AN: Sorry for not doing individual supplies. Once again, I can only plead a mixture of RL and plain not getting around to it. As a gesture, you'll be getting the rest of the chapters I've written for this so far and you'll be caught up with the other place where I post these. Even so, I read every comment I get.

Chapter 14

'Why. did. it. have. to. be. her?' was not a thought that Ahsoka had expected to be running through her mind when she finally made contact with the Jedi she had come here to... rescue? Help? It didn't really matter. In a way she was glad that she had encountered the former Master of an equally former friend of hers now instead of five years ago. The anger at Barris and her master that she had felt upon leaving the Order had dimmed since then, a lot. That the Order had 'seen the error of its ways' as Anakin had put it was a part of it, and she had a suspicion that it had helped him as much as herself.

The rest of it had been a slow realization that for whatever reason Barris had done what she had done, Unduli had been as blind-sided by it as anyone else. She had never tried to apologize to Ahsoka, but back then when she had been an angry, young ex-Padawan she would probably not have been receptive. She had made her peace with the whole affair, or at least she had thought she had.

Coming face to face with Master Unduli brought it all back to the fore.

But then, she wasn't an angry ex-Padawan any more, was she? She was Ahsoka Tano, Jedi Knight of the Republic, Commander in the Republic Navy and Blue One. And lastly, an emissary of the Jedi High Council.

She deactivated her own sabre and placed it back into the spring-loaded clip under her right forearm. When that was done, she looked back up at Unduli and no longer wondered how she had not sensed her presence earlier. Even now, knowing who it was and standing maybe ten metres away, it was barely more than a slight hum above the background of the living Force. She had never met or even heard of anyone who had cut herself off from the Force so completely as Luminara Unduli.

That still left the issue of how to convince the Jedi and the others Ahsoka sensed around the obvious ambush site of her good intentions. In retrospect, bringing Rex and the squad along had been the wrong move, but what was done was done. Best go with the basic courtesies.

"Master Unduli, it's good to see you again." she said with a small bow. "I'm here on behest of the High Council to find you."

Unduli fractionally lowered her sabre. "Somehow I find it hard to believe that an emissary of the Council would have an escort from the Emperor's best Legion. Not to forget that there is no council to avail itself of the services of a former Padawan."

Ahsoka was taken aback. Could it be that Unduli had done such a good job of hiding herself from the Force that she had not sensed that the Jedi Order, however reduced was still very much connected to it? That would make things complicated.

"Master," she said, "Yavin was a lie by the Empire. Only an idiot would establish a base on a moon there and then fight to the death instead of running away. The Jedi High Council and the Jedi Order are very much alive."

Knowing that mere words would never convince Unduli, Ahsoka sought a direct mental connection to the other Jedi, partly lowering her mental shields for the purpose. She knew that Unduli would sense to duplicity or deceit from her.

It had [I]some[/I] effect at least, since Unduli extinguished her sabre, but made no other move.

"And your... escort?"

"This here is Chewbacca," Ahsoka replied, "he was the one who led us here. And that... you might remember Captain Rex?"

The clones had taken off their helmets, revealing features that were indistinguishable for most.

"They aren't stormtroopers, Master."

"So what are they instead, Ahsoka?"

"I'm... not sure. But for the moment they are men we can trust. They are on our side."

"How can you be sure?"

Ahsoka smiled. "Because I know Rex, and I trust him. And because he helped us get way from the Sith."

Oddly enough this seemed to convince Unduli. She sighed. "A Sith? I had sensed a dark presence... are you sure?"

The younger Jedi felt the bruises she had collected that day. "Quite sure, Master."

"Who was the Sith after? You or my group?"

Ahsoka shook her head. "I'm not sure, and she didn't really say. She may have been hoping I would lead her back to the rest of the Order, but that would work a lot better if I didn't know that she was on my trail."

She grinned and then slowly reached into one of the pockets on her robes, holding up her other hand to show that she was not pulling out a weapon. To Unduli it was something wrapped in cloth. Ahsoka slowly removed the wrapping and to everyone's but her own surprise it turned out to be a holocron.

The message recorded on it was like many others that had been used over the last five years, for cases just like this one.

Outwardly Unduli showed no emotion when the message played, showing beings she had long believed to be dead.

Ahsoka waited patiently for Unduli to react to the message, using the time to compose herself. There were so many questions she needed to ask the Master, so many things she wanted to say.

And yet... it was wrong to dwell on the past like that. She had done that aplenty between leaving the temple and that day on that space station, and it had gained her... nothing at all. The only thing related to that whole mess that had had any sort of positive effect had been Anakins unwavering support and the way she had been made an honorary Skywalker.

So she stopped doing it. She knew that there would be a time when she would have to discuss the matter with the Jedi Master, but that would preferably not happen on a planet where everyone else was liable to turn them in to the Empire and that had a Star Destroyer hanging in orbit.

"This... certainly looks genuine, Ahsoka." Unduli replied. Ahsoka was well aware why there was still some doubt in Undulis voice.

"Normally I would have come to you alone and left Rex and his men behind to guard our escape, but we encountered you earlier than expected."

Unduli took the compliment for what it was and nodded with a thin smile. "It certainly seems that way. Though that leaves one thing to be determined: why are you here?"

