Being surrounded by so many people she didn't know, so many people who would have willingly convicted her of a crime she did not commit and have her sentenced to death was not a comforting thought to Ahsoka. She wanted nothing more than to turn and leave, retire to her apartment for the night and try to get some semblance of sleep, not that she would. The thought of her trial would be on her mind, that she knew.
Glancing around the crowd, Ahsoka watched as various figures moved around, talking to one another about something. Everyone seemed to be leaving her alone, which was probably for the best.
Anakin and Padmé were off to one side talking about something Ahsoka was sure she didn't want to hear, and Palpatine had once again taken Caleb to one side to show him around. The young Padawan had not objected to the Chancellor's behaviour, whether out of fear of offending the older man or actual desire to mingle with the crowd Ahsoka did not know. At least Caleb was learning something from all of this.
Sighing to herself, Ahsoka decided that if she was going to stay at this ball, despite not wanting to, she should probably mingle with the crowd. Palpatine had said that both Riyo and Lux were around somewhere, and had stood by her during her trial. If she could find them…
Now with a purpose, and a fake smile on her face, Ahsoka began to move through the crowd. No one paid much mind to her as she moved, aside from the occasional glance or nod of the head as she passed by. Whether or not they recognized her like Bail Organa had, or assumed she was some dignitary from Shili, Ahsoka did not know, nor did she care. As long as they weren't hassling her for being a 'wanted terrorist' then all was fine.
Before long she spotted the familiar purple hair of the Senator from Pantora held up in an eloquent style. Unlike most of the other women present at the ball, Ahsoka included, Riyo wore her standard outfit, albeit with a few more accessories attached. Clearly Riyo either hadn't had time to get changed, or didn't want to stand out.
In a way Ahsoka was jealous. She really didn't like wearing dresses like the one she was in. Give her her armour any day.
That said, she would have drawn a lot of attention in a custom set of Mandalorian gear.
Allowing her fake smile to morph into a real warm one, Ahsoka began to move towards Riyo, who as it happened turned out to be standing beside the other person she was looking for.
Lux Bonteri stood with his back to Ahsoka, dressed in a far more regal outfit than normal, one that Ahsoka assumed had Onderonian influences on it. From what she had heard so far he had taken well to the position of Senator of Onderon. No doubt his mother would have been incredibly proud of him, even if he had sided with the Republic in the end.
Ahsoka continued to approach the two senators until Riyo spotted her over Lux's shoulder, her eyes widening in surprise as she recognized the Togruta all dressed up.
The Pantoran broke off her discussion with Lux to move towards Ahsoka, gently embracing her in the process, a gesture that Ahsoka returned.
"Ahsoka? What are you doing here?" Riyo asked, shock in her voice, her expression equally confused. By now Lux had also turned around, his face too adopting a look of pleasant surprise at seeing his old friend alive and well. He too moved towards Ahsoka, offering his hand to her once she was free of Riyo's embrace, a gesture that Ahsoka again returned, squeezing his hand once before releasing it.
"Oh, you know me, I love gatecrashing Republic charity balls." Ahsoka replied to Riyo's earlier question, her tone light and happy. Lux scoffed once at her statement, a smile on his face as he considered her words.
"It's so good to see you Ahsoka. You look well." Lux spoke for the first time, his expression barely hiding the worry he had, an expression that Riyo shared.
"We tried to find you and speak to you after that shambles of a trial, but we couldn't find you. What happened? Did the Jedi reinstate you?" Riyo questioned, eyes desperate for answers, answers that Ahsoka was more than willing to give.
"They did offer, but I refused. Walked away even. Ended up in the lower levels for a bit before another job offer came along."
"You… you left? But all you ever wanted was to be a Jedi?" Riyo replied, shock in her voice at Ahsoka's revelation. Even Lux seemed surprised, though he didn't say it aloud.
