Saga Ahsoka: Fallen Order

After playing Jedi: Fallen Order I couldn't help but wonder, what if some of the players had been different? What if instead of Cal Kestis the story followed Ahsoka Tano after she started working with the Rebellion? And what if Cere and the Second Sister were instead people from Ahsoka's time in the order?

Title: Ahsoka: Fallen Order
Author: (Lady) Delpheas (posted elsewhere as SuperQueeroTrash)
Continuity: AU divergence from after E.K Johnston's Ahsoka novel, following somewhat the plot of Jedi: Fallen Order.

Date: 14 BBY, Ahsoka is 22yrs old.

Summary: Five Years after the fall of the republic, former Jedi Ahsoka Tano operates as Fulcrum, a spy and informant for the fledgling rebellion. When an assignment goes wrong and she is forced to reveal that she is attuned to the force, Ahsoka must use everything she has learned, as a Jedi, a refugee, and rebel spy to evade the grasp of the Empire.

Note: This story contains spoilers for The Clone Wars, the Republic comic series, Star Wars: Obsession, Dark Disciple, Ahsoka (novel) and Jedi: Fallen Order.

And due to similar plot developments, it technically has spoilers for Tales of the Empire and The Bad Batch/Tales of the Underworld. Though seeing as I came up with these plot threads back in 2020, it's not really a spoiler.
See the spoiler tag for more info.

Spoiler: for Part II

Namely Barriss becoming an Inquisitor and how Ventress survives the events of Dark Disciple

This story is mostly complete, barring the last few chapters. I have been posting it over on AO3 since 2020, and finally decided I wanted to bring it to the JC Forums!

Thanks: To @creativside for Betaing and building the listening playlist.

Table of Contents:

Part I
Chapter I
Chapter II
Chapter III
Chapter IV

 

Suggested listening: No Roots by Alice Merton, Natural by Imagine Dragons

Chapter I

It’s been four years since Ahsoka has joined the fledgling rebellion, no longer a Jedi, but also no longer a refugee, she’s become something … else. What that is, she's not quite sure.

Dispatched to Bracca to meet with a possible new rebel agent, Ahsoka must be wary. The Empire is everywhere and unbeknownst to the former Jedi she is being hunted…​

The undercover assignments were the worst, Ahsoka thought, especially this close to strategic hyperspace lanes where security was heightened and so her alert must be as well. The dirt of Bracca clung to her poncho, reminding her not unfondly of her first real assignment on out of the way Tatooine. Things had been less complicated then, the Republic, the Jedi, it had all seemed so inevitable. Now the only thing truly inevitable was the need for survival.

Embedding herself in the Scrapper’s Guild had been the easy part, her mechanic’s skills were some of the best in the galaxy, after all she had been taught by one of the best tinkerers out there. Next came the hard part, finding her contact. For their safety she had insisted on a sparseness of details. Enough that someone with her skills could piece it all together, but hopefully only just enough. It wouldn’t do for the Empire to find either of them. Especially not their new twisted dark force users.

Turning her attention to the droid overseer, Ahsoka awaited her new instructions. Her first lead involved getting assigned to the most dangerous shifts, and something, maybe the force, told her that her work had been exemplary enough that that was where she was headed.

“An error has been detected on line Ten-A. Hauler clamps are jammed.” The droid’s modulated voice whirred in an emotionless monotone. Like the majority of droids throughout the galaxy, this one was programmed for a specific task and fitted with restrainer bolts to ensure it followed that programming to the letter. “I need two workers to climb up and secure the cables.”

“That’s not an easy job.” Was all she said, though that was an understatement. The hauler lines were some of the most complex pieces of equipment in the scrapyard and required constant maintenance.

“That’s why you’ll be going with me.” A large Abednedo lumbered up next to her, an easy manner evident in his gait. “The guild always pays double for these shifts too. Isn’t that true Foreman?”

If the droid could blink in irritation Ahsoka was certain it would. “That is … correct Prauf. As long as your work is up to guild standards.”

A half-head taller than her Prauf gazed down at her with eager eyes. “Alright,” she said. Not quite sure what she was agreeing to, but Ahsoka knew she couldn’t afford to second guess herself.

“Let’s go.” Prauf turned, waving for her to follow. Line Ten-A wasn’t too far, just full on the other side of the scrapping yard. Whatever, it would give her enough time to feel out this Prauf and determine if he was her contact or not. “Didn’t catch your name.”

Moving to catch up she offered the fake name she picked for this assignment, one she hadn’t used in a while. “Ashla. Name’s Ashla.”

“Nice to meet you Ashla.”

“Nice to meet you too Prauf.” And it was, even if circumstances were not what she preferred, it was always encouraging to see that some people’s lives weren’t terribly different now than before the Empire. The passage through the scrapping yard carried them past a number of relics from the war, battle droids, separatist cruisers, as well as a Corellian freighter or two. However most of what’s out here was, as the name implied, scrap.

“How long have you been out here?” Starting with the simple questions was the safest route, even if the tediousness of it grated at Ahsoka’s nerves.

“Hah. I’ve been a scrapper my whole life. Born on Corellia, fled after the war reached us. Been on Bracca ever since. It’s not a bad life all in all, scrapping, prospects aren’t always great, but it’s not bad.”

“Hmm.”

“What about you?” Prauf’s voice as he lumbered ahead was bright, not weighed down by the heaviness of current events.

“As you probably guessed, I’m new. Only been here a few weeks. I grew up in the Outer Rim, my family were all engineers. I was going to be too, if things had turned out differently. Now I take what work I can find, ya know.” The lies came easily now that she had several years away from the Jedi and their hypocritical, yet stringent, morality.

“Don’t I.”

The scrapping yard was very poorly organized, she realized, as the two of them had to climb over and through piles of unsorted junk. The air was thick with the smell of grease, and as it clung to her poncho she couldn’t help but be grateful that when this assignment was over and she had her intel, there was a change of clothes waiting for her.

They rounded a corner and the hauler cables came into view, hanging a few hundred feet above her and even further over a yawning chasm. As close as they were, Ahsoka could see the problem. What must have been line 10-A had come loose from the clamps, and it hung limp. Re-attaching it would mean climbing out onto the clamps, and they hadn’t been supplied with any safety gear. Before she could get too deep into figuring out how she was going to do her job, Prauf called to her from somewhere to her left. “Ashla, come take a look at this.

Turning towards his voice she immediately saw what must have grabbed Prauf’s attention. “It’s a Jedi fighter!” Prauf’s excitement was palpable and Ahsoka almost wished she could share it. But there was nothing exciting about it for her.

“What a score. They let us scrap that, we’ll be set for months. This heap’s been here for what, four years?”

Walking towards the fighter, an Actic-class interceptor, Ahsoka studied its markings. Just the usual blaster scoring, nothing to mark it as belonging to a specific Jedi. Whatever residue their death left in the Force had faded, whoever the pilot was was long gone. “Five.” It had been five years.

“Yeah, well. Whoever flew this went down in a blaze of glory.” Prauf lumberd towards it, kneeling to rest one of his large hands on a wing.

That’s one way to put it. Ahsoka glanced around, really not wanting to be found hovering near the crashed fighter.

“Those Jedi. A shame what happened to them.” Turning his head back to her, his gaze met hers. “Always said they couldn’t all be traitors.”

“If you listen to the holonet, they certainly all were.” Even if Prauf was her contact there were still certain topics that she was wary of broaching. The Jedi’s guilt, or lack of, was one of them.

“Hmmph.” He shrugged his shoulders and turned his attention back to the fighter. “Must just be our lucky day. We’ll certainly get a lot of good material out of it.”

Ahsoka watched as he investigated the ship, tapping the wings, the cockpit glass, checking the wiring. “Here we are scrapping these ships from the war, just so they can turn around and make new ones. Quite a racket. You know the pay was better under the republic, bosses were a bit friendlier too.”

“Hey, you really should keep it down.” She lowered her voice hoping Prauf would catch on.

“I’m just saying, a finders fee like this, could be the fulcrum on which your exit from this soggy rock turns.”

Eyes narrowing Ahsoka had to keep from burying her head in her hands. Either it was a complete coincidence, or her contact had absolutely no grasp of subtlety.

When he turned back to her Prauf’s eyes were alight with exuberance, clearly he was pleased with himself. She noticed, finally, that his hand was held out to her.

“What is that?” She already knew the answer to her question, though the object in his hand was tiny, it was recognizable to only a few.

“For you.” He said.

