Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

After Ahsoka was kicked out of the order and absolved of the crimes that had her kicked out, she wanders. Ahsoka had lived in Coruscant most of her life, but she hadn't truly lived in Coruscant. She hadn't been to the deepest belly of the city, hadn't walked through the markets, hadn't done anything that a normal citizen of Coruscant would do.

So she avoided all of that. She wandered up to Padmé's apartment. Barely remembered knocking. But she did, if her sitting on Padmé's couch meant anything.

Maybe this was a hallucination? No. She'd already thought of and dismissed that idea when she jumped out of that pipe. And when she closed Anakin's hand around her padawan beads. This was real.

A cup was pushed into her hand. Some of it nearly sloshed onto Padmé's pristine carpet before she realized where she was. Padmé's apartment. She straightened up. Avoided eye contact with Padmé.

Padmé would be so frustratingly understanding. Something Ahsoka desperately needed but didn't want. Ahsoka just wanted to wallow in her pity, to let sadness rise up above her until there was nothing left. Just a sad carcass.

A sharp pain drew her out of her thoughts. She'd accidentally bit her tongue. She absentmindedly noted Padmé was talking. Instinctively she knew it wasn't directed at her, but it was for her.

"...I've noticed that there seems to be more requests for change from..."

"...Naboo has been sending out relief to..."

She snapped up. Relief. If she couldn't be a Jedi, she could at least still help with the war effort.

"Relief...?" Ahsoka let her question hang in the air. Padmé turned to her, surprised.

"Well, yes. Naboo has been doing everything it can to help other worlds devastated by the war. Relief is one of the small-" Ahsoka cut her off, not caring how rude it sounded. She needed something to do, or she'd go insane just sitting here.

"Is there any way I can help?" Padmé had a tremulous smile.

"We can always use an extra hand." Ahsoka didn't smile, but it was a near thing.

Ew, ew, ew, ew.

Ahsoka stared into the distance (the window overlooking the Coruscant skyline), trying not to think about what she just overheard.

Her hands grabbed the pillow next to her and shoved it in her face. She screamed for a few minutes, hoping in vain that she would forget the last half hour.

Ahsoka didn't mean to walk in and see that.

Padmé and Anakin were hardcore flirting, affectionately calling each other husband and wife.

She screamed into the pillow some more.

Everyone knew they were involved, but she didn't think they were in love. Or married for that matter.

Eventually Padmé walked in on Ahsoka with her head in her hands. Of course She pulled the concerned mother card, and had Ahsoka look up and tell her what was wrong.

They both agreed to never talk about this again, and that it would stay totally secret. As in, if Dooku ever tried to break into her mind, that would be the one secret she took with her to the grave.

"I know your a Jedi- or a an ex-Jedi, sorry. But you don't have your lightsabers anymore." Ahsoka nodded, not seeing where this was going. Padmé set a case on the table in between the two of them. Ahsoka's brow quirked.

Padmé opened the case them.

"As a relief worker, you won't face much danger besides unruly citizens, and crowded airspace. But as an ex-Jedi and a pretty togruta girl traveling to places that have experienced upheaval, you'll face all sorts of dangers. So I took it upon myself to get you some precautions." Padmé turned the case towards her.

Inside it were two vibroswords, and two blasters.

Ahsoka realized she was an idiot. She didn't even think about getting a weapon, even though she would definitely need it. She was an ex-Jedi, even if the Sith in play didn't want a piece of her, the Separatists who she had fought, would. 

"Padmé-- I, thank you." Ahsoka reached across the table and pulled her into a hug. Padmé returned it with a surprising amount of force.

"You can always count on me Ahsoka. Come to me if you ever need anything." Padmé pulled away from her and grinned.

"Let's go test these girls out!" Ahsoka snapped the case closed, and followed Padmé out of the room.

Ahsoka took a bit to get used to the vibroswords, but even less with the blasters. They were simple to operate, none of the extra functions that Rex had added to his DCs. Rex's lessons finally came in handy. 

She wondered how Rex was doing.

"Ahsoka, I should warn you that the people who typically carry out immediate relief missions... aren't always on the side of the law. Naboo and other planets with similar goals can't send relief as soon as most need it. Like others, we partner with organizations to send out life saving supplies." Padmé paused and took a sip of water

"Most who run the initial relief missions for Naboo are smugglers getting paid to bring supplies to dangerous locations. The organization partnered with Naboo is straddling the line."

"Wow, didn't expect that." But it made sense. Smugglers were used to these conditions and if they were getting paid, this was nothing new for them.

"I'm sending you to meet with them and discuss your position in their organization."

"Is that why you told me to pack up all my belongings?" Ahsoka didn't have much anyways. Her life as a Jedi still had a good grip on her.

"Yes, You'll be leaving in an hour."

Traveling to Naboo on a luxury cruiser that she wasn't piloting, or in the cockpit of was odd. She felt anxious, just waiting for the other shoe to drop. For them to suddenly call her into the cockpit saying that they ran into a battle. That she needed to pilot them out.

But that was ridiculous. She was flying in a luxury cruiser full of rich people. The people who owned the company of the ship wouldn't even think about flying anywhere near a space battle. They wouldn't risk killing off their rich clients.

She used that logic to get herself into a state calm enough to meditate. The trip passed by in a blur after that.

"Attention esteemed passengers, we will be docking in thirty minutes. Please have your belongings ready to be transported. Thank you for flying..." Ahsoka tuned out the rest of the captain's speech and set her bag near the door. She ducked her head out of her doorway and looked up and down the hallway.

No one was in the hall. The bathroom would probably be empty.

The bathroom was empty except for a human-appearing lady smoking. Ahsoka kept her eyes averted when the lady's eyes zeroed in on her. She didn't want to upset any of the high status passengers while she was here on Padmé's good name.

When she finished and went to wash her hands, the lady spoke.

"You're a Jedi. Close to Kenobi and Skywalker, aren't you?" Ahsoka froze. She knew she was a common face to see, next to her master when trouble struck. Skyguy always dragged her with him when he knew that the planet's press was filming. Said it was to teach her humility and how to handle press, but Ahsoka knew it was so he wasn't the sole focus of the cameras.

"I'm not a Jedi." Ahsoka turned off the faucet and left the bathroom without drying her hands.

Ahsoka didn't want that to happen again. For someone to come up to her, presuming to know her based off a couple of holonet broadcasts. Or her trial.

She left the ship quickly after that, taking her bag with her.

She avoided everyone except for a rodian holding up a sign for her. They exchanged codes and left in a speeder.

The building the organization resided in was plain. It would be unnoticeable if Ahsoka wasn't being lead to it. In her experience, this was the norm for smugglers and others trying to fly under the radar. Didn't make it easier to differentiate though.

The rodian led her through twisting hallways. Ahsoka made note of the turns in case things went badly.

They stopped at a plain door, the only difference between this one and all the others was an etched crescent moon. The rodian knocked on the door, and gestured for her to go in when someone answered. She cased the room and then the person sitting at the desk in front of her.

They were a wookiee, armed to the teeth. Fur was mostly brown, silver near the temples and sides. They were watching Ahsoka as she would a threat.

"Ahsoka Tano, you have expressed an interest in working with us to provide relief to worlds devastated by the war between the Republic and the Separatists. Why?" Ahsoka frowned and carefully translated the odd dialect of shyriiwook, parsing through it for any hidden meanings. She found none.

"I need to do something to help. Since I can no longer help on the field, I want to help in the only other way I can." Ahsoka kept eye contact with the wookiee, wanting to make her resolve clear.

The wookie grunted, then, "Call me Boss. We will find you a place here."

Besides always needing supplies, all relief efforts needed pilots. Pilots willing to fly supplies were in abundance, but ones skilled enough to get behind enemy lines were not.

Getting supplies to a devastated world was dangerous, but nothing an in order droid couldn't fix. Most world that had battles on, above, or in, usually had debris in surplus. Forming asteroid like fields of broken parts. Dangerous to navigate when you were a cargo ship rather than an individual fighter or a star destroyer.

But getting behind enemy lines was a whole different story. There were all sorts of different dangers that came with it. Most of the time it had to happen while there were combatants actively fighting. Flying supplies behind enemy lines had seventy percent mortality rate.

So naturally Ahsoka signed up for the latter.

Ahsoka wasn't suicidal, she just knew as someone who had actually been behind enemy lines, she had a better chance. (Her being an ex-Jedi definitely didn't hurt.)

