Things are moving fast now for Ahsoka, Shaak and the gang. In this episode, Shaak unveils some additional secrets and a brand new, frightening power – at least it will be for anyone who might oppose her. Thanks to everyone who's taken the time to get this far in the story. We've still got a long way to go …


Chapter 11: Getting into the Game


Vaynai, Beachcomber Hotel, 1 BBY 6 months, 21 days, 8 hours

Two days later, Ahsoka Tano rose early in her home on Almania, dressed quickly in business attire and headed to the spaceport. The Corvala Dawn was made ready and she quickly set her course for Vaynai. Within about 30 minutes, she was landing on that world near the high-end hotel district on the main island of the central archipelago. Leaving the ship in the capable hands of R8-ND, she was transported by limo-speeder to the Beachcomber Hotel and Casino. She opened her com and contacted Chelli Aphra, who informed her everything had been set up as she had directed. When she arrived, a hotel staffer politely escorted her to a private conference room, where a sumptuous breakfast had been laid out for the various attendees. Various men and women filed into the room, some coming up to Ahsoka directly and greeting her. Chelli then arrived and started introducing some of them to Ahsoka. They mostly hailed from various Corporate Sector systems and were glad to meet their prospective business partner.

During the meeting, Ahsoka chatted with some of the designers of her new satellite-based perimeter defense system that was being deployed in orbit around Almania. She told them how pleased she was with its capabilities, and then she was shown some other ideas. In the process, she made a side deal to purchase some satellite droids that she might deploy from her own ship in the eventuality that they might be needed. One can never be over prepared, she noted to herself.

Later in the morning, the meeting broke up, but a couple of the participants escorted Ahsoka to the casino floor and they enjoyed a Vaynaian version of baccarat where a few hundred credits were wagered on each hand. Ahsoka had seemingly made two new friends this day. The first was Tolbert Nagupta, a weapons designer from the Corp-Sec world of Kalla, and the second was Gustevido Qentir, a banker from Issagra. As they talked, she got the feeling that doing business in the Corporate Sector could be very rewarding, but she needed more funds to really become a player. Later that afternoon, she decided to go to the beach with Chelli and Sana and changed into a revealing swim suit (as did her friends). It wasn't long before the Togruta was turning heads, as her exotic look stood out from the crowd. But everyone was quite pleasant with her and she had an enjoyable day. This really is a nice place, she thought, and wondered why more people didn't know about it.

Ahsoka was sitting in a lounge chair watching the goings-on when she asked Chelli: "Have you got any ideas how I might go about increasing my stake of credits? I see some opportunities and would like to get in the game."

Her friend nodded, "Yeah, I have some definite ideas there."

"Such as?"

"How much do you know about the securities business?"

"The what?"

"Uh … financial interests," Chelli chirped. "You know, stocks, bonds, commodities …"

"Sorry. I never had time for that." Ahsoka's mind was thoroughly baffled. Chelli took her hand and squeezed it.

"Ashli, I've always wanted to try out some ideas I have, but could never get my hands on enough credits to do it. Maybe you might be able to help out."

"What would I have to do?"

"Simple. It's like placing bets at the tables. Only you do this with an edge."

"What kind of 'edge'?"

"Superior knowledge. For example, take a company that you know is about to make a lotta money off of a new deal or some kind of business windfall. Take a position before that happens and you can really score."

Ahsoka perked up a bit at this notion. "Tell me more. I'm listening."

"Well, I happen to know that our Almanian deal is going to make some people very well off. Why don't we join them?"

"How do we do that?"

"It's called options trading …"

Chelli Aphra then went into detail how Ahsoka could place a 100,000 credit investment and walk away with a million. Do this a couple more times and she'd have some serious cash. Ahsoka was, needless to say, quite interested. She'd figured she would need more money if she wanted to be a bigger player on the corporate scene, and whichever way the Imperial cookie crumbled, she could be among the winners. I have to let Master Shaak in on it, though, she realized. But Chelli just keeps coming up with ideas.


Vaynai, Beachcomber Hotel, 1 BBY 6 months, 21 days, 13 hours

After letting Chelli go off to join Sana for some private time alone, Ahsoka returned to the room she had been booked in and got out of her swimsuit and into another dress. Coming back downstairs, she was then spotted by her new designer friend, Tolbert Nagupta. He was a dark-complexioned man of average height and stocky build, with plenty of facial hair. Nagupta suggested they go for a drink as the afternoon was wearing on into evening. As they sat down, he had a proposition for her.

"Doctor Tanner, I wanted to ask you about those lasers you are using for the perimeter satellite system."

"What about them?" Ahsoka asked.

