Chapter Text
A few weeks earlier…
Ahsoka trailed her finger along the leather of her old outfit. The not-so-pretty brown color had faded, but it still matched her skin. The belt where she wore her lightsabers looked empty, sad. Without them, she felt different. Like she wasn't herself.
She started reminiscing old times. It wasn't that long ago she had left the Order, but it still felt like decades.
She had to learn to adjust to life without the 501st, Anakin, and the Force. The one time she used it, multiple questions had been raised, and she'd almost been reported to the police.
Let's just say that she was at a bar, there was a fight, and she may or may not have force pushed someone into a counter. May or may not have.
The Force was handy to get out of tight situations.
But, after that incident, she decided not to use it anymore. She decided she would try to be "normal", like everyone else.
Not that the Force was a bad thing. It just… made everything else complicated.
She hadn't completely closed herself off from it though, because that just felt unnatural. Like she was just a shell of herself, empty and cold inside.
So, she proposed to herself a compromise.
At times, when she knew no one was looking, she would close the curtains, sit down in her small dusty apartment, and meditate.
Just… Just think. Think of the Force. How it flows through every living being, like your friends, your family, the Jedi, and Anakin.
Breathe in, breathe out. Just like Anakin taught you. Calm yourself.
Ahsoka smiled. Who would've thought that her Master knew how to calm himself? Him, the 'reckless leader of the 501st'.
She saddened. Meditating was a reminder of what she had lost, from leaving the Order. But it depended what your point of view was.
She could either miss them, or remember them and look forward to the end of the war, where she would be able to chat, catch up, etc.
Yeah… She preferred to miss them. The possibility that the war would end and that some of her friends might not be there to celebrate that with her was a heart wrenching reality she didn't want to think about.
Go back to meditating Ahsoka. Connect with the Force. Let it channel through you.
"I am one with the Force and the Force is with me."
She murmured.
"I am one with the Force and the Force is with me. I am one with the Force and the Force is with me."
She smiled as she felt the Force surround her.
I am one with the Force and the Force is with me.
"Hey! Open up!"
A voice yelled, as someone knocked harshly on her door.
Startled, she stood up. The person knocking sounded familiar. Could it be...?
"Hello?"
The voice said, muffled.
"I'm coming!"
She yelled back, annoyed at whoever it was for interrupting her meditation, but a little excited. The chance was slim that it could be one of the 501st, but that was enough for her.
She opened the door, and her heart felt like it dropped to the bottom of a sarlacc pit. The person at the door was one of the Coruscant guard. Not the 501st.
"Commander Tano?"
The guard asked, surprised.
She stiffened. He had recognized her. Was… was he one of the people who had hunted her down?
"I'm not Commander Tano anymore."
She corrected, softly, as the memories of what happened came rushing back to the front of her mind. They already distressed her enough, and now…
"Sorry, sir."
He apologized.
"It's just Ahsoka. What did you want?"
Ahsoka smiled tightly, wanting to get this over with. She knew that they were just doing their job, that they had orders, but it didn't erase the fact that-
Never mind. Don't focus on the past. Look ahead.
Like you did during meditation?
Quiet.
The Guard straightened, reinstating a professional impression of himself.
"We want everyone to be on the lookout for clone trooper ARC-5555, AKA Fives. He has been marked for treason for attempting to murder the Chancellor. If you see him or have any information about him that could help us in our search, please report it to us immediately. Anyone who is found harboring or offering any form of help to the criminal will have to pay a fee of 5000 Republic Credits."
He stated.
Ahsoka blinked. No… That couldn't be the Fives she knew.
"Fives would never do that."
She defended, automatically.
"I'm sorry Miss Tano, but it's true."
"No. He- He wouldn't have a reason to."
The Guard fidgeted awkwardly, as silence descended upon them.
"With all due respect sir, I have to get going."
He informed her.
"Of course."
He nodded at her, and walked away as she closed the door.
Fives? Attempting to murder the Chancellor? Why would he ever do that? What were his motives?
She noticed her outfit was still on the floor, neatly folded. She shoved it back into her drawer. Meditating and reminiscing would have to wait.
Run. Faster. Come on. You can do it.
Fives jumped down from a sewage pipe that looked like it hadn't been used for a good amount of time. He had outrun the underworld police so far, but it wouldn't be long until they found him. He had to find a spot to hide in.
His current situation reminded him of when Commander Tano had ran from the Order, to try and prove her innocence.
He had seen everything on the news, as it played on almost every holo-net in town. He silently cheered her on, as she outwitted the Coruscant Guard and the police at every twist and turn.
Only for her to leave at the end.
He'd hoped to see her again. Maybe he would bump into here while he was running. But that was a one-in-a-million chance.
Then suddenly, footsteps, armor making sounds as it bumped together as someone ran, to his right, around the corner of this alleyway. Stay away from there.
He retraced his steps. No good. It was a dead end.
Shoot!
Where could he go? Not up… He just came from there. They would likely have the police looking for him. Tracking him.
Maybe even his brothers.