"Here's your ship! Her last pilot had her for over ten years. Her name is Cicatrix! Don't know what that means!" The cathar she never caught the name of rambled on. Ahsoka examined the ship in front of her. She was bigger than the twilight, and would be just as fast when she finished with it. The paint job was... decent. She'd definitely take it into a repair shop when she had enough credits.

Most of the exterior was intact though. A few pieces would need welding and replacing, wires would need to be tucked back in. She wondered what the inside looked like. Ahsoka smiled. She was looking forward to working on and with this ship.

"What happened to her last pilot?" Ahsoka asked absentmindedly while she circled the ship.

"Oh! He was poisoned! Some bounty hunter I can't remember the name of, took him in for his previous spice smuggling job." The cathar smiled. Ahsoka shivered. No one should be able to smile like that when talking about a dead person.

"Wonderful. Who's my copilot?" Nervous laughter bubbled out of the cathar. Ahsoka raised her brow.

"Well, there seems to be an uneven amount of supply runners... And we took your considerable reputation into account." The cathar smoothed down the fur on the back of their hand. "Boss decided to give you a droid instead!" She was once again reminded that she worked for a barely legal smuggling ring. A (well meaning but) cheap one.

Ahsoka's lips twitched. Great. She hoped that this droid was competent, or she'd be in for a lot of trouble. Her fingers started tapping on her arm.

"Can I see the inside?"

"Sure!"

The inside of the ship was better than expected. There were no loose wires, but there were scorch marks made by a blaster. Most of the panels were loose, allowing the smuggler piloting to stuff the ship to max capacity.

Or a few Jedi younglings. She shook her head. She wouldn't be running that kind of relief mission. As much as she wouldn't mind running rescue missions, she be in situations too dangerous to carry civilians to safety.

She'd need to find the specs of the ship. Word of mouth was great, but there were so many details lost in between.

The storage bay had small station where she could man a crane, for heavy objects. She didn't see herself using it that often. She was certainly strong enough to carry most crates with or without the force.

She should probably stick to not using the force around others she didn't know very well.

There was a small kitchenette with enough storage to keep her fed for a few years. If she packed smart.

The cockpit was cramped, but usable. Nothing was broken or out of place. All the parts were there, unusual for a smuggler's ship sitting in a den of thieves. The seats were comfy. There was enough space in the corner for a navigation droid at least.

The captains quarters were of decent size. Big for one person, but cozy for two people. Eventually she'd convert the top bunk into storage. She'd need to switch out the human-standard pillow for a togruta-standard pillow. She foresaw a lot of uncomfortable nights until then.

Not like she slept much anymore.

Ahsoka met all of the other smugglers at one point. They all wanted to meet the new solo pilot that would help pick up some of the slack. Not all of the had good intentioned for the ex-Jedi, but she handled them well.

The good intentioned ones had received her comm codes along with the promise to comm if they ever needed help.

One night before her first supply run (part of her training, she had to learn how to conduct business deals, logistics of transport before things got real messy, and to get her used to her co-pilot and ship), she checked the news to see how Rex, Anakin, and Obi-wan were doing. She'd been avoiding all news sources that frequently mentioned the two Jedi (how mad it made her that no one acknowledged the clones for what they did, let alone Rex and Cody).

She was so mad at Obi-wan for a while. He didn't even give her the benefit of the doubt. Never spoke up on her behalf. when the council decided she was guilty without even hearing her out. And wherever Anakin was brought up, Obi-wan was not far behind.

But now she wanted to make sure they were okay before she went on a mission that could possibly get her killed. There was nothing immediately dangerous in flying out to gather supplies, but a deal could sour if the other half felt wronged, or if a third party decided they wanted what she had. Sometimes it was a combination of both for pirates like Hondo. She cringed at the reminder of him.

Force, she hoped she never had to deal with him again, and that she'd get lucky. (Force if nothing went right in her life, let the stars align for this simple request.)

She shook her head and typed in Anakin's name. Millions of results popped up, she ignored the forums speculating on Jedi. She clicked the first official looking source with the most recent date, just one day ago.

General Kenobi and General Skywalker Retake Eadu!

In an amazing turn of events, the Jedi duo have retaken Eadu!

Eadu, a mountainous, storm covered planet  coveted by both sides of the war because it's  richness in resources and fuel... Eadu became a point of contention when the Separatists built a dozen droid factories on it's surface...

...General Skywalker launched a multi-faceted operation to retake Eadu, utilizing his vast army, five Falchion-class assault tanks... Stun cannons use to take out large amounts of droids...

...Minimal casualties suffered...

General Kenobi responsible for organizing the complete re-haul to droid factories... General Skywalker currently on medical leave for burn wound...

Ahsoka had grabbed her comm before she'd even realized that she was moving. She stopped and clenched her fist.

She didn't want to contact Obi-wan. She couldn't contact Anakin because he was probably drugged to high heavens. She stared at the comm in her hand. Did she suck up her pride and contact Obi-wan?

No.

There was a third option. She could contact Rex. See if she could get a hold of him. If he was in the middle of something, he just wouldn't answer. Worst case, he answered and yelled at her for three hours because she hasn't contacted him since the trial.

Her thumb pressed the button. She scrolled through the codes, and carefully selected his personal one. The only problem was that she had changed comm devices, her thumb hovered over the call sigh. Rex might not know it was her and hang up on her anyways.

She exhaled, then pressed the button before she could change her mind. She almost kinda hoped Rex would just reject her call. It certainly would make things easier.

She inhaled sharply when the call picked up. She almost hung up right then and there, only her morbid curiosity kept her on the call. With bated breath, she waited for Rex's familiar, gruff voice.

"Captain Rex speaking, who is this?" She'd missed Rex so much. Only now was she realizing how much she leaned on him for general support. Nothing like being thrown out of the institute that had raised you since you were a youngling to make you realize how much you relied on others. And how under prepared you were to live on your own. It took a full week before she realized that she would have to register with a planet and pay taxes to it (if she wanted to stay a citizen of the Republic, she could just go full Hondo and become a pirate).

"Hey, Rex." Thank the Force her voice hadn't quivered. Because she was feeling really anxious. And jittery. She wouldn't be surprised if she was hovering on her bunk.

"Ahsoka? You're okay? Are you eating enough? You haven't run into any trouble have you?" Ahsoka laughed at him. She'd missed that concern, ever since she'd moved to Naboo (more importantly, the smuggler's complex for pilots resting in between relief missions), no one had cared enough to ask about her general well being. (Discounting Padmé, she commed her every other day to check up on her, but it wasn't the same.)

"I'm fine, yes I am eating enough, and that's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about..."She trailed off. She could just hear Rex on the other end developing a migraine.

"Little gods..." Rex muttered under his breath, Ahsoka struggled to not laugh at him, he wouldn't appreciate it.

"I promise it's not what you're thinking. I just-- I just had to tell someone other than Padmé, and you were the only other person I could think of." Ahsoka paused to gather her bearings.

"What about General Skywalker?" Ahsoka cringed. As much as she trusts Anakin, she doesn't doubt with him on his pain meds, he would hijack a ship to come and find her. Better to stay away until he'd better and less likely to enact ridiculously dangerous plans. Not to mention their last words to each other.

"I thought 'bout it, but he's on medical leave and I just don't know how to speak to him after the way I left." Rex hummed, and something metallic clicked together on his end.

"Go on, tell me what new dangerous thing you've gotten yourself into this time. I'll keep it between us for now, but you've got to contact General Skywalker soon. He's been... off lately." More clicking, and the sound of shifting fabric was added to the mix. Rex was probably cleaning his DCs.

"Alright, I will." Ahsoka paused, and thought about the best way to go about telling Rex this. He wouldn't freak out, she thinks. "I've decided to help with the war in a different way. At Padmé's suggestion, I joined a barely legal smuggling group." Ahsoka cringed, and waited.

"Barely legal! What does that mean?" Rex's near shout echoed in her montrals.

"It isn't as bad as it sounds! I promise! They provide relief to worlds affected by the war. And... the legality issue comes from the fact that civilians are entering an active war zone without permission... and the fact that we get our supplies from possible crime rings?"

"Was that a question or a statement?" A thunk of flesh hitting metal, then a muffled sigh. She winced. That had to be a forehead hitting a table.

"Uhhhh, statement?" Rex uh-huhed. He sounded tired.

