Heyo, human beings from outer space!
Let's just take a moment to appreciate this very original title *facepalm*
Anwayyyy, this is, of course, about Ahsoka's birthday since this was supposed to be published on her birthday... but that didn't happen. Just pretend, okay?
This was requested by suzanne2317 and the prompt is captivity.
And yes, I entirely ignore Star Wars timelines here. It's fanfiction. No one cares.
Read on if you dare.
It was a particular morning in the earlier months of the year when Ahsoka jolted out of her sleep to smack her head on the bunk above her double-decked bed. She rubbed her montrals, listening to the sound of Zeb and Ezra chasing Chopper down the hallway. Couldn't they let her sleep in for once? They should at least give her an exception for today, given the date and all...
Ahsoka's stomach stirred from the thought of the day. Her birthday– life day– whatever anyone wanted to call it. Well, it really didn't matter that much to her. Why should it anymore? It was never special until she became a padawan, and that time had ended.
With a heavy sigh, Ahsoka pushed herself up from the bunk and made her way toward the door. She had to stop wallowing in her depression like she usually did. Ahsoka couldn't let herself fall apart today, because she was taking the kids on a mission, and everything had to be normal.
Ahsoka narrowly avoided being plowed over by Zeb and chuckled as he threw a half-hearted sorry over her shoulder. She turned to see Hera's narrow glare targeting the back of Zeb's head and huffed another little laugh. Just a regular morning with the Ghost crew, and a morning similar to how hers used to go.
Kriff, stop being so depressing, Ahsoka mentally kicked herself.
"Morning, Ahsoka," Kanan said over the rim of his coffee as Ahsoka and Hera stepped into the kitchen.
"Good morning," Ahsoka said, forcing herself to sound cheery.
Kanan raised his eyebrows and looked up from the datapad he'd been reading on. "Hey, is today–"
"I'm taking Sabine and Ezra on a mission, yes," Ahsoka interrupted.
"No, I mean–"
"Oh!" Ahsoka looked at the chrono on the wall. "Speaking of that mission, I need to hurry or we won't leave on schedule."
"What do you mean? You have plenty of time," Hera said, frowning at the chrono. "Come eat something or at least pack some food to take."
Ahsoka smiled at Hera, being a mother as always, even if Ahsoka was older and she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. "Alright, I'll get some food."
"And we have caf," Hera said. "I could get you a cup."
"Don't worry about me, Hera. I can get caf myself a cup, you go worry about yourself," Ahsoka said.
"Okay, but eat something," Hera said, narrowing her gaze as she backed out of the galley kitchen and pivoted to head down the hall.
Ahsoka half-chuckled, half-sighed as she poured herself a cup of caf and took a sip.
"Today's your life day," Kanan blurted before she could interrupt him again.
Ahsoka choked on her caf and spit-sprayed it from her mouth as the words she hoped she wouldn't hear met her montrals. She continued coughing, trying to pull herself together.
Kanan winced. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you."
Ahsoka waved it away dismissively and took a few deep breaths, calming her coughing fit.
"But it is your life day, isn't it?" Kanan said.
"Shush your face, Kanan-Caleb-Dume-Jarrus-whoever-you-are," Ahsoka hissed.
"What's wrong? In denial of getting older?" Kanan asked with a subtle smirk.
Ahsoka glared at him. "I will grab your ponytail and rip all your hair from your skull."
Kanan threw his hands into the air in surrender. "Okay, okay, gosh, no need to be violent!"
"Tell anyone about my life day and you'll be bald by tomorrow morning," Ahsoka said.
"I understand, don't worry," Kanan said. A few moments of silence passed before he said, "But can I keep my hair if I ask why?"
Ahsoka sighed. "It's just... too much of a hassle. It's not that important and it causes more fuss than it's worth."
"Whatever you say," Kanan said. "At least you know your birthday. Some of us were never told when we were born, only how old we were."
Ahsoka nodded and a long moment of silence.
"It was your master who told you, wast it?"
Ahsoka eyed Kanan sharply again, but she knew he was just curious. "It was. He made it special for me."
"And now that he's gone you don't think it's worth it?" Kanan finished.
"It's hard," Ahsoka admitted softly, but then her tone turned firm. "So if you tell anyone your head will look like an egg. Got it?"
"Understood, General Tano," Kanan said with a mock solute.
Ahsoka rolled her eyes at him. "Now I really should get the Phantom ready to go." And she stalked out of the room without looking back.
🪐🪐🪐
The mission was supposed to be relaxed and simple, a scavenging mission to an old Separatist crash site, but Ahsoka knew better than to expect it to be so lenient. Missions were scarcely like that... she would know.
So she kept herself on high alert, always keeping tabs on the kids as they explored the dark, hazardous hallways of the ship.
"What are we looking for, again?" Ezra asked, poking at some cargo containers with his boot while Ahsoka tried to break an old safe open.
