Hello! Welcome to my first reoccurring, chaptered story. I hope to post again soon, maybe in a couple of weeks. Chapter one begins at the beginning of the episode, "Brain Invaders".

Note that I do not own Star Wars or the Clone Wars. This is fanfiction. Thanks!

Off of Geonosis

Chapter 1

Ahsoka Tano followed Padawan Bariss Offee off the gunship silently, eyeing Poggle the Lesser as he and his clone trooper guard marched up the ramp. She glared as he clicked at her. Probably cursing the Jedi and her for being one. Ahsoka smirked. She was just glad he'd finally been taken into Republic custody. It was about time that bugger was put behind bars. That meant she could get off this dust ball, hopefully for good.

After the last mission she'd been on, the withdrawal of Republic troops couldn't come soon enough. Ahsoka was still exhausted after nearly suffocating under the weight of the entire droid factory, the dust and dirt coating her windpipe and sticking to every place of exposed skin. She remembered how the metal overhead had creaked ominously, scraping and groaning as it settled into the debris. The explosion was deafening, the crash terrifying, and her dread was nauseating, screaming that they'd be goners the next minute, then the next, then the next. It had been so cramped and dark and hot and—

Bariss bumped her side as they walked, shaking Ahsoka out of her thoughts. The young Togruta shuddered, barely restraining herself from brushing invisible grime off of her arms. Her master, Anakin Skywalker, stood not twenty paces from her as he talked with Masters Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luminara Unduli. The two padawans crossed to them, the clay dust kicking up onto Ahsoka's freshly cleaned boots. She scowled at the grime, grateful that they'd be leaving this planet soon. When she glanced up, she saw her Master's eyes flick her way, then dart back to Obi-Wan a little duller. Ahsoka pursed her lips. There'd been some tension between them since their argument before the factory's collapse. They were both trying to ignore it. Besides, she'd nearly died. Ahsoka felt she had a few more things to think about at the moment than his kriffing feelings. Still, she forced her face into a neutral expression, watching Master Kenobi speak and Anakin smirk back at him and knowing that they were probably bantering again about Force-knows-what. She rolled her eyes. Always arguing, those two.

"Padawan." Anakin shot her a smug grin, laced perhaps with an uncertain undercurrent. She could feel his arrogant pride wafting through their Force bond and raised an eye marking in response. So, they were ignoring their issues. As usual. That was fine by her.

"Master. Caught the bug, I see." She crossed her arms, mimicking his sly smile.

"Ah, you know me Snips." He sighed, stretching out his arms like he'd just won a fistfight. "I'm always saving the day."

She rolled her eyes again. "Always the hero, Master."

Master Ki-Adi-Mundi walked down the gunship ramp to meet them, sparing Poggle the Lesser only an expressionless glance. He directed his attention to the others. "I'm afraid we have a complication." Master Mundi's voice was calm with the announcement, the perfect embodiment of a Jedi's composed demeanor.

"Don't we always." Anakin quipped back. Ahsoka had never found him to be quite as composed as the "perfect" Jedi. She moved out of the direct line of the conversation, taking a place behind her master, next to Bariss.

"I've just received a distress signal from our forces on Dantooine." Master Mundi said, ignoring her master's pessimism. "Master Windu's defenses held, but at a great cost to his men. They need medical supplies immediately. We can obtain these supplies at the medical station near Ord Cestus."

Ahsoka frowned. Anakin scowled and shook his head. "We're delivering Poggle to Coruscant and Cestus is not exactly on the way."

Through the Force, Ahsoka felt a hint of irritation pinging through their master-Padawan training bond, as if his feelings weren't already obvious. She scoffed silently, poking at his force presence through their connection, testing the waters a bit.

"Not exactly" on the way…? More like the opposite way.

Anakin's faint amusement and agreement drifted through their connection. Ahsoka shielded him from her relief at his response. He was putting their argument behind them. For now, at least. Master Luminara stepped forward. "The Republic must begin debriefing Poggle right away if we're to get useful intelligence from him."

Ahsoka felt, rather than saw an idea come to light above Anakin's head. She shot him a look, curiosity ricocheting like a dart through their bond. Anakin just grinned and circled behind her and Bariss, clapping a hand on each of their shoulders. "Master, I suggest we let out Padawans handle the supply mission."

Ahsoka smirked up at him as her master shook her shoulder. So you can skip a thrilling supply run, Master?

And miss an eventless six-hour hyperspace jump? Never! His sarcasm drifted back thick like mud. Ahsoka nearly scoffed aloud this time. A supply run wasn't a super fun mission, but it was a mission none the less, and one that would allow a bit of rest. She sensed that in this war, she'd have to take what she could get.

"Whatever needs to be done, Master." Ahsoka nodded at the elder Jedi Masters. "I'm happy to help."

"As am I." Bariss said, stepping forward next to her.

"Very well." Master Kenobi said approvingly. "Take a medical frigate, and after we've delivered Poggle to Coruscant, we'll rendezvous with you for the voyage to Dantooine."

Ahsoka smiled at Obi-Wan as the Force around her billowed with encouragement and assurance. The feelings didn't surf through her mind like they did when Anakin sent them, pressing against her own thoughts like a physical touch, rushing through like a river. Instead, she felt the embrace of the Force around her body like an enormous fluffy pillow. Like a cloud of Obi-Wan's well wishes encompassing her.