"A better question would be how could I stay? The Order abandoned me when I needed them most. They lost faith in me, so I lost faith in them. Knowing how quickly they could turn on me I knew I couldn't stay, so I left. It all worked out in the end." Ahsoka replied, hoping that her answer would ease the concern that was radiating off of Riyo in droves. The senator almost looked like she was going to go mad right there and then at what had happened. While she appreciated Riyo's support, she really didn't want to cause a scene.
"I suppose I can see why you left, but you still should have come to me or Lux, or even Padmé for help. I'm sure we all would have willingly taken you on as a bodyguard or something." Riyo replied, eyes full of worry over what had happened to her friend.
"Thanks, but the last thing I wanted was to be in someone's way. I needed to escape and think things over for a while till I found my feet again. Turns out ex Jedi doesn't really help you out very much employment wise." Ahsoka continued, hoping her words calmed Riyo down. The young woman had always been caring for those she considered her friends. It made her a good person, and an even better politician.
Lux chose that moment to speak, drawing the conversation back to an earlier topic.
"You mentioned you got another job offer. What exactly have you been up to then?"
"Chancellor Palpatine head hunted me for a job as his personal agent. I mainly run high risk missions for the Republic. Not much different from my time with the Jedi really, but it's something I can do and do well, plus the pay is awesome." Ahsoka replied, eagerly revealing her new position. Hopefully Palpatine wouldn't mind her revealing it to Riyo and Lux. He had encouraged her to talk to them after all.
"You work for Palpatine now? That's… interesting? Not what I expected." Riyo replied, an odd look about her face, one that Ahsoka would almost call concerned. Why was Riyo concerned?
Lux however seemed happy for her.
"Ha, knew it would take more than a phoney trial to keep you down Ahsoka. Anyone who can decapitate three Death Watch terrorists at once is going to make a mighty fine secret agent of the Chancellor."
"It was four Death Watch actually, but thanks. I appreciate your vote of confidence Lux." Ahsoka replied, a warm smile on her face.
Riyo's expression however seemed to shift from concern to happiness, before finally settling on one that Ahsoka would call content.
"I'm happy for you Ahsoka. Just be careful out there yeah? I'd hate to lose you to your career."
A smirk came to Ahsoka's face in response.
"Says the politician."
Riyo's laugh was all Ahsoka needed to hear.
The night went on as Ahsoka expected it to. Various Senators and other Republic officials wandered around, engaging in deep conversations about things Ahsoka barely understood. She had never been very good at politics, even with Padmé's tutoring.
She had spent most of the night with Lux and Riyo, catching up with what few old friends she had left. She could have gone back over to speak with Anakin and Padmé, but part of her felt she should leave them alone to enjoy their night. Even if they couldn't outright show their affection for one another, she knew they wanted to be together.
At some point during the night Caleb had managed to finally break away from Palpatine's grasp, coming over to speak to Ahsoka. The Togruta had promptly introduced Caleb to Riyo and Lux, both of which had been warm and welcoming to him, happy to meet another Jedi.
The four of them had pretty much stayed together through the night before Riyo had left towards the dance floor of all places, which was now expanded to cover half of the room up to the fountain, dragging a complaining Lux behind her, who was too busy making comments about having two left feet.
Watching from a distance Ahsoka couldn't help but laugh as Riyo attempted to teach Lux how to dance, only for the senator from Onderon to constantly step on her toes, earning an ever steady stream of scowls from the Pantoran.
Nonetheless, Riyo seemed determined to teach Lux and persevered. Just when Lux seemed to finally be getting the hang of it everything went dark.
All the lights switched off suddenly, the music being played throughout the room ceasing in an instant. The room became not only deathly silent, but also pitch black. No one could see a thing.
Instinct kicked in for Ahsoka. She rooted her feet firmly on the ground, taking care not to move anywhere in case she bumped into someone, or worse, fell in the fountain.
A loud splash echoed throughout the room seconds later, signifying that someone had indeed done what Ahsoka was worried about.
Ahsoka barely had enough time to wonder who had fallen in before a voice followed the loud splash.
"LUX!"
"SORRY!"
