Ahsoka figured that it would be best if she put on a confident face. "Has someone been talking about me?"

A few people snickered. "Nox mentioned you a few times," the same man who had dismissed Nox explained. "Said you were nice and you made conversation here and there. Apparently, it was worth mentioning to him."

"Not to mention our little introduction last night," Tawnya added. "I told you, anyone who sticks up for one of our own gets free passage on our turf."

"Funny, because it felt like the only reason I wasn't shot down was that I was with Nox," Ahsoka commented.

One of the others groaned. "Don't mind them. Now that they've seen you, they'll get the idea."

Ahsoka nodded, deciding to forget about it for the time being. Instead, she crossed her arms and looked at each of the twelve leaders in turn. "So what is your story?"

They all turned to a female human, who was standing, not sitting, and hadn't spoken until now. She was probably one of the oldest in the group, but even still wasn't much older than Anakin or Padme probably were. Her hair was completely black, which stood out among the bright flashy colors of the other leaders. Dyed hair seemed to be a popular trend in this gang. Ahsoka wondered why.

"We started the same way most gangs do," she explained, without giving a name. "We had no job, no family, and no place to stay. We did know that strength is in numbers, though, so we stuck together with a few kids and a few other teens. We camped out down an alley on this level, and we started raiding, mugging, the usual."

Although she would never condone such actions, Ahsoka nodded, understanding where she was coming from. "What you had to do to survive."

The leader went on. "We started picking up others. Kids who were on the streets, teens who were going solo, whoever didn't try to kill us. We found an abandoned building down the street and moved in. That's where it started. Once we had a place, we made a deal. We would only take in kids, and the only adults here would be the ones who grew up here. Instead of taking from innocents, we would only raid abusers, large businesses, and anyone else who could take a hit."

"So you decided to embody karma?" Ahsoka asked, half-joking. Tawnya, among a few others, seemed amused. Even the leader had to fight to keep her face straight.

"Not everyone. Some of ours found jobs and moved out. Those who went straight visit, but never really came back. Eventually, we got enough people that not everyone has to fight. You saw Nox, he doesn't do any of the raids. He does our repairs instead."

Huh. So Nox takes his work home with him. "That makes sense. I always wondered where he went during the day."

The man who had spoken earlier piped up. "He's one of the few who got a job and still stayed. We only have five or six who bring in any income, he's one of them. Helps with the big stuff when it rolls around."

Ahsoka wasn't sure she wanted to know what 'big stuff' was referring to. "How did you manage to get the whole sector?"

The leader woman shrugged. "People moved, some joined. I guess they saw that we were decent, gave us some room."

She didn't go on, so Ahsoka gave up. "And who decides who sits on this council?"

A few eyebrows went up. "I don't know about 'council'," someone in the corner responded. "A dysfunctional leadership group, maybe."

More snickers. "Anyone who is over 18 years old is welcome to join if they want," the leader explained. "Some people, like Nox, don't want to make decisions for the gang, so they don't join. Their choice, not ours."

"And no one objects to the leadership?"

"We decide who is let into the gang in the first place," someone sitting in the corner called out. "If they're bad enough that we wouldn't let them in, then there's no way we wouldn't let them up here either."

"All decisions are reached by the group," the leader added, after glaring momentarily at the one who had spoken. "No one here has more power than anyone else."

That made Ahsoka a little more comfortable. Back in the Jedi Council, technically only the Grandmaster, Yoda, had an upper hand over the others, but they tended to be selective about who was named a Master, and some of them had a larger circle of influence. It didn't seem like that was the case here. Not that Ahsoka would know without watching them further.

Why does it matter? Ahsoka thought silently at herself. I'm not joining. They don't have power over me except as the hosts. Still, Ahsoka felt like distancing herself from this leadership group. Maybe if it didn't feel like they were judging her on the spot, she would feel more comfortable.

"Your turn," a woman on her right announced, and all eyes landed on Ahsoka. "Tano, right? What's your story?"

You don't want to know. "I've been traveling for about a year when I came here last month and settled down. I got a job, a house, and I went up to the surface for some fresh air last night. Apparently, so did some of you."

Tawnya offered some context. "We were doing our regular surface raid when Tallie got separated. Tano fought the thugs that found her, and beat them to a pulp by the looks of them when we got there."

A quiet chorus of approval went around the room. Ahsoka admired that they knew Tallie, probably one of their youngest members, by first name. This gang was a tight group, and even the little ones had value. Again, these people seemed different than the Jedi.

Stop comparing them to the Jedi! What is wrong with you?

"When we heard you might be coming," one of the men from earlier said, "we asked Nox what he knew about you. We wanted to know who we were dealing with."

"What did he say?"

"He said you were a good worker, and you didn't try to piss people off if you could avoid it," the leader answered. "Apparently, one of your colleagues doesn't like you all that much, but everyone else seems to get along well with you, more or less."