"You're going to make me go grey." Rex grouched.

"You'll just bleach it away then." Ahsoka giggled playfully. Rex hated when people called his hair bleached. (It wasn't bleached, it was always cropped to close to the skull for it to bleached with any regularity.)

"Verd'ika..." Her smile dimmed.

"I miss you Rex." She hung up.

Ahsoka sobbed into her hands. She in that moment wished she'd stayed with the Order, or at least the GAR, if only to keep the bonds she'd made. She was so karking lonely. Making a new life for herself on a planet she'd never been too before was hard. But deep down, she knew this was the best option for her. She'd never quite matched up with the Order's teachings. Always aware that she didn't fit the cookie cutter mold that all her other crechelings had fit into.

So she'd cried until she fell asleep, and was eventually woken up by her shrill alarm.

Her first supply run went well. There was only one fight, but it'd been in the bar. So, ergo, not her fault. From what she'd gathered, it was two bounty hunters getting mad at each other over the same target. She didn't stay long enough to find out more, just took her disposable plate of nuna legs and left.

She boarded her ship and stashed her food in the fridge for later. Sealed and locked the ramp, and then went to the cockpit. She started up the ship and left the planet, setting a course for Naboo. She let the droid take over, and went back to her bunk for the next few hours.

It was barely two months ago that she'd left the Order. She'd spent a month of that just staying with Padmé, helping her wherever she needed it, while Padmé arranged for her to meet with and join the smuggler group. It was interesting month, spent doing basic paperwork, and making coffee runs. But most of the time she stayed in Padmé's apartment, leaving when Anakin came over.

She wasn't exactly avoiding him, but she was avoiding them. In an unfortunate turn of events, she'd accidentally overheard them being lovey-dovey with each other. Padmé had to tell her after that. It wasn't much of a shock (everyone knew they were involved, but that they were married?). But it was icky to think about her pseudo older siblings like... that.

So she avoided the apartment when Anakin came over, and swore Padmé into secrecy about her being there, and about her job. Padmé didn't want to keep secrets from her husband, but she did because she knew Ahsoka wasn't ready for Anakin to know.

It was a relief when she'd left to go to Naboo. She'd spent a week just learning the protocols, and intricacies of smuggling. Another after that was spent getting used to her ship, using every moment she could to take apart and rebuild her ship until she could do it (almost) blindfolded.

The last two weeks had been spent preparing for her (successful first run and) second supply run, and filling her ship with mementos and other objects that made it home. She'd pasted pictures of everyone on her bunk walls. She'd gotten a togruta-issue pillow. Ahsoka had stacked some crates against her wall to hold some rare repair manuals, and a few plants that reminded her of Shilli. The top bunk was filled with pillows and blankets in case the ones she had weren't enough, or if she wanted to feel safe.

But she hadn't put up anything permanent.

After she curled up in her bunk, she started swiping through the holonews.

"Anakin Skywalker."

"Hey, Skyguy."

They'd broken into tears not long after the conversation began. They'd missed each other, not used to their padawan bond being so stretched and frayed. But after their tears started to slow, they talked about anything and everything.

Most of it was boring, idle talk meant to let them soak in the other's voice. It was soothing. Soon they'd moved to what they'd been doing recently. Anakin's side wasn't much that she couldn't read on the holonet. Anakin was shocked to learn that she was a relief pilot that was basically a smuggler. But he wasn't too upset by the concept, only by the fact that she'd avoided telling him because she was afraid he would be angry.

Eventually they'd worked through that, and hesitantly towards the trial. They were both still hurting from it, but they knew they needed to talk about it. The conversation stalled a few times when one cried or the other had to take a minute to calm down. But they worked though it. Ahsoka explained her side, and Anakin his. Anakin even talked about how Obi-wan admitted that he'd stayed silent, but firmly on her side.

It hurt. But a sort of catharsis came from it.

Ahsoka ran supply runs for a few more weeks before Boss decided they were ready to risk losing her. Because up until that point, they were getting what money they could out of her skills before it was life and death. Now it was time for the true test.

"Ahsoka, please stay safe." Padmé pleaded from the other side of the call. Ahsoka was going over her supply list, and double checking that she had everything in the cargo bay. So far nothing was out of place.

"I will, Padmé. I promise to make it back alive." Ahsoka hoped she didn't pick up on the wording of her promise. Padmé scoffed.

"Alive? You better make it back with minimal injuries!" Of course the politician in Padmé had to jump out then. Ahsoka sighed and reworded her promise to satisfy Padmé. She force lifted the crate in front of her until it was neatly stacked on top of the one with medical supplies. She hooked the two of them in, and turned to the next stack.

"Ani will be very sad if you don't make it back in one piece." Ahsoka winced, nearly dropping the crate in her hands.

"Padmé, you know I can't promise anything that-- I'll try." Ahsoka sighed and stopped moving the crates.

"Just- please."

"If I don't make it back... I know, I'm going to do my best, but things go wrong. But if I don't make it back, please tell the boys that I'm sorry. I don't think I can face them right now. They deserve better than an apology from someone else's mouth, but..." Ahsoka's face scrunched up, barely holding back her tears. Padmé inhaled sharply on the other side.

She used the excuse that she was trying to find her own way in this universe, but she was really just running. Running from all she had ever known, afraid that she would get stuck in the world of the Jedi. The more she ran, the quicker she realized that the Jedi were wrong about a lot of things. And so very, blind.

They never once asked her if she was innocent. She'd almost wished they had looked through her mind to see the truth (no matter how invasive it was, she would've done it to prove she was innocent). The Council had grown complacent, willing to condemn her before receiving both sides of the story. All too willing to use flawed evidence.

"...soka? Ahsoka are you there?" Padmé's panicked voice pierced through her thoughts. She quietly shook her head to rid herself of those thoughts.

"Yeah. I've got to disconnect now, Boss is calling me." Boss wasn't calling. Ahsoka 

"When you get back from this run, call me. Please." Padmé pleaded. Ahsoka steeled herself, trying not to let Padmé's words affect her.

"...I will. You better take care of yourself." Ahsoka squeezed the crate behind her. She didn't notice when it squealed and bent to the shape of her fingers.

"You too." Padmé disconnected, and Ahsoka spent a few seconds leaning up against a crate. She centered herself then pulled away. When she pulled away, she noticed the marks she had left in the metal.

"Kriff, that's going to be a dalgaan'aad to get out. Boss is gonna dock my pay." Ahsoka whined. 

She then wasted twenty minutes trying to get the dents out. Letting go of her focus, she examined the crate. If Boss asked, she could just blame the odd dents on dangerous flying. Boss would have to take her word for it since, she didn't exactly have a copilot.

Switching focuses, she loaded up the rest of the crates and closed the ramp.

"R5! Startup departure sequences, we'll be leaving in five minutes." A grumpy reply in binary was all she got. The ship's engines started up not long after.

Her droid was a souped up R5 series navigation droid. They were known to be particularly grumpy and not very good compared to the R2 series, but Boss got her one that had been heavily modified to match an R2. 

R5 didn't really mind her after he realized Ahsoka wasn't going to wipe him after every mission. Their relationship would never be anything like hers and R2's, but grumpy partners was better than pissed off partners.

Ahsoka ducked into the cockpit and jumped into the pilot's chair. She flicked on switches, and typed in coordinates. They were going to Felucia, one of the planet's few major cities had been hit by major battle. They were sending her out to this one because she had campaigned on Felucia many times before. She tried not to dwell on that one time.

Ahsoka sent them into hyperspace and unbuckled. No point in sitting in the chair when they were going to be hyperspace for the next few hours.

"If you need me, I'll be in my bunk. Wake me up forty-five minutes before we're due to get out of hyperspace."

Ahsoka jolted awake. Literally. Once R5 had realized she wasn't going to throw him out for the slightest disobedience, he had started testing her limits. It seems this was another poke at them.

She huffed at him, and put her boots on. Then her weapons. When Ahsoka had finished strapping on her weapons and boots, she wandered into the kitchens to grab a quick snack before she had to guide them out of hyperspace and into a battlefield. 

She was not looking forward to that. Her ship wasn't really made to zip in between all of the little fighters that would surely be flying around. Nor was it equipped to discreet.

The protein bar was finished quickly, and Ahsoka made her way to the cockpit. She put on the modified headset and sat in her chair.

