Chapter 4
review:
KyrstenRook: Thank you! Means a lot to hear that. And thanks for pointing that typo out to me! I feel so ashamed XD because I do know the difference. I have no idea how that one slipped past me. I fixed it right away.
Ahsoka was led through several long hallways, which seemed to stretch on 'till forever. She had the idea she was being led into the underground of the palace, but to be honest, she had no idea anymore. The only thing that Ahsoka did notice was the fact that the people around them changed. Just a minute ago they were surrounded by guards and other palace staff. Now all she saw were what could only be described as civilians who were trained to fight. Rebellion soldiers.
What Ahsoka also noticed was the fact that they seemed to pick up more people as they went. They rounded what felt like the 100th corner when she was suddenly being surrounded. Yeah, she should've seen that one coming. Several blasters, all different – another sign this wasn't the army –, were pointed at her.
"Check her for weapons. Take everything that poses a threat," a man said.
It was obvious to Ahsoka that he was the leader of this 'squad'. One of them took her lightsabers off her belt. Another moved towards her and put Force suppressant cuffs on her.
Ahsoka didn't dare resist. She wanted to join these people. Fighting them wouldn't prove that fact. She stared at Bail, who had moved to stand next to the squad leader. The appeared to be talking, but she couldn't hear what they were saying.
Ahsoka understood they had to be careful with everything. What confused her was the fact that she was welcome just now. He'd let her be with Leia. Why would he do that and contain her only a few minutes later? She didn't dare voice that question out loud right now, though. She would get her chance.
"I'm sorry Ahsoka," Bail said as he turned back to her. "We need to know you can be trusted. We have our reasons not to. Take her to interrogation."
Bail then turned around and walked away, leaving Ahsoka behind with the squad. Chained and unarmed. They led her through several hallways, again. She was put into a small room with a table and two chairs.
Having spent years fighting in the war, Ahsoka knew what this was and what she was doing here. She understood, yet she still felt betrayed. The way she was put in this room made her feel like a criminal all over again, yet she was on their side.
Ahsoka sighed. She was left alone in the interrogation room for several long minutes. Usually, when something like that happened, she would use the Force to become familiar with her surroundings and with the people around her. Now though, being cut off from it, she felt empty.
Suddenly the door opened. Bail came in with a woman Ahsoka had never seen before. The woman said down in the chair opposite of Ahsoka and Bail stood off on the side.
Ahsoka looked from one to the other and back. She waited for one of them to say anything. Bail and the woman shared another look before she spoke up.
"Ahsoka Tano. Do you know why you are being held here?"
"I mean, I guess I can understand, but no. Not really. I was led to believe I was welcome here," Ahsoka said with a sharp look at Bail.
"If you came here with the intentions you say you did, then you certainly are. The problem is that we don't know that to be true," the woman said, turning Ahsoka's attention back to her.
Ahsoka didn't understand. What other intentions could she have? She was hunted by the Empire. Ill intentions towards the rebellion would not do her any good. Yet they thought she could have those.
"I don't know what you're talking about. What ill intentions could I hold against you?" she asked.
"We have reason to believe that you do, in fact, came here with ill intentions." Again, the woman and Bail shared a look before she continued.
"Given your past acquaintances within the Order, we believe you might be here to infiltrate this base and get information to destroy us."
Ahsoka was taken aback by that. They thought she was an Imperial spy?! Why would they-. She cut that thought off. Past acquaintances. Anakin.
"If you're talking about my former master, I can assure you I haven't spoken to him since before I left for Mandalore. The last battle in the Clone Wars I fought before the clones turned on the Jedi. I am not his Imperial spy. I have nothing to do with who he is now and who he works for."
Ahsoka felt angry they would assume something like this of her. She could never turn down such a dark path. She may have left the Order, but that doesn't mean she would join the Empire.
The woman stayed silent as she observed Ahsoka's turmoil. This only made Ahsoka angrier. She tried to stay calm. She needed them to accept her. But she couldn't keep it in.
