CHAPTER 1- RAMEN NOODLES ARE A GIRL'S BEST FRIEND

Disclaimer: I do not own the Clone Wars. But I do own Sierra and Hero.

SIERRA

Lux has come home in an extremely foul mood. Therefore, I ask the only safe question.

"Do you want plain or cheese noodles?"

My big brother gives me The Look. "Plain." He says finally.

As I start the water, Lux sits down at the kitchen table. "Why does this have to happen?"

"Well, if the guard doesn't want you, maybe the militia will," I point out.

"I tried both today. They didn't even say they'd call me back. The king doesn't need any more advisors, the palace doesn't want me, the guard said I don't look threatening enough, the militia just left me." He facepalms on the table. "I'm going to apply at the supermarket."

"You don't have to," I say, adding the noodles. "You know, we still have the HoloNet and some very rich old friends."

"No,"

"Lux, we're living on noodles and tap water! They can spare a couple credits."

"You're not doing that again. Mom and Dad would never have done that."

I roll my eyes. "It's not wrong if you're doing it for a good cause. That's my mantra."

"No."

"You're not the boss of me," I repeat with that totally first-grade inflection.

"Actually, I am the boss of you," Lux says triumphantly. "I'm the big brother."

"Well, if I don't do it, then what are we going to do? Don't we have any money left from Mom and Dad's life insurance?"

"Sierra. Think about that for like a minute. Dooku drained the funds after my little, ah, stunt on Mandalore."

I point at him with the noodle spoon. "So, you're allowed to call out Dooku in front of the peace convention, drag some poor unsuspecting girl to Carlaac, and join Death Watch, but I'm not allowed to ask my first grade teacher for payback on some first grade loan?"

"That was an accident."

"Oh, sure. Tasering somebody is an accident?"

Lux gives me a look. I flip open my phone to read the text messages I still have from that day.

Me: Lux, where are you? You were supposed 2 b home an hour ago.

Lux: Got sidetracked sorry. Finding new place 4 us 2 stay.

Me: Where r u?

Lux: It's a surprise

Me: UR SIGNAL IS COMING FROM CARLAAC. U R SUPPOSED TO B ON MANDALORE!

Lux:

Me: come home or u will never see the light of day again.

Me: Lux!

Me: LUX!

"Sierra, there's this thing called a crime," Lux explains. "Extortion is one."

"Kidnapping is, too!" I retort, stirring the noodles.

"Will you let that go?"

"Will you let me get us some money?"

Lux stands up. "We don't need money that badly. We'll be fine."

I open the cupboard, which old Mother Hubbard would be very proud of.

"We have one last container of noodles. Even if you get hired tomorrow, you won't get paid for like two weeks. If you don't want me to do something about it, then I have to apply for food stamps. That's when people start saying the O word."

Lux pales. "The O word?"

Orphanage.

"Will you watch the noodles? I need to fix some stuff." I ask, and slink into the office where we keep the computer.

When I boot up the computer, the password icon pops up.

Oh, Lux. Why do you use "Ahsoka" for all of your passwords?

I quickly bypass the password and open the HoloNet. Would I get lucky enough to crack Dooku's bank? Maybe. Probably not, but till I try I'll never know.

Suddenly, the old-timey phone near the computer starts to ring. What? Who would be calling on that thing?

"Sierra!" Lux roars just as the last piece clicks into place. Seriously? How did Lux even find a computer that uses dial-up HoloNet? Did he get it just to monitor me? Probably. Am I going to rip it out the first chance I get? Definitely.

"I'm just trying to search something on the HoloNet!" I complain.

"Oh yeah? What?" Lux demands.

"Noodle recipes." I deadpan.

"For what? We don't have anything but the noodles themselves."

"I was gonna borrow the ingredients from the neighbors." I replied, making a mental note to actually try that tomorrow.

"Seriously? The king owes me one, I can get food there."

"Take five seconds, think, and tell me how well you see that ending for you. 'Hi, Your Majesty. Can I please have some food from your royal kitchen for my sister, because you owe me a favor? I got you back on your throne, and all. Yeah, that'll go real smooth. About as smooth as the electro-guillotine!" I reply.

"It'll go a lot smoother than if the cops show up because you just robbed a bank!"

"Lux, I think we made a mistake."

Lux blinks, but he knows what I'm talking about. "Don't talk about it, Sierra."

The dial-up HoloNet finally starts up, and I type "noodle recipes" into the search bar just to be safe.

"I'll go borrow some food from Saw. He's got a pantry and a paycheck. What do you need, Sierra?"

I click on the first recipe I see. "Ground meat and shredded cheese. Do you think Saw has that?"

"Probably. I'll be back." Lux says, and walks out the door.

The nanosecond he leaves, the phone rings, and the HoloNet crashes. I swear, and accidentally knock the phone off its hook.

"Oh, for the love of the Force!"

LUX

"The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which."

