Star Wars: Ahsoka

“Will you need a ship, or can you use your own?” Bail asked. He didn’t have a lot of resources to work with when he was acting as a rebel instead of a senator, but there were some benefits to being married to a ruling planetary queen.

“We can use ours,” Chardri said. “I get the feeling we might have to do some tight flying, and it’s always best to do that in something familiar.”

Bail hadn’t told them they were looking for a Jedi. He trusted them, but he wasn’t stupid. Also, to be completely honest, he was a little wary to say the words out loud. He knew his offices on Coruscant couldn’t be completely secured. But even if they could, Bail didn’t think he would have said anything to them about the Jedi. There was just too much at risk. As far as Chardri and Tamsin knew, they were looking for some sort of ringleader, a person like Bail himself but on a much smaller scale—and presumably someone who wasn’t currently late for a vote in the Senate.

“Where do you want us to meet next?” Tamsin asked delicately as she rose to her feet.

Bail considered it. Alderaan was out, as was Coruscant. In fact, any planet at all was too risky. He’d be calling in another favor from Captain Antilles, it seemed.

“We’ll meet your ship,” Bail said. “Contact me when you’ve secured the objective, and I’ll give you the coordinates.”

Chardri and Tamsin exchanged a look but didn’t protest.

“If you’ll excuse me, I’m late for a vote,” Bail said. Both pilots took that for the dismissal it was. “Good hunting,” he told them as they preceded him out of his office. And may the Force be with us, he thought.

* * *

Ahsoka landed her ship, took her hands off the controls, and cracked her neck. It had been a very long flight, and while nothing had gone wrong, her nerves were on edge. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something was coming, something that would change everything she was working to build. She did her postflight inspection as quickly as she could, eager to eat real food, take a decent shower, and then sleep in her own bed.

None of the Fardis came out to meet her, which was unusual enough to upset her nerves even further. She made her way toward the big house, looking carefully for any disturbance and even going so far as to reach out with the Force. When she got to the door, it was open, so she went inside.

All the family members currently in residence were gathered in the living room, and there were four stormtroopers with blasters standing in the doorway. They spotted Ahsoka instantly, so there was no point in running. She might get away, but the Fardis wouldn’t. She held their lives in her hands, and she could see that the older ones knew it. She thought fast.

“Your ship’s repaired,” she said. She had no idea what, if anything, the Fardis had told the Imperials about her. It was best to start with an easy lie and hope they followed her lead. “I took it for a spin around the system, and all the kinks seem to have been worked out.”

“Excellent,” said Fardi. There was sweat on his brow, but the room was hot with so many people in it. “This is the mechanic I was telling you about,” he told the stormtroopers. “When you keep as many ships as my family does, it makes sense to employ one full-time. She lives here, as a matter of fact, so that she’s always ready to work.”

“We don’t care about your mechanic,” said one of the troopers. “We’re just conducting a routine search of the house.”

Ahsoka made sure to keep her face neutral, but the trooper’s words surprised her. There was no such thing as a routine search of private property. They were looking for something, or they wouldn’t be there.

“Of course, of course,” Fardi said. “Anything we can do to help.”

Ahsoka went to sit beside Hedala, who was sitting in Chenna’s lap. Ahsoka leaned forward carefully and whispered in the girl’s ear.

“Any shadows today?” she asked.

“No,” Hedala replied, just as quietly. “Clear skies for good flying.”

Ahsoka breathed a little easier. She hadn’t felt anything, either, but the girl knew exactly what she was looking for, so it made sense to ask for surety.

Two more troopers and an officer came into the room. The stormtroopers who were already present straightened to attention.

“We were in a small room in the back of the house,” the officer said. “Whose room is that?”

“Mine,” Ahsoka said, standing up again. She tried not to measure how far it was to the door or to calculate how she might jump out the window.

“Please explain this,” the officer said, holding up the package of metal pieces that Ahsoka kept under her pillow. Her skin crawled to think of their searching her room to that degree.

“Oh, those are just bits of junk I’ve picked up doing various jobs,” Ahsoka said, deliberately underplaying the value of the tech she’d collected. “I can show you if you want.”

“Open it,” the officer said.