Tawnya stepped forward. "It probably doesn't seem like much, but you have to understand, we've been running this gang for almost ten years now. A lot of horrible people have come our way, trying to exploit us and squeeze whatever credits we had out of us. When someone decent floats our way, we take notice."

You must have met some awful people to think that an ex-convict is 'decent', she thought but didn't say. "I appreciate it. Honestly, I agree. I've met enough people down here to understand why you would pack together rather than trying to make it on your own."

"You seem to be doing well enough," Obi-Wan suggested. "What's your secret?"

Ahsoka shook her head. "As soon as I figure that out, I'll let you know."

Another round of chuckles filled the room. The leader smiled and took a seat. "Thank you for speaking with us, Tano. I'd like to speak with you one-on-one if that's all right. Everyone else is free to talk with you afterward." She looked expectantly at the others, who filed out of the room behind Ahsoka. Some of them clapped her shoulder in support, others just passed silently.

When the door shut again, the leader pulled up a chair next to her. "Have a seat," she motioned to Ahsoka, who complied.

When she had settled, she turned to the leader. "Who are you?" She asked.

The woman groaned. "I definitely forgot to introduce, didn't I? My name is Vicki. Sorry 'bout that."

Ahsoka waved it off. "I don't blame you, I was just curious."

"So, after hearing all of that, you probably have other questions."

"If no one has any power over another, then how come you are the leader?"

Vicki paused, confused. "I never said I was the leader. Where did you get that idea?"

Ahsoka raised an eye mark, ever so slightly amused. "You act like one. You knew the history of your people, and the entire room respected you. It doesn't matter what you say, it's who you are to them." She jerked her head at the now-empty room, indicating who she was referring to.

For a few seconds, Vicki didn't respond. Ahsoka wondered if she had ever thought about her role in the sense that she did now. Did no one else see what she saw in the past five minutes? It was so obvious, the way she spoke, the way she held herself, and the way her peers turned to her when one needed to speak for all. Were those not universal leadership qualities?

Eventually, she just said, "It's more that I...facilitate? Oversee? I just guide the conversation, but I don't actually have extra power."

"I see. Someone just had to take initiative, and that role landed on you."

"Yeah. It was never official." Vicki looked out the doors that her colleagues had just exited out of. "It sounds like you've dealt with other leaders before. An old gang or something? You said you traveled, was it on another system?"

Ahsoka was instantly torn between mentioning her surface past and hiding it. In the second it took her to shake her head, hiding it won her over. "It's just what I've watched others do before. I've never been in a gang." Would the Order be considered a cult? "A cult, maybe. Something like that."

Vicki didn't seem fazed. "Family outside of family," she translated.

"Yes," Ahsoka responded. "For a while, anyway."

"Tawnya said you weren't interested in joining up."

Again, she shook her head. "Not when I'm finally getting used to life here."

Vicki smiled. "Sure, but I have something else in mind. Just an idea, no need to have an answer anytime soon."

Ahsoka shrugged. "I'm listening."

"You're not the first visitor we've had," Vicki began, explaining. "There's a network of about fifty people we have that come and go every once in a while. We give them this," she paused, pulling out a small white band with the same orange symbol on their armor. She handed it to the Togruta, assuring her, "No need to wear it everywhere you go, but if you decide to visit, it lets the guard know you're a friend."

She studied the band. It had no electric parts, so it wasn't a trap or a monitor of some sort. "Sounds fair. Is there some sort of catch?"

"Other than not shooting down our people?" Vicki laughed. "No. It's just a precaution. We don't want to hurt anyone we don't have to."

Ahsoka clasped the band in her fist. "Thank you. Not many people are this free with their trust."

"Oh, trust me, this isn't free," she assured her. "If you hadn't made such a reputation for yourself, you wouldn't even be here, but I know a good person when I see one."

So do I, but I am not who you think I am, Ahsoka wanted to say.

"You're free to stay as long as you like, but try not to waste resources," Vicki told her, standing up. Ahsoka made to do the same while she spoke. "We have a lot of mouths to feed. You can mingle, explore, fight, whatever, just let the guard know when you leave."

Ahsoka nodded, and Vicki turned to leave. It was then that Ahsoka got caught on one word in particular. "Did you say 'fight'?"

Vicki smirked. "There's a training room downstairs. Even you will have your work cut out for you, but it might be fun. Have you ever had any formal combat training?"

"Are tinnies the bane of our existence?" Ahsoka quipped right back, only remembering too late that she was talking to a stranger, not Anakin or one of the clones who would laugh at her joke. Vicki stared at her while she flushed pink in the face. "Yes, I would. Sorry, old joke."

Vicki laughed. "What kind of joke is that?"

A hilarious one, Ahsoka retorted silently. Not that you would know.