Chapter 5 – A New Queen

The next chapter is done. Ahsoka will learn some more about the things that have happened on Shili while the usurper had the throne and she'll already take steps to change things for the better. After that, she'll get ready for her coronation.

Hope you enjoy.

;-

Ahsoka Tano woke up slowly. The few hours of sleep had done her really well. She wasn't fully recovered yet, but she was doing better than before she went to sleep.

She stretched her body a bit and looked around the room. This used to be her sister's bedroom. It had thankfully been left untouched by the usurper. The castle's master bedroom, the one that had belonged to her parents, was a different story. There was no way she'd set foot in there until all of the furniture had been replaced and everything else cleaned at least three times. Even then, it would require quite some Force work on her part to get rid of the nasty aura that had been left in the room because of his actions there.

She sat up in the bed and turned her attention to the three others that were in the room with her. They were three Togruta females with varying shades of green skin, probably around her age or a few years older. She assumed they were servants of the palace, but… "During my travels as a Jedi I've seen street girls and slaves that wore more clothes than them," she thought as she studied the three girls.

"Uhm, hello there," she greeted the three of them. The three girls bowed a little nervously, the skimpy top nearly slipping off from the youngest of the three. "My old tube top was small but even that covered more," she couldn't help but think.

The middle of the three girls, with the darkest skin and who seemed to be the oldest, stepped forward. "G-good afternoon milady, we're here to take care of you," she said while trying to keep her voice a little too straight. "Please tell us what you need."

Ahsoka felt vomit rise in her throat and could barely keep it down. The skimpy outfits the girls wore, the awful things she felt through the Force from them, it was pretty clear what kind of sick things that pig had done to them.

She took a few deep breaths to steady herself before she looked at the three of them again. "Please, for the love of the Force, go and put some normal clothes on. I don't ever want to see you wearing such things again," she told them. "And tell others to do the same."

Relief flooded from them through the Force. They all said a quick thanks and bowed slightly before leaving the room. Ahsoka shook her head after the door closed behind them. "Just how much more of these nasty surprises are waiting for me?" she couldn't help but ask herself. Pushing that thought aside for now, she got out of bed and got ready for the rest of the day.

;-

Silara made her way Naya Vashee's old bedroom, where her younger sister Ahsoka was resting now. Their parent's room, the royal bedchamber, was now a room where she didn't want to set foot in herself right now and she definitely didn't want Ahsoka to go in there. That slime of an usurper had such horrible things in that room. It should be burned down to cleanse his actions from them.

She reached the bedroom and knocked on the door. She hoped that Ahsoka felt better now. After everything that already happened to her and the episode of sickness that she went through, she was very concerned for her old friend's daughter. She promised on her memory that she would do everything she could to keep her daughter safe.

"Come in," she heard Ahsoka's voice call out to her.

Silara opened the door and walked inside the room. Ahsoka was sitting at the desk in the room, looking at a few old pictures of her sister. This room thankfully hadn't been touched by that madman. As she looked around though, she noticed something a little odd. "Didn't any of the palace servants come to help you?" she asked.

Ahsoka nodded. "They did, but…" she paused and took a deep breath, a pained expression on her face. "I send them away to put some normal clothes on. There's no way I want them to keep walking around in those ragged scraps. I could sense it… The things that that animal did to them…" she said, unable to keep her fangs from baring with the last bit.

Silara walked up to her and kneeled down. "I know Ahsoka, he was a monster in the way he treated everyone, especially the girls that were servants here at the palace and the ones he forced to be here," she replied, trying to keep her own voice calm. "But thanks to you, they are all safe again now. You are already helping the people of Shili."

Ahsoka gave a small smile at that. "Thank you Silara. I'm just having a hard time processing everything that has already happened to me and all of the things that I'm discovering now. Besides that, becoming queen, I can't help but be nervous and worried."

Silara nodded. "Don't worry Ahsoka, I understand," she said comfortingly. "You have experienced horrors beyond anything I can imagine. You have suffered a lot, a cruel fate for someone so young. But you still keep going, you refuse to let it break you. You have a powerful spirit. I know that you will do great as queen and there are a lot of people that are willing to follow and support you." She smiled at her. "You'll see that soon enough, when you are crowned as queen." Ahsoka's smile grew a bit larger and she nodded.

Silara looked her over a bit. "How are you feeling right now? Were you able to get some rest?" she asked.

"Yes, I'm doing better, thanks," Ahsoka replied. "I'm nowhere near how I used to be," she said as she felt her forehead, "but I'm doing better than before."

"That's good to hear. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll recover soon," Silara replied. She noticed how Ahsoka felt her forehead. "Did you used to have an Akul-tooth headdress?"

