When Even the Closest Turn Away

Thanks for all the support! Enjoy! I sadly don't own Star Wars.

~Zoe Maddox

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Chapter 3: Trust the Enemy

I stand next to the General, watching Ahsoka leave us. Leave me. I want to scream again. Yell to her and tell her that I need her to keep me sane. But I hold my tongue and watch her disappear. General Skywalker turns around and walks back through the tunnels. He hops up into the rain and calls for gunship to take him back to the ship we came in. I follow him in silence. It doesn't take a Jedi to see that he's hurt and he's angry. I take a small detour, taking a few flights of stairs down. And there it is, glistening in rain. I pick it up delicately. It's the last piece of my Soka that I have. Her shoto. I clutch it to my chest like a child. "Please come back." I whisper. When we get on the gunship, I hand the General her lightsaber.

We sit down in the small ship and Anakin drives. I remain silent until I think I might burst.

"You could have stopped her." I say quietly.

He doesn't look over. "Yes."

"Why not?" I ask. I try to keep my anger out of my voice. But Jedi can tell.

He sighs and looks at me. I pull off my helmet and let the cool rain wet my face. He looks me straight in the eyes. "Rex, think about it. We both know she didn't do this. We know her too well. She knows that anyone else believing her is slim. So she's going to try to prove her innocence."

I nod my head. It makes sense. "I'm sorry for…"

He cuts me off. "I know it's hard not to be angry, especially when someone we care about runs away from us." I notice his emphasis on the word care, knowing his choice of words have a special meaning to them.

A moment of measured silence passes between him before I speak again. "I don't know how they possibly can believe Ahsoka could do this."

"I'm not sure if she can either."

The rest of the ride is in silence. Anakin drops me off at the barracks at the Jedi Temple. I watch as he drives off to give the report to the Council. I walk into my barrack. The droids must have come by and tidied up. I sit down on the chair to my desk heavily and put my face in my hands. Today was just too long. On days like this, Ahsoka would sometimes come to my barrack and comfort me. But tonight, she was the reason for the ache. How could she leave me? Yes, she was trying to protect herself. But. But. But. I sound like a shiny wining for Kamino. I lay my face on the cool metal of the desk and close my eyes. I'll blink and it will all be gone.

My beeping comlink wakes me from my sleep. "Rex, we're going to get Ahsoka."

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I ride in a police gunship with Anakin and a small squad of troopers. Another police gunship flies in front of us, holding General Plo Koon and Commander Wolffe.

"The lower level police claimed to have spotted Commander Tano heading to level 13-12." I report.

"Alright. Let's bring her home." We share a look. We both know that we are going to catch her, if it's the last thing we do. The ships fly down into the lower levels. As we come to the platform, I see two figures. One is Ahsoka. The other…

The spotlights shine on them as they run away. Anakin takes an early departure and jumps to the platform. Ventress activates a shield and they run farther into the Lower Levels. Suddenly, Ahsoka turns to look at her Master, as if questioning her choice. Then Ventress puts a hand on her shoulder and my Soka chooses her enemy over me.

"Send out the probes. I want them found now!" Anakin yells to us. The small round probes go flying out and whirl every which way. We lower down and pick up Anakin. He's hurt. He can't believe it any more than me. We get off our ship and deploy so that we can look for her.

The Lower Levels are sketchy and dark. I scan every alley and look to every window. But I can't find her.

"General Plo Koon, we had Commander Tano, but she escaped with the help of Asajj Ventress." Wolffe reports. We take a quick turn and run to Wolffe's squad of beaten men. I smile under my helmet. Ahsoka is NOT coming back easily. Wolffe shows us the way she was going and we split up again. We suddenly see and explosion and the light of a green lightsaber against two red ones are easily seen. Then we hear a crash. We run towards it.

"…let me explain!" Ahsoka cries. Then I hear a stun and the clunk of a body hitting the floor. We arrive and Anakin walks straight up to her fallen body and touches her arm.

"Explosives." Wolffe says as he picks up a small container from a crate. "These are the same types of nano- droids that were used to blow up the Jedi Temple."

"I can't believe it." Anakin murmurs as he shakes his head.

Anakin asks me to carry her limp body back to the police gunship. I gladly hold her body to my chest, as if I can protect her from the future. I set her down and Wolffe and I each hold a shoulder. I wouldn't have minded holding her all the way back to the Temple, but the looks I would have gotten… I try to be gentle as the Jedi talk to Yoda.

Anakin glances back to Ahsoka, sadness in his eyes as he holds her other lightsaber. I myself look to her face. She looks calm in her sleep. Calm before the storm.

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Thank for reading! Remember to show some lovin' below!

~Zoe Maddox