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Ahsoka lay on a roof, silently watching the central building of the small town. Made of stone and two stories tall, it stood out from the wooden one-story buildings around it. The wide stairs leading up to the entrance reminded Ahsoka of the Jedi Temple. But its inhabitants were nowhere near as noble as the Jedi.
“Pirates,” Ahsoka muttered.
Maybe it was jumping to conclusions, but the town appeared to be swarming with wequay pirates. They could be mercenaries or merchants, but the way they terrorized the population suggested otherwise. Blasters were flashed constantly. Ahsoka had seen the other inhabitants pushed and shoved several times, and no one who wasn’t a wequay looked happy. Ahsoka was pretty sure she had the situation pegged.
Movement from the central building made her tense and duck down. Another wequay, this one in flamboyant clothes and a fancy hat, swaggered out of the main doors. He was flanked by several other wequays, all in slightly more elaborate getups than the rest of the wequays.
“It is I, your beloved captain!” the wequay cried out, throwing his arms wide.
All the wequays in earshot of the main building turned and clapped. They did so in a vaguely performative way, like they all knew it was better to just go with it and not rock the boat, but didn’t really feel any enthusiasm.
Ahsoka was feeling something more than a mere lack of enthusiasm. She recognized the ‘beloved captain’. He was Hondo Onaka. And Ahsoka was absolutely not a fan. She remembered, like it was yesterday, the creeping fear as Onaka announced that he would sell her into slavery. She had hidden it, like her Master would have wanted, under bravado and quips. But she had been frightened of such a cruel fate. And now, she had been to Zygerria. She actually knew how bad that fate could be. In Zygerria, she had felt more vulnerable than possibly any other time.
After she had been saved from Onaka, she had tried to forgive, like a good Jedi should. But she couldn’t just forget what had happened, and she still remembered the fear. Zygerria only exacerbated it.
Onaka walked down the stairs like he owned the whole town. In a way, he did. Ahsoka scowled at him. It burned that people like him could just show up and take over a town, while people like Master Obi-wan, the calmest, most rational person Ahsoka knew, would never rule anything. Not that Master Obi-wan would want to rule anything, of course, but he would make a much better ruler than Onaka. Even Ahsoka would, and she was not yet fully grown!
But Hondo Onaka only owned the town physically. Legally, the town had debts. And with that authority, as a representative of the debt holders, Ahsoka would be fully in the right to chase him off.
Ahsoka pulled out her comm. It was short-range, so she wouldn’t be able to call the Jedi, but she could call her backup.
“Do you copy?” she asked.
“We copy,” the response came.
“I found the leader of the pirates,” Ahsoka reported. “Someone named Hondo Onaka. Any ideas?”
She heard some shuffling over the comms.
“Can you kill him, my Lord?”
Ahsoka blinked. The Jedi had never dealt with Onaka lethally. He had never forced them to, of course, valuing his own life above even profit. But the thought was appealing. Master Obi-wan himself had spared Onaka, and now here the pirate was, spreading fear and misery elsewhere. Clearly mercy would not stop him. But death most certainly would.
“Negative,” Ahsoka had to say. Onaka was absolutely surrounded by his lackeys as he apparently toured the town, joking and checking in on all his crewmates. “Not without getting killed myself.”
“Understood, Ahsoka.”
This wasn’t giving up, Ahsoka told herself, slinking along the rooftops after Onaka. Just because she didn’t immediately kill him, didn’t mean she wouldn’t be able to later. After all, wequays slept sometimes. Sooner or later, Onaka would go to sleep, and…
Sooner or later, the sun would fall. Sooner or later, it would be dark. Then, Ahsoka’s friends could sneak into town with her. Then, they could attack together. Quietly. Lethally.
Were any of the pirates better than their captain? Ahsoka thought not. If she managed to kill them, wouldn’t that make the galaxy a better place? It followed, then, that Ahsoka should kill as many pirates as she could. The Jedi did their best not to kill. Ahsoka knew that, and she knew that it was the right thing to do, for all that she wasn’t acting as a Jedi currently. But they tried not to kill because all beings had the ability to become better people and because the question of punishment was better answered by those who had been harmed, rather than outsiders. But neither argument held any water in this situation. Onaka and his pirates had chosen not to use their ability to become better people. And since no one had the power to make Onaka face everyone he had hurt, Ahsoka, as one of those people, was the closest to a jury of the harmed. And she chose simply. There would be no suffering, no cruelty, just death.
