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Ahsoka told herself it was the whirring of the ship that was keeping her awake; that the humming she had lived with the past 3 years was loud enough to prevent her from slipping into unconsciousness, but she knew it wasn’t true. It wasn’t the ship keeping her awake, it was her traitorous mind. She hadn’t slept well in days.
Hadn’t slept well since the Order.
With a shake of her head, she sat up and placed her bare feet on the cold durasteel floor of her room. Space was so cold. Ahsoka remembered years ago, first getting on a Venator on the way off Christophsis. She had tried to keep her shivering under control, but the cold expanse of space and her pitiful excuse for a battle outfit proved too much for her to handle, and Anakin had caught her shivering slightly after a briefing.
“Cold, little one?” Anakin asked, a smirk playing at his lips.
Ahsoka scowled at the nickname. “I’m not little.” Another shiver. “But I may be a little cold.” His smirk softened, and he motioned for her to follow him.
“It’s alright,” he said as he made his way through the twisting corridors of the ship that Ahsoka now called home. “I remember my first time in space, I was shivering for ages until someone gave me a blanket. It catches you off guard, but you’ll get used to it eventually.”
A door swished open in front of them, and Anakin stepped into what Ahsoka assumed was his quarters. He picked up a small blanket from the bed and tossed it to her. “Here. It’ll do until we can get your quarters set up.”
Ahsoka tucked the blanket around her shoulders and smiled. “Thank you, Master.” Anakin smiled back.
“You’re welcome, my padawan.”
Anakin wasn’t here to give her a blanket now though, and Ahsoka shook her head to rid herself of the memory. She was alone now. Might as well get used to it.
The ship clunked down on Utapau’s surface much rougher than Ahsoka would have liked. “Stupid bucket of bolts,” she muttered. As if in protest, an alarm began going off. With a firm bang against the panelling, the siren quieted, and Ahsoka sighed. Time to get to work.
Rex had told her that the entire GAR had received the Order. But if she had survived, then maybe there were some other Jedi that had, too. And if any Jedi could survive the Order, it was Obi-Wan. Anakin could have survived, too, but her bond with him was dark, and confirmed the fears she’d had since she was 14 years old: that she wouldn’t be with him, and their bond, so bright and full of life, would die. Maybe, if she had been there - no.
Her only hope was finding Obi-Wan, and the last time they had spoken, he was on Utapau, so Utapau was where she would look.
The ship ramp lowered, and Ahsoka tucked her cowl over her montrals. There were only a few clone troopers scattered throughout the levels, so Ahsoka wasn’t worried about being recognized unless a trooper spoke to her directly. According to the Empire, she was dead. And if all else failed, she could mind trick a few clone troopers to keep her identity a secret.
Utapau was an interesting planet, to be sure. The giant ledges that constantly loomed kept her on edge, and the heat from its sun was beginning to make her sweat. With much relief, she slipped into the shadows and began her search.
Quickly, she realized the local residents were not going to tell her anything. Despite her annoyance, she couldn’t really blame them. They had been invaded by the Separatists, and then the Republic immediately after. Outsiders were not to be trusted. That meant her only source of information would be the clone troopers themselves. That would be more difficult.
They roamed in steady patrols, though the slim number of troopers were often isolated, so it wouldn’t be difficult to get one alone. The real question would be if she could get one alone and get out with both of them still alive. She meant what she said to Rex on that doomed Venator. She would not kill any of her men that she didn’t have to.
There. On the next level up, there was a clone with yellow painted armor regularly walking back and forth along the edge. But as she observed him, his steps got less and less precise as the heat weighed on him. She knew from Rex’s complaining that the armor did not air out well, and that would work in her advantage. Silent as the windless air about her, she leapt up to the next level.
Now that she had found her target, Ahsoka was faced with a more difficult problem. How to attract his attention and get the answers she needed without alerting the rest of the troopers to her presence? Anakin would have just attacked outright, but that would create too much of a fuss. Stealth it was, then.
