After explaining the situation she had found herself in, and understanding that she had meant the comment in jest, Anakin had given in to Ahsoka's request and offered what he had called 'the best advice to woo a woman of all time'!
Ahsoka herself was no expert on romance, or even how to flirt, but she was fairly certain that Anakin's 'advice' was perhaps the most useless set of suggestions he had ever offered anyone. In fact, she was stumped as to how he had managed to win Padmé over with the things he suggested. Was floating a fruit of some kind towards someone considered romantic in human culture?
In the end, despite her former Master's advice, Ahsoka had decided to do what she did best.
Wing it.
Evening had fallen across that part of Nal Hutta, and just as Ventress had stated, the cantina practically tripled in popularity. People from all walks of life came to unwind from their no doubt busy day serving their Hutt overlords. In some ways, Ahsoka was disgusted by just how many people were in one cantina. In another way, she was envious. Groups of people were clustered together, most of them obviously friends or co-workers, all enjoying their free time together.
Ahsoka didn't have that, at least not in the same way. Sure, she had Anakin or Padmé, or even Caleb, but nine times out of ten they were busy when she was not, and vice versa. She enjoyed her career as Palpatine's personal agent, but it didn't half leave her lonely some of the time.
Still, there was little she could do about that right now. She had a mission to complete, and that involved drawing the attention of some mysterious Twi'lek woman.
Stepping through the threshold of the door and into the cantina, Ahsoka decided that her first port of call was to order a drink. She had to blend in after all.
Upon approaching the bar where she had met Ventress hours earlier, Ahsoka ordered herself a drink, this time from a different barkeep. Evidently the one from before was either busy, or off shift. In his place was a Mon Calamari female, who smiled at her and gave her the same drink as she had had before.
Graciously accepting and paying for the drink, Ahsoka turned away from the barkeep and surveyed the room.
The cantina was jam-packed, and whilst there were many Twi'leks of both genders present, none of them seemed to be on the prowl for a conquest the way Ventress had described before.
Then again, the Nightsister had also said that she would have to make herself stand out somehow to draw her in.
Continuing to survey the room, Ahsoka found her eyes were drawn to a six seat table, in which only five of the chairs were filled. In the middle of the table was a set of Sabacc cards.
Smirking to herself, and mentally thanking both the Clones and Obi-Wan for the lessons they had secretly given her one day, Ahsoka approached the table and sat down in the empty seat.
Her sudden appearance gained a few interested looks from the other competitors, but none of them demanded that she leave. No doubt they assumed someone dressed in a set of fully customized Mandalorian armour was not someone they wanted to mess with.
"Heh, another victimmmmm! You sssssure you wanna playyy!" One of the competitors, a Trandoshan who clearly had a knack for being overly dramatic inquired, his eyes boring into Ahsoka's with hidden glee.
"I wouldn't have sat down if I didn't." Ahsoka replied, smirking back at the reptilian alien.
"Ha! I like youuu. Let'sss playyy."
Taking his acceptance at face value, Ahsoka gestured for another competitor, a Cerean male, who was holding the cards, a bored expression on his face.
Rolling his eyes at the antics of the Trandoshan, the Cerean dealt the first hand.
"Usual rules apply. Everyone puts one wupiupi into the Hand pot, and another into the Sabacc pot at the start of each round. Game lasts twenty pots. Whoever wins the round becomes the dealer." The Cerean explained as he finished dealing the first round out, scooping his own cards into his hands
Accepting the rules as given, and glad she had chosen to bring along extra money this time around, Ahsoka picked up her own starting cards and placed her first set of coins into the respective pots. Around her the other players did the same.
Glancing down at her first two cards, Ahsoka smirked inwardly. A two and a three to a new player would seem like a bad start in a game of Sabacc. Ahsoka however knew differently.
Watching her fellow players draw their third cards, Ahsoka waited patiently for her turn, before drawing a card of her own.
Ahsoka had to refrain from laughing aloud when she saw what she had drawn.
