Chapter Text
There is a heroism in crime as well as in virtue. Vice and infamy have their altars and their religion.
Betrayal! Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano was wrongfully accused of treason by the Jedi Council and hunted by the Grand Army of the Republic! Believing his apprentice was innocent, Anakin Skywalker discovered the true villain was Ahsoka’s close friend Barriss Offee.
Unable to reconcile her relationship with the Jedi Order, Ahsoka decided to walk away from the only life she had ever known…
The first step she took down the Temple steps was the hardest. Each step that followed still hurt, still was difficult, but her resolve to leave overcame the pain that comes with such an immediate change of life. She could feel her now-former Master getting farther away as she descended step after step. He was hard to ignore, blaring his emotions out louder than the klaxon aboard the Resolute. She didn’t dare try to close off the connection between the two of them. She wanted to see what he will do next.
Just leave with me, Anakin! Come walk by my side, put your arm around my shoulders, make some flippant remark to cover up emotional vulnerability like you always do. We can go right to Padmé’s apartment. I’m sure she would let me sleep on the couch until I can find a place of my own. Just as long as you two don’t make too much noise at night everything will be good. You could be happy… Please… Come with me…
But Anakin did not follow her. She knew intellectually that he wouldn’t. For a so-called Jedi Without Fear the man sure is scared of changes to the status quo. He could never leave the Order behind no matter how frustrated it makes him. The Order could likewise never quit him. But also never give him what he craves by making him a Master. She felt a stab of guilt at that. One of the qualifications was teaching a Padawan until their kinghood. She put Anakin back an essential step. And Force help the unfortunate teenager who had to step up in her place and deal with all that emotional baggage.
He’s in too deep. He has to see this war to an end before he can truly follow his dreams… Just like Barriss.
And so Ahsoka walked alone. Down the steps. Across the courtyard. At the gate she pauses in front of Cin Drallig, head of the Temple Guard. The Guard is out in force today. On the opposite side of the gate there were a few Corrie Guard posted up. Ahsoka is a bit surprised why. There had been protests on and off for the past year or so. But she had never seen them come out in numbers like this. There were hundreds of beings on the other side of the gates chanting, singing, broadcasting holo images and slogans in opposition to the war. Her stomach twisted into a knot when she spotted a huge projection of her former-friend-turned-traitor Barriss Offee giving her confession speech. She paused and watched until the recording looped back to “I did it.”
There was a whole tangle of emotions washing over her. The only ray of hope to be found was in that last look Barriss gave her as she was led away. She’d be seeing that look in her minds’ eye maybe for the rest of her life. As a Jedi Ahsoka knew it was probably best to let go of the hurt and find a path to forgiving her friend. But she also had to face the reality that she was no Jedi any longer. She had to find a way to be something else. Whenever she reached out to the Force she just sensed turbulent times ahead, An uncertain path. The war and whatever destiny the Force had in mind for her and Barriss there was no option but to forge ahead. And for Ahsoka that meant exiting through these gates for the last time.
There’s a certain kind of magic to barriers and doorways, I suppose. It’s one of those universal concepts all sentients share.
“Good evening, Master Drallig.”
The stoic human gave her a nod. “Citizen Tano. The Council let me know you were on your way. For what it’s worth, it’s been an honor to have served with you. Would you like us to clear a path?”
“I think I’ll be fine, thanks…” She felt her throat tighten.
I guess this is it.
“May the Force be with you, Master Drallig.”
He just gave her another nod and shouted out the order to open the gates. Ahsoka felt a weight lift off her shoulders as she passed the threshold. Her journey from knight aspirant and military commander to mere civilian was complete. There was a stressor lifted off her for sure. Replaced by a concerning weightlessness. Like she could just float away, lost in the currents of a turbulent Galaxy. Strong currents and tides she was far too small to affect in any real way.
