Ahsoka Tano One-Shots

An Unexpected Encounter | Part 3

But Ahsoka didn't sleep for the rest of the night. She wouldn't forget the nightmare, not for a long time, maybe not ever.

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When Hunter woke up before dawn, he hadn't expected to find Ahsoka sitting in the galley kitchen looking distant and sipping tea.

"'Morning, Master Jedi," Hunter said, and she jumped a bit. He'd startled her.

"You can just call me Ahsoka," she said, pretending like she hadn't been scared.

"Where were you?" Hunter asked.

"Sorry?"

"You looked like you were somewhere else, thinking hard. Where were you?" Hunter grabbed the caf pot and poured himself a cup. He could almost feel her stifen behind him.

"Oh, you know, a little bit of everything," she hummed, trying a little too hard to sound nonchalant.

Hunter knew. Or, he was 98% sure. He'd seen the look she was giving her shimmering cup of tea far too many times. The tired, distraught look.

"You know, talking about nightmares usually helps," Hunter suggested and he knew he'd gotten it right when she flinched ever so slightly.

"Not always," Ahsoka said and he shrugged. "I'm okay for now," she told him. "Talking... takes a lot of strength. And that's something I don't really have a lot of right now." She gestured to the bandages covering her many wounds.

"I'm just saying, any of us would be willing to listen if he wanted to talk. Even Tech will stop being all analytical for something like that."

"Thanks, Hunter," Ahsoka chuckled. "I'll keep it in mind."

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Everyone else was up not too long after Hunter, and before long, they were ready to land and head out for the mission. The Marauder's ramp lowered slowly to touch the ground and Ahsoka took a deep breath.

"You sure you're up for this?" Echo asked.

Ahsoka nodded, but Hunter knew it was a lie.

"If you feel like you can't keep going, just tell us, kid. We don't want you getting all beat up again," Hunter said.

Ahsoka offered him a small smile and nodded reassuringly. "I won't jeopardize the mission. I'll get myself out of the way if I need to."

Hunter didn't like the way she said it, but maybe she'd been wired that way, growing up in war, so he didn't push the matter.

As they began working through the mission, Ahsoka hung back a bit, and Hunter assigned her to easy tasks. But when the old battle droids started firing back at them, it was as if it'd flipped a switch in her head.

Ahsoka leaped forward, her single lightsaber flying through the air in bright blurs. It was, Hunter decided, extremely convenient to have a Jedi on hand.

"Rex!" she barked out suddenly. "Take Fives and Hardcase around back. Echo, Tup, with me."

And suddenly it all made sense.

"What? But Rex isn't here!" Wreacker boomed, and Hunter immediately silenced them.

"Hardcase, less yapping more shooting droids," Ahsoka called back at Wreacker, then turned her attention to Tech and said, "Fives, get moving." She nodded to Hunter.

"Tech, Wreacker, on me," said Hunter, and off they went, around to the back to take the droids by surprise. At the same time, Ahsoka, Echo, and Omega pressed forward.