Gesturing for the next person, Ahsoka waited. With the first set of drawing and standing over, the bets began to build.
The Trandoshan seemed the most confident of the other players, adding several more wupiupis to the hand pot, before leaning back in his chair, trying to conceal a smug look on his face. Try as he might however, Ahsoka could sense his excitement. Clearly he had a winning hand.
At least, so he thought.
When the betting came back to her, Ahsoka added an amount of wupiupis to the pot equal to what the Trandoshan had bet. Another of the players, a Zygerrian male, huffed in response to her action, clearly unimpressed. That was fine with Ahsoka. She didn't care what he thought.
Play continued as normal, with Ahsoka choosing to stand with the three cards she had rather than take anymore. The Trandoshan seemed to be the most enthralled with the game, offering smirks and laughs when two of the other players bombed out of the round. One of them had been the Zygerrian, and judging by his cursing he had not been best pleased.
Eventually the round was called, and the remaining players revealed their cards.
The Cerean had managed to acquire a value of twenty two, one under the goal and limit of Sabacc. In doing so he had just managed to beat another of the players, a Zabrak woman who upon defeat shrugged her shoulders good-naturedly.
However, both of those players had been beaten in turn by the Trandoshan, who laid down a value of twenty three.
"Ha ha… Ssssabacc! I win."
"Not so fast friend." Ahsoka took that moment to interrupt, watching with a small smirk on her face as the Trandoshan's head snapped up from the pothe was about to claim, his eyes locking with hers, confused.
In response to his confusion, Ahsoka laid her three cards down upon the table one at a time for others to see.
A two of Sabers, a three of Coins…
And the Idiot.
"I believe this is what they call an Idiot's Array."
Knowing full well that Trandoshans didn't typically take defeat too well, Ahsoka braced herself. The Trandoshan before her still seemed to be contemplating Ahsoka's unexpected victory, his beady eyes shifting back and forth between her cards and his own in an almost desperate hope that hers would vanish.
A few tense moments later where Ahsoka was sure he was going to attack her, the Trandoshan instead pushed the pot towards Ahsoka, sitting back in his chair in the process.
"Ha! Good game Togruta. It'sssss about time someone of sssskill joined."
The game of Sabacc continued much as Ahsoka expected it to. Despite her early victory she ended up losing the next three rounds, one of which she bombed out on, not that she particularly cared about winning in the first place. She was only here to hopefully draw the attention of this mysterious Twi'lek woman that Ventress had spoken of. So far she doubted she had done so.
"You play well for someone so young." The voice of the female Zabrak drew Ahsoka out of her inner thoughts, the next hand being dealt in the process.
"I had a good teacher." Ahsoka replied with a smile, gently picking up her cards to analyse her hand. A seven and a nine. Not a bad start, but not exactly a winning hand.
"Parents teach you?" The woman inquired again, placing her bet into the two pots available, before drawing a third card from her hand.
"Adopted dad, brothers too." Ahsoka replied, taking her next card in the process as she mentally weaved some sort of cover story in her head. She couldn't very well tell them the truth, though she did wonder what they would think about a Jedi teaching another Jedi how to play Sabacc.
"Well he taught you well." The Zabrak spoke again, turning her head to watch the next player take a card from the stack.
"KARABAST!" The player, a male of a species Ahsoka had never encountered before, yelled out what Ahsoka assumed was a curse, before slamming his cards down on the table before them all, revealing he had a total of twenty four, one over the limit.
"You suck." The Zygerrian spoke from beside him, clearly pleased at the mysterious individual bombing out.
At least that was before he picked up his next card, his facial expression shifting from smug satisfaction to borderline hatred.
"I hate this kriffing game!" The Zygerrian snarled, slamming his own cards down on the table, revealing that he too had bombed out.
At the Zygerrian's expression, Ahsoka couldn't help but chuckle, something that didn't please the angry Zygerrian.