Ahsoka hunched over and shortened her breath. With less effort than it should have taken, she forced her legs to shake just slightly as she hobbled over to the clone trooper. “Sir?” her voice sounded much weaker than it should have, and she was grateful. There was a good chance that the men of the 212th would recognize her, even with the chip activated. The trooper ignored her. “Sir?” she reached out and grasped his gauntlet.
The trooper’s head snapped to her. “What do you want? Citizens are not supposed to be on this level.” Kark, Ahsoka thought. Time to improvise.
“I’m terribly sorry, sir, but I’m hopelessly lost. I was travelling with someone, but while I was sleeping they stole my ship and all of my belongings. I don’t know what to do,” she pleaded, putting a slight quaver in her voice at the end. She thought Obi-Wan would be quite proud.
The clone sighed. “Get down to level 13. There are shuttles off the planet there, but first you’ll have to get your new credentials from the Empire.” Ahsoka knew all of this already. She needed useful information, and she needed it now.
“The Empire?” she questioned. “I haven’t heard of any Empire in the galaxy,” she lied easily. The clone sighed again, more exasperated this time.
“The Empire. The Jedi betrayed the Republic, so Emperor Palpatine reformed the Republic into an Empire-”
“CT-5315!” the clone Ahsoka was talking to immediately snapped to attention. Ahsoka ducked her head, not turning to look at the new clone. “Why is there a citizen on this level?”
“Apologies, sir. She got swindled and claimed she was lost. I was just directing her to the lower levels, Commander.” Commander. Could it be-?
The Commander spoke again, and Ahsoka’s guess was confirmed. “Get her down there, now.” His voice was just a touch deeper than the other clone’s, and she had heard his voice enough throughout the war to recognize him. It was Cody. Cody, who was obviously still under the control of the chip. Ahsoka wanted to wonder what that meant for Obi-Wan, whether his most trusted Commander had shot him in the back and Ahsoka was searching for nothing, but she shook the thought from her head. If she could get Cody alone, she could get the answers she so desperately needed.
Cody began to walk away, and Ahsoka knew it was time to act. Quick as a flash, she raised her hand in front of the clone’s face, and his body went limp. She managed to catch him and lower to the ground, blessedly without alerting the retreating Cody to the commotion.
Cody walked back into the relative inside of their level. Ahsoka reached out with the Force, but could feel no other presences. Good. She slunk into the shadows and began to follow Cody through the twisting corridors. He led her deeper and deeper into the facility, and still she didn’t see or sense another soul. He only glanced behind a few times throughout the journey, but she stayed out of sight and he gave no indication that he had spotted her. Still, she would need to make her move, and soon.
It was dim in the room Cody had led them to, only a few overhead red lights shining. His boots clacked on the floor, the only sound in the quiet corridors. Without warning, Cody reached up and punched a panel on the wall next to him. Immediately, the door behind Ahsoka slid shut with a loud clang, and the lights flooded on, illuminating her in stark white light. Kark, she thought. She should’ve known Cody was too smart to let himself be tailed.
She looked around frantically, but there was nowhere for her to escape to. If she had enough time, she could flee through one of the vents, but Cody had already zeroed in on her and had his blaster raised.
“Now, what is a citizen like you doing following me into a restricted area?” he asked, blaster pointed at her head. Ahsoka’s heart pounded. What would Anakin do? Anakin would fight to his dying breath, but she had no weapons. If it was anyone else, she would take Cody one-on-one, but she had sparred with him before. She had little chance of winning, if it came to that. What would Obi-Wan do? Obi-Wan would stall.
“Cody, it’s me. It’s Ahsoka.” His head cocked to the side. “There is a chip in your brain that is controlling your actions. We have to get it out, or you’re going to do terrible things,” she said.
“Ahsoka Tano, former member of the Jedi Order, and marked for execution by Order 66.” Ahsoka’s skin chilled at the familiar words. “You are supposed to be dead,” he said matter of factly.
She raised her chin. “Well, I’m not. Are you going to kill me?” His helmet straightened.
“All those who do not comply with Order 66 will be stripped of rank and convicted of treason against the Empire.” There. His hand tightened just slightly on his blaster. He was resisting.