"I don't suppose you know whether they are using Kyber crystals?"

"As a matter of fact, I think that they do. Small ones, though."

"Ah, but these have quite a bit of concentrated energy, am I right?"

"Sure," Ahsoka nodded.

"Fine. I'm wondering if I might interest you in a way you can get your hands on more of these. You see, they are becoming greatly in demand. It seems the Empire is paying quite well for some of the larger specimens."

Ahsoka's brain clicked inwardly at this mention. She started putting it together.

"Tolbert. I don't suppose you've heard what the Imperials are doing with these?"

"Not directly, but it's not hard to figure it out. They are using them to build some type of super laser. That's why they want to get as many as possible. They know a way to combine them and get an exponential surge in power."

Ahsoka nodded, somewhat vigorously, at this revelation. She knew well, in the back of her mind, that her training and Force sensibility made her quite adept at finding more of these crystals.

"So what's the deal, here?" She asked.

"Simple. Come up with a supply and we can sell these to the right buyer and make a killing."

"I might just have a way to get more. But what would you bring to the table?"

Tolbert smiled at her and winked. "I know the best way to find those buyers – and – do the trade."

Ahsoka laughed. "My friend, I am definitely intrigued. I've got some business to attend to elsewhere in the galaxy but I will return in a few days. Then we can explore this idea further."

"Very good, Doctor. I hope to be in touch with you soon."

The rest of the day was uneventful. Ahsoka had a light evening meal with Chelli and Sana, then retired to her room at the hotel. In the morning, she made plans to leave Vaynai and set her course for Felucia. It was time to let Master Ti know what she had been up to – and about the trip to Geonosis they would be taking.

On the way to Felucia, Ahsoka meditated during most of the 90-minute voyage. She had much on her mind and wanted to find a way to reconcile all of the new ideas that had come her way in the last couple of days. New ways to make money, and also, a better sense of where the Empire might be headed with respect to the battle station super weapon. Now it was time to see what Saw Gerrera had to say.


Felucia, 1 BBY 6 months, 21 days, 12 hours

Back on Felucia, Shaak had had a restful three days and she spent most of it meditating, studying, and supervising the training and study sessions of her acolytes. She also had a holocron session with Maris, as they went together to retrieve one from the secret underground vault deep in the woods. The two of them spent some time reviewing the proper care and maintenance of a Kyber crystal – a subject contained on the holocron. Sitting on the floor in her private residence, Shaak demonstrated how to use the Force to open a Jedi holocron and the nature of the security system she had installed on them.

"My dear Maris, observe how we unlock the holocron to display its many secrets. This one has much detail about the crystals and how best to build the proper lightsabre with one."

Maris looked on, fascinated. This was the first time her Master had taken her into her confidence and started to share the ancient knowledge with her and she felt trusted and valued. "How do we keep the knowledge safe, Master? What if someone like Vader tried to steal it?"

Shaak laughed softly. "He would get a nasty surprise. Trying to force one's way in will lead to serious ramifications. One of those would be a 10 KW electric charge aimed directly back at the intruder. His robotic attachments would likely short circuit in the event and he would find it difficult to breathe."

Maris nodded and smiled. "Very good, Master. I might enjoy watching that."

Shaak looked at her with a slight glare, and her coal-black eyes narrowed. "Better he never get the chance. We don't want that type of intrusion on our peaceful world."

Maris nodded solemnly. "I agree, Master."

Shaak returned the nod and smiled.

"Now, my friend, I will show you my newest sabre, one I completed the other day."

With that, Shaak opened her elegant brocaded and bejeweled black velvet robe and drew out an intricately detailed lightsabre hilt, one that contained some small ruby-like gems and had some finely detailed carvings. As Maris was admiring it, Shaak then lifted it above her head, between her tall montrals, and ignited the blade. A soft whoosh was heard and then a soft pink blade appeared and made a gentle hum. She gracefully brought the blade downward and took a few practice strokes.

"Ooh, Master Shaak. That is such a unique color. I've never seen one like that before." Maris felt like a school girl, her eyes wide with amazement.

"I've been working with it for a number of weeks now. Thanks to some more advanced techniques, I have been able to persuade the crystal to assume a personal role with only myself. No one else will ever be able to use this particular sabre. It knows who its owner and creator was – and it will be a most devoted servant, answering only to the Grand Master of the Order. I will demonstrate it to you soon."

Maris noticed a small green light come on in a ceiling panel above them, a signal of some kind. Shaak looked up and smiled.

"We have a visitor. Perhaps Master Tano has returned to us." With that, Shaak pulled a data pad out of a pocket in her robe and punched in some codes. "Ah, yes. This is her signal now. Knight Maris, please accompany me as we welcome our dear sister back to our world."