A dull thud then echoed through the room, a sound that Ahsoka would associate with a backup power generator coming online.
Sure enough, moments later the hall became illuminated in a dull red emergency lighting. It still wasn't easy to see, but it was bright enough to make out the spectacle before them all.
Naturally, everyone was looking towards the fountain, where both Lux and Riyo had fallen in, sprayed out and soaked to the bone. Ahsoka couldn't help but laugh aloud at the sight before her, something that appeared to be contagious. Soon enough the entire hall erupted into laughter, including the Chancellor himself, who had an amused look on his face.
"Don't laugh! This is my favourite suit!" Lux exclaimed, clearly frustrated at not only his lack of dancing ability, but also the fact that he had fallen into the fountain in the process.
Despite Lux's request, the individuals present in the room, Ahsoka included, continued to laugh.
By now Riyo had adjusted to her unfortunate situation, and unlike Lux wasn't letting it upset her too much. She too was laughing at the situation, something that earned a scowl from Lux.
"Oh have a sense of humour Bonteri. At least we all know you can't dance." Riyo quipped, flicking some of the water towards Lux's face in the process, causing him to block his eyes. Ahsoka could have sworn she spotted a hint of a smile on the males face for a brief second, before he hid it.
"Yeah, I'd still rather have not fallen in a fountain at a charity event! And will you stop flicking me with water!"
"Nope! Not like it's gonna change much. You're already wet."
The laughter throughout the room began to die down, though practically everyone in the hall save for Lux had a smirk on their faces. Still, Ahsoka could tell he wanted to laugh at his own predicament.
Deciding that she should be a good friend Ahsoka moved towards the edge of the fountain, offering a hand towards Lux.
Knowing full well the possibility of him pulling her in as well, Ahsoka grounded her feet hard. She wasn't going to fall for that one.
Upon seeing the offered hand, Lux reached out and took it, allowing Ahsoka to pull him out of the fountain. Thankfully he didn't try to pull her in, leading to Ahsoka releasing her grounded stance.
With Lux now safely out of 'danger', Ahsoka offered her hand back to Riyo, the Pantoran accepting it readily.
As Ahsoka began to pull Riyo out however, the Senator's face shifted to one of pure evil.
If Ahsoka was being honest, she hadn't expected Riyo to be the one to do it to her. She had expected it from Lux, since she had laughed at him and all. In hindsight however, considering how Riyo had reacted to the situation in the first place, Ahsoka really shouldn't have been surprised.
Ahsoka had barely managed to pull Riyo to her feet before she suddenly felt the Pantoran put all her weight in her arms and pull Ahsoka towards her.
"Riyo no!" Ahsoka barely managed to yell in surprise before she too was pulled into the fountain, crashing against the water with a large splash, some of which erupted over the side and hit Lux again, causing him to groan in defeat.
Once again chuckles filled the room as Ahsoka steadied herself in the fountain, soaked to the bone much like her two friends.
"Got ya!" Riyo said, deviousness rolling off of her. It was clear she was enjoying being the cause of such mayhem.
"If we weren't friends you'd live to regret this." Ahsoka quipped in response, knowing full well that Riyo would see her statement as a joke, just as she intended.
"Oohh, I'm so scared!"
Riyo's response was coupled with another splash of water towards Ahsoka, something that the Togruta in question batted away with ease.
Glancing up from the fountain she saw several people watching her, though not as many as before. Most were crowded around the Chancellor in deep conversation with him.
Another hand suddenly extended itself before her eyes, blue skin standing out before her eyes. Following the length of the arm the hand was attached to, Ahsoka found its owner staring at her with a barely concealed grin on his lips.
"Do you require assistance Miss Tano?"
"I appreciate the offer Thrawn." Ahsoka replied, grasping the Chiss' hand with her own, allowing him to pull her to her feet and out of the fountain. When he had successful 'rescued' her Thrawn turned back to Riyo, offering a hand to her as well.
"I would not ad.. advi… do not pull me in please."
