Part II- The Fall

Ahsoka stepped out onto a familiar platform at the GAR's main staging area on Coruscant. She scanned the crowd, and saw Ghes off to the side. She quickly made her way over to him and they ducked behind a stack of crates. It'd been weeks since they'd seen each other, after the few days they'd spent together on Coruscant, their duties had kept them apart. Ahsoka had gone on several missions, guarding senator Amidala on Mandalore, stopping Zygerian slavers, stopping a plot to assassinate the Chancellor. Ghes and his men had been raising hell across the outer rim with lightning attacks on Separatist outposts, trying to keep them off balance. As such, the only communication they'd had was a few holocom calls. Now, finally reunited, they embraced.

"Miss me, Tano?"

"Just kiss me stupid."

Discreetly, Ghes and Ahsoka made their way from the landing pad to the motor pool and the speeder he had 'commandeered' for them.

"Where'd you get this?"

"The speeder? I just took it, the troopers in charge of this place don't ask to many questions."

She shook her head as she climbed into the passenger seat.

"You're going to get those boys in trouble."

"It's not like I don't have the authority; I just don't want to leave a paper trail."

"And why might that be?"

"Because then people start asking questions like 'why do you need it', 'where are you going', 'why does this say you're on Malastare'…."

He saw the look she was giving him.

"Don't worry, I'm actually on leave this time, but I still prefer to keep a low profile."

"Good, wouldn't want to have to report you."

"Ha ha, very funny. Now, where to?"

"The Temple."

"Do we have to?"

"Yes, you'll be fine, there are troopers walking around there all the time."

Ghes sighed as he lifted the speeder into the skylanes, she knew he wouldn't want to go anywhere near the Temple, but she'd make it up to him later.

"So, how have things been with you and Skywalker?"

"It was weird at first, but I think he's starting to accept us being together."

That was only half true. While things between her and Anakin weren't as tense as they'd been following their initial confrontation, he still refused to really talk to her about it any meaningful way.

"Good, because he hasn't said a word to me, all the orders he sends are written, and I'm pretty sure he started cutting me out of strategy briefings."

"Oh, he's definitely still mad, but he's realized he can't do anything about it without hurting me."

"Or himself."

Ahoska hadn't considered that before. If Anakin ever did try and rat her out to the Council, he'd risk Ghes exposing his marriage to Padme. She wasn't sure how she felt about basically blackmailing her master into silence.

"Would you really do it, ruin his life like that?"

"Only if he hurt you."

They made good time reaching the Temple, located in its own precinct adjacent to the Senate district. After landing on one of the lower levels, Ahsoka led Ghes through the cavernous halls of the vast structure.

"Isn't this all a bit excessive?"

"What do you mean?"

"It's all too big, too grand, too extravagant, especially for an order that's supposed to be about humble service."

"I don't know; I've never really thought about it."

"You've lived here most of your life and never thought about why it's essentially a palace?"

"Did you ever think about why every inch of Coruscant is covered by Galactic city?"

He shrugged.

"No, that's just how it always was."

"And this is how it's always been for me."

The grandeur of the Temple was toned down around the living quarters, the Jedi had to do something to make themselves believe in the Order's austerity, Ghes joked. Ahsoka went to her room, first making sure she wasn't on the duty roster for anything, and motioned for Ghes to follow her while no one was around.

"And I thought my place was simple."

"Yea, well this room contains everything I own, so watch what you say."

"About what, there isn't anything in here but a bed and a dresser?"

As Ahsoka collected a few things from various drawers, a knock on the door got her attention. She turned to Ghes, leaned up against a wall fiddling with his sidearm, and signaled for him to stay quiet while she answered.

"Who is it?"

"Bariss."

Shit, of all the bad times she could have come. Ghes's presence in the Temple may have been easy enough to explain, but in her quarters was a different matter.

"Yes?"

"Ahsoka, I was wondering if you wished to eat lunch together?"

"No thanks, I'm not hungry."

"Are you feeling ill, I can retrieve a medic?"

"No, Bariss, I'm fine."

"I'd feel better if you'd open the door."

She looked over to Ghes, who held up his pistol, probably suggesting that they stun her. Ahsoka glared at him, quickly putting an end to that line of thought, and he shrugged as if to say he hadn't a clue what to do either. She bit her lip, thinking over her options for a moment before opening the door and quickly pulling the Mirialan girl inside. Startled Bariss began to question Ahsoka.

"That wasn't really what I meant, but…"

She fell silent again as she noticed Ghes, still leaning up against the far wall.

"Ahsoka, who's this?"

"This is Colonel Marczak, we were, um, going over some mission reports."

Ghes stepped forward and offered his hand for the confused girl to shake. She did, hesitantly.

"You're not a clone."

"So I'm told."

Bariss started to regain more of her composure at this point, and stepped back towards the door.

"You're obviously busy, so I'll just excuse myself, unless you want to join us for lunch Colonel?"

"I'd love to."

Ahsoka's eyes widened, clearly shocked by Ghes's agreement. She couldn't think of anything that would get them out of eating lunch with Bariss now, so she put on a false smile and followed her friend out of the room, glaring angrily at Ghes all the way.