“But you don’t want to kill me, do you, Cody? I can help you, I promise. Please, just let me-” a scream from the Force had her ducking a blaster bolt that would have gone straight through her forehead.
Ahsoka darted forward, sweeping her leg out in an attempt to hook it around Cody’s calf. He jumped over her kick with ease. They were in close quarters now, and he tossed the blaster across the room, far out of reach. Cody brought both his hands up in a position that Ahsoka knew well, and she mirrored him.
Ahsoka’s mind raced. She would not win in an all out brawl with Cody. She just had to get close enough to mind trick him, and she’d make a plan from there. Simple.
The next minute was a blur. He swung, she ducked. She kicked, he blocked. Neither one of them conceded a single hit. All the while, Ahsoka was reaching out with her mind, trying to sense if there was anything left of Cody not under the control of the chip. She was met with a firm wall that wouldn’t budge no matter how hard she pushed against it. It made sense, she supposed. He was a CC clone, and they were naturally engineered with stronger mental defenses than the normal CTs. Cody wasn’t going to cave easily; she had to find something to distract him, to make him lower that wall.
“Hey, Cody, do you remember Rex? Your vodi’ka?” He stumbled. Just slightly, but it was there. Rex was his weak spot. She dodged another swing. “I bet you miss him,” her breath was coming quickly now. “I know it’s been ages since you’ve seen him, that you’re worried about him.” Cody was panting, too, and Ahsoka took some small satisfaction in that; she wasn’t making it easy for him. “Do you want to see him?” She felt against his mental wall again. There was a weak spot, so hidden that she hadn’t seen it the first time. But it was more evident now as she spoke about Rex. “Cody, I know where he is.” Cody jerked, startled, and Ahsoka attacked.
His fist made contact with her nose, and Ahsoka heard a horrifying snap. Her eyes shut involuntarily, and she kept them that way. It didn’t matter that he had broken her nose; she had a foothold in his mind. With all her might, Ahsoka pushed, and the mental wall caved. Immediately, her mind was flooded with goodsoldiersfollowordersgoodsoldiersfollowordersgoodsoldiersfolloworders. With a cry, she forced out SLEEP. Cody’s mind went quiet.
When Ahsoka opened her eyes, Cody’s form lay crumpled on the ground. She winced and rubbed at her nose which was quickly swelling. Carefully, she placed both palms on her nose and pulled down. A moment later there was a crack, and Ahsoka grunted. Setting broken bones was never pleasant. Her hands came away bloody, but she didn’t care. The sight of blood had stopped phasing her long ago. She looked down at Cody.
“Time to get to work,” she said to no one.
The procedure for Cody went the same way it had gone for Rex. It was a feat to get the Marshall Commander into a medical center with no one noticing, but she managed. And now that she knew where the chip was and the procedure to get it out, it was easy to tell the droids what to do. Now, she sat waiting, staring at Cody’s still body and praying that he would wake up.
He had been asleep for a long time, now. Rex had woken up quickly after his surgery, and the long wait was making her nervous. What if he didn’t wake up? What if someone came to check on them and they realized what she was doing?
His foot stirred. Immediately, her gaze snapped to his face, where his eyes were blearily blinking open. She rushed to his side. “Cody?” His eyes locked on hers, and his brows furrowed in confusion.
“Tano?” He sat up slowly, wincing all the while. “What are you-” his eyes widened. “ Shit.” He swung his legs over the side and stood up, making for the door. But he didn’t make it a step before he began swaying precariously.
“Cody!” Ahsoka rushed forward and caught him right as his legs gave out. “You can’t be moving that quickly. You just had brain surgery, take it easy.”
He shook his arm out of her grasp. “Obi-Wan. I have to find Obi-Wan.” She placed her hand on his shoulder and shoved him back on the medical cot with perhaps too much force.
“I’m looking for Obi-Wan too. I was hoping you’d be able to help me with that.”
He brushed her hand off again. “You don’t understand. The Order came through, and I ordered him to be shot down. I have to go find him.” Ahsoka’s heart stopped. Shot down. Down from where? But if Cody was concerned with finding Obi-Wan, then-
“Wait, Cody, are you saying that you don’t know where he is?”
