Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Darth Vader was Anakin Skywalker.

Ahsoka didn't believe that at first, not until she was able to slice part of his mask.

"Ahsoka." Vader called out.

Even though his mask was damaged, his voice was instantly recognizable.

Ahsoka's eyes widened. She turned back to where the Vader had fallen. He had called her name. She stood hurriedly.

Vader was on the ground. He looked up and faced her. Ahsoka's lightsaber had sliced open not just the mask, but something more that. It also revealed a yellow iris of the Sith Lord. The same with the one she saw in Mustafar, with Obi-Wan sixteen years ago.

"Ahsoka." He repeated.

Ahsoka stared at him, her eyes became watery. There is nothing more painful than seeing her former master being worse than dead.

"Anakin." She choked.

He managed to stand and they regarded each other.

"I won't leave you!" Ahsoka said. "Not this time." She promised.

Anakin/Vader was silent for a moment. Clearly, he was hesitating, then frowned as seen from his destroyed helmet. "Then you will die." He said, activating his lightsaber.

"Ahsoka!" Ezra yelled as he ran to her aid.

Ahsoka clutched her lightsabers and noticed Ezra running to her direction. She took a deep breath, raised her hand, and pushed him back using the Force.

"Ahsoka!" Ezra called, then he flew backwards towards the Phantom. "No!" He struggled to stand. "NO!"

The Sith temple started to deactivated and the levitating pyramid started to fall back to the ground with Ahsoka and Vader crossing sabers below it.

As the walls came down, everything went dark, with their lightsabers as their only source of light. And she was alone with her master.

They continued crossing sabers. Vader used the Force to push her backward. "I'm going to ask you again," He said, his normal voice combined with the mechanical voice box, making it sound raspy. "Where are the other Jedi?" He demanded.

"Like I said," Ahsoka shouted as she charged. "There aren't any left!" She blocked Vader's strike by crossing her blades in defense.

"We both know that isn't true." Vader said, as he blew an overhead strike.

Ahsoka parried his attack and somersaulted forward, landing behind Vader. Then she gasped. "You've looking for him, aren't you?" She asked. "You're looking for Obi-Wan." She parried another attack. "And you're using me to get to him."

Vader's yellow eye glinted as if to let her know that she had guessed it right.

Ahsoka scorned. "Well, that's unfortunate, because I don't know where he is." She bluffed.

Technically, that wasn't a lie. Of course, she knew where Obi-Wan was, but Vader can't know that. Obi-Wan's on Tatooine watching over his son, Luke. But she didn't know where in Tatooine. That dustball of a planet had a lot of cities, and he could be in any one of them.

"Enough of this!" Vader yelled, striking his lightsaber, cutting off Ahsoka's left hand, she screamed in pain as she dropped her long-hilted lightsaber. In return, she managed to slash at his right thigh.

Ahsoka clutched her left arm across her chest. Vader lost his balance and stumbled down.

Ahsoka gripped her Shoto saber and got back to a battle ready stance. Vader stood with difficultly and continued to attack, as Ahsoka struggled to keep up with him with only one hand.

After one wrong move, he cuts her shoto in half and thrust his open palm, sending her backwards.

She slid a few meters back and landed on her right side on the ground. Shivering from shock and pain, she managed to sit up. But Vader had already stood before her with his lightsaber drawn for the kill. "Now, you die." He said.

Ahsoka locked eyes with him with tears streaming down her cheeks. Remember, Anakin, She thought. Remember. Through the Force, she urged him to remember all the good times they've shared as master and padawan. Then, closed her eyes and looked down, accepting the fact that she would die at the hands of her former master.

Vader raised his lightsaber to execute her and she braced herself for the blow.

But it never came. Vader stopped mid-strike. He lowered his lightsaber and deactivated it. "Go." He finally said.

Ahsoka looked up and frowned. "What?" She asked in a small voice.

"Leave!" Vader said as he turned his back on her. "Before I change my mind."

Ahsoka stood with difficulty. She picked up her other lightsaber and walked a few paces away before looking back at him. "I knew you were still in there...Anakin." She said.

Ahsoka kept walking, clutching her wounded arm. Vader did the same but in a different direction. Both of them were limping as they did.

. . .

Ahsoka couldn't believe it. That man in the black suit was her former master. She wanted to cry because she could have prevented it. She could have prevented all this from happening. Then she remembered what Obi-Wan had said before they left to separate the twins. There is still good in him. A little.

She pushed those thoughts aside. First, she had to get out of Malachor. How? She didn't know yet.

Ahsoka walked back inside the temple so she can climb her way to the top and back to the surface. When she reached the summit, Vader was nowhere to be found. He had probably left in his TIE fighter.

Maul was also nowhere to be found. Clearly, he had escaped yet again. But in what? Then she remembered, he had killed two of the inquisitors. Maybe he took one of the TIEs. The TIEs! There were three inquisitors, if Maul took one, there are two left. But where are they?

She scanned the area from the summit, and found something glistening in the dimly lit underground cavern. There it is!

Ahsoka sighed in frustration. "They had to park beyond that mountain of rubble?" she grumbled.

It took her forever to reach the TIEs, climbing over rubbles of fallen monoliths, skirting through the graveyard of statues, and the whole time, her wound isn't helping. She had removed the metal vambrace that was also cut in half when Vader had sliced off her left hand. It's not looking good, and she should at least cover it with bandages to make it less sickening. Hopefully, there are some med supplies in the TIEs.

In was already nightfall when she reached on of the TIEs. She activated her remaining lightsaber, which was her only source of light. "Alright," She said. "Let's see how this TIE can help me." She leaped onto the top hatch and jumped inside.

Fortunately, there were med supplies and food rations. She placed some bacta on the wound and wrapped rolls of bandage around it. She munched on the rations before dismantling the locator beacon. Which was hard, considering she only had to use one hand to do so.

Thankfully, the TIE Advanced v1 has a hyperdrive, so that means she can travel directly back to Chopper Base on Atollon. But that would be risky, if the others see a TIE fighter heading towards the base, they'd blast it out of the sky without hesitation. And traveling in a TIE fighter can attract unwanted attention, especially when she's not an Imperial. The Empire might send another inquisitor if she's discovered.

As much as she wanted to go back to Chopper Base fast, she had to go the long way to avoid detection and being followed. She couldn't risk endangering the new base. Three cells had just settled in and it isn't easy finding a base.

It would take a few rotations, but that way she can assure the safety of the Rebels and their headquarters. And, she might be able to contact Senator Organa to send medical aid to Chopper Base, especially to Kanan, who had lost his eyesight when Maul had struck his lightsaber. And get help from other cells.

Ahsoka activated the engines and flew the TIE out of the cavern, the planet's surface, and into space. "I've always wanted to fly one of these." She smirked, before traveling into lightspeed.

Chapter Text

Rex paced in Chopper Base's Command Center, while his comrades, Wolffe and Gregor played holochess in a nearby hologame table. Ever since Ahsoka had disappeared a few rotations ago, Rex had asked Wolffe and Gregor to join the rebellion, which they willingly agreed. Since Ahsoka disappearance, people go to him for consent or approval. Even the Commanders of the cells. Another thing, the Phoenix isn't the only cell occupying Chopper Base, they were sharing it with two other cells, the Hawkeye and Sparrow with their squadron of fighters. And they all turned to him for a final decision, which they used to entrust to Ahsoka, their General.

One of the reasons he asked Wolffe and Gregor to join him, is that he couldn't take command of this rebel movement alone. Even if it's only temporary. And they needed more allies. Sure, he was Captain of the 501st Legion during the Clone Wars, but this is different. Very different. These people weren't his brothers and they aren't clones, who were bred for war. They're different people of different species, who all had one thing in common: they lost something or someone to the Empire. And are determined to help the people who suffered under its rule as they don't want them to suffer the way they did.

But of course, he couldn't replace Ahsoka. Through her efforts, the rebellion was made possible. Recruiting people to join in and fight against the Empire, and at the same time inspiring them by being a good example herself. She wasn't just their leader, she also represented hope. As what Jedi do. In Rex's opinion, she was like her master in some ways. And hopefully, she'll come back soon.

Also, over the span of a few rotations, the three Rebel cells had dedicated their time constructing the Base and adapting it to the surrounding environment. Sensors markers were fenced around the perimeter, keeping the Kryknas from breaking into the base. Sentry outposts armed with turrets had been built on the corners, for protection from unwanted guests. Duracrete walls, permacrete flooring slabs, and turbolifts had been set up in place.

He was so deep in thought, that he almost didn't notice Phoenix Seven calling his attention.

"Captain Rex," Phoenix Seven called from the computers. "Our sensors are picking an incoming freighter at sector two-one-four." He reported.

"What?" Rex asked in bewilderment. "I thought there was no one else here." He sighed. "Patch me on an open channel." He turned to another crew member. "Sparrow Five, sound the alarm."

"Yes, sir." Sparrow Five said and then went to work.

"Wolffe, Gregor," Rex called. "Warn the Commanders. We're going to have company." He ordered. I have a bad feeling about this, Rex thought, while scratching his beard.

Wolffe and Gregor went out of the Command Center and went looking for the Cell Commanders.

Phoenix Seven fiddled with the computers. "Uh, sir? This pilot's only cloaking a one-way transmission." He informed.

"I don't care, just patch me through." Rex said.

Suddenly, the doors slid open and Wolffe and Gregor came back with the three Commanders: Jun Sato of the Phoenix; Kerrick Bezor of the Hawkeye; and Fyra Zanedi of the Sparrow, along with a few others. Even the blind Kanan, who still had a bacta bandage around his eyes, followed them into the Command Center guided by Ezra.

"Captain, is it true?" Commander Sato asked.

Before Rex can answer, Phoenix Seven called. "Captain, we got through."

Rex stepped near the comm. "Attention unidentified vessel," He called out. "You are entering a restricted area. Identify yourself and state your business."

"Greetings, Captain," A husky but familiar female voice answered back. "I don't think that will be necessary. This is Fulcrum, asking authorization to land."

At the name Fulcrum, everyone exchanged surprised and confused looks.

"She's alive!" Ezra spoke up. He shook Kanan's arm in delight. "Kanan, she's alive!" He cried.

"How do we make certain that it's actually the General?" Fyra Zanedi asked.

Rex knew that voice of course, it belonged to Ahsoka. But it could've been a trick or something until Kanan spoke up. "It is her." He confirmed. "I can sense it."

Rex couldn't help but smile. He trusted the Jedi and their Force sense. "Disembark on Bay Two, General." He said through the open channel.

As soon as the transmission ended, they rushed to the Hangar. A light freighter landed on the edge of the hangar bay two and the ramp went down. They all stood anxiously, waiting for their missing General to walk down the ramp.

Not a minute too soon, Ahsoka stepped out of the boarding ramp with her hands behind her back. She was limping but managed to straighten in her accustomed Rebel General stance, with her chest out, and shoulders in. But she looked terrible. Her armor was scorched and had become withered. And her skin and lekkus were filled with cuts and bruises. The usual calm expression on her face was replaced with weary. In other words, she was battered and half-dead from everything that had just happened but is clearly keeping it together for everyone's sake.

. . .

Apparently, they were all excited to see her again because everyone gathered and waited for her to come down. When they saw her, she could sense a lot of relief from the crowd. As Ahsoka walked down the ramp, she had her hands behind her, hoping they wouldn't notice that she had lost her left hand in the battle with Vader.

Rex stepped forward and approached her. "Welcome back, General." He addressed with a relieving smile.

Ahsoka nodded at Rex and then wrapped her right arm around his neck. She couldn't help but tremble in his hug.

"It's okay, Littl'un," Rex said, patting her back. "I got you."

She then wrapped her other arm around Rex and everybody gasped.

"Ahsoka," Ezra spoke up. "Your hand…he did this?" He asked.

Ahsoka let go of Rex's hug. Knowing that she had unintentionally revealed her wound, she self-consciously covered it with her other hand. And its new end of is covered with bacta bandages.

Ahsoka sighed. "It's alright, Ezra." She assured, her voice hoarse. "Things like these tend to happen in a battlefield."

Rex barked orders for everyone to get back to work and they did so.

She approached Kanan, who standing beside Ezra. He had a bacta bandage wrapped around his eyes, where Maul had struck his lightsaber and blinded him.

Once she got in front of him, Kanan spoke. "Ahsoka, I…I'm sorry about…your master."

Ahsoka resisted the urge to sob and put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about it, Kanan. I've already contacted Senator Organa, he's sending medical aid to restore your eyesight."

Kanan nodded in response.

As she preceded and turned to the Commanders of the cells, someone took her hand and shook it. Much to her surprise, he looked like Rex. Another clone. He was wearing a sleeveless shirt.

"General Tano," The clone in the sleeveless shirt said, continuously shaking her hand. "It's great to finally meet you, sir. Rex has told me about you and—"

Rex sighed. "Gregor, not now." He gestured towards Gregor. "This is Gregor, he was part of the 212th Attack Battalion."

"Pleased to meet you, Gregor." Ahsoka said.

Gregor grinned, then got elbowed by another clone trooper. Ahsoka frowned, she noticed a long scar across the right side of his face. His silver cybernetic eye gleamed. Unlike Gregor, he was in armor but instead of having blue markings, he had grey. And his pauldron bear the insignia of the 104th Battalion's Wolfpack Company. Clones under Master Plo Koon.

She recognized him immediately. "Wolffe."

Wolffe nodded in respect. "General."

Ahsoka rushed to him and gave him hug, which completely surprised him. "It's great to see you." She said. Next to Rex, Wolffe was another close clone friend.

"It's great to see you too, Ahsoka." Wolffe said.

"I'm guessing the same thing had happened to Master Plo, huh?" Ahsoka asked.

Wolffe looked down and sighed sadly. "They gunned his fighter down in Cato Neimoidia. The same thing with his padawan." Then his face lit up a little. "But as far as I know, Commander Kymeri survived when his fighter crashed. I just don't know what happened to him by then."

Ahsoka attained a sad expression. It was of course, Master Plo who had found her and discovered she's force-sensitive. He brought her to the Temple where she grew up, and was trained to become a Jedi. Even after being assigned to Anakin, she remained good friends with him. And his padawan, Darius Kymeri.

She was so lost in thought that she suddenly felt dizzy and was about to stumble. Luckily, Rex and Wolffe caught her.

"You need to rest, sir." Rex suggested. "It looks like you've been through a lot before arriving here."

Ahsoka sighed. "You have no idea." She said, resting her right arm around Wolffe's shoulders for support.

All three of them turned to her.

"It's a long story." Ahsoka said.

"Wolffe, Gregor, take the General to the med bay." Rex ordered. He turned to Ahsoka. "Don't worry, sir. We'll handle things here until you recover."

Ahsoka smiled. "Well, I guess I can't argue with that."

Chapter Text

Ahsoka was meditating in her new quarters in the Rebel Base in Atollon. After being treated in the Med bay infirmary, she has recovered. Well, except for her left arm. They offered to give her a prosthetic replacement for her arm but she declined, she insisted that they save it for others' injuries. Besides, the Base still lack efficient medical supplies.

She was exhaling when a beep from her door chime rang.

"General?" A soldier called.

"Yes?" She answered, her eyes still closed.

"We have a transmission from the royal house of Alderaan." He reported.

Ahsoka opened her eyes in surprise. Oh, good. It must be about the medical aid. But it's unusual, Bail Organa never contacts them directly. Unless it's really important. "Patch it in Command center." She ordered. "I'll be right there."

"Yes, General." The soldier said.

Ahsoka stood up and hurriedly went to the Command center. She was greeted as she entered.

"The senator's waiting for you, General." Rex said, gesturing to the holotable not far from them.

"Thank you, Rex." Ahsoka replied then she stood in the senator's scope of vision.

A hologram of the Alderaanian senator, Bail Organa flickered across the holotable, waiting. She bowed in respect. "Senator Organa, this is a rare honor. How may we help you, Your highness?" She asked.

"I've already sent the medical supplies to—" He frowned. "What happened to your hand?" He asked, bewildered.

Ahsoka's eyes widened, she totally forgot about it. She covered her wound self-consciously, with her right hand. "Oh, um…it was on an encounter with a few inquisitors." She forced out a weak smile.

It was true, of course, but not the whole truth. She did encounter three inquisitors when she, Kanan and Ezra visited Malachor. But it was Vader who actually cut off her left hand during a saber duel.

"Alright, I'll contact my daughter and colleague and tell them to treat your wound as well." Bail said. "They should be arriving there in a few hours."

Ahsoka grimaced. "What? Colleague?" She repeated. "You mean another senator? And the princess is coming too?" She shrieked.

Bail sighed. "Ah, yes, Leia. When she heard that you went missing, she insisted on going." He stated. "And yes, it's not just me, there are a few other senators who are with me in this rebellion."

"Really?" Ahsoka raised an eye marking. "That's good news. But if the princess and this colleague of yours are coming to get involve, they'll be risking people's lives if they're seen with us."

"They're aware of the risks, General." Bail assured. "We all are. I was against it at first, but he did have a point. Since the protocol's changed, we should intend to get involve and help as we can. That's why he, as our representative, insisted on visiting the new base with the medical supplies and to get involve personally."

Ahsoka nodded. "Acknowledged, Senator," She said.

"You best prepare for their arrival." Bail said. "Organa out."

Bail Organa's hologram went off and the holotable went dark.

Rex approached her. "Did I hear it right, sir?" He asked. "A senator is coming here?"

Ahsoka nodded. "And the princess of Alderaan, yes." She added. "They should know that what they're doing is risky."

"General," A soldier called out. "Our scanners are picking up a medical transport in Sector two-nine-six."

"Well, there's no time to waste," Ahsoka said. "They're here. Send two A-Wings to escort the craft." She turned to Rex. "Come on, Rex, let's go meet the senator and the princess."

. . .

While waiting for the ship to land, she sensed a familiar presence, which made her frown.

"Sir, is everything alright?" Rex asked as he saw her troubled expression.

It can't be, Ahsoka thought. There's no way.

"Ahsoka?" Rex called again, which snapped her back to reality. "Are you okay?" He asked again.

Ahsoka slowly shook her head. "I have a bad feeling about this." She said. I hope it's not who I think it is. She thought.

The boarding ramp lowered and three people stepped down.

The one who walked down first was a young girl, about fifteen. Ahsoka recognized her immediately. Leia Organa, her master, Anakin's daughter and now Bail Organa's adopted daughter and also the Princess of Alderaan. She walked with poise and elegance, as what a princess should do. But not everyone knew Leia beyond those hairstyles and refined clothes, but she did.

She basically brought her as an infant to Bail Organa and his wife as what she, Obi-Wan and Yoda had agreed. She would go with the senator to Alderaan to watch over Leia and Obi-Wan would go to Tatooine and watch over her twin, Luke. But it turns out, Leia doesn't need that much protection. Being a princess and all, she had a lot of aides and guards, which gave Ahsoka a lot of time to recruit people to join the rebellion. And in her spare time, she secretly accompanied the princess during her mercy missions, keeping watch from afar. It was only when Bail decided to let Leia in on the secret of the rising rebellion that he was funding, had she met her personally. Ever since then, Ahsoka had been allowed to report directly to Bail in their home in Alderaan. And that's how Leia grew close to her. She was, in some ways, reckless, like Anakin. But clever, like Padme.

Behind her, strode a man with composure and projected self-confidence. No doubt, he's the senator. The other one followed closely behind him.

I hope it's not who I think it is. Ahsoka thought.

Then, out of nowhere, Leia squealed. "Ahsoka!" Suddenly, the prim and proper princess went brash as she quickened her pace.

Seeing the young princess approaching, she rested her hands behind her. "Your Highness," Ahsoka addressed.

Before she could get to Ahsoka, Leia paused. She crossed her arms and gave a scowl.

Ahsoka shrugged. "What?" She asked.

"You know I can't have that between us." Leia reminded her. "Remember what I told?"

Ahsoka remembered it well. Ever since her visits to their royal house in Alderaan, Leia had considered her as family. And insisted that she won't do curtsies towards her and won't address her, "Your Highness" or "Princess" but to simply call her, Leia.

Ahsoka sighed. "Leia," She addressed. "Welcome to Chopper Base."

Leia smiled and gave her a quick hug. And nodded to Rex.

"You shouldn't have come." Ahsoka said. "What if somebody sees you with us? And that goes to that senator too—whoever he is." She motioned her head towards the senator.

"I heard you went missing and got yourself hurt," Leia said, carefully laying a hand on Ahsoka's amputated arm. "But don't worry, it's going to be okay." She assured. "We'll have it treated." Leia stood beside her.

As the two men draw near, Ahsoka's eyes widened in surprise. It is him. She looked down urging herself not to curse. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Rex, glancing nervously at her then at the senator. Then it occurred to her, Of course, he's nervous. She contemplated. He was there. She can't blame Rex for being a witness, it was, after all, under her Master's orders. Leia, on the other hand, was watching her with curiosity.

Seeing her uneasiness, Rex started forward. "Welcome, Senator." He reached out his hand for a shake. "I don't know if you remember me."

The senator frowned at first, and then smiled. "Captain Rex!" He shook Rex's hand. "What a surprise! It's great to see you."

"And of course, I believe you've met the General." Rex gestured towards Ahsoka's direction.

The senator turned to her and his gray eyes widened at first and then twinkled with delight. The small white scar on his cheekbone glinted as he smiled widely at her. "Ahsoka—I mean," He cleared his throat. "General Tano." He said, giving her a hand salute.

Ahsoka raised an eye marking. "Are you kidding me?" She said. "No one does that anymore."

"Uh…right." The senator said. "I knew that." He forced out an embarrassed smile. "Hey." He managed.

Ahsoka snorted and flashed him a smile. "Hello Lux."

"Ahsoka," Lux bowed. "Well, you're looking more beautiful than ever." He said, then scratched his hair, thinking maybe, why did I just say that?

She resisted the urge to smile at his flattering remark. Instead she rolled her eyes. "Really? That's the first thing you say?" She snorted. "Well, after all these years, you can still manage to annoy me, whatsoever."

"Well, you once did say that it was one of my talents." Lux smiled.

"Wait," Leia interrupted. "You two know each other?" She asked.

Ahsoka bit back a curse. She forgot Leia was there, who had an eyebrow raised and a mischievous smile on her face.

"Um, yes, Leia," Lux spoke up. "We're friends. Way back during the Clone Wars."

Leia didn't buy it. She turned Ahsoka for confirmation.

"Yeah," Ahsoka confirmed. "It's sort of a long story."

"Okay." Leia said in an unsure tone. She glanced in Rex, who was standing adjacent to her between her and Lux. "Captain Rex, we…uh, should go ahead. If you please, escort me to the Medical bay?"

Rex cleared his throat. "Of course, Your Highness." He agreed. "This way." He gestured for Leia to follow him.

Leia turned to Lux and Ahsoka with a wide grin on her face. "I believe you two will have a lot catching up to do. So make the most out of it." She winked at Ahsoka before leaving with Rex.

Ahsoka shook her head and sighed. "Kids. They get the strangest ideas."

"Tell me about it." Lux agreed.

For a moment, they stood in awkward silence.

Ahsoka cleared her throat. "We should go. Follow me." She said.

As she turned, Lux gasped. "'Soka!" He reached out and touched her amputated arm. He locked eyes with her, giving her a worried look. "Your hand. I…I didn't know it was this severe."

For a few seconds, she seemed lost in Lux's gray eyes. He looks so cute when he's worried, she thought. But she was able to control herself and she looked away. "I wouldn't worry about it. Now, come on." She said.

And that's when he tackled her with a fierce hug, which almost knocked them both down if she didn't balance herself.

"You're being modest again." Lux said. "I missed you, 'Soka. It's really great to see you again. And don't worry, we'll treat your hand." He promised.

Ahsoka reluctantly patted his back. She fought the urge to cry, for seeing Lux again and hugging him after sixteen years. But seeing there are other people around them, she had to erase their suspicion. "Uh, Lux?" She said, trying to get out of his embrace, but he was strong.

Behind him, a man stood with his arms crossed, giving them a teasing look. He had an eye patch covering his left eye. Saw Gerrera. Like Rex, he was another one who witnessed how she and Lux grew close. He was also the head of the rebel cell on Onderon.

Ahsoka cleared her throat. "Lux!" She politely pushed him away.

"Sorry." Lux apologized. "I'm just really worried."

Ahsoka managed a weak smile. "I know."

Saw stood beside Lux. "Glad to see some things that never change." He nodded at her. "General Tano."

Ahsoka nodded back. "Gentlemen, if you would please follow me." She led the way.

Chapter Text

Ahsoka absent-mindedly led the way as Lux and Saw followed her to the Medical Bay. Seeing Lux again, it suddenly came rushing back to her again. The late night conversations (and arguments), saving his neck a hundred times after almost being killed, and all the kisses he stole, especially that.

She was lost in thought that she didn't notice Lux catching up and walked beside her. "'Soka, are you alright?" He asked.

"Huh?" Ahsoka turned to him blankly. "Oh, I'm fine. Thanks."

"You sure?" Lux asked.

Ahsoka nodded.

Lux raised an eyebrow. "Something's bothering you, I can tell."

"I said, I'm fine." Ahsoka insisted. "Now, if you would follow me silently, that would be great. Thank you." Well, he's definitely as annoying as I remembered, she thought.

Lux sighed and pulled right arm. "Ahsoka, if you would just listen for a moment I—" He started to say.

"Listen?" Ahsoka repeated, shaking her arm off his grip. "How ironic, Lux. You tell people to listen, yet you yourself don't even do it."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Lux asked.

"I'll give you an example." Ahsoka said. "If you would've listened years ago, then we wouldn't have been stuck on Carlacc."

Lux's eyes widened. "Whoa, okay," He held his hands up in surrender. "I was only doing what I thought was right I wanted justice for my mother's death. I thought you knew that, 'Soka. You were there."

By that time, Saw shook his head in annoyance and sighed. "Just like old times." He muttered. "Never changed." He walked through the doors of the Med Bay.

Lux and Ahsoka followed him inside the room, still arguing.

"Hey, I was only with you because you dragged me there." Ahsoka said. "If you hadn't knocked me unconscious, then we could've prevented that little detour."

"Well, if you had stayed in the ship," Lux said. "Then we wouldn't be on that mess in the first place."

"I was tasked to protect you." Ahsoka reminded him. "So, I had to go out and find you. And if I had stayed in the ship, you might've become one of those murderers."

"Well, luckily, I came up with the idea that basically saved both our lives."

Oh, yeah, that was one crazy idea, Ahsoka thought. She shrugged. "Well, barely."

"Hey, I had to kiss you to make it believable." Lux brought up.

Hearing him say that, made her mad. And it's not just because he reminded her about that incident, but because he sort of revealed a lot of things to their audience.

Ahsoka's eyes widened as she grunted. "You only did that to shut me up because you didn't want them to know I was a Jedi."

"And it worked." Lux recalled. "But you still blew your cover though."

"I had too." Ahsoka said. "Somebody has to stand up to them. If it wasn't for Artoo, Vizla would've cut my head off. And you wouldn't have gotten out of Carlacc alive!" She jabbed a finger at him.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw how everyone in the room's taking it. Rex and Saw shrugged at each other, as if it wasn't surprising. The others present had their jaws dropped.

There were two medical beds in the room. One was vacant. Kanan occupied the other one, with Hera, Ezra and medical droids tending to him. Leia stood nearby, with Rex behind her. Saw stood beside Rex.

Someone cleared a throat, and she and Lux both turned. Leia was giving them a confused look.

"So, this is your way of catching up, huh?" Leia asked.

Lux and Ahsoka turned to the young princess in surprise.

"Anyways," Leia continued. "We should be dealing with the more important matters at hand."

"Of course." Lux agreed as straightened.

"Apologies, Your Highness." Ahsoka added.

Leia raised an eyebrow at her like, really?

Ahsoka held her hand up in surrender. "I'm sorry, Leia." She corrected.

Leia considered it. "Okay, speaking of important matters," She turned to Rex. "Captain, if you please."

Rex nodded and walked towards the empty medical bed. He activated it to make it ready for a patient to lie on. He turned to Leia.

Leia nodded. "Now, General, get on the Med bed." She gestured for her to do so.

"What?" Ahsoka asked in bewilderment. "What for?"

"They're going to provide you with a prosthetic arm, sir." Rex explained.

Ahsoka sighed in irritation. "I thought I made it clear that I'm not getting a replacement."

"Ahsoka, come on," Lux spoke up. "Just go already."

Ahsoka turned to him. "How many times to I have to say it—Whoa!"

Without warning, Lux had scooped her up and carried her (bridal style), much to her surprise.

"Lux," Ahsoka said in a controlled voice. "What the kriff are you doing? Put me down!" She said.

"Oh, I will." Lux promised as he carried her towards the medical bed. "Don't worry, 'Soka. I got you."

"Literally and figuratively." Ahsoka forced out a smile. "Now put me down."

Lux gently settled her down on the medical bed.

"Just so you know, Leia," Ahsoka said as a medical droid came and worked on her hand. "I don't really approve of this."

"Well, you have to." Leia said, standing near the bedside. "It's under my father's orders."

"Yes, and I agree with Senator Organa," Lux said. "We have to give you a replacement."

After a number of minutes, Ahsoka looked down at her arm. A metalized type of bacta bandage has been wrapped around her elbow.

The medical droid made some adjustments in a tiny electronic unit, then pricked each one of her fingers.

"Ow!" She cried, then wriggled her fingers, made a fist, and relaxed her hand.

"How do you feel, 'Soka?" Lux asked.

"Great," Ahsoka said as she used the Force to lift up a chair adjoining the bed. "But it'll take some getting use to." Then she placed the chair back down.

Then Ahsoka remembered Kanan. He was in the other bed in the same room, which was divided by a curtain of white cloth. Droids were operating on his eyes. Since Kanan had lost his eyes during a duel with Maul, they had to be replaced.

She turned to Leia. "How's Kanan?" Ahsoka asked.