Ahsoka took a deep breath, relieved by her decision, and continued following Onaka.
Ahsoka slipped away as the sun set. She wound her way through the pastures and past the field where the fleet of old yet well-armed ships had landed. She noted it again. With most of the ships there, she could keep most of the pirates from escaping by preventing them from reaching the field. And, if they tried to run away, they would mob the field, so Ahsoka couldn’t just station a sentry there and expect them to keep the pirates from the ships.
Ahsoka slipped into the forest. The town wasn’t far from its edges, and it made for a good hiding place. She ran through it, jumping over roots that wanted to trip her and dodging branches that would hit her head. It was fun to run through the forest. Nothing chasing her. But of course, it soon came to an end.
Ahsoka skidded to a stop in a small clearing with six Mandalorians. Each of them wore their traditional armor, painted grey and blue. Four of them were sitting, playing cards. They quickly packed the cards up and climbed to their feet. The two sentries nodded to Ahsoka.
“Listen up,” Ahsoka ordered. “I have the outlines of a plan, but I want feedback on it.”
“We can do that,” Dhalor Gedyc said. She was the leader of the squad. Since Ahsoka was taking command for the duration of the mission, she was Ahsoka’s second in command.
“I want to kill the pirates,” Ahsoka said firmly, as confidently as she could manage. “All of them, with none left alive. With only the seven of us, this needs to be done with stealth. I want three waiting by the ships, to prevent any escapees. The other three will go with me, to take out the pirates staying in town. Knives only, no blasters unless the alarm is raised.”
“I’ve got my sniper blaster,” Cuyan, who always had her beloved sniper blaster, said. “I should probably be on ship-watching duty.”
“What about the civilians?” Bralyc asked. “Are we supposed to kill them too?” Ahsoka thought Bralyc didn’t want to kill civilians, but he probably would if ordered. It made Ahsoka uneasy that the others considered him the gentlest of the squad, since the others would obey such an order without question.
“No,” Ahsoka said quickly. “We need them alive.”
“What if they’re about to raise the alarm?” Edee asked.
“Threaten them,” Ahsoka ordered. “If the alarm is raised, we will regroup at the ships.”
“Cuyan, Galaar, and Bralyc will guard the ships,” Dhalor decided. “Edee, Haat, and I will accompany you, Ahsoka. We should start with the leaders, to prevent them from rallying.”
Ahsoka nodded. She wanted Hondo Onaka dead more than the rest of the pirates, so it worked for her.
“I believe their leadership, including their captain, has taken up residence in the central building, which is made of stone and taller than the rest of the town,” Ahsoka said.
“And do you want us to separate or move together in the town?” Dalor asked.
“We will separate as needed, but move in a single area,” Ahsoka decided. “Speed is important, but spreading out too much will raise the likelihood of getting caught.”
“Any questions?” Dhalor asked her subordinates.
“Are we sure there aren’t any pirates on the ships?” Haat asked with her customary quietness.
“There weren’t when I was coming back,” Ahsoka shrugged. “I’ll check again when we pass back towards town. There are two guards near the ships, who we will need to take out before continuing.”
“Can I kill those guards?” Cuyan asked eagerly. “Since I won’t be able to kill anyone else if everything goes perfectly?”
“I want one!” Galaar protested. He was the youngest of the squad, the least experienced, and he wanted to catch up. He looked like he would soon be catching up in height, if nothing else.
“You can each have one,” Dhalor sighed. “If that’s alright with you, Ahsoka.”
If the pirates were a proper military force, they’d have check-ins periodically so they would know if the guards died without raising the alarm. But Ahsoka had checked, and her first suspicion was correct: the guards simply had an alarm button instead of check-ins.
“That’s fine,” Ahsoka nodded regally, though her gut twisted at the idea of being eager to kill. She might want all the pirates dead, but she wasn’t eager to kill them.
Though, if they ended up dead either way, did it matter? Did it matter if they were eager or if they accepted it as a duty as Bralyc did or if they understood it was the only way to ensure the deaths of the pirates?
