Farewells and Reunions

A.N: Timeline setting: One part is before The Siege of Mandalore, and the other is after 'To Take Down An Emperor'

"You could still come back when this is all over you know? Either as a Padawan or a Knight. It'd only be right."

Ahsoka had to resist the urge to sigh, or even roll her eyes. Anakin didn't deserve that. He had been nothing but kind and supportive of her, even if he didn't fully understand or accept her reasoning for leaving the Jedi Order in the first place. Why would she go back to an organization that she couldn't trust? Yes, she had volunteered to help them in this mission, and yes she had asked for the Council's help, or more specifically Obi-Wan and Anakin's, but that didn't mean she wanted to return to the order that cast her out without remorse.

Ahsoka wanted to do good in the galaxy, and that meant saving innocent people from harm.

Said innocent people were the denizens of Mandalore, which was fully under the tyrannical rule of Darth Maul!

And if Darth Maul was involved, she knew this mission would be important to Obi-Wan, and by extension, Anakin. They had both been fully prepared to assist her in this mission, until the call from Coruscant came.

Grievous had attacked and captured the Chancellor, and now the Skywalker-Kenobi duo was going to rush to the rescue.

That left Ahsoka to handle Mandalore. The Togruta was glad she'd at least have Rex and the boys by her side. She didn't fully trust Bo-Katan to uphold her end of the bargain.

"Master, my decision hasn't changed. I want to help here on Mandalore, but I can't return to the Jedi, not after that trial. It's not my path anymore."

Anakin's face contorted in a myriad of emotions. Sadness and despair were dominant, but underneath those Ahsoka could see something else that upset her far worse than the first two emotions.

There was what appeared to be a hint of anger in Anakin's eyes. Ahsoka hoped it wasn't anger directed towards her.

A few seconds later, she found out exactly what the anger was about.

"So that's it then? I went through all of that trouble to prove your innocence, even gave you some time to think about it, and you still decide not to come back to where you belong? Do I mean nothing to you? Does our bond?"

Ahsoka couldn't stop the way her mouth dropped open in shock. Did Anakin really think that little of her? Did he really feel that betrayed by her decision to leave the Order?"

"Anakin… I…"

"Forget it Ahsoka. I'm done dwelling on it. You've made your decision, and I've made mine. Do whatever you want. You're not mine to worry about anymore." Anakin interrupted, turning away from her in the process before walking off, destined for the gunship that Obi-Wan was currently waiting on, primed for departure.

"Master…." Ahsoka found herself calling out after him, trying to make him see things her way, knowing full well his stubborn nature would not allow him to.

Anakin halted in his step, but did not turn around. His head turned to the side slightly, and he spoke once more.

"Good luck 'General Tano'."

And with that he resumed his stride towards the gunship, his attention now solely focused on his mission to save the Chancellor, sparing no concern for his former Padawan's feelings.

Ahsoka supposed in a way she deserved that. She had done the exact same thing to him when she walked down the steps of the Temple.

Still, it hurt, and hurt badly.

"What a nerfherder!"

The sound of Rex's voice brought a smile to Ahsoka's lips as she turned to face the Clone Captain, who was staring after Anakin with an annoyed look on his face.

"Don't worry about it Rex. He's right to be angry at me."

"No he's not. You did what was right for you. Shame he can't see that."

"It's ok Rex. He just needs time to cool off. I'm sure he'll be fine once this is all over and back to the General you serve so brilliantly.

Rex scoffed at that, surprising Ahsoka almost as much as Anakin's anger against her had. Had something happened between the two that she was unaware of. Rex clearly had some sort of bad blood in regards to him.

"With all due respect, 'General'," Rex turned his attention back to Ahsoka as he began to speak, lifting up his helmet to place atop his head in the process, the familiar blue Jaig Eyes now a vibrant orange, much like the rest of the Clones who had chosen to follow her on one last mission. "But I am serving my Commanding Officer, and will continue to do so until the day I die… if she'll have me?"

Another jolt of surprise, this one pleasant, ran through her mind. Despite Anakin;s flippant dismissal of her, Ahsoka was glad that she still had Rex by her side.