Riyo merely smirked in response, but did not attempt to pull Thrawn in as well, unlike what she had done with Ahsoka.
Now safely out of the cold water Riyo threw yet another smirk at Ahsoka as she attempted to wring the water out of her clothes. Ahsoka too decided that would probably be a good idea. She really didn't want to get hypothermia all things considered.
Just as she finished removing the excess water from her dress, Ahsoka felt a soft fabric wrap itself around her shoulders, encompassing her in warmth.
Turning around she found herself face to face with Anakin, who passed a second towel to Riyo, who gratefully accepted it.
"Enjoy your swim Snips?"
"Yeah, bit cold though."
"Poor little Togruta."
"Careful, or I'll push you in too."
"You wouldn't dare!"
"Ladies and Gentlemen, if I could have your attention please?"
The sound of Chancellor Palpatine's voice echoing across the dimly lit hall immediately put a stop to the banter between former master and apprentice, drawing the attention of everyone to the leader of the Republic.
"Now that our aquatic entertainment has finished I am afraid I must be the bearer of bad news. Our unexpected power outage was due to an unprecedented explosion at a nearby energy grid plant. At this time we cannot be sure if this was a tragic accident or the work of more nefarious forces, but for your own safety I must ask you all to return to your homes. Again, the office of the Supreme Chancellor extends its greatest apologies for this but promises all funds earned tonight will be put to good use. Please have a safe journey home."
No one protested Palpatine's words, though murmurs of discontent could be heard sparking up, many of which Ahsoka shared. Could this possibly be some sort of terrorist attack? Or was it an accident?
Moments later members of the crowd began to depart, both Riyo and Lux among them, both still wrapped in towels.
Ahsoka knew she should leave as well, but something stopped her. Maybe she could help somehow? She was after all the Chancellor's personal agent.
Moving towards Palpatine, she spoke.
"Chancellor, is there anything I can do to help?"
Palpatine turned and looked at her, his eyes weary and tired, a stark contrast to the bright humour she had seen in them earlier.
"My dear there is little you can do until we know more. Rest assured I will contact you if you can help. For now go home and dry off. Thank you again for coming."
Taking that as her cue to leave, Ahsoka bowed her head and moved back towards where Anakin and Padmé stood. Caleb was also there, watching nervously.
"What's happened?" Padmé asked, voice expressing the concern that was on Caleb's face. Only Anakin remained stoney faced, though through the Force Ahsoka could feel that he too had a bad feeling.
"Not sure, but something is up. General Skywalker I'd suggest you get Senator Amidala back to her apartment and watch over her tonight. If this was indeed not an accident then I fear something worse could be coming." Ahsoka replied, eyes locking with Anakin's in the process as she put extra emphasis on 'ensuring Padmé's safety'.
Judging from the way Anakin's eyes lit up briefly, he understood exactly what she was trying to do.
"Sounds like a good idea. I'll keep her safe Agent Tano. Enjoy your night."
"You as well."
It was odd speaking so formally with Anakin, and they both knew it. It was, of course, entirely for show. If anyone other than Caleb or Padmé were listening they would be duped by it.
Not only that, but a part of Ahsoka enjoyed being able to pull rank over Anakin, if only briefly.
With that Anakin nodded his head a Ahsoka, before gently taking Padmé's arm arm and gesturing towards the way out. The Senator nodded in agreement, shooting Ahsoka one last grateful smile, before making her way towards the exit.
"Guess we should leave too." Caleb spoke from beside her, nearly making her jump.
"Yeah, I guess so. Come on."
Suffice to say the hall of the Senate building had been eerily creepy without any main power. Much like the main hall the various corridors and side rooms were bathed in a red hue of emergency lighting.
Luckily however it seemed that the vast majority of the occupants of the building were keeping calm. Ahsoka was glad that there were no riots or scuffles.
Upon exiting the building and stepping into the warm air of the Coruscant night time, Ahsoka saw that much like the Senate building, the surrounding districts were also without power. The likelihood was that her own apartment would be dark as well.
