Ahsoka Alone

Exile

The cold wind blows across my face, making my tears ice cold. I don't have the strength to wipe them away. Every step I take is like a lifetime, and my stomach sinks deeper with every movement I make. I can still hear him, sobbing. I know he's holding that braid in his hand, clutching it tightly and holding it to his face. I know I've betrayed him.  He's alone because I was too afraid of the Jedi. I was afraid of the people he was so committed to.

The orange-red sky attacks my eyes with its brightness, but I feel like it should be raining. It's the end of the day, the end of my journey as a Jedi. It should have been longer. Maybe I can go back...

No.

I made my choice.

oOo

The sun finally sets, and I'm somewhere in the ghetto of Coruscant.  I remember seeing Ventress for the first time in a very long time, in an alley not unlike this one. There's an exhaust vent next to a stack of boxes here. The cheap cloak and food supplies I bought with the last of my credits are all I have now, but the cloak will at least keep me warm during the nighttime. Hopefully the police clones won't find me here.

I press up against the set of boxes, and pull the cloak over my legs, then put my arms through the sleeves, and pull the hood over my face. As the world quietens for the night, I drift away.

At first, it's just darkness. Then a blue sky appears, like the one on Naboo. Blue and big and beautiful. Peaceful birds chirp in the trees which rustle in the quiet wind. A sea expands in front of me, calm, not a ripple on its surface.

From above, a single raindrop falls from the sky, and it splashes down onto the cool lake, and two sets of ripples ring out, in sync with one another.

A dark current of water changes the directions of the ripples, and soon the water is black and waves crash onto the golden sea bank, taller than my head. Then, two figures emerge from the place where the first droplet fell. They look like children, and as they grow they are pulled further and further apart. Once they are fully grown, they outstretch their hands to the now red stormy sky, and with their movement the clouds begin to clear.

One figure reaches down for something, and a small figure appears at her side, holding her hand. A dark cloud surrounds him, like smoke. He opens his eyes, glowing yellow like the eyes of a Sith.

And then I wake up.

oOo

The sun beats down on my back as I swerve my way through the streets of Coruscant. Other people in dark cloaks lean up against cement buildings, their hands in their pockets, faces obscured. I wring my hands as I walk, slick with sweat. I just don't want to run into any clones or Jedi. Keeping myself out of trouble is my first priority. Somehow, I have to find transit out of this system.

"You need a power converter," a woman with a raspy voice asks, and shoves her wares into my face.

"No, thanks," I say as I push them away. A quick sting shocks me for a moment. Static. "Sorry."

"Not a problem," the woman says. "Is there something else I may be able to get for you? For the right price of course."

"Transit would be nice."