Star Wars: Exodus

Chapter 21: Our Last Hope

Thrana was trying to meditate when the chime came from outside her door. "Enter" she said, and she sensed Ahsoka through the force. "Can we talk about what you did when we took back the orbital base? How you linked all of the pilots together, it was very impressive" she said. Thrana tried to stay deep in her meditation, but didn't have such luck. "I know you told my master about it" she said, her eyes still closed, still deep enough that her meditation could be rewarding. "I did, and I know that he has a plan, but I thought I should check with you first. You don't have to do this" she explained, and Thrana tried to stop herself from sighing. "Do you know what its like? To be taken from your family, trained to carry the lives of so many on your shoulders whenever you fly a ship? I know that your Jedi took you as a child, but you were trained to protect people from danger, not to guide them around it into possibly even greater danger" she hissed, and finally withdrew from her meditation. "Not just me, but all of the other Skywalkers have to live with the very same responsibility, knowing than hundreds, even thousands will die if we fail, that is the last thought that goes through our heads!" To her credit, Ahsoka did look a little guilty at that, knowing that she hadn't taken as much time as she would have liked to get to know the Skywalkers. A massive part of that was because of how they were in hiding. "So, make your own choice, no one will hold it against you if you say no" Ahsoka said, and instantly knew it was the wrong thing to say when she Thrana's red eyes blaze. "Oh, won't they? Tell me, do you even know anything about my people's culture? Do you know anything about our beliefs? Our history? Anything about our lives!?" she demanded, launching into a rant that Ahsoka had not expected. "Of course, you don't! you show up here, thinking that you can end this conflict, that you can bring back all my dead friends, all the dead husbands, and father, mothers and sisters who died in this war! You jedi are all the same, you don't care about us unless you get to act the hero! You don't care about us, the only one of you outsiders who does is Ezra!" she seethed. "Then tell me..." Ahsoka said softly. Thrana's bright red eyes swivelled around and landed on Ahsoka, and she scoffed. "You think I believe that? We watched your Jedi Order, saw how it 'cared' for those in the republic, only to disappear when thi9ngs got hard! You don't want me to tell you anything, just as long as all of you say that you did your best! Because no matter how much you say you want to help, no matter how much you claim to care, Ahsoka, you only came here to get Ezra!" Ahsoka tried not to flinch at how Thrana said her name while mocking her and ranting. It sounded too familiar for her liking, similar to how Rafa had said it when they first met. Ahsoka walked over to the Chiss, and for a moment, Thrana regretted what she had said. Instead, the Torgruta just sat down next to her. "You're right... we didn't come here to fight a war, we came here expecting to face an enemy and free our friend, then go home" she explained, and Thrana shrugged. "But you didn't find an enemy, did you? You found us, and like the heroes you think you are you rushed right in without thinking about what could happen, and your arrogance got your friend hurt!" Thrana spat at her. Ahsoka nodded, and for the first time, the Chiss saw a look of pain mixed with regret. "I did, and I'm the one who has to live with that. I don't want that for you. If you don't play your part in Ezra's plan, then you'll have to live with something similar, and of a much bigger scale. That will be a lot worse than the guilt I carry around for all of my mistakes" Ahsoka replied, letting her explanation sink in. Thrana shrugged, but didn't entirely admit the point. "And there's still the chance that I fail... just like there being a chance of failure whenever we navigate through the Chaos..." she said, and then stood. "People make being a Skywalker sound like a major glory, something to be proud of, but none of them have ever been one! Not even you, a former Jedi, know what its like to carry that kind of weight on your shoulders. You can all swing your lightsabers and or find another way to fix the problem. We aren't that lucky, we're taken from our families, forced into service, and then simply cast aside when we can no longer navigate!" Thrana said. "Whatever Ezra needs, I'll do it, but after that, it would be best that you stay away from me if you're going to judge me!" she said. Ahsoka nodded. "Understood" she said, and rose, gesturing to the door to Thrana's quarters "He's waiting for us on the bridge." Thrana took a breath, and walked out of the door.