Caleb had already left her side, bidding her a good night and thanking her for the invite. Ahsoka was glad he had come along, even if she had barely managed to spend any real time with him. Chancellor Palpatine seemed to have taken quite a liking to the young Padawan.
With Caleb safely making his way back to the Jedi Temple, Ahsoka decided that her best option right now was to return home, even if she would be without power.
Pulling the towel she still had wrapped around her tighter against her body she began to head towards where she had parked her speeder a short distance away from the Senate building. She had been afraid that with all the important guests and their security details it might be hard to find a spot at the building itself, and it also gave her an excuse to enjoy a walk as well before the ball.
Strolling through the darkened streets of Coruscant, Ahsoka kept her wits about her. She didn't expect anyone to attack her, but she was always prepared, especially at night. If someone did try something then they would be in for a nasty surprise.
The lack of people present on the streets themselves, likely due to the power cut, was also somewhat unnerving, but Ahsoka tried to pay it little mind. If this was the work of someone like Dooku and Grievous, and she wouldn't be surprised if it was, then it was likely that most people were hiding away from possible danger.
Those that weren't had a very high chance of being an unsavory individual.
"Hey you! Freak! What ya doing about this time of night?"
'And there it is.' Ahsoka thought to herself. The voice was high pitched and feminine, and had a tone of self superiority about it, like the owner thought themselves the best thing in the galaxy. Ahsoka couldn't stand people like that.
Choosing not to respond, Ahsoka continued walking, turning another corner in the vast streets of Coruscant.
"Hey look! She's running away from us!"
"What do you expect from a freak like her!"
The second voice was a different one from before, this one masculine, but again, it held the same sense of superiority about it.
Rolling her eyes to herself Ahsoka continued walking.
That was until she felt a hard grasp hold of her elbow tightly, pulling her backwards, spinning her around.
Ahsoka suddenly found herself face to face with three human youths, ones that looked roughly around the same age as her. Two were female, whilst the other was male. All three had a satisfied smirk on their faces, as if they had just accomplished something difficult.
"What do you want?" Ahsoka snapped, patience dwindling for people like this. They called her a freak, and she suspected she knew why. She really didn't want to deal with this right now.
"Ooohhh, listen to her, getting all angry." One of the girls spoke, giggling to herself in a way that just sounded fake. What was up with that?
"Not surprising really considering she's a freak." The male responded, sneering at Ahsoka in the process.
"Yeah!" The second girl replied, leaning back into the male in the process, obviously trying to show some sort of relationship between them to Ahsoka. "Why don't you go home! No one wants you here."
"What?" Ahsoka replied, trying to keep her voice steady, and barely succeeding. Where they seriously…
"Go back to your home planet you disgusting creature. Just looking at you makes me feel sick."
"Yeah, go and hunt some beasts like the savage you are."
"What even are those things on your head?"
Ahsoka felt her stomach drop, feeling just as sick as the foul girl before her apparently did. She had experienced racism before, both in and out of the temple, but she had never been confronted with a situation such as this before.
How should she react? Should she ignore them and walk away? Should she try to make them see the error of their ways?
Should she cut them down with her concealed lightsaber? No! That would just prove their point in some respect. As much as she wanted to harm them, Ahsoka swore she would leave this situation with the moral high ground.
She would only defend herself if things got violent. Hopefully they didn't.
"Why is your dress all wet? Too poor to afford a swimming outfit?" One of the girls quipped, giggling again in the process.
"Maybe she was trying to appear attractive to some boy. Who'd want her though?" The other girl responded, also descended into giggles as she nudged her male companion.
"Not me that's for sure. Poor poor freak." The male responded, eyes traversing Ahsoka's form with a mixture of disgust and lecherousness.
Tired of standing there and taking their verbal abuse, Ahsoka decided to strike back the best she could.
"Actually I'm not poor. Got several million credits in the bank that were given to me by the Supreme Chancellor himself. In fact, I've just come back from being invited to a charity ball hosted by him. Fell in the fountain, but at least I was there."