No matter how many times she looked out the windows and saw the blur of hyperspace, she would never stop loving it. She especially loved the myths that came with it. There was one that proclaimed that if one tared into it for too long, they would go mad. Or the one that said that Starmaids followed every hyperspace traveler along their route to make sure they made it out safely.

Ahsoka sighed and leaned back in her chair. Ten minutes until they left hyperspace. Ten minutes until she entered an active battlefield and broke laws on both sides of the war. Ten minutes until she was officially a smuggler. She was not looking forward to that.

A beeping from the console alerted her they were exiting in thirty seconds. Ahsoka lurched forward and grabbed the controls. No going back.

The space battle was a sight to behold now that she wasn't apart of it. She couldn't stop her morbid appreciation of the dazzling picture that it made. Ships were blowing up. Blaster fire was flying. And people were dying. 

She sobered up and focused on flying through the chaos with her cargo intact. They made it planet side with relatively intact shielding. 

Ahsoka examined the planet side coordinates  and adjusted her flight path to match. The planet surface was just as rife with fighting as the one in space was, but it was oddly more subdued. She didn't know how to describe it, it was just the overall vibe she got from it.

She landed in an empty field, away from the fighting. Most of the other smugglers got there a few hours before a battle ended, said it was easier to blend in with the populace (after hiding their ship somewhere safe). From there it was just waiting it out and gaining enough trust from the people who lived on the planet, so they could hand out supplies that didn't come from a recognizable source.

People often didn't accept supplies when they didn't come from the side their planet was allied with. Too afraid that the other would use it as an opportunity to poison them. And as smugglers with no clear side, the people were wary of them.

Ahsoka threw on a large cloak, to hide her weapons, and walked down the ramp. R5 was to stay on the ship, in case they needed a quick getaway, but according to the other smugglers, it wasn't often that everybody rejected their supplies. Even if they were rejected by the majority, there was always someone willing to take the supplies.

She shook her head and focused on travelling through the dangerous landscape that was Felucia. Home to rancors, carnivorous plants, and on occasion, Hondo. The journey was quick and full of bugs (that Anakin would've loved). She was lucky she didn't run into a rancor or ever worse, a sarlacc.

She shivered at the thought. She remembered Master Ti comparing a sarlacc to a localized natural disaster. It was just something you couldn't run from after you stumbled into it. She never wanted to find one, so she kept her step short and light.

The first sign that she was getting close was the deafening sounds of battle. And then the destroyed and smoking homes.

Ahsoka wondered where the people were, it they weren't on the outskirts of the city. They wouldn't run inwards, not towards the fighting. Besides, the whole city was under siege, not just the outskirts. So she discreetly leapt onto the roof of a mostly intact building and started looking.

Felucians weren't typically aggressive or fighters, they preferred to farm and only fought when there was no other option. And this was a scenario where there was no other option but to fight. So where were the felucians? She had passed many battles (occasionally used the force to help the clones with their battles), but none of them felucians participating, only clones and droids (she hadn't seen the generals on either side, either).

Was this another repeat of Shili? The felucians were docile and hard working enough to get taken by slavers. She paled at the thought and stepped up her pace. Force, she hoped not. She would do everything in her power to help them if that was the case.

Ahsoka scoured the city almost getting shot a few times in her reckless search. Her mind was playing on loop what had happened on Zygerria. The emaciated bodies of the togrutans and how weak they were. The burns and broken bones.

She snapped out of her chaotic thoughts when she spotted something odd. Or really, heard. There was a large din of noise coming from a large collapsed building, almost unnoticeable to her, let alone someone that didn't have her montrals. It sounded uncomfortably a lot like many voices screaming out for help.

She wasted no time climbing down the building she was on. There were a few droids lingering around the area, they were quickly dispatched courtesy of her vibroswords. Somehow, during the fight she had lost her cloak.

{PIC HERE}

 She didn't know whether to think it lucky or not. The heat was overwhelming, and the cloak had no helped one bit. Screams crying out for help echoed out of the crushed building. Ahsoka went closer to the wreckage, looking for a way to help that wasn't the Force. Ahsoka didn't want to draw attention to herself. While she was no longer under the Order's jurisdiction, it was common knowledge that ex-Jedi (usually siths or dark Jedi, but still) who used their connection to the Force were brought in.

She didn't know why, but she didn't want to find out. But after searching for ten minutes or so, she found no other solution. She had wanted to call down to the people down below, she knew they would not be able to hear her. Felucians didn't have all that great of senses. Staring down at the wrecked pieces of building, she felt a resigned sort of acceptance settle over her.

If the Order wanted to bring her in for using the Force to help trapped civilians, then so be it. At least it wouldn't be her conscience on the line.

Deep inside her an energy swelled. Ahsoka gently grasped it, and focused on the wreckage in front of her. Slowly the pieces drifted away from the tunnel it had covered. The more she observed the building pieces, the more she thought that this might be a shelter rather than a prison. Once the immediate tunnel was uncovered, more trouble came.

Ahsoka didn't notice the droids until one had shot her. She crumbled to the ground.

Blearily, she noticed them approach.

"...no lightsabers...?"

"...Jedi?"

"...looks like... Commander Tano..."

"...take her in." Ahsoka caught that last one, and decided she would have none of it. So she not so subtly grabbed her blasters from their position on her lower back, and shot until she couldn't hear their annoying screams anymore.

Ahsoka mentally prepared herself to get up. The felucians still hadn't come out, so either they were trapped in another way, or they were afraid. She hoped it was the latter. She didn't know if her back could take the strain of using the Force.

Doing a very stretched out curl up and a half was what it took to get into the sitting position. She wasn't quite ready to let go of her blasters. Just in case another patrol came by, she told herself. (She didn't want to admit how vulnerable she felt right now, without her lightsabers and only two sets of weapons she was barely familiar with.)

Using the wreckage, she went from sitting up, to standing. She leaned heavily onto the large blocks, and moved towards the tunnel. It was slow going with her hands clenched around her blasters.

She sheathed her blasters when she wasn't in the light of the entrance anymore. B-1s had horrible photoreceptors, probably because of their cheap price tag. But it was to her advantage now.

As she went further into the tunnel, she saw a light up ahead, and the voices were getting louder and louder. Almost unbearable to her raw senses. But she bore it and picked up her pace. The Force could only numb her wound for so long before she just collapsed.

She groaned when she saw a caved in tunnel up ahead. Why? Why her? Why today? Why was it caved in so far below surface? Scratch that. She didn't want to know. All she wanted was some disinfectant, bacta, and a bandage. And maybe to pass out for a few days.

But Ahsoka ignored everything screaming at her to just take a nap and let her body rest. Civilians above soldiers. And right now she was a soldier.

She reached into the well that was the Force and pulled up a bucket. The cave in slowly repaired itself where it could, and shoved the extra pieces to the side when it couldn't. Eventually she caught glimpses of the felucians (and other species, but she was just going to call everyone either felucians or not-felucians, she was tired).

The last rock came to a slow stop, and she stepped forward. She mustered her most authoritative voice and spoke.

"I have cleared out the tunnel, and the building blocking it. But it is not safe on the surface yet. Please remain in the shelter for now. And if I may ask, do you have some bandages or bacta?"

Ahsoka swayed forward, and nearly would've face planted it it wasn't for one of the not-felucians rushing forward to catch her.

She promptly passed out.

Ahsoka woke to darkness, and an insistent hand poking her side.

She blinked slowly, and turned towards the poking. Maybe the poker had a question. Or they were annoying her just because. Either way, she'd find out who was poking her.

It seems her poker is a tiny not-felucian.

"'atcha doing...?" Ahsoka's voice came out rough. Her face being squished into the makeshift pallet didn't help. It surprised both of them, the tiny not-felucian jumped and backed away. They were probably skittish because of the battle going on above. No one could tell how long campaigns would last, especially on Felucia. Felucia had the ability to make something so much more complicated than one would first think. Case in point.

She had really hoped she wouldn't get shot. Or injured. But she guessed this was better than losing a limb. Slowly she pushed herself up from her position on her stomach, to flip over. She groaned when pain slammed into her. Back injuries were a pain.

She watched the kid she was just now realizing was a wookiee kid, step closer to her. She pushed herself up to lean her back on the wall behind her. The wookie kid leaned forward excitedly, no longer as intimidated. Or whatever. She was in too much pain to piece together a kid's motivations while she was surrounded by others watching her and the kid.

An adult, or very near, wookiee was watching her closely.