It went better than she initially expected, Ghes had a few recent mission reports on him and he managed to strike up a conversation with Bariss, albeit about Ahsoka's various discipline issues. She laughed uneasily, making a mental note to get back at him for this later, and searched Bariss's face for any sign that she suspected something. After they'd finished eating, Ghes took the empty plates away, leaving the two Jedi sitting across from each other. Ahsoka tried to make small talk about saber forms, but Bariss cut her off.

"What's going on with you and him?"

Ahsoka's heart jumped into her throat, how did she know?

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't lie to me, there's something going on between you and that man, and you're going to tell me what it is."

"I don' know what you're talking about, Bariss…"

"I'm not stupid, Ahsoka, it's obvious there's something, he was in your quarters with you, the excuse you gave for that was painfully transparent, and your emotions are all over the place."

Once again, Ahsoka couldn't think of anything to say that would satisfy Bariss, so she decided it would be best just to come clean.

"Fine, your right, something is going on between me and Ghes."

Bariss raised her eyebrow at Ahsoka's use of Ghes's first name.

"Ghes? Ahsoka, what have you gotten yourself in to?"

Just then, Ghes returned to the table, blissfully unaware of the current direction of conversation.

"Commander Tano, we have a briefing we need to get to…"

Ahsoka held up her hand to stop him saying anything more.

"Drop it, Ghes, she knows."

He seemed more annoyed then shocked, immediately sitting back down with a sigh.

"It was her wasn't it?"

"Hey!"

"Yes, Colonel, it was."

"Should've figured."

Angered by that last comment, Ahsoka elbowed him in the side while angrily glaring at him.

"And why's that?"

Ghes held up his hand and started counting the reasons off on his fingers.

"The crappy excuse for me being in your room, the fact that you can't hide your emotions, the fact that you keep panicking and making bad decisions…"

"Really? Like what?"

"Pulling her into the room, what was that supposed to accomplish?"

"What was agreeing to go to lunch supposed to accomplish?"

"I thought it would look suspicious if I refused."

"How? How would it look suspicious?"

Before Ghes could formulate an answer, Bariss, who'd been quietly watching their argument, cleared her throat loudly. Reminded of the crisis at hand, the two dropped their argument and turned their attention back to Bariss. The three sat there staring at each other for another minute before Ghes nudged Ahsoka and gestured for her to say something.

"So, Bariss… there's no need to tell anyone else about this, is there?"

"I don't feel right lying for you, Ahsoka, especially about something like this."

"You don't have to lie, just don't say anything to anyone."

"Ahsoka…"

A beeping from Ghes's gauntlet interrupted. He put his helmet on to look at the message on his HUD.

"Huh, looks like I actually do have to be at a briefing, in the Temple command center, weird."

He stood and was about to excuse himself when Ahsoka received the same message on her comlink. She shrugged and stood to follow him, but first turned back to Bariss.

"Please just promise me you won't tell anyone until I've had a chance to explain."

"Fine, you have my word I won't mention this to anyone, yet."

"Thank you, Bariss, I promise I'll be back soon."

The dropship came in low over the jungle to avoid detection. Anakin, Obi wan, Ahsoka, Ghes, and Rex stood in the cargo bay waiting for the signal to deploy. Their mission on Onderon was to train rebel forces attempting to overthrow the Separatist regime, something the Jedi council had been reluctant to do. Ahsoka was unsure how she felt about this, as it required her and Ghes to be together with Anakin for who knows how long, and he'd looked particularly pissed when they'd walked into the mission briefing late and together. Then there was Lux, she had no idea how Ghes would react to meeting him, especially since she hadn't really explained every aspect of their previous encounters with him. Luckily, he seemed more concerned with the logic behind the mission than those two particulars.

"I don't see why you didn't just pass this along to Special Ops, this is a job for Commandos, not Jedi."

"The request for assistance was made directly to the Council, Colonel, it's precisely Jedi whom they want."

"Then why'd you bring Rex and me along?"

"They may want Jedi, but they need soldiers. Captain Rex has experience training troops and, from what Ahsoka claims, you're rather adept at guerilla warfare."

"And here I thought you just liked having me around."

Suddenly, the pilots voice came over the intercom.

"We've reached the drop zone, go, go, go!"

The supply crates were the first out the door, then came the team. Ahsoka hit the ground first and looked up to see Ghes falling much faster than he should be. She reached out in the force and slowed him down enough that he wouldn't kill himself on impact.

"oof!"

"You okay Ghes?"

"Not really, but I'll live."

He ripped the jump pack off his back and tossed it into the brush.

"Republic issue piece of shit, jets never even fired. Thanks for the save there."

"No problem, but try not to embarrass yourself anymore."

"You're one to talk…."

He stopped as the rebels appeared suddenly riding some off the large quadrupeds used as beasts of burden on Onderon. The rebels, Rex, and Ghes pointed their blasters, unsure of what to make of each other. Seeing the potential for this to go wrong very quickly, Ahsoka jumped up onto a tree branch.

"I'm Commander Tano, we are here to assist you."

Their leader, a human woman, rode forward.

"I am Steela Gerrera, follow us."

Upon reaching the rebel base, they hit a bit of a snag.

"Drop your weapon, Mando!"

"Lux what are you doing, he's with us!"