She shouldered her way through the crowd. Curiously small groups of them had made some bizarre makeup choices. The were wearing face paint consisting of pixilated black and white squares in random patterns with chunky splashes of bright colors and asymmetric hairstyles. She couldn’t find any rhyme or reason for it besides these tended to be some of the rowdiest groups in attendance.
Before too long the mass of sentients thinned. There were just people milling about socializing now. Passing out literature. Anti-war graffiti had been spray painted in random spots. There was even a food cart serving passers-by on a donation pay-what-you-can basis. But Ahsoka wasn’t hungry. She craved more distance even if she had no idea where she should go. She didn’t want to show up at Padmé’s doorstep without her former Master in tow. She considered locating a public holo terminal to check in on Senator Chuchi but dismissed the idea. She didn’t want to lean on friends for help. Even for basic needs like shelter, for a while. Not now when she felt so snakebit by people she trusted. She made her way to a train station. The Federal District was not a good fit for a seventeen-year-old Togruta girl with her resume. Not anymore.
As she claimed a spot in the queue for the next train Ahsoka felt a tickle in the back of her mind. Three years of wartime experience made it difficult to shut off her habit of monitoring the Force for sources of danger. Her spacial recognition was acute. She was being shadowed. Her pursuer had a certain familiar sense of malice and a bit of wariness, but the risk of danger seemed low. Ahsoka played it cool for now.
She waited until she was seated on the train and her shadow was closer. She spoke while looking at the scenery passing by, but loud enough to be heard.
“Are you just going to admire me from a distance, or do you want to talk?”
She felt someone take the seat next to her. “Miss Tano.”
“What do you want, Asajj? Doesn’t feel like you want to settle score.”
“Just wanted a follow-up on my official pardon.”
“Well, with all the getting further framed and arrested I didn’t have the opportunity or the leverage to bring it up.” She shrugged. “Sorry.”
“Figured as much.”
“Nice chatting with you then. You can go now. Seriously.”
“You should really consider it in your best interests not to dismiss me so lightly, Tano.”
She looked over at her. The former Sith apprentice. The former Nightsister. The current bounty hunter. She looked pretty much as she did when they last spoke, just with her helmet replaced by a hood. Those markings from her lips to her jaw always gave Ahsoka the impression Ventress was scowling but she her affect was, in fact, neutral.
“What do we have to talk about, Ventress? That we’re-not-so-different-you-and-I line worked for a hot minute. Sure. But I’m busy right now. I’ve got whatever pieces of my life to pick up.”
“You’re not wearing your lightsaber.”
“Yeah. Astute of you. Jedi wear lightsabers.”
“Walking away?”
She shrugs and turns back to the window.
“Seems to me like you are a young woman in dire need of employment. As it happens, I require some assistance you are uniquely positioned to provide.”
“No way. Goodbye.”
“You haven’t heard the details.”
“Don’t need to. It didn’t exactly work out the last time. I’m trying to be mindful of consequences and not keep making the same mistakes.”
“I think you’ll want to take this job.” Asajj was using her honey-toned vocal fry, as if she thought it would work on her.
“Nope.”
“A huge bounty was posted this morning. It’s a chance for us to settle a score against us. You far more than myself.”
“You’re wasting your breath.”
“Barriss Offee has escaped federal custody.”
That got her attention. She looked back and reflexively probed for deception. “How?”
She was on her way from a holding cell to arraignment and it turns out the propulsion system of her prison transport was crawling with-“
They spoke at the same time “explosive nano-droids.”
“Yes. Turns out the Temple plot consisted of more co-conspirators than just your gal pal and Letta Turmond.”
Ahsoka sighed and massaged the bridge of her nose between her eyes. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“I need your help to track her down. It… it is disconcerting to me that she was able to sneak up on me so easily. Her capture at my hand would be nice payback to make up for her stealing my sabers. The payout is just icing. Now I know you’ll probably give me some nonsense about how you don’t seek revenge, but you can’t deny that this is a dangerous individual you know far better than most anyone and for the greater good would be worth your time to neutralize.”
