This is an Ahsoka fanfiction. It kicks off before the show, will extend through the end of season one, and hopefully conclude with post-show content before season two of the real thing airs. Let me know how I’m doing in the comments!
I’ve started loading chapters into Archive of Our Own. Let me know if you follow over there!
Rating: General, Spice Level: None
Characters/Tags: Original Character, Master and Apprentice Relationships, Original Female Character, Original Jedi Character, Ahsoka Tano, Huyang
Read Chapter 9 – Welcome to Coruscant
Chapter 10 – The Dark Side of People
Kendra grabbed the metal railing on the massive cargo lift as it descended through the darkness below. She let go almost as quickly, recoiling from the sticky layer of grime she couldn’t quite see in the dim light. Ahsoka stood next to her, arms crossed, seemingly unfazed by the ride.
Designed for the transport of equipment and other goods, the lift system was the “most reliable” option to travel to the lower levels. Kendra shuddered at the thought of the less reliable methods as the cargo lift slowed briefly and then dropped suddenly before resuming its regular pace.
Sweat formed on Kendra’s temples and lower back. There was surprisingly little airflow for a massive open shaft in the ground. She still felt the Force all around her, always present, but somehow as turbulent as their ride.
“Was this on any holos about Coruscant?” Ahsoka asked.
“No,” Kendra said. “Should my lungs be burning?”
Ahsoka said, “You’d get used to it if you were down here long enough.”
A troop of New Republic security officers checked their weapons nearby, the only other passengers on the lift other than the Jedi. A control droid stood inside an armored steel box, thick windows protecting it from the outside.
Large openings on all four sides appeared every few levels. Giant banks of artificial lights illuminated most, though several lay almost devoid of light. Kendra saw droids, humanoids, and other creatures on some floors, engaged in the logistics of keeping the planet running.
This was the second cargo lift they’d hitched a ride on since leaving the ship on the surface. There had been three passenger elevators and two rail cars before the cargo lifts. In addition to being the most reliable, this was the fastest method to get to wherever they were going to meet Ahsoka’s contact. The older Jedi carried a data pad, which she showed to the New Republic guards and control droids to grant them access.
The lift screeched as it braked, slowly at first, but then rapidly as they entered another cavernous room. She felt certain it should not squeal like it did. Stacks of cargo pods were staged for loading onto the lift, and another troop of security personnel waited to the side.
“This is our stop,” Ahsoka said.
“To another lift?”
“No,” Ahsoka said. “Now we walk.”
The security officers stepped off the platform as it stopped, and the officers on the deck prepared to board. Ahsoka left in a different direction, and Kendra followed, quickly finding herself lost in a maze of corridors and access tunnels.
“You’re not going to leave me here,” Kendra asked, “as a test?”
“No,” Ahsoka said. “That would be a terrible thing to do.”
Kendra wasn’t sure how that’d be worse than letting her fight a Tarnox by herself, but she decided not to ask as they turned into yet another corridor that might have also been the local sewer based on the smell.
“How was shopping?” Ahsoka asked.
“Fine,” Kendra said, thankful for the distraction. Huyang had taken her to one of the nearby shopping districts on the upper levels. It had been overwhelming but fun. “I couldn’t find any undergarments that worked.”
She had realized less than two days into her journey with Ahsoka and Huyang that her current set of clothing would not last against her new training regimen. Her chest was sore from all the movement, and more than one area consistently chafed beneath her pants.
“Let me see if I can find a source,” Ahsoka said.
“How many ‘sources’ do you have?” Kendra asked.
“Enough to find underwear.”
Ahsoka never seemed annoyed at Kendra’s questions, but didn’t always answer them fully. It made her realize just how open Master Edith was, even if she didn’t say much. Ahsoka was clearly used to being alone. Kendra hoped she could connect more with the older Jedi with more time.
They passed groups of people and creatures in the corridors as they walked. Several sets of families huddled within shelters made of discarded equipment. A few sat against walls, with the distant look in their eyes of someone who’d had too much to drink. Four children kicked a ball back and forth.
Kendra’s stomach turned. Had these children ever seen real sunlight? Could any of these people receive medical care?
“Why are all these people down here?” Kendra asked.
“Where else would they be?”
There were millions of habitable planets. Why didn’t the people go there? There was plenty of space on Celestoria for more, at least.
They passed by a group of horned huminoids Kendra could not identify, though she thought they must be young adults of the species. Two looked up from their dice game and locked eyes with Kendra.