Slowly, very slowly, she reached out and grabbed the tiny box. It was a Jedi blackbox, whatever it held would have been kept safe from the elements. Sometimes a Jedi might store something they considered important in one of these, and while less secure than a holocron, they could still only be opened by one attuned to the force.

She sensed it just before it happened, the crumbling of the platform beneath them. Her Jedi-trained reflexes allowed her to grab the new edge just as it passed her and hold on for dear life, shoving the blackbox into one of her belt pouches. But Prauf had no special training, no years of life threatening situations to hone his athletic abilities. So he fell, far and fast enough that by the time Ahsoka reached for him he was out of reach. She could sense his fear, it wasn’t as pungent as the fear of those strong in the force, but fear was distinctive, metallic and cloying. And it meant she had to push down her own and act, even though to do so could spell disaster.

She reached out with the Force-

She didn’t know if she’d ever get used to how empty it felt now, the brightness of the Jedi’s presence gone forever, slowly being replaced by a heavy oppressiveness that filled her with unease. She couldn’t stop using it of course, it was as much a part of her as breathing, but she wished it didn’t feel so wrong.

-and guided it with her free hand and wrapped it around Prauf, slowing his fall. A scrapper’s skiff passed underneath them and she lowered Prauf onto it before dropping down herself.

Unsteadily Prauf climbed to his feet and Ahsoka grimaced as he looked up at her in awe. This was what she was afraid of, someone who couldn’t see past their rosy image of the Jedi. At least she could sense his intentions weren’t malicious. But in the end it wouldn’t be his intentions she would have to worry about.

Grabbing the skiff’s controls, she knocked the droid pilot out of the way. “I know you have questions, just please, hold them until we’re out of the open.” She waited. Nothing. Taking his silence for agreement, Ahsoka piloted the skiff towards the nearest platform that wasn’t crawling with people. Hoping against hope that Prauf was the only one who saw what had happened, a sick feeling in her gut telling her that hope was a lie.

Once they landed she herded them off the skiff towards a nearby service passage. For a few moments at least they would be undisturbed. Once safely enveloped in the shadows, before she had a moment to catch her breath, Prauf assaulted her with questions.

“What was that back there? Was it … was that you? Was that the Force?”

“I’d ask you to forget what you saw, but that’s not gonna happen is it?”

“I’ve heard the stories, ya know, Jedi aiding the … of Jedi who survived. There’s bounties on people like you.”

“I know. I know.” Bringing a finger to her lips she signaled quiet.

“Right, right. We need to be careful.”

“You can’t tell anyone what you saw. Understand? No. One.” She punctuated each word with a finger jab at his face. “As you said there are bounties on people like me.”

Prauf nodded. “I may not look it Ashla, but I know my stuff. My … brother was a Jedi. I’ll keep your secret.”

Sensing the truth of his words, as well as a deep sadness, she took a deep breath, letting the Force steady her nerves. Whatever happened next, at least she had the intel she came for. The rest was out of her hands.

Reaching into her belt pouch she pulled out the little box, resting it in her palm.

What secrets do you hold?

Having decided that one more, quiet, display of the force wouldn’t change events already set in motion she opened up to it again. This time she only let in the tiniest bit, like thread through the eye of a needle. Feeding it into the blackbox, she felt a click as whatever inner mechanism responded to the influx of energy.

Ahsoka watched it open, revealing a holodisc, the kind which required a droid to access. Not for the last time Ahsoka missed Artoo’s presence. It had been a long time since she’d traveled with the little droid, his knowledge considered too valuable to be trusted with field assignments.

“What is it?”

For a moment she had forgotten Prauf was there. That’s not a mistake she could afford to make.

“It’s a map. To what, I don’t know. But whatever Jedi died here thought it was important. Thank you for bringing it to me.”

He smiled big at that. “Anything to help.”

“We should get back. We can tell them the line work didn’t get done because the platform collapsed. They’ll have to deal with sending droids up there.”

“Yeah, let's do that.”

*

Checking in with the Foreman had gone well enough. The droid simply grumbled something about useless organics before sending them off. As necessary as it was for her to get off Bracca right now, Ahsoka could only afford so much hurry. She’d already done enough to draw attention to herself as it was. That said, sitting still had never been one of her strong suites and the train to the residential area felt like it was taking forever.

Prauf was calm, thank the Force, and his presence on the bench next to her made it somewhat easier to avoid panicking herself. She’s heard too many stories of an accidental use of the force leading to capture or worse. Her own experience attested to the very real danger of being caught. The last thing she wanted to see was another one of those horrific red blades, it’s core screaming in pain, a miniature wound in the Force. And though it might not be the wisest decision, the hour and a half ride was plenty of time for Ahsoka to get some meditation in. Calm her mind. Ease her breathing. She slipped easily into the familiar trance, one taught more by her own initiative than anything her Master had done. Thunder crashed outside and the arrival of rain became a steady plunk, plunk, plunk.

She let the come Force to her, finding that easier than grasping for it like some Jedi had advised. Even wounded as it was, she still found it beautiful. The Force was just beginning to heal from the massive tear that had been made when thousands of Jedi were wiped from existence near simultaneously. Its tattered and frayed edges were slowly weaving back together. She let that wash over her, ignoring the growing wrongness, focusing instead on the force around her. The possibilities of the past and future would be what they would be, what’s important are the possibilities of the present.

By the time Ahsoka opened her eyes it easily could’ve been an hour and a half, Prauf was gone, probably off to wherever he called home. The shadows were lower and stronger than they had been, pooling thickly around her. Something flickered at the end of the train car, and then her name echoed throughout. Ahsoka!

So it’s vision time, huh?

Gathering her will she stood and began making her way to the back of the car. As she approached a sinister red glow flooded the doorway that led to the next car. A familiar glow, one that made her breath come shorter and her arms feel like led. Her lightsabers seemed woefully out of reach when at last a figure emerged from the shadows.

And it was the last person she expected to see.

“Master?” Relief flooded her as she realized she was facing what must be the spirit of her dead Master. And he was unarmed. The sickly red glow was simply atmospheric and not the result of a corrupted lightsaber.

Anakin’s face was distorted into a snarl. “Ahsoka, you must listen to me.”

Before she could speak she felt his presence in the force extend and wrap around her, lifting her from the floor. Held aloft, Anakin’s voice echoed in her ears. “You are making a mistake.”

Her Master’s presence receded along with his control over the Force and she fell to the ground with a thunk.

And her eyes fluttered open. She was still sitting on the train, Prauf next to her. Plunk. And it was still raining. It had been a while since the Force had given her a vision. This was the first she had ever seen of her Master since his death. It left a tingling sensation on her skin. Not unpleasant, but not welcome. It meant danger, and it meant now.

The train ground to a halt. Chatter rose from the passengers, most questioning, some on the edge of panic. Since the rise of the Empire most folks had learned that safety lay in routine, any change from that could spell disaster.

Prauf sighed. “Something’s going on.”

As if on cue two stormtroopers walked into the car, not an unusual sight in recent years, but still unwelcome. “Everybody up. Identification ready.” Barked through their helmets the Trooper’s orders elicited gasps and obedience from the passengers. Ahsoka tensed. She did have identification, it would be foolish not to, but if they were here for her it wouldn’t matter.

Ahsoka kept her eyes down as one of the troopers walked past her and Prauf footsteps echoing throughout the car.

“It’s probably just a routine contraband inspection.” One of the passengers whispered to their friend, though why she thought that was the comforting thing to say to their friend was beyond her. Ahsoka balled her hands into fists.

Prauf whispered next to her. “You need to get out of here.”

“I know.” She whispered back, her voice tight. For the love of the Force, shut up.

“Everyone, move out and line up.”

Whatever she was going to do, it had to happen now.

Grumbling, the passengers started shuffling out of the car, Prauf eyed her one last time before walking out with the rest. Ahsoka followed, slowing her breath and focusing on the Force. She pulled on the shadows and drew them towards her, letting them envelop her. Crossing the threshold of the car with the others, she vanished into the shadows and took off running.

 

I haven't played Fallen Order (as a matter of fact, I've never played a video game in my life) but if I understand correctly how you're planning to structure this fic, this is actually a good thing for me, because I'll discover the plot as I go along.

I love this opening in a scrap yard; it's such a quintessentially Star Wars setting, and it's definitely the sort of place where spies and informants for the Rebellion would meet while posing as manual labourers. The presence of a Jedi fighter there made perfect sense too; why wouldn't those ships be scrapped for parts, after all? But if course, when you're a Rebel agent, you know that the real value of that sort of wreck isn't in the ship itself, but in the information that may be hidden in it. I also liked the fact that Prauf isn't the "professional" Rebel; he's too loud, he's too enthusiastic and he's too outspoken, and that's bound to come and bite him in the butt at some point (probably sooner rather than later too). And of course, there's no safety in the workplace in an Imperial scrapyard, so things were bound to go belly-up at some point, and Ahsoka would have to use the Force to save the day.