"The droids are still operating him." Leia said. The princess went on and explained how her father, Bail and Lux had taken the time scouring through the medical records of Onderon and Alderaan's hospitals for a possible donor. And by donor, she meant a patient who had died recently. So, it's more of a transplant medical procedure.

"It is done." The medical droid on Kanan's side of the room spoke up.

Hearing that, Ahsoka jumped out of the bed and pushed the curtain to the wall. Rex, Saw, Lux and Leia followed her behind.

The droid was unwrapping the bacta bandage that covered Kanan's eyes. Hera stood anxiously beside the droid. She had one hand on Kanan's arm. Ezra stood on the other side, waiting.

As the bacta bandage was removed, Kanan flickered his eyes. His once teal irises were now gray.

"Kanan," Hera called, touching his face. "Can you see me?" She asked.

Kanan smiled. "Yes, Hera. I can see you clearly."

Hera smiled in relief and gave him a hug, which startled him. Ezra did the same. "Welcome back, Kanan." He said.

"Now, let's not get all emotional." Kanan said.

"Well, I'm glad that you're okay, Kanan." Leia spoke up.

Kanan, Hera, and Ezra pull away and straightened.

"Your Highness." Hera bowed. "Thank you for all your help."

"Actually, it was Senator Lux Bonteri who had found you a donor." Leia gestured to Lux, who was apparently, standing beside Ahsoka. Then pointed at Saw "And this is Commander Saw Gerrera, the leader of the Rebel cell on Onderon."

Hera thanked them both.

"Wait," Ezra held out his hand. "Princess, did you just say this man is a senator?" He asked, out of the blue. "And there's a Rebel cell on Onderon?"

Leia nodded and Saw smirked. "There're a lot of cells that you think, kid." He said.

"And yes, this man is an Imperial Senator." Ahsoka confirmed. She glanced at Lux. "Apparently, there are a few of them, helping us."

"Oh." Ezra said, then noticed her bare metal prosthetic arm. "Hey, they got you a replacement arm as well." He said.

Suddenly, Saw's comlink beeped. He answered it and then approached Lux. She didn't hear what they were talking about, but Lux scowled.

Lux turned to the others. "Excuse me, everyone. But I need to go back to the ship because apparently, the crew is having trouble with the cargo manifest." He turned to leave and Saw started to follow him.

"No, Commander," Lux said. "You stay here. It's fine."

Saw nodded and went back to where he was standing a while ago.

"Where're Sabine and Zeb?" Kanan asked, looking around.

"They're helping unload the medical supplies brought by the princess and the senator." Hera said.

"I'll be happy to call them for you." Ezra volunteered. He started to go, but Rex stood in his way.

"Don't sweat it, kid." Rex smiled. "I got it." He said, turning to leave.

"Oh, and help the senator while you're at it." Ahsoka added.

"You got it, General." Rex said as the doors slid close beside him.

. . .

Kanan had noticed the sad expression on Senator Bonteri's face when he left the room. Especially the look he gave Ahsoka before the doors closed behind him. He was about to ask Saw about it, when Ezra beat him to it.

"Commander Gerrera, sir." Ezra said. "Don't mind me for asking but, why does the senator always seem…sad?" He asked.

"Ezra!" Hera scolded. Probably, for asking such a personal question.

"Sad?" Saw repeated in surprised. "Truthfully, I haven't seen him that happy in years."

"Really?" Leia said, suddenly becoming curious herself. "When was the last time you've seen him that happy?" She asked.

"Oh, it was a long time ago, Your Highness." Saw said. "Very long time. And he was so young then."

"What happened?" Ezra asked.

Saw was clearly hesitating, but the kids trapped him and he had no choice but to spill it. "Well, many thought that it was because he had lost both his parents during the Clone Wars, and he had to take on a big responsibility at a very young age. But, I don't think it was that."

Ezra and Leia waited.

"He, uh, met this girl back when he was younger." Saw started, he was nervous for some reason.

"I knew it!" Leia exclaimed. "No wonder he was never married."

"Anyway, it seemed like, 'true love'," Saw said, quoting his fingers in the air. "But unfortunately, they can't be together."

"Why not?" Leia asked.

Saw made quick glance at Ahsoka and quickly looked away. "That girl…was a Jedi." He blurted out.

Kanan sensed Ahsoka's uneasiness building. He suspected the whole thing with the senator's sadness had something to do with her. He also noticed how they had argued when they came in. People who had just met don't argue like that. So, they definitely had a history, which he will find out soon.

Chapter Text

Kanan found Ahsoka on the roof deck of the base, staring indistinctly at the setting sun. She had her arms crossed and seemed to be in very deep thought.

"I thought I'd find you here." Kanan said.

Ahsoka whirled, it seems that she didn't notice him until he said something. "Oh, hey." She said, fixing her eyes back on the horizon.

Kanan stood beside her. "So, what's going on between you and the senator?" He asked.

As he expected, Ahsoka turned to him and gave a deathly glare.

Kanan held his hands up in surrender. "I'm not judging, but when I lost my eyesight. I had to rely on the Force to keep up with the people and everything else going around me." He explained. "But it also made me see things, that weren't quite clear to the naked eye."

Ahsoka raised an eye marking at him. "What in the universe are you talking about?" She asked.

"You were that Jedi, weren't you?" Kanan guessed. "The one…he fell in love with?" He wiggled his eyebrows at her.

Ahsoka raised her eye marking higher. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, come on, Ahsoka," Kanan persisted. "We both know that's not true. You know what I'm talking about."

Ahsoka looked away and sighed. "It's complicated, okay?" She said. "I was young then. I came very, very close to breaking the code. Fortunately, I was able to control myself."

"What happened?" He asked.

. . .

Ahsoka stared at Kanan. He looked well for someone who had just gone through a transplant medical procedure. The lightsaber wound on his nose bridge was still visible, but is slowly healing. And his eyes, once teal, now gray, regarded her with concern.

She realized he was just trying to be a good friend. After all, she and Kanan had a lot in common. Like her, he was a Jedi padawan during the Clone Wars. Like her, he was able to witness how the clones turned against the Jedi. Like her, he was a survivor.

But truthfully, Ahsoka wasn't ready to discuss this. She was still conflicted with the fact that the Sith Lord was her former master, Anakin Skywalker, and had literally cut her hand off. Another thing, Lux had suddenly showed up after sixteen years. Ugh, she wasn't sure what to feel right now. But she sighed and ended up telling Kanan her whole history with Lux.

Ahsoka started when she'd met Lux in Raxus. She explained how she accompanied a Republic senator behind the enemy lines and how she met Lux, who had been a Separatist senator's son. It was also the first time she was able to view the war on the opponent's perspective. She also explained the second time they met, when he sabotaged a peace sanction meeting between the Separatist and the Republic. And how he had dragged her to Carlacc and ended up in the Death Watch camp. Given the Death Watch's history with the Jedi, she had to mask her identity as a Jedi and had to pretend to be his girlfriend for the time being, and had to kiss her for them to buy it.

Kanan's eyes widened, but he never said a word. He gestured to for her to keep going.

Ahsoka continued, this time it was when he seek the Jedi to help them with their struggle against the Separatists. She and her master, together with Master Kenobi and Rex, were deployed to Onderon to train the Rebels on how to hold out on their own against the Separatist army. Eventually, Master Kenobi, Master Skywalker and Rex had to return to Coruscant, while she had to stay behind and serve as the Rebels' advisor and much to her dismay, the senator's bodyguard.

"Oh, now I get it." Kanan said, smirking. "You grew close."

Ahsoka huffed. "Too close." She admitted. "My master noticed it, of course, and he was able to give me a talk about it. Purpose before feelings, he used to say."

Then she told Kanan about her last day on Onderon, and the last time she ever saw Lux since. She narrated it to him as she replayed what had happened in her mind:

The King had invited the Jedi present, namely Master Kenobi, Master Skywalker and herself, inside the palace to join them in a feast to celebrate the liberation of Onderon.

Lux had pulled her aside. "Come on, 'Soka," He said, dragging her towards the nearest turbolift. "I need to show you something."

" What?" Ahsoka asked. "But—" She started to say.

" Come on." Lux said. "Please."

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "This better be good."

" You'll love it."

He took her to one of the palace's roof decks, facing the North. The whole city of Iziz spread out around the palace. They were so far up, that nobody below could possibly see them.

" Beautiful, isn't it?" Lux asked. He climbed a permacrete rail and sat on it, which his feet dangling off meters above the ground. "Come, 'Soka," He patted the rail next to him. "Join me."

She climbed up and sat beside him.

"It's beautiful." Ahsoka said, smiling. "You better make the most out of it because there aren't landscapes like these in Coruscant, Senator."

" Really?" Lux asked. "What do you see in Coruscant?"

" Not much," Ahsoka said. "Just endless lines of tall spacescrapers and noise from air traffic. You'll really appreciate the lights at night though, but there aren't scenic views like these. The entire planet's one big city."

" Anyhow, speaking of Coruscant," Lux said. "I'll make you a deal then. A kind a Republic senator would make."

" Really?" Ahsoka raised an eye marking. She crossed her arms. "I'm listening."

" Alright, after I take a seat in the Republic Senate, I'll come visit you at the Jedi Temple and then we'll hangout." Lux said. "What do you say, 'Soka?"

Ahsoka chuckled. "You don't sound like a senator on a diplomatic negotiation. But you're getting there."

" What do you say?" He asked again.

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

" I was serious." Lux said.

" Wait, really?" Ahsoka asked. "You'll see me at the temple? What for?"

" Is it wrong to visit a friend?" Lux said. "Besides, you're one of the only friends I have outside the Senate."

Ahsoka nodded slowly. "Okay, it'll be an honor. I'll look forward to it, Senator."

Lux smiled. "It's settled then, Master Jedi."

They both laughed and somehow locked eyes.

Lux leaned in closer to her. She knew at that point that he was about to kiss her. The strange thing was, she didn't stop him. But when his lips were about an inch from hers, she pulled away.

" Uh, we should go," She said, standing up. "Everyone's probably looking for us." She jumped back to the permacrete floor.

" Right," Lux said, a little disappointment can be heard from his voice. "Of course."

" Come on, Lux." Ahsoka said, quickening her pace.

" Wait, 'Soka," Lux called, pulling her arm. And then he kissed her passionately on the lips, much to her astonishment.

For reasons she can't explain, Ahsoka kissed him back. Slowly, she wrapped her hands around his neck and then up to his hair. Lux's hands were on her hips and eventually, started rubbing her back. He pulled her closer and kissed her deeply and she didn't hesitate. She returned the same deep kiss to him.

For a moment, nothing else mattered. Until her comlink beeped, which made her jump and pushed Lux away.

She answered the call. "Ahsoka here."

" Ahsoka," Anakin's voice called. "We're leaving. Where are you?" He asked.

" Oh, um," She started to say. "I'll be right there." She turned it off. She turned back to Lux. "I think we should go."

Lux nodded, and gestured for her to go ahead.

On the lift ride down, Ahsoka stood silently and kept her distance from him. But since the lift was small, the farthest she could get was two feet apart. She could sense his eyes were fixated on her the whole time. Lux even tried to hold her hand but she crossed her arms, so he couldn't touch them.

. . .

"That was the last time you saw him?" Kanan asked. "You didn't see him after you left the Jedi Order?"

"I was going to but," Ahsoka explained. "I got sidetracked, there was the whole thing going on Mandalore, and there was Maul—"

"Maul?" Kanan repeated. "The guy who blinded me?" He asked in a harsh tone.

"Yeah, him." Ahsoka confirmed. "I was left to deal with him when my master and Master Kenobi were called to rescue the Chancellor. It's a long story. And then there was the Order 66. After that, I never had the time anymore."

"You're worried on what the Empire will do to him," Kanan guessed. "If they find out that he befriended a Jedi."

Ahsoka nodded. Kanan had guessed it right.

"Well, you have the time now," Kanan said. "Maybe you should make the most out of it."

Ahsoka sighed sadly. "You don't understand, Kanan." She said. "I've already lost enough people to the Empire. I can't risk losing him too."

Kanan put an arm on her shoulder. "You love him." He reminded her.

Ahsoka heaved a sigh. "You're right, I do." Ahsoka admitted. "And I will do whatever it takes to keep him safe, even if it means staying away from him."

Chapter Text

After supper, they gathered around an eight-seater long table in the conference hall for a meeting. Lux sat on one end, to his right, sat Commanders Jun Sato of the Phoenix, Kerrick Bezor of the Hawkeye, and Fyra Zanedi of the Sparrow. To his left, sat Saw Gerrera, Princess Leia, then Captain Rex. On the other end of the table, sat Ahsoka.

Ahsoka drummed her fingers on the table, which made a faint metal to metal clinging sound. Even after she covered her entire prosthetic arm with a gauntlet and a vambrace, it still made a metal-y sound. He figured she must be agitated. And even with her serious expression, her blue eyes sparkled. Lux couldn't help but stare at her. How could she just sit there and look so beautiful?, he thought.

"Lux?" Ahsoka called, which snapped him back to reality.

"I'm sorry, what?" Lux said.

Ahsoka sighed in annoyance. "Look, I know that you didn't just come here to deliver the medical supplies. I figured that was the princess's mission. And it's not an obvious reason that you brought Saw with you. You need our help with something."

Saw turned to Lux. "She's pretty good at this." He said.

"Alright, fine." Lux admitted. "We do need help."

"Then why didn't you just ask a plea in the Imperial Senate or something?" Ahsoka asked. "Surely, they'll help you."

"I already did." Lux said. "They said that, that blockade was placed there to fend off the Rebels."

"What?" Ahsoka nearly fell out of her chair. "There's an Imperial blockade over Onderon?" She asked in disbelief.

Lux nodded. "And it has been there for nearly two weeks."

Ahsoka turned to Saw. "What has the Thorntail been doing enough for the Empire to place a blockade there?" She asked.

"Stormtrooper units were tripled." Saw explained. "They're abusing the citizens. And that's not the worst part."

Everyone waited.

"The blockade isn't just keeping us at bay," Saw continued. "It's also disallowing trade from other planets."

"The entire planet is running out supplies." Lux said. "Even the King is furious."

"And the Senate isn't allowing planetary supply delegations." Leia added.

"Yes, Alderaan volunteered to send aid." Lux recalled. "But the blockade runners never gave them permission to land."

Ahsoka sighed in frustration. "This is what's wrong with this Empire," She pointed out. "They're more worried about their enemies than the people they need to provide for. Some government." She turned to Lux. "No offense."

"None taken." Lux said. Actually, she had a point right there. He thought.

"So, I reckon you want us to destroy that blockade?" Ahsoka guessed.

"If it is possible, yes." Lux agreed.

"Oh, it is possible, Senator." Rex said. "But it's not gonna be easy."

Saw leaned forward. "You destroyed the blockade on Ibaar." He pointed out.

"That's different, Commander Gerrera." Jun Sato spoke up. "We had help."

Ahsoka nodded. "And that's not the only problem. " She said. "Onderon is in the Inner Rim. Too close for Imperial reinforcements to come to aid."

Kerrick Bezor turned to Jun Sato. "How did you destroy the blockade on Ibaar?" He asked.

"We used a B-Wing fighter." Sato explained. "But it was a prototype, on its first field test."

"I heard it destroyed a light cruiser with its laser cannons." Saw said. "Is it true?" He asked.

Rex nodded. "Very true."

"So, we need B-Wings?" Kerrick Bezor asked. "Because, let's be real, even with the combined fire power of one squadron, we cannot destroy one cruiser. It can disable the shields maybe, but not totally destroy it."

"Yes, about that." Lux smiled turning to the princess. "Leia, tell them the good news."

Leia cleared her throat. "Well, after Captain Rex came in contact with that engineer, my father authorized the manufacture of more B-Wing Fighters. Now, the operation is almost finished. And with the approval of the General, each of the cell or squadron will be given one B-Wing each."

"So, that means—" Fyra Zanedi started to say.

"That means," Lux said. "Three are going to be delivered here." He turned to Ahsoka. "What do you say, General?" He asked.

Ahsoka nodded slowly. "Alright, we'll destroy the blockade. But where are we getting the supplies?" She asked.

"Oh, I've got that covered." Leia promised. "They'll be delivered tomorrow with the B-Wing Fighters."

"Okay then," Ahsoka stood. "Let's adjourn. I'll brief the fleet on our attack tomorrow." She turned to Rex. "Rex, please show our guests to their quarters."

"Of course, sir." Rex replied.

Ahsoka then walked out of the room first.

. . .

As Rex escorted Lux, Leia and Saw to their quarters, Lux was about to ask what's up with Ahsoka lately, but Leia beat him to it.

"Captain, what's wrong with the General?" The princess asked. "She's been acting…weird."

Rex shook his head. "I'm really not sure, Your highness."

"Oh, I think I have a theory on that." Saw said, then pointed at Lux.

"That's a possible reason." Rex said. "Not that we're offending you, Senator."

"Me?" Lux frowned. "What did I do now?" Suddenly, Rex and Saw were back doing what they constantly did when he was younger. Teasing.

"Your presence here, Lux." Saw said. "You being here is what's probably bothering her. That's why she's acting weird."

Leia frowned. "But how does Lux bother Ahsoka when—" She faltered, then her eyes widened. "Oh!" She squealed in delight.

Lux turned to Saw. "What did you do now?" He asked.

Saw shrugged. "Nothing."

Lux glared at Saw.

"Oh, don't be mad at Commander Gerrera, Senator," Leia said. "I asked questions. And sort of, ordered him to answer them."

. . .

Lux couldn't sleep. Seeing Ahsoka again, sent a rush of energy through his body. He needed to talk to her. He didn't know where to find her, so he went back to the Command Center hoping she was there. Unfortunately, Ahsoka wasn't there. Instead, Captain Rex and the Jedi, Kanan Jarrus were there with Commander Sato.

"Senator?" Kanan said in disbelief. "You're still up?"

"I'm sorry to disturb you but," Lux shifted. "Do you know where I can find…the General?" He almost said Ahsoka's name, which would definitely raise suspicion. He also didn't mention that he had tried finding her quarters.

Kanan and Rex exchanged nervous looks, as if making a silent argument.

"If it's classified, I understand, I'll just—" Lux started to say.

"Lux," Rex called, which made him turn. He never calls him by his name. Usually, he calls him 'Senator' or 'Your honorable' never Lux.

"Captain?" He replied.

Rex approached him and motioned his head out of the Command Center. Before he knew it, Rex was leading him out the door.

Rex sighed, like he was about to do something he'd regret. "Normally, I wouldn't do this but if you're looking for her," He said as long as they were out of earshot. "She's up in the roof deck."

"This place has a roof deck?" Lux asked.

"At the General's request, yes." Rex explained. "She says it helps her think."

"Why are you telling me this?" Lux wondered. "I know Ahsoka, she doesn't just—"

"I know that, sir." Rex said. "But I agree with the princess when she said you two needed to catch up. She's right, you know."

Lux snorted. "You can't trust what Leia said. She doesn't know anything."

"Maybe," Rex said. "But she might have noticed how you greeted each other. Anyway, I know you want to talk to her."

"Yeah, but, how?" Lux asked miserably. "She's been avoiding me all day."

"She's been avoiding you because she'd been surrounded by people who don't know about your history." Rex said. "If you get her alone, then maybe."

Maybe? Lux thought. All those years, he'd hope to see her again. And it happened, now all he needed to do was talk to her. He nodded at Rex. "Thank you, Rex." He said.

Rex patted his shoulder. "Good luck, kid."

. . .

After the meeting, the others went to bed, Lux, Leia and Saw were shown to their guest quarters. Ahsoka, however, went back up the roof deck.

It was a bit dark, of course, since they didn't install glowpanels there. The last thing they want to happen is to get spotted by someone or something. But it's not really that dark, since the moon and the stars lit the deck. And it may be hot and humid on daytimes, but it's cold and breezy during nighttimes.

Ahsoka went back to where she stood before going down to supper. She had many things going on in her head. The blockade over Onderon, the people starving on the planet below, the fact that Leia is here and…Lux.

She sighed. Why did he have to be here? She thought.

"I'd never thought I'd find you here." A voice called from behind.

Alarmed, she turned and found Lux a few meters from her.

"Lux," Ahsoka said. "What are you doing here? It's late."

"I should ask you the same." Lux said. "I couldn't sleep, so I did a little exploring. And I found you here." He smiled.

Ahsoka narrowed her eyes. "That's a lie. I doubt you even knew there was a roof deck."

"Okay," He admitted. "So Rex told me where you were."

"He did what?" Ahsoka exclaimed.

"Don't blame him!" Lux said. "I sort of, pleaded him to tell me."

"What do you want?" She asked.

"I needed to talk to you."

Great, just what I thought. Ahsoka turned back to the horizon. "Maybe some other time."

"Please, 'Soka," Lux pleaded. "I just wanted to know where you've been all these years."

Ahsoka kept her eyes on the horizon. "Trust me, you don't wanna know." She said coldly. "It's a long gruesome story."

"Okay, I, at least wanna know why you weren't at the temple when I got there?" He asked.

That got her off guard. She turned to him in surprise. "You what?" She asked as if she'd misheard.

"That's right." Lux said. "After I was given a seat in the Senate, I came to the temple looking for you. I've asked several Padawans and Masters, and they all told me same thing: You left the Order."

"I…I'm sorry," Ahsoka said. "I didn't know that you'd actually go there."

"Why would you think that?" Lux asked. "I promised, didn't I?" He reminded her.

"Look, it's complicated." Ahsoka said in exasperation. "And I don't really feel like talking about it now. And especially not to you." She started to walk towards the lift.

"What?" Lux asked. "Don't worry about that. You can tell me anything." He promised as he got on the lift with her.

"Lux, why don't you just go back to your quarters?" Ahsoka said. "Go to sleep and be refreshed in the morning before the briefing." She stepped out of the lift and onto the hallway.

"I would." Lux said, still following her. "But you haven't answered my question yet."

"What question?" Ahsoka glared at him.

"Why did you leave the Jedi Order?" He asked.

"I already told you," Ahsoka gritted her teeth. "I don't wanna talk about it." Then she continued walking.

"Why not?" Lux called, running after her.

Remembering what Bariss did was still painful. One of her best friends framed her for murder and she was almost sentenced to death because of that. And that's when she started having trust issues. She couldn't trust anyone after that. Except Anakin, of course. Then he turned out to be a Sith Lord, who had sliced off her left arm. After that, there were Obi-Wan, Yoda and Senator Organa. Then Rex, and the other clones, Wolffe and Gregor. Then Kanan.

She was so deep in thought, she'd forgotten Lux was still following her until he grabbed her arm. "Ahsoka," He called.

She shook him off. "I got expelled, okay?!"

His expression turned from curious to dismay. "I…I'm sorry. I didn't—"

"And no it's not because of you." She added.

Suddenly, two maintenance workers passed through the hallway and addressed both of them awkwardly.

"Good evening, General, Senator." They bowed and then moved on, no doubt wondering what she and Lux were doing in an empty hallway.

"You got expelled?" Lux repeated. "How? And why?" He asked.

"Like I said, I don't wanna talk about it." Ahsoka said, then turned and continued walking.

"No, we're gonna talk about it." Lux said, then grabbed her arm.

"Hey," Ahsoka yelped. "What are you doing? Let me go!"

Lux pulled her into a supply closet.

"Obviously, you can't talk about it because you have no one to talk to." Lux said. "I'm here. I'll listen to you." He promised.

"I—" Ahsoka faltered.

"We need to catch up." Lux said. "I missed that part."

"You can't take what Leia said seriously." Ahsoka said. "She doesn't know anything."

"I know she doesn't," Lux said. "But she's one smart princess."

"You have no idea." She agreed.

"Come on, now." Lux said. "Tell me what had happened."

Ahsoka shook her head. "No."

Lux frowned. "Since when did you have trust issues?" He asked.

"Since that happened." Ahsoka said. "And I don't wanna talk about it."

"Why don't you trust me?" Lux asked.

Ahsoka raised an eye marking. "You're a politician." She pointed out.

"Not all politicians are the same," Lux argued. "Can you not judge us by that?"

"I don't." She admitted. "Not until Padme died."

"Come on, 'Soka."

She was quiet for a long time, then sighed. "Someone framed me for murder. A friend of mine."

"What?" Lux exclaimed, then sighed and gently grabbed her shoulders. "Ahsoka, I'm sorry, I should've been there for you. I—"

"Lux," Ahsoka interrupted. "What's done is done. There's nothing you could've done."

Suddenly, the supply closet opened and made a maintenance worker jump in surprise.

Ahsoka quickly pushed Lux away and turned to the maintenance worker. "Jabe?" She called. "This is not what it looks like." She said quickly.

Jabe swallowed. "My apologies, General, Senator. I didn't mean to, um—"

"Do you need something, my friend?" Lux asked Jabe.

"Uh, I was just…the vibromop." Jabe said, pointing at the vibromop at Lux's feet.

"Oh," Lux picked up the vibromop and handed it to Jabe. "Here you go."

Jabe shook from being dazed and took the vibromop from Lux. "Thank you, sir." He said, his tone in question.

"Have a good night, Jabe." Lux said.

Jabe nodded with his eyebrows raised, then closed back the closet door.

Ahsoka punched Lux in the arm. "Great! Thank you for that." She said.

"Ow!" Lux rubbed his arm. "What was that for?" He asked.

"I wouldn't be surprised if there are rumors about this in the morning." Ahsoka said, stepping out of the supply closet with Lux following her.

. . .

Rex started to regret telling Lux where Ahsoka was. They weren't up on the roof deck so went back to the Command Center. He was about to go try and find them when he came across Saw who was also looking for Lux.

Kanan gave them a wide grin. "I'll bet my blaster and say those two are together right now."

"What makes you so sure?" Saw asked.

"The Senator was just here looking for Ahsoka." Kanan explained. "Rex told him she was at the roof deck—"

"Yeah, I was just there too." Rex interrupted. "And there's no one up there."

Saw grunted. "Kriff! I thought those kids were easier to work with when they get older. I was wrong."

"Tell me about it." Rex laughed. "Just like old times, huh?"

They decided to look for them together.

"Where is he?" Saw grunted. He balled his fist. "When I find him, he's gonna get some of this. I don't care if he's a Senator."

"Calm down, Commander." Rex assured. "We'll find them."

Suddenly, they came across a maintenance worker, Jabe with a vibromop in his hand. He greeted them absent-mindedly. "Captain," He bowed. "Commander."

Something was wrong with him. He looked like he was in shock. Like he saw something he wasn't supposed to see.

Rex frowned. "Jabe?" He called. "Are you alright?" He asked.

Jabe nodded nervously. "Yes, sir."

"Hey, did you happen to see the senator pass this way?" Saw asked.

Jabe's face turned paler. "Oh, he…uh…" He pointed behind him.

Rex narrowed his eyes. "Is he with the General?" He asked suspiciously.

Jabe nodded. Once again, he pointed to the hallway behind him.

"Thank you, my friend." Saw said, patting Jabe on his shoulder. "That kid's gonna be dead."

They continued walking down the hallway and turned a corner. Sure enough, they saw Lux and Ahsoka arguing just outside the supply closet. Now, he understood why Jabe looked so frightened.

Rex and Saw exchanged annoyed looks.

He cleared his throat as they got closer. "Alright, what's this about?" He asked, with the same tone he used when he disciplined both of them when they were younger.

Instantly, Lux and Ahsoka went silent.

"It's a long story." Ahsoka said, then elbowed Lux, who flinched, since she had hit him with her prosthetic arm.

"Yeah," Lux scoffed. "You don't wanna know."

"Alright, Your Honorable," Saw said sarcastically. "Let's get you back to your quarters. And rest your eyes out for tomorrow."

"Saw, you're not exactly my captain anymore." Lux said. "You can't order me around, I outrank you."

"I'm still older than you." Saw pointed out. "You said so yourself: I'm not your captain anymore, so you don't exactly outrank me. Now, move it, Bonteri."

Lux raised his hands in surrender. "Alright, Jeez." He turned to Ahsoka. "I guess I'll see you in the morning. Good night, General."

Ahsoka smiled. "Of course, Senator." She said. "Good night."

As Lux and Saw rode the turbolift, Rex turned to Ahsoka. "Are you okay, Littl'un?" He asked. "That Senator didn't attack you or anything?"

"I'm fine, Rex." Ahsoka said. "Don't worry about me." She assured.

"Good," Rex smiled. "'Cause for a second there, I thought he was trying to get you in the supply closet with him."

Ahsoka's lekkus darkened. The Togruta equivalent of a human blush. "Uh…right." She laughed nervously. "That's crazy."

Chapter Text

The following morning, Ahsoka got ready and headed to the Command Center and noticed people were stealing glances. She suspected that the supply closet thingy got out and spread like wildfire. She tried not to think about it, as she walked passed them.

"So, in a supply closet, huh?" A voice spoke up from behind her.

She turned and found Kanan with a mischievous grin on his face. Ahsoka sighed in frustration. "What are you talking about?" She asked.

"Don't deny it." Kanan said. "Ezra woke me up to ask if it's true. So, is it?"

"Kanan," Ahsoka in a small voice. "Please don't remind me."

"What were you doing in there, anyway?" Kanan asked.

Ahsoka glared at him. "Seriously?"

Kanan raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, sorry." He cleared his throat. "Moving on…they need you in the Command Center."

"I was just heading there when you stopped me with all your questions." Ahsoka gritted her teeth.

"Sorry," Kanan said again, as he was heading the other way. "But something really might've happened if that guy hadn't walked in on both of you."

"Kanan." Ahsoka said in a warning tone.

He waved her off, and she shook her head in annoyance. Kanan kind of reminded her of Darius. Besides being a good friend, he teases her. A lot. Except, Darius didn't know about Lux.

Ahsoka took a deep breath and entered the Command Center. People everywhere were busy. She noticed Rex, Wolffe, and Lux by the holo-projector table. Lux? She stopped at her pace and sighed in frustration. Ugh, why did he have to be always where I'm needed most? She thought. Again, she took a deep breath and walked towards them.

"Good morning, General." Rex greeted as she got close.