Ahsoka’s heart hurt. She knew she needed to deal with Barriss’ betrayal, psychologically and spiritually. She wanted it to be on her own terms and timetable. This proposal reminded her of the one she gave to Ventress back in the Undercity. It felt wrong in so many ways but made a certain sense in a purely pragmatic level. “I hate it when you’re right.”
“Do we have a deal, then?”
“Luckily for you I am currently between gigs. Don’t think this makes us partners. If at any point I get a hint of feeling I can’t trust you, I’m Out. Got it?”
The older woman smiled down at her. “Crystal clear. As it turns out I already stumbled onto a good lead. A member of Barriss’ organization has gotten cold feet. I met her when I needed some repairs made to my ship. The Force works in mysterious ways sometimes.”
“She has an organization?”
“Not really. It was more Letta Turmond’s organization. Offee was sort-of her lieutenant. Why is that funny?”
Ahsoka struggled to subdue her laughter. “Barriss… Barriss was always such an over-achiever. You just told me that on top of Padawan training, studying for medical certification, and commanding an army she found the time to join a terrorist organization. No wonder she kept blowing off offers to hang out the last few months.”
Ventress shrugged. “When placed under pressure there’s hardly a limit to what a desperate person can accomplish. Now that she’s on the lam it’s certain she’s taken up central leadership. It’s not just that we must track her down. We’ll need to tiptoe though a small army of civilian followers as well.” She takes a moment to look her new partner up and down. “I suggest getting a change of clothes. You’ll stand out in the Undercity.”
“Barriss was crazy enough to stay in Coruscant?”
“She seeks to bend the might of the Grand Army of the Republic away from hostilities. They are commanded by the Supreme Chancellor. If I was her I would stick close to the seat of power. And there’s no better place to hide than down in the depths. She has quite a few sympathetic to her cause even up here. All those idealists with painted faces.”
“I was wondering about that. Current fashion trends isn’t my strong suit-“
“That’s apparent.”
Ahsoka tamps down her anger. “But that face paint seems a bit extreme.”
“It’s called computer vision dazzle makeup. CV dazzle for short. It’s supposed to break up a person’s facial profile to evade facial pattern recognition programs of the security state, but it doesn’t really work for a lot of systems that use LIDAR or another form of topographic mapping. It’s more of a silly affectation. And to show solidarity to Letta and Barriss.” She taps her cheeks indicating both of their facial tattoos. “Call themselves the Lettites. Cute, right? Not all of them you see are active in an operational sense. All are sympathetic if they aren’t law enforcement plants.”
The young ex-Jedi sighs and looks back out the window. Things are getting out of hand. The center cannot hold. It’s tough to admit but she had grown weary of the war as well. Suddenly a memory flooded over her, Barriss asking if she had ever questioned the Jedi habit to ignore our emotions. Was she trying to feel her out in that exchange? Was she asking for her to join her or to stop her?
It was a long trek down to the lower levels. Ahsoka tried to keep her responses to Ventress’ banter down to monosyllabic granularity. Neither of them thought this alliance to be long-lasting or even easy. They walked to a series of express elevators and tram lines. At one point they passed through a large open-air arboretum full of row after row of dead trees. A light breeze flowed through the space and the plants had accrued a heavy coating of discarded plastic bags and other rubbish. It made the space look like a huge art piece commenting on urban pollution.
“What is this place?”
“This was part of an urban renewal project. Generous benefactors of the Upper City felt it would raise people’s spirits if they had some greenspaces. So, they set up a public works project. Cheaper on the air purifiers as well. Eventually the water bill became too expensive. They cut off the tap.”
“Wow. Wartime rationing down here is more extreme than I thought... Now why are you laughing at me?”
“You Temple folk don’t spend much time down here, do you?”
“Most of us no, unless we have good reason.”