"He's a Mandalorian!"

Ahsoka had been afraid of this, Ghes had worn his set of traditional Mandalorian armor, as a way of limiting the chance that they'd be linked to the Republic if seen. Unfortunately, Lux Bonteri had had an unpleasant experience with the Death Watch last time Ahsoka had seen him.

"Lux…."

Ghes interrupted.

"You have a problem with me Bonteri?"

"Ghes, don't…"

"Why wouldn't I, you're Mandalorian!"

"So?"

"So you must with the Death Watch! They sent you here to kill me, didn't they?!"

"Lux, he's not…"

Enraged, Ghes dropped his blaster and stepped up to Lux, attempting to intimidate the smaller man. He'd explained to her once why he hated the Death Watch so much, apparently his clan had been on the other side of a civil war fought between them and another faction of Mandalorians, a civil war that hadn't ended well for either side.

"Say that again."

"You're with…."

Lux was on the ground, unconscious, Ghes standing over him, before he finished that sentence. The rest of the rebels didn't take kindly to this, encircling Ghes and demanding his surrender, something which clearly wasn't going to happen.

Luckily, Anakin and Obi Wan stepped in.

"This is Colonel Marczak, he is an officer in the Grand Army and he is with us."

"Yes, please lower your weapons, I can assure you he means you no harm. Right Colonel?"

Ghes backed down a little, lowering the blaster he'd taken from Lux.

"Yea, as long as no one else has a problem with me being mando'ade?"

The rebels surrounding him shook their heads as they lowered their weapons and backed away from him.

"Good, now we can get down to business…."

After Rex had taken a group back to the drop site to retrieve their supplies, Ahsoka took Ghes aside. She understood that Lux had been out of line accusing him like that, but he didn't need to fly off the handle either.

"What were you thinking?!"

"I was thinking that snotty little bastard needed to be taught a lesson."

"So you nearly killed him!"

"Please, I barely tapped him. The kid's obviously never been in a real fight."

"You can't do things like that, not if you want these people to trust us."

"Do you want me to apologize?"

"He is my friend."

"Didn't he almost get you killed?"

"Sort of, but he also saved my life."

"How's that, by bringing you to the Death Watch? You could have been killed on site!"

"But I wasn't, because Lux…. Pretended I was his betrothed."

That did it, she saw the change in his eyes as he went from aggravation to outright rage.

"I'm gonna kill him."

"Come on Ghes, it was to save my life, you can't kill him for that."

"Doesn't matter, it was his fault you were in danger."

Ahsoka blocked his path as he tried to stalk off, taking his hands in hers and looking him in the eyes. This was clearly about more than Lux putting her in danger.

"Listen to me, he's just a friend, no more. I'm with you and that's it."

"You better hope he understands it that way."

She looked over to were Lux had been revived and was being treated by the woman they'd met earlier, Steela.

"I'm pretty sure he does."

The rebels were learning fast, quickly picking up the techniques being taught to them, but whether or not that their enthusiasm would hold up under combat conditions was yet to be seen. While Anakin and Rex had been focusing on teaching strategies for taking down different types of droids and vehicles, Ghes had been working on getting them to understand concepts of guerilla warfare. The trouble was, he was trying to teach battlefield strategy to disgruntled farmers and day laborers, so he'd had to start with the basics.

"The key to an ambush is choosing a position that limits the enemy's options as far as escape routes, as well as maximizes the kill zone. Canyons and alleys are best, but any terrain can suffice if you're clever enough."

The lesson was suddenly interrupted by a barrage of blaster fire which erupted from the forest.

"Droids!"

A droid patrol had located the rebel base and was launching an attack on the front of the compound. Anakin and Obi wan were attempting to deflect their fire as best they could, but were in imminent danger of being overwhelmed. Ghes and Ahsoka rushed over to assist, taking cover behind a low wall that formed the perimeter of the compound.

"How many?"

"Not sure, but it has to be at least a company."

"Any armor?"

Ghes got his answer when the building next to them was demolished by laser cannon fire.

"Apparently."

"We'll have to pull back."

"Agreed. Saw, pull your people back, we'll cover you."

"No, this is what you're training us for, let us fight."

Saw Gerrera, Steela's brother, Lux, and a group of rebels ran to retrieve their weapons. They wiped out the attacking droids with explosives before the tank and its support moved in. While the rest of the rebels engaged the infantry, Lux and Saw engaged the tank with EMP grenades like Rex had instructed them. Saw attacked the drivers hatch while Lux attacked the turret, tossing the grenades inside and disabling the tank. The rebels cheered at what was their first victory over the droids.

"I guess their good for something after all."

"Indeed Colonel, it appears we underestimated them."

"This is a stupid plan."

"It's the only plan we have."

"I don't need a tank to get in there."

"But they do, the point is for them to do it."

"We're still gonna end up saving their asses."

"Of course, but it doesn't mean we can't let them try."

Ahsoka and Ghes were perched on a roof overlooking the street where they'd set their ambush. With any luck they'd piss off the Seps enough to send in a tank, which they would then capture and use for their assault on Iziz's main power grid.

"Let's just hope I can hit something with this shit rifle."

"I thought you were an expert marksman, Ghes."

"With a properly calibrated rifle, but this…."