"Ahsoka!" Lux called. Then he noticed Rex and Wolffe frowning at him. "Uh—I mean, General Tano." He said, smiling. "I'm—"

"Yes," Rex interrupted, shoving Lux behind him. "'You're glad to see her.' We know that, Senator."

Ahsoka couldn't help but look down in embarrassment. She suspected Rex had heard about what had happened last night. That's why he's being protective again. Just like Anakin back in the day.

Rex gestured her to stand on his right near the table, while Lux was on his left, obviously to keep him far away from her as possible.

"Alright, please tell me there's good news, Rex." She said.

Rex smiled. "Actually, there are several, sir. A shipload of relief supplies has arrived from Alderaan, as what the princess had promised." He reported. "And of course, we had to remove the Alderaanian insignia from the crates and had Sabine Wren do a paint job of it."

Ahsoka nodded. "Anything else?" She asked.

"Oh," Lux spoke up. "The B-Wing Fighters for the three Squadrons have also been delivered." He said.

"Hmm, yes." Rex grumbled. "And so is the replacement for the Sparrow Squadron's Command Ship."

Ahsoka frowned. "What happened to Sparrow's Command Ship?" She asked.

"It was damaged," Wolffe recalled. "From a supply run in the Western Reaches. A couple of TIE Bombers infiltrated its shield generators and damaged its engines."

"And also," Rex held out a holochip. "Commander Gerrera got information from our spies and brought us a holographic image of the blockade we can use for our attack."

Ahsoka nodded. "Good." She turned to Wolffe. "Wolffe, prep the holochip so when I get back, we can study how to get past the blockade. First, I wanna see these B-Wings." She said.

"They're docked at Bay four, sir." Wolffe said.

"Oh, I'll take you there." Lux volunteered.

Before she can say anything, Rex exclaimed. "No!"

Lux frowned. "I beg your pardon?"

Rex cleared his throat. "Obviously, Senator, no one had seen the blockade personally except you and Commander Gerrera." He explained. "And since you're here now, might as well…share to Wolffe what you know about it. We need any information we can get. Maybe it can help us."

Lux looked disappointed, but nodded. "Very well, Captain."

"I'll take the General to Bay Four." Rex said.

Rex handed Wolffe the holochip and she and Rex walked out the Command Center.

. . .

"Do you really have to do that?" Ahsoka asked Rex as soon as they were in the hallway.

"Yes," Rex said. "That was necessary." He turned to her with a stern face. "Because of some rumor I've heard about this morning."

Ahsoka noticed her lekkus darkening. "What do you mean?" She asked innocently.

Rex stopped walking. "You know what I mean. What did he do to you this time?" He asked.

Ahsoka shrugged. "Nothing."

"That's not what I heard." Rex said.

"Rex, nothing happened, okay?" Ahsoka said. "You actually believe some rumor flying around than me?"

Rex raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, clearly unconvinced. "Mm-hmm. You probably forgot the fact that somebody saw you and him in the supply closet, alone!" He recalled. "And what would you be doing in a supply closet with nothing but cleaning equipment?" He asked.

"Nothing!" Ahsoka repeated. She went on explaining how they were talking…or more like arguing in the hallway and how Lux got annoyed that some crew workers kept interrupting their conversation by greeting them, so he shoved her in the supply closet with him to keep people from interrupting. Then the maintenance worker came looking for a vibromop. "That's it." She said.

"Is what you're saying the truth?" Rex asked. "Or you're just covering up what the Senator's about to do?"

"Yes, that's truth." Ahsoka promised. "You know I'd never lie to you."

"Really?" Rex raised an eyebrow. "And did he try to kiss you when you were in there?" He asked suspiciously.

Ahsoka, once again, could feel her lekkus darkening. "Let's just go to Bay Four." She said.

"You said you'd never lie to me." Rex reminded her.

Ahsoka threw her hands in exasperation. "Alright, fine! He did." She admitted. "But he lost his chance when a maintenance worker walked in looking for a vibromop. There, I said it! Happy?"

Rex smiled. "Now that I've heard the truth, let's go see the B-Wings."

. . .

Three A/SF-01 B-Wing Starfighters were docked at Bay Four with a Corellian Corvette marked with the Sparrow insignia.

The B-Wings were about sixteen meters long and each were had the insignia of the Rebellion plated on the hull.

Not far from them, stood Leia, Saw, and Gregor, who greeted them as they approach.

"General, Captain," Leia said. "As you can see, they have arrived this morning, with the relief supplies."

"Not much different from the prototype," Rex said.

"No," Saw said. "But it's a modified model, Captain."

Ahsoka approached the nearest B-Wing, and examined it. "What are its special attributes?" She asked, tapping the hull with her knuckles.

"Well," Saw started. "It has four laser cannons, two of which are on S-foils just below the engines. It also has proton torpedoes, an Ion cannon and of course, the Composite-beam laser, powerful enough to destroy capital ships."

"Okay," Ahsoka said. "I think this will work."

"But it also has a downside," Saw added. "Apparently, using the Composite-beam lasers drains the ship's hyperdrive."

"Hmm," Ahsoka thought. "So we'll bring the Carrier then."

"Oh, also," Leia spoke up. "It needs to be manned by two, a pilot and a gunner."

Ahsoka thought for a moment, and turned to Gregor. "Gregor, tell everyone to gather in the Command Center for the briefing."

"Yes, sir." Gregor agreed, then went on his way.

She then turned to Rex, Saw, and Leia. "The rest of you, follow me." And Ahsoka guided them to the Command Center.

. . .

They entered the Command Center with Wolffe and Lux with troubled expressions on their face.

"Wolffe," Ahsoka said. "Did you see the map?" She asked as soon as he got to him, with Rex, Saw and Leia behind her.

Wolffe nodded. "Sir, I think we have a problem."

She was almost afraid to ask. "What do you mean?"

"Show them, Wolffe." Lux ordered.

Wolffe pressed a button and a holograph of the Imperial Blockade on Onderon flickered across the holo-projector table. The capital ship, a lone Star Destroyer hovered over the planet with two Light cruisers on either side, having four all in all.

"The last time I was there," Lux spoke up. "There were only two Light cruisers. Now, there are four."

"It's an obvious trap." Wolffe said. "They're luring us in."

"How is adding two more light cruisers on that blockade luring us?" Saw asked. "If they wanted us there, they'd probably withdrawn and ambush us when we got there."

"For bait." Leia spoke up. "The Empire's using the people below as bait, so we'd actually go there and confront the problem."

Rex turned to her. "What do we do, sir?" He asked.

Ahsoka sighed. "We continue with the plan to destroy the blockade."

"How do we do it, sir?" Wolffe asked.

"I—I'm working on it." Ahsoka said. Looking at the holographic map, her heart sank. It was either they'll succeed in destroying the blockade or they'll get overrun with Imperial reinforcements, and there is no in between.

"Please, excuse me," Ahsoka said, then started to walk towards the doors.

"Ahsoka," Lux called.

"Please, don't do that." Ahsoka said as she walked past him.

"Do what?" He asked.

"Anything." She yelled back as she stormed out of the Command Center.

"Hey, I'm trying to be helpful." Lux said, as he followed her.

"Really?" Ahsoka snorted, turning to face him. "When did that ever help? And don't give examples." She trudged on down the hallway, where people were heading towards the Command Center for the briefing.

Lux sighed and pulled her arm. "Listen to me, will you?"

Ahsoka shook off his grip and faced him.

"Look, we have both been dealing with these things in our way." Lux reminded her. "I went back to doing the only other thing I was ever good at." He said.

"Talking, arguing…in the Senate." Ahsoka guessed. "Yeah, I know." She gave a half-smile and shrugged. "We both did. But this…this is different."

"Look, 'Soka," Lux grabbed her shoulders and locked eyes with her. "You were the greatest Jedi Commander during the Clone Wars. You're the General now. You can do this. I know you can."

Now she understood why being a Senator was an appropriate job for him, he really has a way with his words. She smiled back half-heartedly at him. She loved the way his gray eyes sparkled.

Behind her, someone cleared his throat and they both turned to see a hesitating clone trooper in a sleeveless shirt.

"Gregor," Ahsoka said, pulling away from Lux. "What is it?" She asked.

"Everyone's waiting, sir." Gregor informed.

Chapter Text

Ahsoka entered the Command Center with Lux and Gregor on either of her sides, which she sensed raised a lot of suspicion. Besides, the whole thing that happened the night before, they also happened to see Lux march after her out of the Command Center moments before.

Rex, Saw, and Wolffe stood next to each other.

Leia had a wide grin. Ezra stood beside her, with the same wide grin on his face. From what she can tell, Leia might've told him what she had figured out. Next to him stood Kanan, the only other Jedi present. And judging from his expression, he'd like to know more about what had heard that happened last night. The rest of the Ghost crew and Phoenix cell members stood near them. Everyone else clustered around the holo-projector table.

"General on deck." Rex said, and everyone straightened.

Ahsoka raised her hand. "At ease." She said as she approached the holo-projector table.

The holo-projector table displayed a holographic image of the planet Onderon, where a lone Imperial Star destroyer hovered over the planet with two Light cruisers on either side, having four all in all.

"It's a heavy blockade, sir." Jun Sato said. "Is destroying it even possible?" He asked.

"No, it is possible, Commander." Ahsoka said. "But like I said, it's going to take everything we've got."

Ahsoka turned to Saw. "Saw, you've been familiar with Imperial presence on the planet, what do you got?" She asked.

"The cruisers deploy TIEs to the planet at O-nine hundred everyday to make sure there are no rebels roaming around." Saw reported.

"What about the Star Destroyer?" Ahsoka asked.

"The lieutenant rides a shuttle to the surface if they capture a Rebel on their raids, and then send them to a prison facility in the Core." Saw said.

"So, it's placed there to scare off ships entering the planet." Ahsoka guessed.

"And outgoing ships, yes." Saw added.

"How do we do it, sir?" Wolffe spoke up. "I mean, we can't just smash into the blockade runners, that's suicide."

Smash. Ahsoka remembered how she and her master destroyed the Separatist blockade over Ryloth to give way for Master Windu and Master Kenobi's ground assault. Anakin had smashed a damaged Republic Star Destroyer into the blockade runner, and she led a squadron to outflank the remaining Separatist vulture droids. It was crazy, but it worked.

Looking at the holographic map, she couldn't help but smile.

"Sir?" Rex called.

"I've got an idea." Ahsoka said, then turned to Rex. "Captain, remember what we did to that blockade over Ryloth during the Clone Wars?" She asked.

Rex's eyes widened. "What—no. That's crazy."

"But it worked." Ahsoka said, turning to Fyra Zanedi. "Commander Zanedi, I was told the Sparrow Command ship was damaged in a supply run from the Western Reaches. Where is it now?" She asked.

"Yes, General." Fyra said. "It's docked in the stolen Imperial Carrier."

"How is it?" Ahsoka asked.

"Heavily damaged." Fyra said. "The hull's burned and the shield generator's fried."

"What about its hyperdrive and engines?"

"The hyperdrive's working fine. But the engines are barely holding." Fyra reported.

"Perfect." Ahsoka said.

"You cannot be serious!" Rex spoke up.

"I am, Captain." Ahsoka said firmly. "There's no other way to destroy that blockade."

Rex sighed, then gestured for her to go on.

"Alright, here's what we're going to do." Ahsoka said, as she pointed at the holographic images. "I'll take the damaged Command ship of the Sparrow and lunge it at the Capital ship."

Suddenly, everyone was talking at the same time.

"General, Wolffe's right," Rex said. "It's suicide. And how the kriff are you getting out of there anyway?" He asked.

"I'll have my A-Wing in one of the ship's docking rings." Ahsoka said. "And if the Imperials decide to talk it through, I'll play along."

"Yeah, I don't think so." Kanan spoke up. "The Imperials never talk things through."

Ahsoka raised her hand, and everyone went silent. "I know that." She said. "What I meant by 'talking'—" She quoted her fingers in the air. "—Is that they'll warn us before they destroy us. What we'll do is the other way around, and that's destroying that blockade. And how do we do that? Here's how."

She pressed a button in the holo-projector table. "Like I said, I'll go first onboard the damaged Command ship and…'talk' to them, and since of course talking isn't really the Imperial way, I'll maneuver the damaged ship straight towards their Capital ship. And don't worry, I'll have my A-Wing in one of the docking rings that I'll use to escape. The damaged Command ship will then buy me time to disable their Shield Generator which of course, will make the ship vulnerable; and the Communications and Sensor Arrays, so they can't call for reinforcements."

"What about the light cruisers?" Kanan asked.

"That is how the entire fleet comes in." Ahsoka said. "Once I give the signal, you jump out of hyperspace, the Carrier and the three Command Ships, and we attack. The Ghost will be the one making the supply run." She turned to Commander Jun Sato. "Phoenix Squadron, you need to cover the Ghost while they make the drop."

Ahsoka turned to Commander Fyra Zanedi. "Sparrow Squadron, take a B-Wing Fighter and make your attack on the right flank and take care of the light cruisers on the Star Destroyer's starboard side. The B-Wing's laser cannons are powerful enough to raze one cruiser, so you have to make another run for it for the second." She turned to Kerrick Bezor. "Hawkeye Squadron, you do the same on the left flank. Once, the supplies are dropped we can leave the system before their reinforcements arrive, hopefully. Now, any questions?" She asked.

No one spoke up.

"Alright, then." Ahsoka said. "Let's move."

Chapter Text

Everyone went to work. Pilots and aircraft mechanics rushed to the Hangars to prep the A-Wings, doing repairs and refueling it. Supply crates were being clamped magnetically underneath the Ghost for the drop. Ahsoka went to her A-Wing and started helping the maintenance workers prep the craft.

The typical A-Wing Fighter has been painted a blue stripe running along the center of the craft, from the Forward Sensor Array to the Sublight engines. Ahsoka's A-Wing was no different than the others except that it's painted in reverse. Everything else was painted, in a much darker shade, except for a stripe running along the center of the fighter.

Ahsoka was checking the access panels when she felt someone poking her cybernetic arm. She turned and found the young princess smiling at her. She straightened. "Leia?"

"I just came here to wish you luck," Leia said. "Before you destroy that blockade to bits."

Ahsoka chuckled. "There's no such thing as luck." She said, trying to sound confident.

"General, loosen up," Leia assured. "I know you're nervous and even doubting your own plan. But I do know that you are going to destroy that blockade." She pouted. "It must be great to actually see it in person." Then she eyes brightened. "Maybe I could go to Onderon and—"

"No!" Ahsoka grimaced. "You're going home, to Alderaan."

"Come on!' Leia complained. "I've never seen a real battle, in space!"

"Don't worry, Your Highness," Ahsoka said. "You will see and hear all about it in the HoloNet."

Leia sighed. "Fine. But I'm really going to miss you." She said, then gave Ahsoka a hug.

"Me too, Leia." Ahsoka said, returning the same hug.

"And hey, when all of this is over," Leia said, once they let go of the hug. "Maybe you should, you know…" She motioned her head towards Lux, who was standing by their medical transport talking to Rex and Saw.

Ahsoka rolled her eyes. "Seriously, Leia?" She frowned at the princess. "Not you too."

"Ahsoka," Leia gripped her prosthetic arm. "All I'm saying is that everyone deserves to be happy, including you."

"What are you talking about?" Ahsoka asked.

Leia sighed in frustration. "How long will you both keep on denying it? I've seen the way you look at him and I saw the way he looks at you. And I'm pretty sure the entire crew of this base already knew that you once harbored feelings for each other."

Ahsoka's lekkus darkened. Looking at Leia, she sort of had taken her aback. Her demeanor maybe that reckless, but her mind was just so mature for her age. Surprisingly, she's hearing the same words of comfort she used to hear from Padme. Leia's biological mother. Well, I guess she's starting to sound like her mother, Ahsoka thought.

Ahsoka made a face. "A fifteen-year-old girl giving words of encouragement to someone twice her age. This is really weird."

"Get use to it." Leia said. "Anyways, I'm serious. You should talk this through before we leave."

Before she can protest and say anything. Lux suddenly appeared behind Leia, and cleared his throat.

They both turned to him.

"Um, Leia," Lux said. "Would give me—"

"A moment with the General?" Leia interrupted. "Yes, and in fact, take all the time you need, Senator." She said, pushing Lux towards Ahsoka and gave her a This is your chance, don't ruin it glare, before walking towards the transport.

"So," Lux spoke up. "I'm guessing that it'll just be like the last time."

"The last time?" Ahsoka repeated. "What do you mean?" She asked.

"Well, you know, saying a proper goodbye," Lux said. "And not see each other for a long time—"

"Hopefully, not a long time." Ahsoka interrupted.

Lux smiled. "I knew you'd say that. You know, after all our arguments and banters, I've always hated leaving. And that applies to both of us."

"You failed to see my point." Ahsoka said. "I do it, so that you'd miss me."

"I did miss you." Lux admitted. "Even though all I pretty much do is annoy you most of the time."

Ahsoka shrugged. "It's your trademark."

They smiled at each other. Then suddenly, Lux tackled her with a hug, which surprised her at first, then managed to return the same hug.

"I'm going to miss you, 'Soka." Lux said.

"Me too." Ahsoka said, burying her head on his neck.

Once, they pulled free, Lux straightened and held out his hand for a shake. "I guess, I'll see you soon, Master Jedi?" He asked, trying to sound formal.

Ahsoka chuckled and shook his hand. "Of course, Senator."

Lux didn't let go of her hand just yet. He pulled her closer to him and kissed her hand. "We'll see each other again. I believe that." Lux smiled at her again, before he walked back towards the medical transport.

It was the same farewell they said to each other. It had to sound formal because they had to exchange words in front of King Dendup, her master Anakin Skywalker, and Obi-Wan Kenobi. She remembered how the kissing her hand part, made Anakin scowl and Obi-Wan raise an eyebrow. But thankfully none of them suspected anything happening up on the roof deck.

She went back to checking the access panel as the Medical Transport took off. Ahsoka held back a sob. She had never been so disappointed in her life. Well, except for the fact that staying in the Order could've prevented Anakin from turning into a cybernetic Sith Lord. She pushed Lux away so hard, that all she got in return was a hug and a hand-shake. It wasn't enough, of course, but it had to be.

A tear trickled down her cheek. She wiped it immediately and kept herself busy.

"Ahsoka?" Someone called.

She turned and saw Rex and Kanan, standing side by side with concerned faces.

"Are you alright, sir?" Rex asked.

"I'm fine." Ahsoka lied.

Rex and Kanan exchanged looks, clearly unconvinced.

"We know how you felt about the Senator," Kanan said.

"It doesn't matter anymore, okay?" Ahsoka interrupted. "We have a blockade to destroy. Now, back to work." She ordered.

"Of course, it matters." Kanan said, smirking. "And I'm certain that he'll come back here because he forgot something."

"Back to work, Caleb." Ahsoka repeated.

Kanan gave her a look of dismay. Of course, he hated hearing his real name, Caleb Dume, because it always reminded him of his painful past.

"Sorry," Ahsoka said. "I'm serious, go back to work."

. . .

When he got to the top of the ramp, Lux looked back at Ahsoka, who went back to fiddling with her fighter. A tear escaped his eye, he was going to miss her terribly.

Their ship took off, and he joined Saw and Leia in the bridge. They had a good laugh until he walked into the room. Saw and Leia were on the pilots' seats.

"So," Saw said, as soon as he entered. "You finally told her how you felt, huh, Bonteri?"

"I didn't." Lux said as he sat down.

Saw gripped and pulled the console up, it almost threw Leia to the windscreen. "What?" He yelled. "You never told her how you felt?" He asked as if he'd misheard him.

"It's better this way," Lux said, basically trying to convince himself. "I guess."

"Senator," Leia approached him. "I did tell you to take all the time you need. So the whole hug and hand kissing thing were your way of saying goodbye to her for good? Is that it?" She asked, scowling.

"Lux, you can't lie to me." Saw said. "I know you had a thing for her since you were sixteen."

Leia gasped in surprise. "Really?" She turned to him. "Senator, you're basically twice that age and you still can't tell her how you feel? Come on!"

Lux sighed. "You don't understand, Leia." He started to say.

"You may not know it, Senator." Leia said. "But she does feel the same about you. She's just really good at hiding it."

Lux turned to the young princess in surprise. "How can you possibly know that?" He asked.

"I don't," Leia admitted, then shrugged. "But I asked Kanan about that and he confirmed that she does. Take note, like her, Kanan was a Jedi."

Hearing all what Leia had said, made him smile. He found it silly having to hear encouragement from a fifteen-year-old girl. He hoped all she was saying about Ahsoka reciprocating his feelings for her was true.

"Well, Lux," Saw spoke up. "Make up your mind, before we make the jump into hyperspace."

Lux straightened and stood up. "Saw, turn the ship around." He smiled. "I seemed to have forgotten something."

Saw grinned. "I knew you'd come around!" He turned to Leia. "Nice work, Your Highness." He gave her a high-five.

. . .

Ahsoka was just closing the access panel, when Kanan called. "Ahsoka!"

She turned to him. "What?" She demanded.

"Look who came back." Kanan said, gesturing at the blast door, where a medical transport that carried Lux, Leia and Saw, returned and landed on the Hangar.

She wondered why they came back, but everyone else was just as confused as she was. Except maybe Kanan, who was grinning at her like crazy.

"I told you he'd come back for you." He said.

The boarding ramp went down and Lux ran down with a smile on his face. She had to admit, her heart might've leaped from her chest when she saw him. He made a show as he ran past maintenance workers and pilots prepping A-Wing fighters and stopped in front of her.

"Lux?" Ahsoka said. "Why did you come back?" She asked. "I thought you were on your way to Alderaan."

"Well, we were but," Lux said. "I can't afford to leave…without telling you that I still love you."

Ahsoka was stunned. She was expecting this, of course, but not like this. Not in front of the entire crew of Chopper Base.

"I'm tired of denying, Ahsoka." Lux explained, his eyes watering. "This might be my only chance telling you this, but I have loved you since we were young. All my life, I have been an outcast. So, I ran…right into you. And you looked at me like no one ever did. You were there for me when no one else was. I wouldn't be where I am now, if it weren't for you. I love you, Ahsoka. And I feel so stupid not telling you the whole time I was here."

Ahsoka faced him smiling, tears streaming down her cheeks, she nodded. "I know." Then she reached out and touched the little scar on his cheekbone, the way she does when she's worried about him.

It made Lux smile and grasp her wrist gently. "I miss it when you do that." He said.

"I love you too, Lux." Ahsoka finally said. For the first time, she was able to say those words freely.

Lux smiled widely then all of a sudden, he gripped her shoulders and kissed her. Right there, in front of everyone. Which totally surprised her at first, but eventually, melted right into his kiss.

Everyone cheered and applauded at them, but she didn't care. She'd been waiting for this moment her whole life. She wrapped her arms around Lux's neck and kept kissing him. Then they pulled free and smiled at each other. She was glad to have Lux's arms around her.

She could hear Leia squealing, as she and Saw stood next to Rex.

"Well, finally." Saw said, crossing his arms.

"And it only took them sixteen years to admit their feelings." Rex said.

"It's that long?" Leia asked. "Wow."

"We've been rooting for them since they were sixteen." Rex admitted.

"What?" Ahsoka asked, as Lux put an arm around her shoulder. "You've been rooting for us?"

Lux frowned at Rex. "You threatened to push me off a cliff when I got too close to her."

"I did say I was following General Skywalker's strict orders." Rex recalled. "I didn't want to look bad in front of him. But seeing Ahsoka happy being near you back then, makes me happy for her."

Ahsoka smiled, knowing Rex who had always been strict about getting too close to Lux back in the day, suddenly approved of it. "Thank you, Rex." She said, then turned to Lux with a smile. "You should go."

"What?" Lux asked in disbelief. "But, I—"

"Leia needs to get home to Alderaan." Ahsoka said. "And you need to get back to Coruscant. And we have a blockade to destroy."

Lux pouted and sighed. "Fine. Oh, and after all of this is over we should go up the roof deck in the Palace again. You know, for old times' sake."

Ahsoka chuckled. "Deal." Then she punched him playfully on his arm. "Now get out of here." She said.

"Yes, General." Lux said, kissing her forehead. "I'll see you soon, okay?"

She nodded. "Of course, Senator." Then she gave him a peck on the cheek.

Lux walked back towards the transport. "Come on, let's go." He gestured for Leia and Saw to follow him.

Saw waved at her and followed Lux to the transport. Leia gave her a quick hug and went on her way. Before the ramp closed, Lux gave her a flying kiss.

And as the transport, once again, flew out of the Hangar, Kanan punched her playfully on her arm. "I knew this would happen." He said. "He'd never leave Atollon without telling you how he felt."

Rex put a hand on Ahsoka's shoulder. "I always knew that kid was good for you." He said.

"Alright, people," Ahsoka said, returning to her usual General bearing. "Stop being all giddy and get back to work."

Chapter Text

As Ahsoka continued prepping her A-Wing, Sabine Wren, the Mandalorian weapons expert of the Ghost crew, approached her with a grin.

"General," Sabine said. "I think I might have an idea to make the Capital ship…fall."

Ahsoka considered it, then she leaned in. "Go on, I'm listening."

Sabine told Ahsoka her plan. As she got into the details, Ahsoka slowly smirked and nodded.

"It's crazy." Ahsoka noted. "But I like it. It could work. Only question is, if we still have enough fuel for it to work."

"Fuel?" A voice repeated from behind. She turned and saw Kanan. "Fuel for what?" He asked.

"Sabine just had a brilliant idea." Ahsoka said. "She told me how you guys stole the Imperial Carrier over Ryloth. And how you destroyed their…reinforcements."

Kanan raised an eyebrow at Sabine, clearly impressed. "Well, there's still a few left from the ones we stole from Horizon Base." He recalled.

"And," Rex said as he approached them. "The Sparrow Squadron did manage to steal loads of them from their supply run in the Western Reaches." He added.

Ahsoka nodded. "Good. Rex, contact the crew of the Carrier and tell them to prep every fuel they can get."

"Yes, sir." Rex said.

"I'll prep the thermal detonators, General." Sabine said and went on her way.

Ahsoka turned to Rex and Kanan. "And I'll see you gentlemen in the Carrier." She said as she hopped into her A-Wing and started the engines. She gave Rex a hand salute.

Rex nodded in return before he went with Kanan to the Ghost. Then she took off.

The Imperial Carrier, which the Phoenix stole over Ryloth, is now orbiting Atollon. Overlooking the planet, it reminded Ahsoka of Geonosis. Besides being a dust ball with its hot and humid surface, Geonosis was also where she fought her first battle on field beside her master, Anakin and her best friend, Bariss.

Ahsoka put her thoughts aside. Focus, she chided herself. We have a blockade to destroy.

She flew towards the Carrier. Out in space, she could see maintenance workers prepping the damaged Command ship. Crates of fuel cells were being loaded from a repulsorlift and brought inside the Command ship.

As Ahsoka's fighter got close to the Command ship, one of the maintenance crew made a signal that it was okay to dock on one of the ship's docking rings, and she did.

She got out of her A-Wing and brought herself into the Corvette's hallway, where the crew was starting to place fuel cells in every open space in the ship.

The Ghost landed on the Carrier just as Ahsoka went down the ramp. She stood near the ship as Sabine, Zeb and Ezra came down the Ghost and headed their way for the Command ship, each with a bag probably filled with thermal detonators.

Hera gave Kanan a hug before joining the other members of the Phoenix, since she was their Squadron leader. Kanan went back up the ramp.

Ahsoka was busy watching others getting their job done that she didn't notice Rex was already standing beside her.

"You looked troubled, sir." Rex spoke up.

Ahsoka frowned. "No, I don't." She argued.

Rex snorted. "Ahsoka, I've fought with you since you were fourteen." He brought up. "I don't have to be a Jedi to notice that something's bothering you."

"Fine." Ahsoka sighed. "It's just that, I haven't been involved in a battle since…well—" She faltered.

Rex raised an eyebrow. "The siege of Mandalore?" He guessed.

Ahsoka nodded in confirmation.

Rex huffed. "I know you're not that little anymore, Littl'un, and you're still as stubborn as you are when you were younger,"

The compliment made her laugh. "I don't deny that." She said.

"But," Rex continued. "You said so yourself. This is what we have to do to destroy that blockade. Now, why do you think they frequently sent us, particularly, General Skywalker, you and the 501st in battles almost everywhere?" He asked. "In space, on the ground, and underwater?"

"Because there's no one else to be sent." Ahsoka remembered. "There're maybe a lot of clone troopers, but there weren't that many Jedi to lead them, no offense."

Rex shook his head, clearly that was not the answer he wanted to hear. "No, I don't think it was that."

"Then what?"

"Being General Skywalker's padawan and Jedi Commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, especially the 501st, I think you know what we're known for." He faced her grabbed her shoulders. "We rarely lost battles."

Rarely lost battles. The phrase that often describe her master, Anakin Skywalker and his reckless tactics. Probably what Rex's trying to say is that being Anakin's padawan meant carrying on his legacy. That thought made her smile and filled her with confidence.

"Yeah." Ahsoka repeated with enthusiasm. "We rarely lost battles. Without struggling, that is. But we're gonna not gonna lose this one." She said boldly.

Rex grinned. "Keep that up, Littl'un."

Moments later, Sabine, Ezra and Zeb came out of the damaged Corvette with empty bags.

"It's all set, General." Sabine reported as she handed Ahsoka the detonators' regulator. The button blinked red, which meant the bombs are active.

"Good job, Sabine." Ahsoka said, then straightened. "Now, let's get going."

The others went ahead. Rex gave her a pat on her shoulder before joining the other Commanders of the cells in the Carrier's bridge.

Ahsoka was walking up the ramp of the Command ship, when Ezra called. "Ahsoka?"

She stopped halfway up and turned to him. "Yes?"

"Don't do it again." Ezra said.

Ahsoka frowned. "Don't do what again?" She asked.