He tripped over a pipe and, it hit the wet concrete, the clattering echoing around the vicinity.
"I heard something… Over there!"
He heard someone yell.
This was bad… This was very bad. A dead end, he was boxed in, alone, had no way out and no one believed him.
Wait- on the ground- what was that?
A manhole. He could escape there. Why didn't he think of this before?
As quietly and as quickly as he could, he lowered himself down into the manhole and into the sewers.
Soon, all of this would be over, his brothers would stop chasing him, and this plot- this conspiracy- would be uncovered.
It would be alright.
Ahsoka threw a cloak around her, pulling the hood over her head. She would have to be inconspicuous, discreet, stealthy.
In other words, a normal day as the Padawan of Anakin Skywalker, finding witty and smart ways to defy, yet still follow the orders of the Jedi Council. Craving adventure and excitement, and always finding trouble when they looked for it.
Except now, she wasn't Anakin's Padawan, and she didn't have to follow the Council's orders. Now, she was by herself.
Locating Fives in the underworld of Coruscant would be hard, but she was fairly certain she could do it.
I mean, if she was able to evade the Coruscant guard and the downtown police for a few days, she should at least be able to find someone trying to do the same.
They found her, after all.
"Okay Ahsoka… If I were Fives, where would I be?"
She asked herself.
Her mind blanked. Ugh. She hated it when that happened.
"Come on!"
She whisper-screamed- was that even a word? -to herself, as she kept walking. An idea struck her. The news… Look at the news. There might be something about him there.
Ahsoka looked around for a shop that sold holo-net-whatever's. Aha! There was one!
She walked forward to a shop made out of rusted metal, a dingy white with bits of paint chipping off here and there. Water dripped down from a shaky looking gutter at the top, which was covered in dirt and grime. A window at the front showed off some holo's, and luckily for her, the news was playing on them.
Scor- Oh dang it.
Ahsoka cursed under her breath as an ad proceeded to play out, blocking the newsfeed. Nonetheless, she stood in front of the window, determined to watch the news.
A few seconds passed. Which turned to minutes. Which turned to hours.
Ok, maybe she was exaggerating. But when you were trying to find your friend who was on the run from the police and the Coruscant guards, tell me you wouldn't feel this way.
"Hey, you buying something or not?" The shop doors slid open, and a brown haired, about her height, young man stepped out.
"No. Just checking."
She replied.
"You've been lurking around this street for 10 minutes, a dark colored coat around yourself, with a hood covering your face."
He told her.
She raised a brow at him. Why had he been watching her? Also, 10 minutes? It had only been that long?
"So?"
The boy leaned on the doorframe. "So, you look pretty suspicious there."
She smirked, letting out a small amused laugh while the boy frowned at her reaction.
"A million people do that down here. How am I any different?"
She asked.
"First of all, what you're doing 'down here' is right in front of this shop."
He put air quotations around his words.
"You expect me not to be worried? Second of all, the police are on the lookout for a rogue clone, and whoever finds him gets a finder's fee. I was just checking to see if you were him."
He explained, putting on a smirk of his own.
"But obviously, you're not a him."
"Do I look anything like a clone? No? Then leave me alone."
She retorted. She wanted to get back to looking for Fives.
"I'd prefer not to until you leave this street."
"Let me just find out what happens. Please?" She pleaded.
The boy thought this over for a moment. "Fine. But I stand here watching you until you're finished."
Ahsoka rolled her eyes at him. "That makes you sound like a creep."
"So?" He bit back, using her earlier words.
"Fine. Just- please don't stare at me for the whole of my stay."
"That depends on when you leave, princess."
She snorted. "Princess? Ugh- never mind."
Finally, the ads ended, and she was left to watch the news. She turned her eyes back to the window, trying to drown out the boy's insistent glare trained on her, imploring her to leave.
A woman appeared on screen, a Togruta like her, her colors grey and white.
"-reports of a rogue clone, who tried to murder the Chancellor have just come in, straight from the Senate building! The stage is all yours Nix!"
The camera switched from the woman to a man with seemingly perfect jet-black hair. "Thank you Loreal! Hello friends, my name is N-"
"Who are you looking for?"
The boy asked.
"Shush!"
"You're looking for someone. Who is it? The clone?"
"Sshh!"
"I really should report you…"
He muttered.
"To the pit with this. I don't even know your name!"
Ahsoka groaned inwardly.
Please don't ask me what my name is.
Would he connect the dots and figure out who she was? Not that it was a problem, but she would rather keep those unpleasant memories deep down inside her head.
They said she would complete her training. That she would become a Jedi Knight. Even Anakin said she might one day become a Master, seated on the Jedi Council. She worked so hard to try and achieve that. To make him proud.
She had been so close. So very close to rejoining the Order. But what did she do? She threw the only life she had ever known away, like it was some worthless piece of junk.
Did she regret it? N-
Return to the task at hand Ahsoka. Fives needs you.
Updated 11/13/2020, 8:15 AM (GMT)
Words: 2085
Version: 1.1