Kendra realized she’d not seen any security officers since leaving the cargo dock. She ducked her head and sped up to walk beside Ahsoka. “Was it like this when the Jedi Temple was here?”
“There are over three trillion people on Coruscant. There were around 10,000 Jedi before the Clone Wars.”
Kendra sensed something behind them. “I think we’re being followed.”
“Good catch,” Ahsoka said. “Just keep walking.”
“Anyway,” Kendra said, “I thought Jedi helped people.”
“Yes.” Ahsoka swapped sides with Kendra. “But no group can solve all the world’s problems, much less the galaxy’s.”
“Shouldn’t someone do something about all this? Like the New Republic?”
“What would you have them do?”
“Medical facilities. Schools. Food, water. Treatment for the addicts. Transport to planets where they’d have sunlight.”
Ahsoka asked, “Who would pay for that?”
“I’m sure if people knew how it was, they’d help, right?” Kendra remembered the people of Fernwood coming together after Evan’s father died to repair the weaver’s house.
“Every planet has poverty,” Ahsoka said. “Every family, rich or poor, has suffering. Yes, the New Republic or any government can do a lot to aid people, but it cannot overcome everything. Especially as people will always fight against the good out of greed.”
“The Dark Side?” Kendra asked.
“Just the dark side of people.” Ahsoka stopped and turned.
Four of the horned youth followed the Jedi, two males and two females, and they had gained distance to reduce the space between them. The group slowed, hands drifting to their sides. Three had daggers, but one had a blaster.
Kendra took a step back and wondered what she should say to try to avert a conflict. “You should leave,” was the first thing that came to mind.
“But we just got here,” one of the women said. She pulled out a blade.
“Seems you shouldn’t have come,” a man said.
Ahsoka’s hand dropped to one of her lightsabers, and she scowled at the youth. “Turn around.”
Kendra blinked at the change in the other Jedi. She was always confident and purposeful, but her posture and tone now reminded Kendra of how she was during the Tarnox fight. Ahsoka emanated power and violence. And the Force, Kendra detected a firm direction from the older Jedi to the possible attackers.
The woman with the knife started to take a step forward, but the man next to her put out his arm to stop her. He stared at Ahsoka’s lightsaber. “Not this one,” he said.
“Fine,” the woman said. She looked at Kendra. “You got lucky this time, little one.”
All four slowly turned and walked back to where they started.
“They made the right choice,” Ahsoka said. “Let’s go.”
“How did you do that?”
“The Force can help us be more persuasive, but should not be over-used in that capacity.”
Kendra wondered what “over-use” was, who defined it, and who would stop someone from going too far. She didn’t recall Edith ever using the ability.
The Jedi resumed their journey through the deep labyrinth of halls, corridors, and buildings. There were more families, more addicts, and more children. How many thousands of years ago was this level the top level of the planet? How long had it been since it had fresh air or seen the sun?
“What would you have said to them if I’d not been here?” Ahsoka asked.
“I’m not sure.”
“What would you have done if they’d decided to fight?”
“If I couldn’t convince them not to, I guess I would have had to fight them.”
“Good,” Ahsoka said. “Think on what you would have said and what would have happened to be ready for next time, but that’s a good order for a Jedi. Avoid the fight if you can, but end it quickly if you can’t.”
Kendra nodded, but wondered if Ahsoka planned on talking to this Thrawn guy if they found him.
“And we’re here,” Ahsoka said.
“Here” looked much like everywhere else on this level, except for a well-lit building on the corner. Electronic music came from within, and pulsating red, blue, green, and yellow lights bathed the exterior frosted windows. Two Gamorreans stood to the side of the front door, holding axes but carrying blasters at their sides. A simple sign identified the business as “Bluelace.”
“We’ll be safer from thugs here,” Ahsoka said, “but don’t let your guard down. The people here won’t be as direct, but they’re more dangerous.”
Ahsoka didn’t look at the guards as she strode through the front doors. Kendra followed her lead but glanced at the warriors. She’d never seen a member of their species except in holovids.
The inside of Bluelace managed to be as overwhelming as the market district at the surface. A light smoky haze or fog combined with the lights to create a similar effect as the frosted windows.
A droid band in the far right corner played dance music. Around thirty people sat at tables, booths, or at the bar. Many smoked using odd devices, and a few played cards. Two human women danced atop the bar, using poles rising to the ceiling. An oddly sexual droid also danced on the bar, without a pole. The room smelled sweet, almost sticky, and artificial in a way that turned Kendra’s stomach.
