Entering her private quarters, Ahsoka felt the urge to smash something.

How dare Mothma question her loyalty, her commitment! Sure, she was angry, but that didn't mean that she would betray the rebellion.

And Bail… once again not supporting her. Lying to her.

Internally, Ahsoka began to wonder if this was what had happened to the Jedi, to Anakin. Infighting turned into outright betrayal.

It wouldn't surprise her. Anakin had never got along with the Jedi council. Perhaps that was the catalyst for it all.

Still frustrated, Ahsoka sat in the centre of the room, crossing her legs and reaching into the force. Perhaps some meditation would help calm her down and clear her head.

Delving into the force, Ahsoka felt a pull. Something, or someone was trying to show her something.

Opening her eyes, she found herself in a vision of some kind. She stood on a clifftop, overlooking a valley below her. The planet she was on had a strange atmosphere, and reeked of the darkside of the force.

Below, in the valley, Ahsoka could see stone statues representing various individuals. At her current distance, Ahsoka couldn't work out who or what they were of, only that they clearly had some sort of connection to the force.

Further along in the valley, a larger stone structure, one that looked like a temple, could be seen. It was old and run down, but still emanated power.

Ahsoka was reminded of the Sith Temple on Malachor. Old and damaged, yet fully functional at a moment's notice.

Turning, Ahsoka observed the rest of the landscape around her. The terrain was mountainous, with sharp rocks and cliffs that looked like they were trying to impale you. Clearly, nobody was ever meant to come here. The atmosphere was one of death.

Still, it held a strange sense of beauty to it.

"Fascinating, isn't it?" A voice croaked from behind Ahsoka, one that sent chills down her spine. Her natural instinct was to go for her lightsabers, to defend herself.

But she remembered that this was only a vision. He couldn't hurt her here.

"In a twisted kriffed up way yes." Ahsoka replied with a snarl, turning to face the person who had spoken.

Even in a vision such as this, Darth Sidious was an imposing sight. His presence in the force could be likened to a black hole, sucking everything close in and destroying it in the process.

And now he stood with her, sharing the same vision.

Sidious smirked at her response, turning away from the Togruta to stare at the landscape.

"When I was first training, my master, Darth Plagueis, brought me to this place in order to study the ancient knowledge of the Sith."

So wherever this was clearly did have some connection to the Sith. That explained the darkside energy Ahsoka could feel emanating from the ground.

"And here would be…?" Ahsoka enquired. She wasn't making polite conversation, she would never, not with him.

But for some reason she couldn't pull out of her vision. Something was keeping her there.

"Moraband my dear. Or Korriban to some. The ancient homeworld of the Sith, and final resting place for many Sith of old." Sidious croaked, a strange tone in his voice. Ahsoka would have called it awe, but surely someone of Sidious' power would not be awed by anything other than his own power.

"How are we speaking currently?" Ahsoka enquired. She had to know, so she could avoid it in the future.

"We are both mediating, and thus our consciousness have joined."

Ahsoka rolled her eyes, anger building in her.

Behind his hooded, Sidious smirked at the anger he felt from Ahsoka. Yes, soon she would be his.

"Two force sensitives mediating at the same time lightyears away does not explain how we have connected minds as you say. And I would certainly never willingly join my mind with yours!" Ahsoka spat, turning to face the Sith Lord.

Sidious cackled. "Indeed. However, I have recently acquired an artefact you once had in your possession. One that you connected with on an intrinsic level. Through that, I am able to contact you."

Ahsoka tried to refrain from the look of surprise that had covered her face, but he failed. Sidious was clearly speaking about the Sith holocron. But the last she had seen it, the Eighth Brother had stolen it from her on Tatooine. That meant…

"The Inquisitor returned the holocron to me, only asking for a place by my side once more. He practically begged. I had not seen anything so pathetic since the time Skywalker begged me to save Senator Amidala's life. Sentimental fool."

Ahsoka felt the rage inside her boil up. She had since stopped caring about Anakin Skywalker. He had proven to be a traitor of the highest calibre, one not worthy of any care or respect.

But Padme? Sweet innocent Padme. She was worth fighting for, even if she was long passed.

"Yes, I can feel your anger. You will make a fine apprentice Ahsoka Tano. You will be my greatest success, and my greatest legacy." Sidious cackled again.

"I'm going to kill you!" Ahsoka snarled back at him, fangs bared.

Sidious merely smiled back in a sickening way. "Oh I have no doubt Ahsoka Tano. The question is, how many of you friends will die to give you that opportunity?"

Ahsoka had no response. The last thing she wanted was for anyone to die for her.

"I will allow you to leave now, as it seems another desires your company. Until we meet Ahsoka Tano."

Ahsoka snapped out of her vision, finding herself back in her quarters.

A light series of knocks sounded at the door. Someone was clearly desiring her company.

Ahsoka very nearly told them to leave. She had had enough of rebels for today. And her recent vision hadn't helped her mood.

Still, through the force, she could not feel any threat on the other side of the door, only compassion and worry.

Ahsoka stood from her place on the floor, moving to open to door and greet the person.