"What you did on Malachor." Ezra recalled. "For Kanan and me. Not again, promise me." He pleaded.

She chuckled. "I'm sorry, but can't promise you that, Ezra."

"Why not?"

Ahsoka took a long time to answer. Promises. Not to mention, she'd broken every promise she'd sworn. The first time: She'd promised Lux she'd meet him at the Jedi Temple after he'd been given a seat in the Senate. But she left the Jedi Order, thus breaking her promise. The Second time: She'd promised not to leave Anakin/Vader under that Sith Temple in Malachor. But she fled when he told her leave. Again, breaking another one. I'm not breaking another one, she thought.

"Ahsoka?" Ezra called, which brought her back to reality.

"Because, I'm terrible at keeping promises." Ahsoka spoke up.

"You can't sacrifice yourself again!" Ezra insisted. "You have no idea how the Rebellion had been in your absence—" He blurted out.

"I'm aware of that." Ahsoka interrupted. "But, you have managed to keep it together in five rotations." She reminded him.

"But—" Ezra started to protest.

"I'm willing to do anything for the Rebellion, Ezra!" Ahsoka said, almost harshly. She sighed, and her voice softened. "As its General, I have to keep the fire burning. You of all people should understand that. You and Kanan." She reminded him.

The boy looked down and nodded slowly. "Just…don't die then." Ezra said.

Ahsoka smiled. "That, I can guarantee."

Ezra did something she didn't expect. He gave her a hug, which totally surprised her.

"Be careful." He said.

Ahsoka couldn't help but smile at the little boy's concern. She patted him on his back. "We should go." She said. "We have a blockade to destroy."

Ezra gave her a quick smile before running back to the Ghost.

. . .

Ahsoka walked past the fuel cells implanted with a couple detonators blinking with red light on the Command ships' hallways. She held the charges' regulator and hung it on her belt, right beside her Shoto saber—she had to reconstruct another one as Vader sliced her previous Shoto to pieces.

Also, since her battle with him, she had been left more vulnerable than she already was. Having her left arm chopped off and have it replaced with a metal one does not make things better. A Force-user's connection with the Force flowed through the midi-chlorians in his/her blood. The loss of a limb had been known to affect a one's powers. The same thing happened to Anakin when he was a padawan, but he was different. Anakin possessed more midi-chlorians than any Jedi in history, but even so…he's not like any other Force-user she'd known. He was powerful.

She was so lost in thought staring out at the bridge's viewports that she hadn't notice Rex calling her through the commchannel.

"General?" Rex called, probably six times already. "Sir, is everything alright?" He asked.

"Oh, yeah." Ahsoka replied quickly. "Everything's fine. I was just…thinking."

"Are we clear to make the jump?" He asked.

"Wait a few moments before I do." Ahsoka said, sitting down the pilot's seat. "We need timing in this. You need to get there after I'm done talking to them."

"Copy that, General." Rex said. "Good hunting, sir."

"Thank you, Rex." Ahsoka said. Then she pulled the console and the damaged Corvette traveled into hyperspace.

Chapter Text

Ahsoka stood on the bridge of the damaged Command ship of the Sparrow as it travelled through hyperspace.

For someone going to lead an attack, she was at ease. Mostly because she was able to lift the heaviness she'd been carrying for years, off her chest. Lux. She couldn't help but smile thinking about him. She did love him, way, way back. She just didn't have the courage to tell anyone (Well, maybe she did mention Lux to Bariss a few times, but never admitted anything.) because one: She was a Jedi and, two: Anakin would kill her if he found out that something else happened beyond being his bodyguard and pretending to be his girlfriend.

She had to keep it to herself. But when she was assigned to be the Jedi advisor, she had sensed that Lux reciprocated her feelings. She was happy, of course. Even though Steela Gerrera (Saw's sister), was constantly pursuing him. She knew he was just being polite. But she was also sad, because she knew that they couldn't be together. Jedi were forbidden to have romantic ties, especially with a Galactic Senator.

Now, it's different. She left the Jedi Order but retained what she had learned as a force-user. She wasn't a Jedi anymore. But then, onboard the Sundered Heart, she was knighted by Yoda and Obi-Wan. Back then, before she found out about Kanan or Caleb, whichever he preferred, she thought they were the only ones left, the only ones who had survived. She wasn't able to refuse. So officially, she was a Jedi Knight but hadn't considered herself as one in years.

Just then, the damaged Command ship came out of hyperspace. She shook herself back to reality. The jungle planet of Onderon was before her. But between them, an Imperial blockade stood in the way to the planet's surface.

As expected, the Imperial convoy contacted the ship surprisingly, with a two-way holo-transmission.

She answered their transmission and stepped away from the holo-projector table before they can see her.

A man with auburn hair and an upturned nose in his late thirties appeared through the hologram before her. "Attention, Rebel ship." He said. It was no surprise that they'd recognize the ship as part of the Rebellion "This is Lieutenant Darael Rickon, Onderon now is a restricted area by order of the Emperor. Stand down or be destroyed."

Ahsoka took a deep breath. "Here goes nothing." She murmured as she stepped into the hologram's line of vision.

Lieutenant Rickon's eyebrows went up in surprise. No doubt surprised to see a woman standing before him.

Ahsoka gave a mischievous smile. "Greetings, Lieutenant," She nodded in greeting. "I am Ahsoka Tano, General of the Rebel Alliance. I—"

Lieutenant Rickon frowned. "I know who you are, Jedi!" He said furiously. "Those Inquisitors had mentioned you a couple times."

"Really?" Ahsoka chuckled and then shrugged. "Well, my reputation precedes me then." She said in a surprised tone. "Anyways, I am surrendering myself, this ship and, the entire crew of this vessel, in exchange for safe passage of food and supplies for the people of Onderon."

"That is not your concern, Rebel." Rickon snapped. "It is the Empire's responsibility to provide for the needs of its people." He turned to his right. "Scan that ship." He told an officer.

"If the Empire is doing its job, then we won't be here in the first place." Ahsoka argued, then shrugged. "I guess we're doing this the hard way, then."

Lieutenant Rickon turned again and suddenly went puzzled. He turned back to her. "A heavily damaged ship? What are you playing at, Jedi?"

"Oh, this is no game, Lieutenant." Ahsoka assured.

"You are not stepping foot on that planet if it's the last thing I do!"

"Well, in that case, I'll just be going then." Ahsoka grinned. "Oh, you can still have my ship." She winked at him.

Suddenly, three other Rebel Corvettes and the stolen Imperial Carrier jumped out of hyperspace.

Darael Rickon's eyes widened in alarm. He seemed to have seen the Rebel reinforcements.

Ahsoka ended the transmission and converted all remaining power to the frontal engines and maneuvered the damaged Corvette towards the blockade. She then ran to the nearest docking ring, where her A-Wing fighter was docked.

She flew towards the Capital ship and knocked its shield generator and its Communications and Sensor Arrays just as the damaged Corvette hit the Star Destroyer's bow. "Fulcrum to Rebel fleet," She said through the comm. "You may begin your attack."

"Copy that, General." Rex responded.

Suddenly, TIE fighters flew from the cruisers.

"Incoming TIEs!" Ahsoka warned. "Squadrons, you know the drill."

"Way ahead of you, sir." Rex responded. "Squadrons, form up." He ordered.

Ahsoka fired at the nearest TIE and destroyed it to bits. Looking back at the fleet, the plan was being executed. Phoenix Squadron was covering the Ghost.

"Sparrow, make your cover on the right flank. Hawkeye, on the left. We need to buy time for the Ghost to make the supply run."

"Copy that, sir." The leaders said.

"B-Wings, aim for the Imperial light cruisers on each side, on my signal—and…now!" She yelled as she fired at a few TIEs.

The B-Wings, piloted by Sparrow One and Two on the right flank, and Hawkeye One and Two on the left flank, fired on two of the Imperial light cruisers and splintered it to pieces. And she had no doubt that this show can be seen from the planet's surface.

"Confirmed hit on the targets, General." Sparrow One reported. "Their cruisers' hyperdrive and engines are heavily damaged."

"Make another run for the cruisers on the port and starboard sides of that Imperial Star Destroyer." Ahsoka ordered. "Fulcrum to Ghost, how are we doing?" She asked.

"Good," Kanan answered. "We're just dropping off the last crate."

The B-Wings made another run for the last light cruiser on each side of the Imperial Star Destoryer, just as Ahsoka ordered. And they were destroyed to bits.

Everything seemed to be going according to plan, until she heard Rex's distress call.

"General, we're about to have another problem," Rex called out. "We have Imperial Star Destroyers entering the system in Sector ten."

Kriff! Ahsoka thought. It's too soon.

"Spectre One," She called out to the Ghost. "Have we given all the supplies?" She asked.

"The peas are in the pod, General." Kanan replied. "We're heading back to the Carrier."

"Good," Ahsoka said. "Because we need to leave now. Our friends had called for reinforcements and arrived sooner than we thought."

"Incoming TIEs!" Hera warned.

"Squadrons, intercept them." Ahsoka ordered. "Ghost, hurry! I'll try to buy you some time." She said as she destroyed a few TIEs.

"There are two TIEs on my tail," Sparrow Seven called out. "I can't shake 'em!"

"Try to relax, Sparrow Seven," Ahsoka assured. "I'm right behind you." She said as she fired at one of the TIEs, which explosion destroyed the other pursuing TIE.

"Thank you, General," Sparrow Seven sighed in relief. "Sorry I panicked."

"It's okay," Ahsoka said. "I don't blame you—Whoa!" She gasped.

It took her a moment to realize that her A-Wing is caught in a tractor beam.

"General!" Hera called. "Phoenix squadron, move to intercept. We have to get her out!"

"No," She insisted. "The fleet has to leave immediately!"

"Okay, this isn't part of the plan." Kanan said.

"Not an option, sir—" Rex started to say.

"That is an order, Captain!" Ahsoka interrupted. "Make the jump now!"

. . .

"That is an order, Captain!" Ahsoka yelled. "Make the jump now!"

Rex could not believe what he's hearing. She's sacrificing herself, again. He was hesitating, as he knew he couldn't afford to leave her again.

"Captain," Kanan spoke up from the Ghost. "Do as she says. She knows what she's doing."

"What?!" Ezra interrupted "We can't leave her! Not again."

"Rex," Ahsoka said. "Make the jump now, please! And whatever you do, don't try to rescue me."

He was still hesitating. He tried desperately to think of a way to get Ahsoka out of the tractor beam and make the jump to hyperspace with all the squadrons.

"Rex!" Ahsoka yelled again. "Make the jump now or everything we've done here will be for nothing!"

It wasn't when Ahsoka called out again, when he finally snapped back into reality. The fate of the squadrons is in his hands now. And if there's one principle he hated in warfare, it's that to always prioritize the people in need, even if it meant sacrificing a fellow soldier's life for the others to survive.

Rex took a deep breath, then turned to the pilot. "Jump."

At his command, all the Rebel ships jumped into hyperspace.

Chapter Text

After being caught in the Imperial Star Destroyer's tractor beams, Ahsoka erased all holo-recordings, navigation, and fueling logs recorded in her A-Wing before unwillingly landing her fighter in one of the Star Destroyer's Hangars That was something she learned from her master when they were tracking down the bounty hunter, Cad Bane way back during the Clone Wars.

The moment she killed off the fighter's engines, platoons of stormtroopers came out from the blast doors with their blasters ready.

"Great," Ahsoka muttered. "The welcoming party is here."

One stormtrooper stepped forward from the ranks, probably the Commander, since he had slightly different armor than the rest. "Step out of the fighter." He said.

Ahsoka sighed then opened the transparisteel windscreen of the A-Wing's cockpit and jumped to the Hangar floor.

Everyone gasped. "A Jedi!" One yelled. Suddenly, every stormtrooper pointed their blasters at her.

Ahsoka knew right then, that her lightsabers have given her away. She faced the Commander and raised both her hands in the air. When she did that, about half of the stormtroopers lowered their blasters and a few scratched their helmets in confusion.

"What?" Ahsoka spoke up in annoyance. "Is this the first time you've seen a female Rebel General?" She asked.

"Freeze!" The Stormtrooper Commander said, pointing a blaster to her head.

She stopped moving and raised her hands higher.

The Commander walked towards her and plucked out her two lightsabers from her belt. And bind her hands in cuffs. Several stormtroopers dragged both her arms to a hallway towards her would-be prison cell.

Ahsoka knew better than to try to escape. Stealing a fighter won't do her any good. Especially, since Onderon is under high surveillance after their show of destroying the planetary blockade.

All she can do at the moment is wait. Wait for a chance that she could be transferred somewhere and escape discreetly. And also, wonder how the rebellion is doing with her being captured.

. . .

Due to the active rebel presence on the planet and Lux's pleas on the Imperial Senate, the Emperor had granted and sent him Grand Moff Tarkin, the Governor of the Outer Rim to deal with the problem.

It was odd enough, since Grand Moff Tarkin is the Governor of the Outer Rim, whereas the Onderon system is in the Inner Rim. But despite Tarkin being a ruthless leader, he gets his job done, no matter what the consequences are.

Now, as the senator of the Onderon system, Lux Bonteri was obligated to meet their visitor. He walked towards the Hangar, with Agent Alexandr Kallus, an Imperial Officer tasked to handle the rebels on the planet, and two Imperial Inquisitors.

Agent Kallus seemed harmless enough if you remove the blaster hanging by his side. As far as Lux remember, he's here because the same group of "rebels" from the Outer Rim system of Lothal were part of the same ones responsible for destroying the planetary blockade of Onderon.

The Imperial Inquisitors definitely intimidated him. According to Agent Kallus, Lord Vader was supposed to come to interrogate their prisoner, but instead, the two Inquisitors, a male, and a female were sent in his place. They also have unusual names. The male inquisitor, they called the Third Brother, and the female one, the Fourth Sister. How they were given their names, Lux didn't have a clue. He's never seen inquisitors in action. But according to the stories he's heard, they carried double lightsabers, similar to those of the Jedi back in the day, but it had two ends, and it glowed red rather than blue or green.

Stormtroopers stood in assembly as the four of them came near the Imperial shuttle.

The ramp lowered and two stormtroopers started down the ramp. Behind them, was Grand Moff Tarkin. He walked with a baleful expression on his face. Even with his gray hair and his sunken cheeks, he still could manage to intimidate the whole Imperial army.

"Grand Moff Tarkin," Lux bowed in respect. "I am honored by your visit to Onderon."

"Thank you, Senator," Tarkin said. "But my presence is hardly an honor."

"I must admit I was surprised to know you were coming," Lux admitted as he walked alongside him.

"I, too have been surprised," Tarkin said as he walked past him. "By what's happening to your system, Senator. A curious thing. They have never dared to do such a spectacle big enough for the Emperor to send me here and deal with the problem."

Agent Kallus cleared his throat. "If you are referring to the Rebels, sir, I—" He started to say.

Tarkin raised his hand, prompting Kallus to stop talking. "We are in the Inner Rim, and yet, they have allowed insurgents to flourish right under their noses." He turned to Lux. "I heard about your pleas in the Imperial Senate on this matter, Senator. That is why I sent him here." He pointed at Agent Kallus.

"Agent Kallus," Tarkin addressed. "I'll say this again, have you just stood idly by while these Rebels attacked our men, destroyed our property, and disrupted our trade?"

"We have exhausted every resource to capture them, sir." Agent Kallus reported. "Tracking them from system to system. But I'm afraid these Rebels are more elusive than we thought. But something else came to light, their leader is a Jedi."

Tarkin rolled his eyes. "Another self-proclaimed Jedi? Hmm, what a shame that the ones we have who specializes in dealing with them have, well, I would say, become progressively less useful than they once were." He glared pointedly at the Inquisitors. "Where is Lord Vader, wasn't he supposed to be here?"

The male Inquisitor stepped forward and retracted the faceplate of his helmet, showing off his blue skin and red eyes. Turns out, he's a male Chiss. "Lord Vader sent us in his place, Grand Moff. He is recovering from his encounter with three Jedi in Malachor."

Tarkin huffed in frustration before turning back to Agent Kallus. "You've already had that one supposed Jedi in your custody before, but you let him escape."

"Begging your pardon, sir." Agent Kallus said. "The Jedi that we captured in Lothal was only a leader of one Rebel cell. This Jedi is different, they consider this one their General."

Lux's eyes widened. What? He mentally screamed. Oh, no. It couldn't be—no, that's impossible.

Tarkin's eyes widened and nodded. "Good, we finally have some good news. Where is this Rebel General being held?" He asked.

"In the Onderon Imperial Military Compound, sir." Agent Kallus reported. "We have captured her through our tractor beams."

"If this Jedi," Tarkin said the word in disgust. "Is what he claims to be, he could be our key to unlock the secrets of the supposed Rebel intelligence in the galaxy."

"This Rebel General is a she, Grand Moff," Agent Kallus informed.

Tarkin stopped at his tracks and turned to them. "A female general? That is peculiar."

Lux cleared his throat. "How are you even sure this general is a Jedi?" He asked.

"The only weapons she possessed were lightsabers." Agent Kallus replied.

Tarkin turned to Lux. "Senator, have you ever met a Jedi?" He asked.

"Well, I served as a Senator for Onderon way back since the days of the Republic." Lux pointed out. "And yes, I have met several of them." I am even friends with some of them, he wanted to add but did not dare say it.

"I actually worked with the Jedi back then," Tarkin said. "Not from the stories, but by flesh and blood."

"So did I, Grand Moff." Lux indicated. "In fact, it was with the help of the Jedi that liberated Onderon from the hands of the Separatists."

"And do you know what happened to them?" Tarkin asked.

Lux shook his head. "Not that I know of."

"They died." Tarkin interrupted. "Every last one of them. So you see, it's quite impossible for this general for what she claims to be." He promised. "Such strange people, those Jedi were. The Republic solely relied on people they don't control or understand for that matter."

"The Jedi were peacekeepers." Lux insisted.

"Were they?" Tarkin raised an eyebrow at them. "They lead armies into battle. That is not the definition of a peacekeeper. Nevertheless, I would like to meet this…Jedi or whatever she claims to be."

Kallus bowed and then gestured for Tarkin and the rest of them into another shuttle that will transport them to the Imperial Military Compound.

. . .

Ahsoka was placed in an interrogation chair. Not surprised. It's what the Empire does to get information out of someone. Surprisingly, it's also the same tactic the Separatists used back in the Clone Wars. Back when she was a mere padawan in the last years of the Galactic Republic, all they did to prisoners were locked them in cells.

Suddenly, the doors to the interrogation room opened and five people walked in. Two of them Ahsoka recognized personally as she had an encounter with them when she was still a Jedi padawan.

One was Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin. The last time they met, he was an outspoken Captain to Jedi Master Even Piell, until his death in Lola Sayu. He had also prosecuted her expulsion from the Jedi Order and her trial for supposedly planting bombs in the Jedi Temple. She'd never like him before, and most certainly didn't like him now.

The other person was Lux Bonteri. He was trying to preserve his stance as a Senator but Ahsoka could tell that he was barely keeping it together when he saw her.

The other three were, one Ahsoka presumed was Agent Kallus, the same officer following the Ghost crew in Lothal, while the other two are obviously Imperial Inquisitors, a male, and a female.

How many Inquisitors are there? She wondered. Whenever they eliminate one, more will show up.

Tarkin's eyes widened in surprise. "Could it be?" He snorted. "Ahsoka Tano?"

When Tarkin mentioned her name, the two Inquisitors exchanged glances. And judging by the facial expression of the male inquisitor, he looked surprised, and almost…scared.

Good, Ahsoka thought. They must have heard of me.

Tarkin made a tsk sound. "We have to stop meeting like this, my dear."

Ahsoka sneered. "I'm flattered that you still remember me, Grand Moff."

"Well, you certainly hadn't changed much," Tarkin raised an eyebrow at her. "Once a troublemaker, always a troublemaker."

In the middle of their exchange, Lux was escorted out by Agent Kallus. But before leaving, they were able to lock eyes for a moment. Be strong, 'Soka, Lux seemed to say. She gave him a look that said, Don't worry about me I can handle this.

The female inquisitor stepped forward and studied her. She then retracted the faceplate of her helmet, revealing herself to be an Umbaran—with her pale, bluish skin and her colorless eyes. She gave Ahsoka a sneer. "Lord Vader will be very pleased to meet you."

Ahsoka raised an eye marking. "Vader?" She repeated. "The one with the helmet and cape?"

The female inquisitor looked puzzled.

"Oh, we've met," Ahsoka said. "It's probably why he isn't here now. I sliced part of his helmet off in Malachor."

The male inquisitor stepped forward. "You've fought Lord Vader?" He asked, then snorted. "You wouldn't have survived if you did."

"Who do you think cut off my arm?" Ahsoka answered as she tried to move her cybernetic left arm.

"Enough of this!" Tarkin's voice echoed the room. He took a look at the men behind the computers and nodded his head.

Suddenly, a surge of electricity ran through her. Of course, Ahsoka thought. They want information through electrocution. On the first shock, she only grunted.

"So, you're a general now," Tarkin said. "And with a fleet that large enough to put on a show in the atmosphere, there's ought to be more of you, of course. Now, where are the other rebels?"

Ahsoka chuckled. "And what makes you think I'd tell you that?"

The male inquisitor raised his hand and another shock surge through her body. He's using the force to turn on the device that electrocuted her. And he didn't stop until she started screaming.

Tarkin stood before her and glared in her face. "Because your life is in our hands now."

"I'm not telling you anything." She replied, panting.

Another shock came again.

"A fleet that large has to have a place for all the vessels to dock," Tarkin pointed out. "Now, where is the rebel base?" Tarkin asked.

"There is no base!" Ahsoka screamed. "If you would recall, we stole one of your carriers in Ryloth—ugh!" Her sentence was cut short as another shock hit her.

"The fighters that destroyed the blockade were far too many to fit in one Imperial light carrier," Tarkin said. "Surely, that isn't the case." He then nodded at the inquisitors.

The female inquisitor raised an open palm before her face. It occurred to Ahsoka that the Umbaran inquisitor was using mind probe on her, trying to sift through her thoughts and emotions.

Thankfully, as the Jedi, at least, back then, they were trained to resist it. It was no problem, at first, but then the other inquisitor joined in making it harder to resist. Ahsoka struggled, of course.

"Get out of my head!" She gritted her teeth.

They didn't stop, so she started to use it against them and sifted through their thoughts and fears.

"You're afraid," Ahsoka managed to say. "Both of you are."

The male inquisitor had loosened his mind probing on her, looking absolutely surprised.

"You're afraid of suffering the same fate as your brothers and sisters in the hands of Jedi!"

They both stopped. The female inquisitor grabbed her lightsaber. It glowed red when she ignited it and held it by Ahsoka's neck. She was obviously offended and was ready to strike.

"I struck a nerve, haven't I?" Ahsoka sneered.

The male inquisitor grabbed the lightsaber and turned it away from Ahsoka. He gave his fellow inquisitor a warning glare with his red eyes like, What are you doing? We need her alive.

The female inquisitor switched off her lightsaber, raised her hand and another wave of electric shock hit her.

"She's no good if she's dead," Tarkin spoke up.

Ahsoka panted lulled head down, tired from all shocks given.

"Well," Tarkin sneered. "It looks like you're not as strong as you think you are." He then cupped her chin. "One way or another, we will find your friends and destroy every single spark of hope you ignited."

Ahsoka released her chin from Tarkin's hand. "Over my dead body."

Tarkin studied her. "Careful now," He said. "At the moment the inquisitors will keep you company. After all, you are a V.I.P. A very important prisoner."

Both inquisitors smiled wickedly.

Tarkin turned to the inquisitors. "If she still won't reveal anything, we'll have to transfer her to another location." He stated. "One that never fails to extract a confession."

Chapter Text

Lux was desperate. He didn't know how to come up with a plan to bust Ahsoka out of her restraints. But since he can't do it on his own, he'll have to contact the rebels on Atollon, but how?

First, he needed to speak with Ahsoka, alone. It seemed impossible with Grand Moff Tarkin, and two inquisitors watching her like a hawk. But he just has to. At that point, Lux didn't care about being caught and be labeled as a rebel sympathizer. He just needed to see her.

Lux made sure Tarkin and the inquisitors weren't in Ahsoka's cell when he visited her, so he went to the facility in the dead of night and used his position as senator to see 'the Jedi causing trouble in his home planet'.

But before he did, he didn't know what to do. He became restless and kept pacing in his estate—the estate that he bought during the early years of the Empire. Then the idea popped into him, but he first talked to Saw Gerrera via a holo-transmission patched into the rebel network before seeing Ahsoka.

"If you proceed with this," Saw pointed out. "You won't only be putting the general's life in danger, you're risking the stand of the growing rebellion and your position as senator. And when that happens, you'll be exposed as a rebel sympathizer and be labeled a traitor to the Empire."

"I know," Lux said. "But I don't care about that. I just want to get Ahsoka out of there. I can't stand seeing her restrained and tortured."

"Listen, Bonteri—"

"I've lost everyone close to me because of these wars," Lux insisted. "I cannot afford to lose Ahsoka too. Not now. And she's more than just a Jedi and a general, she represents hope in these dark times."

That same night, Lux visited the complex where Ahsoka was being held. And yes, despite the restrictions placed by Grand Moff Tarkin, he used his status as Senator to get through.

"This is a restricted area, Your Honorable," The officer in the detention cell warned. "And we are currently holding a very dangerous prisoner."

"I am aware of that," Lux replied. "I wish to see this prisoner who's causing insurgency on this very planet."

"With all due respect, Senator," The officer said. "We were specifically given strict orders to not to let anyone see the prisoner."

Lux was getting frustrated. "What is your operating number?"

The officer looked confused and suddenly nervous. "Um…"

"I beg your pardon?" Lux held his ground. "You know I can pass a motion to demote you for not following orders."

"Yes, sir," The officer faltered. "But I'm afraid—"

"Well, you should be afraid!" Lux interrupted. "If this motion gets to the Senate—"

"No!" The officer cried. "Sir, that won't be necessary." He sighed.

The officer eventually and reluctantly allowed him to see Ahsoka. Several stormtroopers were stationed to guard their 'dangerous prisoner' and Lux also had to go through several ray shield security doors.

He insisted on going in alone, which the guards were reluctant to do so, but he convinced them otherwise. That if the prisoner was truly a Jedi, she would not harm an unarmed man.

Thankfully, prison detention cells weren't equipped with holocams because apparently, it's sort of, a privacy violation, unless they're interrogated.

The two inquisitors were also nowhere to be seen. (Hopefully, it stays that way).

Ahsoka was still in an interrogation chair. The prison cell was dark say for the single, bright glow panel in the ceiling illuminating her. Her eyes were closed, and she looked tired and weary.

Just as the doors of Ahsoka's prison cell closed behind Lux, she spoke.

"What are you doing here?" Ahsoka asked. "You shouldn't be here, Senator."

Lux stepped closer and Ahsoka opened her eyes.

"Ahsoka, it's okay," Lux assured. "It's just me. And don't worry, no one can hear us."

Ahsoka frowned at him. "Lux, what are you doing here?" She insisted. "You're putting your life in danger."

"You don't have to worry about me, 'Soka," He assured. "You're the one I'm worried about. What in the universe were you thinking?"

"I had to give myself up for the rebel fleet to escape from Imperial reinforcements," She answered. "They won't stand a chance if they tried to get me out and there isn't time."

"I will get you out of here," Lux promised. "I don't know how, but I'll find a way."

"No," Ahsoka shrieked. "It's bad enough that you're here. If you're seen with me, you'll be labeled a traitor. I can't have that."

Lux sighed. "Then I'll have the rebels rescue you."

"No, no, Lux," She disagreed. "You don't understand. If there's one thing I learned during my days as commander in the Clone Wars, it's to not lose a thousand lives just to save one."

"What if that one person is the reason everyone came together for the one purpose?" Lux pointed out. "A purpose worth dying for."

Ahsoka snorted. "You're still annoying, and stubborn."

Lux smiled. "The stubborn part, I learned from watching you." He stepped closer to her and placed a hand on hers despite the restraints. "This will all be over soon."

He had to tiptoe just so he could kiss her because, well, Ahsoka's locked in an interrogation chair. Gladly for him, she kissed him back.

Part of Lux hoped that that night should just never end. He wanted to make up time with Ahsoka, and be there when she needed him the most. But the other part of him knew that it just doesn't work that way. They both have other obligations. The least he could do to help her was to contact the rebel base in Atollon and inform them what he knew.

When they broke free from the kiss, Lux caressed Ahsoka's cheek.

"I just realized," He said. "We never really spent some time alone. Just the two of us."

Ahsoka managed a smile. "Well, we tried, but we were always interrupted." She frowned. "Except for that time in Carlac."

"Your astromech droid was there." He reminded her. "So, yeah, that counts as an interruption as well." He said. "But regardless, I'm getting every information I have regarding this place so they'll know how to get you out."

Ahsoka's face darkened. "I wish it was that easy, Lux," She said. "But I think they're not keeping me here for long."

"What do you mean?"

"Tarkin mentioned that if I don't reveal anything," She said. "And I won't, they're taking me somewhere else." She said. "I don't know where and when."

"Then I better act quickly then."

"Lux, it's not necessary," Ahsoka insisted. "What's necessary is that they need to leave that place and relocate."

"Didn't they just settle?" He reminded her.

"I know, but with me being captured and me not revealing anything," She explained. "The Empire's gonna find other ways to make me talk."

Lux didn't like this. "What other ways?"

"Don't even think about it," She said. "Trust me, you don't wanna know."

He sighed. "Are you about this? I mean, where would they even go?" He asked.

"There's no other way," She huffed. "And they already know where to go. It's in our protocols. So, please, for everyone's safety, they have to evacuate."

"Ahsoka, I don't—" He started to say.

"Oh, no," Ahsoka interrupted. "Someone's coming!" She warned. "You need to get out of here, now."

"What?" Lux asked, like he'd misheard her. For a moment, he forgot that Ahsoka used to be a Jedi, meaning she could sense every movement around her if she paid enough attention.