"A-are you a Jedi? Hueon said that only Jedi can move rocks like that." The kid had an accent similar to Chewbacca, so it was easy to translate. She poked around her bandages while she replied.

"Yeah, I grew up as a Jedi, so I learned all their cool tricks." Ahsoka neither confirmed nor denied that only Jedi could use the Force. She'd heard too much about the Sith and their role in the war to deny their abilities.

It seemed her wounds would heal up relatively quickly, in a day or two at most. She was really lucky the droids were really bad shots and had missed her vital organs. Or just didn't know how togrutan biology worked. Definitely a mix of both if she was being honest.

"Wow! Can you move this rock?" The kid pointed at a rock next to her makeshift cot. She blinked at the question then smiled. She twitched her fingers and watched the kids face as it jumped into the air and spun around, preforming maneuvers she'd make in her star fighter. The kid broke into cheers, bringing more attention to her.

She eased the rock to the ground and winced at she raw, hollow feeling inside of her. Lifting debris wasn't something that took a lot out of her, it was that combined with her injuries. During her little nap her body had drawn on the Force to accelerate her healing. Drawing in the amount of power to turn her almost deadly wound into a shallow scratch... left her really raw.

"That's so cool! I wish I could do that!" Ahsoka focused back on the kid. It was getting tiring calling the kid, well kid.

"What's your name, kid?" She smiled and watched the kid almost expand at being given attention. That was a little odd, kids usually only responded like that when they were neglected, or just starved for positive attention. She had been that latter when she was younger. Before she had Anakin, and when Master Plo...

She turned away from those thoughts and ignored them.

"I'm Ombae! What's your name?" The older wookiee inched closer to them. She didn't get any threatening vibes from them in the Force, so she didn't pay them any mind. Likely just being protective of the younger wookiee.

"Nice to meet you Ombae, I'm Ahsoka. Do you live on Felucia?" Ahsoka idly let her fingers play with the torn edge of her shirt. Ombae climbed onto the foot of the cot. There wasn't much room so she drew her feet back a little bit so the wookiee could settle down better. Muttering started on the edges of the crowd, and Ahsoka forced herself to not listen in.

"Not really, Hueon and I are travelling, and we stopped here to get some more supplies. Do you?" Ombae leaned in eagerly. Ahsoka laughed, and was reminded of her age. Or really the lack of. She felt suddenly miles ahead of this wookiee, even though this wookiee was very likely at least twenty or so standard years. The older wookiee sat on the floor with their back to Ombae. Ahsoka tried not to read too much into their behavior.

"No, I'm a relief worker. I live on Naboo when I'm not running missions." Ombae made a sound that Ahsoka translated to general elated wonder.

"Can you tell me about the places you've visited? Hueon and I only go to planets like Felucia! Have you gone to Mandalore, or Mustafar?"

"I haven't been to Mustafar, but I have been to Mandalore. On the outside, the planet is very dusty and dry. But inside the cities, are full of rich art and wonderful architecture." Ahsoka was doing her best to keep it mostly clean for the kid, they'd probably never been in a real battle, "I think my favorite part of Mandalore was, this is going to sound boring, but the gardens." She couldn't exactly say exposing a terrorist plot. fact check this.

"Have you ever met Duchess Satine? Or a real Mandalorian?" She barely kept her cringe in check at that last bit. She hoped Ombae wouldn't ask for too many details.

"Oh yeah, I once lead a class with her nephew in it. The Duchess had requested a Jedi to teach a lesson, she's pretty nice, and sticks to her ideals. And I guess it depends on what you consider a real Mandalorian." Ahsoka barely noticed when her hands went from playing with her shirt to idly stroking her lek.

"Armor wearing! Gun toting! Jet pack! Strict code to live by!" Ombae was practically bouncing at the end of the cot.

"Oh, well then I guess I've met tons of real Mandalorians." If you ignored that last bit. And if by met, 'sabered a few heads off and threatened their leader. That was a dark pseudo-mission.

"Really! Were they cool?" The older wookiee gently tapped Ombae's leg. Ombae toned down their excitement, but continued to smile at her.

"Oh yeah, they were really impressive. Their buckets were the coolest part. They're unlike anything you've ever seen, especially when you're seeing them in person." And up close. Force, she was glad R2 was there with her.

"If you don't mind me asking Ahsoka, how are you so good at shyriiwook? Most sentients struggle with it." She paused in stroking her lek, but resumed to keep appearances.

"In the temple all sorts of languages were taught, and shyriiwook was one of them. I didn't really stay in that class for long because one of my wookiee creche mates offered to teach me. I was at a pretty decent level of comprehension for a while. I got really good at it when I got stranded on a moon with a young wookiee named Chewbacca." If any good came out of her being hunted by trandoshans (ignoring saving the padawans), it was improving her shyriiwook and her hunting skills.

One of the felucians (an actual felucian, not just someone who lived on the planet) split off from the group and approached them. There was something so familiar about them, but Ahsoka couldn't put her finger on it.

"May I check your wounds, Master Jedi?" Her brows rose. She recognized this felucian as one of the farmers from that one village Hondo had threatened.

"I'm not a Jedi. But if you wish to, you may." Ahsoka hooked her legs over the edge of the cot and held her back lekku up for the felucian's ease.

She turned to Ombae, and resumed talking with the wookiee, learning that she was a she, and had been travelling for a few years. Ombae never stated why she had begun travelling with Hueon. Hueon, the older wookiee at the end of the cot, stayed silent during their conversation. The felucian had finished changing her bandage, and left with a bow. She grimaced at the undue respect given to her.

Ombae decided that if she was going to travel, she might as well see some sights. A sentiment Ahsoka could get behind. Even if she was restricted to where she could go in her role as a Jedi, and as a smuggler, she took advantage of her down time to explore wherever she could. Even if it was just the caf of a slightly different base.

During the whole time she'd been awake, Ahsoka had been monitoring the surface. She knew it wasn't likely that the battle on Felucia would end so soon, not with it have been going on for a few weeks. Campaigns on Felucia were unique, if only because the terrain made it impossible to take any amount of territory quickly.

So she was surprised when the sounds of Battle slowly petered out. Her head cocked to the side, abruptly cutting out in the middle of her sentence.

"What? What is it? If the Force telling you something?" Ombae leaned forward.

"No, not the Force." The sounds on the surface weren't the typical sounds of clankers. They sounded like the sound of clones. Clones had a specific cadence to their walk when they were (relatively) relaxed. And there were a lot of clones walking around to that cadence. Maybe they were setting up base? There were a few intact buildings on the area that would make for a great command base. And with a bit of clean up, tents could be propped up.

Ahsoka leaned over the edge of the cot and started putting on her boots.

"I'm going to check the surface, clankers have moved out of the area." Ahsoka stated mildly for anyone who was listening. She grabbed her belt and put it on. Then slotted her blasters onto her back. Her vibroswords were on the ground next to where her boots had been. Once all of her weapons were strapped on, she stood up.

She frowned down at her shirt. It was similar to her outfit at the beginning of the war, before she'd learned that exposing her midriff during battle was a bad idea. It barely covered her breasts, and she was grateful for her bindings underneath.

"I'm coming with!" Ombae volunteered, and started getting off the cot too.

"No." Hueon and Ahsoka said at the same time. They exchanged considering looks before turning back to Ombae.

"I'm not bringing a kid into a potential battle." Ahsoka ignored the voice in the back of her head calling her hypocritical. She wasn't a kid. She was a soldier. But Ombae had never see battle.

"I'm not a kid!" Ombae stomped childishly. Ahsoka resisted snorting at the very mature display.

"While you are under my care, I will not allow you to put yourself in harms way when I can prevent it." Hueon spoke. Ahsoka nodded in agreement, and started towards the way she came in. Hueon would handle Ombae.

"But you're hurt, Ahsoka! You can't go out there alone!" The felucians nodded and smiled at her as she walked past. Apparently more were listening than she first thought.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be back in an hour." Ahsoka called over her shoulder and rounded the corner, beginning the trek up. It was a lot shorter now that she wasn't on the verge of death.

The surface was full of clones wearing grey paint milling about the area, doing general things. One spotted her and his hand went to the blaster on his hip.

"Halt! Identify yourself!" His shout called everyone's attention to her. And everyone's hands simultaneously went to their hips, causing a sound that would be funny if she wasn't under such hostility.