"Something funny little girl?" The Zygerrian challenged, eyes burning with rage. He was clearly restraining himself, which surprised Ahsoka. Normally Zygerrians would attack on sight if angry.
"Only the irony of you mocking him for bombing out only to bomb out yourself. Don't mean anything by it." Ahsoka replied, trying to remain as diplomatic as possible. Whilst she was sure a fight would get someone's attention, she didn't want to fight if she didn't have to.
"Ha ha! Yeah. You sssssuck!" The Trandoshan interrupted suddenly, leaning forward in the process, drawing the Zygerrian's ire towards him. Ahsoka was grateful for that, and honestly surprised. Trandoshan's didn't typically have the best reputation.
In the end, it was the Cerean who won the round, passing dealership of the cards to him. Ahsoka wasn't any closer to drawing out the Twi'lek, but she didn't care. She was actually having fun playing Sabacc with some mostly decent people.
"Ssssoooooo, Mandalorian armour and a lightsaber as well? How did you get thossssse?" The Trandoshan asked when the game entered it's seventeenth pot, Ahsoka having claimed nine victories in the process. In fact, everyone, aside from the Zygerrian, had achieved a victory up to this point, a fact that was agitating the feline humanoid to no end.
"Got the armour custom made. Stole the lightsaber from a Jedi I defeated in combat." Ahsoka replied as she bet her next set of credits, hoping that her cover story held. The armour part was true. The lightsaber part, not so much.
"Nicccceeee!" The Trandoshan replied, picking up his cards to look at them, something that was repeated by the other players round the table.
Taking a moment to glance around the cantina, Ahsoka's eyes wandered, hoping to catch a glimpse of someone who looked like the person Ventress had described.
Thinking back to what Ventress had told her, Ahsoka realized just how little information the Dathomirian had given her. She hadn't even told her what colour the Twi'lek she was looking for was!
Mentally sighing, Ahsoka turned her attention back to the game. Perhaps it would be best if she just let the Twi'lek find her rather than hunt herself.
When the final pot of the game began, Ahsoka knew she was onto a winner. Her first two cards consisted of an eleven, and a card known as a Commander, which was worth twelve points. That meant she already had a winning score of twenty three. All she had to do now was wait and see if anyone matched it.
Play proceeded as expected, with Ahsoka deciding to raise the stakes as best she could, adding several wupiupis to the pot, a feat that was unexpectedly replicated by the Zygerrian, who once again had a smug look on his face.
Both the Cerean and the mysterious individual bombed out, the unknown curse again being yelled aloud before play reached the end.
Both the Zabrak and Trandoshan revealed an equal score of twenty, leaving them tied in the final round, but not victorious.
Ahsoka revealed her cards at the same time as the Zygerrian, surprised to find that they both had twenty three as their total.
"Ohh, a tie. This will be good." The Cerean spoke with unusual enthusiasm. He had seemed incredibly bored through most of the game. Ahsoka didn't even know why he was bothering to play if he found it boring.
"Take an extraaa card. Highest number winsssss." The Trandoshan spoke, fanning out the Sabacc cards in his hands, concealing the values to the two players.
Trusting her instincts, Ahsoka reached forward and picked the card furthest on the left, bringing it close to her and looking at the value.
A two.
'Kriff kriff kriff kriff!' Ahsoka cursed in her head, damning her luck. No doubt she had lost this round. Still, at least the Zygerrian had finally…
"OH COME ON!"
The shout from the Zygerrian, coupled by the way he slammed down his card onto the table, revealing a value of one, could be heard throughout the cantina, drawing the attention of several patrons.
"Wow! What are the chances of that?" The Zabrak woman spoke up, a smirk on her face as she glanced between Ahsoka and the Zygerrian's tiebreaker cards.
"Just lucky I guess." Ahsoka replied, shrugging her shoulders, trying to appear humble, even as she began to pull both pots towards her. As the overall winner of the game she was rewarded with the stash of money within the Sabacc pot as well. The amount within was insignificant to how much money she currently had in her private account, but she wouldn't say no to collecting her winnings. She had earned them fair and square after all.
