Learning to Live (COMPLETE)

8.5.4

Ahsoka had worked four hours when she stopped for a lunch break right around noon. She had finished quite a few repairs, and she felt like she had done a good job on them. More difficult than the actual work was remembering not to use the Force, however. It was so tempting to simply pull the tools she needed to her, rather than reaching over or standing up to grab them, but she knew that if she didn't condition herself now the impulse wouldn't go away.

She had packed a pretty light lunch since she wanted to try and get out at 5:00. She had given it some thought, and if she put in at least an eight and a half hours every day, Monday through Friday, and she let the extra rollover after she filled her 40-hour quota, she could give herself wiggle room for days when she wanted to visit the surface.

There was another reason, one Ahsoka wasn't so sure she was happy about. She couldn't shake the feeling that even though she had officially retired from any and all military service, she wasn't done fighting in the Clone War. She couldn't tell if it was the Force or just her instincts, but she was almost certain that sooner or later something would happen, and she would be back on the battlefield. If that were to happen, she wanted to make sure she had enough extra hours to cover for the days she might miss.

In all honesty, Ahsoka would be completely fine if she was never shot at again. After seeing the effect it had on civilians and unwillingly helping Sideous with his plan to conquer the galaxy, she was done with war. Although she was somewhat interested if only for the sake of people she knew, she had purposefully avoided looking at the news updates about which systems were occupied by who. Who knew if the press even was telling the truth anyway? She knew all about censorship.

Now that she had a job, and she had the chasm to explore, she didn't feel as antsy or bored as she used to. If that ever were the case, Ahsoka could just come in and work extra. Maybe she could even ask to see what saloons or restaurants were good down here, or head up to Halda's for a quick, but expensive, bite to eat. After seeing prices down in the Lower Levels, Ahsoka knew that surface food was expensive, but she had visited a couple of times with Anakin, and they liked to eat out when they could. Anakin especially liked it because it streamed pod races from around the galaxy live.

Not that she could go to the surface right now. She would have to wait until after her name died down. Ahsoka's name was still being discussed in multiple media, on both public and private platforms. She was still too recognizable.

Ahsoka sat in a chair next to the wall in the staff room while she ate, and prepared to watch the others socialize. She wanted to see what they were like when they weren't working, so she refrained from speaking at first. It wasn't hard, she didn't understand some of what they were saying anyway.

Of course, Granger had to walk in first. He didn't spare Ahsoka a glance as he opened his locker, grabbed some food, and slammed it shut. He as far away from the Togruta as he could get, and opened the seal on the soup he was holding without so much as a word.

Wonderful start, Ahsoka thought. Someone else get in here, quickly, please.

Journey and Thyla answered her prayers. They were walking with their hands joined and laughed about something they must have said before they walked in. When the two saw Ahsoka, they smiled and waved. Thyla retrieved her lunch and pulled a chair out from the table in the center. "Come on, Tano. It's no good sitting by yourself."

Ahsoka did as told, and pulled her chair closer to the table. Journey sat on the other side of Thyla and started munching on a sandwich. "Id oo uth the asm?"

The Togruta sat still for a moment, thoroughly perplexed by what he had meant. "I'm sorry?"

Journey swallowed and repeated himself. "Did you use the Chasm?"