Ahsoka, Anakin, Obi-wan and Rex had returned to Coruscant a few days later. The Jedi Council had commended them on their success of helping the rebels to free Onderon but Ahsoka had just felt numb and cold. She'd expressed her deep guilt and regret over Steela's death to Lux the day before they left and he made sure that she knew it wasn't her fault but the look Saw's anguished face wasn't going to leave Ahsoka's mind anytime soon. Deep down Ahsoka knew she would always blame herself and couldn't shake the darkness that had stemmed from seeing Steela and Lux kiss. It had begun to consume her mind in the way it had Steela's body.
Getting over grief took different times for everyone and her Master had made sure to talk deeply to her about what had happened on Onderon. In some respects, that had helped but many parts of Ahsoka wanted to keep Onderon just to herself even though more people had been there than for Carlac or Raxus. She had also been rather quiet towards Lux despite his new role of Senator meaning he would be coming to Coruscant on a regular basis. Ahsoka just couldn't bear to see him as fear plagued her as to whether or not Lux would blame her now for what happened to Steela.
Of course it would be out of character for Lux to not blame her right after the death but then blame her a week later however grief could make people change. Yet Ahsoka had never felt so nervous, angry, upset and generally numb whenever she had finished a mission or she thought about Lux. A sudden knocking at her door caused Ahsoka to snap out of her deep thoughts and give a slight jump. "Snips? Can I come in? I need to talk to you!" Anakin started to knock harder on her door with his metallic hand.
Ahsoka stood up and opened the door. "Master? Is everything okay?" She sat down on her mattress bed while Anakin lent on the window frame.
Anakin looked around her room as he seemed to notice the lack of furniture and basic dismal condition of her quarters. "Yeah Snips, everything is fine. Well, actually no. No, it's not fine." Seeing the look of panic of her face, Anakin was quick to reassure his Padawan. "Don't worry, everything's fine with me. It's you I'm worried about Snips. Steela's death was hard on you for obvious reasons and it can take time for you to adjust." Ahsoka knew that Anakin was trying to helpful yet in that moment she found him extremely patronising.
She stood back up and wrapped her arms around him in a hug despite her annoyance. "Thank you Master, but I'm fine. I don't need time to adjust. Is there another mission for us to go on?" Anakin could see that she was just asking to avoid having this conversation but previous experiences informed him that pursuing this idea would led to a lot of general heartache.
He shook his head. "No, the Council wants us to stay here for a couple of days." Ahsoka pulled away from him with a frown.
"Why? Do they not trust me to do a good job?" Ahsoka completely pulled away and began to stomp towards the door.
Anakin could see the warning signs glaring at him. "No, no, it's not that. Besides you do have a mission but you're staying here on Coruscant. I have to just stay here in the Temple and meditate, train or teach. Very boring. You're lucky Snips, you know that right?" He pulled her back into a hug to let her cool down.
Ahsoka didn't resist as it wasn't often now that they did get to hug. She had always liked it when they did. To her, Anakin was a mentor, brother and father all rolled into one. She wouldn't change him for anything in the galaxy. "I know Master, thank you. What's my mission?" Despite this heartfelt moment, she was still keen to be up and out.
Anakin chuckled. "You'll be looking over some of the Senate building's security and making sure it's to the highest standard. You'll also be given a schedule for some of the Senators to spend at least two hours being a key part in their security team. Some of the Senators have been receiving and experiencing threats because of something they are discussing in the Senate. As you know this has happened before but this time it seems on a much more threatening scale. The Chancellor just wants a Jedi to oversee things in the actual building to provide some sense of safety. Can you do that Snips?" He couldn't keep the grin off his face at the mock offended and confident face of his Padawan.
She opened the door and started to run down the corridor. "Please Master, I could do that in my sleep!" She could still hear him laughing as she left the Temple.
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Ahsoka arrived at the Senate building in record time. She went through the doors and was greeted with Chancellor Palpatine and the rest of his guard along with Padme and Senator Chuchi. "Young one! I'm so pleased you could come to help us. We are forever grateful towards the Jedi for their service." He motioned towards his entourage to give smiles of encouragement that was meant to boost his statement.
Ahsoka had never felt much towards the Supreme Chancellor however the last two years had taught her how to be very respectful towards those in politics. Especially those you supplied the funding for their supplies on the front lines. "Of course Chancellor, the Jedi are always happy to help the Republic and it's Senators in any way we can. I was briefed that I would be taking a look at the existing security system first?" Ahsoka nodded towards the surveillance cameras and ventilation system around them.
Chancellor Palpatine shook his head. "I'm afraid my dear there has been a slight change of plan. I have employed someone who specialises in security systems to update ours while you have just been assigned to look after our beloved Senators. I trust that this is okay?" He nodded towards Senators Chuchi and Amidala whom Ahsoka realised she must be protecting.
Ahsoka shook her head as secretly it was a relief not to worry about instructing highly strung guards where to stand for hours on end. "No Chancellor although apart from Senators Amidala and Chuchi, are there any other Senators I'm protecting?" Ahsoka kind of hoped there wasn't as she was good friends with both of them and didn't want to spend two hours with a boring, stuck-up Senator who believes only they were correct.
The Chancellor smiled at her. "Only one more my child, they aren't here at the moment but they are coming in hot off the heels of a civil dilemma. It may take some time for them to get here but I assure you they will be perfectly fine." He gave her an encouraging little nod as he and the majority of his entourage left, leaving the Padawan and two Senators alone.
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After four hours split between looking after Padme and Riyo, Ahsoka was in a very happy mood. It had been a while since she'd spent time with her friends that she liked, were female and were not Jedi. Although those reasons made her think of Steela which dampened her mood greatly. The other Senator had just arrived so she said goodbye to her dear friends and went out to the landing pad to greet them.
The first thing she noticed about the ship was that it was much more understated than the rest of Senatorial transport and Ahsoka could sense a sort of whirlwind panic coming from the shuttle, like things had been moving too fast. The next thing she noticed was that there was a very small team accompanying the Senator as there wasn't a lot of noise and it wasn't a big ship. The third thing Ahsoka realised was that it was just the Senator, a representative from the palace and a protocol droid. Very peculiar.
"Senator if you don't mind, I'm going to take the droid to go and meet some of the people here." The representative was speaking to the Senator as they came out of the ship and Ahsoka nearly ran away there and then. King Dendup. That would mean that this shuttle was from Onderon which meant that the Senator would be...
"Of course your Majesty, go ahead." Lux Bonteri led the droid to the King's side once he'd helped him down the ramp.
The King nodded. "Okay then, droid follow!" King Dendup walked straight past Ahsoka with a purposeful stride and no hint of recognition.
She turned her head at the sound of Lux laughing which went silence once he saw her. "Ahsoka! I didn't expect to be seeing you so soon. How are you?" Ahsoka was about to answer however she caught a glimpse of something in his eyes and realised he already knew.
"Of course it would be you. I've only just left you. Can't bear to be without me or can I just not get a break?" Ahsoka was teasing obiviously however her jokes were hiding her rising fear.
Lux grinned back at her. "I do apologise Ahsoka however when I was instructed that I would have a Jedi escort to supervise me for a few hours, I did suggest you. It didn't seem desirable to me to have to spend hours with a Jedi I wasn't to familiar with." The smile on his face melted away any insecurities inside of her as the pressure from their last couple of meetings faded away and it was like they were back on Raxus. It was nice.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter that has arrived a day early. I'm sorry if you're getting bored of these vaguely interesting updates about when I update because you obviously know however I like to keep track. I will probably update again on Wednesday anyway. Bye, bye.