How to Take an Empire

Chapter Sixteen: Renouncement

Ahsoka had a feeling that she wasn't the only Jedi that Bail Organa was in contact with when she'd emphasized to both Bail and Breha that absolutely no one was to know about Luke's and Leia's heritage or her connection to them, and Bail asked pointedly, "No one? At all?"

It then became a question who he thought should know. And that's when she found out that Obi-wan was alive.

Ahsoka hadn't expected to feel as conflicted as she did when she realized that, and she was even more conflicted when Bail suggested that having him in the loop could be a boon to her keeping the children safe and out of the Emperor's grasps. Ahsoka didn't know if it was some kind of mother's intuition or if she was just that keenly perceptive, but Breha sensed Ahsoka's unease and suggested that before Ahsoka make that decision, why didn't she see Obi-wan for herself. That and it would be a good trial run to see how the twins would act without Ahsoka in their physical presence for a stretch of time.

Ahsoka agreed and the next day found herself en route to Tatooine with coordinates to where Obi-wan was staying. The only heads up that she allowed Bail to give her grandmaster was that he was sending an operative that could use his expertise.

It was odd, being so far in physical distance from the twins after years of always being with them, though Ahsoka made sure to keep their bond wide open for them. Truth be told though, keeping their bond so open was more for her sake than for theirs. When she'd left, making sure they understood that she was coming back, they simply laughed, kissed her face, and sent across the bond both the feeling and almost fully formed words, We love you, mama. Then they'd leaped from her arms, loudly yelled, "Bye," and chased behind the handmaid holding Winter and who was partly responsible for all three children's care. It was only a few months ago that Leia would hardly let Ahsoka out her sight even to go just to another room, and now they were secure enough in her presence that they were letting her go across the galaxy without them.

"When did I get so soft?" Ahsoka asked herself as she once again checked her bond with Luke and Leia.

Certainly, they were safer on Alderaan than they would be on Tatooine. And Ahsoka didn't think Vader would forgive her for taking the two to the planet he hated the most. She'd thought about just landing the ship in the middle of the desert in front of the coordinates to where Obi-wan stayed, but that would likely attract attention that Obi-wan obviously didn't want since he was hiding this far out here in the first place. So she left her ship in a docking bay in Anchorhead, rented an old dingy speeder, and went to the coordinates from there.

It was nearing nightfall when Ahsoka arrived, and she'd only gotten halfway to the entrance of the hovel before the front door opened, streaming light outside. Obi-wan came to stand in the entryway.

After she'd crossed the distance and was standing a few feet in front of him, she took off her hood, though she was sure she didn't have to. He'd undoubtedly sensed her, barely shielded as she was.

"Hello, Obi-wan," she said simply.

"Hello, Ahsoka," he said.

They stared at each other for a few moments. The first thing she noticed was how sad and beat down he seemed. How weary of spirit he was. The second thing she noticed was because of that weariness, how much he'd aged in the last two years. It wasn't healthy.

"When Bail told me he was sending an agent to get my advice on a matter, I would have never guessed that it would be you," Obi-wan said with a smile.

"I wasn't sure you were still alive until Bail told me," Ahsoka stated.

"Well, are you going to stand out there all night or are you going to come in?"

Ahsoka gave a smile that she hoped wasn't as strained as she felt it was before following him into the hovel. She sat at a small table while he grabbed her a glass of water, giving her a chance to observe the surroundings. It was neat. Tidy. Sparse. Very Jedi-like and different from what Ahsoka had become accustomed to over the years. Toys always in some place that they didn't belong, a blanket on the floor or on the couch from where Luke and Leia had been, crumbs from food, or abandoned dishes.