He was interrupted by the sound of blaster fire as the ambush on the droid patrol started. The B-1's that made up the patrol were quickly overwhelmed, but not before they were able to call for reinforcements, which arrived swiftly in the form of two droideka. That was a setback.

"Shit, those aren't tanks."

"They've prepared for this, don't worry."

Lux, Steela, and Saw managed to dispatch the Droideka with grenades, rolling them through the droids' shields. The next wave of reinforcements brought what they'd been waiting for, an assault tank.

"Their it is. Want me to take out the droids?"

"No, Steela has them."

True to Ahsoka's word, Steela quickly eliminated the droid infantry, allowing Lux and Saw to seize the tank.

"Good, now it's our turn."

They stood up and ran across the rooftops towards the power station. Climbing down to street level, they stopped across from where most off the guards were stationed.

"Here."

Ghes pulled a plaster pistol off his belt and held it out to Ahsoka.

"No lightsabers."

She nodded, taking the pistol.

"Ready? Three, two, one, go!"

They broke cover, opening fire on the droids, attempting to draw most of them away from the power station. As they fled down the side streets, far fewer off their pursuers were falling to the pair's blaster fire than Ahsoka would have liked. Ghes to seemed frustrated.

"Damn it, I'm not hitting shit with this thing!"

"I noticed. Quick, duck in here."

She led him down an alley too narrow for the droids to follow, easily dodging the blaster bolts that made up their pursuers last ditch effort to stop them. Soon after, a distant explosion was felt as the city went dark, a clear indicator of the rebels' success. Ahsoka and Ghes took advantage of the power outage in order to make their way back to the

Later that night, the rebels celebrated what was their first real victory over the Separatist forces by choosing a leader, Steela. Ahsoka thought they made a good choice, so did Anakin and Obi Wan, who'd appeared via hologram to check on their progress. After the celebration, Ghes and Ahsoka lay in bed.

"They did good today."

"Better than you expected?"

"Yea."

"And Lux?"

"He didn't die, so I guess he's not as useless as I thought."

"He's a good guy, just a bit idealistic."

"Ms. Gerrera seems to agree with you on that. They made a good choice electing her leader."

"You think so?"

"Yea. This is going to get a lot harder, now that they've proven they're a threat."

"I'm sure they can handle it, and we'll still be here…"

"We're supposed to be advisors, Ahsoka. Distracting a few droids is one thing, no one got a good look at us, but how much farther can we really push it?"

"I know, it's just hard to stand on the sidelines."

"And I get that it is, but when it comes down to it, you're the one person that they can't be allowed to identify."

"What about you?"

"I'm GAR, you're a Jedi. I can be disavowed and listed as AWOL, you can't."

….

Ahsoka looked on as Steela's plan to rescue her brother and Onderon's former king, Denup, during their planned public execution was quickly falling apart. They'd halted the execution, a small team storming the platform on which it was being held, but the Seps had been waiting, and they were quickly surrounded by supers and destroyers. Now the stood as a captive audience

"How do you want to play this?"

Ghes discreetly readied his rifle under his cloak, waiting for her response. She didn't know what to do. Her and Ghes could probably take the droids, but they'd have to worry about the rebels, the prisoners, and any civilians that were caught in the crossfire. On top of that, there was no way she could do this without using the Force or her lightsabers, not exactly low profile.

"Ahsoka?!"

She opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by a sudden change of fortune. Onderonian soldiers rushed out onto the stage, taking the King Rash hostage and freeing the prisoners. The soldiers escorted the rebels off the stage and out of the square, leaving their leader, General Tandin, holding his weapon to Rash's neck.

Ghes turned to walk away, but Ahsoka remained, causing him to turn back and gesture at her to follow.

"Come on, we're done here."

"No, we can't leave him."

"Why the hell not?"

"He put himself on the line for us, that should mean something."

"Yea, it means we get to walk away."

Instead of responding, Ahsoka started pushing through the crowd. Ghes quickly followed, albeit while grumbling under his breath about how bad an idea this was. They made it to the front just as the droids raised their various blaster-armed appendages to execute then rebellious general. Ghes fired, taking out one of the supers, drawing their attention to him. Taking advantage of the distraction, Ahsoka leaped over the droids, landing behind them and knocking them down with the force. She grabbed the surprised Tandin, pulling him along with her as she ran into the crowd. Ghes followed, continuing to fire at the recovering droids until the crowd rushed the confused war machines.

When Ghes caught up with Ahsoka back at the rebel safe house, he clearly wasn't happy, pulling her aside.

"What the hell, Ahsoka?!"

"Don't give me that, it wasn't right to leave General Tandin to die after he helped us."

"I know, but our cover's blown, the Seps know we're involved. That's going to open up a lot of options for whatever tin can is in charge of this shit show."

Ahsoka knew he was right; the Separatists would be willing to use more resources against a Republic-backed force, especially now that they knew a Jedi was involved.

"I'll tell Anakin and Obi-Wan tonight, maybe now that this is all out in the open, we can get some more resources to."

"Not gonna happen."

"And how do you know that?"

"Because the Jedi Council's running this one, so we're about as likely to get reinforced as Tatooine is to get rain."

"Incoming!"