Without hesitation, Ahsoka snapped into a salute, a gesture Rex copied.

"I wouldn't want anyone else by my side, Captain Rex."

"Thank you Sir."

Galen Erso followed as instructed. He didn't know why he had been summoned, but he knew better than to question orders. He had once been a 'respected' Imperial scientist, responsible for constructing a weapon that threatened planets.

Thankfully, the weapon was now gone, and the cruel curators of it as well.

Still, despite the role he had played in it's destruction, he knew full well that the members of the Rebel Alliance and New Republic didn't fully trust him, and for good reason.

"We are nearly there now Professor Erso." The man in front of him, one Cassian Andor, spoke, his tone professional as he led Galen through the various hallways of Rebel HQ. If Galen didn't know any better, he'd say he was being led to the detention center!

The only question was why? He had speculation of course. Perhaps the Rebels had finally had enough of him and were locking him away for his work on the Death Star? Or perhaps he was being taken for interrogation or something?

In the end, he didn't have time to ponder, not as Cassian led him to a cell and opened the door, gesturing for Galen to enter without him.

"I don't understand?" Galen spoke, unsure exactly what was going on, or why Cassian had a warm smile on his face. Something was strange.

"We had someone I think you'll want to talk to, Professor." That was all Cassian said before he gestured into the cell again, the smile never leaving his face.

Despite his suspicions, Galen moved through the threshold of the doorway, and into the cell.

As he stepped in though, he spotted someone laying atop a cot, facing upwards with an annoyed look on their face.

She was a human female, light skinned with brown hair, and eyes that were as green as grass.

For one brief moment, Galen almost thought that it was his deceased wife Lyra. This woman looked so much like her it was uncanny.

And then the woman turned towards him, her green eyes locking onto Galen's features. In one single moment her expression changed from one of annoyance, to one of complete shock.

And in that moment alone he realized exactly who this was, and why Andor had brought him to her. It had been years since he had last seen her… she had just been a little girl!

But he knew the eyes of his daughter better than the back of his hand! She was alive… and she was here.

"Jyn?"

"Father?"

That was what broke him. Galen couldn't help himself. He couldn't not run towards his daughter. He had to!

It only took a moment, but it felt like it took him forever to cross the distance between the two, wrapping her in a tight hug, one Jyn returned gladly, tears already pouring from her eyes. Galen was much the same. After all these years… he had found her.

"Jyn.. oh Jyn… my 'Stardust'." Galen began to whisper, his old nickname for her coming out without hesitation, earning a sob from Jyn in the process.

It had taken him so many years, but now, finally, he had found her again.

Perhaps he did still have something left to live for after all.

Author's thoughts

Oh hi... have a quick double drabble one shot that contrasts itself. XD

This was something I thought of off the top of my head and wanted to get down. It might not be a long one shot, but I liked the idea, so why not. (plus it finally reunites Galen and Jyn Erso, so what's not to like!)

The Anakin and Ahsoka stuff was something I wanted to do as well. I'm fully expecting them to part ways happily in the series, but I, like always, wanted to explore a different route for it. Knowing how bitter and hostile Anakin becomes during ROTS, I thought it would make sense for his bitter nature to come out during his and Ahsoka's final meeting as friends as well. In a way, he does sort of blame Ahsoka for leaving him and 'abandoning' him. Plus it helps to explain why he doesn't mention her in ROTS in a way. He is basically angry at her for leaving and not coming back. Still, at least Rex has Ahsoka's back as always. Good thing nothing bad is going to happen to them shortly. XD

As for Galen and Jyn, I thought it better to just show how happy they were to see each other again rather than go into a long set of details of what Jyn had been up to and what Galen had been up to since they last saw each other. Hopefully you lot don't mind, but you know how I like to leave things up to reader imagination. XD

So yeah, hope you liked this short one shot. Let me know what you thought of it.

As usual, comment and speculate at will. Speaking of which:

FossilQueen1984: He, glad you are still enjoying these one shots when they show up. Th are a slow and steady thing these days due to my other story, but I'm glad people still like them.
Medical drama was fun to write, especially from Kaeden's POV. Good thing she is such a good Doctor.