Waiting

A waitress.

Asajj Ventress could scarcely believe it. More than ten years of Jedi training, three years of being mentored by Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, and enough skill to survive crossing blades with General Grievous, and Ahsoka Tano spends her time waiting tables while war ravages the galaxy.

All the better really. Convincing the girl to part from her lightsabers would be difficult enough just because of their bad blood. If she was still using the things, this trip to the surface would be a complete waste.

The plan was still a terrible one, Ventress had no illusions about that. But she hadn't come up with anything better, and waiting would not help. Time to act.

Asajj paused before entering the diner. A cold breath on the nape of her bare skull told her she was being watched. A small spike of anger came and went as she was reminded of the loss of her helmet, though its use would be limited in such a respectable part of Coruscant. A quick peek through the window revealed the besalisk owner behind the bar, a spotless droid bussing tables, and her Togrutan target waiting on a young family.

The family's presence was good, Asajj could use innocents.

Asajj cast that thought from her mind. This is no time to use violence. Even if it got her what she wanted, it would bring the Jedi down upon her. Focus.

Whoever had been watching had lost interest. There's always someone watching on Coruscant. Asajj couldn't wait to get off this planet. The crowds made her paranoid.

A false, tinny bell tone played as Asajj slipped inside.

"I'll be with you in a moment," Tano called distractedly, "Find a seat anyw—Ventress?" Tano's hands twitched towards her waist, desperate to hold the weapons that her hip-hugging apron obviously wasn't hiding.

Asajj tried for reassuring. "Relax, girl, I'm just here on business."

Tano wasn't reassured, "So there is a bounty out for me. Who set it? The Separatists? The Hutts? The Jedi?"

"Coffee."

Asajj was immensely satisfied by the look of confusion that stole across Tano's face.

"Wha—?"

"It's far too early for me to deal with paranoid Jedi," Asajj slid into a window booth seat. "So I need a drink. You do serve that here, don't you?"

"It's almost midnight."

"Sober small talk isn't my forte."

Tano took a moment to gift Asajj with an almost impressive look of disdain before stalking off.

Asajj let her usual scowl slip into place. Apparently saving the girl's life wasn't enough to earn her trust. Or maybe Skywalker never passed that bit of news along.

As she returned, Asajj couldn't help but half wonder if Tano meant to scald her with the fresh pot of coffee. Instead, the ex-Jedi sat down across from her.

"The service here isn't as pleasant as I had hoped," Ventress began, sipping her coffee. "I'd thought you accepted that I've turned over a new leaf, seeing how you made sure I was pardoned. I admit, I half expected you to renege on your end of our last bargain."

"Master Skywalker brought your pardon to the Senate, not me. Why are you here, Ventress?"

"Fine, no small talk, business. It's difficult to hunt bounties without weapons. The Mirialan stole mine. The Jedi refuse to return them, even if I have been pardoned. So I'm here to buy yours."

"You think I'm going to let you take my lightsabers without a fight?" Tano said.

"Not take," Ventress said, reaching into her pocket for a flask. She poured a significant dose of alcohol into her half-finished coffee. "Sell. Bounty hunting is profitable business. I have credits."

"If you think you can give me enough credits to let you go back to being a war criminal—"

"I'm not going back to the war. And while we're on the subject, let's clear this up: I've done things I'm not proud of, but not during the war," Asajj snarled. "I've been an absolute bitch if I thought it would get the job done, but I was a war hero! I just wasn't on your side. I killed hundreds of clone troopers, you trashed thousands of droids. Do you really see a difference?"

"I've had friends that were clones," Tano said coldly, "Did you have friends have friends who were droids?"

"Yes."

That shut Tano up. Ventress saw an opening and went for it.

"MM-50 is a standard B-1. An idiot. Couldn't hit a planet he's standing on without shooting himself in the foot. And somehow he always survived. Not in one piece mind, every limb on that little idiot was built in a different factory. But he was my moron. Last I heard he was stationed in the Besh Gorgon system. I hope he finds a way out of the war…"

Asajj realized where she was and who she was with. "Droids and clones and everyone else are created without anything special about them. Time gives them glitches, quirks, experience. Given the chance they might do something interesting with themselves, stick out from the crowd. Most don't."

Both young women were looking rather pointedly at their hands. The besalisk coughed.

"What do you need me for? Why not build your own lightsaber?" Tano finally said.

"Never learned how. Wasn't a Coruscant Padawan like you. Ky Narec was stranded on Rattatak for years before he found and trained me. My first lightsaber was a hand-me-down from his dead padawan. My second was his. Dooku replaced those with a pair once wielded by the dark Jedi Komari Vosa. Never built one for myself."

Silence reigned once more. The besalisk got to his feet with a grunt and approached the hungry family.

"Why bounty hunting?" Tano eventually asked. You were with the Separatist higher ups, if you want money you must know what member of the Trade Federation to blackmail, or which Banking Clan outpost you could rob without anyone noticing. Or you could probably sell intel to the Republic, you could do more damage to the Separatist movement with your words than an entire legion of troopers. Why put your life on the line?"

Asajj shrugged. "I fell into it. Haven't gotten back up yet. Maybe I enjoy fighting. Maybe I want to die. But I like not choosing the targets. After Dooku betrayed me I tried making choices, leading, making a difference. It didn't go well. I take money from scum and hurt other scum. People don't get bounties put on them for building porg sanctuaries."

"It was a bounty hunter trying to kill Senator Amidala that started the war to begin with!"

"And you think she's done nothing that deserves death?" Asajj asked.

"She was trying to stop a war!" Tano exploded.