Soon, the Corvala Dawn was on theground on Felucia, and Ahsoka disembarked. As she stood on the soft ground of the planet, she looked up and smiled and took a deep breath of the moist, sweet air, and let out a sigh of contentment. This is truly a beautiful place, she thought. In a few seconds, Shaak and Maris were walking up to greet her. Hugs and smiles were exchanged as Ahsoka leisurely walked with them to the Assembly Hall.

As the three of them were seated at a low table, with Shaak in her custom-made throne-like chair, Ahsoka spoke.

"Master, I return with some important news. Bail has contacted me and he told me that Saw Gerrera is waiting for me on Geonosis. He has important news and wanted to share it directly with me. Bail believes that it has to do with the Imperial battle station project."

Shaak smiled broadly. "Ah, my child. I had been concentrating on this very subject two nights ago. Can you tell me more about this Mr. Gerrera?"

"He is kind of an old friend," Ahsoka explained. "During the Clone Wars, there was an uprising against the Separatists on Onderon. Saw and his sister Steela were leading their people in revolt against the king that Dooku had installed as the new ruler of the planet."

"And what was your role?" Shaak asked.

"I was helping to train the rebels in how best to fight against the droid army, along with clone Captain Rex and my friend Lux Bonteri. Anakin and Obi-Wan were there with me at first, but Master Yoda asked them to return to Coruscant. I was the only Jedi involved for most of the mission."

Shaak thought for a minute, then nodded. "Yes. I recall now as Yoda had informed me how it went. He wanted me to be aware of the great job you did."

Ahsoka looked back to her. "But, unfortunately, Steela died. We were on the side of a mountain and I was trying to save her by using the Force to hold her off the side of the cliff. But the droids shot me in the shoulder and I lost my grip on her. She then fell to her death. I felt awful." Ahsoka frowned in remembrance of that day, long ago.

Shaak replied. "You did what you could, my child. Mr. Gerrera does not hold you responsible for the death of his sister."

"I know. But it was hard watching it at the time. She might still be with us today."

After some more discussion, Shaak then spoke again to Ahsoka.

"We leave tonight for Geonosis. It will take some time."

"Yes, Master. I want to bring Frehya and Hedala with us."

"Very well. It may be another learning opportunity for them."

"I will make preparations for our journey, then."

Shaak nodded and Ahsoka rose to leave. The Grand Master then spoke to Maris.

"I know you would have liked to come with us, my apprentice, but we should not be gone too long. When we return, I will have an important job for you." Maris nodded obediently.


Geonosis, Arkanis Sector, SE Outer Rim, 1 BBY 6 months, 20 days, 12 hours

After two hours, the four of them were on the Corvala Dawn and headed for Geonosis. Ahsoka used that time to inform Shaak of some of what she had learned on Vaynai, especially the possible trade in Kyber crystals. Shaak was quite interested in the speculation that the Empire was accumulating them. She then informed Ahsoka.

"My child, it is now time that I should make you aware of the large assets we now control as the leaders of the new Order. One of the other bits of information I removed from the Temple was the keys and other data relating to various bank accounts held by the Jedi on various worlds around the galaxy. We now have quite a large total of credits available for various purposes."

"Would you know the total?" Ahsoka asked softly.

"It is several million credits."

Ahsoka nodded and smiled. "We should be able to put that to good use. Will you be able to provide me with access to these?"

"When the time is right, my child." Shaak answered softly.

Ahsoka then thought to herself … This is quite an interesting development. Master, have you been holding out on me or is it really my fault for assuming too much?

Eventually, they were in the neighborhood as the ship dropped out of hyperspace and Shaak asked Ahsoka to put it in orbit and take a couple of passes so she could properly scan the planet. Ahsoka hadn't seen Geonosis since that second battle during the early part of the Clone Wars and her mind thought back to the time when she and Barriss Offee became close friends as they both were trapped underground in the hive of the Geonosians. Barriss thought their chances were bleak but Ahsoka had urged her to not give up hope. I wonder what exactly happened to her, she thought. I know we parted on bad terms but maybe we could have straightened things out.

"Master, do you know what happened to Barriss?" Ahsoka asked softly.

"I believe she is no more," Shaak responded. "But I never found out for certain."

"Well … here we are. Are you picking up anything?"

"It seems the place is deserted. Can you raise your friend Saw Gerrera?"

"I will try to do so now. Bail sent me some info before we left."

Ahsoka opened the com and punched in the frequency info. "This is Fulcrum, calling Onderon Avenger."

After a few seconds, they got a response. "Hey there. Saw here. Is that really you, Ahsoka?"

