Chapter Five
A challenge life long it is, not to bend fear into anger
3, 9, 1, 7; 8, 2, 10; 8, 4, +5 from the side deck and stand on 17. No serious gambler played pazaak anymore, especially not against the house. Adding and substracting one's way to 20 or bust wasn't particularly complicated, but the high cost of side decks and the tendency of the dealer to know what he was going to draw two turns ahead tended to draw sapped most chance from the gun. There were valid reasons to dirstust a player who won more than a few rounds in a row by the end of the night.
Ahsoka had won at least the last 26. The Twitching Bendack Cantina attracted all types. Compnor gangs licking their wounds, Death Stick Dealers, even a clone or two had entered and exited through its dingy metal door. The one thing these unfortunates typically did not possess was luck. The only way someone could consistently leave with more credits in their pocket after a bit of gambling than when they came was if they cheated.
Technically Ahsoka hadn't broken any rules; trusting in the Force was far more effective than counting cards. It allowed her to intuitively know when to hold and when to fold, as well as how to sense a card shark's hidden excitement. It also let her sense danger.
Good, Ahsoka thought. It was finally time to make things worse.
"Paazak!" Ahsoka almost shouted after winning one last game, then sloppily arose from the table. A convincing attempt to act drunk was almost as hard as a drunkard's attempt to appear sober, but Ahsoka pulled it off, making her gait slightly unpoised and uncentered. Having basically stumbled to the chips exchange, she tapped her fingers hard on the desk three, a cocky and common sign that she wanted to collect her winnings. The rodian teller rolled its eyes and handed her a medium sized sack. Ahsoka weighed the sack in her hands then scoffed.
"Where's rest of it?"
The Rodian looked at her annoyed.
"That Four thousand, goodbye" it said in Huttese.
This was a common trick that could get people shot on many worlds, which was exactly why Ahsoka provoked it. The Hutts, and the criminal underworld it helped fester, used a base 8 unit of measurement rather than the base of 10 of galactic basic. Many scoundrels had fallen into debt or been swindled by very selective acknowledgement of how this difference affected exchange rates.
"No goodbye!" she protested, making sure to slur her words just a bit sloppier than she had before. "No-ba-ta boska" she said, stretching out the syllabus of Huttese to make it seem that she was either mocking him or barely able to use the language.
"Boska!"
"Nobata boska! Pay price! Wamma che copah!"
Right on cue, bouncers moved in disrupt their argument, which had devolved into a pidgeoned shouting contest. They wore a simplified grungy variant of the form concealing uniforms of Coruscant security forces. Once outside the security guards would likely try to beat then rob the girl, or worse. They weren't expecting to be jumped by Ahsoka's friends, who were waiting to ambush them in the nearby alley.
A quick leg sweep knee strike combo knocked the first bouncer out while the other was swiftly punched in the gut by one attacker and brought down to the dirty floor and choked out by the other. Ahsoka smiled, impressed by how far her friends had progressed since being trained to fight clankers in the jungles of Onderon.
"You move pretty well for a senator," she said to Lux Bonteri, helping him to his feet after they were both sure the second bouncer had passed out. Like her, he had become a bit taller and more toned, but was otherwise identical to how he looked when they first met in the Separatist capital. Saul Guerrera on the hand still exuded bravado, but it was now weighed down by extremely personal loss, something he and Ahsoka now shared with Bonteri, whose parents had both died during the war.
It didn't take long for the bouncers to be stripped, hog tied and stashed where they wouldn't be discovered. Lux, ever the gentleman, had changed out of sight while Saul removed his outer garments in full view and donned his disguise. Once their comlinks were attuned, he sauntered back into the Twitching Bendak. This kind of cantina wasn't the type that took much notice of patrons being thrown out. No-one looked at Saul as he walked past crowded tables and stepped over puddles of ale on his way to the employee only rooms. Saul strode past the Cathar felines loitering by the stairs. They stunk of glitterstim and distrust but let him pass without incident. The overweight human watching the security feed wasn't so oblivious, but the music in the cantina was loud and muffled the sound of the stun bolt that took him out.