-Animal Farm

It doesn't take very long to get from my apartment to Saw's, but I walk slowly to digest my little sister's words.

"I think we made a mistake." Well, I think we made a mistake, too, but it's not like I'm going to give voice to it when the windows are open! I'm not stupid.

Oh, come off it. I am stupid, I let this happen.

The "mistake" I speak of is the coronation of Ramses Dendup as King of Onderon. During the Rebellion, we were completely focused on getting rid of the Separatists that we were fools, blind fools to what was right under our noses.

What possessed us to ignore the fact that our beloved king may not have been the same man who was kicked off his throne? That he could possibly have changed before our very eyes?

I think I know what did. That man, for all his frail appearance, still has incredible charisma. He can make people like him at the drop of a hat. He did it with me, when he patted my shoulder and told me my mother would be proud.

Oh, Mom! I'm almost glad you aren't here to see what a grave I've helped dig for Onderon.

And Ahsoka…oh Force, Ahsoka.

Anakin Skywalker called me about a week ago.

"Have you seen Ahsoka lately?" He asked, very tense and worried.

"No, not for a while now. Why? Is something wrong?"

Skywalker took a deep breath. "Bonteri, if she's there, just let her know that whatever choice she makes, I still love her. I don't care what she's done."

"General Skywalker, she's not here. What's all this about."

"Ahsoka is missing."

I almost dropped the phone. "What?"

"She disappeared on Aargonar yesterday. I thought that maybe she came to you, and-."

"You thought Ahsoka and I were going to elope?"

"That's the long and short of it."

"Master Jedi, Ahsoka and I have no plans for something like that whatsoever. To be honest, that's not even on my radar right now. Is she all right?"

"If she's not with you, then I can only think of one place she could be. Captured."

"Oh, Force. Please call me if you know anything, Master Jedi."

….

I blink back my tears, and almost do another lap around the block so Saw doesn't see my fledgling tears. But curfew is quickly approaching, and I can't get stuck at Saw and Hutch's for tonight

When I knock, Saw answers the door.

"Bonteri, what are you doing out here?" he demands, stepping aside to let me in. "Curfew's in ten minutes."

My cheeks flame. "D-do you have some cheese I can borrow? Or extra ration sticks? Anything? I-I just didn't get to the grocery store. Please?"

Saw sighs and sticks his head back to the kitchen. "Hutch, get one of those frozen pizzas and a few cans of soup for Bonteri, will ya?"

"Please Saw, I only need something for tonight."

Saw huffs. "Yeah? How'd your job hunting go today?"

"I'm still putting in applications. I'm bound to get a hit on one soon enough," I say.

Hutch emerges from the kitchen with a shopping bag. "Hey, Hutch." I greet. Hutch nods in reply.

But Saw carries on the conversation as if his roommate isn't there. "Yeah. So you're unemployed, have exactly no income, and are coming to me asking for food." He crosses his arms. "I can guess what's going on."

My face flushes. "Sierra and I are fine."

"Listen. If you don't have food, come here for dinner. If you can't pay rent, get your butt over here and I'll help you out. Just whatever you do, don't apply for welfare."

"Saw, if I don't get hired in the next week, welfare's my only option!"

Hutch leans his ear against the door for a second, as if to check that it's all clear. When he gives the thumbs-up, Saw grabs me, pulls me close, and speaks in a low whisper.

"Listen, Bonteri. You think I haven't noticed how close the King's been keeping an eye on us? Especially our sisters?"

My eyes widen. He can't possibly be talking about the Steela incident…

"You go on welfare, and that's the perfect chance for Dendup to swing in and grab your sister." He hisses. "And I likelittle sisters. They're cute, even if they made you sit through about a million tea parties when they were five. They belong with their big brothers. Notin some orphanage that never got fixed after the rebellion. And once she's gone, you'll never find her."

He pushes me away. "Go home now. It's too close to curfew. Oh, and come over for dinner tomorrow night."

I nod. "Thank you, Saw. Thanks, Hutch."

"No problem," Hutch mutters, and all but shoves me out the door.

Sigh. Typical Hutch and Saw. But it's their only way of showing our friendship.

As I hurry back to my apartment, I see the police already pouring into the streets for curfew. Luckily, the rebellion's made a fast runner out of me, but my apartment is still five minutes away.

Curfew's in three, and the police have their eyes glued to me.

I take a deep breath, and pour every ounce of my being into running.

Hello again, everyone, and thank you all for checking out "While Others Found Success." This story is going to be a lot more sarcastic and humorous than the first one, probably bordering on satirical. That is mainly the reason for the T rating.

So, how was this start? Reviews are always welcomes, as is constructive criticism, especially in the OC department. Sierra's Sueish-ness is intentional, as I will be making fun of it throughout the entire story, but I would like to know what you thought of her. With that in mind, flames are only good for lighting my stove.

Thank you all,

Lux's Sister