Ghes pulled further back behind the stone pillar he and Ahsoka were sheltering themselves behind as another barrage of missiles impacted against the rocks. The battle between Separatist forces and the Onderonian rebels that had been raging since the morning had taken a turn for the worse when enemy air support had arrived in the form of HMP gunships, a weapon to which they currently had no countermeasure. As casualties mounted, Ahsoka once again tried get the Republic to send reinforcements.

"It's a full scale war down here, isn't there anything you can send?!"

"Not as long as this remains an internal affair of Onderon. The Council believes sending in gunships will create more problems than it will solve."

Ghes, shell shocked and more than a little pissed, broke into the conversation.

"Well it looks like the Seps don't see it that way, General, so how the hell do you want us to handle this?!"

"Do you no longer believe the rebels capable of succeeding, Colonel?"

"Not without heavy ordinance. So, unless Commander Tano is hiding a triple-A battery somewhere…."

Ahsoka shot him a dirty look, unwilling to give up on their mission just yet.

"They can hold on for a little longer, but there has to something you can do."

"We'll explore other options, but if defeat appears certain I need you two to get out of there."

"Understood."

The holocom cut out and Ahsoka tossed it aside, frustrated by the no-win situation they found themselves in. Ghes seemed equally frustrated.

"How would we get out of here anyway, we don't have a ship?"

Steela and Lux suddenly appeared, eager to hear whether or not Ahsoka had had any luck getting help.

"Is the Republic sending help?"

"No, not as long as King Rash rules Onderan."

Their luck changed several hours later, when a strange ship showed up at the rebel base. As the freighter landed, Steela, Lux, Ahsoka, and Ghes rushed out to meet it. They arrived to find Weequay unloading crates, of what they didn't know, and the pirate Hondo Onaka.

"What do you want, Hondo?"

"You should be thanking me, child. I bring you a gift, from Skywalker."

He gestured to one of his men, who pulled the lid off of one of the crates, revealing a shipment of missile launchers.

"The latest from Sienar! Shoulder fired. Very expensive."

"Paid for?"

"Handsomely."

Unfortunately, a group of commando droids choose this moment to attack. The droids were defeated quickly, but the pirates had fled anyway, leaving them standing there with a crate of launchers. Ghes grabbed one of the weapons, inspecting it.

"RPS-6 shoulder-launched missiles, fully loaded and fully operational."

Ahsoka detected a hint of glee in his voice. Ghes loved weapons, it was one of the qualities he shared with most troopers.

"Then let's get these down to the fight."

With the launchers, the rebels were able to take down the gunships and push the droids back. One gunship made it through to the camp though, and Steela had rushed back to intercept it. She was able to destroy the aircraft and defeat the commando droids it had been carrying, but another had almost come down on top of her after being hit by a missile. The ground under her gave way as Ahsoka, Lux, and Ghes arrived. Lux dived to grab her as she held onto a ledge, but he ended up going over himself, only to be caught by Ahsoka. She lifted him to safety and tried to do the same thing with Steela. Their hands had almost met when Ahsoka felt something tear through her shoulder and her vision went black.

She woke up flat on her back, Ghes looking down at her.

"Easy, don't move."

"What happened?"

"Gunship had a little juice left in it, used it to try and take you out. You're lucky, at full power that cannon would have taken you're arm clean off."

"Steela! What happened to…"

Ghes looked over to the cliff we're she'd fallen and shook his head slowly. It didn't take her long to figure out what he meant, but she started to ask anyway.

"She's…."

"Dead."

It had been a stressful week for Ahsoka, with the bombing of the Jedi temple and the ensuing investigation. Now her and Ghes, recently returned from fighting in the mid-rim, were together again and trying to make sense of it all.

"I just don't get it Ghes, how someone can hate the Jedi so much."

"Come on Ahsoka, the order's arrogant, especially the Council, you at least have to admit that."

"Maybe, but we're not to blame for the war."

"No, warmongers is the last thing I'd call the Jedi. With the exception of you and Skywalker, most Jedi don't really seem to embrace their military role."

"Peacekeepers, that's what they always told us we'd be when I was growing up in the temple. Seems like a long time ago now."

"I know what you mean, it's hard to remember what life was like before the war."

"You'd know better than I would, the temple never changed much, no matter what was going on in the rest of the galaxy."

Their conversation was interrupted by Ahsoka's communicator.

"Commander Tano."

"Ahsoka, where are you?"

"Master. I'm… out."

"Out where?"

Ghes came up behind her and spoke into the device.

"Good Afternoon, General."

"Ah. Anyway, Tarkin called looking for you, Turmond wants to talk to you."

"About what?"

"She didn't say."

"Okay, I'll head over their right now."

She turned to Ghes.

"Looks like I have a date with a terrorist."

"Looks like. Give me a minute to put my armor on and I'll drive you."

She reached up and kissed him.

"Thank you."

The GAR detention facility was cold and gray, like every other military facility on the planet, the trooper on the other hand were warm and friendly as always, congratulating her on catching Turmond in the first place. Ghes had been distracted talking to some of the guards, so she entered the cell block on her own, checking her weapons and communicator with the guard captain. As she entered Turmond's cell she saw the human woman sitting on the bench/bed which occupied the far wall.