“This was part of Lina Soh’s so-called Great Works. These trees aren’t a casualty of this war. They’ve been dead for nearly two-hundred years. The basic neglect and disrespect you find down here is frankly impressive. I’m not surprised the Lettites found such fertile ground.”
A stab of guilt pierced her heart. Even before the war started the Jedi could have at least diverted part of the Jedi Service Corps to urban mutual aid. They were supposed to help out people in need wherever they exist. Here was generations of accrued suffering right under their noses the entire time.
Eventually they reached Level 1313. Ventress swept her hood down. Ahsoka was mildly surprised she had started to let her hair grow out, at least partially. There was grey fuzz coming in everywhere but the still-shaved temples and sides of her head.
“Let me handle the introductions. One of the sisters is an absolute sweetheart but the disgruntled Lettite we need to stay on our side is a bit prickly.”
“Gotcha.”
It turns out their destination was a cavernous garage. An aged stripped-down cargo ship took up a lot of the space. Next to it was a squat aggressive-looking customized Lancer-class pursuit vehicle. Ahsoka had no doubts as to which belonged to her new ‘partner’. A young tan-skinned woman with a wild billow of curly dark hair was busy adjusting the weapon sensor array of the latter craft. She turned and gave them a bright smile and a wave.
“Trace Martez, this is the young woman I was telling you about. Ahsoka Tano, this is Trace.”
Trace strolled over and offered her hand. “Pleased to meet you.”
Ahsoka smiled and shook her hand. “Likewise. Don’t trust anything she has ever or will ever say about me.”
That elicit a chuckle. A second woman, perhaps a tad bit older, stepped in to Ahsoka’s peripheral vision. A woman clearly related to the first but far less outwardly friendly considering her facial expression and crossed arms.
“Ahsoka Tano this is her sister Rafa Martez.”
Rafa swiped her head to the side to get her bangs from out of the way of one eye, gave Asajj a nod, and glided closer to the Togruta newcomer. After the silence got to be a tad noticeable, she finally spoke.
“So. This is Ahsoka.” There was a purposefully flippant pronunciation of her name that couldn’t just be chalked up to accent. “I want to get something clear right away. I have absolutely no love for the Jedi…”
Her dark eyes, accented with carefully curated eyeshadow shot daggers into her. Then she shifted into a more sardonic expression, one side of her lips twisting into a smirk.
“An ex-Jedi, though? We maybe can be copacetic. Tall and pale says you might help us out. You in, or out?”
“I want to assess the situation first. You know Barriss?”
“Oh yeah. For a few years now. Trace too, but only I rode with the Lettites. Trace is too wrapped up in her dreams fixing up that rusty hulk over there.”
“Ye of little faith. The Silver Angel will fly one day!”
Rafa shrugged. “Little sis is too pure of heart to get wrapped up in the dirty business of political direct action.”
Ahsoka tilted her head slightly. “But you don’t mind selling her out?”
“According to you Barriss killed Letta. Right? There’s a lot of scuttlebutt about who did what but I know how to spot a schemer who is making her move up the ranks. You were her friend too, she talked about you. If she can sell you down the river, try to get you executed, I don’t see why she wouldn’t do the same to Letta. I just can’t let that stand. Plus, we got money flow problems down here. I could use my cut of that sweet bounty.”
“Fair enough. Do you have something to eat? I’m starving, and we can debrief over dinner. I’d like to know when and how you got to know Barriss and what she’s been up to down here.”
Rafa made an expressive gesture towards the living space the sisters created in a far corner of the garage. “Follow me.”