"While fighting on Mandalore, I was suddenly attacked by my own men. Men who had volunteered to fight beside me and form a new battalion. I barely escaped and since then I have been hunted by the very same Empire you've just accused me of being a part of. If that's the way this is gonna go, I don't wanna be here anymore. I want to fight for this galaxy, because I failed it when I let Anakin become what he is now. I wasn't there to stop him. I will be there to help the galaxy heal after my mistake of leaving him. That's what I came to do. If you don't want to let me do it with you, I will do it on my own."
Ahsoka was standing now. She'd thrown out all her feelings. If they wouldn't trust her, she didn't really know where she would go, but she would figure that out. She wanted to help the galaxy. She didn't necessarily need the rebellion to do that.
To Ahsoka's surprise, the woman stood up and released the Force suppressant cuffs.
"That's all we needed to hear," Bail said. He motioned for Ahsoka to follow him out of the room, where a man was standing beside the door. He held out her lightsabers. She took them and hooked them back on her belt.
Ahsoka decided this was the time to ask her previous question from before she'd been interrogated. "If you didn't know you could trust me. Why did you let me in your home? Why'd you let me go near Leia?"
"I believed you didn't pose an immediate threat. If you came her with ill intentions, it would never have been to attack outright. You could only have come here to spy, which meant you wouldn't harm any of us if we didn't give you a reason to. I wanted to have you questioned. I knew that would work best if I got you to trust us too."
Ahsoka didn't say anything to that. It made sense after all. They continued walking.
"We have been doing our best to fight against the Empire and help groups of people escape their wrath. It's a difficult fight. We must be careful. We can't afford the attention of the Empire on us right now. We're too small. A Jedi in our midst would help significantly," Bail explained. Ahsoka nodded along, although she saw an error in his explanation.
"I'm not a Jedi, Senator. I left the Order. But I don't think I could still be a Jedi, even if I hadn't left. There's nothing left of the Order to call anyone a Jedi."
"I understand. Saddened as I may be by that statement I can see where you are coming from. But on to more serious matters. What did you have in mind to help the Galaxy, as you put it?"
"Anything I can help with. I just wanna do my part in making it a better place for the people."
Bail thought for a bit. "We have many active operations going on right now. Any one of them could use a Force user like you. We have smugglers, who take supplies to oppressed planets. We have small groups of fighters, fighting off small squadrons of stormtroopers where they can, and we have rescue operations for the massive amount of slaves the Empire is taking- "
Bail couldn't even finish that sentence. Ahsoka had already made up her mind. "I will help with the rescue operations. Anakin was a slave when he was just a child. He never told me about it, but Obi-Wan did. If I want to atone for the mistakes I made with him, I think it best that I start with what he hated the most and wanted eradicated from the Galaxy."
Bail nodded in understanding. "Very well. Our main team is currently on base, I'll take you to them." And with that they continued down the endless halls of the rebellion base, hidden underneath the palace.
Ahsoka was taken to what could only be described as a small housing area for the rebellion. Bail knocked on a door and a human woman opened it. From what Ahsoka could guess she was around her age. "Senator, what can I do for you, Sir?" the woman asked. "Lorey, this is Ahsoka Tano. She will be joining you and your team on rescue missions for the foreseeable future. Ahsoka, this is Lorey, leader of our elite rescue team. They have helped several thousand slaves escape the Empire in the past 5 years. I'll leave you to get acquainted."
After Bail had introduced them, he left down the hall, leaving the two women alone. Neither of them said anything for a few seconds, just staring at each other and taking in one another's appearance. Ahsoka decided to take the lead and properly introduce herself. "Hello, I'm Ahsoka Tano, as you just heard. I, uh, I just got assigned here, I guess. I used to be on the run before I-."
Ahsoka was rudely cut off from her introduction. "So, you're a newbie eh. What can you offer my team? I don't train new fighters. We're the elite team for a reason," Lorey stated coldly.
Well, not the welcome Ahsoka was expecting, but she'd been in the army. She was used to the business way of approaching things by now. Ahsoka pushed her rope open and lifted her lightsabers with the Force, displaying her abilities.