"Yes, I did," Ahsoka said as she nodded. "I was on Shili when I was twelve and completed my Akul hunt. I made a headdress and had it with me ever since. But… I no longer had it after…"

Silara could see the look in her eyes, so she decided to ask further about a different part of her words, something that she wanted to confirm. "You really killed your first Akul at the age of twelve?"

"Yes, I did. I had passed the initiate trials and I wanted to do our people's rite of passage as well. I wasn't sure when I'd ever get such an opportunity, so when Master Ti approached me with it, I accepted," Ahsoka replied, another pained look flickering across her face when she mentioned the Jedi Master.

"That's really impressive Ahsoka. I don't think I could have done that myself. I made my first kill when I was sixteen," Silara said quickly, hoping to distract her from painful memories. "Not your mother though, she made her first kill at fourteen, but I think that she would have done it sooner had the chance presented itself."

Ahsoka smiled as she realized that she and her mother were quite alike. "Thank you Silara," she replied.

"My pleasure," Silara said with a smile. "Now then, shall we go and get something to eat? After that, we'll need to get you ready for your coronation."

"Sounds good to me," Ahsoka replied as they stood up and made to leave the room.

;-

Ahsoka followed Silara into one of the dining chambers of the palace. She noticed that there were ten servant girls in the room as well, including the three that were in her room earlier. Thankfully, they were all dressed in normal clothes now. Every one of them bowed their head when she entered the room.

"That's going to take some getting used to," Ahsoka thought as she looked around the room. Her eyes widened when she saw that the table was completely filled with all kinds of dishes. The table looked like one she expected to find at a party of a group of rich senators. "What is with all this food? Was that sleemo planning a party or something?" she asked the others in the room.

"Ehm… No, milady," a young red-skinned woman replied. "This was all for him."

Ahsoka looked at the table again in slight shock. "Are you telling me that he ate all of this himself?" she asked in disbelief.

The same woman shook her head. "No, he just took what he felt like and then left," she answered.

Ahsoka shook her head as well. "Did the rest of the food go to all of you then?" she asked the woman.

She shook her head again. "N-no, we had to throw everything else away. If he ever caught anyone trying to take some of it…" she stopped and looked at one of the others in the room.

Ahsoka looked at the girl as well and saw that she had her arm in a cast. She frowned and took a few deep breaths.

"Ahsoka, are you alright?" Silara asked concerned.

"I'm okay, it's just…" she paused and looked at Silara. "Yesterday I saw two young children digging through the trash looking for food for their sick mother, despite that they themselves were starving as well. They were searching through the trash and that pig was wasting this much on a daily basis?" She shook her head and sighed in frustration.

Silara shook her head as well. "I know, it's disgusting," she replied. "But he won't be able to do that again. You have already made sure of that and you'll see to it that everything else on Shili will improve as well."

"I'll do whatever I can," Ahsoka said as she nodded. "Uhm, hey Silara? I believe I'm not officially queen yet until I'm crowned later today, but can I already make a suggestion about something?"

Silara chuckled a bit. "Don't worry Ahsoka, you can already give orders if you want to. I'm sure that everyone here will be happy to follow them," she said reassuringly.

Ahsoka nodded and smiled a little. "You told me that there were people that have lost their homes because of his insane taxes. I'm sure that this palace has a few large halls that we can place a number of beds in, right? I really don't want to see anyone spend another night on the streets. So, could anyone look into that?"

Silara smiled as she was reminded of Ashaiya's kindness. It was obvious that her daughter had inherited that same kindness. "It would be my pleasure to have someone look into that. I'll take care of it," she replied. "Now then, dig in," she said as she gestured at the table.

Ahsoka looked at the table and sighed. "If I eat all of that myself I'll either become a Hutt or my stomach will explode," she replied as she shook her head. She looked at the others in the room. "How about you give me a hand here?"

"I'm sorry milady, but that would be inappropriate," a young woman with blue skin on her right replied.

"Silara, didn't you say that everyone here would be happy to follow my orders, right?" Ahsoka asked with a slight smirk.

"Yes, that's right," Silara replied, already suspecting slightly where Ahsoka was going with this.

Ahsoka's smirk grew a bit wider. "Well then, I'm ordering you all to join me," she told the group. To her surprise, a few of the older girls in the room and Silara started laughing. "What's so funny?" she asked a bit confused.

"Nothing milady," a green skinned woman at her left replied. "It's just that," she paused and smiled. "Your mother always used to say the same thing."