The absolute highlight of this chapter for me was your descriptions of the Force, of how it feels wounded and empty after the extermination of the Jedi, and how the darkness is creeping in. Especially during Ahsoka's meditation, you really pointed out how she has to choose which aspects of the Force she wants to let in, but even so, she can't avoid that bizarre vision of Anakin – or rather, a vision that feels bizarre to her, because we as readers know why it's so warped. And I absolutely loved the idea that, to make her escape, she gathers the shadows and wraps them around her, in an act that feels like a variant of the mind trick. But if the stormtroopers heard that there had been something out of the ordinary, the Inquisitors won't be far behind...

Bottom line, you have me hooked already! I'm not the most consistent reviewer, but I'llmake sure to at least drop a "like" whenever I come here to read your updates, even if I don't leave a comment.

 

Very riveting. There's a strong undercurrent of necessary not doing anything to draw attention to yourself that Ahsoka is dealing with and then the sheer act of having to react to the collapsing of the platform. The appearance of the stormtroopers, so not a coincidence either.

 

@Chyntuck I think not having played Fallen Order is a great way to come to this story. I follow enough of the plot beats that if you were familiar you could probably guess some things. But I also wanted this read as a proper sequal to E.K. Johnston's Ahsoka, with the narrative of Fallen Order shifting accordingly. Ahsoka is gonna handle things very differently than Cal Kestis would, and due to her relationship to Anakin her trauma is also different.

Playing with Ahsoka's relationship to the Force in this has been of my favorite things, so I'm glad you liked it.

And yeah, you're not wrong about the Inquisitorius...

@WarmNyota_SweetAyesha I'm glad! Riveting is what I shoot for!

 

I love how you write the beginning of this game. Revealing some but not all with Ahsoka as the main character after she has felt the extermination of the Jedi. A wounded woman and what will she see next?

 

Chapter II​

The air around Ahsoka was tight, a result of using the Force to keep herself hidden. A power she had learned in the last few years, and not one that she could hold for long. Running past the lines of Stormtroopers, away from the gathered crowd, she needed to put as much distance between herself and them before the patter of rain on her shadow-wrapped body drew attention.

Finding a rocky outcropping was easy on Bracca however and she needn’t have worried. Sliding into the cover provided by the natural shadows, Ahsoka let go of the Force just as lightning flashed in the sky. She needed to get away, to her ship, off this rock. But… something held her. The fate of the passengers perhaps. She’d never been one to leave innocents behind when danger threatened.

And the black Imperial shuttle perched a few hundred feet to her right told her that danger was here. The shuttle ramp lowered and off ran two, four, then twelve black armored troopers. Strange. Each carried a melee weapon in addition to their rifles. They filled out around the crowd, cutting an imposing figure against the stark white of their comrades.

Behind them a presence lurked, emerging slowly from the cabin. The Force twisted around the figure, and as they came into view, whatever hope Ahsoka had that she hadn’t been discovered vanished. The large black armored figure carried at their hip a lightsaber, one with the same strange design that she had encountered on Raada. She hadn't known what the dark force user was then, but that was four years ago. She knew what they were now. Inquisitors.

That meant the black armored troopers were the Purge Stormtroopers, who like the Inquisitors, had a singular purpose, to hunt and kill Jedi. And they were good at their job. As far as she knew, she was the only one to have survived an encounter with either. And she had won that duel out of what seemed like sheer luck.

A high-pitched tell-tale whining drew her attention to another incoming Imperial ship. A slender and imposing fighter, the engines whirred as it landed a few feet from the shuttle, close to a steep drop off. The hatch opened at the top and a slender masked figure climbed out. Once again there was no mistaking her for anything but an Inquisitor.

Bile built up in the back of her throat, this close to the two dark side users, Ahsoka felt the wrongness in the Force. Different than it had been with Ventress or Dooku, their presence screamed in pain. She didn’t have time to think on the implications because the two Inquisitors marched over to the gathered train passengers.

“Is this all of them?” The slender Inquisitor’s voice was calm, demanding.

“Yes, Second Sister.” A Purge Trooper nodded.

Behind her the larger Inquisitor paced in a clear attempt to intimidate the crowd. Unlike the Second Sister, their helmet didn’t cover her face, and Ahsoka could make out the thick tusks protruding from the chin that marked her as a Dowutin.

“We seek a dangerous fugitive.” The crowd shifted slightly. “This is no common terrorist but a hanger-on of the treasonous Jedi.” Ahsoka’s breath caught. She could feel the Second Sister reaching out with the Force to find her.

“Failure to turn over this traitor will result in a charge of sedition.”

Ahsoka tried to hide her presence in the Force, make it as small as she could manage, while the probing intent of the Second Sister’s presence passed closer and closer to where she was hiding.

“Turn yourself in, or everyone present shall face summary execution.” The echo of rifles being raised, the terrible clack of armor as soldiers shuffled into position. She watched in horror as the passengers stood staring down what had become a firing squad. The Second Sister’s presence probed closer to her hiding spot, reaching. Ahsoka knew that if she was discovered before revealing herself the Inquisitor would follow through with her threat.

“I think it’s time someone came forward.” The Second Sister’s voice rang through the force, and Ahsoka realized she only had seconds to act before someone died.

“I agree. I’ve been working on ships a long time.” Someone, not her, stepped forward. “Way before the war.” Relief flooded her as the Second Sister’s clawing Force presence retreated, but the relief was short lived. It was Prauf who spoke now. “Engineers. We refit and rebuilt ships.”

Ahsoka reached for her lightsabers hidden under folds of fabric.
“Then came the war, and the Empire.” Prauf continued, raising his voice in a way that, at any other time would have been inspirational. “And engineers became scrappers. And the workers just started getting worked. We all know the truth. We’re just too afraid to say it.”

Prauf marched up to the Second Sister and said what everyone gathered there must have been thinking. “To the Empire, we’re expendable.”

Ahsoka gripped her lightsabers. Whatever was going to happen next she had to act fast.

“Yes.” The Second Sister said with certainty, removing her lightsaber from her belt. “You are.” Her lightsaber ignited with a hiss and Ahsoka charged. Time slowed as Ahsoka thrust herself forward, reaching with the Force to push the Inquisitor away, then the red blade bloomed from Prauf’s back. She was too late.

Her own white blades hissed to life, held in her usual reverse grip, and she rushed the Second Sister. The Inquisitor turned and the second half of her double blade ignited to deflect Ahsoka’s attack. “Unexpected.” Ahsoka felt the Second Sister’s glare through her mask, carried via the Force. “But not unwelcome.”

Now that she had their attention Ahsoka knew the rest of the passengers were safe. Only a Jedi warranted this much firepower, and they had found her. Blocking the Second Sister’s blade, Ahsoka heard another snap-hiss. She disengaged just as the second Inquisitor’s blade crashed into where she had been standing. She took a breath and dashed between the two Inquisitors, the Force increasing her speed beyond normal limits. Behind her their frustration was palpable, but as long as they followed, it didn’t matter. Stealing her nerves she ran toward the drop off and jumped.

The wind whipped by her face for the few seconds she was falling. With a quiet thud she landed on top of a train car, thrusting her lightsabers down like hooks into the roof of the car. The rain beat down on her head as she stood and glanced back up. Hovering at the cliff edge were the two Inquisitors, lightning flashing around them. The train she was on moved fast and they grew further away by the second, just when she was thinking that maybe they wouldn’t follow, that she had miscalculated... the Second Sister jumped.

Ahsoka did not have time to see whether or not the Inquisitor landed since blaster fire erupted from behind her. Whirling to face her attackers, blades humming in front of her, she masterfully deflected the laser bolts away. The source of the blaster fire were two Stormtroopers who, Ahoska thought, were completely unprepared to face a former Jedi. All it took was two more shots from their blasters, and two more deflected bolts for them to fall in front of her. Armor pierced by their own blaster fire.

She grimaced. She had really been hoping that this mission would be bloodless. With a body count of three, so far it was anything but.

“Ahsoka Tano.” The Second Sister’s voice came from behind, drawing out her name. “I was hoping it wouldn’t be long before you were drawn out. The Grand Inquisitor was less than pleased with how you treated our dear brother.”

Ahsoka turned to meet her, dropping into a defensive posture.

“Whereas I, well I couldn’t be more thrilled. This way I get to have you for myself, Jedi.”

