Chapter 3: Life is like a hangover

Ahsoka awoke from the much needed rest, her head was throbbing uncontrollably, probably due to the effects of drinking too much. Ah well. she thought bitterly to herself, a small price to pay to escape from the worries of the world...

When she sat up, she realised that she wasn't even in her own apartment, which made her wonder what actually happened last night, because she couldn't seem to recall anything.

Thankfully, she could recognise who's apartment she was in, although her lekku darkened in embarrassment at how careless she could have imagined herself being last night. On one hand, she was grateful to Padmé for allowing her to stay over for the night, but on the other hand she was annoyed at herself, because she was trying to cut any social ties with people from her life as a jedi. She had broken a vow she made to herself to not allow the past to catch up to herself.

Almost as if on cue, Padmé strolled into the lounge, dressed in a silk robe, with her hair tied into a neat bun; smiling whilst holding a tray with a glass of water and a deep fried porg. She could see Ahsoka was awake, and said "Ah, good, your awake." Gently placing the tray on the small island to her right, before settling on the sofa opposite she added "So... how are you feeling..?"

Ahsoka was slightly confused at the question and this was evident when she replied "I have a headache, ugh. What happened last night...?" bringing her palm to her forehead.

Padmé's smile faltered for a second, as she recalled the unpleasant sight of Ahsoka laying as a drunken mess on the pavement outside the 500 republica, before answering "you had a few too many drinks.."

Evidently, Ahsoka's face blushed with a few shades of red and orange, so she started taking a interest in her own nails and fidgeting with them to keep herself from feeling too awkward. "Oh.." was the only word she could manage.

She was silently cursing herself Dammit Tano! Next time, your going to have to get yourself to solve your own emotional problems without Alcohol!

Swiping away the urge to run off and abandon the kindness granted to her, she silently feasted on the food that was brought to her, downing the drink instantly. She was grateful that the senator was so nice, she could only fear what would have happened had the senator not found her when she did. After depositing the glass back onto the table, she gasped at the air, after nearly drowning herself with huge gulps of water. When she looked back to the senator, she softly spoke "Thank you Padme, for being there for me, when no one else was, I feel better knowing that someone cares. And for that. I am truly grateful."

The senator smiled, got up, sat down next to her and hugged her, "That's what friends are for.." , Ahsoka embraced the woman, staring up at the antique clock on the wall, noting that it was nearly halfway through the day, so she decided she should go to the 'fresher.

Later that day...

After having a catch up with Padme, involving long conversations regarding Ahsoka's emotional state, it was nearing 3pm local time, and Ahsoka knew that she shouldn't hang around for too long because it would seem rude for Padme to continue burdening her, so she bid farewell and parted ways. Just before departing, however, Padme thrusted a commlink in the palm of her hand, to ensure that the two would always keep in contact.

3 months later...

The contract to work at Dex's was finished, and Ahsoka needed to find a new job. To be honest, she longed to run and fight and do all the interesting jedi business that she once did, so after a long rest at home she headed out into the underworld in a grey cloak with a blaster carbine strapped to her side in a holster pouch.

She straightened her body image to look a bit more intimidating, and keeping her left hand hovered over her carbine at all times. As she neared the door, two thugs came up behind her and one grabbed her right arm, the other was pointing a knife dangerously close to her throat, they snorted "An' what is a kid like you doing down here all alone? We could make a few easy creds from selling your pretty lil' face".

Her fast instincts kicked in and she pivoted on her heel, loosening the blaster out of its holster and shooting the first attacker in the leg, making the thug cry in agony, consequently loosening his grip on her arm, she struggled free and kicked him in the place where the sun doesn't shine, before delivering a blow to the face with the aid of force strength that knocked out the first attacker.

All the bystanders watched in fascination, at the girl who appeared so harmless but was yet so experienced at fighting. The second attacker pulled out his Corellian destroyer blaster, aiming it at her face, she swivelled and dodged the first few bullets, knocking over a few trashcans in the alleyway, before performing a 360 roundhouse kick, knocking the blaster upwards out of the attackers hands.

She caught the blaster in mid-air and kicked the attacker into the wall, before shooting him three times in the stomach. She pulled her hood back up, switching her carbine with the destroyer, in favour of the higher damage output and littering the carbine with the dead corpses. She fastened the destroyer to her holster, and strolled towards the door, a bystander called out to her, "Nice job kid, what's your name?"

Ahsoka turned around to face the man, he had hazel eyes and a scruffy black beard and his hair was near bald, he was leaning against the wall, looking very intently at her face, she noted he had a bowcaster rifle on his back and was wearing blue shoulder pads with a chestplate bearing a Mandalorian design. He didn't look like he was going to attack, infact, he has a warm smirk on his face, at the conclusion that he was not an immediate threat, her hands drifted away from the blaster and she crossed her arms.

She addressed the man with the first name that came out of her mouth, "Perdita Pax" it sounded almost casual, almost. "What's it to you?" she questioned. The man's smirk widened as he stated, "You just single handedly killed two dangerous criminals without suffering a scratch." He approached the door, as he walked past her, he gave a hard elbow to her shoulder. Had she not have been well trained in the past, it would have knocked her off her feet. He placed his arm on the door handle and turned to face her, "Welcome to bounty hunting kid."

Thanks for being patient whilst I dragged on the uninteresting parts of the story, next chapter will see Ahsoka's start in the bounty hunting career.

Reviews are also welcome! :)