Lorey's eyes widened. "You're a Jedi?" she asked in disbelieve.
"Not anymore. I left the Order, but I can use the Force, yes. I used to be a Padawan and have been trained by several elite Jedi Masters. I fought as a commander in the Clone Wars. I have seen many battles and strategized several of them. I believe that these capabilities are worthy of being on your team," Ahsoka said confidently.
Lorey was impressed but didn't show it. Yet, Ahsoka could feel it in the Force. Lorey held out her hand. Ahsoka shook it. Lorey smiled. "It's good to meet you Ahsoka. I think we will get along nicely."
"I think so, too. So, tell me about your operations. I'm eager to get started."
"You won't be so eager once we've actually started."
"You'll be surprised."
"Very well." Lorey started explaining what their last mission had been and what they were planning on doing next. Ahsoka smiled. This felt like old times. Yeah, they would get along.
=O=
Next Ahsoka was introduced to 'the team'. They consisted of 3 men and 2 women. They introduced themselves as Jax, Cornan, Deo, Thea and Dara. They all had their own expertise's which complemented each other.
Jax used to be in Death Watch but defected because he didn't agree with their believes anymore. He was a skilled fighter and trained in many forms of martial arts.
Cornan was the tech guy. He knew everything about every piece of tech you could give him. The only thing she got from him was that he came of a wealthy family but didn't wanna talk about it.
Deo used to be a stealth operative for the Republic army before it fell. He used to live on the lower levels of Coruscant before signing himself up for the GAR. He was the one who usually got the team inside the slave transports.
Thea used to be part of a highly secretive Separatist operation that involved young women who were trained to become elite assassins. She was trained in the art of manipulations and persuasion. She'd gotten many Republic battle plans from high ranking clones she'd seduced. After the war she'd defected and joined the rebellion.
Dara was a slave herself before she was freed not that many years ago. when the Empire rose, they wanted to enslave her again, but she escaped. She joined the rebellion because she never wanted that to happen to anyone, ever.
Then came Lorey. She used to be a smuggler on the lower levels of Coruscant. Quite well known if Ahsoka was to believe her story. She'd trained in several styles of martial arts, was a master at stealth and knew her way around tech. she could do a little bit of everything. Ahsoka understood why she was the leader of the team.
Then it was Ahsoka's turn to introduce herself. She decided, again, to just show them instead of talking. She did the same trick as she used on Lorey. She lifted her lightsabers off her belt with the Force. Everyone was awestruck at the sight. They swarmed around her with many questions.
"Are you a Jedi?"
"How many fighting styles do you know?"
"Did you serve in the war? What battalion were you in?"
"Can you do tricks with the Force?"
"Are those real Jedi lightsabers? Can I study them?"
Ahsoka almost didn't know who to answer, but she'd been like that when she was younger with Anakin. Always asking questions. She calmly tried to answer every single one of them.
"I'm not a Jedi. I left the Order, but I used to be a Padawan before that.
I know the basics of every fighting style there is. My master thought it was important to be able to handle myself in all of them.
I did serve in the war. I was the commander of the 501st.
I can do tricks with the Force; I was trained to do so.
And yes, they are real lightsabers and are very delicate. You may see them if you want, but no deconstructing them. I lost my original lightsabers when I left the Order. My former master made these for me before my last battle in the war. That was the last time I saw him before the purge."
Ahsoka fell silent then. Everybody understood. The Jedi purge was known all over the Galaxy. Many believed the propaganda the Empire showed about that the Jedi were planning a coup and planned to take over. But none of these people thought that, at least. They felt sympathy for Ahsoka.
Dara spoke up. "We're sorry for your loss Ahsoka, but sadly that's what the Empire does. Everybody here has lost people to the Empire. You're not alone," she said with a warm smile.
Ahsoka was now sure that she was in the right place. She could start over and help the galaxy. Everything would be okay.
So I made several more OC's. I tried to think about their species, but ultimately decided against it. They're open for your own interpretation :D. (Lorey is human tho)
Reviews are greatly appreciated :)