The two women’s lightsabers hummed, glowing bright white and blood red. Raindrops hissed as they evaporated off the Kyber-powered blades.

“I am no Jedi.” Ahsoka whirled her blades in defiance of her assailant.

“It does not matter to us whether you were officially part of the order or not. And it does not matter to our Master. Oppose us, and you die. Run from us, and you die. Surrender however…"

Away from the other Inquisitor Ahsoka sensed none of the frustration she had earlier. The Second Sister exuded only a determined calm. Fueled by anger certainly, but it was nothing like the chaotic anger she had once felt from Ventress or Maul. Even as it was not entirely unfamiliar. The Inquisitor stalked towards her and the image of Prauf’s body skewered on her blade flashed through Ahsoka’s mind. The intentional cruelty of the act was not lost on Ahsoka, it was meant as a warning. To fall in line, or else.

She clenched her jaw against her growing anger, trying to let it flow through her. If she held onto it, let it fester, that’s when it would get dangerous. That was something Anakin, her Master, had always struggled with.

"Never."

The first attack came quick and fast, if she had been trained by anyone else, or if Anakin had been less insistent that she practice everyday, she wouldn’t have been able to meet it.

As it was she smirked as she easily held her own, parrying and pressing her own attack. “Not so easy when you’re not killing innocents, huh?”

Their blades met in a cross bringing Ahsoka face to face with her attacker.

“No one who defies the Empire is innocent.” Danger laced her words, their tone and quality sticking in Ahsoka’s ears.

Ahsoka disengaged, Force pushing her opponent away. Her head-tails twitched. There was something about the Inquisitor that was … familiar. The two of them, neither of them Jedi, circled each other. The train speeding away beneath them carried Ahsoka further from her ship. A moment passed and then their blades found each other again. Every lunge, cut, and slash she made dodged, blocked, and parried with a precision that could only have come from years and years of practice.

Sparks flew as their blades connected. They were evenly matched, as long as it was the two of them. Something had to give before the Second Sister’s partner showed up. Her head-tails twitched again, only this time it was because of an incoming presence, no echo, in the Force.

“Mmm. Your capture will please Lord Vader.” A hunger threaded through the Inquisitor’s voice, filling Ahsoka with a sense of longing for her past.

The rumble of ship engines caught her ear, and she jumped back at the last second as laser fire barraged where she had been. Preparing to run, Ahsoka watched in confusion as the ship’s guns followed the Second Sister, the rapid laser blasts pushing her further away.

A hatch opened on the side of the ship and a woman appeared. Her green skin stood out in the growing dark, with black hair that was pulled back in tight braids. Recognition grasped at the edge of Ahsoka’s awareness.

“Get on board!” The Mirialan woman shouted again. The Force echo, if that’s what it was, came from her. Who was she?

“Tell your master he’ll have to wait.” With a glance behind her Ahsoka let out one last taunt and ran toward the ship, deactivating her lightsabers with a hiss-snap. She pushed herself forward with the Force, landing steadily in the open hatch of the ship.

Behind her Ahsoka watched as the train sped away. She couldn’t see the Inquisitor, which was both terrifying and a relief. It could just be her black armor making her hard to see as night approached, yet…

The ship pulled away from the train, gaining altitude when Ahsoka saw something hurdle towards them. There was a thud as the Inquisitor clung to the ship. The hatch closed shut on her lightsaber, leaving scoring that would need quite a bit of repair.

“Captain.” Her rescuer ran to the cockpit, her energy nervous and … hollow?

Ahsoka followed, tension making her shoulders tight. Along the outside of the ship she could hear the Inquisitor moving, jumping. And then she appeared again, clinging to the glass of the cockpit. She reached out her hand and through the Force ripped the control wheel from the Latero pilot. The ship careened, spinning out of control, through the Force Ahsoka sensed the ground quickly growing closer. The Mirialan woman yanked on the control wheel, tearing it out of the Second Sister’s grasp. The ship righted with a jerk and the Inquisitor lost her footing and fell. A few seconds passed and the Captain punched buttons and pulled a lever and the ship rocketed into Hyperspace.

“Both of you grab some seat.” The Captain’s voice, grizzled and rough, assaulted her ears.

Ahsoka found one on a semi-circular booth, but she didn’t sit yet. “Who are you people?” Something about the Mirialan was familiar, where did she know her from? She studied the woman’s stance, her posture, her face, the face was what was most familiar. Ahsoka imagined the woman wearing a headdress, hiding her coarse hair… and it dawned on her. But it was impossible…

“Master Luminara?” Ahsoka gasped, her words tumbling loose from her mouth. “You’re alive? How? The Empire… I heard you were executed.”

“Near enough Padawan Tano.” For a moment Luminara’s eyes held indescribable sorrow, then she blinked and it was gone. She gestured to the pilot. “This is my Captain, Greez Dritus.”

“How ya doin?” Jumping down from his seat in the cockpit Greez approached Ahsoka, smiling. “Yeah, the Mantis is my ship, but you better listen to this lady here.”

Ahsoka glanced back at Luminara and again felt a sense of hollowness coming from her. Her presence in the Force felt weak, only a faint echo of what it should have been from a Master of Luminara’s power.

“So… who are you?” Greez took a seat across from her, map console beeping faintly between them.

“Ahsoka Tano. Not to sound ungrateful, but how did you know I needed help?

“We monitor Imperial communications. We heard the Inquisitors were headed here, and … we were in the area.”

Ahsoka sighed, breathing easy for the first time in several hours. “Well, it is nice to see a familiar face.” She glanced at Luminara. Familiar, and hopefully friendly.

“Wait, you two know each other?” Greeze looked between the both of them, not quite shocked, but clearly not expecting it.

“I was a Jedi Padawan a number of years ago and Luminara was one of my Masters. I worked with her and her Padawan during the war.”

She thought she heard Greez mumble something about Jedi and coincidences. She wasn’t sure and it didn’t look like he was going to elaborate.

“Too many Jedi have fallen at the hands of the Inquisitors. You may be the first to survive an encounter with them.”

How many, Ahsoka wondered. How many of her friends, people she had thought of like family had been cut down? She sighed. Dwelling on that loss was something she’d avoided before, why start now?

“I’m not surprised. I encountered one on Raada four years ago. They’re dangerous. They take "kill or be killed" way too seriously.”

“Now that you’ve escaped, the Second Sister won’t stop until she destroys you.” Destroy me. Ahsoka wasn’t sure that’s what the Inquisitor had in mind.

The immediate danger passed, Ahsoka’s breathing returned to normal, and her heart stopped pounding. She closed her eyes for a moment. She unfortunately wasn’t out of the woods yet.

“Greez, are your communications secure?” She turned to the short pilot, affecting an air of certainty. “I need to contact my people.”

“Yeah, whoever you need to talk to, I can hook you up, no sweat.”

“Ahsoka, there’s more at stake here than just the rebellion.” Luminara rested a hand on Ahsoka’s shoulder, a gesture of familiarity she had never seen before from the older Jedi.

“Oh?” She crossed her arms, tilting her head at Luminara. “Like what?”

“Like rebuilding the Jedi Order.”

She nearly gasped. That was certainly the last thing Ahsoka expected.

 

Excellent update. A great contest of sabers and wills between Second Sister and Ahsoka. A very unexpected rescue with a very surprising encounter with Luminara. Eager for more.

 

@WarmNyota_SweetAyesha
Thanks! I really enjoyed writing this story and playing with Fallen Order to make it work for Ahsoka.

I'll be updating once or twice week until it's all uploaded!

 

Great fight between Ahsoka and the second sister (something that happened in occupied Europe during WW2 too with the squads executing civilians to get a soldier or spy)
And nice to see her rescued by Luminara

 

Chapter III​

Beep, beep. A small bipedal droid peeked out from behind one of the chairs and ran up to Ahsoka and squeaked up at her.

“Oh, who’s this little guy?” More than happy to take whatever distraction was offered, she kneeled down and brushed her hand against the droid’s head. It wasn’t a new droid, but she could tell it had been well cared for throughout the years.

“That’s BD-1, he’s annoying. But kinda cute too, I guess.” Greez’s voice dropped at the end, almost like he didn’t want the droid to hear him.

“Why are you here if not for this?” Luminara’s insistent voice carried a desperation that demanded attention, if for nothing else than for the sadness of it.

“Master Luminara, I mean no disrespect, but I left the Jedi. I will fight the Empire, I will do what I can to protect people. But if rebuilding the Order is your goal, I’m not your woman.”

Luminara watched her with searching eyes.