“No! I shot him down, but we couldn’t recover his body and now I have no idea where he is,” Cody snapped. Ahsoka smiled, truly smiled, for the first time in weeks. A laugh bubbled out of her chest, and she felt light. “Why are you laughing? Obi-Wan is most likely dead, and you’re sitting here laughing-”
“Cody,” she interrupted. “Cody, if you couldn’t find his body, then there wasn’t a body to be found.” His expression didn’t change. “Cody, Obi-Wan’s alive.”
Ahsoka watched his expression closely. He didn’t smile, but after a moment, his gaze softened into something that looked like relief. He nodded to himself, slowly at first, but then with more confidence. Under his breath, Ahsoka could hear him muttering, alive, alive, alive. She placed her hand on his shoulder, and this time he didn’t shove it off. “Obi-Wan’s alive, and we’re going to find him.”
They were never going to find Obi-Wan. Ahsoka didn’t know what she was expecting when she rescued Cody, but she was certainly expecting more information than she got.
Ahsoka pinched the bridge of her nose, a move she had picked up from Obi-Wan long ago. “You truly have no idea where he’d go? None at all?” Cody sighed.
“For the last time, Tano, no I don’t. We didn’t exactly discuss safehouses where we would hide from each other. All I know is his alias, Ben.” He stared out the viewport into the endless array of stars. One of those lights had Obi-Wan on it. They just had to find which one. “He probably won’t even use that name. If he doesn’t want to be found, he shouldn’t use a name that those closest to him are aware of.” Ahsoka raised an eyebrow marking at Cody including himself in the list of those that Obi-Wan was closest to, but she didn’t comment on it. Generals and their command chain developed special relationships over the war, Ahsoka knew firsthand.
“Well, if you have no idea where he’d go, where do you suggest searching?”
“Wherever there’s trouble,” he muttered under his breath.
Ahsoka rolled her eyes. “Maybe we should start with where he wouldn’t go,” she suggested. “Despite his reputation, I think he would try to lie low for a while, so he probably won’t go anywhere with a strong Imperial presence.”
Cody nodded. “We can knock out any planet in the Inner Rim, then, as well as any planet that was a major battleground during the war.”
“So we’re looking for somewhere in the Outer Rim, most likely. A place with little resources and little reason for the Empire to go there.” Ahsoka typed on her datapad, and a map appeared. “Well then, let’s start looking.”
Lothal was just as mediocre as Ahsoka had thought it’d be. It was mostly rolling grasslands, with one large city next to the only natural lake on the planet. Ahsoka had been to many planets in her lifetime, and Lothal was not a standout by any means. It didn’t have the crystalline structures of Christophis, didn’t have the rolling hills and natural wonder of Naboo. Nothing but plains and some oddly shaped rocks.
So far, Ahsoka had checked her entire half of the city twice over, and there had been no signs of anyone named Obi-Wan or Ben. It looked like another dead end, the most recent in their long string of searching. She raised her commlink. “Cody, have you seen anything worth following up?” The commlink beeped.
“No, not a sign of him. You?”
Ahsoka sighed. “Nothing. Let’s meet back at the ship, yeah?”
“Meet you there in 20 minutes.”
Ahsoka turned to leave, but a tug in the Force stopped her in her tracks. It was faint, but there was definitely a pull in her gut guiding her down a nondescript street. She had learned long ago not to ignore when the Force was so clearly telling her something, so she followed.
The street was residential, with doors leading into homes lining the path. As she went, the tug grew stronger and stronger, until she was standing in front of a door that looked just like all the others. Above it was a window, open to let in air. Why here? Ahsoka wondered. This house was just as average as the others, yet the Force had vividly distinguished it from the others. She watched the house curiously, wondering what on earth made this residence special.
A woman appeared in the window, staring down at the bundle in her arms. The bundle that glowed with light. And Ahsoka understood. This child was going to grow into a Jedi. The Force swirled around the baby, glowing with light and pulsing with power. Whoever this child was, they were going to be very strong in the Force, Ahsoka knew.