"Well, we heard some rumours that a Jedi was operating around here, and I was sent to investigate. There are still so many of us missing..."

She trailed off, and Unduli didn't need to be a Jedi to see the pain that statement caused the young Jedi.

"The point is Master, that I am to contact you, and if genuine, bring you back to... our base."

Unduli glanced back at where her people were still waiting for her to give orders.

"I see. Then, Knight Tano, you and your... group should follow us to our camp. We must move quickly."

Unduli turned and gave the pre-arranged sign.

The camp was situated in a low crater of some sort, guarded from overhead optical observation by cliff overhangs that made the place look almost like a cave and from scans by a sensor-reflective net that was spanned between the rocks. When Ahsoka saw what was below them she had the sickening realization that her mission had gotten a lot harder. True, Unduli aside there were less than a dozen rebels in the group, the Master heavily implying that there had once been a lot more, but if... no, when all of them chose to come with them, they as well as Rex' group would pack the [I]Mynock[/I] to capacity and then some. Thanks to the very special Skywalker makeover the shuttles life support systems would be able to hack it, but it would be a very uncomfortable ride.

"So, what do you think?" she said to both her companions.

We can't take all of that. They'll have to leave everything.

"There is no way we can fit even a tenth of that on the shuttle, Ma'am."

Ahsoka knew from the hard-won experience of the last few years that many would insist on hanging on to their personal weapons, the same way she kept her pistol even though these days she only used it in emergencies. "We'll have to fit them in somehow."

She looked over to where Unduli was talking to her group even as most of them kept stealing glances to where most of the former Stormtroopers were standing around awkwardly near the sunken path that led into the crater. They'd known better than to get any closer to the rebels.

"She might remain behind. If that's the case, we won't have a problem."

You can't force her to come with you, young one. Chewbacca replied, well aware of the way the Jedi functioned.

"No, I can't. And I wouldn't anyway. Master Unduli is... in a class of her own."

The Wookie didn't know why there was a hint of dislike in that question, though Rex understood well enough and knew better than to bring it up.

"Why should we trust you? You brought kriffin stormtroopers to our camp!"

The person to almost yell at Ahsoka was tall, not overly muscular man with burn scars running over most of the right side of his face and hair of an orange shade with slightly more red than her own skin. Even if his feelings hadn't come off him in waves, the sheer hatred in his eyes when he looked at Rex and the others was more than evident.

Ahsoka knew that nothing she could say right now would make much of a difference, yet she knew she had to say something.

"Because sooner or later the Imps will find this place and then you will. be. killed!" she replied, putting extra emphasis on the last three words. "Unless you either stop doing what you're doing and fade into the background or come with us."

She turned away, intending to leave Unduli alone with her people so that they could decide what to do amongst themselves, but before she had taken more than a handful of steps towards where Chewbacca and the clones had withdrawn to, it was what Unduli said that made her stop, peaking in a voice that was uncharacteristically soft even for her.

"Then tell us, Ahsoka. Tell us what we would find there."

She was unsure were to begin. Telling them the location of Weitun was out of the question of course, but other than that... So she said the only thing that came to her mind, knowing it wasn't the best thing to say.

When she was done, all the rebels were listening. The man Ahsoka was calling 'Scarface' inside her head was looking back with equal parts want and disbelief, yet the others...

"So that's how it is. I can't [I]make[/I] you come with us. All I can do is extend the invitation." she said, remaining quiet as the rebels began to discuss what they had heard amongst themselves.

She didn't have to say that the same went for Master Unduli, yet she considered it highly unlikely.

Ahsoka had known that Unduli had always been a very empathic person in the sense that she followed the 'help those in need' part of the Jedi Code even more than everyone else. It may have been because of the war, but she couldn't remember the Jedi Master ever being that emotional about something that had concerned herself. It had become obvious for anyone to see when Ahsoka had related the events during the Exodus. She had avoided going into the details of how much the Order had changed since then, leaving that unenviable task for someone else.

"And you would take us?"

"Of course."

"Why?"

The question came from Scarface.

"Because that's the way of the Republic and the way of the Jedi." Ahsoka said, "Would the Empire do it if they were in our place?"

"So everything you do is being done out of the goodness of your heart, is it? Like it was then the Empire guarded us against you people when they destroyed my family?"

"Of course not. We need what you can put into the fight against the Empire. But even if you were merely a group of Nerfherders we would still need you, you could still contribute. No one will force you to come with us, but you will not get any more help from me."

Such unexpected honesty took the wind out of his sails for a moment, and even though she could sense that he wasn't Force sensitive, Ahsoka hid her honesty in no aspect of her being. Normally she wouldn't have been this direct, but time was of the essence. All she wanted right now was to get off this planet, one way or another. She did feel bad about it anyway.

Something in Scarfaces demeanour changed. Ahsoka couldn't really see what it was, but something changed. He looked at her, and for a second he could see incredible longing in his eyes before the mask was back in place. He never openly stated his assent, but he just stepped back, trying his best to disappear in the group.

Unduli looked at her, nodded and began to speak.

"I will join you, Ahsoka. As for the others.. I cannot speak for them."

"Of course. So..."

tbc