“I’m here on an assignment. Every action we take, no matter how big or small, is a blow to the empire. Right now that’s what matters.” The other woman seemed to be processing what Ahsoka said, so she took the opportunity to look around the ship.

It was sparingly decorated, the only thing in the central cabin that stood out was an empty terrarium. Bunks lined the wall, made with typical spacer issue linens.

At the far end of the cabin she saw a lightsaber, too far to make out its details, on display inside a glass case. Her attention returned to Luminara and she saw the older Jedi wasn’t wearing her lightsaber.

Ahsoka finally sat, pulled down by the sudden realization that she was exhausted. The kind of exhaustion that cut deep and settled in her bones. The kind that came from being on alert for hours on end. The kind that demanded rest, except that now, more so than ever, she couldn’t let down her guard.

For starters, there were a number of things about Luminara’s sudden appearance that gave her pause. The fact she happened to be on Bracca, the strange hollowness of her presence in the Force, and what Ahsoka found most upsetting, that she no longer wore her lightsaber.

“This weapon is your life, Snips. Without it, we’re not Jedi.” Her Master’s words, but it was true of every Jedi. Their lightsaber was their identity, to see a Jedi without it was almost unheard of.

So many questions, she knew she wouldn’t like the answers to all of them, so she decided to start with the one that she hoped had the simplest answer.

“What were you doing on Bracca?”

“We’ve been searching for something left behind by a Jedi I once knew. It took us a while but we discovered that her ship went down over Bracca when the Purge started.”

Sitting up straighter, Ahsoka couldn’t help but wonder…

“When you say her ship. Do you mean a troop transport, her flagship…?”

“Her interceptor. Imperial records indicate she was shot from the sky by her troops.”

Ahsoka reached into her belt pouch and produced the blackbox. “I found this in a downed interceptor on Bracca. Could it be from your missing Jedi?”

BD-1 jumped up onto the seat and blinked at her. He beeped and nudged his head at the hand holding the blackbox.

“There’s only one way to find out.” Luminara sat, attention on Ahsoka and BD-1.

“BD-1 I’ve told you a hundred times to keep off my sofa!” Greez jumped up from his seat and swatted at the droid. “Do you have any idea how hard it is to get oil stains out of potoli-weave fabric?”

BD-1 beeped mockingly at Greez, jumped onto the Captain’s head, and off onto the holomap table.

“Oh you little...” Greez mumbled before seeming to remember what was going on and turned to BD-1. “Just make yourself useful.” BD-1 whirred eagerly as Ahsoka rose from the sofa and approached him.

“Well, here goes nothing.” She loaded the holodisc into the reader on the side of BD-1’s head. There was a whirring sound as it loaded whatever data was on the disc. BD-1 turned and from his left eye a blue hologram flickered into existence in the middle of the cabin.

The hologram was of a Mirialan woman, quite a bit older than Master Luminara. When the figure began to speak, recognition flashed across Luminara’s face.

“Ahh. Thank you, whoever you are for finding this recording. By finding this you have gained access to many such recordings stored in the droid, BeeDee. I am Master Arwen Kohl, I may not know your name but I know your purpose. The fate of the Jedi order lies in your hands.”

The hologram shifted and the room Kohl had recorded in came into view.

“This place, this vault. It is a sacred temple. Built by a vanished civilisation known as the Zeffo and held sacred by the Jefi.” She gestured to wall cravings older than anything Ahsoka had seen. “Meditating here I was granted a premonition through the Force. A vision of doom. I have placed inside this Vault a Jedi holocron from the Archives, containing knowledge essential to our survival. Inside this droid you will find the map to the Vault, but if you seek to follow you will have to pass many tests. I can only trust this holocron to someone who has followed my path and understands. Seek out the hidden tombs of the three Sages and learn to perceive the mysteries of the Force as the Zeffo once did. In this droid you will find everything you need to succeed on this journey. In the heart of the Zeffo, seek peace in the eye of the storm. In the heart of the Jungle, seek life’s Origin. In the heart of Darkness, seek peace within yourself. Good luck Jedi, and may the force be with you.”

The hologram flickered again and vanished. BD-1 turned to Ahsoka and beeped, clearly pleased with himself. Greez stared at Luminara. “What kind of coincidence is it that we happened to rescue a former Jedi, who was carrying a holodisc from a Jedi Master, that just happened to unlock data in our droid?”

“There are no coincidences with the Force.” Ahsoka glanced at Luminara as they both finished the familiar aphorism.

“Oh Jedi nonsense.” Greez shook his head in consternation.

“That still doesn’t mean I’m the right person to do this. I have responsibilities, people who rely on me. I can’t drop that to go dashing off on some quest to save that which is already gone.”

“Ahsoka, this is why the Force brought you to us. We need you.” Luminara paused a moment, taking a breath before continuing. “I know what’s in the Holocron. It contains a list of force sensitive children.”

What? Ahsoka blinked. “Force-sensitive children? Like the khyber crystal?”

Luminara nodded. “It is a backup copy made toward the end of the Clone Wars. Ahsoka, I have read your mission reports, I know what happened with Cad Bane and the children he kidnapped. If you hadn’t rescued them they would have become like the twisted beings that hunt you.”

Her head pounded. It was all too much. She had wondered what Darth Sidious had intended for the children those many years ago. She hated that she now had her answer.

“If we don’t find these children and train them in the ways of the Force, the same thing will happen to them. We have a responsibility to them Ahsoka, to the next generation of Jedi.”

“How do you know what’s on the holocron? How did you know Master Kohl?”

“A long time ago I was her apprentice. Kohl was a loner. The little droid and I are probably the only ones who know about the vault and the holocron.”

“Wait a minute, wait a minute.” Greez threw his hands up in exasperation. “A Holo-what?”

“A Holocron. It stores information, but only accessible to Jedi.” Luminara’s face lit with excitement for the first time since their force-fated reunion. “Hang on, I think I have one around here.” Luminara rushed up the back of the cabin and started rifling through a bag hidden behind one of the bunk pillows. Ahsoka and the rest followed. Luminara produced a square box, the energy pulsing within tinting it the lightest blue. She held it out to Ahsoka.

“You know how to open it.” It was a statement, not a question. Ahsoka took the Holocron from the older Jedi and released a burst of Force energy into it. The Holocron responded immediately, it floated from her hand and its sides and top flared apart to reveal a holoprojector. From within Ahsoka heard yet another familiar voice.

“This is Master Obi-Wan Kenobi.” The image flared to life, flickerless and steady, and Ahsoka was staring into the face of an old friend. A dead friend. “I regret to report that both our Jedi Order and the Republic have fallen…”

Ahsoka shut it off. She had seen this message once before, not long after her troops had turned on her and her world shattered for the second time. She blinked away tears, and handed the Holocron back to Luminara.

“With that list of force-sensitives we could rebuild the Jedi Order and defeat the Empire.” Luminara said. The way she looked at Ahsoka made her uncomfortable. It was clear Master Luminara wanted something from her she wasn't sure she could give.

“Okay, no problem. Let’s get it.” Greez turned excitedly back towards the cockpit. “Uh, anyone know where we’re going?”

Ignoring Greez Ahsoka took a breath to steel herself. What she was going to say next was going to hurt. “Why can’t you do it Master Luminara? If these tests require one to be attuned to the Force, why can’t you go? You’re a Jedi Master, I'm a failed Padawan. Why do you need me?”

Luminara tensed, and as she looked at Ahsoka her eyes were again filled with that deep unfathomable sadness. “I had an experience that … changed my perspective. As a result, I cut myself off from the Force.”

“But you still want to rebuild the Order?” Ahsoka understood cutting yourself off, if not from the Force, then at least from the people who had most represented it. What she didn’t understand was Luminara’s loyalty. “You and my Master lectured us so many times on letting go of attachments. How is this different? The Jedi are gone.”

Sighing, Luminara raised both her hands helplessly towards the ceiling. “I will not pretend to be perfect Ahsoka. I simply believe rebuilding the Order is the best chance we have against the Empire.”

The pounding in her head increased. This was too much. She was too tired for this. She needed…

“Master, I need to rest.” She hadn’t intended to whisper, yet it seemed that was all she had the strength for.

Luminara had the good sense to look chagrined as she directed Ahsoka to one of the bunks alcoved in the wall. With effort, she made her way to the bed and stripped off her rain soaked poncho. She removed her lightsabers from her belt and slid them under her pillow where she could reach them quickly if needed. Once she laid down, sleep took her easily.

*

When she woke she couldn’t remember any dreams, only the horrid, pained voice of her Master.

“Ahsoka. Why did you leave? Why did you leave me all alone?”