Suddenly, the joy Ahsoka felt at feeling another Force user vanished. This child would never become a Jedi; the Jedi were gone. The baby would not grow up in the Creche as she had, would not know the joy of discovering the Force amongst others learning the same. The camaraderie that Ahsoka had grown up with was going to be woefully absent from this child’s life, and there was nothing she could do about it.
She wasn’t a Jedi. Ahsoka had left the Order, and had not reached knighthood before she left. Yes, she had been planning to go back and finish her training after Mandalore. But now she would never get that chance, and neither would the child in front of her.
Ahsoka turned around and headed for the ship.
“Where else can we look?” Cody asked, intensely studying the map of the Outer Rim before them. Ahsoka sat in the pilot’s seat with her feet propped up on the dashboard, gaze staring out the viewport. Their list of conceivable planets for Obi-Wan to be on was rapidly dwindling, and they hadn’t heard even a hint of where he could be.
“I don’t know, Cody,” Ahsoka replied, voice monotone.
He sighed in exasperation. “Well, he’s got to be somewhere.” Ahsoka scoffed.
“He’s clearly much better at hiding than we gave him credit for.” Silence rang through their small ship for a few moments.
“Ahsoka?” Cody asked at last. She only hmmed in response. “When we were fighting, when I was still under control of the chip, did you-” he sighed. “Did you say something about Rex?” She turned to look at him fully.
“Yes, I did. It was the only way for you to lower your mental defenses enough for me to get in.”
“You said you know where he is.” Ahsoka nodded slowly. “Where is he, Ahsoka?”
She swallowed. “I don’t know exactly where he is. We split ways immediately after-” she paused. After crashing a Venator and burying your brothers. She still hadn’t told Cody everything that happened that day, only that she got Rex’s chip out and that they both made it out alive. “After the Order. We have each other’s commlink, but only to be used in emergencies.” Cody nodded.
“Could you get me in touch with him?” Ahsoka looked in his eyes, and for a moment, she nearly said no. It was selfish, and she hated herself for it, but she didn’t want Cody to leave her. She knew that if at all possible, Rex would meet up with them, and then Cody would join Rex on his crusade to free his brothers. And as much as she wanted to free as many clones as possible, she was selfish. She didn’t want to be alone again.
But she shoved down her greed and nodded. “I’ll give you his code now.” She stood up to leave, but Cody reached out his hand and grasped hers before she could take a step.
“Thank you, Ahsoka.” She smiled, just slightly, at the joy he was fighting to keep off his face.
“Of course, Cody.”
“I know where he is!” Cody ran into the cockpit panting, smile wide on his face. “I know where to find Obi-Wan.” He didn’t slow his momentum, running to the control panel and typing in coordinates as fast as his fingers would allow.
“How?” he was too focused on the ship to respond. “Cody, where do you think he is?” Still, he didn’t dignify her with a response, instead pulling up a hologram of a planet that Ahsoka knew too well.
“Tatooine. He has to be on Tatooine.”
Ahsoka tore her eyes from the diagram to look at Cody, but his focus was still trained on the image in front of him, as if he could see Obi-Wan on the planet if he just focused enough. “Why Tatooine? No one would go there.”
“Exactly!” he exclaimed. “No one with any other option would go to Tatooine. Not unless they wanted to disappear.” Ahsoka’s doubt must have still been clear on her face, but Cody continued with no pause. “Ahsoka, what would be the first thing that Obi-Wan would do if anything happened to the Jedi?”
“He’d make sure other Jedi were okay.” Cody shook his head.
“Which Jedi specifically ?” Ahsoka’s eyes widened in realization.
“He’d look for Anakin.”
“And what planet did Anakin come from?”
“Tatooine, but he hated it there. He wouldn’t go back unless he had any other choice,” Ahsoka protested.
“Yes, and I’m sure that Obi-Wan knew that too. But since it was so widely known that he hated it there so much, where else would be better for him to hide? No one would look for him there because he always refused to go back.”
Ahsoka tilted her head, conceding the point. “Yes, but Cody,” she sighed. “Anakin’s dead. I can’t sense my bond with him anymore. He’s not on Tatooine.”
