Despite the music blasting from the speakers, the workshop felt a little too quiet for Ahsoka one day. She had a feeling there was a reason for it, but she had no idea what yet, so she was forced to ignore her instincts and try not to go deaf from the racket in the rest of the shop.
In all honesty, she didn't mind the music anymore. Did she agree with their taste all the time? No, but she preferred it to grenade explosions and those were much louder. Besides, the mechanical whirring of the machinery was plenty distracting when she needed it. It was a repair shop, after all.
For once, Ahsoka was no longer the rookie. Fuller had hired a brand new girl last week and dethroned Ahsoka as the newest hire. The good news was that they finally had all hands on deck. After her brief friend Granger had left and moved to Alderaan, all of the mechanics had been a bit pressed to get work done. Now their plate wasn't nearly as full.
The bad news? This new girl had taught herself how to repair appliances and ships, and while it worked, she was still a little rough around the edges.
Ahsoka wasn't very concerned since she knew that the girl, Trace Martez, would pick it up pretty quickly, but Fuller had instructed for everyone else to help her out for a little bit. Ahsoka had shown her around on her first day, a lot like Wheeler and Leslie had, but the others had picked up the chain too and Ahsoka hadn't seen much of her since. Apparently, she had hit it off with Leslie and Rya, a lot like Ahsoka had, so she was spending a ton of time with them.
She had a feeling it was because they were alike. Rya was about the same age as Trace, and Leslie was very soft like her too. A little innocent and kind of naive, so she and Leslie tended to have the same types of conversations. Ever since they became close, Ahsoka hadn't seen much of her, but she seemed nice. Apparently she had an older sister, Rafa, who she lived with. Other than that, Ahsoka didn't know much about her.
Finishing the last few touches on a speeder, Ahsoka replaced the cover for the engine and set her tools aside. It was time for her lunch break and the speeder needed to go back to the garage. She scanned the product into the system and returned it after making sure she clocked out for her break.
Coincidentally enough, Trace was in there too. Ahsoka saw her putting away a microwave back on the shelf, and she wiped her brow as she gave her arms a break.
"Need a hand, Trace?" Ahsoka asked, walking over to help her lift it.
"Thanks, but I got it," Trace said, stubbornly completing the task and stretching her arms. "Just needed a quick breather."
She shrugged, not taking it personally. "If you say so. I'm going to grab some lunch if you want to walk with me."
Trace ran to catch up with her, and they ascended the spiral staircase leading up to the staff room. As they went, Trace pointed up to the light fixture. "Hey, why is that light newer than all the others? They don't match."
Ahsoka looked up at the light she was referring to, then smiled when she remembered. "The old light got damaged in a firefight, several months ago. Fuller replaced it right after that, I think."
"A firefight?" Trace repeated, pausing for a moment to look at the light again. "Why were people shooting in the shop? Did a blaster accidentally go off?"
As she caught up, Ahsoka laughed and shook her head. "No, a band of thugs came in and tried to rob the place. Don't worry, though, that hasn't happened in almost half a year."
Trace didn't look too convinced, but she dropped the subject anyways. Just like I thought, not too keen on violence, Ahsoka realized. Can't say I blame her.
They walked in to the staff room, and Trace sat down next to Rya while Ahsoka grabbed her lunch out of her locker. Luce and Wheeler were in there too, but the others were still working. Wheeler made a spot for Ahsoka and she started eating and listening to the news, which someone had put on before she walked in.
Nothing on the screen really interested Ahsoka, since the Republic was censoring the war updates more than ever. They were trying to prevent a system-wide panic and after the attack on Corellia, which only Ahsoka really knew about, they had been more strict than ever. Ahsoka hadn't even mentioned the attack, knowing that her coworkers weren't as concerned or interested in the Clone War.
The news went to commercial, and Luce kicked back in his chair. "Well, the world isn't falling apart yet, I guess."
"Not that anyone would tell us," Wheeler remarked, taking another bite of her sandwich. "Civilian folk, and all that. Tano would probably know before we did."
"Do I need to remind you that I'm still a civilian too?" Ahsoka complained, raising her eyemarks. "I hate to break it to you, but I'm about as informed as you are. Other than occasional updates, but even those are hard to come by."
Rya cocked her head. "Yeah, but at least you know where to get 'updates'. If you really wanted to know, you could find out. You just stay down here, for some reason."
She had a point. Ahsoka just shrugged and went back to her meal. "Multiple reasons, actually."
"Wait, stay down here?" Trace asked, staring at Ahsoka. "You mean you used to live up on the surface?!?"
"About a year and a half ago, yeah." She replied, having a feeling that she was going to have to recount her history again. Not that Trace knew about her yet.
