Chapter Two - Where I Belonged

Mid-Rim territories

Aboard the passenger ship Drimaria, a young Togruta sighed, rubbing a hand across her unmarked forehead before glaring at the instruments in front of her. "Come on, you – work!"

It would be easier, she reflected, if she could solve it with a flick of her hand, like Master Skywa–

She slammed down on that thought. It was hardly befitting of a self-exiled padawan to be wishing she knew how to abuse her powers.

After being falsely accused of bombing the Jedi Temple and her consequent expellment, Ahsoka's faith in the Jedi Order had been shaken. Even though they later realized their mistake and the guilty party was found, she had decided to leave the Order. She felt too betrayed to remain.

But shortly before her final departure, Master Kenobi had privately approached her with a counter-offer – one she suspected was not known to the whole Jedi Council, since they tended toward immediate and final decisions. If, in three years, Ahsoka felt that she still belonged among the Jedi, she could return to the Temple.

She had told him she would consider it.

Until that time, or until she had made her final decision, she was stuck with a different name – Aso – and a life as a technician on the passenger liner Drimaria. She had even stopped wearing the tribal facepaint, not wanting to be recognized by any of their passengers who she might have crossed paths with in the past.

Right now, though, glaring at the controls wasn't making them work.

She was just considering bashing the wires with a hydrospanner to see if it would make them behave when a sudden surge of pain hit her. Ahsoka gasped and reeled backward, but the pain persisted. She felt flashes of red-hot pain that knocked her down to her knees, trying to diffuse the storm.

It has to be Force-related, she thought fuzzily. I don't think – and then all cognitive thought was wiped out as another wave screamed down on her, divorcing her of consciousness.

"Aso? Aso, you all right?"

Ahsoka weakly forced open her eyes to find a concerned Rodian leaning over her. She tried to sit up and grabbed her head with one hand as it swam at the motion. Her crewmate steadied her.

"What… what happened?" she asked fuzzily, trying to make her eyes focus properly.

"You must have collapsed," he explained, helping her sit up fully this time. "I found you when I came back to check the water exchangers – apparently they're being finicky again. Are you all right?"

"I'll be fine," she replied weakly, trying to figure out what had happened as he helped her to her feet. There had been a wave of – something… It had felt, she realized, like when they lost men during battle.

But it was never that strong…

"The others are watching the holo-vision in the rear hold," the Rodian continued as they walked down the hall in that direction. "Something about a conspiracy or something – I didn't pay that much attention. Here," he added as Ahsoka swayed, "You go sit down with them, I'll finish that panel you were working on."

She nodded tiredly. "Thanks, Jef."

Ahsoka entered the hold to find the rest of the crew glued to the screen. "…catastrophe for the Republic," the announcer was saying. "Thanks to the early warning, many of the conspirators were stopped before they could take action…"

Ahsoka took a look at the screen and froze.

Pictures progressed across the screen. Master Windu attacking the Chancellor with drawn lightsaber… troops marching en masse down the main streets of Coruscant… the Jedi Temple in flames.

Ahsoka turned and fled down the hall, ignoring the concerned call of a few passengers she passed as tears streamed down her face. Not until she was in the empty crew quarters did she stop, looking wildly back and forth.

She dug frantically through the bag that held her personal belongings and then stilled, drawing out a single, woven braid. For a moment she stared at it, then her fierce personality prevailed and she turned purposely toward a small gas light in the corner.

Moments later, she lit the end of her braid on fire and then dropped it to watch it burn, face twisted into a grim fury that masked the pain she suppressed.

Ahsoka stood there until her last tie to the Jedi was reduced to embers.

*Author's note: Those rereading may notice Ahsoka's back-story has changed. The prior story was created before the episodes came out explaining her departure from the Jedi Order. I may still use the other back-story for an AU piece, but as I'm trying to make this story canon-compliant (in order to make episodes 3 and 6 match) I decided to go with the accepted animated canon. I hope this clears up any confusion.