The diamond on Ahsoka's headdress shone brightly in the late afternoon Sun. Lux had been kind enough to buy it for her despite it being extremely expensive and Ahsoka felt terrible after seeing the price tag. Lux didn't seem to mind though as he quickly pulled out the money necessary and paid for it without so much as a second thought. Ahsoka did wonder what his fellow rebels would say if they knew the Senator of their team carried around many, many credits. His slow but steady respect would vanish and Saw would tear the poor boy to utter shreds. Ahsoka made a mental note not to ask Lux to buy her anymore things, before, after or during a mission ever again.
Their actual mission was pretty simple, they had been assigned to watch the droids strolling around the main market and stop any who were imposing Separatist laws on innocent people. That was why they had been near a jewellers in the first place.
Now, the pair were sat on a Rupling on top of what Lux described as a Church with a box of chocolates between them and a pair of binoculars. Lux called the magnificent creature Sunset which Ahsoka thought was accurate yet she was curious about how he knew what the sex of the bird was. She was looking out of the binoculars over Lux's shoulders and following a certain droid group that appeared up to no good. "Hey Luxy!" Ahsoka started to rapidly tap him on the shoulder, causing him to choke slightly on his chocolate.
"What?" He spluttered, slightly concerned and wiping the tears from his face.
Ahsoka handed him the binoculars. "Do you see that man over there, selling silks?" Lux nodded. "I think he's attracted the attention of the droids." It was true, the patrol group had started to make their way over to him after the leader of the pact pointed to him.
Lux sighed. "Yeah he has, but surprisingly, I agree with the droids on this one."
Ahsoka spun around do fast it caused her cloak to fall off and float down onto a nearby pillar. "What?! Why?!" She was almost certain she had misheard him.
Lux handed the binoculars back to her, pointing at the piece of orange, gold and yellow silk he was advertising. "He's made that fabric out of Dalgo scales. Shimmery and worth a fortune if made properly. It's illegal to hunt reptilian or amphibious creature on Onderon. Our planet is made up of mostly cities and jungles. We don't have much in their pure habitat and a few decades back they faced a terrible extinction crisis. The Seppies are actually doing some right for once." Ahsoka looked shocked that someone could care so little about a species and its survival for a few credits. As she looked closer at the seller, she could see that passer-bys were looking disgusted and hurrying past. Maybe they too knew that it was bad. Not everyone was perfect and she knew that but what did surprise Ahsoka was that the Separatists were putting an end to it.
Ahsoka sighed as the droids came closer to the man and started to arrest him, pulling his stall down and taking away his fabrics. Of course the man yelled, shouted and complained all the way down the street but no one rushed to help him. "Why do the Separatists follow existing laws while also forcing others to obey their totally unjust laws? It doesn't make sense!" Frustrated, she kicked a loose brick on the top of a pillar and watches it crumble to the ground, imagining it to be all of her confusion.
Lux watched her antics thoughtfully. "I forgot you've spent all your time at the heart of the Republic." He smiled at her while Ahsoka looked back, even more confused. He gestured down to his people and the droids going about their daily lives. "I was a Separatist myself for the first year of the war, remember? My parents thought that they held a better case to look after us. After my sister died, it was Dooku who made sure we had financial support if we needed it and didn't make a huge show of coming to the funeral but instead paid his 'deepest regrets' privately to us. My Mother idolised the man, yet he killed her the minute she wanted to change the course of this war. Morally, the Republic may to more due to the Jedi's help and more resources however the heart of the Republic is the home to the Galactic Senate; it's not only Republic representatives there. Neutral system leaders, the Banking Clan and the Trade Federation also join. The Confederacy of Independent Systems are purely for the Separatists. The other sectors to communicate with us but not as publicly as they do with the Republic. I know you've grown up and have been trained to believe the Republic is good and most of it is but many undecided planets fall to the Separatists for two reasons: They are more aggressive in their recruitment tactics and they deliver on promises. Dooku promised us support in return for loyalty and you saw how comfortable we lived. The Republic was where Melissa was killed and the Jedi that were so cold at the funeral. I know the Separatists are morally corrupt when it comes to battle tactics and war but once you join, they do give you security. Something the Republic rarely delivers on. Their are cracks in both sides and I think it just boils down to what the people are like: Followers who want lasting security or fighters who can survive on their own for a while. Surely you can see a trend in the planets that join both sides, 'Soka?" She'd been utterly silent throughout his entire speech and was reminded why she always thought Lux was an amazing Senator. He had a way with words and gently persuading people to see things in a more balanced view. It had what he'd done on Raxus when they first met and it had worked.
She lent against him with a smile. "In all honesty, I'd forgotten how much the Jedi could be to blame for your sister's death. You're right, I have been trained to believe all good things about the Republic. You broke me free of that trance." Ahsoka looked up at him and have Lux a quick kiss. When they pulled away, she could see the reflection of tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry." She murmured softly as she rested her forehead against his.
He took her hand. "It's okay, I've had a long time to plan that speech. Did you like it?" They both laughed as Ahsoka nodded.
"You are an excellent Senator, Lux. Onderon is lucky to have you representing them. I'm sure your parents would be proud." Lux didn't respond right away but when he did, there was a bright smile across his face.
"Good, I hoped it would get the message across." He stood up, offering her his hand as they climbed onto the Rupling. "I guess we better rendezvous with the rest of the team now." Ahsoka nodded as she wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him as they took off into the air and back towards the outskirts of the city.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I'm on a roll! I especially liked Lux's speech about the Separatists ideals. I hope you lot did too! I will update again tomorrow most likely. Bye, bye.