"Why would anyone leave the surface?"
Beside her, Wheeler snorted and interrupted before Ahsoka could speak. "Because everything is super expensive, people are only ever out for themselves, there's an actual war going on all over the galaxy, they only care about money...do I need to keep going?"
Ahsoka jabbed her in the side before weighing in. "What Wheeler meant to say was that there are downsides to the surface life."
"But if you can afford to live up there, why even bother with the Lower Levels?" Trace wondered, gesturing around them. "I mean, this is okay, but if you're rich enough to pay for that, then..."
"Trust me, it's not worth it," Wheeler grumbled. "Of course, Tano never actually afforded it," she looked over and grinned at Ahsoka, who rolled her eyes.
"You can't let that go, can you?" teased Ahsoka, who wasn't bothered.
Trace was still confused though. "What does she mean?"
Ahsoka sighed, knowing this was going to happen sooner or later. "On the surface, I was a Jedi Padawan. I didn't have to pay to live up there, and it's why I moved down here when I left."
"A Jedi???" Trace mouthed, her face blank, and a little shocked. "But....how? That's not right, what...what are you doing here? I mean, you can't be a Jedi, you have to do...you know, the thing with the moving things with your mind, and the war, and...."
In response, Ahsoka made a small motion with her hand and lifted the soup she was eating off the table and into the air. Trace watched with wide eyes, mesmerized by the floating bowl, but the other three just smirked.
"Yeah, she can use the Force," Luce told her, as Ahsoka set the bowl down again. "Don't worry, kid, you'll get used to it. We all did. Comes in handy every once in a while."
"You could say that again," Rya affirmed, cleaning up the scraps from her meal. "Saved our lives, once. Probably more than once, but that's the only time we know about."
"I just..." Trace stumbled, looking down and away from Ahsoka. "I've never met a Jedi before. Well, I did once, but..."
Ahsoka saw the look on her face, and her own expression softened. That looks familiar. "You don't think highly of the Jedi. It's okay, you're not the first one. I get it."
It didn't seem to comfort Trace. She stood up and cleaned up her food. "I better get back to work. You know, stuff to do, gotta...get back to it." She nearly stumbled into Rya on her way out, and they all noticed that she barely ate anything.
Wheeler waited until she was out of earshot before saying, "Could she be any less subtle?"
"She's just...not used to it," Rya insisted, defending her. "It's new, you have to remember how we all reacted the first time."
"Guys, really, it's okay," Ahsoka assured them. "It's nothing personal, I'm sure. Remember Granger?"
Luce laughed, smirking at the memory. "How could we forget? At least she's not being mean about it, like he did."
Shrugging, Rya looked out after Trace again. "He warmed up to her, eventually. Give her time."
"And this time, I won't have to beat up a bunch of thugs to do it," Ahsoka joked, and the other three laughed, remembering how Ahsoka had taken down the intruders while they had been held captive.
Rya walked out, since she had to get back to work in the lobby, but Ahsoka's wrist com went off just then. She lifted her wrist, checking the caller ID.
"See? What did I say, you have plenty of friends topside," Wheeler nudged her, taking a drink. "Is that your friend that's pregnant?"
It, in fact, was Padmé's decoy, but Ahsoka hadn't been expecting a call and she didn't want to give the senator away, even if none of them knew her. Besides, technically, the decoy wasn't pregnant. "Uh, no, it's not. Excuse me," She said, walking out to the hallway to take the call.
When she accepted it, Padmé's decoy's image appeared above her wrist. "Miss Tano, I'm very glad you answered. I apologize for the unprecedented call."
"It's all right," Ahsoka assured her, "but...why did you call?"
"I'm afraid I can't answer that right now," the decoy answered, clasping her hands. "Do you think you could meet me in approximately one hour, above the Sector 7 shaft?"
Ahsoka nodded, knowing that something big was up. "Absolutely. I'll see you then, Senator."
The call ended, and Ahsoka went back into the staff room. Wheeler and Luce stared at her as she retrieved her bag and blaster from her locker. "Where are you going?" Wheeler asked, seeing her rush.
"I'm not sure, they wouldn't tell me over hologram," Ahsoka admitted honestly. "It's a close friend of mine, though, so I'm going to trust them. I probably won't be back for a few days."
"A few days?" Luce wondered, standing up. "You're disappearing again?"
"Don't worry, I'll be back," she told them. "Besides, maybe you guys can train Trace while I'm gone. She doesn't seem that comfortable around me anyways."
As she left, Wheeler reminded her, "Make sure you let the boss know!"
"Thanks!" She waved at them as she left, and after making a quick stop at Fuller's office she ran out the back door, wondering what had happened this time.