She hadn’t done that. She hadn’t left him alone. He had had the Jedi, Master Kenobi, and he had had Padmé. Whatever happened to him and the others, it wasn’t her fault and no exhaustion induced nightmare was going to convince her otherwise.

Except… if she walked away from these children, who haven’t harmed her or betrayed her or hurt her in any way… Could she forgive herself if she let them suffer just because she didn’t trust the Jedi?

She lay there lost in thought until she found Greez staring at her. “You were talking in your sleep. Weirdo.” Greez shook his head and wandered off again. “I made breakfast if you want it”.

Pushing herself up on her elbows, Ahsoka took in the cabin with fresh eyes. Closer to it now she could see that the lightsaber on display was indeed Luminara’s. What could make her cut herself off from everything that made her a Jedi? She sensed it was a very different wound than the one that preceded Ahsoka’s own exit from the Order.

She swung her legs over the side of the bunk and found BeeDee curled up in stasis mode by her feet. That’s cute. She smiled to herself and then walked to the table to grab a bite.

Greez and Luminara were talking in hushed tones in the main cabin space. It was one thing to say that with the Force nothing was a coincidence, another entirely to see it. Luminara was right, she was here for a reason, and maybe that reason was a second chance.

She looked at the table and over what Greez had prepared. Being standard spacefaring fair, none of it was very exciting, though it was certainly a far cry from the drab rations she had grown accustomed to during the war. She gathered herself a plateful and took it back to the bunk to eat.She ate in silence, catching only snippets of conversation from the others aboard. There was no doubt that protecting these children from the Empire should be a priority for the Rebellion, and even though it didn't technically fall within her purview as Fulcrum, if there was anyone else in the Rebellion whose purview it did fall under, Bail hadn't told her.

Her plate emptied, she sat it down and made her decision. If the children were to be kept safe, it would have to be her or not all.

“Hey BeeDee.” Ahsoka called out the droid quietly. BeeDee whirred as it woke from stasis and extended its body to normal size and stared blankly at Ahsoka.

"Sorry to wake you, but I need to talk to you.”

The droid jumped up onto her bunk and beeped.

“How’d you know?”

“Beep, borp, whoooo.”

“Do you mind if I take a look? I'm no Anakin Skywalker, but I am pretty good with machines.

“Whrrr trrzzt beep?”

“An old friend.”

BeeDee examined her for a moment then squawked excitedly. A panel on his chassis opened revealing a computer interface. It didn’t take long for her to find what she needed. BeeDee only had the coordinates for one planet, the Zeffo homeworld. Obviously that would be the “heart of the Zeffo” Kohl mentioned. The location for the “heart of the jungle” and the “heart of darkness” were locked, and it looked like Ahsoka was meant to puzzle out where they were. “It looks like we only have the one choice little guy.”

She rose and walked towards the front of the ship.

“Greez.” Ahsoka announced. “I know where we’re going.”

***
Notes:
Arwen Kohl is the name of a Mirialan Jedi from the EU that I have assigned as Luminara's old Master.

 

Superb reading of the non coincidence and the crucial rescue that is needed. Luminara's experiences sound like they're as life altering as anything Ahsoka went through.

 

Fantastic action scene with the Inquisitors in Chapter II, and I appreciated seeing the return of the blackmail that Reva uses on the people of Tatooine in the OWK series. It feels very much true to form for the Inquisitors, and Ahsoka was only a fraction of a second too late to save Prauf as well as everyone else. I also liked how Ahsoka can sense that she vaguely knows the Second Sister. I went and checked the Wook about her, and while she isn't someone we've met in TCW, it stands to reason that they would have met as padawans.

And then, Luminara shows up! I'm very curious as to what her story is in this AU; I only know of her fate in Rebels, and that's apparently not what happens to her here – but she's clearly been through a terrible experience to choose to cut herself off from the Force. And she makes a sound argument that the holocron holding the list of Force-sensitive children must be found and protected; but I can also see Ahsoka's point that she had duties to the Rebellion. However, their interests do converge in the end, and I'm very eager to find out more about the Zeffo through this story and how that three-part riddle will take Ahsoka on a (not-)Jedi quest.

 

One of my favorite things has been writing the action/fight scenes. Especially as I go on and my use of Ahsoka and other TCW characters changes the plot, so I have less game material to directly adapt.

Regarding the Second Sister, she may not be who you think.

 

Chapter IV​

“Tell him that I'm following a lead, Fulcrum can survive without me for a week or two.”

“Yes Ma’am.” Senator Organa’s aid nodded and Ahsoka closed off the Mantis’ communication panel. She hoped it would be no more than a few weeks. She didn’t know how long it would take to find the different pieces of the puzzle, but she knew this was important to the rebellion’s efforts. Having taken care of her last piece of business Ahsoka walked into the cockpit. “I’m ready to get going.”

“It’s about time.” Greez climbed up into his pilot’s chair and began inputting commands.

“BeeDee you can input the coordinates to Zeffo now.” Ahsoka called to the droid. Excitedly the little droid ran past her up to the holomap and through a connector on one of his feet uploaded the needed data. The ship computer beeped in recognition as a hologram of Zeffo flared to life.

“Hmm. That’s in the Outer Rim, along one of the newer hyperspace lanes too.” Greez shook his head.. “Ahsoka, Luminara, strap in and make yourselves useful.”

Ahsoka rolled her eyes. “Whatever you say.” She eased herself into the copilot’s chair and began familiarising herself with the Mantis’s controls. Behind her Luminara took a seat at the tertiary control panel, BeeDee perched on her shoulder.

“Hold onto your keisters. Space is disease and danger wrapped in darkness and silence.”

“Wait, Greez, you're a spaceship captain and yet you don’t like space?”

“It’s terrifying. But when it’s behind a comfortably thick wall of Umbaran glass? That’s perfection.”

"Okay" Ahsoka muttered.

Greez pulled the big lever on his control panel and the ship lurched. Everything swirled outside the window from black and white to a blur of blue as the Mantis began moving faster than even the light from the stars. Ahsoka watched and memory flooded her. It had been years since she had gone on what might be called a Jedi mission. The last one had ended in horror, she hoped that at least some good would come out of it this time. This last time. Because Ahsoka was done with the Jedi after this.

“Booo.” BeeDee beeped.

“I know. It has been a long time since either of us saw her.” Luminara’s rich voice echoed throughout the cockpit, even as she exchanged what clearly were meant to be private words.

“Bop-boop.”

“You two must have spent a lot of time alone together working on this project.” Luminara said with more than a hint of a question.

“Boooo…” Ahsoka could hear BeeDee’s servos whirring as the droid spoke. A glance over her shoulder confirmed he was shaking his head.

“Oh… Do you remember the last thing Kohl said to you?”

“Good luck Jedi. May the Force be with you.” The last of Kohl’s recording echoed through the cockpit in obvious response to Luminara’s question.

“The log we found… Nothing else?” Was that worry in Luminara’s voice?

BeeDee whirred sadly and the two fell into silence.

The sadness in the old Master’s voice when she spoke with BeeDee was palpable. Luminara had tried to hide it when speaking with Ahsoka, but she could feel it coming off her in waves. Whatever had hurt Luminara was deeper than what had hurt the rest of them. There was something worse that could happen to a Jedi then even the death of the Order. The next few hours passed in quiet conversation, most of it inconsequential. The familiar blue and white blur of hyperspace soothing, a reminder that as long as they were in hyperspace, they were safe. Nothing could follow them through the lanes. Not even the Inquisitors.

Several hours later Ahsoka was roused from reverie. “We’re coming out of hyperspace, everyone hold on.” Greez shouted, louder than necessary. Ahsoka checked her seatbelt and looked out the viewport. The stars whirled around them and then they were thrust back into realspace. The exit from hyperspace was always worth watching. Below them the planet Zeffo grew closer, massive storm clouds covering the area of the planet closest to them. Ahsoka’s brow furrowed.

“Heck of a storm brewing down there, this might not be the best time to land.”

“Space is one thing, but don't tell me you're scared of a few clouds Greez?” Ahsoka said, smirking.

Greez glared at her without comment.

“Something strange.” Luminara flipped through communication channels. “Those winds are interfering with our coms.”

‘Peace in the eye of the storm.’

Kohl’s words, were they a clue? Ahsoka adjusted the long range scanner, searching for a signal… There. “In the middle of the storm, there’s an Imperial radio signal. I think it’s coming from a settlement.”