"It's not luck! She rigged the game! She's obviously a damned Jedi!" The Zygerrian snarled as he rose from his chair, knocking it over in the process as he moved around the table to stand behind Ahsoka, anger radiating off of him through the Force.
"I'm not a Jedi." Ahsoka replied, careful not to antagonize the Zygerrian too much. The last thing she wanted was a fight, though if push came to shove, she would defend herself.
"Only Jedi carry lightsabers! And you must have used your Force stuff to tip the game you filthy cheater!" The Zygerrian continued, baring his teeth in threat to Ahsoka. Around the table she could feel the discomfort of her fellow competitors, each unsure on how to react. By now most of the cantina was listening to the argument as well.
'I suppose this is one way to get some attention.' Ahsoka thought to herself as she stood from her own chair, stretching herself to her full height to confront the angry Zygerrian. She only just came up to his neck, which dampened the effect she was hoping to have. Several chuckles echoed throughout the cantina at the sight of a Togruta girl standing up to a towering Zygerrian man, clearly underestimating what Ahsoka knew she was capable of.
"More than Jedi carry lightsabers you knucklehead! I take it you've never heard of General Grievous?" Ahsoka replied, adding a sarcastic edge to her words, something that infuriated the Zygerrian even more.
"You tailhead bitch! You should be in chains like your people on Kadavo!"
Suddenly Ahsoka felt the anger rise inside of her. Memories of her time on Zygerria, and later her mission to Kadavo and the reports regarding the place flooded her mind. It was then that Ahsoka understood why Anakin hated slavers so much, a sentiment she had come to share.
And whilst she would never judge a person by their species, it was clear that the Zygerrian before her was one that lived up to the stereotype of being a slaver.
"What are you talking about?" The voice of the Trandoshan was sharp and cold, his beady eyes suddenly locked onto the Zygerrian as he too rose from his seat, towering above both Ahsoka and the slaver confronting her.
On Nal Hutta, Ahsoka would honestly be surprised if anyone cared that the Zygerrian was a slaver. In fact, she'd be willing to bet that several of the patrons in the cantina had some sort of tie to the slave trade or other nefarious schemes. This was Nal Hutta after all.
However, something made her want to reveal everything about Kadavo, just to see the reaction of those around her. The Force for some reason sang in agreement, encouraging her.
Taking that as her cue, she spoke.
"Kadavo was a Zygerrian slaver base where they captured thousands of people of various species to work as slave labour. They tortured and murdered, and even drove their slaves to suicide all for their own pleasure. I hear they got wiped out by the Republic, but clearly some of them survived."
It occurred to Ahsoka in that moment that the cantina around her was silent. No one spoke. No one moved. Even the music that had been playing in the background had stopped. All of the focus was on her and her words. Part of Ahsoka was glad to be the centre of attention for such a reason as the one she had.
Another part of her was embarrassed, but there was no going back now.
"You work for the ssssslave trade?!" The Trandoshan spoke, moving around the table to stand beside Ahsoka, his clawed hands clenched into fists.
"So what of it? It is our culture, just as yours is to hunt those beastly Wookiees." The Zygerrian responded, a smug look on his face, as if he thought he had found an ally to stand with.
If he had access to the Force however, he would know very differently.
"Yessss, it is our culture… but not mine. I walked away from those savagesss because I deplored what they did, just as I deplore youuuu."
The Trandoshan's body language shifted instantly towards one of a challenge, something that Ahsoka had seen during her time on the run from Trandoshan hunters.
This time however, it was not aimed at her, but at the Zygerrian.
Faster than she could blink, the Trandoshan lunged forward, grasping hold of the Zygerrian and picking him up, vaulting him over his head and crashing down onto the Sabacc table, shattering it in two in the process. The yell of surprise and pain from the Zygerrian reminded Ahsoka of her altercation with the three human teenagers on Coruscant's streets a few nights prior, but she pushed the thought from her head, too focused on the scenes before her.