"Jedi."

"What do you want, Turmond."

"Only to tell you the truth."

"And what is that?"

"Surely you are not so blind as to see how corrupt your order has become. You're no longer peacekeepers, just weapons for a corrupt senate. Many believe this, even within the order."

"What are you getting at?"

"I'm just a puppet, and a Jedi has been pulling my strings."

"What!? Who?"

Before she could reveal the identity of her accomplice, Turmond began choking and rose into the air. Ahsoka tried to help, but to no avail.

"What's happening? Who's doing this?"

Turmond fell to the ground, dead. The cell door behind her opened to reveal troopers with their rifles trained on her.

"Commander Tano, you are under arrest for murder of an unarmed prisoner in Republic custody."

"I didn't do it; you're making a mistake!"

Ghes came running down the passageway.

"What's going on here, Commander!?"

"Commander Tano killed Turmond, sir, we're taking her into custody."

"Like hell you are! What's going on, Ahsoka?"

"I'm being framed Ghes, someone else orchestrated the bombing, a Jedi. Turmond knew who it was but she died before she could tell me."

"We'll figure it out, don't worry. Commander, release her now."

"But, sir…."

"I'm the ranking officer here, so do it."

Another voice came from farther down the corridor.

"Not so fast, Colonel."

"Tarkin. What are you doing here?"

"The prisoner Ms. Tano just murdered was in my custody, so it's my responsibility to arrest her."

"She didn't do it Tarkin, if you listened to something other than your own voice for once you'd know that."

"The evidence is quite to the contrary."

He held up a hologram showing what appeared to be Ahsoka choking Turmond with the force. Ghes looked to her for an explanation.

"I was trying to help her!"

"Indeed. Commander, put her in an isolation cell, and escort the Colonel out of my facility."

"This isn't over Tarkin."

"Believe me, Colonel, it is."

Later, outside the compound, Anakin arrived and saw Ghes pacing back and forth, talking into his com-link.

"Colonel! What happened?"

"They think she killed Turmond, and they have evidence to back it up."

"What kind of evidence?"

"Security footage, no audio, but it looks bad."

"Have you seen her?"

"Not since they took her in, Tarkin doesn't want anyone seeing her."

"Damn."

….

Ahsoka looked through the force field containing her and saw a keycard on the ground. She smiled, wondering whether it was Anakin or Ghes who'd planted it there. She used the force to lift the card and deactivate the field. Entering the hall, she noticed the bodies of the guards strewn about, many with lightsaber wounds. Before she could recover from the shock of this, she saw Commander Wolf at the far end of the corridor, reaching for the alarm.

"Shit."

…..

She'd really messed up this time, and she had no idea how she was going to get out of it. It had been a day since she'd been recaptured after being knocked out during her encounter with the hooded figure she assumed was Ventress, and since then she'd been booted out of the Jedi Order and put on trial as a terrorist. No one believed that she didn't do it except Anakin and Ghes, but they weren't too happy with her either.

"You should've contacted me, I could've gotten you off world, they never would have caught you."

"I didn't want to get you in trouble. Besides, what would that have helped? I'd still be a fugitive, I had to try and clear my name."

"Fat lot of good that did."

"Marczak's right Ahsoka, if anything you gave them more evidence against you."

"What's it matter? They've already expelled me from the order, what's there left for me to lose."

"Don't talk like that, you still got me, and we're not going to stop till we've cleared your name. Right Skywalker?"

"Right. Listen Ahsoka, Padme's agreed to represent you, so she'll at least buy us time. Is there anything you found that we can work off of?"

"Ventress, she attacked me in that warehouse, she has to be behind this."

The two nodded and turned to leave, Anakin leaving immediately, Ghes coming back to hug her and offer a few final words of encouragement.

"Don't worry Ahsoka, we'll find her, no matter what it takes."

Ghes caught up with Anakin as he was leaving the facility, beginning go over the details of what they knew about what happened in the warehouse, and where they should start their search for Ventress. Skywalker remained silent until the two reached the landspeeder he'd arrived in.

"I don't want or need your help Marczak, stay here and wait with Ahsoka."

"No."

"That wasn't a question."

The two stood there silent for a moment. Anakin had been openly hostile to Ghes for a long time, but this was the last straw. The woman he loved was in trouble, and no one, not even the mighty General Skywalker, was going to stop him from doing whatever he could to save her.

"What's your problem with me, Skywalker? I'm trying to help Ahsoka, same as you."

"No, not the same as me. I'm her master, I'm responsible for anything that happens to her, I'm the one who's supposed to protect her."

"And what am I?"

"A mistake."

"Really? I'm glad you think so lowly of Ahsoka's judgement…"

"Not her mistake, mine. I trusted you to watch out for her, to teach her, but instead you used her."

"You son of a…"

Ghes's words were lost in his own scream of rage as he rushed Anakin, attempting to wrap his hands around the Jedi's neck. Skywalker sidestepped, letting Ghes hit the speeder, holding him against it while pinning his left arm behind his back. Eventually, Ghes regained enough control of his voice to speak clearly.

"I love her!... I'd do anything for her. If she asked me, right now, to help her escape, I would. I'd fight the whole damn Republic just to keep her safe. I don't care if you hate me, but don't you for a minute think that I'd ever do anything to hurt Ahsoka."