Ahsoka couldn't help but mimic the fake and snotty attitudes of the three humans before her, hoping that they felt just as disgusted by it as she did. Maybe it would teach them a lesson
"Bantha poodoo! The Chancellor would never invited an alien freak like you to such an event." The girl who was resting in the arms of the male snapped back, her temperament changing to anger in an instant.
"Don't be so sure." Ahsoka replied to the taunt, reaching out into the Force to read the emotions and thoughts around her. The girl was getting angry now, and clearly wanted to attack her. Ahsoka very nearly smirked at that. As if she would stand a chance.
"You aliens come to Coruscant thinking you're so much better than us. Well guess what freak, humans have always run the galaxy and always will. Go back to your backwards planet!" The girl sneered again, venom practically seething at her lips. Frankly Ahsoka thought it was pathetic that she was behaving this way.
Not only that, but she had also given her more ammunition to use against her.
"Humans have always run the galaxy? You do realize that the Chancellor of the Republic two terms ago was a Togruta like me right? Or are you really as stupid as you sound?" Ahsoka replied, remembering her history lessons in the Jedi Temple about Supreme Chancellor Kirames Kaj, a Togruta female like her who had once been the Chancellor of the Republic.
"Yeah and look at the mess that's caused us now! We are stuck in a war because of alien freaks like her and those Neimoidan weirdos!" The male snapped now, smugness radiating off him as he tried to undo Ahsoka's words.
"Wow you really are stupid! Count Dooku is a human! He started this war… not an alien!" Ahsoka countered yet again, seeing the look of anger worsen on the male's face.
"Oh shut up you tailhead freak. Think your so special with your money and your dress and kriff like that. One day we're gonna join the Republic military and when the Clone War is over we are gonna make all the aliens pay for what they did. You'll be our servants!" The girl snapped again, anger radiating off of her worse than a Sith Lord.
"Oh go kriff yourself you racist piece of poodoo!" Ahsoka replied, momentarily falling into the same behaviour as the teenagers before her.
That was the last straw for the first girl. Upon the words leaving Ahsoka's mouth she moved forward and shoved Ahsoka backwards with all her might.
If Ahsoka was being honest, the shove barely had any momentum behind it.
"Freak!"
The girl shoved Ahsoka again, and once again the Togruta did not go anywhere, not that she needed to. Her feet remained exactly where they were. She wasn't going to run from people such as this.
"Bitch!"
Another shove, followed by another insulting name, and Ahsoka began to lose whatever minimal patience she had left.
"Touch me again and you'll regret it." Ahsoka said coldly and harshly, her eyes locking onto the girl's to reinforce the threat. The fool was not taking her seriously, and thus she would no doubt pay the price.
"What you gonna do you alien freak! Rip me apart with your bare teeth."
The girl began to move forward again, hands out to shove Ahsoka backwards. This time however, Ahsoka allowed herself to snap.
She hadn't made a threat. She had made a promise, and now she was going to act on it.
As the girl's hands reached her body Ahsoka reached out with her own hands, grabbing a hold of the girl's arms and pulling her suddenly towards her.
The girl yelped as she was pulled away from the male, who yelled in surprise and shock at Ahsoka's actions.
As she pulled the girl towards her Ahsoka pooled all of her anger and reserve energy into her arms and legs and lifted the girl up and over her head, bringing her down face first into the hard surface below.
The resulting crack that echoed throughout the street, followed by a wail of agony that was more than enough satisfaction for Ahsoka.
However, before she could turn to admire her work, the male moved as well.
"You alien whore! I'll make you pay for that!"
Focusing all her attention on the fist that was suddenly being thrown towards her face, Ahsoka reacted again with lightning speed, evading the incoming blow and bringing her own hands up in the process, wrenching the males arm behind his back and pulling it out of place.
Once again the sound of a dislocating bone was music to Ahsoka's montrals.
Much like his girlfriend, the male collapsed to the floor screaming and crying in agony. Ahsoka had never seen such a pathetic sight in her life.