Around the bar a few people were cheering the Trandoshan on. It surprised Ahsoka to see how many of them were hostile to the slaver, rather than defending them.
That said, some of them could have just been cheering on in hopes of a fight breaking out. She knew that some patrons of cantinas and bars were like that.
"Sssssorry about the table." The Trandoshan spoke aloud, his words aimed at a nearby barkeep, who only shrugged his shoulders with a smirk on his face, enjoying the scene around him just as much as his patrons.
Continuing to watch, Ahsoka's expression remained neutral at the way the Trandoshan bent down to grasp hold of the Zygerrian's ankle, before beginning to drag him towards the exit, intent clear. Both the Zabrak and the mysterious individual present left to table to follow, clearly intending to join in on whatever the Trandoshan had planned. Ahsoka hoped that they wouldn't kill him, despite his behaviour. She didn't want to be responsible for that, even indirectly.
When the Trandoshan and his new allies had left the bar with their captive Zygerrian, the barkeep spoke up.
"Ok everyone, show's over. Go back to enjoying your drinks and whatnot. I gotta go order another damn Sabacc table."
Moving across the cantina and towards the barkeep himself, Ahsoka placed down the winnings that she had accumulated in the game of Sabacc as an offering.
"Here. Use this to buy a new one. Sorry about that as well. Didn't expect a fight to break out."
The barkeep took the offer with a warm smile, thanking her in the process and giving her a free drink to replace the one that was now splashed on the floor by the ruined Sabacc table.
"Don't worry about it. Here on Nal Hutta, it'd be weird if there wasn't a fight going on. Just glad a sleemo like that is out of my establishment."
At that the barkeep left his post to deal with another customer, leaving Ahsoka alone again with a drink, and no closer to her goal.
"You and me both." Ahsoka spoke to herself as she sipped her drink, enjoying the taste of the fruity liquid.
"Count me in as well. That guy was a right nerfherder."
The voice caught Ahsoka by surprise, as did the sudden appearance of an individual leaning against the bar beside her, blue eyes focused entirely on her. Turning her head, Ahsoka found herself face to face with a female Twi'lek, skin as golden as the sun above Coruscant.
The Force sang to her suddenly in victory, pointing out the conclusion that Ahsoka had already come to herself.
It appeared that her goal had somehow been fulfilled after all.
Author's thoughts
So... been a while since I updated this hasn't it? Sorry about that. Put simply, I had a bit of a mental breakdown. Mostly back to normal now though so all should be ok... hopefully.
Anyways, not much plot really happens in this chapter. If anything this is the calm before the storm of the next few chapters of this arc, so I hope you enjoyed the peacetime. The game of Sabacc was great fun to write, as were the characters playing it. Hopefully you enjoyed them all.
In regards to the Sabacc game, I know it's not 100% accurate to the rules of Sabacc, but I wanted to make it more lighthearted and relaxed, even if it ended with a fight.
As for how you play Sabacc for people who don't know, it's basically blackjack/21. You have a target number you need to get as close to as possible without going over it. Simple enough really. XD
So yeah... not much else to say really. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The next one should be out in due time as it is currently in my beta reader's hands for editing and whatnot, so all going well it should not be too far away. XD
Oh no wait... I forgot... I did have something else to say. Those of you that have been with me as an author for a while might remember back when I was writing 'To Take Down an Emperor'. Basically, back then I warned people of impending character deaths that might upset them as reader, and told them that if they wanted to know about the fate of a certain character beforehand to send me a private message. The last thing I wanted to do was upset someone by killing off their favourite character and possibly give them a me sized mental breakdown.
So, for the sake of this story, I am going to bring it back. If there is a certain character you are really worried about that would upset you to see die, then please feel free to send me a message and ask. I won't judge you if you are worried, nor will I if you chose not to read anymore if I do plan to kill off your favourite. I'd be a hypocrite if I did judge after all.
