Card of Heart

Chapter 2 - Reunion

"It's good to see you too, Ahsoka," he tells her, wishing that he could hug her, though he's not entirely sure it would be a good idea, much less appropriate, at the moment. There will be plenty of time later. He'll make certain of it. In the months when he'd thought about their reunion, never had he imagined it being like this, on the same side of the war.

"I didn't realize you had such strong ties to Onderon," Ahsoka remarks.

"Onderon is my home. My mother represented it in the Senate."

Steela Gerrera, Saw's sister, walks over to them, falling in step beside them. Lux and Steela have become friends since he joined up with the Rebels, but he's tried to keep his distance, especially knowing how she feels about him. His heart belongs to Ahsoka, not Steela. She might want a relationship with him, and that's not something he'll be able to give her. "Your voice is strong, like hers was," Steela comments, obviously overhearing the conversation.

"Have you reconsidered joining the Republic?" queries Ahsoka.

"Even if we do take back Onderon, it won't change how I feel," he asserts, "I'm not fighting for the Republic." That's one thing that isn't going to change. He doesn't agree with them anymore than his mother did, even if he also can't stay with the Separatists. They can be neutral, the way Mandalore is.

"Well, either way, this may help bring a faster end to the war," Ahsoka points out hopefully.

"I hope so," Lux states firmly, remembering his promise to Ahsoka again. They need to try to end the war, for the galaxy and to a lesser extent for... personal reasons. They can't even consider becoming anything more than friends until after it's over.

"We need to help each other now, just like we did back on Carlac," the Togruta adds with a grin.

Steela stops at that, frowning. And for a moment, Lux really wishes he could have this reunion with Ahsoka without Steela's presence. "Carlac? What happened on Carlac?"

They walk a few paces ahead before turning to face Steela. "Ahsoka is the reason I'm here and not with Death Watch," he replies. She saved him from a decision he would have forever regretted. If she hadn't been there, once he realized what was really going on, it would have been too late to leave. The more he objected, the sooner they would have killed him. He sees it now. Looking back, it was a stupid choice, one that nearly got them both killed; he didn't realize what kind of people the Death Watch consisted of at the time.

"Really?" Steela looks almost skeptical.

"What he means is --" begins Ahsoka.

"She saved me from a huge mistake," he responds. Glancing over his shoulder, he can see that the others are returning with the weapons. "We can talk more later," he offers, "But now, we have some practicing to do."

"We do!" Ahsoka agrees cheerfully, eyes sparkling with the promise of fun to come as they hurry to rejoin the others.

Lux is uncertain he sees a hint of... unhappiness in Steela's eyes as she watches them, but what can he do? It's Ahsoka he wants, not... Steela, even if they've become friends. Maybe if Lux and Ahsoka hadn't talked on Carlac that day he would have let it go, knowing it was nothing but a fantasy since she's a Jedi, but she expressed the desire to continue things with them, and it's not something he can let go of anymore.

***

"Everyone, divide up into teams of two, and we'll practice an assault on both hatches," Anakin instructs the gathered rebels. Right now, they're learning how to destroy tanks. Ahsoka stands off to the side, watching. It's not the first time they've gotten involved in training civilians to help – there was a time on Felucia they had to, although that was just against pirates. At least she knows how to do it, though.