Two and a half years previously:
Rafa Martez picked though the charred remains of her family’s worldly possessions. Everything was scorched black and soaked with acrid fire extinguisher foam. She was a little annoyed that she had to do all this herself, but she knew Trace was in no condition to help. For now she could let Trace curl up into a ball, holding her burnt and bandaged hands to her chest. Rafa had to be the big sister now. She had to be the strong one. For both their sakes. Her neighbors had been kind enough to help extinguish the fire. They had taken initiative when even Rafa wasn’t strong enough to wrap up her parent’s bodies and take them down to the municipal incinerator. Kind enough to take charge with the funeral service. They could see that the Martez sisters were just kids, unequipped for such sudden loss. But the neighborhood code of conduct and basic sentient kindness only went so far on 1313. They were on their own now.
Emotions flooded over her again when she spotted her mother’s favorite family heirloom, a ceramic serving tray made by their great grandmother. It was shattered and ruined underneath all the burnt refuse. She sank down to the floor. She looked out at the gash ripped though their apartment’s outer wall that was the source of the fire. A freighter slowly rose into view, climbing up the portal outside casting a blinding landing light across Rafa’s pitiful form for a few seconds. This was it. Rock bottom. How was she supposed to raise Trace up right down here, she was practically just a kid herself. Part of her just wanted to lie down and rot.
A polite throat clearing interrupted her indulgent yet understandable self-pity. Rafa spun around, her hand nearly slipping on the foam-soaked floor. Rage boiled up inside her when she saw who it was.
“NO! You turn your skinny Upper City behind around and Get Out, Now!”
The cloaked figure remained standing, looking small, her hands clasped in front her displaying four diamond tattoos on the back of one hand. Rafa scrambled to her feet and stormed over. The stranger remained still. Rafa got right up in her face.
“Do you think you have ANY right to be here? Come to inspect the damage? Come to gloat? Come for poverty tourism? You’ve got some stones; I’ll give you that. Some gall. GET! OUT!”
She took a swing at the slim Mirialan but only hit air. Rafa bared her teeth and tried an uppercut with her off-hand which was also easily dodged. After a half-dozen attacks didn’t connect Rafa could no longer afford the impassioned expenditure of so much fiery hatred. These Top Siders always won. The Jedi always came out on top and never spared a thought for the scum living down in the shadows where blue skies were just an unaffordable dream. She sank to her knees and wept. It wasn’t fair. Her parents had their side hustles, to be sure. But they were some of the good ones down here. It’s so unfair that they died. It wasn’t right that she and Trace should be alone.
Rafa felt a light palm on her shoulder which she batted away like a cobweb. Again, the Jedi was too fast for her for her. Then the interloper dared to speak, to pollute Rafa’s ear canals with her hoity-toity Coruscanti Upper City accent.
“I saw that your sister was injured. I’m sorry I had to wait for my Master to release me for the night, but I came as soon as I could. I’m a healer.”
“You think helping her would make it right?”
To Rafa’s shame her voice was cracking. All of her did not want to crumble into a sobbing mess in front of this prissy Jedi who stood by while her ‘Master’ or whomever killed her parents but the weight of it all had broken past her capacity to maintain her tough streetwise front.
“No.” Her voice was so soft and genuine. Her whole affect just radiated empathy. “I know that nothing will ever make it right. But I would like a chance to help however I may.”
“That’s between you and Trace. Leave me alone.” She wanted to curse. Never stop cursing. If she couldn’t physically assault the young Jedi she wanted to launch verbal attacks at her for the rest of her life. But not now. She was well past her limits to handle today.
The Jedi went over to Trace. Trace who hadn’t said much in the last few hours. She wasn’t even crying like a normal person. Tears were just leaking out. She was cocooned in her own private world processing loss as best she could.
Rafa could hear the Jedi speaking softly but couldn’t make out the words. She turned to look. They were holding hands. There was a faint glow between their grasps. It took a lot of time, but Trace seemed to come out of her shell and realize what was going on in front of her.
“Hey, you’re…” Trace’s voice was faint and a bit hoarse.
“I am Padawan Learner Barriss Offee and you have my most sincere apologies for my failure to protect your family. If you would have me, I am here to help.”