Turning on her heel, Ahsoka faced the third and final member of the gang of hostile youths. The girl had dropped her stance into a horrific interpretation of a ready stance, and was practically bouncing all over the place in some ridiculous attempt to look like some sort of championship fighter.
Ahsoka very nearly rolled her eyes in response until she saw a glint of silver held in the girl's hand.
A knife.
Instantly Ahsoka felt her body tense. The other two had been no real threat, and from the way this other girl was overreacting to the situation Ahsoka could already tell she too would be a pushover. However, she was armed, and that made her dangerous even to someone as skilled as Ahsoka. All it would take was for Ahsoka to let her guard down and that knife would be embedded in her gut. She had to end this quickly, and she already knew how. A little display of power would work wonders.
Glancing down at the knife in the girls hand, Ahsoka spoke.
"Put the weapon down now!"
"Or what you alien bitch! What you gonna do! I'm gonna cut off those tentacles of yours and feed them to a rancor! How does that make you feel freak?"
Sighing to herself, Ahsoka acted. Reaching to her leg she grasped hold of the concealed lightsaber hilt, removing it from it's position and bringing it out before her with lightning speed, igniting the blade in the process.
The girl barely had time to react before a golden blade careened towards her, catching the knife in her hand and destroying it, forcing her to drop the now molten slag that was left.
The once overly confident girl began to back away in fear as Ahsoka began to approach her, fangs bared as she was bathed in a golden glow.
"You… you're a Jedi? But I thought Jedi were merciful?"
Before she had a chance to back out of range Ahsoka shot her free hand forward, grasping hold of the girls neck with her hand, applying pressure. Part of her wanted to squeeze the life out of her, but she relented.
She had another option anyway, one that would cause just as much pain.
Snarling at the girl now held firmly in her grasp, Ahsoka spoke.
"I'm no Jedi!"
With those words ringing in the girl's mind, Ahsoka extinguished her lightsaber blade, rotating the hilt in her hand and brought it towards the girls head.
A resounding crack, followed by the girl falling limp in her grasp was the result Ahsoka had expected. Through the Force she could tell the girl was still alive, but that didn't stop her from casually allowing her unconscious form to slip out of her grasp, crashing to the hard ground.
Content that the threat was neutralised, Ahsoka glanced around her. Three collapsed bodies lay strewn, each alive, but each in agony thanks to her actions. What she had done should have scared her, but for some reason Ahsoka found that it didn't. If anything she felt better for teaching them a lesson. She doubted it would be one they easily forgot.
Looking back down at the girl before her, Ahsoka sneered, before turning and beginning to walk away.
She'd had enough for the night. If any more rampant racists got in her way tonight, she wasn't sure what she would do to them, because she really didn't have any patience left for filth like that.
Right now all she wanted to do was go home and sleep.
Author's thoughts
Well... that was a perfectly normal ending to a normal chapter right? Nothing out of the ordinary that we need to talk about... right?
Oh who am I kidding, that was pretty damn dark at the end there... even if Ahsoka was only defending herself. Still... gotta have something to balance the lighthearted humour involving Lux, Riyo and the fountain early on right?
Hopefully you all found the fountain gag funny. In an original draft of this chapter there would have been an incident where Ahsoka saw Bail sneak off for some reason and she would move to follow, pushing Anakin in the fountain in the process as a distraction. In the end I decided to change it for story reasons. The stuff with Bail comes later instead. That said, I suppose I could do a deleted scene for you all to enjoy over on the Tumblr blog. XD
As for the scuffle at the end, I wanted to explore the shifting perspectives in the Republic as we near ROTS, especially the concept of human dominance and some humans thinking they are supreme over the aliens (everyone knows that humans suck though. XD). By using someone her age I was able to give Ahsoka a contrasting set of figures to compare her against. No doubt everyone hates these human characters for their actions and think they got what they deserved... because I certainly do. XD
Anyways, any speculation regarding to what caused the blackout? Surely it's not the Separatists attacking again... right?