"Wait! It's Commander Tano!" A shout in mando'a echoed through the camp. Her brows furrowed. She didn't deserve that title anymore. But now that she was looking closer, she recognized the clones milling about. It was the Wolfpack. Sudden dread filled her at the idea that Master Plo was not far behind.

The Wolfpack dispersed, assuaged at the name of a friendly. A few came up to her. She recognized Comet and Boost.

"Commander Tano, are you okay?" Boost asked in mando'a, scanning her figure. His eyes paused on her torn shirt.

"Yeah, just an almost healed blaster wound, and running on low energy. You guys shouldn't call me Commander anymore, uh, call me Ahsoka now." Comet and Boost exchanged looks. Boost circled her, looking for the wound.

"Kind of makes me nervous to have you back on Felucia, Ahsoka. Something always happens to you." Comet stated, and Ahsoka felt her lips quirk up.

She shivered when Boost nudged her lekku out of the way to get a better look at the wound. She grabbed her lekku and held it out of the way. She forgot most clones (or really anyone who didn't spend a lot of time around twi'leks or togrutans) weren't aware that lekku were sensitive. Not in a sexual way, but it was always odd when someone touched them.

Boost whistled behind her.

"When did this happen, it's very near healed. And it's heavily scarred where it isn't scabbed, did you do some of your Jedi magic tricks on it?" Boost re-wrapped the bandages and pulled away, coming around front. He raised a brow at her.

"I think it's half a day at most, and yes, I did do some 'Jedi magic tricks'. But I think the bacta definitely helped." She rolled her eyes at him.

"Wish we had healing like that, certainly would make avoiding the med bay a whole lot easier." Comet nudged Boost playfully, and they shared mischievous smiles. "But, what are you doing on Felucia? Not really the number one vacation spot nowadays." They all took in the billowing smoke and destroyed buildings surrounding them.

"It never really was, have you seen the rancors and sarlaccs on this Force forsaken planet? Terrifying. You're right about me not being here on vacation though, I'm a relief worker nowadays." She smiled at them.

"Relief workers wear those?" Boost nodded playfully at the twin vibroswords and blasters on her hips. She cocked her hip.

"A pretty girl like me has to have protection." She crossed her arms and smirked.

"Like you need a weapon to be deadly. I've seen the trandoshans that tried to hunt you for sport. Really seemed the other way around, if you're asking me." Comet fake shuddered, while that shudder was fake, the sentiment behind it wasn't. General Koon had dragged him and Wolffe with him to follow up on the trandoshan hunters. To make sure there were no others like them, but he had seen the holos of the bodies. They weren't pretty.

"Honestly, without my blasters, I probably would've been captured by some B-1s. They managed to get a good shot in and catch me while I was cleaning off that shelter over there." They gave her disbelieving looks before considering her words.

"Shelter? Are there people inside?" The three of them made their way over to the hole. They surrounded the tunnel, looking down it.

"Yeah, I found them after running all over the city looking for the people. They were trapped behind two cave ins, unable to leave even if they wanted to." Ahsoka paused and scanned the skyline, not seeing any seppie ships or droids. "Is it safe for them to come out? I found them when they were about to run out of supplies. It's insane down there, the whole city is crammed in there."

"The whole city? That explains why there were no civilians around." Boost whistled appreciatively. Comet put his bucket on. Ahsoka half listened to him calling for more supplies to this sector.

"The seppies cleared out of this city when they realized we had home advantage, and they didn't have any meat shields to use. We're pretty sure whatever was left of them fled into the forests to get picked up." Ahsoka grimaced at that. Her ship was in the forest. Her ship full of supplies that clankers would blow up if they realized what it was.

"You two go down and retrieve the civilians. The men are making cuts to their supplies to give them relief." Comet took off his bucket and turned back to them. Boost started to go down. Ahsoka caught both their attentions and handed Comet a datachip.

"Wait, I have a ship full of supplies a mile out of the city. Enough to feed everyone in the city for a few days until the big guns drop in. You don't need to share just yet." Ahsoka spent a few more minutes giving Comet the coordinates to her ship and warnings about R5. That cranky droid would shock anyone given the chance, and he wouldn't let some plastoid stop him.

Boost and her made the short trip down.

"Boost, when we get closer to the bottom, walk slow, keep your hands up, and stand next to me. They have a few blasters down there, and I prefer you intact." Ahsoka joked, and Boost laughed. They kept the jokes up, deliberately allowing the people down there to know that was someone was coming, and they weren't droids.

Their laughter worked, only a few blasters were pointed at them. Hueon blended back into the crowd once he saw her. Once her and Boost's identity was confirmed, questions were launched at them.

"Is it safe out there?"

"We can leave right?"

"Do you have more supplies on the surface?"

"We ran out of bacta a few hours ago."

"Quiet, please!" Boost shouted when it became apparent that they wouldn't let them get a word in. Ahsoka thanked him when the crowd quieted. Their noise had hurt her montrals.

"The Separatists have retreated out of the city and are slowly trying to leave the planet. The city is safe enough for you to return to the surface. Please check in at one of the stations so your loved ones know you're alive, and to receive your rations for the day." Boost reported on the situation, knowing more than her. It was a bit annoying when they all turned to her to confirm the story, but she understood and nodded. She was the familiar one, not Boost.

"Please exit the shelter carefully, you're safe now." She nodded at the tunnel entrance. Plenty of the civilians went directly for the tunnel, some went for the supplies they had managed to bring with them. And a very small amount stayed with Boost and her. Hueon and Ombae were apart of that crowd. Boost held out his holo, and let a smile sit on his face. Comet appeared on the other end.

"In coming, Corporal. Hope you're ready." Boost continued to talk with Comet for a few minutes, and Ahsoka decided to talk to the people who were waiting around. She stepped towards the crowd.

"You guys have concerns?"

"I don't know where my mom is, can I stay with you? Mom always said to find the nicest person when I can't find her." A tiny felucian stepped forward shyly. Ahsoka squatted down and smiled. She tried not to let on that their mom might be dead.

"Of course, what's your name?" The felucian opened up and darted into her space. The felucian clung to her side. Ahsoka almost recoiled at the sudden action.

"Tailaa." A girl. Ahsoka stood up, and held Tailaa to her front. She was barely weighed anything, it was a good thing she was only one and half feet tall. Though, she hoped it was normal for Tailaa's species.

"Nice to meet you, Tailaa. I'm Ahsoka." Ahsoka grinned down at the felucian, Tailaa smiled shyly and then buried her head in Ahsoka's chest. She turned back to the group. It had thinned down since she had last seen it.

"What is the state of the city? What sort of relief efforts will be employed to help us rebuild?" A ruffled, but official looking felucian asked with all the weight of someone used to being in charge. Idly Ahsoka started bouncing Tailaa gently, brought back to that time where everything was peaceful and she helped out in the creche.

"Most of the city's infrastructure is still intact, along with most of the residential buildings. The inner city and government buildings have suffered the most damage from what I have seen. That may have changed since I first scouted out the city." She paused. Talking so business-y was never her strong suit, that was Obi-wan's. Anakin and her were just there to wreck things. But she thinks she's making sense if his nodding meant anything.

"I am... unaware of what measures will be taken to help rebuild the city. But the standard for Republic aligned planets is for the important facilities such as city halls, homes, and power plants to receive the most funding. Private sectors will be expected to rebuild on their own. I am sorry for my ignorance on this topic, but I have not been involved with this specific process of relief. This is all based on anecdotal knowledge and some secondhand knowledge." Ahsoka slowed her rocking, and shifted to stroking Tailaa's head. Ahsoka was pretty sure she had fallen asleep. The felucian didn't seem satisfied but probably knew she wouldn't have any more answers for him.

Boost gently tapped her elbow and came to stand beside her. From there, they tag teamed questions for the next thirty or so minutes.

"Ahsoka! Can we come to the surface with you?" Ombae and Hueon stood beside each other. They had waited patiently for their turn to talk. The group had thinned down to about five or so people, two of them Hueon and Ombae.

"Can we come with you as well?" One of the last three asked. The other two nodded. Ahsoka looked at Boost in surprise. He just gave her a noncommittal shrug.

"Uh, yeah, sure. Let's get going." Ahsoka turned around and they made their way to the tunnel.

"Corporal, we're on our way up with the last of the natives." Boost sent a message to Comet, and then turned to Ahsoka.

"How long are you staying?" That was a question she didn't really know the answer to. Boss had only said make sure your supplies are received, tie up any loose knots you create, and then get the kriff out of there.