It had to matter. It was the only way Ahsoka was better than them. And if she wasn’t better than soldiers of Death Watch, could she call herself a Jedi in the shadows when she was alone?
Death Watch was used to moving out quickly. It was a relic of the last civil war, Dhalor had said, when they were hunted by their enemies. It wasn’t long before the group was all walking towards the town. The shadows had grown long before Ahsoka entered the forest. Now, dusk was falling. Even with Ahsoka’s low-light vision, the trees looked like shadows, with black-brown bark and leaves that barely looked green. For beings wearing armor, the Mandalorians were gratifyingly quiet. Not as quiet as the clone troopers, Ahsoka thought, but quiet enough. The crunch of twigs and the rustling of leaves drowned out most of the nighttime sounds, but only someone listening closely would hear their passing; there was little clanging of metal and those were quiet.
Ahsoka lead the way. Her soldiers followed in single file. Ahsoka breathed deeply, smelling the twilight air. She could smell the vague scent of the town, all nerf and sweat and fear. She could smell the pirates, too: they brought the smell of hastily-maintained blasters and fire and ship-fuel. From behind her came the scents of armor oil and metal and higher-powered blasters. Ahsoka stretched out in the Force, reaching towards the town. There were minds bright with glee and joy and petty cruelty. There were minds shadowed by fear and resentment. There were simple minds, unconcerned by the pirates. Nerfs, Ahsoka assumed.
Ahsoka refocused on an area closer to her. The ships were empty. On the far side of the field, between the town and the ships, two minds were thoughtful and competitive, engrossed in a game. Ahsoka couldn’t tell what, but she guessed cards. Easy to carry around. The important thing was that they were distracted.
Ahsoka slowed to a stop as they reached the edge of the forest. The squad gathered around her.
“The ships are still empty,” Ahsoka announced softly. “The two guards are distracted, playing a game.”
“I can’t see them from here,” Dhalor noted, equally quietly.
“They are on the far side of the ships,” Ahsoka explained. “I expect they were posted to prevent the locals from getting any ideas. The pirates have no reason to believe anyone else is on planet, and their enemies are unlikely to find them here.”
“Too bad for them that they made new enemies by staying here,” Edee chuckled. She kept her voice just quiet enough that Ahsoka felt no need to scold her. “What are we waiting for?”
“After we exit the forest, I don’t want anyone to stop or talk audibly for any reason until the guards are dead,” Ahsoka explained. “Are there any last-minute questions? Suggestions? Anything else?”
Looking around, she saw shaking heads.
“Very well,” Ahsoka said. “Stay quiet and don’t draw attention. Move out.”
With a swirl of her robes, Ahsoka turned and ghosted out of the forest. Behind her, the warriors followed, less quietly than her but still quietly enough. She felt no flare of alarm from the guards, even as the whole squad immerged onto the prairie. She swept her mind over the ships again, just in case, but they were all empty of intellect.
They reached the ships. Ahsoka lead them in a winding path between the silent hunks of metal. Behind her, she sensed Cuyan; the latter was looking forward to the kill with a steady sort of certainty. Galaar, on the other hand, was psyching himself up. Ahsoka could feel his nervousness and excitement and hunger for glory. He would follow through when the time came, Ahsoka predicted, but he was not yet a hardened killer.
Ahsoka lead them up to the pirate guards in an approach that let them pause behind cover. Pausing right before the corner of a ship, she gestured the two chosen killers forward. Cuyan and Galaar moved almost as one, Galaar following his elder’s lead. They moved quickly, running around the corner and towards the pirates with blades drawn, favoring speed over stealth for the final approach.
One of the pirates noticed them. Ahsoka felt that mind blossom with alarm.
Too late.
The minds of the two guards winked out. Cuyan radiated satisfaction. Galaar’s presence swelled with nausea and relief.
Ahsoka swept out to join them. If there was one thing she appreciated about robes, it was their ability to catch the air and swish dramatically.
The two guards lay on the ground, illuminated by a simple lamp, blood pooling in the dirt. There were cards between them, and in their hands, though the slackness of death had scattered most of those. To the naked eye, Galaar looked unaffected by what he had done. The rest of the squad seemed to know better, though, because they all quietly congratulated Galaar on his kill. Ahsoka added a small, approving smile in Galaar’s direction when he looked at her.
