Ahsoka Tano stood in the middle of a training room at the Jedi Temple with broken dummies of droids at her feet. It was a sight that she was always greeted with regardless of how long it took to get. A sheen of sweat decorated her forehead as the young Togruta took multiple deep breaths. Setting it on the difficulty only reserved for Masters meant that Ahsoka was often left feeling exhausted and extremely beaten afterwards however the extra experience she gained was worth it. Ahsoka wasn't the only one who gave herself a challenge, Barriss and Anakin both did the exact same thing. It didn't help either though that she had had a fitful sleep, her mind plagued with nightmares. Nothing of much focus, just a general sense of misery and doom that haunted her.
The doors opened with s swoosh that announced her Master's arrival. "Heya Snips, did you just finish your training?" He said this with some accusation in his voice, as though the thought of his apprentice only just completing ten rounds of relentless fire power on the hardest difficulty was a terrible shame. Ahsoka had no idea what Anakin thought about himself, she'd seen him collapse and beg for the program to be turned off the first few times she had watched him train.
Ahsoka deactivated her saber and jabbed him in the stomach. "No Master, just taking a breather. Is there something you needed?" She pressed a button that put the droids away, leaving the Master and Padawan alone.
Surprisingly, Anakin looked mildly uncomfortable with that question. This made Ahsoka both curious and worried. Catching her confused expression, her Master was quick to change that. "Don't worry Snips, everything is fine. A new transmission has come in to the Jedi Council, they asked for you personally. I suggest that you get changed." A light blush had crept over Anakin's face as he really disliked saying things like that but Ahsoka knew he wouldn't be saying it if it wasn't necessary. What she was more curious about was why the transmission had come directly to the Jedi Council itself and not to the holo-table down in the war room. To contact the Jedi Council meant that whoever they were was in grave danger and was a good friend to the Jedi. The Chancellor and his entrusted staff mainly used the channel. Another thought occurred to the teenage Togruta: Why had they specifically asked for her? Taking her Master's advice, Ahsoka changed in record time as she and Anakin jogged through the Temple back to the sacred chambers.
As they approached the door, Anakin stopped suddenly and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Snips. I just want you to be prepared. It may come as a shock to you but I am pretty sure that they will talk more to the actual Masters themselves rather than you. If they do ask you anything, don't feel like you have to answer. Signal me silently and I'll step in to give you some time." Ahsoka was frightened now, it wasn't like her usual carefree, reckless Master to be so serious. It really piqued her interest into who was actually on the transmission.
Hiding her fears, Ahsoka looked up to her Master and plastered on a bright smile. "Don't worry Skyguy, I'll be fine." Anakin tried to return her grin but it came out as more of a grimace. Walking in, the Jedi Masters turned their heads to look at her arrival. Some of them were clearly a little mistrustful of the fact that their callers had asked for her personally. Ahsoka couldn't blame them, it was strange for a Padawan to he called for especially when the person had called the Council directly.
Once she had looked past the pitying face of Plo Koon and the observing face of Obi-wan Kenobi, Ahsoka turned her attention to the hologram itself.
The world started to spin. Ahsoka felt the ground shift beneath her feet and the air itself became clammy and stifling. She couldn't breathe. Why? Why was he here? Out of everyone in the galaxy, why him? It did make sense in some twisted way everything that had happened before this: Anakin's warning just at the door, the strange expressions on her Masters faces, Anakin's suggestion that she changed. Lux Bonteri. Who else would it be?
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For six months now, Lux had been living rough in the jungles of Onderon with an ever growing number of fellow rebels. It had started as just Steela Gerrera and her brother Saw but then it had grown into a few close friends including Lux who had joined soon after he had gone back to Onderon until now it was a full operation of people from Iziz and all other towns and cities of his beloved home. They were fighting against the evil rule of Separatist puppet King Rash, the fake King. King Dendup was their true ruler in the rebels' eyes and they were fighting to restore him on the throne.
Lux had felt put down by Saw a lot over the last few months but the young Senator had thought that his Jedi connections would boost his respect. He'd mentioned that the Jedi would be willing to help them when he had first joined but it had been met with high levels of skepticism. Saw of course immediately rejected the idea, believing it to be hogwash as did others. Those who really wanted to just go all guns blazing on the clankers thought it would take too long. Steela and a few others gently suggested that it would be better for Onderon's neutrality if the Jedi remained out of their business, stating that it was an internal affair.
Lux was crushed. His one attempt to contribute to the cause and it was laughable. Put down again, Lux had lost a lot of faith in himself and had felt very unhappy on his homeworld. It wasn't until more ammunitions came in that he discoverd that he could be useful in another way. Spending time with Ahsoka and a few days with Death Watch had taught Lux a lot about weaponry and he discovered that he could be useful in explaining what each piece of equipment was. Steela had turned out to be a natural with a sniper rifle; she'd grown stronger with it in the last few months and Lux felt proud of his friend. The other rebels began to take notice of Lux's knowledge and his little talk of the Jedi helping them was soon forgotten by all but two: Saw and Lux.
Saw reminded him of his beginning failure at every chance he got; bringing up a lot of feelings in Lux that were similar to what had caused him to seek out Death Watch. Thinking of the Mandalorian terrorists and Carlac caused Lux to also think of Ahsoka. He often wondered what she was doing while he was out gathering intel or taking down droid patrols. It occurred to him at one point that this new experience for him was probably what Ahsoka did every day in the war since she was fourteen. It sparked a new found respect and admiration for his fiesty friend as well as a larger disappointment in the Jedi for making a teenager go through that.
One day, the rebels had been in a particularly gruelling workout with some droids and had been moving camp all day. Some of them began to complain about that this was all a waste of time and that they would never beat Rash. Steela had been desperate to keep moral high and had turned to Lux. She asked him if he was serious about the Jedi all those months ago and Lux nodded. At least he hoped that they would help... He was pretty sure anyway.
That was how he and Saw ended up calling the Jedi Council and being greeted with the welcoming albeit confused faces of the Jedi Council. "Well I'll be, you were telling the truth." Saw muttered to him and nudged him in the shoulder. Lux sighed but was secretly happy that he had earned his respect. However Lux had also noticed that even though Anakin was there, Ahsoka was not. He'd been looking forward to seeing her after all these months. Plus, she would understand his cause more than anyone and could help sawy the grand Jedi in their favour. That was why he had asked for her specifically. Lux had felt Saw retracting his respect after that but with the propest of seeing Ahsoka again on the horizon, Lux didn't care. Nothing mattered but her in these moments.
He only hoped their reunion was as good as hoped and that the Jedi could actually help them...
I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I like writing Anakin's warning. I'll update again soon. On time. Bye, bye.