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Starball's POV
Starball had never considered himself an intuitive clone. And he certainly hadn't been out of the tube long enough to understand the concept of relationships or how they worked. But he was pretty kriffing sure his General and Commander were in one. They had to be. He had the feeling Tup and the older men thought so too. But he couldn’t dare ask.
This mission wasn’t his first varactyl ride to say the least; far from it. Though it was probably only his third so far that didn’t involve a firefight. In any case, he’d been deployed enough times to come to know and love the 332nd’s banter which was noticeably absent today.
It all started when the General boarded at the rendezvous point. They had caught up to her on Correlia, after some pretty conflicting orders had come down from the top. He could have sworn they were supposed to be in another system by now but didn’t rank high enough to question mission directives. So here they were, heading to Lothal with their COs.
Commander Rex was for the most part, usually a serious man, but it was safe to say today he looked beyond pissed and more uptight than usual. Then there was the General. When she boarded on Correlia she wasn't her typical bubbly self. She seemed far more somber than usual, and her mood had noticeably soured after the Commander came to stand beside her on their transport.
Suffice it to say the vibe in their gunship was tenser than it should have been considering this was a reconnaissance mission. Whatever was going on was far above his clearance level, but he trusted his COs to get things done. For the good of the Republic, he knew they could be depended on to sort whatever it was, out. So he allowed himself to believe that everything would be okay. That is of course till the General broke the silence.
It’s hard to follow where her argument was coming from but she and the Commander went back and forth for a while about something to do with timing. It seemed harmless enough, and he managed to zone them out for the most part, that is of course until the Commander snapped…
“That’s enough Ahsoka!” Rex huffed.
And that’s when Starball’s head snapped upward in confusion at the sound of his General’s Galactic first name. No title. No rank. Just Ahsoka … Her name had rolled off his tongue as if he owned her, and Starball’s eyes widened behind his bucket at the Commander’s tone.
“I don’t kriffing care about the GAR policy. I won’t lose you like this. End of discussion.”
Starball was shocked, to say the least, but what surprised him even more than Commander Rex’s insubordination, was the General's submission. He expected a reprimand, a dismissal… something, anything. Back on Kamino the Commander could have been decommissioned without thought, for speaking out of turn that way.
But General Tano said nothing. And when he dared look over at them, she was…they were… well they were staring into each other's eyes. Starball resisted the urge to scratch his temple as he pondered who exactly outranked who here.
Just then a plastoid boot connected with the back of his calf as a rough command filtered through his vocoder. “Hey, Shiny! Eyes front and center.” It was Jesse - the ARC trooper.
“Sir!” Starball obeyed immediately, not willing to risk a reprimand of any kind for prying into his CO’s strange dynamic.
Almost immediately after their LAAT arrived at the rendezvous point, their pilot's voice sounded over the intercom. “This is the drop zone General. Should we take you down?”
“That won’t be necessary, Hawk.” The General said into her wrist comm. “I’ll see you boys soon.”
Without another word, she leaped from the craft in a graceful somersault before fluidly landing on the rooftop below. And for the hundredth time since he’d left Kamino, Starball caught his mouth hanging open in awe under his bucket. Watching his Jedi descend from impossible heights with no jetpack was something he’d never get tired of seeing.
To the left of the empty spot she’d left behind, the Commander stood gazing, bucket under his arm and eyes locked onto her with a softness Starball recognized to be far more than just awe…
Asajj Ventress’ POV
Asajj pulled her focus inward, narrowing and constricting the meditative net she’d cast to scan the Force signatures within the perimeter. Force-surveilling was something she’d eased into quite naturally over the past several standard months.
Life with neither a Master nor a political affiliation had certainly had its perks. She no longer had a flangth-hound in this endless Galactic fight. Instead, she’d passed the time bounty hunting and aiding Light-side Force users where she could.
If nothing else, she’d had time for stillness, reconciliation with her past, and the freedom to truly cultivate a deeper connection with the Force.
She’d been on this rooftop for an hour now, which meant Tano was due soon. And by the feel of things, it seemed she had just arrived. The sound of aircraft pulled her awareness upwards, and behind closed eyelids, she could sense the presence of Republic troops.
In the center of it, she felt Tano and her genetically modified attachment - the clone . Their Force signatures, melded as always, were burning together like two firebrands in an icy wilderness. Though she noticed, there was an edge of tension around their bond today, sexual or otherwise, it was notable enough to dull everything else within its proximity.
She almost rolled her eyes behind her eyelids before deciding to open them instead, just in time to see Tano’s descent to the rooftop. Expecting both of them to have descended together, she raised an eyebrow curiously but said nothing as she uncrossed her legs and rose to meet the Jedi.