"You need to go." She said urgently. "Hurry, before they see you here."

Lux gave her a quick peck on her lips. "I love you, 'Soka." He said before rushing out of her prison cell.

It was past midnight by the time Lux was able to return to his estate. He once again contacted Saw Gerrera through a holotransmission.

"You what?" Saw looked absolutely pissed. "You know by doing that you could've compromised us." He scolded. "The Empire is already hot on our tail and you just had to add to the fuel."

"Hmm, are you done?" Lux asked.

"You still think I'm joking, are you?" Saw cried. "You've just sealed your fate, Bonteri. Couple of days from now, you should expect Imperials at your doorstep."

"Just get me through Chopper Base." He said impatiently.

Saw shook his head in disappointment. "Alright," He shrugged. "But I'm serious, Imperials will be questioning you about it."

Chapter Text

Everyone gathered in the Command Center. And they all wore the same expressions on their faces.

Kanan couldn't believe it. The attack was successful. They destroyed all four light cruisers and the capital ship. They should be celebrating their victory, but, of course, it came with a price. Ahsoka had to sacrifice herself for the entire fleet to escape, and they left her behind with the Imperial convoy. An honorable deed, sure, but after everything Ahsoka had been through, she didn't deserve to be paying the price.

"Does she always do that?" Ezra spoke up. "She did it to me and Kanan on Malachor. Now, she's doing it for the entire fleet."

"Apparently, yes," Rex confirmed. "She probably got that from her master."

"We need to get her out." Kanan insisted. "We have to."

"I appreciate that, Kanan," Rex started to say. "But—"

"But what?" Ezra interrupted. "We're just gonna stay put and move on while they torture her for information? I'm with Kanan. We need to rescue her from the Empire."

"As much as I want us to rescue her," Rex brought up. "We don't even know where they're holding her. Plus, she gave us a direct order not to stage a rescue."

Rex did have a point. There's no point in rescuing Ahsoka if they don't even know where she's being held.

"And if we're going to rescue her," Rex continued. "It's going to take everything we have. We'll need more help."

Kanan didn't know what to do. Rex was right, considering Ahsoka's status as a former Jedi and now a Rebel General, the Empire will make sure she will be heavily guarded. They will need more help.

So after their meeting in the Command Center, Kanan went up to the roof deck. It was where Ahsoka came to be alone with her thoughts. Maybe it could help them.

He sat down and meditated. After a few hours of nothing, just as he was about to give up when,

"Seeking help you are, I presume." A gentle voice said.

Kanan opened his eyes and suddenly the roof deck of Chopper Base disappeared. He was still sitting in meditation position but the platform he was sitting on was floating in midair. In front of him, sat an old Jedi Grandmaster, Yoda.

"Master Yoda," Kanan bowed his head towards the Grandmaster. "I need your advice. Ahsoka is in trouble. I thought you can help us."

"Ahsoka Tano," Yoda said her name like an incantation. "Strong with the Force she is, yes. But know better than to rescue her you do, hmm?"

"I know, master. She said the same thing." Kanan said. "It's going to be a trap, but she's more than that. She represents hope. All of us Jedi do."

Yoda sighed. "An ally you will find, yes." He said, adjusting his cane. "A friend of yours, a survivor, hmm."

"Other surviving Jedi?" Kanan blurted out. "Where do I find them?" He asked.

"Find you he will," Yoda said before disappearing.

"Where will he find me?" Kanan asked. "And how?"

Kanan opened his eyes and he found himself back in the roof deck of Chopper Base. He sensed Hera and Ezra's presence close by. He turned to the doors and saw them exit onto the deck.

"Well, any luck?" Ezra asked.

"I'm not sure," He admitted. "According to Master Yoda, someone will come to help us."

"And where will we find this help?" Hera wondered.

"He said the help we seek will find us," Kanan explained. "But I'm not sure how."

"Well, we'll be doing a supply run in Lothal," Hera informed. "Maybe we'll find this help there."

As it turns out, Master Yoda was right. The help did find them, in the form of another Jedi survivor like himself.

Once they arrived on Lothal, they split up. Kanan went with Sabine, and Zeb went with Ezra. On the way back, they were chased by stormtroopers, which wasn't really a surprise. But what surprised him, was that Zeb and Ezra came back with another person.

The guy was about Kanan's age. A Zeltron, he thought. He had pinkish-red skin, green eyes, and spiky black hair with shaved sides, a circle type of beard, and had a long white scar by his right jaw. He was also wearing a blue mechanic's jumpsuit underneath his dark brown jacket.

"Thanks for getting me out of there," The Zeltron guy said.

Kanan frowned at Ezra. "Who is this guy?" He jabbed a finger at the Zeltron. "And where did you find him?"

"Oh, this is Gorden," Ezra introduced him. "He's a mechanic who just moved to Lothal. He helped us escape several Stormtroopers."

Kanan had a weird sense that he should know this guy. At first, he was skeptical, until their new friend called him Master Serious. That's when he remembered. It's the Zeltron he used to spar with as younglings in the Jedi Temple.

"Darius," Kanan recalled. "Darius Kymeri."

Darius managed a smile. "It's great to meet you again in these troubling times, Caleb Dume."

Then it hit him. An ally you will find, yes, Yoda had said. A friend of yours. A survivor.

"Of course," Kanan exclaimed. "You're it. You're the help Master Yoda was talking about."

"Wait," Darius frowned. "You talked to Master Yoda? How?"

"Well, it's a long story," Kanan said. "And honestly, I'm not even how you're gonna help us rescue Ahsoka, but—"

"Hold on, Ahsoka?" Darius repeated. "Ahsoka Tano?" He gave a halfhearted smile. "She's alive. That's good to hear. But rescue?"

"She's been captured by the Empire," Ezra spoke up. "Well, technically, she gave herself up so that the rest of the fleet can escape."

Darius made a painful expression. "That sounds like something she would do."

Ezra leaned forward. "You know Ahsoka?"

Darius shrugged. "She's a friend." He blurted out. "Our first mission together was hunting down several bounty hunters."

After several talks, they agreed to bring Darius to Atollon, to their base.

"Darius," Kanan said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Welcome to Chopper Base. It's not much but it's one place the Empire can't find us, for now."

Several crew members were tending to the A-Wings in the Hangar Bay as Rex came to meet them.

"Had a good run?" He guessed.

Kanan shrugged. "Being chased by Stormtroopers is all in a day's work."

Zeb glared at Ezra as they pushed a crate together. "Well, we have Ezra to thank for that." He said. "The kid caused enough commotion to get the attention of those bucketheads."

"Well, someone helped us escape." Ezra pointed at Darius.

Rex noticed him for the first time and regarded him. "Who is this?"

Darius narrowed his eyes at Rex, then widened in surprise. "A clone!" He then grabbed his blaster from his holster.

Kanan lowered Darius' hand. "No, wait," He stopped him. "He's a friend, you can trust him."

"Or so we thought," Darius said, looking angry. "The likes of him are the same ones who killed my master. How do you think that's supposed to make me feel?"

Rex stepped forward carefully. "Commander Kymeri?"

Darius blinked. "How do you know me?"

"I remember every Jedi I served and fought alongside with," Rex said, then gave him a hand salute. "Clone Captain 7567 of the 501st Legion, at your service."

"Wait, 7567?" Darius was in deep thought. "Rex."

Rex smiled. "Well, you remembered." Then his face dropped. "I'm sorry to hear about General Plo Koon. But I'm glad to see you still alive, sir."

Darius managed a smile and nodded. "Thank you, Rex."

Once they got to the hallways, Darius once again reached for his blaster when they came across Wolffe and Gregor.

Wolffe looked particularly flabbergasted. "Commander Kymeri?"

"Wolffe?" Darius shrieked. "Is that really you?"

Wolffe gave him a sad smile. "You're taller than me now," He pointed out. "And you have a beard."

Darius shrugged. "Time flies so fast you don't even notice."

Wolffe snorted. "Well, it's been a long time, kid." He placed a hand on Darius' shoulder. "Glad you're still in one piece."

Darius unexpectedly gave Wolffe a hug and tapped his back. "It's good to see you again, old friend."

Rex then pointed at Gregor. "And that's Gregor." He introduced his other clone brother. "Don't worry, we're the only clones here."

Gregor grinned and gave him a hand salute. "Commander." He acknowledged. "It's great to see Jedi again."

Kanan brought Darius to the roof deck afterward, hoping to get away from all the tension he noticed his friend was carrying.

"This is a nice change of environment," Darius said, looking at the horizon. "A big change from all the scum and villainy brought by the Empire."

"Ahsoka likes coming up here too," Kanan brought up. "She said it helps her think and also to meditate."

"Well, you're not wrong," Darius agreed. "It's more peaceful up here. It's not like the temple, but it works."

Kanan could still sense Darius was still having second thoughts about the clones. "I know how you feel," He blurted out.

Darius raised an eyebrow at him. "What?"

"The clones," He said. "Believe me when Ahsoka first mentioned finding a friend of hers in Seelos, she never mentioned anything. When I saw they were clones, all I wanted to do was to avenge my master for what their likes did to her."

Darius nodded. "I hear you," He said. "But even if we did, it won't bring our masters back."

Ezra eventually joined them on the roof deck.

"So, Darius," Ezra spoke up. "Why didn't you tell us your real name the first time?"

"The same reason your master changed his," Darius answered, turning to Kanan. "To avoid detection. But I'm still calling you Caleb."

"Also, you seemed close to Wolffe," Ezra noticed. "How do you two know each other?"

"Wolffe was a Clone Commander who served under my master, Plo Koon," Darius explained. "The same way Rex served under Ahsoka's master, Anakin Skywalker."

"So, how did your master—" Ezra started to ask.

"Ezra!" Kanan glared at him. Shut up and don't bring it up! He also expected Darius to be mad about it but instead, he sighed.

"No, it's alright," Darius took a deep breath before speaking again. "It's about time I talk about it. I haven't really talked about it to anyone." He then proceeded to tell them about how he survived when the clones turned.

Chapter Text

Darius Kymeri, then a Jedi Padawan, remembered that fateful day in Cato Neimoidia. The day when the Jedi were accused of treason and had to be hunted down.

He was on his starfighter striking down several Separatist Vulture droids. Together with his Master, Plo Koon, they led the Wolfpack fighter squadron into an airstrike.

Suddenly, amidst the battle, he felt a disturbance in the Force. Troubled, Darius turned to his master, who flew his fighter beside his. "Master, did you feel that?" He asked, glancing out the transparisteel windscreen of his cockpit.

The Kel Dor Jedi Master's head was visible. He couldn't see the expression on his face due to his goggles and breathing mask on, but he knew that he had felt it too.

"Darius, be on guard." Plo Koon said. "Something's about to happen." He warned.

"Copy that, Master," Darius replied.

Right on cue, the squadron fighters following them started firing.

"Darius—" Plo called in an urgent tone. He never finished his sentence.

A torpedo caused an explosion and Plo Koon's fighter went down, splintering into pieces.

"Master Plo!" Darius yelled.

With his master down, the clone pilots turned to him and started firing. He wanted to go to his master's aid, but he had to maneuver the fighter to evade the torpedoes.

"Pilot, stand down!" He ordered.

"This is Captain Jag." The clone pilot Jag said through the radio comm. "Fire at the Jedi Starfighter."

"What?" Darius shrieked. "Captain, this is Commander Kymeri, hold your fire." He ordered.

The clone red leader Jag never responded, he kept telling the others to shoot Darius' fighter.

"Jag—" Darius started to say, but unfortunately a torpedo hit his right engine and his fighter went spiraling down to a woody area of one of the hanging Neimoidian cities.

The fighter hit the ground hard. Luckily, Darius was awake when it crashed. He was still dazed but he forced himself to stand. "What in the universe is going on?" He complained and noticed that his right jaw hurt. He became aware that the crash left a gash on his right jaw. Darius ignored the pain as he broke off the burnt transparisteel windscreen and ran before clones could find him.

Darius donned his brown Jedi robe and pulled the hood down to cover his face. He didn't understand why the clones suddenly had the nerve to kill Jedi. They succeeded in killing Plo Koon and are trying to kill him, so he decided to find out more. He found himself in a hiding spot not far from his crashed fighter. He knew better than to hide where the clones can easily find him.

As expected, the clones checked the wreckage. They approached the fighter, which was still smoking, half-buried in the mossy terrain and with the windscreen of the cockpit wide open. The clones advanced with their blasters ready. Any sign of movement and they'll shoot without hesitation.

"Hold it!" A clone yelled as he ran towards the clones surrounding the fighter. Darius recognized him immediately with his slightly different armor and helmet. It was Wolffe, his master's Clone Commander. "Blasters down." He said as he pushed down the blaster of the nearest trooper. "What are you doing, Comet?"

"He might still be alive, sir." The clone corporal, Comet responded.

Wolffe scanned the wreckage, then turned back to Comet. "If he's still alive, he wouldn't just sit there." He said. "Of course, he would run!"

"Is he dead?" Another clone approached them. Jag.

"There's no sign of Commander Kymeri." A clone trooper said.

"General Plo Koon?" Wolffe asked Jag.

"Dead." Jag said. "I shot him myself."

Wolffe sighed and looked down. "Yes, but," He turned to Jag, clearly unimpressed. "What about his padawan, hmm?"

"Uh…" Jag scratched his helmet, then he straightened. "We'll find him."

"That won't be necessary," Wolffe said. "I'm rallying all troops back to Coruscant."

"Sir," Comet interjected. "The orders came from the Supreme Chancellor himself. The other Jedi is still out there. We have to find him and execute him."

It took Wolffe a long time to answer. Clearly, he was hesitating. "Very well," He sighed, turning back to Comet. "You and your men search this area."

Darius shivered as he listened. The Chancellor ordered them to kill the Jedi. Why? He didn't know and he didn't understand. Now, the clones mentioned the other Jedi. By that, it meant him. They're probably gonna scour all of Cato Neimoidia until they find him.

But there's something different about Wolffe. Like the hesitation to give orders to find him. Maybe he was against this Chancellor's new order. But why did the others followed it with no questions asked?

While the clones were out searching for him, Wolffe remained near his burned fighter. He knelt on one knee and took off his helmet.

Darius took it as his chance. He leaped into the clear, holding his lightsaber hilt, and approached Wolffe quietly. He ignited his lightsaber, which glowed with blue light, and pointed it at Wolffe. "Where are your brothers, Wolffe?" He asked.

Wolffe turned, only to find a lightsaber pointed at his throat. "Sir? You're alive!" He said, with a mixed expression of surprise and amusement.

"Yeah," Darius said. "I believe you were looking for me."

"Sir, you need to get out of here," Wolffe said urgently. "Before they come back."

"I'm not leaving until I understand what's going on." Darius gritted his teeth, pointing his lightsaber closer to Wolffe's throat. "Why did your brothers killed Master Plo? And why are you trying to kill me?" He demanded.

Wolffe held his hands up in surrender. "It was an order passed out by the Supreme Chancellor. To kill the Jedi."

"Why?"

"I don't know," Wolffe admitted. "It was programmed in a chip in our heads, so no one will be able to refuse, and that we'll follow it without hesitation." He explained.

"Why were you hesitating then?" Darius asked.

"I had that chip removed." Wolffe pointed to a shaved patch of skin on his head, where a faint scar can be seen. "It's a long story, but it was an arc trooper from the 501st who found out about it."

"501st?" Darius repeated as he turned off his lightsaber. "Clones under Skywalker."

Wolffe nodded. "His Clone Captain 7567, Rex convinced me to remove it."

If this happened everywhere, returning to Coruscant will be a death sentence. Where would he go? He took a deep breath. It doesn't matter, He thought. I just need to get out Cato Neimoidia.

Wolffe's comlink beeped. It must be the other clones about to give a status report.

"Commander," Wolffe said, put his hand on Darius' shoulder, and gave a weak smile. "You need to leave now."

Darius raised an eyebrow at him. "You aren't gonna turn me in?" He dared.

Wolffe shook his head. "I owe you and your master a lot, kid. I know I'm disobeying orders, but I would never betray my General."

Darius managed a smile. "Thanks." He turned to leave. "I'll see you around, Wolffe."

"Hey kid," Wolffe called.

Darius looked back at him.

Wolffe took his med supply from his utility pack and threw it to him. "Patch it up. It's gonna get infected."

Darius caught it and smiled. "Thanks." He said again, then touched the gash on his jaw.

"From what I know," Wolffe said. "They'll scour the entire planet to find you so stay out of trouble."

"I will," Darius promised. "We'll meet again, I'm sure of that."

Darius went to his master's fighter's wreckage. Plo Koon's fighter exploded into pieces and the debris was everywhere. He couldn't find his master's body. Either it got burned to ashes as the fighter went down or the clones dragged it elsewhere.

As he was about to leave, something caught his eye near the fighter's smoldering comm transceiver. Some little cube glinted in the daylight. He walked towards it. As he got nearer, he realizes it's not just any cube, it was a Holocron. Plo Koon's Holocron.

He took it and wiped the dirt on it with his Jedi robe. He held it in the light to examine it closer.

Suddenly, a voice called out. "There he is!" A clone yelled. "The other Jedi!"

Darius ran. He didn't know where he was going, he just ran away from the pursuing clone troopers. He ran through the streets and hid behind buildings. Until he got cornered at the end of the bridge city.

At that point, he was left with two options: Surrender and be killed or jump and plummet to his death.

Hastily, Darius chose the second option. He jumped off the bridge city. Thankfully, he was able to grab one of the cables that held the bridge city in place and was out of sight from his pursuers. And while hanging on for his life, he heard the clone troopers' conversations.

"Do we need to inform the fighters for—?" One of the clones, Jag started to ask.

"That won't be necessary," Another said. It was Comet. "That Jedi Kymeri is foolish enough to jump to his death. No one would've survived that fall."

He could tell that the troops left, so he climbed back up the city. He navigated through the streets with the hood of his Jedi robe pulled down to cover half of his face as he went for the Spaceport.

Darius managed to sneak into one of the cargo freighters docked, which was his ticket out of Cato Neimodia. He sat on the cargo hold's paristeel floor and he clutched Plo Koon's Holocron, the only item he managed to salvage from his fallen master's fighter and his last memory of him.

He placed it before him and meditated.

He reached out to the Force and the Holocron floated in midair. A holo-recording of a man in Jedi robes with auburn hair and beard appeared.

"This is Master Obi-Wan Kenobi." The man in the holomessage said. "I regret to report that both our Jedi Order and the Republic have fallen, with the dark shadow of the Empire rising to take their place. This message is a warning and a reminder for any surviving Jedi. Trust in the Force. Do not return to the Temple. That time has passed, and our future is uncertain. We will each be challenged, our trust, our faith, and our friendships. But we must persevere and, in time, a new hope will emerge. May the Force be with you, always."

. . .

"I—I'm sorry," It was all Kanan could say.

"I've been on my own ever since," Darius recalled. "Never stayed long in one place, moved from star system to star system, and I always had to look behind my back to know if someone followed me." He took something from one of the larger pockets of his jumpsuit. It was a lightsaber. "I kept my lightsaber but never used it since it happened. If I do, I'm afraid the Empire will find me and I'd run out of places to hide."

"Well, you're not alone anymore," Kanan said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You've got us now."

"Thanks," Darius managed a smile. And it was like a weight of guilt had just been lifted off of his chest. "But I feel like we had to go through that to get to where we are now."

Ezra blinked at him. "Hiding from the Empire?"

"Fighting for a good cause," Darius corrected. "Only this time, it's much more different."

"So, you'll help us?" Kanan asked.

Darius nodded. "I'll help you rescue Ahsoka back from the Empire," He promised. "If there's anything we need right now, it's hope. And she is hope."

Kanan nodded in agreement. "And even though she refuses to call herself a Jedi, her actions proved otherwise. Sacrificing one's self to save hundreds—it's what a Jedi would do. And there aren't many of us who survived, so it's better if we stick together, for now."

Kanan then offered to spar with Darius since he was a little rough for not using his lightsaber for several years. And while they were sparring, Hera came up to them on the roof deck.

"Rex wants you in the Command Center," She informed.

Kanan turned off his lightsaber. "Why?"

"They received a transmission from Onderon," She informed. "It's Saw Gerrera."

"Hey," Ezra said. "Maybe they finally have news about Ahsoka."

Chapter Text

They all rushed to the Command Center in time to see Rex, with Wolffe, Gregor, and the commanders standing before the holo-projector table and conversing with Saw Gerrera.

"—someone insisted." Saw said. "And he might have some urgent news about the General."

Another person, a young man in Senatorial apparel stepped into the holo-transmission's scope of vision. Everyone in the Command Center gasped in surprise.

"Senator Bonteri?" Rex shook out from his daze.

"Captain, we don't have much time," Lux spoke up. "I know what Ahsoka did. I—" He faltered.

Kanan could tell Lux was upset when he found out about it. And judging from the hoarseness of his voice, nope, it's not because of the static in the frequency or the jammed signals, Lux had been worried sick and probably hadn't slept well. At that, he actually understood how Lux really feels about Ahsoka. He cares for her so much that if given a chance to trade places with her right now, he'd do it without hesitation. He just wants her safe and away from danger. It's the exact same way he feels about Hera.

"Do you know where she's being held, sir?" Rex asked.

"She's here on Onderon, for now," Lux confirmed. "But from what I've heard, they're going to move her someplace else."

"Where?"

Lux sighed in frustration. "I don't know."

They were going to move her someplace else, but where? Then it dawned on him. Ahsoka was also a Jedi who survived the purge, like Kanan himself. She is also currently in the rebellion, like him. And among the people in the base, he could put his shoes on Ahsoka's situation. He might have an idea where they're taking her, but then again, it's basically a guess.

"Oh, no," Kanan exclaimed. "Not again."

Darius turned to him. "What do you mean, again?"

"When I was captured by the Empire," Kanan started to explain. "The Inquisitor mentioned one thing when they interrogated me on Lothal. If they're unsuccessful interrogating a Jedi, they'll take them to a place where he said it never failed to unravel secrets from them. Like what they almost did to me."

Ezra's eyes widened. "Mustafar." He blurted out. "They're taking her to Mustafar?"

"And I'm going to guess," Lux said. "She specifically ordered you not to rescue her."

Rex sighed. "She made that pretty clear."

"Well, I'm not having that," Lux stated. "You need her, we all need her."

"I agree," Kanan spoke up. "Ahsoka isn't just our general. Through her efforts, this rebellion was made possible. She represents Hope. Not just for us, but for all those who are helpless against the Empire."

"Kanan's right," Ezra agreed. "We have to get her out. They're going to torture her to get information about our whereabouts, whatever it takes."

"But we don't have enough intel," Rex pointed out. "And Onderon is hot on the Empire's eyes right now."

"Oh, don't worry, Captain," Saw Gerrera assured. "My men and I will take care of that." He promised. "We'll send you a holo map of the facility and identify the weak points of their defenses."

"I wish it were that easy, Saw," Lux countered. "Her prison cell is very heavily guarded and is under the supervision of Grand Moff Tarkin himself. And two inquisitors."

"More inquisitors?" Ezra shrieked. "How many are they out there?"

Darius frowned. "Inquisitors?"

"The Empire tasked them to hunt down and kill Jedi who survived," Kanan explained. "Several of them were on our tail until Maul and Ahsoka took care of it. And now, there's two more."

"I was barely able to enter," Lux continued. "And it wasn't easy."

"Yes," Saw glared pointedly at Lux. "And going there in the middle of the night is practically suspicious."

"There's no other way of saying this, Senator," Kanan said. "But Commander Gerrera is right. It is suspicious. The Empire's bound to ask you about it."

"That's what I told him." Saw said.

"It may be risky," Lux insisted. "But I'd do anything for Ahsoka. I'll try to find out more information."

Saw turned to Lux. "Hmm, maybe find out when they're planning to move her," He suggested. "Our spies could never be that deep into the Imperial intel. That way we'll be able to intercept them when they take her off the planet and before they make the jump into hyperspace."

Lux nodded. "Very well," He agreed. "Oh, another thing," He then took a deep breath before speaking again. "She gave orders that you should evacuate Atollon."

Everyone started talking at once, obviously confused.

"With all due respect, Senator," Commander Jun Sato interjected. "We had just settled, sir. We can't just—"

"I hear you, Commander," Lux interrupted. "But the general has a point. It's only a matter of time before the Empire finds you. You need to leave."

"But where will we go?" Jun Sato asked.

"She said Captain Rex knew where to relocate," Lux blurted out. "In case things got out of hand."

Rex thought for a moment like he was hesitating. But Kanan knew that Rex trusted Ahsoka's mandate, no matter how dangerous and hard the consequences were. He finally sighed and nodded. "It will be done, sir."

Once the holo-transmission was over, there was a moment of silence. Then Rex spoke up. "Well, you all heard them. We need to evacuate the base and save the general."

Everyone was still frozen, not sure what to do.

"Well, what are you all waiting for?" Rex barked. "Let's move it!"

That's when everyone collected themselves and started moving.

Kanan approached Rex. "So, where are we heading, Captain?" He asked.

Rex turned to him. "Yavin System," He revealed.

. . .

Tarkin was frustrated. They had captured a prominent Rebel figure, but they could not make her talk. The interrogation chair and the mind probes were not working on her, so they had to think of other alternatives.

As he was deep in thought, the two inquisitors came in with Agent Kallus.

"Well?" Tarkin raised an eyebrow at them.

"She still would not cooperate." Agent Kallus reported.

"However," One inquisitor, the Third Brother, stepped forward with a datapad in his hand. "We found something…interesting."

Tarkin took the datapad from the inquisitor. "And what is it?"

"The Jedi received a visitor the night before," The other inquisitor, the Fourth Sister informed. "In the dead of night." She pointed to the datapad. "That is him."

Tarkin glanced at the datapad and saw a blurry holo-vid of Lux Bonteri arguing with an Imperial officer outside the prison cell before being let inside.

"The senator?" Tarkin exclaimed in surprise. "What did he want with her?" He asked.

"We're not sure, sir," Agent Kallus replied. "There were no holo-cams inside the cell. But according to the Imperial Officer stationed by the cell, he was very persistent."

The two inquisitors exchanged looks before one of them, the Third Brother, spoke up. "We're sensing that the Senator has possible…ties with this Jedi."

Agent Kallus turned to the Third Brother. "How can you be sure?"

The Fourth Sister glared her pale eyes at the Kallus. "Why else would he insist on seeing her at night?"

Tarkin thought for a moment. "Hmm, you might be on to something, Inquisitor. If there's one way we can make her talk, the Senator is our best chance." He smirked. "Very well," He turned to the Third Brother. "Fetch Senator Bonteri from his home and escort him here. And if he refuses, tell him it's under my orders."

The Third Brother bowed before leaving the room.

Tarkin turned to the other Inquisitor, the Fourth Sister. "You, go back to the prisoner," He ordered. "Find out more about the Senator's ties with the Jedi. Taunt her, if you must. Just get me something."

The Fourth Sister sneered and nodded before heading to the prison cell.

Tarkin then faced the only other person left in the room. "Agent Kallus, set your weapon to stun," He instructed. "And fire at the senator on my signal."

Kallus' eyes widened. "Sir?" He asked as if he'd misheard.

"Fire at the senator on my signal," Tarkin repeated.

"But, sir—" Kallus started to protest.

Tarkin glared at him. "I believe you heard me right the first time."

"I did, sir," Kallus said. "But the senator—"

"Is potential bait against this Jedi." Tarkin interrupted. "But first, we need more information on that matter. Our prisoner may not reveal anything, but perhaps he will make her. Hmm, who knew? The answer to our problem was right under our noses the whole time."

. . .

The following day after Lux paid a visit to Ahsoka in her prison cell, one of the Inquisitors came to see him in his estate.

Saw Gerrera was right. The Empire never took it lightly, and now they're at his doorstep. Sure, he did put himself in danger and the hot zone, but he couldn't stand seeing Ahsoka in pain. He had missed several years of her having no one to console, and he didn't want it to happen again.

Lux gulped when he saw his guest, but he retained his composure. "Um, hello," He acknowledged. "This is quite unusual. How can I help you, Inquisitor?"

The Third Brother retracted the faceplate of his helmet and regarded him with his red eyes. "Greetings, Senator," He said. "Your presence is requested at the Imperial Military Compound immediately."

Lux raised an eyebrow. "Requested?" He repeated. "By whom?"

"By Grand Moff Tarkin himself." The Inquisitor replied. "He sent me to escort you there."

Technically, Lux cannot refuse as it was under the Grand Moff's orders, and there's not a chance that he'll go against an Inquisitor. "Very well," He said, having left with no choice. "Let's not keep him waiting."

He boarded the shuttle with the Inquisitor to the Imperial Military Compound. The whole trip was silent, and it made Lux nervous, like the calm before the storm. Who knows what's in store for him when he faced Grand Moff Tarkin and asks certain questions that might reveal stuff between him and Ahsoka.

Lux was lead to an office by the Third Brother. Wilhuff Tarkin was sitting on the chair by the table. The other Inquisitor, the Fourth Sister stood behind him, with her arms crossed. Agent Kallus was also behind Tarkin, but he left his post when Lux and the Third Brother walked into the room.

"Ah, Senator Bonteri," Tarkin greeted. "Please, have a seat." He gestured to the one chair across from him by the table.

Lux reluctantly sat down on the chair provided. "So, I was told my presence was needed here." He recalled. "What can I be of assistance, Grand Moff?"

The Third Brother went to stand behind Tarkin, while Lux was aware of Agent Kallus standing by the door, blocking the only exit.

"Senator," Tarkin started. "How long have you represented your home planet in the Imperial Senate?"

"Since the last years of the Republic," Lux pointed out. "Amidst the Clone War."

"And wasn't Onderon under the Confederacy of Independent Systems?"

"Yes, Onderon aligned with the Separatists," He recalled. "And my mother represented it in the Separatist Parliament until her death. I took her place until I found out her death was staged by Dooku to stop the passing of the peace initiative bill."