You can either private message me on if you have an account, or feel free to leave me an ask over on my Tumblr, even if it is anonymous and I will get back to you privately there as well. If you are mainly an Archive of Our Own user it might be a bit harder to privately talk, but I'd suggest an anon ask on Tumblr then. My blog is open to all.
Once again, thanks to my beta reader 'ArrinSnyders' for all the help and patience.
Next time round Ahsoka 'chats up' her new 'friend'. I wonder what will happen?
As usual, comment and speculate at will. Speaking of which:
Alamout: Tensions are indeed rising. We are after all getting closer and closer to Revenge of the Sith territory (though that is still a ways away yet)
As for your question about any big named battles showing up and having an important role, I'm afraid it's unlikely at this point. Most of Ahsoka's missions are small secret side ones for Palpatine, rather than full scale battles. That said, some of them will be important later on, and there is one big battle arc coming up in the future that is canon battle, but with a twist. Just got to get there first. XD
As for the members of the Delegation of 2000 taking note of Ahsoka's new role... suffice to say it has already happened back during the charity ball chapters. Ahsoka's position has garnered more attention than she realises. XD
Erukat: Glad you enjoyed the previous chapter. Ventress is great fun to write, and putting Ahsoka in awkward positions is always a fun thing to do to see how she reacts to it.
Likewise writing the Anakin and Ahsoka texts at the end was great fun too. Those two can get away with anything when it comes to each other, so what better chance to have Ahsoka tease Anakin.
Hope you liked this chapter too. XD
Dream Plane: She is dangerously close isn't she? I wonder why she can't sense that something is wrong? XD
I honestly forgot about Ventress too, hence her late inclusion in the previous chapter. I felt bad, so I decided on a cameo. Still, glad you enjoyed how I wrote her. She's pretty much one of the four big characters of Clone Wars, so I needed to do her justice, even if she only intends on appearing briefly.
Overprotective Skyguy is alwasy funny to write, especially when Ahsoka knowingly pushes his buttons to get a response. That's just part of her nature.
And yeah... the Twi'lek does sound like trouble doesn't she? Guess you'll find out next time just how much trouble.
And oops! Sorry. Didn't mean to spoil the future identity of the Temple Guard to you. I forget not everyone has seen Clone wars/Rebels. My bad! Still, glad it surprised you. XD
Mysterious Guest One: Ahsoka kill Ventress? What reason would she have to do that! XD
RCWolf: Thanks, glad you are enjoying it. I'll keep on keeping it up. XD
Cat-Gods-Of-The-Cat-People: Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed the previous chapter. Always good to know.
Don't worry about me. I will take my time but I'm determined to finish this story, even if ti takes me years and my sanity. I just hope people like the direction it ends up going. XD
And happy new year to you as well. XD
Travis Middleton: Thanks, glad you enjoyed the appearance of Ventress, as well as the Skyguy and Snips banter. That's always my favourite to write.
Have I seen 'Rise of Skywalker'? Let's just say that you risk opening a huge can of worms by asking that. I know that plot and what happens, as well as a certain voice cameo and what it implies, so I've got no reason to go see it, nor desire to. Put simply... I very nearly discontinued this story because of what I heard out of spite, but I haven't. Best not to talk about it really. Saves us both the headache.
That said, if you have seen it and enjoyed it, more power to you. I won't tell you that your wrong, we all have different tastes. XD
1saaa: No need for you to apologise for me losing my own inspiration. Happens sometimes. I just had a bit of a wobble recently thanks to my mental state being weaker than wet cardboard.
I'm glad you enjoyed the brief Ventress appearance. She is fun to write for in contrast to Ahsoka.
Ahsoka is slowly losing what made her a Jedi it seems, just as you said. Her feelings on the situation she finds herself in is important for the next chapter too, so I'm glad you liked it. XD
Hope you liked this chapter too. :)
tf330129: Keeping it up as best I can. XD