The Unchronicled Adventures Of Ahsoka Tano, Book Ten

Chapter Eighty-Three: When I Heard The News

KANAN JARRUS

After a night of uneasy sleep, Kanan awoke to find the strangest feeling of emptiness lingering in his gut. For a while, he thought it was just hunger – he hadn't had much of a supper the night before, after all – but after a hearty breakfast and equally filling lunch, he was beginning to suspect something was wrong.

They had been on a supply run in the far end of the Calamari sector for over a week, on the far side of an Imperial blockade guarding a mobile intelligence base. Long range communication hadn't been safe until they had cleared it an hour or two before, and Kanan, Ezra and Zeb were now waiting for Hera to finish receiving her update from Chopper Base while Sabine and Chopper attended to some repairs.

"Okay, so there's good news and bad news," Hera informed them as she walked back into the common room.

"Start with the good news," Ezra said, leaning forward in his seat.

"Well, we've begun sending patrols down to Atollon instead of just staying in orbit. We're likely to have finished scouting for suitable locations for the actual base within two weeks. Once we have a good place, we can start unloading our equipment and supplies, though it'll probably take us a few weeks – and more a few more supply runs for us – before we're really ready to settle in." Hera nodded as though satisfied with their progress, her green lekku bobbing with the gesture. But a moment later, her smile fell. "I also received word that a few days ago, we lost one of our pilots: Captain Janira Elt."

That's it? One dead pilot? Is that why my stomach was in such a mess this morning? Kanan shook his head. No, that can't be true. What's one pilot to me? Sure, we talked some, but I hardly knew her...

"She's dead?" Ezra's eyes widened, but suddenly, he sighed. "Oh, poor her..."

Kanan got the sense Ezra wasn't talking about the pilot. "What?"

"Ahsoka," Ezra clarified. "She and Captain Elt were friends. Good friends."

"And what a shame to lose all that talent, even if she was about to be promoted to cell leader on Onderon," Hera said, pressing her lips together. "She was one of the best pilots we had."

Ezra and Zeb agreed with her and exchanged murmurs of sympathy, but Kanan wasn't listening. He was too wrapped up in what he had just learned – that Ahsoka and the pilot were close – to pay them much attention.

Ahsoka and Janira were friends, he thought, willing the gears in his head to turn faster. He was close to an answer here – he could feel it. They were friends...

And that was when it clicked. Suddenly, he was able to see Janira and Ahsoka in perfect clarity, dressed in big snow parkas and laughing and talking as they walked past him down a hall in the old base on Morvolo, on their way to meet...

He closed his eyes and let himself fade completely into the memory, and found that through the additional lense of the Force, he was able to experience it in far greater detail than he had at the time. For instance, despite the fact that his back was turned, he could see how Ahsoka looked on with a smile as Lux hugged Janira warmly, and see the resemblance between them as he addressed her with a simple:

"Hello, sister."

Janira and Lux are brother and sister, Kanan realized with a start, and opened his eyes again. Ahsoka knew them both at some point. Now that Janira is gone, she's my key to figuring out what the whole thing on Onderon and Morvolo with him means.

*And so Kanan begins to unravel the truth... But will Ahsoka be as willing a key as he hopes? Most of her secrets are interlinked, and one thing could lead to another until those she most wishes to protect could suddenly find themselves under scrutiny. What could it mean for the kids if she decides to talk? With all the memories Kaylira stole from her or altered beyond recognition, does she even know the whole story herself? And now that someone they both cared about is gone, will Lux and Saw band together, or grow further apart than ever? You'll find out in the next thrilling chapter of The Unchronicled Adventures Of Ahsoka Tano! 

Well, Saw is being paranoid but still sticking to what he believes, Ahsoka is exhausted, and Kanan is finally starting to smarten up. And Lux is locked away in his room.

These last two chapters were originally only supposed to be one, but it was getting too long for one and I wanted to flesh out the Lux-lashing-out and Saw-brooding bits a little more and give them their own time to shine. That's hard to do without the space... plus I'd been meaning to do a Kanan part too, and with the Saw part only half a chapter long, this was the perfect opportunity.

I'm sort of trying to set up Saw's extremist ways here in this book to a very limited degree here in this book, as well as and they come from his fear and distrust. But I'm tying it more into Rogue One than season 3, because I mean, I'd need to study  the episodes he's in in depth, and I've already seen Rogue One like six or seven. It's just easier for me XD

Also, although I probably shouldn't for the sake of the plot, I'd like to take the time to point out that the unloading of supplies and going out on missions for it takes place in the beginning of 'The Mystery of Chopper Base', the penultimate show in season 2. 

*throws on a hood and speaks like the Emperor* The end is near, my friends...

Okay, so I'm kind of tired and have some fanfics to read, so I'm going to take a break tonight and post the next chapter (or possibly next two or three) tomorrow instead of working on them tonight and posting a written-by-half-delirious-2AM-Sharron chapter. Because her writing is either the work of some heavenly mostly-unconscious muse guiding her fingers across the keyboard, or very repetitive and full of flowery descriptions that make zero sense. In other words, she's not predictable. (Cue the Luxsoka references.)

Hope to see you all in the next update, but until then...

Unravel the secrets of your new Rebel stronghold and may the Force be with you,

Sharron

PS: I HAVE LITERALLY BEEN WAITING TO USE THIS FAN ART FOR MONTHS IM SO ABSURDLY HAPPY RIGHT NOW THAT I HAVE A CHAPTER WORTH POSTING IT WITH