"I'll probably fly out once I find Tailaa's family and when I'm no longer immediately useful, probably." Ahsoka wanted to shrug, but that would disturb Tailaa, who had been peacefully sleeping for a while now.

"Awww, Commander! You're always useful!" She rolled her eyes at his playful tone. Boost carefully nudged her shoulder.

"Adorable." She deadpanned.

"I know what I am, but what are you?" Boost shot her finger guns and she pretended to not be amused by it. While Wolffe had been the long suffering babysitter when she was around, Boost had actually been her friend. They'd never been put in situations where one held more power over the other. Mostly because when Wolffe had gotten too tired of dealing with her, he dumped her on the brother least likely to malfunction around a kid.

Her title had been more of a first name than a rank with Boost.

"A badass." Ahsoka smirked at Boost and stepped out of the tunnel. All around them were clones and felucians in vary states of distress. She tried not to think about it too long, and made a nexu line for the check in table. A very harried clone she vaguely recognized was operating the table.

"Name, species, and address. Replace the address with planet of where you're a citizen, if you're not a recognized resident of Felucia. A picture from your most recent government interaction will be linked to your profile. And if the system chooses the wrong one or if there isn't one, you will be prompted to take one." He pointed to the datapads lined up on the table. The group she led here broke apart and started registering. Boost stood to the side of the table and made small talk with the clone manning the table.

Ahsoka gently woke Tailaa up. While Tailaa took her time waking up, Ahsoka filled out her own register, and then half of Tailaa's.

"Hey, sweetie, what's your address?" Tailaa tiredly mumbled her address and it took a few times before they were both certain it was the right one. After Ahsoka hit enter, another profile popped up. It was Tailaa's mother, if the similar coloring, and same address meant anything.

"Is this your mother, Tailaa?" She showed Tailaa the profile. Tailaa lit up and started bouncing. Ahsoka winced when she accidentally kicked one of the blasters into her wound. That was gonna leave a mark.

"Yes! Mom! Where is she? When can we go find her? I want to see her!" Tailaa couldn't contain her excitement, and bumped the blaster a few more times.

"Alright, alright, we'll go see her in a few minutes. You've gotta save that energy for your mom. Just... calm down." Ahsoka struggled not to drop Tailaa. A few seconds later Tailaa was lifted from her arms, and she was free to check her wound.

"I'll hold Tailaa for a few minutes, Ahsoka. Hello, Tailaa! I'm Boost!" She half watched Boost and Tailaa interact while she unwrapped her wound.

"Ahsoka... it's bleeding." Ombae's horrified voice sounded from behind her. Ahsoka felt under the wound and winced when she felt the steady flow of blood. That couldn't be good. She wrapped her wound and turned to Boost.

"Can you find her mom? I should probably go to the med-center..." Ahsoka got a worried nod in return. Tailaa was looking at her with sad and confused eyes.

"Hey, Tailaa. Boost is gonna find your mom for me, I have to go to the med-center and get some medicine. I'll make sure to find you later, before I leave." She smiled and looked that clone manning the table. He was watching them with almost concerned interest. She quietly asked him where the med-center was. He gave her directions and she walked off.

The medics in charge of the med-center tried to disarm, and sedate her. They were trying to keep her from further injuring herself but it just made her want to lash out at them. Her instincts said to leave and isolate herself, she didn't trust these people here. There were no familiar faces, only disconnected concern.

So she left the med-center after getting treated and threatening to tear something off the human male who tried to keep her from leaving. He backed off after that, but kept the needle in between them after that.

Ahsoka navigated in between the crowds and made her way to Comet. He might not know where Boost was, but he might need her help with something. Not a distant possibility in this crowded camp. She also kept her weapons close, and constantly checked on them. Pick pockets might decide they wanted something a little more dangerous than a wallet.

A bounty hunter wouldn't be too out of place in this crowd, either. They followed disaster, but most stayed away from recovering planets. Only the ones looking for simple work came to help rebuild. Sometimes a bounty would be put up during these sorts of situations and that was just a bonus on top of easy work.

Comet was at the head of a group of clones all being given orders. She stopped and waited just out of hearing range under an awning. Ahsoka uselessly pulled her shirt from her chest in an attempt to air out her sweaty chest. She eyed the clones in slight jealousy, they had fully air conditioned helmets and coolants running though their armors. Felucia was too kriffing hot.

She wouldn't be coming back anytime soon, and would trade with the other pilots if Felucia came up again. Maybe the planet was cursed? Heat like this wasn't natural unless it was a planet like Tatooine. And that planet had two suns.

She snapped back to the moment when she saw Comet approaching her. He took off his helmet and clipped it to his belt. He ran his hand through his short hair. It was damp with sweat and flopped back down. Never mind. She wasn't jealous of the clones, they had hair.

"Ahsoka? Do you need anything?" Ahsoka nodded. She pushed from the post she was leaning against.

"Yeah, have you seen Boost recently? If you haven't that's fine," She absent mindedly double check her weapons were still there, then took a swig from her water bottle.

"No I haven't, not since I sent you two down to retrieve the civilians. Do you need me to contact him?" Comet raised his wrist with the suggestion. She shook her head.

"Nah, I'll run into him eventually. Do you have anything you need help with? I'm kind of idling until it's time for me to leave. Water?" He took the bottle and drank about half of it before handing it back with a nod.

"Can you take something to the command tent for me? I would, but the shinies are extra shiny today..." They both grimaced and glanced back at the group of arguing clones. She hummed sympathetically.

"I do not miss that." They sent each other grins and moved towards a tent with a few a clones milling around inside. He led her to a table of datpads full of info.

"When you get to the command tent, give this to the highest ranking tech. This is a report of what tech the civilians will need to get back on their feet." She took the datapads, and paused. She surged forward and hugged Comet. He froze for a few seconds before hugging back carefully, mindful of the wound on her back.

"I miss you." She whispered in his ear. Force, she'd missed every single one of these men.

It was so strange to go from have all sorts of attachments, to being so severely isolated. Because that's what they were, attachments, the type that the Council had preached against. She was realizing that she hadn't been much of a Jedi. Not one the Council would be proud of.

Comet held on to her for a bit longer, only letting go when one of the men whistled at them. Comet went to go scold the man that whistled, and Ahsoka left the tent to go deliver the datapad.

She wandered for a bit before she'd stopped and asked one of the milling clones where the command tent was. He'd eyed her weapons for a bit before answering hesitantly. She followed his directions, and didn't think much on his hesitation.

The command tent was a big ratty thing. It had lasted though many campaigns and endured mysterious stains, blaster holes, and native wildlife. It was a familiar tent that used to fill her with reassurance, but now filled her with dread. Because Master Plo might be inside. The one man who was supposed to believe in her, had almost raised her, had turned on her when she needed him most.

Unlike Obi-wan who had waffled over whether to believe her or not, Master Plo had believed her guilty almost immediately. She bit her lip, and braced herself before stepping inside. She didn't hate Master Plo, she didn't believe herself capable of it, but she didn't trust him anymore. He had turned on her when she needed him most.

If she ran into him... she'd. She doesn't know what she'd do.

Ahsoka took a deep breath, sucking in hot Felucian air, and stepped inside the tent. She spent a few tense seconds scanning the tent for Master Plo. Her shoulders fell and she let out a sigh of relief when she didn't spot him. Ahsoka made her way to the nearest clone working at one of the computers and tapped his shoulder. He took off his headgear and turned to her.

"Commander Tano?" Her brows rose. Recognition hit her.

"Faunna?" It was Faunna. She didn't know how she didn't recognize him before, he still had his distinctive haircut that was on par with Kix's, dyed a light grey.

"Gods, it's good to see you're still alive. I'd heard you were planetside from Boost and Corporal Comet but I didn't believe them!" He stood up and hugged her tightly. For once she was grateful that the clones were so kriffing tall, because otherwise he would've been squeezing her wound. She quickly hugged back with a little less force.

"Yeah... I'm here." She pushed him back and examined his face. He'd gotten older since she'd last seen him a few months ago. There was a tiny little scar at the corner of his mouth. She grabbed his chin and rubber her thumb over it.

"Where'd you get this? Was it something stupid? I bet it was, knowing you and Boost." She grinned and let go of his chin. She pulled away completely and scanned all of him, looking for more scars.