“Well done, both of you,” Ahsoka said. “Now, we split up. Those staying behind, hide the remains and remember to stay alert. Those coming to town, follow me.”
Night had fallen fully by the time they reached town. They were merely shadows in shadows as they approached the lights of the town. It seemed like the town was often busy after dark, since it had streetlamps hung from the eaves of many of the houses. It turned the streets into lines of lights from afar, and worked to blind anyone within the town to whatever lurked outside. Ahsoka suspected the town had little need to worry about things lurking in the darkness. She hadn’t seen any evidence of large predators, and this was further evidence against any.
The pirates were taking advantage of the lights by partying under them. They chattered and sung and cheered and jeered and ate and drank. Ahsoka saw pirates carving into a whole roasted nerf and scowled. She had plans for that meat. Getting wasted on dead pirates was not one of those plans.
Ahsoka boosted her warriors onto the roof of one of the outer houses before following them up. The streets were still too bright and populated to sneak through, so they would take the rooftops. Each one was an island of darkness in the light, darker than the prairie; the lamps of the streets deepened the shadows in comparison. Jump after jump, they made their careful way deep into the town.
Eventually, they got to the main square. Having circled it previously, Ahsoka knew the entrance to the square was the only one and, with the partying pirates, it was not an option. But there were a few windows that let light into the stone building. They circled around to the side and Ahsoka pointed out the window.
“I’ll jump across first,” Ahsoka explained. “After I open it, you will follow.”
“It looks like a long jump,” Dhalor said. “I don’t know if my subordinates and I will be able to make the jump, even with you helping us.”
“I can do it,” Ahsoka promised. “Trust me.”
Dhalor hesitated.
“Yes, my Lord,” she said, a hint of nervousness in her presence.
That was the best that Ahsoka could expect. She nodded in recognition and leaped to the window. She landed soundlessly. Carefully, she clung to the tiny ledge and peered in through the window. As she had thought, there was no one inside the room. It appeared to be a small library or archive, and the datapads lining a few of its shelves were undisturbed.
Typical of pirates to be so uncaring of knowledge.
She shoved the window open and slipped inside. The window was large enough that she found it easy to enter, but small enough that a fully grown human would have a much harder time.
Now inside, she gestured for her soldiers to jump.
The first was Edee. She took a few steps back and then launched into a sprint, which turned into a jump. As the parabolic arc began to curve down, Ahsoka reached out and caught her with the Force. She held on to Edee’s torso and brought her over to the window. The moment Ahsoka let go, Edee launched herself into the room, falling into a cartwheel and bouncing slightly once she was back on her feet.
“Awesome,” Edee whispered. “I love the Force!”
Ahsoka grinned at her. She could feel Edee’s excitement and adrenaline and joy in the Force. She ignored the knowledge that Edee was partly excited to kill, that she reveled in slaughter. For now, Ahsoka could imagine this was just a cute moment between two teenage girls.
Ahsoka waved for the next to jump. It seemed it was Haat’s turn, because Ahsoka sensed great reluctance from her. Dhalor gripped her shoulder and shook her slightly, and Haat followed Edee’s lead. At the apex of her jump, which was less than Edee’s, Ahsoka reached out again and pulled her gently to the window. Haat was far less confident and graceful entering the room; she wobbled on the windowsill, and Ahsoka had to offer a hand for Haat to grab. Haat didn’t let go, even once she was inside, until Edee took her other hand.
“It’s over, now,” Ahsoka reminded her. “You survived.”
“If we do it for fun, later, can I take Haat’s turn?” Edee asked.
“If Haat agrees,” Ahsoka said. She was smiling as she waved Dhalor over.
Dhalor launched into her jump with confidence. She didn’t have Edee’s joy, but as Ahsoka caught her at the apex of her jump, Ahsoka luxuriated in Dhalor’s trust and quiet certainty. Dhalor entered through the window as gracefully as Edee had, but without any unnecessary flourishes.
“We will separate, now,” Ahsoka announced. “Most of those in this building are asleep. Only one is awake; he is in the central room, and you will leave him to me. Understood?”
Ahsoka sensed Haat take a deep breath. Her fear subsided and faded away as she turned her attention to killing. This was not something new to her; she would follow her orders with ease.