Anakin released the man, who at this point had tears rolling down his face, and thought back to times he'd been willing to do things for Padme that seemed stupid. If Ghes really felt the same way about Ahsoka…, maybe they didn't have to hate each other. He jumped into the speeder's cockpit and turned to Ghes, still wiping away the evidence of his outburst.

"Get in."

For a former Sith agent, Ventress was remarkably easy to find. Unfortunately, she also attempted to flee as soon as she noticed Anakin and Ghes approaching. After a lengthy chase, Anakin subdued the Dathomiri woman just in time for Ghes to catch up with them.

"It's over Ventress, just confess."

"Oh, but Skywalker, I have nothing to confess to."

She looked over at Ghes, currently leaned up against a post, attempting to catch his breath.

"Who's this?"

"This is Colonel Marczak. He also has a vested interest in your confession."

Ventress smirked, apparently amused by Ghes's presence.

"Ah, so the rumors about Tano's toy soldier are true."

Angered, he made to attack the woman, but Skywalker stopped him. Ghes scowled.

"You're lucky we need you or I'd bust your skull for that comment, bitch."

"A bit touchy aren't we? Anyway, I don't see what you need me for."

"You attacked Ahsoka, framed her for the bombing. Why?"

"I didn't do any of those things. I was trying to help her find what she was looking for."

"And why would you do that?"

"We have a lot in common, me betrayed by my master and her betrayed by your order. I felt pity for her. I was jumped outside that warehouse, when I woke up my lightsabers were gone and the place was on fire."

"Assuming you're telling the truth, who could it have been then?"

"She contacted someone before we were attacked, a Jedi, Bariss Offee, she told Ahsoka about the warehouse."

The young Mirialan opened the door to her quarters to admit Anakin and Ghes. She bowed.

"Master Skywalker."

"Barriss. You know Col. Marczak?"

"Yes, Ahsoka's…. friend. What brings you here?"

"Why didn't you tell anyone Ahsoka contacted you while she was on the run?"

"Who told you she did?"

Anakin picked up Barriss's lightsaber sitting on the table and inspected it.

"Ventress."

"And you believed her?"

Anakin suddenly whirled around, igniting the lightsaber in his hand and swinging it at her head. She summoned lightsabers belonging to Ventress to her hands and deflected the blow. Ghes drew his blaster, but she quickly slashed him across the chest and force pushed him back into a wall. Anakin continued his assault.

"How could you betray Ahsoka's trust, Barriss, she was your friend."

"Trust? I find trust is sorely overrated Skywalker. The Jedi have become an order of violence, not piece, and they must be sto…."

She collapsed as a stun bolt hit her in the lower back. Anakin looked over to see Ghes on the ground up against the wall with his blaster in his hand.

"Huh, so that's what it takes to shut her up."

They'd dragged Offee into the court room and made her confess just in time. Ahsoka was cleared of all charges and even offered readmission to the order. She turned it down, much to Anakin's lament. Now she was in Ghes's apartment, crying in his arms as she tried to work out what to do with the shattered remains of her life.

"Shh, shh... It's going to be fine."

"I'm out of the order, out of the army, what am I supposed to do now?"

"Well, you still got me, don't you?"

"Yea."

"Then you have nothing to worry about."

"You going to take care of me, Ghes?"

"If that's what you want, but I was thinking of something a little different."

"What's that?"

"You wanna get married?"

She laughed, at first thinking he was joking. Then she looked up at his face.

"Seriously Ahsoka."

They sat in silence for a good few minutes before Ahsoka finally answered.

"Yes."

A big grin spread across his face as he pulled her in closer.

"Repeat after me; Mhi solus tome."

"Mhi solus tome."

"Mhi solus dar'tome."

"Mhi solus dar'tome."

"Mhi me'dinui an."

"Mhi me'dinui an."

"Mhi ba'juri verde."

"Mhi ba'juri verde."

"And that's it."

"Simple."

"Necessity of a warrior culture."

"What did we just say?"

"We are one when together, We are one when parted, We share all, We will raise warriors."

"Oh."

Ghes realized something he'd never considered before that moment.

"I'm sorry, I should've left that last part out, I didn't think…"

"No, no, it's fine. It's just… I know how big a deal that is for Mandalorians"

"Ahsoka, look at me. I love you, way more than I care about that, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

Ghes's leave ended the next day. He tried to put it off, but he'd already had to pull a lot of strings to stay as long as he had, and Ahsoka had decided to leave with him. She looked out the viewport as Retaliation slowly lifted away from its landing pad, rising above the space scrapers of Galactic city. Ghes came from behind and put his arms around her.

"It feels different this time."

"What does?"

"Leaving."

"What's different?"

"I don't know; it might be that there's nothing here for me anymore. The Temple was my home, but now, my only home is with you."

"Ready? Go, go, go!"

They rushed across the street under heavy fire from the droids behind their ramshackle barricades. The narrow streets of the Cato Neimoidian bridge cities had made for slow going for Republic forces attempting to conquer the Separatist stronghold. The battle was close enough that Ghes's battalion had been thrown in to the battle as line infantry in an attempt to tip the balance.

"What's the situation?"