Ahsoka smiled as well as they all sat down at the table, with her at the head of it. Silara sat down next to her on her right and the other girls sat down around the table. She looked at all of the dishes on the table. "I wouldn't even know where to start. How about one of you recommend something?" she suggested as she looked at the girls closest to her.

"Then may I suggest this dish?" the same greed skinned woman replied as she gestured at a dish next to her. "Your mother and sister always enjoyed it a lot."

"That sounds good to me," Ahsoka said with a smile. "Thank you, and I'll make sure to try and learn all of your names soon as well."

;-

Ahsoka followed Silara into a large hall of the palace. Silara was showing her around the palace a bit while the others prepared everything for her coronation. Right now they were following up on Ahsoka's earlier idea of preparing a place for people to stay. According to Silara, this hall should have the space necessary for it.

As she walked into the hall, Ahsoka's eyes went wide. Never before had she seen so much speeders in one place before. The entire hall was filled with them, all kinds of different sorts. At one side of the hall were all kinds of new and expensive looking speeders, as well as very fast sport models. The other area of the hall was filled with what she would consider to be normal family speeders.

She turned to Silara. "What is all this?" she asked confused.

Silara turned to her with an equally confused expression. "I have no idea," she replied.

One of the workers in the hall spotted them and walked up to them. "Milady, welcome, it's a pleasure to meet you," the man greeted her eagerly. "My name is Mannis, what can I do for you?"

"Thank you. Uhm, what is all this?" Ahsoka asked him as she gestured at the speeders.

"Ah, yes," Mannis replied. "This is, used to be I guess now, the speeder collection of that despicable man." He turned around and gestured around the room. "He collected all kinds of expensive speeders, wasting incredible amounts of funding on them. The other speeders over there are all of the speeders he had impounded when people couldn't afford his nonsense taxes."

"Unbelievable…" Ahsoka muttered as she looked around the room again.

"Milady, a question if I may," Mannis asked her. Ahsoka turned to him and nodded. "Earlier today, he had more orders placed for a number of very expensive speeders. Should we let it stand or cancel the order?"

"Cancel it," Ahsoka replied almost immediately. "There's no point in more money being wasted on them."

"We'll get right on that, thank you milady" Mannis said as he gave a slight bow. "This will hopefully save us some money so that we can actually put it to good use. Our ancestors know that Shili needs it."

"A fine decision Ahsoka," Silara said with a smile. "But what shall we do with the rest of these speeders?"

Ahsoka thought it over a moment as she looked over the speeders. "You know what? I really like this blue speeder, I'll keep this one for myself, should I want to take a little trip," she said as she pointed at a nearby speeder.

She pointed over to a different set of speeders in another section of the hall. "Those speeders over there are very fast models. We can move those over to your barracks when it's repaired Silara. Those fast speeders should help you and the other warriors to get anywhere you need very fast," she suggested.

Silara smiled at her thinking. "I like that idea. I'm sure that we can make great use of them," she replied. "And the others?"

Ahsoka looked over at the impounded speeders. "I hope that there are lists of all of the impounded speeders?" she asked Mannis.

He nodded. "Yes, because everything went through the tax system, we have everything documented," he explained.

"That's good to hear," Ahsoka said. "That means we can start returning them to the people. Can you and the others get to work on finding out which speeder belonged to which families? I'm want to start reversing the things he's done as soon as possible."

Mannis smiled and nodded. "It would be my pleasure to do so milady," he replied. "I always hated it when we had to go to families to impound their speeders. It was horrible to see them like that. I can't wait to start returning them." He looked over the impounded speeders, shame rolling off of him through the Force. He then cleared his throat and turned back to her. "And what would you like to do with the rest of the speeders milady?" he asked as he gestured at the third section of speeders.

Ahsoka looked at them with a practiced eye. Those speeders were all kinds of expensive models. Those were mostly made for their looks, not their performance. They sold for big prices, but wouldn't even be able to outperform normal family speeders. "Those are pretty much useless pieces of shiny metal," she replied as she looked at Mannis. "Do me a favor, have them all catalogued. We'll see if we can sell all of them. We can hopefully get a bunch of credits for them that can go towards helping Shili."

Mannis' smile grew larger and he bowed. "Yes milady, I will get someone on that right away," he said with great enthusiasm in his voice. "We will take care of it all and get back to you as soon as possible." He then bowed again and went back to the rest of his staff to set everyone to work.

Silara had been smiling the entire time and was still smiling when she turned back to Ahsoka. "I think you made some really good choices there Ahsoka," she said. "Considering how doubtful you were yesterday, your current decisions are already helping Shili. The people will be very happy to have their speeders back, myself and the other warriors will get some great means of transportation and the funds from selling those other speeders will really help out. You'll be a fine queen."