There was something cloudy about Tano’s mood as they approached each other, no doubt having something to do with the clone on the departing gunship. She was clearly laden with the weight of unfinished business.
Ventress groaned. The last thing they needed was for this mission to go sideways because of boy problems. Whether heat cycles or Republic politics, it was always something with this crazy Tog.
“Tano…” she regarded her.
“Ventress.” Ahsoka nodded. “Is this the place?”
“For now.” She replied. “This is where we lay in wait for our quarry.”
The Togruta nodded. “Let’s get it done then.”
A deaf cave dweller couldn’t have missed the clip in her tone. “Are you sure you’re up for this?” Assaj asked her.
“Of course, why wouldn’t I be?” Ahsoka asked defensively, falling in stride as they walked towards the covered edge of the rooftop.
“You seem distracted.” She mused.
The younger woman shrugged. “I’m fine. Let’s just get this done.”
Ventress sighed. “Whatever.”
Positioning themselves at the roof’s edge they began to scan the crowds below from their vantage point. Their suspect had been described as lethal, agile, and potentially of Dathomirian Zabrak descent. No one wanted to admit the undeniable possibility out loud, but the nature of these crimes all pointed to one person - Maul.
Maul would be a problem. The scud sucker wasn't nearly as dull or as foolish as his lumbering brother Savage. He would be tactical making his capture that much harder.
Minutes of silence passed between them as they scanned the crowded streets below. Their intel had given them a hefty time block for potential movement; which meant they could be out here for a while.
As they stood together, Ventress felt the disruptive hum of Tano’s Force-signature as a series of what she’d learned to be psyche tremors. These tremors had become commonplace of late, seemingly a consequence of her newfound spiritual neutrality. One moment in Force-sensitive’s presence and she could feel everything from crushing heartbreak to passing annoyance. The Ancients had praised this ability as a gift, for her, they were little more than a nuisance.
Tano’s energy rippled again, outwardly forcefully, as the waves would against the cities of that wretched water planet Kamino; it felt restless and upset, a complete contradiction to the poised, calm exterior the younger woman kept up.
Unsure of whether it was to pass the time, or simply to appease her curiosity, Ventress decided to bite… “So tell me, exactly how long have you been shagging your clone?”
Tano’s eyes grew as wide as droid poppers as her montrals visibly darkened, and Asajj bit back an amused chuckle.
“What in Siths-hells are you talking about?” She squeaked.
“Typical that you’d choose the one blond head from millions that frame that same face.” She droned on. “Always sticking out like a sore thumb aren’t you?”
“Listen I have no idea what you’re going on about. But how about we focus on something more relevant... Like the mission!”
This time Asajj laughed out loud.
Ahsoka shook her head in annoyance. “Besides Rex isn’t the only blonde in the GAR.”
“Wouldn’t you know?” She raised an eyebrow in amusement.
Ahsoka rolled her eyes. “Look Ventress, I’m not sure what you think you’re talking about. But you’ve got it all wrong.”
“Oh don’t be a prude Tano, I don’t care enough to judge.” She rolled her eyes. “It's neither here nor there to me. I’m just curious that's all.”
“About what exactly? My sex life?”
She scoffed. “Please…what I want to know is how that circus of a Council of yours could miss something as obvious as this?” A sly smile formed on her lips. “Or is it that they do know? Is the Council giving a pass for military fraternization these days?”
“You sound really ridiculous right now, you know that?” Ahsoka retorted.
“Deny it if you feel you must, but I’m offering you a free pass to get it off your chest so you don’t kriff up the mission. Not many of your colleagues would do the same.”
“I would never put personal feelings ahead of the mission.” Ahsoka huffed in annoyance. “Kind of you to offer a listening ear, but Rex and I have been friends forever. He’s saved my life a thousand times. So if that’s the attachment you want to report to Council, be my guest.”
Ventress laughed mockingly. “Please. Those idiots wouldn’t know the difference between a friendship and a marriage if it hit them in the face. But I know better, I know exactly what’s going on between you and your Commander.”
“And what exactly is that Asajj?”
“Your Force signatures are always dripping in longing for each other like a pair of wretched lovesick teenagers. But it’s different today….something’s wrong. Maybe you had a little lover’s quarrel on the way here.”
Ahsoka shook her head and turned away. “We have a mission to finish, so let me know when you’re done being delusional.”
“If you want to pretend I’m wrong, fine by me.” She replied. “But a bit of sage advice. If he makes you happy, take care of him. And learn to hide this better. Some of us actually have a real connection to the Force.”
She could tell by Tano’s body language that that last statement hit a nerve. The Jedi’s self-righteous blindness was nobody’s secret. A Sith Lord had sprung up right under their noses, and it took a clone - a literal ten-year-old man-child to discover it. It was a Galactic embarrassment - the Jedi as a whole had been revealed to be closer to a herd of telekinetic nuna than a priesthood connected to the Force.