It had taken Ahsoka a while to reconcile the differences between the two bonds, though neither was better or worse than the other. She was also more than aware that both were considered abnormal. Because Master Kenobi was not her official master, and Anakin could share feelings and thoughts through their bond. Anakin told her not to reveal too much about that to the Jedi council. He never said why, but Ahsoka was clever enough to understand his philosophy on attachment and how it didn't quite fit into the Council's. She wondered about the permanency of her apprenticeship to him, should the Council know. She wondered about the permanency of her apprenticeship even if they didn't. A flutter of fear raised her heartbeat at the thought. She bit her lip. Ahsoka knew she shouldn't have said what she did in their argument a few rotations ago. It just slipped out.

The well-wishing Force hug from Obi-Wan was fading now, and the Masters were heading up the ramp to the gunship. Ahsoka watched as Bariss curtsied to Master Luminara, nearly shaking her head. The differences between the Mirialan duo and her own pairing with Anakin rattled her brain. Still, Ahsoka had a mission to focus on. She waved away her thoughts and turned to Bariss.

"Want to go get that transport?"

"After you, Padawan Tano."

Ahsoka took a step toward their assigned transport, but the undercurrent of anxiety from Anakin stopped her in her tracks. She glanced at him, still at her back, and frowned. He was staring at the collapsed Geonosian temple, where they'd captured Poggle. Ahsoka spun back to Bariss. "You know on second thought, how about you go secure the frigate and I'll rally up the troops?"

Bariss bowed her head in response. "Very well. I will meet you in a moment."

Ahsoka nodded back and the Mirialan padawan gracefully hastened toward the makeshift airfield the clones had organized. She turned to Anakin, stepping to his side.

"Master?"

He glanced away from the temple, a sour look creasing his face. "I have a bad feeling about that place."

Ahsoka frowned. She had her issues with her master, but she wasn't so laser-brained to ignore his Force premonitions. He was strong with the Force. Very strong. She'd seen it herself, and she'd even heard whispers at the Temple. Mostly Bantha fodder, of course. But the description of "Chosen One", wasn't one that was easy to dismiss. She saw the way the younglings looked at him whenever they had military leave on Coruscant, the initiates' wide eyes gawking at him, wondering if he really was the one to destroy the Sith, to bring balance to the Force. Ahsoka wasn't convinced. But to her chagrin, if the Council's supposed, blessed Chosen One was sensing a disturbance in the Force, he was usually right. And the situation was usually serious. She shifted weight on her feet, accidentally kicking more dirt onto her boots.

"I heard you found the bug queen in the tunnels. Is she as ugly as I've heard?" Ahsoka smirked, trying to change the subject. She never liked it when he got serious. One of the perks of being Anakin's padawan was that they rarely ever were. Teasing and sarcasm was their entire language. Well, nearly. A flashback from when she'd nearly killed her whole squadron at Ryloth flickered in front of her vision. Or when she'd nearly died chasing Cad Bane. Or just a few cycles ago with the assault on Geonosis. Ahsoka shook herself. She didn't want to think about it.

"The queen could control the minds of dead Geonosian soldiers. Or so she claimed." Her master replied darkly. Ahsoka pursed her lips.

"Relax, Master. You're leaving, I'm leaving. We both have long, boring hyperspace flights ahead of us. What could happen?"

He finally pulled his gaze from the temple only to pin a hard look on her. "I wish you wouldn't say that."

She just shrugged. His gaze flitted back to the temple again, as if he was seeing something below mounds of dirt that she couldn't. "I would prefer never to come back to this planet again."

"You and me both Skyguy." Ahsoka sighed. She peered at him, still staring at the ruins, thoughts flickering behind his narrowed eyes. She wondered if this planet reminded him of Tatooine. She didn't know hardly anything about her master's past, but she knew how he felt about deserts. And sand. He'd made that abundantly clear on one of their first missions together, when they were rescuing the Jabba the Hutt's son from the Sith. The way he'd talked about it, Ahsoka figured not a lot of happy memories came from Tatooine. Just as the thought occurred, Anakin's mental shields slipped and a trickle of uneasiness flowed through their bond. She frowned.

Her master shook himself suddenly, strengthening his shields and straightening to his full height, as if the concerns he'd been brooding had never occurred to him.

"Better go collect your troops, Snips." He started for the gunship. "I'll meet you at the rendezvous point in a few cycles. Keep your guard up. Don't forget to check in."

The last sentence he paired with a pointed look and Ahsoka huffed, watching his back as he paced away. Even on a supply run, she'd be told to be careful.

Overprotective mother hen. She thought with an eyeroll, though she made sure her shields were up between their bond.

Begrudgingly, she turned and loped toward the clone troopers awaiting their next mission. It was just a supply mission, she assured herself. When was the last time something went wrong on one of those?

Bariss was waiting for her on the medical frigate when Ahsoka got there, having rallied the captain and sergeants to get their troops on board. Ahsoka followed the other padawan inside, and the frigate began to lift off Geonosis, the ramp closing with a whirl. She let Bariss lead them both to the barracks, walking steadily as the Force dimly mentioned Anakin, watching the ship takeoff. With a sigh, she sent a wave of confidence to him through their Force bond before they got too far off the ground. A wash of assurance followed in reply, followed hesitatingly by a hint of pride.

Ahsoka smiled for real this time, the ship leaving the surface for atmosphere, finally departing. From the ship's vibrations, she felt when they exited the atmosphere, soaring through the endless sea of stars she knew well. The frigates hyperdrive kicked in, humming alive, a jolt propelling them away from Geonosis' system. Ahsoka grinned. She was off the dust ball.

Thanks for reading! I'd love to hear your thoughts! Chapter 2 coming soon!