Ahsoka turned to her and smiled. "Thank you Silara, I hope I can continue to make good decisions everywhere. I know a lot about speeders and mechanics, but in other areas, well… Let's say I could use some assistance," she replied.

Silara nodded understandingly. "Don't worry Ahsoka, your parents had plenty of advisors to help them with all kinds of decisions. The senator helped them a lot as well, she always had great ideas for Shili," she paused a moment. "Lots of them quit or were fired when that scum usurped the throne, but I'm sure that they will be willing to help you restore Shili again to what it was before."

Ahsoka smiled with that idea. "That sounds good, Silara. I think I could really use their help. I'm sure we can find some way to get in touch with them," she replied. "But what about the senator? How come I haven't seen her yet?"

"Senator T'Rani Corso is still on Coruscant at the moment," Silara answered. "She went there three days ago to ask the senate to provide emergency provisions for Shili. Things are getting pretty bad in some areas of the city. Thankfully, we have you now to help us change everything."

Ahsoka looked down slightly at that. "I see, I don't like hearing that," she replied. She turned to Silara again. "Do you know some people you can get in contact with? Ask them to make a list of the different problems that there are in the city? I want to try to get everything fixed as soon as we can."

Silara smiled again at that. "We'll see that taken care of, don't worry," she said. "There should still be a list of such things in one of the governmental offices, but under him it was never looked at. In fact, I'm pretty sure he make it illegal to look at it."

Ahsoka shook her head. "Unbelievable," she muttered with slight frustration. "How can such people live with themselves?"

"Don't let that trouble you Ahsoka," Silara replied as she checked the time. "Now then, everything for the ceremony should nearing completion. Shall we go and get you ready?"

Ahsoka took a nervous breath. "Alright, let's go," she said with slight hesitation. Silara nodded and they made their way back to her sister's old room, now her room.

;-

Ahsoka walked nervously through the halls of the royal palace of Shili. It was time for her to be crowned as queen of Shili. Try as she might, she couldn't help but worry about what would happen next. The people of Shili had already accepted her, that had been made obvious by the way they reacted to hearing about her existence. The sheer amount of joy that had radiated through the Force was still present.

She was also feeling a bit uncomfortable at being far more dressed up than she usually would be. Sure, it was normal for a queen to be dressed in such a way, but it would take her some time to get used to it. "It'll take me some time to get used to everything," she thought as she kept walking.

Without question, she was very grateful for all of the help that Silara and the others had already given her and the help that they had promised to keep giving. There was no way that she would be able to do this on her own. She wouldn't even have known where to start. She hoped that those advisors Silara had mentioned would be willing to come back. She could really use their help.

For now, she pushed further thoughts of it away. She was arriving at her destination, the main entrance of the palace. The ceremony would take place just outside the palace, so that everyone would be able to see it.

A large number of palace servants were already waiting there, as well as the H'Raani M'Kai warriors, now dressed in ceremonial looking armor. Silara stood at the front of one of the two rows, giving her a smile and a nod. Ahsoka nodded back and she continued walking. She made her way outside to the elevated area at the top of the entrance steps of the palace. The warriors followed behind her and took their positions along the area.

Ahsoka was greeted by a large amount of applause and excited cheering. The entire area was filled with people. She could also see numerous reporters with recorders, ready to broadcast this throughout Corvala, the other cities of Shili and those tribes that did use the holonet.

Despite how nervous she was, she couldn't help but smile as she sensed the overwhelming joy radiating through the Force. It was very clear that everyone was very happy with her becoming the new queen of Shili. Now she just hoped that she wouldn't let them down.

She looked over at the man standing a few feet away, the ceremony master, as she had been told. A few others stood behind him, two woman stood out especially. One of them was holding a royal looking scepter and the other held a cushion on which a very ornate crown was placed. Earlier, they had measured her head and montrals to make sure that it would fit well.

She took a deep breath before joining the deep-orange skinned man. He smiled and gestured for her to stand next to him. He then turned to the crowd.

"Today, we welcome to the throne the true heir of Shili," he spoke in a voice of authority mixed with happiness. "We have suffered a long time under the usurper's ill-gained rule, no longer. He betrayed all of Shili and will pay the price for it. But now is not the time for such talk."

He gestured at Ahsoka. "It is my greatest pleasure to introduce you to Ahsoka Tano, youngest daughter of king Thraken Vashee and Queen Ashaiya, sister of princess Naya Vashee. She is the true heir to the throne and will serve us all as queen. Milady, if you would please," he said as he gestured in front of him.

She moved closer towards him and he gestured the two woman to come towards him. With a smile on her face, the first woman offered Ahsoka the scepter, which she took as she gave the woman thankful nod.