The nearby computer let him lock down most exits and do a quick scan of the clientele. Those who had been allowed to come in with weapons were marked with green. Saul marked them and the people on Ahsoka's list, then sent the data to the ocular holonet contacts all three had been wearing to get around iris scans.
"You know Lux could have just lent you some credits if you needed it, when has a senator not given away money that isn't his?"
"Please," Ahsoka replied, happy that Saul was still capable of lightening the mood.
"I know way richer politicians who owe me a favor."
Lux smiled at Ahsoka as he approached her, the head covering of the gagged bouncer in his right hand. Lux was not corrupt like most politicians, but Ahsoka agreed with the joke; based on the way he looked at her she was sure Lux was ultimately loyal to her and Saul, not any government. This was one of the reasons why she did not reach out to him when he came to Coruscant to help lead the delicate process of leading Onderan back into the Republic, even after she realized he had rushed the proceedings when he heard about her framing and spent up much of his political capital searching the planet to make sure she was alright. Her leaving the order also threatened to simplify or complicate their relationship, which was something she did not want to rush into so soon after being abandoned by so many Jedi she once cared about. All these concerns were washed away by the purge; she would stick by those she cared for that were left. They needed her to step up.
"This planet is a powderkeg, I don't want these guys in play when it really goes off." Ahsoka allowed herself to be a bit less serious. "The bounties on them are just a nice bonus."
Lux pretended to look suspicious.
"You never mentioned our cut."
Ahsoka shrugged as they walked back inside. "You already spent it on the down payment for my speeder."
Saul interrupted their banter with a slight whistle.
"Racketeering, weapons smuggling, more batteries on an officer than I can count: you're right, I could be tempted to use their type to start a rebellion. Some of these guys are the real deal, I'm not sure we can take them all by ourselves."
"I've already got that covered." Ahsoka motioned for Lux to take up position at the last working exit. Setting his blaster to stun, he'd make sure no one on the list slipped out with the crowd. She then walked up to the ugliest human by her, let out a sudden shout and twisted her upper body out his reach. "Let go of my Lekku!" she screamed, well aware that her sensitive braid like head tendrils were fetishized by humans and culturally significant to Twileks and the Togruta. The three Rylothans eyeing her all night predictably rushed to avenge the insult, and one misunderstanding later there was a full blown bar brawl. Thrown punches and smashed chairs were enough to handle most of the lesser thugs, giving Ahsoka plenty of breathing to rush and incapacitate the ones that were armed.
In no time at all that side of the cantina was nothing but a collection of flipped tables, broken bottles and moaning bodies. Ahsoka looked to the entrance to the private room behind the bar and took a deep breath, readying herself. "Wait here," she said, and closed the door behind her. A sullen and slightly drunk young Mirialan was there hunched over the counter, waiting for her next refill. A server with glassy stiffly approached her, the Mirilian waved her hand, and as if by magic he knew exactly what to pour.
"If it's any consolation, I never expected that the council would turn you over."
"It's not."
A strained calm hung in the air between Ahsoka and Bariss Offee, something that both padawans knew coulf change in an instant.
"After all that's happened, you have to see that I was right." Bariss eyed the cup in her hands, then poured its contents on the floor.
"If the masters had just stopped and listened, maybe none of this would have happened." On the holoscreen in front of her a steady stream of images celebrated the bombing campaigns that would precede the coming reconquest of the rim, as well the new construction that had begunto defile what was left of the Temple.
There is no emotion, there is peace, ran over and over in the two former padawans' minds.
"You killed people, Barriss."
Barriss scoffed and used a mind trick to call for another free glass of brandy.
"We've all killed people, or do Geonosians and pirates not count?" Bariss drank quickly, ignoring the burn. "Some things need to happen for the greater good."
Bariss had done terrible things in her bid to make a statement about the evils of the Clone War, things she didn't yet fully regret. She was right in a way; the war had been pointless and it had led the Jedi to doom themselves. Her self-righteousness hadn't yet been shattered by knowledge of Palpatine's true nature.
"Says the terrorist." Ahsoka's hands were on her hips, carefully placed just away from the blaster on her hip. Barriss finally made eye contact with her former friend, glaring at her.