“There’s nothing to hide,” Ahsoka stated. But there was a subtle, unmistakable tremor in her tone when she spoke.
Exceptional battle skills aside, Ahsoka was no different than any other girl in the Galaxy who was love-struck. She might be petulant, but deep down Ventress knew that she longed to validate her feelings without reprimand or judgment. Maybe, just maybe if she could get her to talk, they could be that person for each other…
“But I do want to know something, since you brought it up…” Ahsoka asked. Asajj perked up with perhaps a bit more enthusiasm than she would have liked to let on, nodding at the younger woman.
Ahsoka took the cue to continue. “When you were a Sith Lord-”
“Not Lord. I was an apprentice.” She clarified.
“When you were an apprentice,” Ahsoka corrected. “Did you have attachments?”
“No. I didn’t care for such things; not before I shifted polarities in the Force.”
Ahsoka continued. “So…how about now?”
“Maybe…what of it?”
Their eyes met knowingly in a moment of mutual vulnerability, and she could almost feel the tremor of Ahsoka’s mental walls begin to break. She held her gaze a moment longer, projecting trust and feelings of safety through the Force as best as she could… and for what it was worth, her efforts paid dividends.
“I…I, you’re right.” Ahsoka stuttered. “But I never intended for this to happen…”
“For the clone? For love?” Ventress finished.
Her lekku bobbed slightly as she nodded softly, looking away.
“You should know that no one can prepare for love to happen Tano. It just does.”
Her voice lowered. “I just wanted to do the right thing. I don’t regret it, I just never thought we’d get here.”
“And you’re scared it’ll take you to the Dark Side.”
Ahsoka said nothing, but she didn’t have to. Asajj had the same reservations when she fell for her Jedi. It had terrified her to think that loving him would take her right back to the Dark Side.
Ventress closed her fist as her fingers tingled, reminiscent of the thick locks they had coursed through lovingly not a rotation ago, as the steady broad chest of the Jedi beneath her lulled her slowly to sleep in their shared quarters.
When all was said and done, nothing had deepened her connection to the Force like loving Quinlan did; not leaving the CIS, losing Dooku, not saving lives, not helping the Republic. Nothing had opened her world like the single act of opening her heart to the man she loved.
Not that Tano needed to know all that just yet at least. But maybe this could become an opening of deeper trust between them. Maybe this was the missing piece of her life all these months - maybe this was the type of sisterhood she needed.
She sighed. “Your Council isn’t totally wrong, but it’s not right either.”
Ahsoka looked at her questioningly. “What do you mean?”
“If you can achieve and maintain balance within yourself, attachments or not, you’ll be fine. The Dark Side is ultimately always a choice, not a casual consequence of attachment as they tell you at the Temple.”
Ahsoka looked back at her like she’d grown a second head, no doubt never imagining such a perspective before now.
Ventress continued. “You’re afraid to admit it, maybe even to yourself, but you and that clone have something those old fools in your Temple never gave themselves a chance to experience. So try not kriff that up, Tano. Whatever it is that has you pining for him but angry all at once, you should fix it.”
Ahsoka folded her arms. “You know I came here hoping to distract myself from it all with the mission. Only to have the mission-lead lecture me.”
Asajj shrugged. “You’ll thank me later when you're back in his arms, huddled somewhere doing things you shouldn't be on a Republic cruiser.”
Ahsoka flushed at that, her montrals darkened impossibly this time, and Asajj thought they almost looked black. “Is it really that obvious, that I…, he and I…?”
“Not to everyone… It’s a long story.” She continued when Ahsoka looked at her questioningly. “Let’s just say my Force visions don’t lie.”
“Force visions? You have the gift of Force vision?”
“Like I said - long story,” Asajj said curtly. Tano was the first person she’d admitted it to aside from Quinlan. She was still adjusting, and she’d prefer it didn’t become part of the Galactic gossip trail these Republic military types kept up.
“Good to know.” She replied in a small voice.
“That wasn't an invitation to go telling your little Council. They hate a girl who has nice things.”
“Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.”
“And yours… and your clone’s, with me.”
“Thanks, Ventress.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Ahsoka hummed in amusement and the corner of her lip upturned slightly.
“What now?” Ventress asked.
“I was thinking about your advice earlier. I didn’t realize you knew this much about love.”
“I’m a bounty hunter Tano, not a droid.” And as suddenly, as she spoke, the Force would have it that a sharp black-red blur sped through the alleyway below towards the target point. Maul . Timely as always.
Unclipping her sabers she prepped to leap the distance. “Now follow me. I believe we’ve found our target.”