't even fully sink in, not yet. You have to understand, though, the very foundations of what she had been raised on where being ripped out from beneath her feet.

"Tell me about Frand," she said suddenly. "I've heard plenty about him, but not who he was."

"Oh, Frand?" Luce asked, remembering who used to work in this very space. "He was talented, one of the best. I know we said that we don't have competition, but this guy was definitely the best out of us. He could work a hyperdrive, which none of us can do. I hear you're pretty good, though."

"I'm decent," she admitted.

He laughed. "If I'm honest, he was fun to be around. He had that jock attitude to him, and every time we went out to drink, he had at least one girl swooning over him. Definitely a ladies' man."

Ahsoka snorted because she still found the notion of romance and love a little silly. "Did he ever court any of them?"

"Court? Like, date them? No, he never let any of them on. He had a girlfriend a while ago, but she moved sectors and I don't think they kept in touch. She used to work at the market a few levels up, but I have no idea where she is now. Can't even remember her name."

Ahsoka nodded. "Someone said he moved up to a job on the surface."

"Yep. We threw him a little party when he left, just some food and drinks. He called me the other week, actually. He's living it up out under the sun."

Smiling, Ahsoka finished the microwave and logged it into her profile. She rescanned the tag before asking, "Does it ever bother you that you don't see natural light down here?"

Luce was a little caught off guard by her question, but he looked out at the others (more of the other mechanics had come) before answering. "I've never even seen the surface before. I've lived down here my whole life. I never had a reason to go up."

They remained silent for a minute. Ahsoka wondered if the others had the same story. Wheeler must know, even if she didn't talk about it, but even some of the others, like Rya, they might be too young to remember what the sky looked like. Ahsoka had a feeling that she would visit the surface before long, but she wanted to lay low for a while, and she was already missing the seeing the stars and feeling the warmth of the sun on her face.

It was Luce who broke the silence. "Maybe one day, you could show us around, huh?"

Ahsoka nodded. "If you wanted to. Wheeler might not come, though, and I'd rather wait until the commotion about the Inquisitor dies down."

"Sure." Luce smiled, and inquired, "What's the best part about living up there?"

"The sunrise," Ahsoka said without a second of hesitation. "If you wake up early enough, you can see the sun break over the horizon, and it looks like someone painted the sky. Sunset is incredible too, but I like sunrise better. And you should see the sky when there are no clouds. If you get away from the thick of the city, you can see the stars, although it's better on planets where there's no light pollution."

Luce seemed taken aback with her answer. That wasn't what he expected, for sure. He had assumed that the Togruta would have said something about the food, or maybe a restaurant or something. Having never seen the light of day, he had no idea that the sun was worth watching or observing, yet she hadn't waited a moment to answer.

"What so impressive about light?" He asked, a little skeptical. "We have light down here, it's not like we can't see."

"But it's still so much darker!" Ahsoka insisted, picking up the microwave and setting it on the counter. "I can't really explain it, but the sun is a million times brighter than anything you have down here. It's not as stuffy, either."

"Stuffy?" Luce confirmed. "Like the air?"

She nodded. "I wish I could take you to somewhere like..oh, I don't know. Shili would be nice, but even the surface has fresher air than down here."

Luce threw his head back and laughed. "Okay, now I know you're really kidding. That doesn't even make sense."

Ahsoka shrugged. "Whatever you say." She let it drop, but she knew that she was right.

"You're a lot of talk, aren't you?" Luce teased.

"I have a lot of stories to tell. Not to mention you're the one who asked."

"Ooh, yeah," Luce joked, waving his arms and pretending to do magic. "I was a Jedi, and I can do anything, and I know everything about other planets...ooooh."

Ahsoka knew he was kidding and he was trying to lighten the mood, but at the moment she felt like she knew nothing, nothing at all, so she didn't laugh. Sure, she had been to hundreds of other systems, but she had no idea about half of what there was to know about her own planet. She just couldn't feel as lighthearted about the subject as Luce could, so instead, she shot some of his own sarcasm right back at him.

"Ooh, yeah, I'm cocky, and I know all about working, and I've never seen the sun in my life...ooooh."

Luce laughed, and followed her as she went to return the microwave to the garage, now that it was fixed. "I didn't know you had a sense of humor. I thought your type didn't do that."

"My type?" She retorted. "Luce, I was in the military. You don't know half of what I've got up my sleeve."

"I thought you were a-"

"We were in charge of the military," she clarified. "Trust me, soldiers have a much more...interesting sense of humor than you ever will." Not to mention I was the snippiest Padawan to ever exist.

"Whatever you say, Tano." Luce surrendered. "Maybe I should meet these clones."

Uh, no. Maybe you shouldn't, Ahsoka thought, but she just selected a blaster to repair and got back to work.