"Haha... it was something stupid. Boost bet I couldn't skate on mouse droids. I did! But then Doome walked in and knocked me down. I cut my face on the corner of a bunk." Faunna rubbed the back of his head and tried not to make eye contact.

She rolled her eyes at him and pulled him down for another hug. She'd missed these idiots. Not like she was better, if she had been there, she would've been right there with Faunna trying to skate on mouse droids.

"Force, you guys are so stupid." She shook her head and laughed lightly.

"What's that?" Faunna pointed down at the datapad clutched in her hand. She blinked before focusing back on the task at hand.

"Oh! Comet told me to come deliver this to the highest ranking tech in the command tent. Do you know who they are?" Faunna beamed down at her.

"You're looking at him! Got promoted a few times while you were gone!" He pointed his thumbs at himself and blushed while beaming. Ahsoka put her hands on her hips and smiled up at him.

"Aw yeah! That's so awesome Faunna! The next time I'll see you, you'll be General!" Ahsoka pat his shoulders. It got a laugh out of both of them. When they calmed down more, she handed him the datapad.

"Comet mentioned something about it being full of facilities that the felucians will need to rebuild, didn't ask for more than that." Ahsoka leaned up against his desk and watched him work. She averted her eyes when he typed in passwords and codes, aware that she no longer had clearance and that even glancing at that info could get a few years in prison.

They kept up idle conversations, Faunna focusing most of his attention on sorting through the information presented to him. Occasionally he let his attention drift enough to exchange comm codes or talk seriously about what had happened since she left. They tried to avoid the latter. When he became too absorbed in the information, she would turn her attention to observing the people doing nothing.

She honestly should've left the tent as soon as she gave Faunna the datapad. Being a former GAR officer in a command tent had certain implications. Not that any of them were true, but her own reassurances wouldn't stop someone from being suspicious of her. Her even being on Felucia during a battle was suspicious.

She shook her head and stood up. She clasped Faunna's shoulder. He looked up with a questioning look in his eyes.

"I'm gonna head out, comm me when you have the time." She let go of his shoulder and made her way to the tent flaps. She lifted one flap, and paled.

Master Plo was standing on the other side, hand raised to move the flap out of the way.

Ahsoka jerked back and barely avoided bumping into one of the tech's desks. She focused on apologizing to the irritated tech over the wampa about to enter the room. Her increasingly ridiculous promises to him just made him give her a dirty look and ignore her. She carefully kept her body facing away from Master Plo.

"Little 'soka?" Force, she wanted to turn around and yell, and scream, and cry, and beg him to tell her what she did wrong. But she didn't. Master Plo was a Jedi master and wouldn't appreciate it, no matter their history.

"Please turn around, 'soka." His hand rested on her shoulder, tugging gently. She let him turn her around. She morphed her face into a neutral expression, and turned around completely. Master Plo and Wolffe stood next to each other, other clones streamed around them to go to their workstations (most of them were watching the upcoming scene out of the corner of their eye).

Wolffe scanned her, before nodding at her and going to the main table. It was only Master Plo and her.

"'soka, can we go somewhere private to talk? I don't think this is a conversation to have in the public." Master Plo subtly scanned the crowded tent. Ahsoka followed his gaze. Half of the eyes from before had turned away, but the people that knew the two of them and their history were watching. She made eye contact with Faunna. He sent her a look, asking her if she was okay. She smiled at him, and stepped out of the tent.

"Where's your tent?" Ahsoka asked, and crossed her arms. Master Plo gestured one way, and they started walking. Most of the walk, Ahsoka was absorbed in her thoughts. They pinged between worried, kriffing pissed, and apathy. Because of course her first mission would involve her running into Master Plo (and everyone she knew well from his fleet). It seems her luck has been in a really deep down swing.

They sat in Master Plo's tent. Ahsoka was on a crate near the tent flap, and Master Plo was not too far away on his cot. Contrary to popular belief, Jedi's tents weren't much bigger than their troops. They only had a few extra feet of space so they could have more than three people in it. So Ahsoka wasn't as far away from Master Plo as she wished to be.

Ahsoka stared at him resolutely, and Master Plo kept gazing at the ground. It was like their personalities were switched, like Master Plo was the irrational padawan being scolded for something reckless, and Ahsoka was the long suffering Master Jedi. Her lips quirked up at that thought. It was an amusing little thing, only ruined by the tinge of betrayal that came with every thought involving Master Plo.

"Well?" Ahsoka was almost startled by herself. She didn't expect to be the one to start this conversation, because she didn't know where it would head. Would Master Plo scold her for being on planet, using the Force, or being in the command tent.

"Little 'soka... I have--I must apologize to you." Master Plo started, and Ahsoka felt herself jerk back. She didn't even consider it. Wasn't even on the table. What was he apologizing for?

"What for?" Ahsoka crossed her arms. Her eyes darted towards the tent flaps, considering what her escape plan was.

"When the Council convened to discuss the decision to expel you, I didn't fight them hard enough. I was afraid that it would be seen as me showing too much favoritism, and would further incriminate you. And I was afraid that you might've actually been guilty, and I was letting my attachment to you cloud my decisions. So I didn't try to fight the decision of the Council." Master Plo hung his head. Ahsoka wanted to be calm. Force, she did. 

All this time, she'd believed that Master Plo was totally against her, believing her guilty, but this was so much worse. He'd thought she might be innocent, and let her be kicked out of the Order. Didn't try. Let doubts sway him. Didn't try to investigate for himself, like Anakin.

Ahsoka unclenched her jaw, took a deep breath, and leaned back. Her gaze never let Master Plo as she thought, weighed his words.

Master Plo had tried to stay neutral so it wouldn't look like favoritism.

He regretted it.

Master Plo's fears overwhelmed him.

At least part of him thought her innocent.

Master Plo had put in her a position where she needed to reevaluate her ideas and perceptions of him. If what he was saying was true, then her anger was justified, but not entirely. She was right to be angry at him for not trying hard enough. He was considerate of his relationship and how it might affect others perceptions of his stance.

When she was in the thick of things, running from the authorities, she'd thought it was obvious that she couldn't possibly be the temple bomber. She was an upstanding example of a padawan (with a few issues), loyal to a fault, and there were too many coincidences in the evidence used against her. But when she put all of that on mute and took an outsider's perspective, there was no other culprit.

Because Letta commited the initial crime, it was easy to say that she set it all up over the comm. Didn't even have to be onworld for the first part to be executed, making it seem like she was trying to lay all the blame on Letta. That part was a little shaky, but feasible.

Then there was her being an active part of the investigation. It put her in the perfect position to meet Letta and learn about the nano droids. Establish that Letta wasn't entirely a willing participant. And set her up as Letta's murderer. Most of the council had heard of a force choke, some even been on the receiving end of it, but hardly anyone had seen one done. So it was easy to mistake her arms raised to help Letta for something else.

Her running, and allying with Ventress had done nothing to help her in the eyes of the Council. Neither did being found with the nano droids.

She was an upstanding padawan, but the padawan of the almost infamous Anakin Skywalker. Really, no one would suspect Barriss of being the instigator over her. Especially when she was so neatly framed.

"I--... I don't forgive you. But I accept your apology. Now that I have been separated from the situation, I can see how it was easy to let me be the culprit. But I can't forgive the fact that you didn't try harder to convince the others. So easily discarded our history." Ahsoka scrubbed her face and sighed tiredly. She'd accepted her relationship with the Council members would never be more than cordial after she'd been kicked out of the Order, but it still hurt to be faced with this other side to the story.

"I see. I suppose that's more than I was hoping for." Master Plo neatly arranged himself on his cot. Years spent around the man told her that he was swallowing down his sadness, trying to shove it into the Force. Her heart hurt, and she wanted to go back to the time where she didn't have to worry about a karking war or being accused of sedition. But she swallowed that down. It wasn't healthy to keep wanting for the past and the future that could never be.

"Here are my comm codes." She stood up and rattled them off, "I'm going to tie up any loose ends I have on this planet, and then I'm going to leave. You can use my codes to contact me... Bye, Master Plo." She left the tent.

Ahsoka got her datachip back from Comet. And said goodbye.

Ahsoka found Boost, Tailaa, her mom, and Faunna. And said goodbye.

Ahsoka ran into both Hueon and Ombae about to leave. And said goodbye.

Ahsoka retrieved the supply crates, and left.

She struggled not to cry on her way back to Naboo. She fell asleep as soon as they dropped into hyperspace.