"E-Web, dwarf spider, and a B1 platoon."

"Shit. Vore, take your squad around the flank, I'll take the front."

"On it."

Vore and his men went off as Ghes and Ahsoka worked their way closer to the droid position.

"So, is there a plan here?"

"Throw me."

"What? Seriously?"

"Yea."

Ghes pulled a thermal detonator off his belt and she flung him toward the barricade before following herself. He rolled as he hit the ground, tossing the detonator toward the spider droid as he came up. Ahsoka came down in front of him, lightsaber and blaster in hand, as the droids turned to engage the new threat. She beat back their fire as Ghes fired his rifle over her shoulder.

"Anytime now Vore!"

"Never fear Colonel, cavalry's on its way."

Blasterfire erupted from the second story of one of the buildings the barricade was nestled between, quickly cutting down the remaining droids.

"See hon, not so bad, is it? Just another forty klicks to go."

The beeping of the comlink shook her from her sleep. Lazily, she reached for the device on the nightstand.

"Hello?"

"Ahsoka, are you okay?"

For the first time she looked around and realized that Ghes wasn't in bed with her.

"What? Yea. Why?"

"Stay in the apartment, don't leave for any reason."

"What's going on Ghes?"

"The Chancellor's been attacked."

"By who?"

"The Council."

"No, it can't be."

"Skywalker managed to stop them, but it's not over. Palpatine issued Order 66."

"Oh gods."

"Stay were you are; I'm sending Vore over to keep an eye on you."

"Where are you going?"

"The Temple."

"Be careful."

The lower levels of the Jedi Temple were a maze of maintenance and access tunnels, most of which hadn't been used in centuries. It had taken hours for Ghes and his men to move into position for the assault.

"We're in position Colonel."

He took a deep breath before reporting in.

"General, infiltration team in position."

"Very well, Colonel, commence operation Knightfall. Leave no survivors."

They blew charges throughout the tunnel network and breached the Temple.

"Eyes up boys, won't take long for them to notice we're hear."

The two Temple guards futilely tried to drag themselves away from the attacking troopers. Ghes put a bolt into each of their heads before moving on to what the two were guarding, the Temple Vault. Slicer quickly broke the lock and the troopers forced open the door. They entered the room and beheld the millennia's worth of accumulated treasures of the Jedi.

"Impressive. Pack it up boys, this all belongs to the Chancellor now."

They'd worked their way up through the Temple far enough to link up with the rest of the 501st. The remaining Jedi were on their last legs after seeing their comrades cut down in droves by the invading troopers. General Skywalker lead the charge, striking down Jedi left and right. Ghes felt something different about him, something darker, but had little time to consider it.

One of the remaining Jedi lunged at Ghes, bringing his saber down over his head. Ghes took the blow on the shoulder pauldron, the blade getting caught up in the padded material, and shoved his rifle under the man's chin. After dispatching the Jedi, Ghes turned to see another almost disintegrated by a barrage of blaster fire. He was tackled from behind by a Rodian who tried, ineffectively, to shove his saber through Ghes's breastplate, slicing through his rifle in the process. He gutted the creature with his vibroblade, splattering its blood over his armor.

He stood, noticing the flow of battle had carried the fighting away from him. After a quick breath, he picked up the Rodian's lightsaber, ignited the blade, and rushed back into the fray.

Ahsoka sat nervously, staring out the window at the glow created by the burning temple. Vore sat by the door, rifle in hand. A knock startled him, prompting him to rush out of his chair and stack up on the door. Ahsoka reached out in the force and sensed who was waiting for them in the hall.

"Relax, Vore, just open the door."

"Are you sure ma'am?"

She nodded. Vore shrugged and unlocked the door, which opened to reveal Ghes in his bloodied, battle scarred armor.

"Honey, I'm home."

Ahsoka rushed into his arms and the two kissed deeply. After breaking the kiss, Ghes turned to Vore.

"You're dismissed lieutenant. Thank you."

"No thanks necessary, Colonel."

After the trooper left, the two went to the bedroom and Ghes began to remove his armor.

"I still can't believe this mess we're in. How'd it come to this?"

"I don't know, Ahsoka, I just don't know."

"Did you see Anakin?"

"He led the assault."

"How's he doing?"

"We didn't talk, but something seemed off about him."

"Like what?"

"The dark side, like what was inside me, but different. It has to have something to do with Palpatine."

"Do you mean…."

"He's the Sith lord."

A sullen mood fell over the two at this realization. After several minutes of silence, they spoke once again.

"We have to do something."

"Like what?"

"I don't know, but we can't just let this happen."

"It already has, Skywalker's fallen, the Jedi are gone, and the Republic's probably thru as well."

"What do you mean, thru?"

"Palpatine called an emergency session of the Senate for tomorrow morning. Any moves he has left; he'll make them then."

"So that's it then?"

"I guess it is. But is that really such a bad thing?"

"What?"

"Think about it, after everything that's happened, we're still fine and the war is all but won, who cares about the Jedi, or the Sith for that matter."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that, whatever this new order is, we can make the best of it together."

He took her hands in his and stared into her eyes.

"Come on, what do you say? Screw the Jedi, screw the Sith, whoever's on top, as long as we're together, they can't touch us."