"Affirmative. We're coming in now."

Having learned his location, Ahsoka quickly brought the ship down. Gerrera was waiting for her, but he seemed to be alone.

Ahsoka came off the Corvala Dawn first and she approached him. He looked her over and rubbed his eyes.

"Ahsoka Tano, my, do you look wonderful. It's been so long. When Bail told me you were alive and well, I was overjoyed." She hugged him and they embraced for a few seconds.

"I'm here for you, friend. And I've brought help. Master?"

Shaak descended the gangway, followed by Hedala and Frehya. Ahsoka introduced everyone, and Shaak spoke first.

"I'm sensing something is not right here. Were you aware of a large presence of battle droids still on this planet?" she asked Saw.

"Yes, we've spotted a few of them."

Just at that moment, a few columns of the B1 droids were suddenly advancing on their position. Ahsoka quickly activated her ship's shields, then she and Shaak went into action. Both of them drew their lightsabres, Ahsoka with her white blades and Shaak with her new pink. They slashed their way through but more kept coming. Some of them were more advanced models and could withstand low levels of blaster fire that Saw and his Partisans started firing at them. Shaak then shouted to them.

"Clear out, everyone! I will handle this."

With that, the Grand Master deactivated her blade as the droids quickly surrounded her. She then raised her hands over her head and started to spin and then her arms were suddenly a blur. Her motions generated a small vortex of energy that started to grow. As it did, everything in the immediate area started to be pulled in and torn apart. Within about 30 seconds, the miniature tornado had disposed of over 100 droids. Ahsoka, Saw, and the others cleared out fast, taking a position behind the Corvala Dawn as Shaak then directed the storm to clear out the remaining droids as some had quickly retreated. When the smoke cleared, the storm had subsided and all that remained were a few mounds of mechanical parts on the ground – the remains of over 300 battle droids.

Saw looked at Shaak with astonishment. "I've never seen anything like that before." He whistled softly. She smiled back at him and noted, "I like to be as efficient as possible."

Ahsoka came up to him and clapped him on the shoulder. "Not bad, huh?" she laughed. "Good thing she's on our side! Now, my friend, tell us what we've come here for. What of the Empire and the battle station?"

Shaak decided it was better for everyone to come aboard the ship. Ahsoka lowered the shields and everyone trooped into the conference room. Saw gave his report.

"Ahsoka, the rumors you've heard are true. The Empire has been working on this for twenty years. They are building a huge armored station that will have a level of destructive power to destroy a moon, maybe even a small planet. The work started on Geonosis, but recently they cleared out of here and moved to another location. A planet called Scarif."

Shaak stroked her chin for a second. "I know of that one. A beautiful place, actually."

Saw continued. "But as they departed, they tried to wipe out everyone on this planet. They wanted no witnesses who might be able to talk about the project to outsiders."

Ahsoka interjected. "So how did you find out?"

"A man I've known for a long time by the name of Galen Erso. He was working on the project. Galen was a leading scientist for the Republic that was then working for the Empire. But when he found out his work was going to be used for weaponization, he wanted no further involvement. I helped to relocate him and his family to a remote world on the Outer Rim."

Ahsoka replied. "What kind of work did he do?"

"He specialized in laser research, and the use of Kyber crystals."

Ahsoka looked at Shaak and nodded. The Master then spoke. "Mr. Gerrera, where is this man now?"

Saw looked at her and stated, "I'm really not sure. My belief is that the Empire found him and forced him to come back to work. Recently, before my group came to Geonosis, he had transmitted a message to me. In it was his determination that somehow this project had to be stopped. He had been involved in the development of the main reactors for the station and he knew they would be unstable and it wouldn't take much to set them off."

Ahsoka spoke slowly. "So we would need a way to make that happen. Did he give any further details?"

Saw replied. "Only that he had built in a flaw that would make it possible. It would be so small that the Empire would never suspect it. It will be key to get the plans for the station in order to take advantage."

Shaak looked around for a minute, then spoke decisively. "Then that is what must be done. We will go to Scarif and see what we might learn."

Saw nodded. "But you know it will be well defended."

Ahsoka shook her head wearily. "Of course it will." She scoffed. "But we must find a way. If they get that thing working, who is going to stop them?"

Shaak spoke calmly. "We will. But we must have a plan of our own. Time to start working on it. Mr. Gerrera, you have been most helpful. We must be going now. Good luck to you and your team here – and may the Force be with you."

Shaak smiled then stood up. Everyone knew what to do next. Saw Gerrera and his Partisans said their goodbyes and filed off the ship.

Once they had left, Ahsoka asked, "Where to now, Master?"

To be continued ...