Tarkin nodded, then placed a handheld holoprojector on the table and a holo-image of Saw Gerrera popped up. "Do you recognize this man?" He asked.

"Apparently, yes," Lux replied. "Saw Gerrera, Resistance Fighter."

"Oh, he's more than that," Tarkin raised an eyebrow at him. "You knew him. You sought his help to oust the Separatist occupation from this very planet."

"He served in the Royal Guard of Onderon once we sided with the Republic. But he defected when the Republic became the Empire."

Saw is still a good friend of Lux's and they're still in contact, but Tarkin didn't need to know that.

"Nevertheless," Tarkin folded his hands on the table. "You never won your planet's civil war alone. If I'm not mistaken, you had help. Specifically, the Jedi."

Lux remained quiet, not knowing what to say.

"Oh, yes," Tarkin continued. "I've done my research, Senator. You said so yourself. Onderon was liberated with the help of Jedi." He huffed. "Peacekeepers, they call themselves. Hmm, it's sacrilegious, if you ask me." He turned back to Lux. "Tell me, Senator. Do you remember the names of the Jedi who helped your cause?"

Lux took a deep breath. "Kenobi and Skywalker." He revealed.

Tarkin narrowed his eyes at him. "I seemed to recall that there were three Jedi?" His tone came like a question.

"There were three people," Lux corrected. "The other one was a clone captain."

Tarkin turned to one of the Inquisitors.

"He lies." The Chiss Inquisitor said.

Then Lux felt a sharp shock of pain struck from behind him, making him fall off his chair. It took him a second to realize Agent Kallus had shot him with a stun gun.

Lux wanted to turn and face Kallus, but he couldn't move. "How dare you stun an Imperial Senator?" He demanded.

Tarkin stood from his chair. "As I've said, Senator," He said. "I've done my research. And it's within our right to defend ourselves from Jedi sympathizers such as yourself."

"I don't know what you're talking about," He grumbled as he tried to stand, but fell back to the floor. "And you can't prove anything."

He pressed a button on the handheld holoprojector and another holo-image appeared. It was of Lux himself and Ahsoka, but they were younger. They were standing back-to-back and they seemed to be in the middle of a battle since he held a blaster while Ahsoka had her lightsabers drawn.

Tarkin walked towards him. "Really, now?" He said. "Let's try this again. Three Jedi aided you in gaining your planet's independence from the Separatists." He stood over him. "One of them was assigned as your bodyguard. And this Jedi is the same one we captured in the tractor beam." He pointed at the holo-image. "And the same one you visited last night. So why?"

"I didn't know she was alive," He admitted. "I just went to see if it was really her."

"So you admit that you know each other," Tarkin sneered. "I remember her too, Senator. Ahsoka Tano, a mere padawan, back in the day. Believe it or not, she too had saved my life more than once." He admitted. "But for their crimes against the Emperor, the Jedi are considered traitors and enemies of the Galactic Empire. The likes of her are too dangerous to be kept alive, and should, therefore be executed."

Lux managed to look up at Tarkin. "If you're going to execute many innocents for the mistake of one guilty," He protested, gritting his teeth. "Then you're no better than the Separatists."

Tarkin made a tsk sound. "Fortunately for your Jedi friend," He said. "The only thing keeping her alive is the information she refused to give us. And now, you."

Lux flinched as another stun shot hit him. Now, he was struggling to stay conscious. He had tried to get up to his knees, but he was too weak and fell to his face on the floor. At the same time and unbeknownst to the other people in the room, Lux was able to activate his wrist comlink making the call to Saw Gerrera, hoping whatever he'll record will get to the Rebels on Atollon.

Tarkin continued his rant. "She will come to despair that her refusal to say anything will only injure those around her. And I know the Jedi cannot stand seeing a defenseless person being harmed."

You will never get away with this, Lux wanted to scream, but he can't move.

"Cuff the Senator," Tarkin ordered. "He will be the key to get what we need from her. And sedate the Jedi. We have to take her to Mustafar before nightfall."

Lux made one last move by deactivating his comlink before he lost consciousness.

Chapter Text

As per Ahsoka's orders, they evacuated Atollon. Whatever her reasons were, Kanan knew better than to defy her. The last time they did, they encountered two inquisitors.

Before abandoning Atollon, there were three active bases, with the other two on Dantooine and Yavin 4.

Yavin 4 is a jungle-covered fourth moon in orbit around Yavin Prime, a red gas giant planet. The Rebel Base on the moon was once a great temple of the extinct Massassi race. It was a lofty pyramidal structure consisting of several successively receding stories. They also added turbolifts to get to the different levels. The hangar was large enough to hold more than five squadrons of fighters and its barracks have enough space for about a thousand soldiers. It was remarkable how they refitted an ancient-looking structure into a fully-functional military base.

"This place is a lot better than Atollon," Ezra said in awe as they walked through the vast stone hangar. "It's bigger and there are different types of ships."

Rex chuckled. "You should have seen how it was during the Clone War," He said, placing a hand on Ezra's shoulder. "The 501st alone had more than what we have here now."

Kanan made a face at the starfighters. "Seeing fighters this many gives me flashbacks."

Darius shook his head. "Tell me about it." He agreed.

Wolffe and Gregor suddenly came running to them.

"Captain," Gregor said, panting. "There's an urgent transmission from Gerrera. He's said it's about the general."

All four of them rushed to the Central Command at the second level of the ancient temple. In the center of the room was a holo-projector table with a hologram of Saw Gerrera. Several of the rebel commanders also were there, waiting.

"Please tell us you have good news, Saw," Rex pleaded.

Saw's facial expression darkened. "Oh, I have news, alright," He confirmed. "Just not a good one."

Everyone exchanged dismayed glances.

Rex sighed. "Go ahead."

"During our last transmission," Saw started. "I told you I'd get intel on the Imperial Military Compound. Well, we did manage to get some, but I'm afraid it's useless now."

"What do you mean?"

"Right after midday, Senator Bonteri attempted to make a call through our frequency commchannel," Saw explained. "And this is what we got."

Saw played an audio holo-recording through the holo-transmission.

"—she refused to give us. And now, you." It was Tarkin's voice, Kanan was sure of it. Tarkin was present when they tried to get information out of him after he was captured.

Then a shot of a stun gun being fired can be heard followed by a painful grunt, then a loud bang like someone hitting the floor.

The same voice then continued. "She will come to despair that her refusal to say anything will only injure those around her. And I know the Jedi cannot stand seeing a defenseless person being harmed." There was a brief pause, then the voice continued. "Cuff the Senator, he will be the key to get what we need from her. And sedate the Jedi. We have to take her to Mustafar before nightfall."

That's when the holo-recording audio ended.

Kanan closed his eyes and huffed in frustration. "This is bad." He said. "They took the senator as well."

"So they are taking her to Mustafar." Ezra pointed out. "We need to intercept them before they do."

"This was sent to me earlier at midday," Saw informed. "Which meant they're already on Mustafar."

A man stepped forward. Jan Dodonna, Kanan recognized. "So, how are we going to get the general out?" He spoke up.

Kanan was told that Jan Dodonna served in the navy of the Galactic Republic during the Clone War, then the Imperial Navy before defecting to the rebellion.

They all turned to him, a bit surprised.

Jan Dodonna turned to the others present at the Central Command, who all nodded. "I think I speak for everyone here when I say we have to rescue her."

"The Empire probably has a fleet over Mustafar," Rex stated. "And that's just one problem."

"Yes," Wolffe agreed. "The other is sending an extraction team on the surface. I mean, if the facility where they took her is designed to hold Jedi, then we don't stand a chance."

"Oh, we'll handle that," Kanan volunteered. "And I have a feeling they'd be more welcoming this time."

Jan Dodonna frowned. "How so?"

"Hmm," Darius spoke up. "The Inquisitors' goal is to hunt down Jedi, right? With us going there, they'll have three more."

"But where are they holding her?" Another man asked. It was Davits Draven. "We know she's in Mustafar, but where? We cannot just send a fleet and scour the entire planet blindly."

"Hmm," Jan Dodonna huffed. "There's only one place they could've taken her."

Everyone waited.

"Fortress Vader." Jan Dodonna revealed.

"Fortress Vader?" Ezra repeated. "Please tell me it's not the place I think it is."

"It's where they take Jedi and interrogate them," Jan informed. "It's also where most of them…meet their end. The last time I heard of it, they were supposed to transfer that Mirilian Jedi to that place from Stygeon Prime but an Inquisitor executed her in hopes of luring other Jedi to them."

"Master Luminara Unduli," Kanan remembered. "And their trick worked. We were there, but she's gone."

"But what if he's there?" Ezra asked. "We've faced Vader before, Kanan. And we never stood a chance. Ahsoka barely made it out of Malachor alive. And she lost a hand to him."

"Don't worry, kid," Rex assured. "I'll make sure that won't happen again because I'm coming with you to the surface."

"What? No," Ezra disagreed. "It's too dangerous."

"I'm a soldier," Rex reminded him. "And I've actually been to a facility that's designed to hold Jedi before," He pointed out. "Back in the days of the Clone War. This place shouldn't be any different."

"If Rex is going, then I'm going as well," Wolffe spoke up, then he turned to Darius. "You'll have my back this time, Commander."

"Wolffe, this is different," Darius said. "That place is also the lair of a Sith Lord."

"Oh," Wolffe brought up. "We've also had our fair share of dealing with sith lords, sir. I'm sure you remember that, even though it wasn't a very pleasant experience."

"It's settled then." Jan Dodonna concluded.

They gathered everyone in the Command Center and briefed them of their daring rescue on Mustafar. Saw Gerrera suggested using a stolen Imperial shuttle to get to the planet's surface and hastily volunteered to provide one as they had raided several days prior while they were scouring information on Onderon's Imperial Military Compound. Once the shuttle is in, the rebel fleet will cover the air while the extraction team—the three Jedi, plus Rex and Wolffe—will locate Ahsoka and escape from the ground forces. Once they have her, they'll immediately jump into lightspeed.

When the stolen Imperial shuttle finally arrived on Yavin 4, the entire Massassi outpost was placed on high alert. Maintenance crew members were prepping the starships as pilots ran to them, while Sabine did her thing by doing a quick paint job on the shuttle.

Kanan, Ezra, Darius, Rex, and Wolffe boarded the shuttle as it will be their ride to the planet's surface, with both clones on the controls.

"This'll be just like old times," Wolffe said, then launched the shuttle into hyperspace.

. . .

Ahsoka woke up to the faint red glow of lava that brought back bad memories. When she opened her eyes she was surprised to see that the room she was in had transparisteel viewports that showed pits of lava was surrounding them. She was still strapped on an interrogation chair that was in the middle of the room. Obviously, she'd been sedated because she had no idea how they were able to transport her from one system to another.

But still, being there gave her a deep sense of dread. The sight of lava, the visible haze in the air, and the deep-seated sense of the dark side.

No, Ahsoka mentally screamed as she struggled through her restraints. This can't be. I cannot be here again. Not again!

The door connecting it to the facility then slid open revealing the two Inquisitors entering and sneering at her.

"Welcome to Mustafar, Jedi." The Chiss male inquisitor said, whose name she remembered as the Third Brother.

"No," Ahsoka murmured as all the bad memories of the place flooded her thoughts. "I can't be here." Tears started forming in her eyes.

The female Umbaran Inquisitor, the Fourth Sister, raised an open palm before her face. She was using mind-probing again to see through her thoughts and emotions.

Back then, before the Jedi Order disappeared, they were trained to resist it. Unfortunately for Ahsoka, she was in so much pain, physically and emotionally that she wasn't strong enough to resist it this time. And the Inquisitor saw through her guilt and trauma as memories flashed before her eyes.

All of her memories on Mustafar involved her former master, Anakin Skywalker.

The first time, she stepped foot on the planet was on a mission. Well, technically, not a mission. She and Anakin were simply investigating as they figured out that the bounty hunter, Cad Bane traveled to Mustafar even if though it was six systems out of his way. They found the kidnapped force-sensitive children taken by Bane as the facility was breaking, and they saved the children.

The second time was not so pleasant. It was on the same planet where Ahsoka had witnessed that her master has turned. She was horrified enough to see the hologram of Anakin killing younglings, but she was more horrified at what he's become. And it's painful enough to remember their lightsaber battle amidst a collapsing facility—especially since she could still see the good in him.

You were my brother, Anakin, Obi-Wan had said. I loved you.

Ahsoka remembered watching Anakin dismembered, falling into the embankment and bursting into flames. She could never forget the look on his face. Please, he seemed to say, but there was nothing she could do.

The third time was unexpected. At first, she believed that her master had truly perished, but she couldn't be wrong. Ahsoka approached both Kanan and Ezra about their encounter with a masked Sith lord. But when she was able to hone on his presence, No! Ahsoka thought. It can't be.

It was on Malachor when they met again. Ahsoka may have an idea who it was behind the mask and the mechanical suit, but she dismissed and denied the thought.

I was beginning to believe I knew who you were behind that mask, Ahsoka had said. But it's impossible. My master could never be as vile as you.

Anakin Skywalker was weak, the Sith Lord replied. I destroyed him.

When Vader said her old master's name, was when it started to hit her. Then I will avenge his death. She snapped back.

It wasn't until Ahsoka sliced part of Vader's helmet and he called her name when he recognized him.

Ahsoka, Vader called in his robotic voice. He faced her and as it turned out, she had not just sliced open his mask. The sith lord was her former master. And his eyes were the same ones she'd seen on that very same planet sixteen years ago.

Ahsoka, He called again, but that time, it was just her former master's voice.

Her eyes watered when she saw through the man in the suit. Anakin, she gasped.

Mustafar served as a constant reminder of how Anakin, her former master, and a man she considered her older brother, fell to the dark side. A place that haunted her of all the guilt, trauma, and all the lives lost when the Empire rose to power.

At that point, it was too much and she couldn't take it. Ahsoka forced the Inquisitor out of her head. "Get out of my head!" She screamed.

The Fourth Sister fell to the permacrete floor, out of breath and in shock.

"What did you see?" The Third brother asked his fellow Inquisitor.

"Pain," The Fourth Sister said. "Suffering, loss."

"Anything about the Rebels?" The Third Brother guessed.

The Fourth Sister chuckled. "No, but I'm sure Lord Vader would want to meet her. Again." She then waved her hand and a surge of electricity ran through her. It didn't stop until she screamed.

Then Ahsoka felt a sharp pain in her left shoulder. It wasn't until she saw the pointy needle that she knew that she was being sedated again.

"You will never…" Ahsoka said weakly, her head felt like it was spinning. "Get me to talk."

As her vision became blurry, she was able to see a silhouette of a man walking towards her before she lost consciousness.

. . .

When Ahsoka woke up, she found herself lying on a permacrete floor with her hands bound in stuncuffs. She got up and came faced with an empty interrogation chair.

But why was she on the ground? She thought. Why not strap her on the interrogation chair?

Nevertheless, the floor she was on was surrounded by a pit of lava with a single walkway towards a looming fortress atop an obsidian mountain. There was also a thin layer of haze in the air due to the planet being mostly a volcanic hellscape.

The two Inquisitors were there, of course. Then she noticed someone else between them. The person was on their knees and cuffed by their wrists.

Ahsoka's eyes widened in horror when she recognized who it was.

"Lux?" She shrieked.

Lux looked tired and weary. His clothes were in tatters and his skin was filled with bruises and cuts. She assumed they must have tortured him for information as well, but never gave in.

Ahsoka so desperately wanted to get to him, but the two Inquisitors were standing on either side of him.

She glared at the Inquisitors. "What did you do to him?" She demanded.

Ahsoka then tried to break free from the stuncuffs only to get herself electrocuted.

"Oh, I won't do that." The Third Brother laughed balefully. "Those binders are designed for people like you. The more you struggle, the tighter they get."

"Let him go!" She repeated. "Or I will make sure you will never see the light of day again."

"Your threats are empty, Jedi." The Fourth Sister said.

Someone cleared their throat. Ahsoka scanned the area and saw the same silhouette of a man she saw standing by the walkway earlier.

"Well," The man said. "I hope I gave you both a proper reunion."

"Tarkin," She croaked.

Tarkin stepped into view with his cold eyes glaring at her. "Why did you bring him here?" She insisted, motioning her head to Lux.

"You were harder to persuade," Tarkin explained. "So we had to consider an…alternative solution." He then turned to the Inquisitors and one of them pushed Lux to the floor.

"Let him go," Ahsoka persisted. "He has nothing to do with all this."

"That may be," Tarkin said. "But you do. And since you're not cooperating with us, maybe you'd rather save an innocent life. After all, it's what the Jedi would do."

"I'm not a Jedi," She protested.

Tarkin stroked his chin. "It has come to my attention that when you were captured, the weapons taken from you were lightsabers."

"Anyone can use a lightsaber." She blurted out. "And in case you don't remember, I got expelled from the Jedi Order. With your help, thank you very much."

"Of course, my dear," Tarkin paced the room. "I remember you very well, Padawan Tano." He said the word padawan in disgust. "You were once an apprentice to Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker. After your attempted rescue out of the Citadel, the Emperor, then Chancellor Palpatine kept track of your master's successful missions." He turned to her. "And most of the time, you were with him."

"Hmm," Tarkin continued. "Let's see, there's the dispute in the water world of Mon Cala; the toppling of the galaxy's most notorious slave empire of Zygerria, and of course, your part in the liberation of Onderon."

"And what does that have to do with what I know now?"

"Ah, but you see," Tarkin said. "There is something of note to that. Your past experiences and your ties to being a Jedi are what make you very dangerous. On the planet of Onderon was where the Jedi Order sent representatives to train a resistance movement against the Separatists. And you were one of those Jedi."

"You can't prove anything," She snapped.

"Can't I?" Tarkin narrowed his eyes at her, then turned to the Fourth Sister.

An electric shock surged through Lux's entire body making him flinch.

The Fourth Sister then raised an open palm before Lux. She was using the mind-probe to see through his thoughts. Lux struggled and Ahsoka could see beads of sweat on his forehead. Then he started screaming.

"Stop it!" Ahsoka pleaded.

The Fourth Sister stopped and Lux slumped forward, panting. The female inquisitor then turned to Tarkin.

"He's been to the Rebel Base." The Fourth Sister revealed. "With that man from the holo-image, Saw Gerrera."

Oh, no, Ahsoka thought. That alone exposed Lux as a Rebel sympathizer. It was then that Ahsoka knew Lux will lose his seat in the Imperial Senate. And it was because of her. Also, the other thing she was worried about was if they find out about Leia as she had traveled with Lux to Atollon.

"Interesting," Tarkin said. "Anything else?"

The Fourth Sister mockingly smiled at Ahsoka before turning back to Tarkin. "The Jedi is his lover."

Tarkin's eyes widened. "His lover?" He snorted. "And here I thought it was forbidden for the Jedi to have romantic ties."

"I'm not a Jedi anymore!" Ahsoka reminded him. "How many times do I have to say it?"

Tarkin seized the controls of the stun cuffs from the Third Brother and pressed a button sending an electric shock through Lux, pinning him to the floor.

"Conspiring with the Rebels," Tarkin looked down at Lux with disdain. "Having romantic ties with a Jedi?" He made a tsk sound then shook his head. "You're a traitor to the Empire, Senator." He continued shocking him until Lux started screaming.

"Stop it," Ahsoka begged. "Please. I'm the one you want. Stop hurting him."

Lux turned his head and faced her. "I'm sorry, 'Soka."

"It's okay." She assured. "It's not your fault."

"Alright, Ahsoka Tano," Tarkin walked towards her. "We'll make you a bargain then. You tell us the location of the Rebel Base and in exchange, we spare your lover's life."

"Don't do it, 'Soka," Lux said. "Bargaining with the Empire is never fair. You know that."

Ahsoka didn't know what else to do. At that moment, she somehow found herself in Anakin's shoes. Conflicted, hopeless, and desperate to save the ones they love.

The two Inquisitors helped Lux to his knees.

"Ahsoka, you don't have to tell them." Lux insisted. "If I have to die for the rebellion, so be it."

Tarkin stepped forward towards her. "Where is the Rebel Base?"

Ahsoka remained quiet. A single step out of line and it's Lux's life. She cannot have that.

The Third Brother ignited his lightsaber and pointed it at Lux's neck.

Tarkin sighed. "Once I grow tired of asking, it's his life." He pointed at Lux.

"Ahsoka," Lux spoke up, aware of the red glowing blade by his neck. "Don't say a word."

At that moment, memories flashed through her head. If she revealed the information they needed, thousands of lives will be in danger. She did, however, ordered to evacuate Atollon, but there's no guarantee if they actually did. And if she won't, she'd lose Lux to the Empire.

Tears were starting to form in her eyes. She was tormented by the single choice that might change the fate of others.

"That's it," Tarkin turned to the Third Brother. "Inquisitor, execute the senator."

"No!" Ahsoka pleaded. "Please, alright, I'll tell you!" She promised. "Just please don't hurt him."

"Ahsoka!" Lux cried. "What are you doing?"

Ahsoka exchanged glances with Lux. "I can't let you die, Lux." She then glared at Tarkin. "I need your word that he won't be harmed."

Tarkin smiled smugly. "Ah, negotiation. Another thing most Jedi were proficient at." He took a deep breath. "Alright, in exchange for the information, I won't have a single hair of the senator harmed. You have my word."

"No, don't give in to his false promises," Lux pointed out.

"Now, where is the Rebel Base?" Tarkin asked again.

Ahsoka was still hesitating. She knew of Tarkin's distrusting and harsh ways way back since the days of the Republic.

Tarkin sighed impatiently. "Kill the senator."

"No," Ahsoka said as she struggling against her cuffs, electrocuting her. "I'll give it to you."

"Where?" Tarkin demanded.

The Fourth Sister had drawn her lightsaber and pointed one end by Lux's neck. Both the Inquisitors' red lightsabers were now forming an X before Lux.

Ahsoka took a deep breath and looked down. "Atollon," She blurted out. "They're on Atollon."

"There, you see?" Tarkin said. "She can be reasonable." He walked towards Lux earning him a glare from the Senator. "As for you, Senator. You're not the first turncoat I've met, and I'm sure you won't be the last." He plucked a strand of hair from Lux's head and threw it on the ground. "That will be the single hair that won't be harmed." He ordered. "Execute him!"

"No!" Ahsoka shrieked. She started crawling towards Lux but the Fourth Sister pushed her back using the Force.

"Ahsoka—!" Lux's voice was cut short as the Third Brother impaled his lightsaber right on Lux's back and went through his chest.

"NO!" Ahsoka struggled as she made her way towards Lux. She caught him before he could hit the floor.

The Inquisitors were about to approach them but Tarkin raised his hand and they halted.

Ahsoka laid his head on her lap. "Lux," She choked, tears now streamed down her cheeks. "I'm sorry," She apologized. "I'm sorry."

"Ahsoka," Lux said weakly. "We don't have much time." He coughed. "You must keep the fire burning. Never lose hope. Promise me."

Ahsoka touched the little scar on his cheekbone, the way she always does when she's worried about him. "I will." She promised.

Lux reached out his and wiped a tear from her cheek. "I'll always love you, Ahsoka," He said, his breathing became shallow. "Always."

Ahsoka lowered her head and aligned her forehead with his. "I love you too." She whispered.

Lux gave her a weak smile—the last she will ever see. Then his hand fell, his eyes closed, and he was gone.

She pulled Lux close to her, held him and wept.

Tarkin grunted. "Alright, enough of this nonsense. Strap her to the interrogation chair," He ordered. "Take the senator's body back to his home planet and inform the people that he had been killed by a Jedi."

Ahsoka kissed Lux's forehead and held his hand. She gently laid his body on the Duracrete floor before the Fourth Sister gripped her arm and pulled her away from Lux. She didn't even restrain from her grip as the Inquisitor strapped her to the interrogation chair, while the Third Brother carried Lux's body over his shoulder and strutted towards the narrow walkway.

"What do we do with her now, Grand Moff?" The Fourth Sister asked, motioning her head towards Ahsoka.

"Her fate now lies in the hands of Vader," Tarkin said.

"Why don't you just kill me now?" Ahsoka urged. "I gave you the information you want."

"Oh, no," Tarkin made a tsk sound. "What you gave us is just a small part of what you really know. You're the general, are you not? That means you know more than you're telling us. And with you here, we can draw out your rebel friends from hiding."

As the Third Brother was halfway through the walkway, Agent Kallus came running towards their direction. The ISB agent tried to hide the horrified expression on his face when he walked past the Inquisitor carrying Lux's dead body, but then regained his composure and continued walking.

Agent Kallus slightly bowed. "Grand Moff Tarkin."

"Ah, Agent Kallus," Tarkin remarked. "Perfect timing. The rebel base is on Atollon. Have Admiral Konstantine and his fleet raze it and execute every single rebel they see."

Agent Kallus gulped. "Yes, sir. But—"

Tarkin sighed in frustration. "But, what?"

"Rebel ships have just entered the system," Agent Kallus informed.

Chapter Text

As the entire fortress on Mustafar went on high alert, Ahsoka remained distraught. What did she expect? Negotiating with the Empire was, is, and will be never fair, and they particularly prefer it when someone's life was on the line.

When Tarkin heard the news of the Rebel ships in the atmosphere, he looked surprised. He then glared at her with a bit of annoyance before turning back to Agent Kallus. "Prepare my shuttle, then deal with the rebel fleet." He then turned to the Fourth Sister. "Inquisitor, guard the prisoner. Make sure the rebels won't get to her. If and when they do, make sure they never leave."

The Fourth Sister nodded. "Yes, Grand Moff."

Tarkin and Agent Kallus hurriedly walked down the walkway and back into the fortress.

All that was left with Ahsoka was the Fourth Sister, sneering at her. She looked especially thrilled that all she had to do was to watch her struggle.

Ahsoka raised an eye marking at her. "What are you smiling about?" She asked. "I thought you'd be more frustrated having to miss all the action. Instead, you're here to watch over a prisoner. Such a waste of talent, if you ask me."

The Fourth Sister snorted. "I won't play your games, Jedi." She said. "Soon all of your kind will disappear, one by one."

"The Empire can wreak havoc on the galaxy trying to control it," Ahsoka pointed out. "And you can kill me now, but you will never put out the flames of hope."

The Fourth Sister ignited her lightsaber. "Don't tempt me."

Ahsoka only snorted. "Go ahead." She dared. "I have nothing left to lose. But I'd worry more about what Lord Vader might do to you after, seeing you killed the one key they have to the rebellion's intel."

She could sense the Inquisitor's growing frustration.

"Maybe not kill you, yet." The Fourth Sister said. "But no one ever said that you should be in one piece. Perhaps, it won't hurt to lose another arm?" She raised her lightsaber, ready to make a swing aiming at her right arm.

Uh, oh, Ahsoka thought. I pushed her too hard. But thankfully, the other Inquisitor saved her, unintentionally.

"Sister," The voice came from the Fourth Sister's wrist com. "Sister, come in." It was the Third Brother, and it sounded urgent.

The Fourth Sister sighed and answered the call. "What is it, Brother?" She asked.

"There are three Jedi in the fortress," The Third Brother informed. "We need to find and execute them."

Wait, three Jedi? Ahsoka thought. As far as she knew, only two Jedi were part of the rebellion. Kanan and Ezra. Who could be the other one?

"My orders are to watch over the Jedi," The Fourth Sister insisted. "Grand Moff Tarkin—"

"Grand Moff Tarkin has left in his shuttle with the Senator's body," The Third Brother interrupted. "He left Kallus to engage the Rebel fleet and us to deal with the Jedi."

Ahsoka couldn't help but laugh. "Even Tarkin's too much of a coward to face his enemies. And he left you to deal with the problem." She made a tsk sound. "So typical."

The Fourth Sister turned to her. "Your limbs are safe for now," She said. "But you won't be laughing when I bring the bodies of your Jedi friends before you." She then ran the narrow walkway back into the fortress.

As the inquisitor left, Ahsoka was left alone. That's when she cried her eyes out.

If I had to die for the rebellion, so be it. Lux had said. And the fact that he broke protocols of the rebellion just to try to save her is a knife to the gut. Now, she'll never see him again.

The whole no attachment rule of the Jedi made so much sense to her now than it did after she witnessed Anakin's fall to the dark side.

All the words of her mentors regarding feelings and emotions went back to her.

Always put purpose ahead of your feelings, Anakin had said when he noticed her eventual attachment to Lux as she served as his Jedi bodyguard when they were younger.

Then there was Obi-Wan with his attachment to the Mandalorian Duchess, Satine. Ahsoka had figured it out when Bo-Katan directly gave him a remark that even Anakin was surprised. He murdered their ruler, my sister! Bo-Katan had said. I thought she meant something to you!

She did, Obi-Wan had replied. And still does. But I cannot allow my feelings to cloud my judgment.

After she saw Anakin's fall she made a vow to herself. I will never be like them. And despite being knighted by Grandmaster Yoda and Obi-Wan as one of the last Jedi Knights, she hadn't recognized herself as one. She simply called herself a mere force-user with lightsabers, but never a Jedi. Even Maul never let her forget that when she, together with Kanan and Ezra, traveled to Malachor and had an encounter with him. Two Jedi and…a part-timer, he said.

But she broke that vow to herself when she met Lux again in Atollon. And now, well, look where it got her. She had basically given herself a death sentence. The Empire has taken everything from her. Her friends, her master, and now Lux—the man that she loved.

But her fate doesn't matter anymore.

I have nothing left to lose, Ahsoka thought as a tear ran down her cheek.

. . .

The stolen shuttle made it past through Imperial Security checks until they landed. At first, Kanan thought, well, we're screwed. Then he realized that the alarms blaring was because the Rebel fleet had just entered the atmosphere.

Stormtroopers were running about the facility and pilots were rushing to the TIE fighters docked on the hangar.

Luckily for them, Saw Gerrera also stole them some Imperial stormtrooper armor so they blended right into the chaos of the large landing pad. To the people there, they look like a single squad. With Kanan wearing an Imperial Sergeant's armor; Darius, Rex, and Wolffe wearing the standard white Stormtrooper armor; and Ezra in his Imperial cadet uniform since he was too short to be wearing stormtrooper armor.