"Why are you here, Ahsoka Tano? Revenge?"
"I thought about it, Bariss-" Ahsoka forced herself to smile as she saw how Offee's inebriation wasn't bad enough to stop her from also steadily inching her fingers towards a concealed blaster.
"-But no." She poured a drink of her own. "I come with a message. The war isn't over. When it comes back to Coruscant, you need to decide which side of it you're on."
She slid the drink to the end of the counter. An invisible hand caught it before it fell and raised it to hidden lips. Assaj Ventriss materialized before them, holding the gun Bariss and Ahsoka had already known she had rather than the distinctive curved red lightsabers Bariss had priorly stolen from her. The conflict between the three of them was personal.
Ahsoka left them to their stand-off, which descended into a hail of blaster fire and clawing hand to hand conflict almost as soon as they reentered the main bar. Saul had already been chosen to turn the bounties in, and was preparing to meet the clones that come to take them into custody. Lux followed Ahsoka back to her home. He wanted to ask who exactly was causing the tumult, but correctly assumed Ahsoka let it go on because it would be broken up by the arrival of Republic troops.
He also knew that the thing buzzing in her hand was extremely important.
"Is it time?" he asked, careful not to pry too much into Jedi business. With a mixture of both trepidation and joy in her heart, Ahsoka nodded yes.
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Ahsoka carefully landed the Onderaani vessel Lux had loaned to her. He could have given it to her if she wanted to, but this was his way to make her promise to come back. Kessel was the last place one would look for a Jedi. The planet was known for the accrid smell of industrial waste and slave sweat that drifted through the blown out corriders of its notorious spice mines. No one aside from smugglers and the vile willing visited Kessel. The scum who did were left to their vices so long as they looked threatening and payed the proper bribes.
Picking Kessel as the site of a Jedi Conclave was distasteful yet necessary. A den of villainy well away from the Order's sacred haunts had been chosen for two reasons. One: they needed a location that wasn't being watched. The other: they needed a conscious reminder of what they had been reduced to. She walked slowly into the claustrophobic tunnels, ready for an ambush. Flashbacks to the fight in the Geonosian weapons factory rushed to her mind when she heard the clicking at the opposite end. Beyghor Sahdett's species resembled a lanky green grasshopper. As a sentry, the alien nature of his eyes and head movements were likely to scare off any random passerby. The non-mammalian way it scrutinized her helped see why this Jedi was the few that had survived. It eating her alive was the only it could survive, it would in a heartbeat in according with the law of nature, and without any worry that such an act would lead to the dark side.
Behind him Ahsoka found herself in a large underground grotto. Over a dozen Jedi were in attendance: some like Rahm Kota sprawled out on mounds of long forgotten gravel, while others such as Siadem Forte stuck close to rusting mining equipment and well away from the exposed spice deposits jutting from the ground. Ahsoka examined those grouped closest together: Bultar Swan exemplified what it meant to be a Jedi Knight, and the horror of loss had done nothing to sap the liveliness from her beautiful almond shaped eyes. Sia-Lan Wezz was a female Jedi Guardian par exellence who hungered for retribution.
Others were less inspiring. Koffi Arana's shaved tuft of hair gave him a distinctive look when compared to the other humans, but it was his open displays of hostility that truly set him apart. The battle honed Roblio Darte was the closest to Arana's state of mind, but his fury burned coldly within his heart and was being harbored only for the enemy. Blue Furred Jastus Farr looked troubled, the former Tusken named A'sharad Hett wore an expression that was as austere and wild as the desert and masters Tsui Choi and Ma'kis'shaalas ignored her completely while engrossed in detailing their escapes from Order 66.
Shaaday Potkin watched Ahsoka try to slip unnoticed into the assembly. "Hello, padawan." Shaaday said, bringing everyone else to silence. Ahsoka flinched for a moment then reluctantly pulled back her hood. It was obvious that she was relieved to see so many Jedi in one place but also obvious was her belief that she no longer belonged with them.