“I know, Ahsoka, I’m sorry. He was on Coruscant when the Order was given, and the odds that he survived are slim to none. But,” he raised his hand. “Obi-Wan and Skywalker didn’t have their training bond anymore, right? That’s usually severed when the Padawan is Knighted.” Ahsoka nodded. Her bond was never cut with Anakin because she never reached Knighthood, and with the chaos of her trial and leaving, there was simply no time. “So, since they weren’t together when the Order was given, and Obi-Wan has no way of knowing if Anakin is alive or not…”
Ahsoka sat down in the pilot’s seat and sent them into lightspeed. “He’d go to Tatooine.” Cody sat next to her in the copilot’s seat, his face illuminated by the blue glow of hyperspace. For the first time in weeks, he looked something aside from beaten down. He looked excited, and even his normal stoicism couldn’t cover it. “What made you think of Tatooine?”
“Something Rex said about Skywalker. Sparked my memory, and I put the rest together.” Ahsoka grunted her acknowledgement.
“How’s Rex?”
“He’s doing well, all things considered. He’s out looking for more brothers to free.” He looked into his lap. “Asked me to join him.” Ahsoka fought to keep her voice steady when she responded.
“Are you going to?”
He glanced over at her. “No,” he said. “Told him I had someone else I needed to find first.”
Despite herself, Ahsoka’s chest loosened just a bit when he confirmed he wouldn’t be leaving her. At least not yet. “Alright,” she said. “Let’s find Obi-Wan.”
Ahsoka had forgotten just how hot Tatooine was. It wasn’t the muggy type of heat that was present on Felucia, or even that cursed Trandoshan moon from years ago. This heat was dry and intense. Wet heat coated you in sweat instantly. But dry heat- the heat that bore down on her as soon as they entered Tatooine’s atmosphere- it assaulted you with no mercy, wearing you down every second you stood in it. It is deceptively manageable at first, but soon, with the suns beating down your back and the light reflecting off the endless sand, it becomes almost too much to bear until you fall down and don’t get up again.
Such was the heat that Ahsoka was walking through now. Behind her, Cody trudged along, not complaining despite the intense temperature. The Mos Eisley spaceport had been of no help when they investigated. Everyone wore hoods to protect their skin from the deadly suns, and the locals were not keen to answer any questions from outsiders.
So now they were making their way from homestead to homestead, hoping that when someone opened the door, Obi-Wan would be behind it. As of yet, not a single person they had spoken to had heard of a Ben. Tatooine’s twin suns were beginning to descend, setting in such a way that they shone into Ahsoka’s eyes relentlessly. She was about to suggest they head back to the ship for they night when a singular hut on the horizon caught her eye. Ahsoka turned back to Cody and gestured to the building, and he nodded.
Minutes or hours later, they arrived. Ahsoka’s feet drug behind her in the sand, no longer making clear footprints but instead leaving behind streaks where she walked. Cody was faring slightly better, but she knew he was exhausted too. Even if the family in the homestead didn’t know anything, maybe they’d let the two of them stay the night. Ahsoka didn’t know if she could make it all the way back to their ship in her state.
Ahsoka rapped on the door three, short times. A moment later, a young woman with a kind face appeared, suspicion in her eyes.
“May I help you?” she asked.
“Ma’am, I’m so terribly sorry to bother you. We’re looking for a friend of ours but have gotten hopelessly lost. Would it be possible to spend the night in your home? We have our own food and water, we simply need a place to rest for the night.” Suspicion gave way to concern when she took in Ahsoka and Cody’s beaten down forms, and she stepped aside, ushering them in.
“Of course, of course. We will never turn away those who need help.” She led them through the homestead, motioning for them to sit down once they arrived in the kitchen. “I’m Beru Lars. My husband is out working on the vaporators, and our nephew has already gone to bed for the night, but I’m sure you’ll meet both of them in the morning.” Beru busied herself preparing some beverage on the counter that Ahsoka recognized as caf. “Owen may ask you to help with the vaporators tomorrow. He hasn't had any help since his father died, and our nephew will be too young to help for many years yet.” She poured the caf into three mugs with practiced ease and placed them on the table in front of Ahsoka and Cody. “Do you mind introducing yourselves?”