The door slid open swiftly, revealing the dark-skinned face of Ahsoka's close friend.

"Hey." Kaeden Larte's greeting was simple, one that demonstrated informality between the two.

"Hey yourself." Ahsoka replied, a smirk on her face.

"Can I come in? I need to talk to you." Kaeden spoke, her hands wringing together awkwardly. Ahsoka had a feeling what this was about. But it was Kaeden, and she trusted the woman.

"Of course." Ahsoka replied, stepping to the side to allow Kaeden entry.

The dark-skinned human moved past Ahsoka, perching herself on the end of Ahsoka's bed.

Ahsoka experienced a case of deja-vu. This was strikingly familiar to their talks on Raada, when they had first met.

Kaeden clearly felt the same, as she laughed lightly, tapping next to her on the bed.

Allowing her previous anger to cool off, Ahsoka closed the door and moved to sit next to Kaeden.

The two sat in silence for a few seconds, merely enjoying each other's company. Kaeden had always been a stabilising element for Ahsoka, one she could turn to when the going was rough.

She felt she could tell things to Kaeden that she couldn't to anyone else, even Rex.

After the few more seconds of silence, Kaeden spoke.

"I heard about what happened at the meeting. Are you ok Ahsoka?"

Ahsoka sighed audibly, shrinking down into herself. She had actively had a go at the entire rebellion leadership, just because they hadn't agreed with her plan.

But it was a necessary plan, which was how Ahsoka justified it. They had to destroy the station before it could be used. And with the imperial leadership all meeting at the same time on the station…

What had gripped her worst of all was that once again he had been likened to her former master, and to the man he had become.

As Ahsoka boiled in her anger, Kaeden began to get increasingly worried. She had never seen Ahsoka like this before. Reaching out with her arm, she wrapped it around Ahsoka's waist, pulling her close.

That snapped Ahsoka out of whatever it was she was thinking about. "I'm frustrated Kaeden. We have the opportunity to eliminate the imperial leadership in one move, and the Senators don't wish to go through with it. They even put me on forced leave."

"From what I heard you gave them a good shouting down. Sato seemed quite impressed when he spoke to me." Kaeden replied, squeezing Ahsoka gently.

"Yeah I lost my patience, but I'm tired of dealing with the same old rubbish every day with them." Ahsoka replied, leaning into Kaeden slightly.

Silence fell over the two again, both lost in their own thoughts. Kaeden wanted to help Ahsoka, she really did. But Ahsoka often kept to herself, something that Kaeden both envied and despised.

"Tell me what to do Ahsoka. I'm here for you, anytime. But I don't know how to help you if you don't tell me." Kaeden spoke softly, turning her head to look at the Togruta woman.

Kaeden didn't expect much of a response from Ahsoka. So she was surprised when the Togruta wrapped her arm around Kaeden's back, much like Kaeden had done to Ahsoka.

"Just being here for me is enough Kaeden. Knowing someone cares is enough."

Kaeden nearly sighed at Ahsoka's words. After all these years, it seemed like the Togruta was finally beginning to open up to her.

So Kaeden sat with Ahsoka, offering as much support as she could through a simple embrace.

Kaeden didn't know how long they sat there together, perched on the end of Ahsoka's bed. Truthfully, she didn't care.

After an unspecified amount of time, Kaeden began to speak.

"Ahsoka I…"

Kaeden didn't get the chance to finish, as the doors to Ahsoka's room opened suddenly, revealing a tall figure on the other side.

"Oh, hey K2." Ahsoka spoke, a smile coming to her face to the sight of Cassian's partner in crime.

He may have been a droid, but Kaeden could almost see emotion in the droids emotionless face, as his head moved rapidly back and forth between Ahsoka and Kaeden, as if he had stumbled across some great secret.

Moments later, K2SO's head focused solely on Ahsoka. If Kaeden didn't know any better, she could have sworn the droid was smirking, even without an actual mouth to simulate such a thing.

"When the two of you are done snuggling and canoodling, Cassian would like to speak with you in the hanger bay."

Kaeden blushed at the droids comments, opening her mouth to refute K2's accusations.

Ahsoka however spoke first. "Thanks K2, tell him I'm on my way."

The droid nodded his head, turning to leave before halting in the doorway.

"Feel free to finish your important business here first Commander."

And with that, K2 left the room, stomping down the hallway, no doubt on the way to inform Cassian of what he had seen.

That left Kaeden alone with Ahsoka again. Neither had moved from their embrace, still holding tight to each other despite K2's interruption.

"Nosey droid." Ahsoka muttered under her breath lightly. Kaeden had to agree.

Ahsoka then made the move to stand, removing her arm from around Kaeden's back and breaking the embrace. Kaeden lamented to loss briefly, before shaking off the train of thought. Clearly duty called.

It was then that Ahsoka offered her hand to Kaeden, helping her stand from her position on the bed. Kaeden didn't need the help, but she took the offered hand regardless.

"Thanks." Kaeden spoke, looking down briefly with embarrassment.

Ahsoka smiled brightly, feeling happy for the first time today.

"No problem. Come on, let's go see what Cassian had got himself into now."