Thanks again to my beta reader 'ArrinSnyders' for helping with the chapter in general. This one was a bit of a doozy to edit.
Next time round Ahsoka is given a new mission... and is forced to face a shadow of her past.
As usual, comment and speculate at will. Speaking of which:
SWGoji2001: Hey, no worries on how long it takes. Sometimes it takes me a month to update. XD
Interesting speculation regarding what Bail is going to do. He certainly suspects that something is up, but whether or not he trusts Ahsoka is up in the air. She does work for Palpy now after all.
Palpy has no evil intentions with Caleb whatsoever! Who do you think he is? A Sith Lord? XD
Yeah, not everything can be actions, but hopefully the ending of this chapter fills the quota for this chapter. Gotta have some dark moments after all.
SappySoulTaker: Thanks! XD
Dream Plane: Hooray! Someone else likes Jar Jar and appreciates his appearance. He's really not as bad as people make him out to be, but whatever. Doubt I'll be able to change anyone's mind on that. XD
Thrawn is a nice guy really, he just has a greater plan in mind for his people, and they are his first priority over everything else. The Republic military is just a means to an end for him.
Palpy is a master at manipulation. It's great fun to write his dialogue to have double meanings and to incite small instances of anger from other characters. It's what he does best after all.
Juxshoa: Thanks, glad you enjoyed the chapter. I was worried myself that it was a bit bland and stale, but if you liked it that means a lot. :)
Mysterious Guest One: You want Ahsoka to become a deplorable and horrible individual... hmmm, guess you'll have to wait and see. XD
Erukat: Glad you liked the choice of dress. Fashion really isn't my thing so I kind of made it all up as I went along. XD
Nice job in guessing some of the attendants, and again, sorry for no Kaeden. Hope the first of the Kaesoka fluff stuff was ok as compensation. XD
Overprotective dad mode Anakin is always fun to write, especially as Ahsoka is slowly growing more and more fed up of it. How long will it be I wonder before she uses it to troll him? XD
Palpy does have a nasty habit of saying the wrong things at the right time doesn't he? He doesn't mean to spoil the mood... honest. XD
I think those possible anger issues you mentioned might have shown up a bit in this chapter. XD
A Lover of Nature: Palpatine is at his best when he is manipulating and playing people against one another without them realising it. He's far scarier like that than when he is in his Sidious persona. At least with Sidious you know he is a threat. Who would suspect poor innocent Chancellor Palpatine? XD
Palpy is really just biding his time here, playing all the cards slow and steady but not revealing anything big and powerful to the field. He's by far my favourite character to write in this story because he is just so complex and a damn genius. Only time will tell what his true endgame is though. XD
Your welcome for the update. XD
1saaa: Talk about convenient timing huh? Let's see if it happens again with this upload. XD
Palpy is certainly up to something with Caleb, but I wonder what it could be. What possible reason could he have for wanting to spend time getting to know a Jedi Padawan? Guess only time will reveal that. XD
Glad you are liking the subtle shifts in Ahsoka's persona. Time away from the Jedi and time spent in the company of Palpatine and his 'generosity' would no doubt change any Jedi. Ahsoka is just put into a position where she thinks she has people who distrust all around her at all times, which is totally not her fault. In response she is becoming more and more closed off and willing to treat people the way she saw people treating her during her trial. There are exceptions for her friends of course, but she thinks the vast majority of people are against her and her friends, hence the more icy attitude at times.
You seem to be reading into the future quite a bit as well. You'd be right that 'Agent of the Emperor' seems to be the natural evolution if the story got a sequel. That said, how certain are you that Ahsoka will end up siding with Sidious? We are still a fair ways away from ROTS. Stuff could still change. XD
Travis Middleton: Thanks. Glad you liked the appearance of Thrawn and his topics of discussion. It was fun to write him in such a scenario. Rest assured there will be more of him in the future.
Palpy really is a kind soul isn't he? No evil intent at all. XD