Ahsoka took a sip of the caf and inhaled deeply. It had been too long since she had had good caf. “Yes, of course, my apologies. I’m Ashla, and this is Kote.” Cody inclined his head.
“Thank you for offering us lodging for the night, Miss. The desert is not a forgiving place,” he said, sipping his caf slowly.
Beru shook her head. “No, no it is not. When you resume your search tomorrow, keep an eye out for the Tusken Raiders. They will attack those in small groups, and they are vicious fighters. Unless you are skilled in combat, they will kill you easily.”
Ahsoka nodded. “Thank you for the advice. We will be vigilant.” Beru stood from her seat.
“Let me show you to your room.”
Cody and Ahsoka woke at dawn. As soon as they emerged from their room, heat nearly knocked Ahsoka off her feet. They made their way to the kitchen, and found Beru preparing breakfast. At the table sat a young man. Owen, presumably. Next to him lay a cradle with a young baby inside.
Ahsoka leaned over the crib and looked at the baby, a tiny thing with a little tuft of blonde hair and spectacular blue eyes. He cooed at her, and Ahsoka smiled. Out of nowhere, a Force presence stronger than anything she had ever felt brushed up against her mind. She slammed up her defenses without a second thought. But on closer inspection, she realized that the presence was not malicious, simply curious. The baby staring at her giggled, and Ahsoka gasped.
“Kote,” she whispered, grasping at Cody’s gauntlet. “He has the Force.” Instantly, Cody was at her side, staring at the baby in the cradle intensely. A bench scraped against the floor, and a moment later Owen was pushing Ahsoka back from the crib.
“What did you say?” he asked, shoving her across the room. Ahsoka knew she could knock him out in an instant, but she did not want to hurt the person who’s home they had stayed in.
“I said he’s strong in the Force.” Owen shot her a withering look.
“Get out.” He pointed his finger outside, and raised his voice threateningly. “Get out of my house now !” Ahsoka began backing away. Yes, she and Cody were not truly threatened by this man. But an angry person was a dangerous one, Ahsoka knew.
She held up her hands in a placating motion. “Kote, let’s get our things and go. We’ve overstayed our welcome.”
“No! I’m sick of fucking Jedi showing up all the fucking time! Leave, now!” The baby was crying now, clearly distressed by the raised voices and anger swirling throughout the small room.
“Owen-” Beru began.
Owen pointed an accusing finger at Ahsoka. “Get out of my house, and stay out.” Ahsoka nodded and turned to go, but Cody stood stock still, staring at Owen.
“You said ‘Jedi,’” Cody said. Owen snarled at him.
“Yes I said ‘Jedi.’ First one comes along and dumps a baby on me and my wife, and now-” Owen moved to shove Ahsoka, but Cody grasped his arm firmly and didn’t let go.
“Another Jedi was here. Where is he now?” Cody’s voice brooked no room for argument, no possibility that Owen wouldn’t respond.
“Beyond the Jundland Wastes,” Owen said, the faintest hint of fear in his eyes. Cody released his arm and turned to Ahsoka.
“Ahsoka, he’s here. Obi-Wan is here.” Without another word, Cody ran out of the room.
Ahsoka turned to Beru, hope swelling in her chest and clouding her mind. “Thank you for your kindness, and I’m sorry for disturbing your family.” She motioned to the baby. “Keep him safe,” she said, then turned and ran after Cody.
“Cody! Cody, stop!” Ahsoka called. He paid her no mind, running off into the desert drunk with hope. “Cody!” she caught up to him at last, grabbing his arm roughly and yanking him to a stop. “Cody, we cannot run all the way to the Jundland Wastes.”
Cody turned to her, opening his mouth to protest. “Ahsoka, he’s so close. He’s here.” She squeezed his arm.
“I know, Cody. And I want to find him just as badly as you do. But we cannot walk through the desert to get to him, or else we’d die before we got the chance to see him. Let’s go back to the ship, and then we’ll fly there. Okay?”