Author's thoughts

So a shorter chapter this time, one focusing on character development rather than plot. Still, I hope you all liked it.

Also, thank you for the positive response for the first chapter. I'm glad you enjoyed it, and are looking forward to this story. As I said before, it's going to be a long one, so plenty to go still.

Now to be honest with everyone. It has been brought to my attention in a review by LukeDude that the Death Star's main weapon is infact powered by several kyber crystals, not just one. Guess I should have done some more research huh? Anyways, it would have been hard to change the plot of this story to fit with canon, so I have come up with an alternative idea. The Death Star is still powered by several kyber crystals, however the plans that were leaked to the rebels in the previous chapter are for another weapon that has been installed on the battle station, powered by one massive crystal instead. What this weapon is and where it came from will come later in the story, hopefully giving you all something to look forward to.

Now, as usual, comment and speculate at will.

Speaking of which:

Mogor: Mothma is still hesitant at this point at openly attacking the empire. So of course she will oppose Ahsoka's suicidal plan. No need to worry, I will keep writing till all is done.

Travis Middleton: I'm glad you liked the opening, as well as the interaction between Krennic and Thrawn. They will have an interesting dynamic, that's for sure. Also, the villians will be getting plently of screentime in this story, so you can look forward to that. As for your question:
1. Sidious still has the Sith holocron, and he is doing many things with it. You will have to wait and see.
2. Once this fic is over, I intend to go back and do a series of one shots for certain characters, detailing "deleted scenes" as I call them. Maul will get one, as will the Eighth Brother, as well as many others.

Anonymoose: 100% Ahsoka Fanboy... You are correct, and I make no secret that she is my favourite character. She is the primary character of this AU, however everyone else will receive screentime too.

Mysterious Guest that commented on chapter 1: I'm glad you liked the twisted parallel between the imperial leadership and rebellion leadership. It plays an important role in this story, so I am glad you like it. Normally I like Mon Mothma too, but for this AU I wnated her to be distrusting of Ahsoka because of the past, as well as how she has been acting as of late.
In regards to your question. This story takes place just over one year after the events at Malachor, meaning the Death Star is still under construction at this point.

Chiara Polairix Edelstein: I'm glad you liked the opening chapter. I really wanted to get across that the rebel leadership does not trust Ahsoka by this point, as she has proven herself reckless and aggressive. I am also glad that I have somehow been an inspiration for you. I never expected that. :)
Yeah I like to write ideas that haven't been done before, as I think that makes an interesting story, thus I killed off Vader.

FossilQueen1984: Poor Thrawn, he is going to be stuck dealing with politics rather than dealing with the rebels. I'm glad you enjoyed the opening. I wanted to start with a bang this time, and get right into the plot, creating some tension and setting up the stakes.
Also, the morale of this story is "Don't trust the Eighth Brother", as you will see later down the line.
Bail and Mon are dealing with a lot of stress. Saw is around at ths point, and with recent revelations, they are worried Ahsoka is going down a similar path.

SLE's fave guest: Yeah it was pure coincidence that I wrote about the crystals, then the plotline comes up in rebels. Poor Mothma, she is trying her best, she's just stuck with people like Ahsoka and Saw running around actually doing something whilst she tries to play politics still.
The council talking about the Death Star was intended to be a reference to the scene in TFA, so I am glad you liked that.
Ahsoka just seems to have the worst luck. Still, she has friends that believe in her, so she is not alone. But running away might seem like a good idea at this point huh? ;)

star the rebel: Thanks, I'm glad you liked it. More coming soon.

LukeDude: I'm really gald you liked the opening. It was fun to write.
The Eighth Brother will definately be clashing heads with everyone, but he shall have a very interesting relationship with Thrawn. I am also glad you liked my characterization of Krennic. To me, he is kind of like a more naive version of Tarkin, so it is fun to write the two characters side by side.
Ahsoka is very slowly slipping towards darkness, as has been happening throughout this AU. The question is, will she be able to resist in the end!
As for Raddus, whilst he would usually be all gung ho for this sort of thing, he is not prepared for it yet, The rebels are still trying to amass a fleet at thsi point, and since Phoenix Squadron was all but obliterated, they do not have the manpower to attack the Death Star all out, as Ahsoka suggests.
Now for your questions:
1. Lothal will appear, as well Ryder Azadi. As for the TIE Defender program, lets just say that it might have been moved because of past events. :)
2. Jyn Erso will not appear, as I couldn't find a good place to put her. But she is around.
3. Dravin will show up at some point, he was just not present on Yavin during the meeting.
4. Ackbar will appear, as I couldn't resist doing a "It's a trap!" joke.
5. I don't intend on putting Iden Versio in as I have not seen enough of her yet to get a good understanding of the character. Sorry. :(
6. Saw will be fully intact and able to fight. No cybernetic legs or messed up lungs yet.
7. The team that Ahsoka will be forming will consist of various individuals, all of whom have some sort of personal issue with the Emperor. They will range from specialists to force users, war veterans and even one incredibly unlikely volunteer.
8. Another Jedi will appear, but I am not saying who.