"Anything useful: medical supplies, tools, undamaged spare parts..." she trailed off as she tried the door of the safe again, but it didn't budge. "Really anything that you think we can use. A-hah!" Ahsoka ripped the safe open and Ezra shuffled over to peer inside.
A crash came from the hallway or the other room and both Ezra and Ahsoka poked their heads up.
"What was that?" Ezra asked. "Was that Sabine?"
"I'll go check on her, you look through this safe," Ahsoka said. The Force was drifting around with a horrible sensation, and she decided that Ezra would probably be safest there.
"Okay," Ezra said.
Ahsoka rose to her feet and swiftly but softly made her way in the direction the banging came from. She turned the corner into the next room to see that a stack of cargo containers had fallen and scattered onto the floor.
And Ahsoka's heart dropped because in the midst of them was Sabine. Ahsoka hurried over to Sabine and tried to rouse her, but the girl was unconscious and she wouldn't stir.
"Kriff," Ahsoka hissed under her breath. "What did you do?" She looked around the room and at the cargo containers, then noticed a spot a few meters away where Sabine had been painting her symbol. The graffiti tool was on the floor by the painting, and the crates hadn't been close enough that she could've knocked them over. She hadn't even been able to cry out...
Ahsoka's breath hitched. Someone else was there.
Hauling Sabine over her shoulder, Ahsoka hurried back toward the other room with Ezra and tried to sense any other presence in the Force. But no one was there. She couldn't feel anyone.
Ahsoka burst into the room where she'd left Ezra and she raced across the floor to find Ezra unconscious as well. Her mind and heart raced as she pushed the kids into the corner and guarded them in a combat-ready stance. She could hear faint creaking that normal ears probably couldn't, but even with her enhanced vision in the dark, she could see no one– no movement, nothing at all.
Ahsoka panned the room with her vision slowly, every part of her tense, twitching, and ready to fight. When her head was turned one way, she heard a sudden burst of movement and she whirled, but she wasn't fast enough.
Before she could register what was barrelling toward her, she felt herself slam to the floor and her vision snapped to nothing.
🪐🪐🪐
Ahsoka surfaced back to consciousness to the sound of someone singing all the wrong notes to "Happy Birthday."
She blinked her eyes open and heard a groan, and looking aside, she saw Ezra and Sabine stirring as well, each of their hands bound together. Whoever was standing up ahead finished singing and let out a sinister cackle. Ahsoka knew she recognized it, but she couldn't seem to clear the fog from her head yet.
"Ahsoka," Sabine gritted out, her voice sandpaper, "what happened, where are we?"
"Stay down, both of you," Ahsoka urged. "I'm not sure yet, but we're going to be okay."
Their captor cackled again and Ahsoka's eyes widened as it clicked in her mind. "You." Of course! That's why Ahsoka hadn't been able to sense anyone. It had been a Force wielder who knew the art of shielding a presence.
"Miss me?"
Ahsoka rolled her eyes. "What kind of question is that?"
"It was rhetorical. Skywalker was never that bright either. He must've passed it down to his spoiled rotten pet."
"I thought we made a truce," Ahsoka growled.
"That was a long time ago. And as far as I recall, you never went through with your side of the deal. What's more, your master almost killed me," she hissed.
"Ahsoka, you know this person?" Ezra said, both him and Sabine crouching behind Ahsoka.
"I told you both to stay down," Ahsoka hissed.
"No, little children, get up," said their captor in her wicked voice. "I have a mission for you. You're going to come with me to my ship, you're going to get on like good little children, and you aren't going to say a word."
"You can't do that!" Ahsoka snapped.
"Oh, I think I can."
"Take me instead," Ahsoka pleaded. "I'm worth more than them, and you know it."
"I do know it, but I also know you're well-trained, and though I'm better than you, I don't feel like putting up with your resistance. But these," she gestured to Sabine and Ezra, "these are just babies. They can't do a thing to me."
"I'll cooperate. I'm good to my word. I'll go in their place," Ahsoka begged.
"You can't change my mind. Think of it as a birthday gift from me to you with no gift receipt," a sinister chuckle through her nose, "Get up, children. We're going."
Panic welled up in Sabine and Ezra's eyes. "No! Ahsoka! Stop her!"
"Shut up!" the pale-skinned woman snatched out her red lightsaber and held it up to Sabine's throat. "If you both want to live, be quiet and come with me."
The kids snapped their mouths shut immediately and were shoved in the supposed direction of their captor's ship.
"You'll never get away with this," Ahsoka spat, "Ventress."
Ventress cackled. "Oh, I think I will."
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Word Count: 1,716
Published: March 10, 2023
Are you SURE that's the date? Dang it.
And WAIT, before you start flipping out, there will be another part to this! It will be the next part, no worries, peoples.
Requests are open, fell free to message me or make a comment if you have an idea!
Bye, peoples!