Koffi Arana obviously felt the same way. Everyone could feel the snarl he was holding in:
You ran away when we needed you. Ahsoka wanted to buckle over, but Shaaday steadied her. "She will speak for the padawans we've failed." Suddenly downcast eyes told Potkin that the matter had been settled.
"Very well. The Order nears the brink of extinction because of our blind loyalty to the Republic. We betrayed our ideals and future generations to fight for it, and in return it has brought upon us almost total destruction."
The mood in the grotto was bitter and downtrodden. Some wanted to focus all blame on the Sith, but they knew many were all too eager to be manipulated. Palpatine was gone, but the soldiers he had created still hunted their peers.
"No more. The old ways made us too stiff necked to question the causes of outsiders. We fought their war when we should have been peacekeepers, and we sacrificed our own when they demanded it. No more." She said, and turned to Ahsoka. His was the apology Ahsoka had waited for, but it did not make her feel better.
Shaaday continued. "The Senate we upheld applauded our annihilation. By now we've all come to terms with what Palpatine really was. How he hid his true nature from us and why the clones turned on him is irrelevant. If not for Master Kenobi and Master Yoda's heroic actions the Sith would have won regardless of the complications they faced. Thankfully the latest ripples in the force can only mean one thing: The Sith succumbed to their own treachery, as they always do. All that matters now is that his minions are vulnerable.
"We mustn't let this opportunity slip from our grasp. No reflection. No exile. We must follow Yoda's example and do what must be done. We must act."
Tsui Choi apprehensively chittered together his small jagged teeth. "The Clone Wars continue and the Republic is at risk of total collapse. I fear that rash decisions will lead the galaxy further into chaos."
Shaaday's lips tightened. "There is no chaos, there is harmony."
Ahsoka's eyes narrowed. She didn't like where this was going, and neither did some of the other jedi in attendance based on their uneasy murmuring. Jastus Farr motioned for them to be quiet.
"Civilizations rise and fall," he said, "and fighting that would be like fighting the tide. If the Republic has succumbed to the Dark Side, we should not support it. We should end it."
Master Darrin Arkanian's ears waggled, his species way of showing agitation. "What you're proposing is as irresponsible as it is impossible. if we couldn't hold one coliseum without the clones, how do you propose we fight them?"
Khota entered the conversation. "By doing the same thing they did to us. We spread them out so thin they snap."
Shaaday looked to Ahsoka. "And the new generation will show us how. The council should have built upon the successes you had on Onderon."
Ahsoka shook her head. "But those people were fighting for their homes. Rebels won't aid us if the clones remain focused on the separatists."
"And if we bring the clones to them?"
Ahsoka was taken aback. A Jedi Master had just advocated the endangerment of innocents.
"Beware attachments, padawan." Master Shaaday exuded self confidence. "Our cause is just, the light side would have guided them to join us on their own in time. History will honor their sacrifices if they are made in the name of liberty, you've seen that already." Ahsoka thought of Steela.
Master Shaaday raised her hand. Special lightsabers drifted to each dumbstruck Jedi
"We are the swords of the Jedi, a sacred covenant. We cannot stand by and let the order fall."
Ahsoka's fingers inched towards the yellow shoto blade being offered to her. It was like the one she had dropped when clones fired rockets at her feet but somehow heavier, an echo of their use in the defense of the temple. Koffi Arana gripped it tightly as though he wanted to squeeze his rage into it. Iwo Kulka's confidence was bolstered and Rahm Kota clipped it to his belt like it were any other tool.
In that moment Ahsoka understood why even the most dovish of Jedi were accepting their new weapons. She had only been subjected to a mockery of justice; to prove her innocence Ahsoka had thrown herself into the lowest depths of Coruscant relying only on desperation to keep her alive. The others had faced something much worse. They had watched justice be turned on its head, and what they fought for annihilate them.
Shaaday nodded to Ahsoka. "Rejoin your family. Help restore the Jedi to our rightful place in the galaxy."
Ahsoka fought back tears. She would help them when appropriate, but her place was with her friends and loved ones. "May the Force be with you," she said, unable to out and out reject the invitation.
Engrossed by the yellow light, Shaaday barely noticed her leave.