“So that’s where we’re headed.” There was no ignoring the urgency in Luminara’s voice, certainly not the hope that bubbled under the surface.
“Copy that.” Greez inputted a command and the Mantis surged toward Zeffo’s atmosphere, laser focused on the eye of the storm. Outside the glass the clouds grew closer, massive and imposing. Ahsoka was suddenly aware how dangerous a maneuver it was to head for the storm’s center.

“So, Greez, the Mantis, it wasn’t built for this, was it?”

“You kidden? Of course not. But she’s a sturdy ship, she’ll hold together.”

“Bwraap ree ooo.”

“Keep your opinion to yourself, or I’ll make ‘bucket of bolts’ actually mean something.” Greez growled, not unfriendly, in the droid’s direction.

Though the storm winds battered at the Mantis they experienced nothing more than some mild turbulence. Mountains sped by as they closed in on what was appearing more and more to be a settlement. With shouts of caution Greez finally brought the Mantis in for a landing.

“Ahh. Perfect landing.” The captain grinned at Ahsoka as the ship jerked before settling onto the landing platform.

“I’m still getting interference on the coms. It’s going to take a minute to get them back up.” Luminara looked up from her consoles. “Ahsoka…”

“I know. I’ll take BeeDee and see if I can find any trace of Kohl.”

“You’ll hear from me as soon as I crack this.”

“Good.” Ahsoka stood, glad of the opportunity to stretch her legs after the confining trip. “BeeDee can you tell me anything about Zeffo? I’m not going to walk into a nest of wild gundarks am I?”

“Brrrp?”

“Nothing. Just some old Jedi humor.”

“RrrZzeet.”

“No, I’m not a Jedi anymore.”

She checked her lightsabers at her waist, clipped securely until she needed them. It felt odd to acknowledge her status as existing outside the Jedi Order while wielding the most recognizable Jedi weapons. But there was nothing to be done. Her clothes had dried after the storm on Bracca and Luminara had gifted her a hooded cloak that was much less conspicuous than traditional Jedi wear, which Ahsoka had never been one for anyway.

BeeDee climbed up her leg, back and torso and rested on her shoulder.

“Hrrrr.”

“Hmm. I guess it is better if I carry you.” She smiled to herself. “Just be glad you’re not very heavy.”

With a final glance and nod to Luminara and Greez, Ahsoka stepped off the Mantis out onto the nearly deserted landing platform. The storm overhead clouded in front of the sun, casting the landscape with a greyish tint. Through the Force Ahsoka felt out the energy of the planet, like many in the Outer Rim Zeffo had a quieter energy, lacking the frenetic pulse of the more populated planets. In the direction of the settlement she felt the Empire’s disrupting presence, like a jolt of energy in the planet’s calm energy. She sighed, whatever the Imperial’s wanted from Zeffo she knew it spelt bad news for whoever lived here.

At the far end of the platform there was a structure built into a hillside. From a distance it looked like every other hanger Ahsoka had encountered, which meant there was either an ambush waiting for her, or that was where she needed to go. Most likely, both.

“Brrrp.” BeeDee chirped by her head, brushing up against her left montrail. “Beee ba brr.”

“Careful, that's very sensitive. That's how I hear.”

“Oooor.” BeeDee whirred, quieter than before.”

“That’s better.” She laughed to herself. “Now, what’s this about making a map? You’ve been here before right?”

“Eee ee ooo brr aabrr.” Ahsoka set off toward the hangar, listening to BeeDee’s excited binary.

“I’ll do my best. I don’t know how much exploring we’re actually going to do here, we’re here for a mission, and that means staying on task.”

BeeDee wrrrd in response as Ahsoka stepped into the dimly lit hangar and out of the storm. “There’s a computer over there BD-1, see what you can get off that.” She gestured to the back wall of the hangar. “Gotta be better than mapping this whole place manually.”

The droid jumped from her shoulder and ran off toward the panel of flashing lights and quiet beeps. “Just make sure not to alert the Empire that we’re here.” The Hangar was small, more of a storage area for cargo than for ships. Clearly the settlement wasn’t used to having visitors who did more than unload cargo and then leave.

“Find anything?” Ahsoka walked over to where BD-1 was plugged in, eagerly chirping and chattering with the computer. The droid didn’t respond to her, but she could see what it was accessing. Imperial records, communication logs, excavation notes. Nothing she could make sense of at the moment, she’d have to wait until BeeDee was finished unscrambling the data.

To the right of the computer was a door with its magnet seal firmly in place, not unusual, but certainly an inconvenience. She considered trying to open it with her lightsabers, but she wasn’t in any hurry to bring stormtroopers down on herself.

Another few minutes passed as BeeDee sifted through the data, Ahsoka could unscramble it herself, after all that was part of her job as Fulcrum; however, she knew it was important to let droids do their jobs too. Sometimes though it could get a little boring.

Finally the droid removed its foot from the data port and turned to her, whirring happily.

“What’ve you got for me?”

BeeDee thumped one of its feet down on the computer panel and the door slid open.

“A way forward, nice. What else did you pull from the Imps?”

In front of BeeDee a hologram flickered to life, though this time it was just a blue dot.

“That’s not going to be very helpful.”

BeeDee whirred impatiently as the blue dot expanded into a holomap.

Ahsoka rolled her eyes but sat with BeeDee anyway to look through the map. She could make out the landing area, the nearby settlement, as well as a series of tunnels and excavations BD-1 said were a result of the recent Imperial presence on Zeffo.

She sighed quietly. She could sense that whatever she needed on this planet, whatever trial Kohl had laid out for her, lay within the Imperial excavation. More accurately beyond it. And between her and her goal were likely more troops than she was prepared to deal with. But how many times had she been given a choice when it came to the Force?

She stood and held out her hand so BD-1 could scramble up her arm and perch on her back.

“Alright little guy, hold on tight and keep quiet.”

Ahsoka stepped through the door into a rocky area covered in green grass. Slowly she moved past a rocky outcropping into an open area between the landing platform and the settlement. She wasn’t thrilled about moving through spaces where there was little to no cover, but there was nothing to be done but advance. Up ahead of her she began to sense life, both human and non-human. What she couldn’t make out though was whether the humans she sensed were the settlers from the old republic or Imperials. Either way she necessitated caution. She needed to get in and out, not draw the might of the Empire down on herself, again.

The closer she got to the life signs the more turbulent their signatures in the force became. Unlike Force-sensitives, conflict between non-force sensitives had to be particularly intense for it to ripple out in the force, so she approached ever more cautiously. Eventually she could hear the sounds of blaster fire and troopers yelling. Whatever was going on had the troopers at least a little afraid. She laughed to herself, frightened stormtroopers were always a little easier to handle.

As she crested the hill she’d been climbing she saw what was causing the commotion. Three white armoured Stormtroopers were fighting off a small pack of what was clearly native, and very aggressive, fauna. Not that she blamed the local animal life for being aggressive, the Empire invited it with every provocative action they took. It was a wonder that Bail had been able to keep the growing rebel alliance from getting more militant more quickly.

Assessing the situation in front of her, Ahsoka lay flat on the hill top to play the waiting game and see who came out victorious. The Stormtroopers there would be no reasoning with, they would meet her lightsabers and that would be the end of it. But if it was whatever creatures the soldiers were fighting, well, it’s possible she would be able to use the Force to her advantage.

After a few more minutes of crudely inaccurate blaster fire, the Stormtroopers fell screaming and cursing, their armor cracked open and the soldier’s within became the beast’s next meal.

Cautiously she rose to a standing position, sending out her peaceful intentions through the Force. She approached slowly, trying to avoid drawing the creature’s attention to herself. She was an enemy of the invaders. She certainly had no interest in taking their rightful kill. In the end, after a tense moment where the creature’s stopped their eating to snarl at her until she passed them, Ahsoka approached what was clearly an abandoned settlement.

Though not as abandoned as she would have liked, troopers patrolled throughout, keeping an eye out for Force knows what. Certainly not her, no one knew she was her except Luminara and Greez. With the Force she pulled the shadows around her again, briefly checked BeeDee’s area map again, before making her way towards her destination. Force, she pleaded, please let this go smoothly. Though when had the Force ever responded to her pleas for calm?

 

Glad they arrived safely. Looking forward to more details of the unfolding mission.

 

Chapter V​

She appreciated how dedicated the occupying Imperials were to protecting the path to the excavation site, and how disciplined they were in looking for open threats. It made sneaking past them via the shadows easier. After an hour of manipulating the darkness around however Ahsoka was beginning to feel tired of it. It was a technique that she hadn’t taken to as easily as either her nor her master had hoped, and after prolonged use it began to strain her control over the Force. Thankfully, she had just the last open perimeter patrol, and the excavation site was becoming visible. Imperial machinery had been hard at work clearing away what must have been millenia of accumulated debris, on top of which new structures had been built. Some of which Ahsoka was sure had been homes, before the Empire deported whoever was living here.