Edee’s presence in the Force turned hungry. Ahsoka wouldn’t have been surprised if she was salivating under her helmet. She would enjoy what was to come, Ahsoka knew. It was so unlike the Jedi Ahsoka knew that it gave her some pause. It was even unlike the troopers Ahsoka had fought beside; though some of them were eager for battle, none of them had the same sort of glee at the idea of killing other beings. But she could not allow herself the time to think about it.
“Understood, alor,” Dhalor said firmly. “Verde, move out.”
Dhalor was proud and clear-headed in the Force. As they all moved towards the door that lead out of the library, Dhalor lead the way. She opened the door and sent Edee to their right and Haat to their left. Ahsoka felt the hunter’s attention focus on doors that they would open.
Beyond those doors, Ahsoka sensed sleeping beings. They felt so innocent while asleep. Their Force-presences were barely stained by the violence they had committed. Ahsoka caught glimpses of their emotions as they dreamed. Two were afraid of something, stuck in a nightmare. One was in some serene dream that rivaled a waking Jedi Master. Another was lightly frustrated, trying to do something their sleeping mind would simply not allow. There were more dreamers with more dreams, but Ahsoka could not sense any evil from any of them.
Still, she turned away. Her path had been chosen, and she was not about to leave it.
Ahsoka jogged down the stone hallway, looking for the door to the central chamber.
When she said that only one was awake, she had been slightly misleading. Only one pirate was awake. But in the central room, besides the recognizable presence of an awake Onaka, there was a second awake presence. That one felt petrified, terrified, and hopeless. Ahsoka sensed an innocence in the presence, of someone who had never fought and never killed.
One of the townsfolk was there. Ahsoka wasn’t sure what to do with that knowledge.
Ahsoka found the door she needed soon enough. She paused in front of it, took a deep breath, and opened it quietly.
Inside was a meeting room, dominated by a large table. At its head, Onaka sat. In front of him was a mostly finished feast, roasted nerf meat and root vegetables. Onaka had a plate with a mostly finished steak in it, and a goblet. The goblet was currently being refilled with what looked like wine by a human dressed in a rustic-looking dress.
Ahsoka took that all in quickly, in the space of seconds. But Onaka was quick, too. She sensed his mind flash with alertness and then with alarm as his head twisted to look at her.
Before she could act, Onaka leaped to his feet and grabbed the servant. In one smooth motion, she was between the pirate and Ahsoka, and Hondo had a blaster pressed to the woman’s head. She trembled, eyes teary and wide, still clutching the pitcher of wine.
“Not a step closer, my friend,” the pirate sang. “I will shoot.”
“Release the townswoman,” Ahsoka ordered. She had to force herself not to show her anger at Hondo’s threat. She knew she had to change the situation if she wanted the hostage to survive. So, she forced herself to continue speaking. “This town had debts to the Black Sun that she needs to help pay off.”
Confusion flickered across Onaka’s face. Doubt budded in his presence in the Force.
“The Black Sun?” he repeated. “What do they have to do with anything? Don’t tell me the noble Jedi would sink to helping such a crime syndicate!”
“They would not,” Ahsoka agreed.
She passed her knife to her left hand and unhooked her borrowed lightsaber from her belt. She ignited it, the cries of its kyber crystal increasing. It joined the other lightsources in casting light and shadow across the room, turning much of the room into pale red. Onaka’s expression barely wavered, but unease joined the doubt in his mind. He knew something of what Ahsoka was saying, but she made it explicit, just to be clear.
“But I am a Jedi no longer,” Ahsoka lied. “I am a Sith. We do not bother with such codes of conduct.”
“Not at all?” Onaka asked. “Well, perhaps we could come to some agreement, then, miss Tano. I, after all, have a large force that you may find useful.”
Ahsoka paused, genuinely surprised. She tilted her head to communicate that.
“I suppose a force of pirates would be useful to any Sith,” Ahsoka agreed. She smiled, but it was because she saw a way to end this in her favor.
“Very!” Onaka agreed. “In fact, we worked briefly for a Sith Lord, a Zabrak fellow. He got in a disagreement with the Jedi and they killed him, but it was a very profitable relationship while it lasted! What do you say, my friend?”
