Chapter 5: Exile - Alderaan
The chirping of the birds pulled Jedi Padawn Ahsoka Tano out of sleep. Rising from her simple bed, she stepped out of the mound of earth that blended into the meadowy grass stretching out around her as far as the eye could see.
Well, almost. In the distance, she could see the towering skyscrapers of Alderaan. At least she was somewhat close to civilized civilization. Poor Obi-Wan and Yoda could not say the same. She had heard enough horror stories about Tatooine from Anakin. And Dagobah sounded even worse.
Ahsoka began her day the same way she had every day for the past several months. She checked on her plants. Yes, it was only a cover story, and as such, the greenhouse Bail Organa had helped her to build did seem a little excessive. But, Ahsoka had to admit - plants were actually extremely interesting. She grew them, watered them, studied them, and kept detailed recordings of their features in her diary. Who knew? Perhaps it would be valuable someday. Besides, she had a separate journal recording her double life as an exiled Jedi - her memories, her regrets. A lot of the entires mourned Anakin, of letting him down.
Ahsoka embarked on the only thing she could do as an exiled Jedi - she now fitted her binoculars to her face. Turning the dials to zoom in, she finally focused on a little girl with tufts of flowing black hair on the top of her head. A handmaiden to the Alderaanian Queen rolled a ball across the stone plaza. The baby crawled after it. Was it just Ahsoka's imagination, or could she feel the baby slow down the ball with the Force without touching it?
She smiled softly to herself, the way a mother would look upon their daughter. There were worst final missions to be assigned to. Just as Obi-Wan Kenobi would watch Luke from afar, she would be here if Leia needed her. The future Princess would never know her, but she would always be there. She would only know the former Jedi as Ashla Fulcrum - a botanist.
And that was the name that the rest of Alderaan would know her by as well. The name she would respond to.
Until one day several years later... out in the Meadow...
"Ahsoka? Ahsoka Tano?" The young man called to her from just in the distance across the meadow.
Ahsoka tackled him to the ground, the lightsaber she now rarely used at his throat, concealed by the tall grass.
"Who are you? And how do you know that name?" she growled.
As she gazed into the young man's blue eyes, she realized: he seemed vaguely familiar. She backed off of him, and a smile came over her face. "Lux? Lux Bonteri?"
"The one and only," Lux smiled.
She could not help it. Ahsoka hugged him. "It's good to see you. Come inside." She beckoned him to her grassy hovel.
Ahsoka told Lux everything: how she had left the Order, only to watch a fellow Jedi be killed on Raada and barely escaping with her own life. For his part, Lux explained how he had left both the Separatist and Republic sides after Count Dooku murdered his mother. "Anakin Skywalker did me a great favor, when he killed that goddamn Sith. But now, the Empire... That is what the Separatists paved the way for, Ahsoka. I should have realized the Republic was not the enemy. I'm so sorry!"
Ahsoka patted his hand. "The important thing is that you seek redemption for yourself."
"And I hope to find it here - refugee or not! But with Bail Organa fighting for us in what's left of the Senate, this planet's probably one of the safest in the galaxy at the moment!"
Not to mention it has an exiled Jedi stationed here, Ahsoka thought of - and to - herself. "Now what will you do?" she asked.
Lux grinned sheepishly. "Well, I was hoping... maybe I could stay with you?"
Ahsoka smiled warmly. In these dark times, she could use a friend. "Of course."
Months, then several more years passed. Ahsoka taught Lux everything she had come to learn about plants. He became as fascinated as she was, and proved himself to be a loyal research assistant. In her spare time, Ahsoka would always observe Leia from afar. Lux knew of this side mission, but did not ask questions, which the Jedi appreciated. The more you know, the more dangerous you are.
The pair rekindled their friendship and became quite close, living together in Ahsoka's meadow hut.
One night, over a small fire after dinner, Ahsoka felt Lux's eyes on her. She smiled. "What?"
"Nothing. It's just... you look beautiful in firelight. It glows off your skin."
Ahsoka fidgeted, blushing. "Thank you."
Then:
"Do you remember when I kissed you on Carlac?"
Ahsoka burst out laughing. "How could I forget?"
"Well, neither have I." He paused. "I've always carried a torch for you, Ahsoka."