Ahsoka sensed that the guard presence was lighter ahead, so she loosened her grip on shadows and drew her shoto. She left it unignited though, preferring to wait for trouble to find her, than do anything to attract it. As she approached the dig site, she could finally see clearly what lay beneath everything the Empire had cleared away. An intricately carved doorway that appeared to have taken little damage for all the years it had been buried and the typical lack of Imperial care for the past. Whatever the Empire hoped to find in the Zeffo tomb must have been important enough for them to stick to some archeological standards of respect. Not that Ahoska knew what those were. The doorway had however seen force field projectors installed to prevent people like her from trespassing. Though they would be simple enough for someone who was determined enough to pass through. The guards on the other side of the force field though would be somewhat more obnoxious to deal with.

Ahsoka crouched behind a boulder twenty feet from the guards, and whispered to BeeDee. The droid jumped from her shoulder and scrambled across the dig site to what appeared to be an unguarded control panel. The droid plugged himself into it and in a few moments the force field flickered and then shut off. The two troopers exchanged glances before one of them walked out toward the control panel.

“Droid, what are you doing? There’s no authorised visit to the site today. What’s your number?”

Ahsoka couldn’t quite make out what BeeDee said in response, but she heard what sounded like angry binary and then BeeDee had jumped on the trooper and sent out a shock through his feet. Before the other trooper could react by raising their weapon, Ahsoka ripped it from their hand and sent it flying. The trooper’s eyes followed the path of the gun and Ahsoka Force threw a stone at the trooper’s head which impacted with enough force to crack the helmet and send the trooper to the ground. She watched for a few seconds, relaxing only when neither trooper showed any signs of movement. She emerged from her hiding place and headed toward the now open entrance. BeeDee trailed behind her as they examined the entrance.

“BeeDee, do you know exactly what we’re here for?”

“Dreet.”

“Any idea what this key looks like? Or where in this tomb it is?”

BeeDee shook his head and made a mournful electronic sound.

“Well, thanks anyway little guy. Let’s get going.” Ahsoka set off, eager to find whatever lay inside.

***

Running into the Second Sister again was absolutely NOT Ahsoka’s idea of things going smoothly. She hadn’t sensed the other woman’s approach, and even now with her standing in front of her, Ahsoka sensed her presence in the Force was muted. Despite her own Force empath abilities, she could get no read on the Inquisitor. It had been barely twenty minutes into their exploration of the exceedingly large Zeffo tomb when they were attacked. Had the woman followed them? Or had she been waiting for them? Neither option was great, as they opened up a lot of questions as to how much the Empire knew about what she was doing and where she needed to be to do it.

“Ahsoka Tano.” A single blade of lightsaber flared to life as she said Ahsoka’s name. Full of contempt and rage. Ahsoka ignited her own blades, and adopted a defense posture.

“I’m afraid, Inquisitor. That you have me at a disadvantage. You seem to know who I am, but I have no idea who you are. What’s behind that mask of yours.”

Ahsoka was very aware that she was at a disadvantage in more than just knowledge, the space around them was very tight, clearly built as a passageway from one room to the next, with no thought given to a lightsaber fight happening between its walls. Beyond the Inquisitor though she could see a much larger room, one that concievenly would be more conducive to a fight. She just had to maneuver past the woman.

“I know more than your name. I know your past, I know what my master hopes for your future. But most importantly, I know about Kohl. Where is the holocron?”

Ahsoka smirked. “Sorry to disappoint, but I don’t actually know.” Her lightsabers raised, Ahsoka started to circle her opponent, hoping to draw the other woman away from the exit to the larger room. “Kohl made it so whoever is looking for it would have to pass a number of tests, prove their worth. You know how Jedi are.”

“Oh yes. I’m well aware of the ways of your order. Mind games disguised as wisdom, hypocrisy disguised as preparing for the future. All while failing to do so. Much of which led to your current predicament.” The Second Sister jabbed her blade in Ahsoka’s direction, testing her defenses. Ahsoka knocked it away and took the opportunity to circle closer to the exit.

“I’m not with the Jedi.”

“That remains to be seen. After all, they trained you, your ideals are a manifestation of that upbringing. Your selflessness, spoken to with veracity by your actions on Raada. And even now you seek one of their holocrons in order to rebuild that which should remain buried.”

Ahsoka frowned. She had no plans to rebuild the Jedi Order, whatever Luminara’s hopes were. The Jedi had failed spectacularly, and the rot that had infected them was not something she felt either her or any former Jedi had the ability to excise. The dark spot in the Force where the Jedi’s light had been will heal, and people will move on. Something new will take the Jedi’s place. Still, none of that would matter to the Inquisitor, she only cared what Ahsoka’s actions said to her.

“I seek the fall of the Empire. What comes after that...” She shrugged. ”Well that is a problem for another time.” She felt the nudge from the Force trying to get her to think deeper on that. To think about what her plans were beyond destruction. She pushed it aside.

“I see.” The Inquisitor whirled her blade once more, again easily dodged by Ahsoka. Two more steps and Ahsoka was close enough to the exit that she was able to shift towards it. She clearly telegraphed more than she had intended because the Second Sister jumped at her, forcing her to catch her red blade between her two white. What sounded like a growl echoed through the Inquisitor’s mask as Ahsoka pushed her off and turned to dash through the exit. BeeDee jumped off her back and ran ahead through the archway, beeping loudly about something Ahsoka didn’t catch.

The vaunted ceiling of the larger room would be beautiful to look at if she wasn’t already engaged. The other woman’s Force presence lashed at her, trying to hold onto her and keep her still. She pushed against it, letting the darkness rise in her to meet the Inquisitor’s. Once she found a spot she was sure would serve to fight off the Second Sister, Ahsoka began to notice, again, that the Inquisitor's Force presence was familiar, even twisted and submerged in the dark side as it was. Something about her screamed that they had known each other.

She tried to focus on other things that would be familiar if that had been acquainted. But the Second Sister’s fighting style was unlike anyone she had fought alongside or against. Except for the way she used her rage, which forced Ahsoka to sidestep quickly to avoid a lunge. It was reminiscent of her former Master’s use of anger, which of course he had taught her. It added strength to slashes, speed to thrusts, made it easier to parry and follow up with her own disarming twist.

As the Second Sister’s saber flew from her grip Ahsoka pushed her advantage and pressed her white blade to the Second Sister’s throat. She felt her rage build in proportion to the fear and defiance she sensed from her opponent.

“Not so easy is it, when you’re not hunting children?” Ahsoka bared her teeth, barely holding back a growl.

“Not so easy when it’s you. Ahsoka.” Even through her mask Ahsoka thought she sensed a… tenderness to the Second Sister’s voice. And it was enough that she removed her saber from her neck and let go of the Inquisitor. The other woman stumbled back to the ground so that Ahsoka was nearly standing over her.

“Barr woop.” Ahsoka blinked. “Brrrr dee ooo.” She sighed and began to release her rage, letting her grip on the darkness lessen. BeeDee beeped at her for the third time, and she finally heard what the droid was saying. She stepped back from the Second Sister and nodded at BeeDee.

“Do it.”

A ray shield flared to life around the Second Sister trapping her with just enough room to stand. Ahsoka glared at her new captive. “What are you going to do now, Inquisitor?” She spat the woman’s title.

“I am at your mercy, Tano.” The woman laughed. “Though, it's hard to say what your Master taught you of such a concept, all things considered.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Ahsoka pointed her lightsaber at the woman. “What do you know of my Master?”

“You don’t know do you?” The Inquisitor pressed her palm against the ray shield. “What he did to me?”

“So you were a Jedi.” Ahsoka lowered her lightsaber slightly. “What happened to you?”

“The war did. You were there, Ahsoka. When the council became so blinded by loyalty to the Republic they stopped doing what was right, what was good. The Jedi lost their way and became the villains in a conflict they were supposed to put an end to.”

The sentiment was familiar to Ahsoka, she had said as much herself when she signed onto the Rebellion, but the way the Second Sister expressed it, she was certain she had heard those words before.

“Who are you?” Ahsoka asked, almost afraid of the answer.

“Ahsoka. I’m hurt. After all…” The Second Sister raised her hands to her helmet and pressed a release at the back, with a mechanical whirr the mask retracted, revealing the woman’s face.

“We were close once.”

Ahsoka’s eyes widened.

“Barris. You’re alive?”

 

Gripping action and startling reveal at the end.