Cody glanced off into the distance again, as if hoping that Obi-Wan would miraculously appear on the horizon. When the sand remained unchanged, he nodded. “Alright. Let’s go.”
Ahsoka’s heart pounded as she flew the ship to the Wastes. She had been searching for Obi-Wan for so long, and now that she was about to see him, the doubts she had kept buried were surfacing.
What if he didn’t want to see her? They hadn’t parted on the best of terms, hadn’t had a chance to make things right before. What if he would be disappointed in seeing her and not Anakin? Oh Force, Anakin. She’d have to tell him that their bond was dead, that Anakin was dead. Ahsoka didn’t know how she’d break that to him.
She shook her head to rid herself of those thoughts. All that mattered was finding him and making sure he was okay. Everything else could wait. A look at Cody showed he was in deep thought, too. Ahsoka reached over and tapped his shoulder lightly.
“Hey. It’ll be okay, Cody.” When he glanced at her, there was a pain and fear in his eyes that she had never seen before.
When he spoke, it came out as a whisper. “I nearly killed him, Ahsoka. The last time we saw each other, I gave the order to shoot him down. He won’t want to see me after that. He should kill me on sight.”
“Cody, that wasn’t you. That was the chip. And once we explain that to him, I know he’ll be excited to see you. Everything will be okay.” She placed her hands on the wheel and touched down the ship in front of a meager looking hut. “Everything will be okay,” she repeated to herself.
Moments later, she stood before the ramp, hand hovering over the button to lower it. Just press it. Just press the button, she told herself. But her hand refused to move.
A gloved hand came and covered her own, and pressed down gently, just enough to depress the button. The ramp began to lower, and instantly heat permeated the space. “Thank you,” she whispered to Cody. He nodded, and she began her descent.
As was customary, her boots were covered in sand as soon as her feet touched the ground. She stared at the hut, hoping, praying, that Obi-Wan would emerge. If they had somehow come all this way and been wrong-
But no. As she watched, a figure wearing a hooded cloak emerged from the building. She stared at him, and he stared right back. Slowly, as if frightened to move, he removed his hood, and Ahsoka’s breath caught.
There before her stood Obi-Wan Kenobi. Despite everything, he looked almost exactly as she remembered. His hair was slightly bleached from the sun, and he had new lines around his eyes that she hadn’t noticed before. But without a doubt, it was him.
“Ahsoka,” Obi-Wan breathed.
She cleared her throat. “Obi-Wan,” she replied. And then he was moving, and a moment later his arms were wrapped around her neck in a tight embrace. Shock made her freeze for a moment, but she recovered quickly. She brought her arms around his torso and squeezed. It was one thing to know, logically, that he was there. It was another matter entirely to have him present, to be able to touch and affirm that he was alive and safe.
“You’re alive,” Obi-Wan said, voice scratchy from disuse or tears, Ahsoka wasn’t sure. Reluctantly, she pulled back to look him in the eye.
“So are you.” He stared at her, taking in her presence, and Ahsoka felt a bit self conscious. Then his searching ceased, and his eyes focused on something behind her. Ahsoka turned, and there was Cody, walking as if in a dream down the ramp. Cody’s eyes were locked on Obi-Wan, and Obi-Wan stood frozen staring back.
Ahsoka moved to the side, knowing when it was time to give the two space. Cody suddenly lurched forward. Obi-Wan’s hand went to his hip, where his lightsaber should be. But Cody wasn’t attacking; he had fallen to his knees, sobbing. His words were nearly incoherent through his tears, but Ahsoka could make out one thing: “I’m sorry,” over and over again.
Obi-Wan slowly knelt in front of Cody, and carefully put Cody’s face in his hands. He said something too quietly for Ahsoka to catch, but then Obi-Wan embraced Cody with as much fervor as he had hugged Ahsoka. Cody was stunned, but soon began to hug Obi-Wan back just as fiercely.
Ahsoka couldn’t help a smile from creeping up on her face. They had much to discuss, much to explain. Things would not be easy from here on out, but looking at Cody and Obi-Wan hug, Ahsoka thought that maybe- just maybe- things would be better.