The Jedi could feel him now sitting beside her. Before she could stop him, he had turned her face to him and kissed her lips. After a moment, Ahsoka drew back.
"Lux..." she sighed. "I can't. Jedi aren't allowed to marry; have attachments."
"What Jedi? Ahsoka, the Jedi Order is dead! Why adhere to the rules of an organization that no longer exists? Don't you want something to build again? A legacy to leave behind? A family?" Lux took her hand. "I can give you that."
Ahsoka sighed. She made her decision. "Come here." When he didn't catch her meaning, Ahsoka pulled Lux to her and kissed him in return. With this kiss, she cast aside part of the Jedi Code.
Lux swept Ahsoka off her feet and carried her to bed. As soon as they were on the meager cot, Ahsoka pushed Lux onto his back and straddled him. Tenderly shedding her clothes, she kissed along his neck before moving to undress him.
She had never had sex before. Jedi were forbidden to. But with Lux... and her new circumstances...
Both now naked, Lux flipped Ahsoka so she lay beneath. The Jedi gulped nervously. Then she gasped, choking on air as she felt Lux sheath himself inside her. Lux began to move his hips in rhythm. Ahsoka arched upwards to copy him. Their thrusts worked in tandem, creating a sort of conversation, a dance.
"Lux..." Ashoka croaked. "Harder... faster... Now... right now..."
Lux finally moaned like no one she had ever heard as he shuddered against her. Flopping on top of her, he moved no more. He had cum within her.
Ashoka flicked her pelvis upward until she, too, orgasmed. Former Jedi and former Separatist lay together, a mess of naked and sweaty limbs.
Over time, Ahsoka and Lux fell more deeply in love. When the young man asked the Togruta to marry him, she accepted. On one condition: their wedding be observed using the customs of their people.
This custom involved stoking a fire, and burning a loaf of bread over the flames. The intended spouses then shared the bread together before sealing it with a kiss.
Lux blinked as he and Ashoka broke apart; he could taste crumbs on her lips. "That's it?"
Ashoka beamed against the flames. "We're married."
Husband and wife kissed again.
Still more years passed. Ashoka was now a young woman. And so was her charge, Princess Leia Organa.
The Empire was expanding its reign over the galaxy. Alderaan would be next, and high on Vader's list of systems to conquer.
But, as Lux explained to his wife one day coming in from the fields, he knew a way to possibly put a stop to that.
"Senator Organa is arranging a meeting of people who want to start a Rebellion. The gathering is meeting on Coreilla. Leia will be with them."
Ashoka rose from the bed they shared, where she had been recording in her diary. "Lux, won't it be dangerous?"
"See what I mean? Perfect!" her husband grinned infectiously. Her took her hand. "Come with me! Think of the morale a former Jedi could give!"
"Or the danger she could pose! I would be a blaring alarm through the Force, leading Vader right to us!"
"But what about Leia?"
"Keep an eye on her at the meeting! I trust you with her; I've only told you everything you absolutely have to know!"
Lux frowned. "It just won't be the same without you."
Ashoka sighed. "Oh, Lux... I'm afraid."
Lux smiled tenderly, taking her in his arms. "Have faith, my love. Everything will soon be set right. It's about time it was. Wait for me until I return. Things will be different, I promise." He kissed her, long and lingering, and Ashoka moaned sensuously into his mouth. "Please. Please wait for me."
"I will," she sighed, and hugged him, resting her head on his chest with a smile. Lux kissed his wife goodbye one last time, and he left.
Ashoka waited and waited. But when Senator Organa returned with Leia to Alderaan, Lux was not with them. The Jedi began to fear for her husband. Had something gone wrong at the treaty signing?
Then, one night, the Force awoke her in her half-empty bed with a scream. She felt her husband's life ripped from the world, become one with the Force.
At the hands of Darth Vader.
Ashoka only mourned briefly. For when Bail Organa recruited her into the Rebel Alliance, she jumped at the chance. She would fight against the Sith, as a Jedi once again. She would do that to honor her fallen husband.
She would become... Fulcrum.
A/N: I gave Ashoka the job that fell to Ferus Olin in Legends. He was such a great character - too bad he was not absorbed into Canon. But now, Anakin's Master is watching over the son, and Anakin's Padawan is looking after the daughter!