"Trying to stop a vote, I think. The same vote that created your clone army. The Jedi would have all died on Geonosis and Dooku would rule the galaxy unopposed if she'd gotten her way."

"First, that vote was stopped, the clone army was created a decade ago by a Jedi with more foresight than anyone gave him credit for. And second," Tano said, ticking off her middle finger," we're judging people by the results of their actions instead of their intentions now?"

"Of course we are," Asajj said coldly. "We give medals and promotions to the soldiers who succeed, not the idiots who walk into traps. If a rogue rescues a princess just to get a reward, I think you'll find the princess is still saved."

"So the rogue is a hero until he goes back to selling spice, is that it?"

Asajj rolled her eyes, "You've seen more than most kids, but here's something you haven't learned yet. There are no rogues. No heroes. No idiots. No soldiers. There are only people. People take actions. Actions are roguish, or heroic, or idiotic, or dutiful. The rogue can be as selfish as he likes, but if he keeps doing heroic things, people will call him a hero. People can change, do change. All the time. Actions don't. Once they're done, actions just are what they are.

"But you don't want to listen to me. And I don't like talking philosophy. It's clear I'm wasting my time here." Asajj made to get up.

Tano touched her arm, "You're not." Her face was inscrutable.

Asajj's patience wore thin, "If you mean to say you're selling your lightsabers, name your price."

"Lightsaber," Tano corrected. "And I'll need more than credits."

"You've seen me fight," Asajj said, "I need two blades."

"You've used two blades, with duelist hilts and of equal lengths," Tano corrected once again. "Both mine are of unequal length and have traditional hilts. You were never going to get exactly what you want from me. You're just going to have to compromise more. Besides, even with only one blade, I'm sure you're a match for most bounties if it comes to a fight. Surely the tricky part is finding them."

"True. Fine, one blade. What's your price?" Asajj asked.

"Pretty cheap. Enough to pay the rest of the rent on my flat, and a bed on your starship. Wherever you're hunting bounties next, I'm going with you."

Asajj laughed out loud, then cut herself short when she saw Tano's impassive expression. "You're serious? You want to travel with me?"

"Side effect of being partners." Tano said evenly.

"Partners?" Asajj said incredulously.

"You know I can hold my own in any fight," Tano said. "And I've spent my fair share of time hunting down scum. And goodness knows there's a lot of petty crime the Jedi would be dealing with if there wasn't a war going on. You could do a lot of good for a lot of people, as long as you keep pointed in the right direction. So that'll be my job."

"So I'm supposed to just let you into my life, let you judge all my actions, give me permission on what bounties I can and can't hunt? And all I get in return is a lightsaber and a sidekick?"

"Partner."

"Headache." Asajj downed the rest of her spiked coffee. "What's to stop me from gutting you and tossing your corpse to the stars the minute we break the atmosphere?"

"Me," Tano said. "And my other lightsaber."

"You seriously think you're a match for me?" Asajj said.

"Maybe. Maybe not." Ahsoka shrugged, "I suppose we're bound to find out one way or another."

Asajj glared at Tano.

To her credit, the Togruta didn't back down.

"I want 80% of the profits. It's my ship."

"Done." Ahsoka said, "We don't kill if we can avoid it."

"Done. Most bounties pay more if they're alive anyways. We stay well away from the war. Dooku wants my head more than Kenobi's."

"Done. Interfering could cause problems with the Jedi that I don't really want anyways. You don't get to turn my lightsaber red?"

"What?"

"I'm serious. It stays yellow or there's no deal."

"Sure, not a problem, but you can do that? Change a saber's color?"

"The Sith can. That's why all their sabers are red. Their crystals are stolen from Jedi lightsabers and corrupted. You didn't know that?"

"Dooku taught me how to murder things. Crystal painting didn't come up. You need to spend more time haggling and less time reading."

Tano smiled, "Funny, Barriss always used to say…" Her smile faded with her words, her sentence unfinished.

Ventress reached across the table and flicked her forehead, "Last demand. None of this. No whining about how you were betrayed, no complaining about how the Jedi abandoned you. Everyone has a sob story. I can keep fire from burning me, but I have no interest in trying to put fire to a wet log."

Tano nodded, but her eyes were still far away. "This is actually happening, isn't it?"

"If you aren't backing out, then I suppose it is. How much time do you need before the hunt begins?"

"We should be off world by morning."

"Off world? I have a target her that I was hunting before you barged in that is still ripe for the picking."

"Whoever it is, forget them. The Jedi won't like me being with you, and gossip tends to travel quickly near the surface." Tano cast a significant glance at the besalisk.

Asajj frowned, remembering the eyes before she entered the diner, "I'm taking that reward out of your pay. And I'm taking the green saber, not the yellow one. The Banshee is docked in bay 2187 on level 1313. Be there in two hours."

"My flat is two levels down. Give me the rent and I'll strip it and be back in five minutes. Then we can go together. The green was my first. I'm keeping it."

"I'm taller, I need a longer blade. The green is mine." Asajj retrieved the money and watched the girl go.

This was not how the evening was supposed to turn out. She'd have to adjust her style if she was going to use a single saber again. She wasn't so concerned with Tano accompanying her. The girl had seen her share of action, wasn't entirely useless in a fight, but she was spoiled. She'd never been without a home, without a temple to return to when the mission was done. She'd scamper back to civilized society within the month.

And she was getting at least one saber out of the deal. And she could take the second saber when the girl ran. Payment for leaving her "partner" high and dry. Something like that. The girl was useless at negotiation. Ought to have spent a bit more time listening to Kenobi talk instead of watching Skywalker smash.

Tano returned, and they left the diner together.