On the far side of the landing pad, they saw another Imperial shuttle. And by the looks of it, its owner seemed to be in a hurry to leave as Stormtroopers were hurriedly pushing cargo containers into the ship. A moment later, they saw Grand Moff Tarkin walking briskly from the facility and towards the Imperial shuttle. Then a man followed behind him. Judging by his black and grey bodysuit and the double-bladed spinning disc model lightsaber clapped on his back, he looked like he was an Inquisitor. And he was walking beside what looked like a medical capsule or a coffin.

They were silently and briskly making their way into the fortress when Ezra stopped halfway. "Guys, look," Ezra said, pointing at the Inquisitor. "He has Ahsoka's lightsabers."

Kanan looked closely and two lightsabers indeed hung from the man's belt.

"That means she's here," Rex confirmed.

"But where?" Ezra asked. "This place is huge. It'll take us forever to find her."

As Tarkin's Imperial shuttle took off, the Inquisitor turned to their direction, looking very suspicious. And unfortunately for them, he started walking towards them.

Well, kriff. Kanan mentally cursed.

"Sergeant," The Inquisitor called. Kanan knew he was referring to him. As he neared them, Kanan noticed that he was a male Chiss. "Why is this cadet with you?" He demanded, regarding them with his red eyes. "Fortress Vader is not a place for the likes of him, yet."

"Uh, he is part of the…um…" Kanan started to say. "Squad sent here from Onderon. We have vital information for Grand Moff Tarkin."

"Grand Moff Tarkin has left the system," The Inquisitor said.

"But it's about the Jedi general," Ezra blurted out. "Isn't that why the rebels are here?"

Kanan sighed. Sometimes, he just wanted to put a gag on Ezra's mouth. He talked way too much. But he remained his composure.

The Chiss Inquisitor turned his attention to Ezra. "No one ever said the Jedi general is here, cadet." He said. "But perhaps the rebels brought more of her kind." He quickly pulled the disc lightsaber from his back, ignited it, and attacked.

Kanan had to drop his blaster and grab his own lightsaber to block the Inquisitor's strike.

"Jedi!" One yelled, then the shooting started.

Darius and Ezra were forced to wield their lightsabers to block off blaster fire, while Rex and Wolffe started shooting back.

Kanan went one on one with the Inquisitor.

"Three Jedi," The Inquisitor chuckled. "Why, Lord Vader will be pleased to hear about this."

"He also won't be pleased about how his Inquisitors let Jedi into this place," Kanan remarked.

As the Inquisitor was distracted, Darius had managed to pull Ahsoka's lightsabers from his belt using the Force. Kanan then pushed the Inquisitor with the Force backwards before Darius scattered cargo containers using the Force between them to delay him from getting to them.

Darius removed his helmet. "We need to get into the fortress." He said, still blocking off blaster fire.

Wolffe and Rex also removed their helmets.

"How can those bucketheads see in these things?" Wolffe wondered.

Rex chuckled. "That's what I said the first time."

"Let's go!" Kanan urged.

They had managed to enter the facility just as the Inquisitor emerged from the rubble and ran towards them.

Rex then slammed the doors' control panel and shot it with his blaster. "That will only slow him down." He pointed out. "We need to find the general now."

Darius stepped forward and closed his eyes. Kanan knew what he was doing he was reaching out through the Force to locate Ahsoka. Since Darius mentioned they were good friends when they were still padawans in the Jedi Order, it was obvious that they shared a bond.

Darius then pointed to his right. "This way."

Everyone followed without hesitation. As Darius led the way, they noticed that the facility's viewports were closing down with metal cladding, probably sealing every exit.

"They're locking down the entire fortress." Ezra noticed. "When we find Ahsoka, how are we gonna leave this place?"

"I'd worry about that later, kid," Rex said, then pointed at the end of the hallway they were in. "Right now we have another problem."

Sure enough, blocking their path was another Inquisitor. A female Umbaran stood before them, her double saber drawn. It glowed red across the now dimly lit hallway.

All five of them drew their weapons, while Kanan, Ezra, and Darius ignited their lightsabers.

"Oh, great," Ezra said with false enthusiasm. "There's another one."

"Three Jedi?" The Inquisitor said in amusement. "Finally, a challenge."

Then she attacked, Kanan had to parry her strike. "Go find Ahsoka." He said as he slashed at the Inquisitor.

Darius nodded, then gestured to the others with them. "Come on!"

As his companions disappeared down the hallways, Kanan managed to back the Inquisitor into what looked like a conference hall due to the long table and about a dozen chairs encircling it.

The Inquisitor used the Force to throw some of the chairs in Kanan's direction, but he only sliced them in half and pushed the rubble away from him.

"I've had enough of you red blades," Kanan complained, then he used the Force to push her back to another door and she landed into a different room.

Before she could attack him, he closed the door and destroyed the control panel with a slash of his lightsaber.

Kanan could hear the clinking sound of a lightsaber against metal. If he had to guess, she was trying to get through the door but couldn't.

An angry screech came from the other side. "I'll get you for this, Jedi."

Kanan ran out of the room and tried to find the others, but he came across another problem: Stormtroopers.

"It's the Jedi!" One warned.

The firing started and Kanan had to hide behind a pillar. He wished he hadn't dropped his blaster because it would've been real convenient at the moment. His only weapon was his lightsaber, but there were too many Stormtroopers.

As Kanan tried to examine a way around them, he could see several Stormtroopers being pulled forward using the Force and then shot.

He took that as his momentum and revealed himself against the attackers, blocking blaster fire.

Suddenly, in an intersecting hallway, Kanan saw Rex and Wolffe shooting the few Stormtroopers left.

"Thanks," He said sheepishly.

Wolffe nodded. "Glad to have your back, sir."

Rex pointed to another hallway. "This way."

They turned the hallway to find Darius and Ezra standing before a door. Darius opened it and it led them, outside?

The door opened up to a single, long and narrow walkway surrounded by a sea of lava. Glow panels along the walkway and the lava were the only sources of light.

"I thought you said Ahsoka was here," Ezra told Darius.

"She is," Darius argued. "I can feel she's close. I don't know why it led us outside—there!" He pointed at the end of the narrow walkway.

At the end of the long walkway, there was a circular platform. In the middle of the platform was a restraining chair. And trapped in the chair, was Ahsoka. Her lekkus and montrals stood out against the restraining chair and the torture devices above her.

"It's her," Kanan confirmed.

"Get her free," Rex said. "We'll cover you."

As they approached her, Kanan noticed Ahsoka's eyes were closed and her head was lulled forward. She's either unconscious or in a meditative state.

Ezra got to her first. "Ahsoka?" He called.

Ahsoka opened her eyes. They were red. Probably from crying. The poor thing, she was without a doubt tortured and electrocuted. Like Kanan was when he was captured.

Ezra snapped off her restraints.

Ahsoka was about to fall to the floor when he and Darius caught her by her shoulders. She turned to Kanan. "I thought I specifically ordered not to stage a rescue." She said, her voice hoarse. "But thank you."

"Your welcome," Kanan said. "Now, let's get out of here."

"Uh, yeah, about that," Ezra spoke up. "You said not to worry about getting out until we find Ahsoka. Now that we did, and if I'm right, those Inquisitors are waiting for us."

"Here," Darius handed Ahsoka her lightsabers. "I thought you might need those back. We found them on the way. Well, technically we stole them back from the Inquisitor."

Ahsoka took her lightsabers and clipped them to her belt. She then frowned at Darius. She took everything in a glance, his spiky black hair and the lightsaber from his belt. Sure enough, she recognized him.

"Darius?" She called.

Darius smiled. "Hello, 'Soka." He said. "It's been a while."

"Darius!" Ahsoka wrapped him in a bear hug. "You're here! You're alive, I can't believe it. It's great to see you."

"It's great to see you too, Ahsoka," Darius remarked. "And wow, you have grown. You're almost the same height as me."

Ahsoka rolled her eyes and sighed. "You have a beard now. And what happened to this?" She asked, pointing at the scar on his right jaw.

Darius made a sour face. "It's a long, gruesome story."

"Uh, I hate to spoil your reunion, sir," Rex warned. "But we're going to have company."

Ahsoka turned to the other end of the walkway and seemed to notice two people by the door. "Is that…Rex?"

"Yes," Kanan asserted."And Wolffe. We'll talk about defiling orders later. Right now, we need to get out of this place."

"Caleb is right, 'Soka." Darius gestured at the walkway. "So, after you."

Just as they got to the doors, Wolffe yelled, "Incoming!"

About a dozen Stormtroopers were suddenly in the hallway and Rex and Wolffe had to hide for cover.

Ahsoka ignited her lightsabers, which glowed white, blocked the blaster fire, and then used the Force to knock out the Stormtroopers.

She turned to the others. "Now, how do you plan on getting us out of here?" She asked.

Kanan shrugged. "Well, we're open to suggestions."

"What?" Ahsoka exclaimed. "You have got to be kidding me."

"The fleet's covering us in the air," Kanan explained. "The Imperial forces are aware of us here on the surface so we need to improvise. Also, the doors in this facility are impervious to lightsabers."

"That's helpful," Darius mumbled.

"And there are those Inquisitors," Ezra added.

Ahsoka took a deep breath. "Alright, new plan, follow me." She started forward into a hallway.

Rex frowned at her. "Do you know a way out of here, General?"

"Not really, no." Ahsoka admitted. "I'm improvising."

Chapter Text

Ahsoka was having mixed feelings about the Rebels rescuing her. Part of her was grateful, as their arrival threw off the Imperials on the planet and prevented an inquisitor from slicing another part of her limb. The other part of her was a little mad because she specifically ordered to not rescue her. But then again, she and Anakin did it all the time during the days of the Republic. At least now, Ahsoka knew how Obi-Wan felt when they disobeyed orders.

Now, she was blindly leading Kanan, Ezra, Darius, Rex, and Wolffe through a hallway, hoping for a way out of the fortress.

"So is there anything else I should know about?" Ahsoka asked as she led her friends to another hallway.

"Well," Ezra spoke up. "The entire facility went on lockdown when an Inquisitor spotted us in one of the landing platforms."

"We also evacuated Atollon," Rex added. "And relocated just like you ordered, sir. We got your warning through Senator Bonteri."

Ahsoka paused when Rex said Lux's name. She turned away from them, making sure they won't see her eyes watering.

Fighting in the Clone Wars, Ahsoka thought she'd seen it all. So far, she had witnessed clones and friends dying in battle, she had been captured and used as bait by the enemy, been captured and was attempted to be sold into slavery, and betrayed by someone she considered a friend.

Then Order 66 happened. The clones they fought side-by-side with for years turned against them. And there was Anakin's fall to the dark side and her discovering that Anakin, her former master, the man she considered her brother, was the ruthless sith lord in the black suit.

But nothing will top with what the Empire did to Lux. They had just reconnected again after so many years, and now the little time she spent with him were now memories. And nothing is more painful than watching the person you love be murdered right in front of you.

Ahsoka was so deep in her thoughts that she hadn't notice Darius calling her until he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Ahsoka?" Darius called. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She lied.

The hallway led to a door. And when it opened, several Imperial officers and stormtroopers were inside what looked like a command center.

"It's the Jedi!" One screamed.

They started firing at them. All four of them ignited their lightsabers and deflected the blaster bolts, while Rex and Wolffe hid behind a pillar and returned blaster fire.

Most of the people inside were knocked out with their use of the Force while the others were shot by Rex and Wolffe.

"This is probably one of the command control rooms," Kanan guessed.

"Ooh, let's get something out of this then," Ahsoka smiled, turning to Darius. "Darius, find us the nearest landing platform. Specifically, one where we can steal a ship and get out of this rock."

"On it," Darius said before running to the nearest holo-projector table. "This place is huge," He stated, then his hands flew as he scanned the entire facility.

Ahsoka ran to the main computers. She deactivated the fortress' lockdown sequence, immediately opening the metal cladding covering the transparisteel viewports.

The faint glow of lava bathed the room. Turns out the room they were in was located near a waterfall of lava.

"Uh, what are you doing?" Kanan asked.

"I'm giving the Imperials a little parting gift." She deactivated the shields that protected the facility from the lava and override the power generator—well, at least, in that part of the fortress. "Also, I'm destroying as much as I can enough to leave a mark for the Empire to notice."

"Ooh, I like this plan," Ezra beamed. "May I?" He gestured to the control panels.

Ahsoka snorted. "Be my guest."

Ezra slashed his lightsaber on the control panels. Rex chuckled and joined in by shooting it. Wolffe did the same.

"This'll only do little damage," Ahsoka pointed out. "But it might buy us some time."

"Anyways," Ezra spoke up. "Saw Gerrera sent us a audio holo-recording of Grand Moff Tarkin interrogating the senator. And I believe they took him here as well. We need to find him."

Ahsoka sighed sadly. "There's not much time." She said. "We need to find a way out of this planet."

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Kanan, Ezra, Rex and Wolffe exchanged concerned and confused looks.

Kanan raised an eyebrow at her. "The Empire took him with you to be brought here." He informed. "There's a high chance he's here as well."

"Darius, how are we doing?" Ahsoka asked, trying to evade having to talk about Lux.

"Good," Darius replied. "The nearest landing platform is four levels from where we are."

"Can you guide us there?"

"Of course," Darius assured. "But I can't guarantee that getting there will be easy. Stormtroopers are probably tasked to search the entire fortress to find us. And if I had to guess, those inquisitors will be waiting for us there."

Ahsoka smirked. "Really? Good."

Darius blinked at her. "'Soka, I just said those inquisitors will be there," He repeated. "How is that good?!"

"Well, there are six of us and two of them," She reminded him. "Who's to say we can't divide the things we need to do to escape this place."

Darius sighed. "I hate it when you say that," He said. "Alright, what's the plan?"

"Hmm," Ahsoka said. "What is on that landing platform that made you say they will be waiting for us?"

"Well, there's a squadron of TIE Fighters," Darius enumerated. "But those were all deployed to counter the Rebel fleet in the atmosphere. There's the only other Imperial shuttle in the facility. The other one Tarkin had used to get out of here. Manned turrets also surround the landing platform."

"The moment they see us," Rex spoke up. "They'll shoot down all of the transports."

"Then we'll have to destroy the turrets first," Ahsoka advised. "And then steal the shuttle." She turned to Darius. "You need to disable its tracking beacon, so they won't be able to track us when we escape." She then turned to the others. "The rest of you need to cover him and keep Stormtroopers from destroying it."

"What about the Inquisitors?" Ezra asked.

"Just leave those red blades to me," Ahsoka said. "They won't know what'll hit them."

Kanan cleared his throat. "What about Senator Bonteri?" He asked.

Ahsoka took a deep breath, trying hard not to cry. "There's no more time," She said again.

Others raised eyebrows at her then exchanged confused looks.

"Sir," Rex interjected. "You of all people—"

"Rex, please—"

"We leave no one behind," Rex insisted. "He's one of us now. If we don't rescue Senator Bonteri, the Empire's going to kill him."

"They already did!" Ahsoka snapped.

Everyone glanced at her in astonishment and displayed a look of sympathy.

Ahsoka then looked down and sighed. "He's gone." She said. "And that's because of me."

Rex placed his hand on Ahsoka's shoulder. "I—I'm sorry, Littl'un."

The doors they came in suddenly opened, several Stormtroopers saw them.

"It's the Jedi," The Stormtrooper Commander said, pointing at them. "Don't let them escape!" He ordered.

As Rex and Wolffe docked for cover, and Kanan, Ezra, and Darius ignited their lightsabers, Ahsoka huffed in frustration.

"Oh, poodoo," Ahsoka cussed. She pushed the Stormtroopers backward and closed the door using the Force. She then threw her shoto saber to destroy the control panel beside the door before using the Force to catch back her shoto and returned to fiddling with the computer.

Kanan, Ezra, and Darius stared at her in bewilderment.

"How do you ever do that?" Darius asked.

"Well, I did escape one battalion when I was in Coruscant," Ahsoka recalled, keeping her eyes on the monitor. "Back when I was framed for murder. And besides, those Stormtroopers are nothing compared to the Clone army."

Suddenly the entire room shuddered. There was a rumbling sound and vibration on the permacrete floor.

"What was that?" Ezra asked, turning to Ahsoka. "What did you do?"

The floor already had visible cracks until it finally gave way. The supports of the control room were built on a Cliffside. But given that she deactivated the shields, the cantilever part of the structure began to split in half.

The destroyed part of the structure gave a clear view of the lake of lava below them.

"That's our cue to leave." She answered.

"Right," Darius spoke up as he ran to another door, and pressed a button to open it. "This way."

The room continued to shudder as the cracks on the floor widened.

Kanan and Ezra were helping Rex and Wolffe get to the door just in time when half of the floor plummeted into the lake of lava down below.

The Stormtroopers on the other door managed to open it, but were unable to see the presence of a non-existent floor, and two of them immediately fell screaming to their deaths.

Darius led the way, but before turning a corner, he placed his arm before them. "Wait!" He warned. "They have activated security holo-cams."

Ahsoka turned to the two clones with them. "Rex, Wolffe, you know what to do."

Rex nodded at his comrade Wolffe and they shot down every security holo-cam they see in the hallways.

"No Stormtroopers?" Ezra wondered. "I have a bad feeling about this."

"That can only mean one thing," Kanan said. "They're waiting for us on the landing platform."

Once they were close, Darius took a peek at one of the viewports.

"Yep, they are waiting for us." He confirmed.

Ahsoka glanced out the facility and saw what he meant. The two inquisitors were on the landing platform, standing near the only Imperial shuttle on the field and ordering around several Stormtroopers. Levels above the landing platform were turrets manned by more Stormtroopers. And they were all waiting.

"Well, they've posted Stormtroopers on every possible exit." She informed.

Ezra followed after her and took a peek as well. "The shuttle is surrounded," He groaned.

"We have a bigger problem," Ahsoka pointed at the walls surrounding the landing platform. "Those turrets. And they are already manned by Stormtroopers."

"What now, sir?" Wolffe asked.

"We proceed to Plan B, of course," Ahsoka stated.

Ezra frowned. "There's a Plan B?"

"There's always a backup plan." She assured.

"So, what's Plan B?" Kanan asked.

"We split up," Ahsoka said. "One team destroys the turrets and knocks out the Stormtroopers manning it. The other team creates a distraction."

"Ezra and I will destroy the turrets," Kanan volunteered.

"Alright," Ahsoka said. "Take Rex and Wolffe with you." She suggested. "Be as discreet as possible." She turned to Darius. "Darius, you're with me."

"Of course," Darius agreed, before turning to the others. "There are twelve turrets surrounding the landing platform." He pointed out. "I suggest you separate in teams of two. Start from the end of the row and make your way to the center. That way, you won't be detected, for a time."

"Right," Kanan said. "Wolffe, you're with me. Rex, you go with Ezra."

"Let's go ahead, sir." Rex urged.

"We'll meet you on the platform," Ahsoka said.

As they left, Darius turned to Ahsoka curiously.

"So, 'Soka," He said. "How do we create a distraction for our red-bladed friends?"

Ahsoka smirked at him. "Darius, it's like you don't know me anymore."

"I don't," He admitted. "I haven't seen you in sixteen years. The last time we saw each other, we were padawan learners at the Jedi Temple, and now you're a Rebel General. How should I know what you're talking about?"

She sighed. "We are the distraction."

Darius' face fell. "I had a feeling you'd say that."

As both she and Darius walked towards the doors leading to the landing platform, he gave her a curious glance.

"You look surprisingly calm for someone walking into a trap." He remarked.

Ahsoka frowned at him. "It's like you never knew me at all."

"Wait, there!" He pointed at her face. "Right there. There's that glint in your eye."

She raised an eye marking at him. "What glint?"

"As Master Plo had said," He recalled. "You and your master had a bit of an extreme side. Well, that and your lack of subtlety."

Ahsoka snorted. "Good ol' Master Plo,"

A wave of nostalgia surged through her. It was, in fact, Jedi Master Plo Koon who had found her on the planet Shili and brought her to the Jedi Temple. If it wasn't for him, she'd be one of the thousands of her kind being sold into slavery. She'll never understand why slave traders prefer having people with lekkus as slaves. Nevertheless, Ahsoka was glad she was saved from having that life.

She won't be the person she was if she hadn't learned from the people she considered her family. It was just hard to think that most of those people were gone.

"I heard the news from Wolffe," She remembered. "How did he…?"

"Cato Neimodia," Darius blurted out. "We were leading an airstrike. They gunned our fighters down. He didn't make it."

Ahsoka looked down. "I'm sorry,"

"What about your master?" He asked.

Ahsoka hesitated. She was still in the process of accepting the fact that Anakin Skywalker suffered a fate worse than death.

"Vader killed him." She revealed.

Technically, it wasn't a lie. As Master Yoda had said, Anakin was consumed by the dark side and became Darth Vader.

You have become the very thing you swore to destroy, Obi-Wan had told Anakin years ago on the same planet they were on.

She can't even imagine how Kanan felt when he saw his own master, Depa Billaba being shot by clones under her command while she urged him to run.

After a brief silence, Ahsoka spoke up. "We have to keep their eyes on us, instead of the others."

"And how are we going to do that?" Darius asked.

"Just follow my lead."

They walked towards the doors, which opened automatically.

As expected, several Stormtroopers were already waiting and had their blasters pointing at them.

Their instincts took over and both grabbed and ignited their lightsabers in defense.

"Hold your fire!" A male voice ordered. It was the male Inquisitor, the Third Brother. "We'll handle this."

"Find the others." The other Inquisitor said. "Scour the entire fortress if you have to."

The Stormtrooper Commander told the others to search certain areas with a shoot-to-kill order.

The Fourth Sister gave them a sneer. "Well, finally," She said. "We knew you'd be here eventually. It wasn't hard to track you down. You leave quite a little chaos on your trail. I don't know if you're trying to get caught or you're just really messy."

"Really?" Ahsoka said sarcastically. "Well, I'm actually flattered that you waited out for us, right, Darius?"

Ahsoka said it with confidence that even Darius was surprised. She gave him a look that said, just go with it.

Darius shrugged. "It's a sweet gesture that I did not expect from Inquisitors."

All four of them circled each other on the platform until both Inquisitors had their backs to the facility and their other companions destroying the manned turrets several levels above them.

"Save your threats for later," Ahsoka remarked. "There's no one else here and Tarkin left you to deal will us. Let's face it, you are nothing but pawns doing their dirty work."

The Third Brother stepped forward. "We've heard a great deal about you, Ahsoka Tano," He said. "And the number of our brothers and sisters you killed."

Ahsoka raised an eye marking at him. "Whoa, let's get something straight," She said. "I did not kill any of the Inquisitors in Malachor. That was all Maul's doing. All I did was destroyed their lightsabers."

"I was talking about our brother in Raada."

"Oh, that," Ahsoka snorted. "I did not kill him directly." She explained. "He was killed in an explosion that I caused. You know, wrong place at the wrong time."

"That's enough chitchat," The Fourth Sister snapped, igniting her lightsaber. "You are not leaving this planet alive."

"We'll see about that," Darius spoke up.

The Third Brother cackled, then ignited his lightsaber. "Sadly, you're outnumbered."

"Outnumbered?" Darius snorted, turning to Ahsoka. "Can this guy even count?"

Suddenly, the doors opened and several Stormtroopers came out, pointing their blasters at them.

The Third Brother's red eyes glinted in the glow of lava surrounding them. "You were saying?"

Up by the manned turrets, their other companions hid, carefully moving to not be seen as they sneaked back into the facility. Ahsoka could see Rex giving a hand signal which meant they have disabled the turrets.

Ahsoka smiled smugly. "That was some thrilling entrance," She pointed out. "I'm impressed. But did you really thought we didn't think this through?" She chuckled. "Everything we did is intentional. Even our little chat right now."

With everyone's attention on her and Darius, Ahsoka saw Kanan lifting one of the crates outside the platform using the Force and throwing it at the Stormtroopers by the doors. At the same time, Wolffe aimed and fired his blaster, causing an explosion knocking out and scattering everyone.

Most of the Stormtroopers, at least the ones who weren't knocked out, were dazed and were scrambling and tried to shoot at them, but Kanan and Ezra were there. They ignited their lightsabers and deflected their blasters' bolts. Rex and Wolffe returned blaster fire at the Stormtroopers making them run for cover.

Ahsoka and Darius attacked the Inquisitors while they were distracted by the commotion. Darius took on the Fourth Sister, while Ahsoka fought the Third Brother. While they kept the Inquisitors busy, Kanan and Ezra had pushed back the remaining Stormtroopers and sealed off the door.

Amidst her crossing blades with the Chiss Inquisitor, Ahsoka could see Kanan pointing at the Imperial Shuttle, to which Rex and Wolffe then ran towards.

Kanan and Ezra then ran towards them. The Inquisitors saw them, of course, making them push both Ahsoka herself and Darius with the Force backwards and away from them.

Ahsoka and Darius quickly caught up to the Inquisitors until Kanan and Ezra blocked their way.

The four of them now surrounded the Inquisitors, who had now stood back-to-back in a defensive stance.

"More Jedi," The Fourth Sister chuckled as she spun her double-bladed lightsaber. "Or should I say, Padawans of the Fallen, am I right?"

Ahsoka noticed Darius gripped his lightsaber hilt tighter and that his eyebrows furrowed.

"Your masters died so you could live," The Fourth Sister made a tsk sound. "Well, except her." She motioned her head towards Ahsoka.

"It's over," Kanan spoke up. "You're surrounded."

The Third Brother then burst out laughing.

"What are you laughing about?" Darius demanded.

"Idiots." The Third Brother remarked, then pulled out a detonator charge from behind him and threw it on the ground. It was blinking, which meant it was about to explode.

Ahsoka gasped. "Bomb!" She warned. "Take cover!"

Everyone dove for cover as the Inquisitors tried to make their escape. Or so she thought. Turns out, the bomb was the Inquisitors' way of a distraction as they then attacked the nearest person from them: Darius.

Ahsoka leaped into action and deflected the Inquisitors' red blades from slicing Darius to bits.

"Darius, the shuttle," She said, gritting her teeth, then turned to Kanan. "Kanan, the doors!"

Sure enough, the doors were starting to open again, but they kept getting stuck.

"What about you?" Darius asked.

"I'll handle these red-blades."

They did as they were told. Darius ran to the ship to disable its tracking beacon, but well, it's gonna be a while, so they need to cover him. Rex and Wolffe were guarding the shuttle's boarding ramp, while Kanan and Ezra took care of the doors.

The Third Brother attempted to go after Ezra, who was closest to him, but Ahsoka made sure that both Inquisitors' attentions were on her. And she made sure their fight was away from the shuttle and was too far for the Inquisitors to throw detonator bombs on it.

"Give up, Jedi!" The Fourth Sister declared. "You are no match for us."

It made Ahsoka scoffed. "Please, I fought Vader and wounded him," She pointed out. "I fought Maul and captured him. I think I can handle both of you."

Also, for the first time, Ahsoka never corrected the Inquisitors for calling her a Jedi. True, she never considered herself as one. But after everything she's been through, it was like denying her true self. Now, she saw what she was supposed to be, what she was meant to be, all this time.

Ahsoka remembered Yoda's words to her on Bail Organa's ship when she was only seventeen, and with Obi-Wan Kenobi as the only other witness.

By the right of the remaining members of the Council, Yoda had said, moving his lightsaber on both her shoulders. And by the will of the Force, Dub thee I do...Ahsoka Tano, Jedi Knight.

With newfound energy and the will of the Force, Ahsoka thrust her hands up and the two Inquisitors flew backwards. The Fourth Sister hit the rock formations the fortress was built beside, making volcanic rubble fall onto the platform; while the Third Brother hit one of the transparisteel viewports, leaving cracks on it.

"Who are you?" The Third Brother asked while still in a daze.

Ahsoka smirked. "I thought you already know who I am. But alright, for formalities, let's introduce ourselves again." She cleared her throat. "I am Ahsoka Tano," She ignited her lightsabers, which glowed white. "Jedi Knight!"

She simply waited for them to approach and attack her. And that's what they did.

Ahsoka easily crossed blades with them, parrying every attack. Something she learned from fighting Vader in Malachor: continuously attacking will tire you. And that's what both Inquisitors did. Ironically, she's still learning from her former master.

Not long enough, both Inquisitors visibly looked tired, to which she used to her advantage.

Ahsoka glanced at how her friends were doing. Kanan and Ezra were slowly backing up to the shuttle, while Rex and Wolffe were hiding behind stacks of crates near the shuttle. All of them were still fending off Stormtroopers.

"Kymeri!" Kanan yelled, backing up towards the shuttle. "Would you do it faster?" He asked. "We can't hold out much longer!"

"I'm trying," Darius yelled back.

Meanwhile, the Fourth Sister then tried to attack the nearest one of Ahsoka's friends, which happened to be Rex.

"No!" Ahsoka screamed.

She then kicked the Third Brother away, nearly falling down the platform before thrusting her hand to pull the Fourth Sister using the Force and threw her away from where she was intentionally going.

The Fourth Sister flew back hitting the transparisteel viewports hard enough that it broke through, sending her back into the facility.

Ahsoka assumed that it rendered the Fourth Sister unconscious because she hadn't seen her stand from the rubble.

The Third Brother then attacked her again. They crossed blades for a while until Ahsoka was able to kick him on his jaw backward, leaving him dazed again.

That's when she moved in for the kill. She spun her lightsabers to gain momentum, step back to the dazed Inquisitor, and stabbed her blades through his chest, making him grunt.

Glancing back at him, Ahsoka could see the Third Brother's eyes widened in surprise as her lightsabers pierced through his body.

Ahsoka pulled back her lightsabers and stood back as the Third Brother drop his lightsaber and fell to his knees and the ground.

"Brother!" The Fourth Sister screamed.