“Spice.” Ahsoka moved to the left of the room, nodding at the reptile-looking bartender.
He cocked his head, and waved off a bipedal serving droid before it approached the women.
Ahsoka stopped at a booth in the far corner and indicated that Kendra should take the inside seat. The two slid in, facing the front door.
Kendra found the booth oddly clean compared to everything else they’d seen. “What is this place?”
“Diner, spice bar, place to play cards, find or pay for companionship, or a meeting place. Whatever it needs to be.”
“I don’t think Fernwood had spice,” Kendra said. “Plenty of alcohol, though.”
“Same idea,” Ahsoka said.
Of the people present, few seemed lost to the spice or music. They held a serious look in many cases. Kendra counted at least twelve blasters and assumed many more were kept hidden.
Ahsoka said, “The people here are generally more planned about their violence. The street thugs can’t afford this place and wouldn’t be tolerated even if they came inside. They cause too much trouble.”
“The bartender recognized you.”
“I’ve been here before.” Ahsoka did not elaborate.
An older man with sleek, shoulder-length black hair walked through the front door. His long, dark blue jacket fell to his knees and did not conceal the blaster on either hip. He strode to their booth without hesitation.
Kendra tensed, but noted Ahsoka remained still. Was this the contact?
He sat near the edge of the booth across from them. “You’re early,” he said.
“So are you,” Ahsoka replied.
He glanced at Kendra. “New padawan?”
“No,” Ahsoka said.
Kendra shifted in the seat, uncomfortable. How did this man know she was a padawan? Had he met Ahsoka’s earlier padawan Sabine? Or were there other padawan’s in Ahsoka’s history?
He retrieved a small, gray data stick from a pocket in his jacket and set it on the table. “This was everything he could get before they caught him.”
Ahsoka looked at the stick but didn’t reach for it. “Is it what I need?”
“He says so.” The man leaned back. “I didn’t look at it.”
“Of course you didn’t,” Ahsoka said. “It is too bad he didn’t want to meet with me.”
He smiled. “An Imperial running from the New Republic meeting with a Jedi? I can’t blame him.”
“You’re meeting with me.”
“Yeah,” he said, “but I’ve worked with Jedi before. And, you know, didn’t try to hunt them down and kill them all. Makes you a bit more friendly, I’d think.”
Who was this man, and how did he know more Jedi? Were there more Jedi on Coruscant? Did he know them before the war? Why was Ahsoka working with an Imperial officer?
“True.” She pulled out a similar data stick and set it on the table. “This will get him, and only him, off planet. He’s now a low-level but skilled sanitation worker on his way to Akiva.”
“Sanitation worker?” he asked. “That’s hilarious.”
Ahsoka said, “He won’t have to keep to that story once he’s off Coruscant.”
“Still. Funny.” He pocketed the data stick and stood. “Pleasure doing business with you, as always.”
“Likewise,” Ahsoka said. “Let me know if you learn anything else of interest.”
“Only if it is expensive.” He turned and walked out of the building, almost as quickly as he came in, though he spent a few seconds admiring one of the dancers.
Kendra waited a few moments after he’d vanished through the doors and asked, “Who was that?”
“A bounty hunter.”
Kendra shook her head and sputtered, “You gave a bounty hunter New Republic credentials to help an Imperial escape?”
“Lower your voice.” Ahsoka pulled the new datastick off the table and into a hidden pocket. “We did get this. Ship’s data from a warlord loyal to the Empire.”
Exasperated, Kendra asked, “What’s on it?”
“Hopefully, the location of a planet.”
“Hope it is worth it,” Kendra said.
Ahsoka slid out of the booth. “Let’s go.”
Kendra did not immediately follow. Finding information was important, but at what cost? What if the New Republic needed this Imperial officer more than Ahsoka needed whatever was on the data stick? What if the data stick didn’t have what they needed? What if it is was a serious war criminal they just let off world?
Was this what Jedi did? The bounty hunter claimed to have worked with Jedi before. Master Edith didn’t talk about working with bounty hunters. Or getting criminals away from justice.
Ahsoka asked, “Coming?”
Speechless, Kendra nodded at the older Jedi’s back as she rose. She didn’t speak again during their hours-long journey back to the ship.
Read Chapter 11 – Echoes in the Temple
Leave a Reply