Maul. He had worked for Maul. Knowing both of them, it hadn’t ended anything like how Onaka pretended. Onaka definitely betrayed Maul to the Jedi.
“Alright,” Ahsoka turned off her lightsaber. “Why don’t we sit down and discuss how this will work? I don’t know if it will work for your pirates to stay in this town. Like I implied, I am currently working as a representative of the Black Sun, and this town hasn’t been paying their debts, presumably because of you.”
“We’d be happy to leave, my friend! Let us eat over the discussion,” Onaka said jovially. He shoved the servant towards the table. “Get a plate set up for my new business partner!”
Ahsoka gathered the Force and crossed the distance in a heart-beat.
Onaka raised his blaster, but it was too late. Ahsoka ignited her borrowed saber and slashed through the pirate’s arm. The arm and blaster fell to the ground as Ahsoka kicked the captain into the wall.
The servant made a muffled cry of shock, her hands covering her own mouth. The wine pooled at her feet. Onaka slumped against the wall, his face pinched by pain.
“What’s this about? The business partners thing?” Onaka struggled to sit up. “You can be the boss. I wasn’t trying to upstage you, I promise. I’ll do whatever you want!”
“Whatever I want?” Ahsoka pretended to think about it as she walked closer. She knew better than to believe any of Onaka’s promises. She knew better than to trust him. There was only one thing she could ask from him. “I want you to die so I can bring your head to Lord Maul.”
Onaka’s eyes widened, but he wasn’t able to do anything. He was in the wrong position and Ahsoka moved too fast.
Ahsoka beheaded him, and let his head roll on the floor.
Ahsoka heard a yelp from the townswoman. She spun around and saw that the townswoman was on the floor near the door. It seemed like she had tried to run, only to collide with Dhalor, who was standing in the doorway.
“Done with the rest, Dhalor?” Ahsoka asked.
“Yes, my Lord,” Dhalor confirmed. “The rest of the pirate leaders are dead.”
“Good,” Ahsoka smiled grimly. “Let’s go take care of the crew.”
Ahsoka swept towards the door. The townswoman scrambled out of the way. Dhalor stepped away, and Ahsoka left the room and the terrified townswoman behind.
It hurt, more than a little, to be so feared by someone who shouldn’t fear her at all. Ahsoka was used to relief meeting her presence, or gratitude. Even distain and hatred didn’t hurt as much, in that moment. But Ahsoka couldn’t break character, not in front of Dhalor. Which meant that she couldn’t try to comfort the townswoman, who probably had never experienced someone being killed in front of her and was now alone with a corpse.
But maybe the townswoman didn’t need comforting. Because Ahsoka sensed her following them. Ahsoka paused and looked back. The woman came to a stop, well out of striking range and swallowed hard.
“Are… are you freeing us?” she asked hopefully. The fear was still there, but it wasn’t all consuming. “From the pirates?”
Ahsoka nodded silently.
“Can I do anything to help?”
Ahsoka inspected her more closely. She was frightened, still, but also hopeful and determined. Pirates had come to her peaceful town, but they hadn’t killed her hope. She had seen someone killed in front of her by someone she thought was a Sith Lord, but she was still on her feet and wanting to help, despite likely being no fighter. She hadn’t even grabbed Hondo’s blaster!
Ahsoka thought about saying that she couldn’t help, but thought better of it. Having something to do might help the woman.
“Can you fight?” Ahsoka asked.
“No, my, uh, Lord,” the townswoman answered nervously.
“Then you can gather the leadership of the town,” Ahsoka decided “Once I am done killing the pirates, I will need to speak to them regarding the debt the town holds and the disposal of the corpses.”
The townswoman swallowed hard, but straightened.
“I can do that, my Lord,” she said.
Ahsoka gave her a small smile.
“You may wait until the streets are safe,” Ahsoka said. “I will find you once I am done.”
Ahsoka nodded and turned to go. Dhalor, exuding a fascinated admiration, fell back into step with her as she walked away. Everything felt right in the world, despite the chill of death over the town. Ahsoka was saving people and making the galaxy a better place. Maybe she was working for a Sith Lord against her will, backed by warriors without morals, but that wasn’t stopping her. Not completely, anyways.