She could also see the others, and by others she meant the Stormtroopers and her friends, staring at them in bewilderment as she had killed an Inquisitor before their eyes.

"I got it!" Darius yelled from inside the shuttle. "Stand back!"

Suddenly the Imperial shuttle's guns veered to life and started shooting at the Stormtroopers.

Kanan had then gestured the others to get into the shuttle. "Come on, get in!"

Whilst this happened, the Fourth Sister surged forward. She attacked with so much rage and anger, Ahsoka barely parried her first strike.

They continued crossing blades until they were near the ledge of the platform.

"I will make sure that you will never leave alive!" The Fourth Sister hissed.

Suddenly, they felt a disturbance in the Force that made them look towards the fortress. It made the Fourth Sister cackle as Ahsoka knew she had felt it too.

It was the same presence she felt in Malachor. Something sinister and evil, the essence of the dark side.

He's here, Ahsoka thought. Vader is here.

"You felt that, didn't you?" The Fourth sister snickered. "You've faced him before. I imagine he will be very happy to see you again," She said. "And when you do, you will never see the light of day again."

No, no, no, no, Ahsoka mentally screamed. Not again. I cannot face him again.

"You're conflicted," The Fourth Sister noticed. "Of course, you knew who he was before he became…what he is now."

Ahsoka was disturbed by the fact that the Fourth Sister had gotten into her head while she was mind-probing her earlier and saw memories of Anakin.

The thought of it put Ahsoka out of focus and the Inquisitor was able to disarm her. Her shoto saber fell from her hand and skirted away from them on the platform.

Ahsoka was then forced to fend her off with just one lightsaber, until the Fourth Sister got close enough and strangled her neck, kicked her on her stomach, making Ahsoka drop her other lightsaber, and had herself pinned down on the permacrete floor.

The Inquisitor had Ahsoka's head dangling from the ledge. She could feel the heat of the lava below even if they were several meters above it.

"You will never win." The Fourth Sister taunted her as she tightened her grip around her neck. "Once Lord Vader will regain his strength, he will kill you himself." She ignited her double-bladed lightsaber and placed the glowing red blade by her neck. "And by then you'll be reunited with your senator lover."

"He might," Ahsoka said, gripping the Inquisitor's wrist. She then reached out her free hand and used the Force to pull back her lightsaber. Not long, she ignited it and used it to keep the red blade away from her. "But I'll make sure you won't be there to see that happen."

Ahsoka placed her foot under the Inquisitor's stomach and kicked her upwards. With their crossing lightsabers as the pivotal force, the Fourth Sister was thrown off the ledge.

"No!" The Fourth Sister screamed as she fell.

Ahsoka was able to get to her knees and watched as the Inquisitor fell, wailing into the lake of lava below.

She was a little surprised at everything that happened. It was the first time in a long time that she called and considered herself a Jedi again and her first act was killing two Inquisitors.

From what she was taught at the Jedi Temple, the Jedi were peacekeepers. They do not kill people, they simply bring them to justice.

She couldn't help but wonder if maybe she did it to avenge Lux, to avenge everyone oppressed by the Empire, or to avenge all the lives caught in the middle of the conflict.

Revenge is not the Jedi way. Ahsoka remembered.

No, Her subconscious screamed. They're simply too dangerous to be kept alive. It was one of the difficult choices a Jedi always made, even if it contradicted their beliefs.

Ahsoka was shaken back to reality when she felt it again. The presence was stronger and well, angrier. She remembered what the Fourth Sister had said, Once Lord Vader will regain his strength, he will kill you himself.

Suddenly, there was an explosion that shook the landing platform. Cracks started forming on the permacrete floor.

"Ahsoka!" Kanan called out. He was standing on the boarding ramp with his lightsaber drawn. "Ahsoka, come on!"

Ahsoka used the Force to grab her shoto saber before running to the shuttle.

"We need to get out of here," She insisted. "He's here. Vader's here. And he's…stirring."

"Kymeri, get us out of here!" Kanan yelled.

"Way ahead of you, Dume," Darius answered back.

Soon the Imperial shuttle took off the landing platform and up into the atmosphere.

Down below, they could see part of the fortress in flames from all the explosions they caused and the little trick she did with deactivating the shields. Some parts of it were slowly sinking into the lava below.

"What did you do in that control room?" Rex asked.

Ahsoka shrugged with a smirk on her face. "All I did was deactivate the shields."

She sighed in relief as they got out of the planet's atmosphere. But their fight was not over yet. They'd have to get past the Imperial fleet first.

Chapter Text

Just as they got out of Mustafar's atmosphere, Ahsoka saw the space battle happening. Then she noticed that the hangars of the rebel ships including the stolen Imperial carrier were facing away from the Imperial fleet in weird and unusual angles, with several squadrons in flanking formation firing torpedoes at the Imperial Star Destroyer and the light cruisers.

A smile displayed across her face. "The Marg Sabl," She mumbled.

It was a tactical maneuver in naval warfare that Ahsoka herself invented when she was only fourteen years old. She had come up with it in a midst of a Separatist blockade over the planet of Ryloth back during the Clone Wars. She and her master were tasked to destroy the blockade to make way for Obi-Wan Kenobi's ground assault on the planet's surface. She remembered leading the flanking fighters while Anakin was on an escape pod.

The maneuver instills a warship to turn its hangar away from its attacker to allow its fighters to be launched unseen, coming around their ship from all sides and attacking the enemy from every direction at once.

"It's a proven tactic, sir," Rex spoke up. "And of course, you should know that. You invented it."

Ezra turned to her in awe. "You invented a space battle tactic?"

"I had to," Ahsoka explained. "We were outnumbered and couldn't get reinforcements so we had to get creative and made do with what we have."

"It was a hard time, Ezra," Darius said as he piloted the ship. "We were kids thrown into the frontlines with soldiers."

"Well, it worked," Kanan informed, pointing at the viewports. "The frigates are down." He then fiddled with his comlink. "I'll contact the fleet. Hopefully, we can—incoming TIE Fighters!"

"I see it," Darius pointed out.

Everyone else glanced out the transparisteel viewports and saw one squadron of TIE Fighters coming towards them from the Imperial Star Destroyer.

The TIEs flew past them at first before going on their tail and started firing.

Ahsoka turned to Rex. "Rex, contact the fleet." She ordered. "Tell them to get ready to jump into lightspeed."

"But, sir," Rex started to argue. "What about the TIEs?"

"I'll take care of the TIEs," Ahsoka assured. "Just tell them to get ready." She then sat on the other pilot's seat beside Darius and nudged him. "Darius, move. Let me fly."

"What?" Darius exclaimed, keeping his eyes on the viewports.

"If you want us to make it to the fleet in one piece, you will let me fly this shuttle." Ahsoka insisted. "Now, move!"

Darius reluctantly released his hold on his console while Ahsoka gripped hers.

"You're on guns with me," Ahsoka instructed. "Hang on, back there."

Darius sighed. "I hate it when she says that."

Rex and Wolffe hurriedly strapped themselves, while Kanan and Ezra looked confused.

Darius noticed them. "Hey, what are you doing?" He asked. "Strap yourselves in."

"I don't think it's—Whoa!" Kanan's sentence was cut short when he was thrown backwards with Ezra.

Ahsoka maneuvered the fighter upwards to avoid being hit, then finished off the attacker from behind. It was a maneuver she'd learned from her master. Fly upwards and upside down, then fire. Though I wouldn't recommend it, Anakin had said with a grin.

She remembered that she used to crash a lot of fighters in her day, just like Anakin. Even Obi-Wan doesn't like it when either Ahsoka herself or Anakin was flying.

"Sorry," Ahsoka said as she flew them back to their normal flying stance. "I told you to hang on." She told them as she fired at the pursuing TIEs.

Meanwhile, Rex had gotten through their allies in the rebel ships.

"Phoenix cruiser," Rex said through their commchannel. "This is Captain Rex," He said. "We are on board a stolen Imperial shuttle."

"Acknowledged, Captain," It was Commander Jun Sato's voice. "This is Commander Sato. Is the General with you?" He asked.

"Commander," Ahsoka spoke up, at the same time still evading the TIEs firing at them. "Call in all the fighters back to the carrier and prepare to jump into lightspeed."

"But, General," Jun Sato argued. "We still have the Destroyer and you've got several TIEs on your tail."

"Leave that all to me," Ahsoka assured.

Commander Sato took a few seconds before speaking again like he was hesitating. Ahsoka couldn't blame him. Because the last time she gave orders, she was captured by the Empire.

"Yes, General," Commander Sato finally said before cutting off the holo-transmission.

A few moments later, they could see that the X-Wings, Y-Wings, and A-Wing starfighters returning to the stolen carrier.

Ahsoka did her best to try and distract the TIEs tailing on the returning fighters by firing at them. And once, all wings were back, a new plan came to her.

With the frigates gone, all the Empire had left, at least by orbit, was the Star Destroyer. Fighting in the Clone Wars, she knew what it's like working in the command bridge. And looking at it now, she could tell that their deflector shields were disabled and the Communications and Sensor Arrays were also knocked out.

Well, she was going to destroy that Star Destroyer.

Instead of going with the rest of the rebel starfighters to the carrier, she flew the ship around, still evading the pursuing TIE fighters.

"Uh, Ahsoka," Darius said a little panicky. "The Rebel fleet is that way! Where are you going?"

"Try to relax, Kymeri," Ahsoka assured. "It's all under control."

Ahsoka realized a way for the Empire to use their own weapons against them. And with the other fighters out of the way, she knew the TIEs would use their tracking torpedoes to destroy the shuttle they were on.

"Ahsoka, where are we going?" Ezra asked.

"You'll see."

That did not exactly reassure anyone. But since Rex and Wolffe have been quiet the entire time, she figured they have to trust her like they did during the Clone Wars. Darius, Kanan, and Ezra, however, have been on edge.

And despite that, she stayed on course, until, without a doubt, the TIEs released their tracking torpedoes.

"Here we go," Ahsoka snickered. "This is where the fun begins."

"What?" Darius shrieked in horror.

"Darius, convert all ship's power to its engines." She said. "It's time to use the Empire's own weapons against them."

Darius did as she asked, and Ahsoka then flew straight towards the Imperial Star Destroyer.

"The torpedoes have locked onto us." Kanan pointed out.

"I know." She replied.

Ahsoka flew the shuttle towards the bow of the Star Destroyer, navigating through its engineering bay and its laser emplacements with several of the torpedoes hitting it. She then flew straight up the command bridge and the remaining torpedoes slamming into the superstructure, destroying it.

The Star Destroyer was now falling into orbit with its hull burning into Mustafar's atmosphere.

She could see escape pods being launched, but she wasn't worried because she knew escape pods aren't equipped with firepower.

"And that, gentlemen, is how it's done." She said as they flew towards the Carrier.

Once they landed on the Carrier, the entire fleet then made the jump into hyperspace.

. . .

Commander Sato and several others gathered to meet them as they exited the stolen Imperial shuttle. Ahsoka came out last and as she did, everyone saluted at her.

"Welcome back, General." Rex acknowledged.

Ahsoka simply gave a nod and a smile. "I can pretend to be angry because you disobeyed my orders to not stage a rescue. But then again, following direct orders isn't always the best way to solve problems, so thank you. I will forever be in your debt."

The feeling of being welcomed back felt surreal. It was almost the same when she was welcomed back by her master, Anakin, and surprised her with a new division under her command, the 332nd Company. Those clones had painted their helmets in the likes of her face markings, but with Order 66 had all tried to kill her.

It was somewhat the same feeling, except this time the people who welcomed her back were not clones. Unlike the clones, who were specifically bred for war, these were people who voluntarily got together for one goal, and that is to take down the Empire. Like her, they had lost love ones to the Empire and wanted justice.

While Ahsoka and the extraction team were given medical attention, Darius approached her.

"I never really thanked you today," He said.

Ahsoka frowned. "For what?"

"You saved my life countless times back there," Darius pointed out. "Thank you."

"What are friends for?" Ahsoka shrugged. "Anyways, where are you off to after?" She asked.

"Well, I've got a thought about that," He said. "You see, I was on the run for so many years," He continued. "I may have heard of the rebellion a couple of years ago, but thought nothing of it. After they had every Jedi killed, including my master, I had lost hope. Then I realized we Jedi represent hope."

She nodded in agreement. "Indeed, we are."

"I don't need to run anymore." Darius declared. "I've found a cause worth fighting for. I think I'll be staying."

Ahsoka smiled and placed a hand on Darius' shoulder. "Welcome to the Rebellion."

. . .

They got out of hyperspace and came to the Yavin System, where the base was now. Ahsoka had ordered the rebels to evacuate Atollon, just in case. So if she'd have to reveal the location of the rebel base, which she did, she technically wouldn't be lying.

But Ahsoka had never intended the price paid in giving up that information would be Lux's own life. And the fact that he was willing to die just for him to save her from not saying anything, made her even guiltier.

Don't lose a thousand lives, just to save one. Ahsoka had told Lux why the rebels shouldn't waste their time staging a rescue, but she had just eaten her words. Not knowing if the rebels fled Atollon, Ahsoka gave up the information the Empire needed to save Lux. But regardless, they still killed him, right in front of her to break her spirit.

Ahsoka was so lost in thought that she hadn't noticed the shuttle they were on had already landed on the Yavin 4, one of the moons of Yavin Prime and the location of an established Rebel Base.

"Ahsoka," Darius called. "Ahsoka, we're here."

"Huh," She said, snapping back to reality. "Oh, right. Of course."

Ahsoka took a deep breath before stepping out into the stone hangar of the refurbished Great Temple of the extinct Massassi race.

She was greeted by other rebel cell Commanders, Vanden Willard and Jan Dodonna. It was easy to recognize them among the crowd since they both have graying hair.

Commander Willard nodded in acknowledgment. "Welcome back to the Massassi Outpost, General."

"Thank you, Commander," Ahsoka said. "So, what's the situation here?"

"Well," Commander Dodonna spoke up. "As per your orders, the three cells have evacuated Atollon."

Ahsoka nodded. "Good," She said. "Anything else?"

"Our other cells have evacuated from our base in Dantooine."

She frowned. "Why?"

"The Empire noticed activity going on," Commander Willard explained. "They sent an Imperial shuttle to investigate and our allies were spotted."

"They managed to intercept the shuttle," Commander Dodonna said. "But their transmission logs showed that the information about the base has been already reported to the Empire."

Ahsoka sighed. Another base gone, she thought. It was probably why she noticed that there were so many wing fighters on the stone hangar. Everyone was already in one place.

"Also, General," Commander Willard cleared his throat. "Senator Organa is waiting for you in the Central Command as we speak."

Ahsoka headed towards the Central Command at the second level of the ancient temple. Inside, several other Commanders of other cells were there with two Imperial senators, Bail Organa and Mon Mothma, who represented Alderaan and Chandrila respectively. The Princess of Alderaan, Leia, also stood by her adoptive father's side. And everyone was surrounding a holo-projector table.

Leia was the first to notice Ahsoka enter, to which she ran to her and wrapped her in a hug.

"General!" Leia said. "I'm so glad you're okay."

Ahsoka managed a smile and returned the same hug. "It's good to see you too, Your Highness."

When they broke free from the hug, Leia made a face at her like, I told you not to call me that! But she somehow shrugged it off, seeing they were in front of other people and officials. They have to sound formal at some point.

Everyone inside turned to her and smiled.

"Welcome back, General," Bail Organa greeted. "It's such a relief to see you safe and back here."

"All in a day's work, Senator," Ahsoka replied.

"I heard Senator Lux Bonteri was captured with you," Bail brought up. "Did he escape with you?" He asked.

Hearing Lux's name again, Ahsoka's face darkened and she looked down. "I'm sorry," Her voice broke. "I wasn't able to save him. An Inquisitor killed him under Tarkin's orders. Right in front of me."

Ahsoka will never forget how that happened. It was practically burned in her memory now. She will never forget the determination and bravery on Lux's face when he said he'd be willing to die for the rebellion.

Leia gently touched Ahsoka's arm, which surprised her. The princess gave her a look of sympathy. Of course, because Leia knew of her connection to Lux.

At that point, Ahsoka was only holding back her tears. There's no way she's crying in front of everyone. I'm the General, She mentally reminded herself. I can't be viewed as a weakling in times of distress. People look up to me. I should be an example.

. . .

Bail Organa and Mon Mothma agreed to have a memorial service in honor of Lux. So later that day, everyone was asked to gather in the Massassi Temple's throne room.

The ceremonial hall was filled with people. Ahsoka didn't want to be there, as the thought of Lux and the ways she could've saved him would only make her sad. But as their General, she needed to be there.

Bail Organa's speech about Lux made Ahsoka teary-eyed, but she held back all the tears as she didn't want others to see her as a weakling. It was especially hard since they had a holo-image of Lux shown.

"Today, we acknowledge a terrible loss," Bail Organa announced. "Lux Bonteri was a hardworking, fair-minded man who always put the needs of others before himself. He was a great representative of his people and a very good friend. But like most of us, he's a flawed man. The Empire used that to their advantage, and they executed him. A defenseless man, whose only weapon of choice was his words. He has been silenced, yes. Because they see him as a threat. But we are not going to let this loss be the reason to end what we do here. Lux and the others who had died for this cause understood the risks, the sacrifices they made, and all they needed to do. And it is our job now to not let their deaths be for nothing."

Afterwards, they celebrated their small victory against the Empire when they rescued Ahsoka out from Mustafar. Food and drinks were served but amidst the celebration, Ahsoka excused herself from the crowd.

She walked outside the temple and leaped from level to level until she reached the top.

The view from the Massassi Temple's roof deck was far different from that of Chopper Base. Yavin 4's terrain was covered with dense forests with thick and tall trees in all directions, unlike the endless mountains and dunes of sand in Atollon.

But at night time, the trees were barely visible. Up on the roof deck, the only source of light was the faint red glow of the giant gas planet of Yavin and the millions of stars scattered in the sky.

Ahsoka's thoughts went back to Lux and suddenly tears were streaming down her cheeks. She still couldn't believe he's gone. And it didn't seem fair that they were celebrating their small victory while Lux had died trying to save her.

. . .

Rex was relieved that they got out of Mustafar alive. Going to that planet, plus the terrain itself is a death sentence. If you were a prisoner taken in, there's no way you'll make it out alive unless you have help.

The Rebel fleet covering in the atmosphere was spearheaded by the Phoenix squadron. Rex had suggested the Marg Sabl, a battle tactic Ahsoka had invented, to Jun Sato before going with the other members of the extraction team towards the surface of the planet. And they delivered. The scenario was just like what they did on Ryloth's atmosphere during the Clone Wars.

Going back to Yavin 4, Ahsoka resumed her post as the General. She retained her composure and confidence despite being tortured by the Empire for information. But Rex could tell that she was barely holding it together. She may not show it, but knowing her and working alongside her since she was young, Rex could always tell if she was not okay.

Plus, after hearing Lux was killed by Inquisitors, he could only imagine how Ahsoka's doing at the moment. And Bail Organa's speech about the late senator of Onderon had only pushed Ahsoka to her edge.

Whilst they were in the middle of a celebration, Rex could see Ahsoka going through the crowd, heading out of the Temple.

Halfway, Rex approached her. "You alright, Littl'un?" He asked.

Ahsoka nodded in response. "I'm fine," She said, obviously lying. "Excuse me."

Rex followed her as she got out of the Temple and saw her climbing the Massassi Temple, leaping from level to level until reaching the top.

Fortunately for him, he wasn't the only one who noticed.

"Captain," A female voice called.

Rex turned and found the Princess of Alderaan standing beside him with a worried expression on her face.

"Is Ahsoka alright?" She asked. "Where is she going?"

"I'm not sure, Your Highness," He admitted.

Leia sighed, clearly worried about Ahsoka. "Is there a turbolift that can take us to where she is?"

"Of course, Princess," He replied. "She usually goes to the roof deck when something's bothering her or she wants to be alone or she wants to relax and clear her mind off something."

"Mm-hmm," Leia nodded. "I think she's trying to do all three. Can you please take me to her?"

Rex nodded in agreement. "Right this way, Your Highness." He gestured for her to follow him.

They rode the turbolift in silence until the princess uttered a word.

"Oh, by the way, Captain," She spoke up. "You can call me Leia."

Rex frowned. "But—"

"Oh, you don't have to worry about other people," She assured. "Or care what other high-ranking officials say. It's a complete bantha poodoo if you ask me."

Rex chuckled. Strangely, the way the princess herself put her words together, and her own reckless behavior reminded him of the General he used to serve during the Clone Wars, Anakin Skywalker. If the Jedi could have children, Leia could easily pass off as Anakin's daughter.

. . .

On the roof deck, Ahsoka had cried her eyes out. It's the one place besides her quarters that she can be by herself and be alone with her thoughts.

Or so she thought. Ahsoka hadn't noticed that someone else was there until they spoke up, nearly startling her.

"Ahsoka?" It was Leia's voice. The Princess probably came to check on her, which both touched and irritated Ahsoka.

She quickly wiped her tears and turned to see the Princess of Alderaan with Captain Rex standing closely behind her.

"What are you doing here?" Ahsoka demanded.

"We just came to check on you, sir," Rex responded.

"Don't be mad at Captain Rex," Leia defended. "I asked him to take me to you."

Ahsoka raised an eyebrow at Rex. "Of course, I'm not surprised." She said. "I just wanted to be alone for a while."

Leia approached her and wrapped her arm around her waist. "But you don't have to be alone," She insisted. "You have friends you can lean on."

"The Princess is right, Littl'un," Rex agreed.

Leia made a face at him. "Captain, what did I say about calling me that?"

Rex flinched. "Right, my apologies, Leia."

Ahsoka chuckled. It was heartwarming to know that Leia allowed Rex to call her by her first name. Because if she does that, it means you have earned her respect and trust.

"I'm so sorry about Lux," Leia brought up.

Hearing his name again nearly brought Ahsoka to tears.

Leia went on to inform her that Lux's body had been returned to his home planet of Onderon.

Ahsoka kept her eyes on the horizon. "Did they expose him as a Rebel sympathizer?"

Leia took a deep breath before speaking again. "They did," She confirmed. "According to my father, the Emperor told the Imperial Senate that he was. There weren't many details but he did mention that Lux was linked to the Rebel General they had captured. You, a former Jedi he had fought alongside with during the Clone Wars."

"What else did they say?" Ahsoka asked.

"Well, that he was killed by the people from our cause." Leia continued. "Specifically the Jedi, because we're supposedly afraid that he'll sell the secrets he knew to the Empire."

Ahsoka sighed in frustration. "Gotta give it to the Empire for twisting the story once again."

"And word has it," Leia said. "That the King of Onderon will be arranging a funeral in the capital city of Iziz in Lux's honor."

"That's good to know," Ahsoka said. "At least his people will know how much he had sacrificed to give them better lives."

"My father and I are going to his funeral in Iziz," Leia brought up. "You can come with us."

"I can't." Ahsoka shook her head. "And if I'll have to bet an X-Wing, I'd say they'll be waiting for me to show up."

Leia blinked at her. "What do you mean?" She asked. "Don't you wanna see him for the last time?"

"As much as I want to, I can't," Ahsoka pointed out. "The Empire already knows who I am now. They'll probably recognize me anywhere. And I don't need another death on my conscience."

"Forgive me for asking, General," Rex interjected. "But how can you be sure?"

"Knowing the Empire, they'll use his funeral to their advantage again," She explained. "They'd expect that several of his 'allies' from our cause will show up and they'll be ready to arrest them."

Rex went to stand beside her. "Well, whatever happens," He said. "We're here for you. I know being a general is not easy. Not just because of the huge responsibility, but knowing the fact that once you send people off into battle, not all of them will return."

Ahsoka nodded. "Fighting in the Clone wars taught me that," She said. "It was the longest three years of my life. And also, one of the best times. Not the war itself, but the friends I made."

"Well, I have a feeling this fight will be longer." Rex guessed. "But this time, it's different. These people aren't clones who are bred for war and grew up in bacta tanks in Kamino, these people are of different races and from different star systems, coming together for one goal. And that is remarkable."

"Captain Rex is right," Leia agreed. "Rebellions are built on hope. That's what makes this cause worth fighting for."

Hearing them say those things, gave Ahsoka warmth and comfort. They reminded her of why she kept fighting. They may have different races, come from different star systems, and speak in different tongues, but they have one goal altogether. To take down the Empire, bring justice to the people they have silenced, and restore peace to the galaxy.

Ahsoka felt a little better. "You're both right." She finally said. "And we must do our part to keep the spark of hope ablaze."

With Rex and Leia keeping her company, Ahsoka felt a little better. Rex wasn't just a clone captain who served under her master, he was someone she regarded as a brother and a very good friend. Leia, well, a part of Anakin lives in her (with her being his daughter), and the thought of that alone is comforting despite where Anakin is now.

Rex placed a hand on her shoulder. "It'll be alright, Littl'un," He assured. "He would want you to carry on and do what you need to do."

. . .

Despite declining the Organas and the risk of being recognized by the Empire, Ahsoka still went to Onderon for Lux's funeral.

Ahsoka, of course, had to blend in with the crowd. She wore a cloak with a hood covering her face. She originally had no intention of coming but Leia's words got to her. Don't you wanna see him for the last time? And she so wanted to.

It was held in Yolahn Square just by the foot of Unifar Temple, which happened to be the King of Onderon's royal residence. And it was packed with people who had gathered to pay homage and their respects to their late senator.

As expected, Stormtroopers were scattered in the area. Ready to arrest anyone who caused a scene or someone who'll look suspiciously like one of the rebels. Whatever the case, Ahsoka avoided them, as she knew they're expecting her to show up because of her ties to Lux.

The King of Onderon, Ramsis Dendup, who looked older than she remembered, made a speech about Lux's accomplishments as their system's senator. He said something about serving Onderon for half of his life because he started when he was only sixteen years old after replacing his mother as a representative, then how Lux worked to get them into the Republic and eventually, the Empire.

Afterwards, the Royal Onderon Militia paved the way among the crowd for the procession of the casket to its final resting place, probably next to where Lux's parents were buried. The others on the podium with the king walked behind the casket, which was guided by royal guards.

The king was surprisingly able to keep up and walked briskly despite his age. Beside him, was the general of the Royal Onderon Militia, Akenathen Tandin. Other attendees include fellow senators, Bail Organa of Alderaan and Mon Mothma of Chandrila, along with several others, including, the Princess of Alderaan herself, Leia Organa.

The people were allowed to throw flowers at the casket when it passed by. Ahsoka had come prepared as she held a single stem of the Marg Sabl. No, it wasn't the tactical maneuver that she created for naval warfare, it was the Togrutan flower that usually opened its petals in a sunburst shape every morning. It was the same flower she named the tactic after.

It wasn't much but at least, she was there. Seeing him for the last time despite the circumstances. She threw the flower and it landed on top of Lux's casket.

And when she did, Leia noticed her among the crowd, which made her halt in her steps. The princess simply gave her a sympathetic smile, until her father had to pull her to get back to the procession.

Ahsoka didn't stay long. Right after the casket passed her, she left the crowd and quietly snuck into the Unifar Temple.

Before they parted ways in Atollon, they promised each other they would climb up the roof deck of Onderon's royal palace again. With Lux's demise, that isn't going to happen anymore. But for his sake, Ahsoka decided to go.

She climbed up to the roof deck where Lux first pulled her to see a full view of Iziz. And just as she was about to walk to the permacrete rail, her comlink beeped. When she checked, the transmission was on the Fulcrum frequency.

Ahsoka took a deep breath before answering. "This is Fulcrum."

"This is Fulcrum," A male voice replied.

Ahsoka recognized who it was. Cassian Andor, she thought. She remembered every fulcrum agents' name and voice who report directly to her. And Cassian Andor was a Fulcrum agent in the Albarrio Sector.

"The Empire has a new superweapon," Cassian reported. "They call it, Project Stardust. And we found the location of its plans."

"Acknowledged," She said. "I'll meet you at Base One. Fulcrum out."

That will have to wait, she thought.

Once the transmission went off, Ahsoka walked towards and stood on the same spot where she and Lux shared their first real kiss.

She remembered how much of a difficult time that was for her. The Jedi were forbidden to have any form of attachments with anyone and yet, there she was, kissing a senator of the Galactic Republic. It was considered sacrilege and she would've been expelled from the Jedi Order once word got out. But then again, Ahsoka didn't find out about Anakin and Padme until they had their twin babies.

The thought of Lux again made tears streamed down her cheeks as she looked out the horizon.

She remembered his last words to her about the rebellion. You must keep the fire burning. Lux had said. Never lose hope. Promise me.

It brought her a little bit of strength. Rebellions are built on hope. Leia had also said. That's what makes this cause worth fighting for. The more she thought about it the more Ahsoka was convinced that Leia, despite being raised by Bail Organa, was definitely Anakin and Padme's daughter through her actions.

The longer she thought about losing Lux, Ahsoka realized that maybe it was one of her unspoken trials to become a full-fledged Jedi Knight. Sure, she was knighted by Grandmaster Yoda himself when she was only seventeen, but she had never fully embraced her identity.

It's part of life. At some point, everyone will become one with the Force. Lux is one of those people now. And despite the sudden loss, she knew that Lux will always have a place in her heart and will always remember him fondly.

"I'll give you the justice you deserve," She vowed. "You and all the others who died by the Empire's hands. I promise."

Ahsoka basically had Lux's last words imprinted in her memory. The very words he told her before he took his final breath, I'll always love you, Ahsoka.

She could almost imagine Lux standing beside her on the roof deck. He'd put his arm around her and she'd lean on his shoulder, with the gentle wind blowing through his hair and swaying her lekkus. Then again, it's only wishful thinking.

Ahsoka then inhaled the soft, gentle breeze and allowed herself to smile for the first time, a real, happy, contented smile, since Lux's death.

Right now, she's still dealing with her loss. But once she leaves Onderon, it's back to being the General of the Rebel Alliance.

Rebellions are built on hope. Ahsoka thought again. And she promised herself that she will keep the spark of hope alive, at all cost.

END