The ceremony master then turned to the second woman who offered him the crown. He picked it up and turned to Ahsoka. She bowed her head. "It is my great pleasure, to name you queen Ahsoka Tano of Shili," he said as he placed the crown on her head.

Ahsoka stood up straight again and the three bowed to her. She then turned to the crowd and received a large round of applause and cheering again. She took a moment to take it all in, the crown on her head, the scepter in her hand, she was actually the queen of Shili now. The crown felt lighter than she had expected and it fit her well. Whoever had made or adjusted it obviously knew their craft well.

After a few minutes the applause died down and she could feel many a gaze on her. Everything was expecting her to hold a speech now. "Everyone, thank you," she began slightly nervous. "I am not sure what to say. To say that my life has been turned upside down recently would be an understatement. So much happened so suddenly. I came to Shili hoping to find my family and start a new life, only to learn what happened to them and that I was the heir to the throne; that I had the right to the throne of Shili, something that I never thought to hear."

"After my parents learned I was Force-sensitive, I was brought to the Jedi Temple to be raised as a Jedi and learn the ways of the Force. I never once expected to become a queen of any kind. Sure, I was expecting to help people and care for them, but I expected to do so as a Jedi, not a queen, let alone the queen of my own home planet." She paused a short moment.

"However, I've seen the condition Shili is in. I just couldn't allow that to continue. I was never able to sit idly by while people were suffering. I was shocked and surprised when I was asked to become queen, but I have decided to take up the throne to help Shili. You have my word that I will do whatever I can to undo all of the damage that that usurper has done. It will take time, but we will bring Shili back to the way she was before."

A large round of applause and cheering was heard at those words. When it died down again, Ahsoka continued.

"I was told by Silara Triball that some of you once worked for my parents as advisors. I can understand that you didn't want to work for that vile man, I truly do. However, I hope that you will reconsider now. I would really appreciate your help and advice, especially in the coming months. All of Shili can use your ideas. If you would like to help, I'm sure that you will be able to contact someone in the palace."

"As I said, I will do whatever I can to help Shili, but I will ask you to please be patient with me. I will be the first to admit that I don't know anything about being a queen, however, I've also never backed down from a challenge. There will be a lot to do in the coming weeks, but I know that we can help Shili."

She got another round of applause and cheering as many in the crowd bowed. It made her a little uncomfortable, but she did her best not to let it get to her. After the applause died down again, the ceremony master gestured back towards the palace. Ahsoka nodded and began making her back inside.

Once she was back inside she took a deep breath to steady herself a little. She looked around and saw all of the palace servants and royal guards bowing to her as well.

Silara walked up to her with a smile. "It's all official now queen Tano," she said happily. "I know that Shili will be fine with you as queen."

"Thank you, I'll do what I can," Ahsoka replied. "But I think I'd prefer it if you just call me Ahsoka. I'd prefer it if not everyone continuously addresses me as queen."

"Alright then, if that's what you prefer Ahsoka," Silara said slightly amused. "Oh, before I forget, we've scheduled an appointment with the doctors of the palace for you tomorrow."

Ahsoka's face turned to a slight frown as she heard that, which Silara noticed.

Silara managed to keep herself from laughing and continued. "You're still not fully recovered Ahsoka, I just want to make sure that you're doing alright. Especially after everything that happened to you, I'm worried for your health."

Ahsoka felt like disagreeing with Silara and wanted to tell her to cancel that appointment, but she couldn't really bring herself to it. "As much as I don't like it, she might be right. I'm still weaker than I was before and after everything that happened on Coruscant… Maybe it can give me some answers."

With a slight sigh she looked at Silara. "Perhaps you're right," she replied with a bit of reluctance. "Maybe it'll help me feel a bit more like myself again."

"I'm glad that you agree Ahsoka," Silara said with a smile. "Now then, shall we take a look at the place we've prepared to house the people that have lost their homes? We can start bringing them in off the streets after that."

"Sounds good," Ahsoka replied as she nodded. "Lead the way, I'd like to get everyone inside before nightfall." Silara nodded back and she and a few palace staff began to lead Ahsoka to the hall that had been prepared.

;-

That's the end of this chapter.

Ahsoka is now the new queen of Shili. She has already taken some steps to improve life on Shili and she will continue to do so in the future. In the next chapter, she'll meet with several advisors and others. The senator will also return to Shili.

I'm going to start up the side story for Tale of a Togruta now. Ahsoka will take Aisha to hunt her first Akul. Once that side story is completed, both Tale of a Togruta and A Mirialan's Story will continue again.

Until next time.