Redemption

Warnings and Instructions

The next morning, when Ahsoka got up, Ben had already laid her breakfast out on the table. She sat and ate gratefully.

"Hey, Ben, I actually have one more thing to tell you," Ahsoka began as she cleaned up her dishes.

Ben nodded in acknowledgment.

"Maul is still alive. He was at the Sith temple but he got away and I think he'll come after you next."

"After all this time, he's still too stubborn to die." Ben chuckled.

Ahsoka smiled. "I know you'll be okay, but it's always nice to have a warning. I don't know when he'll be here, but I can rest a little easier knowing that you'll be ready for him."

"Thank you, Ahsoka. I had hoped he'd died during the Siege of Mandalore" - Ahsoka winced - "but it appears we aren't that lucky."

"I'm sorry, Ben. It was either kill Maul or leave Rex to die. I had to make a choice."

"You needn't worry, Ahsoka. There's no point in dwelling on the past, and you don't need to be sorry because I don't hold it against you."

"Wise as ever, Master."

"And there you go again, making me feel old."

Ahsoka rolled her eyes. "Well, if that's all, then I'm going to use the 'fresher before I go."

"Not exactly. I assume you're curious about Luke."

"Of course, but I trust that you know what you're doing."

"I'm going to train him. Eventually."

"It appears you've developed a habit of training older apprentices."

"He's just not ready to have his whole world turned upside down. None of us ever really got to have childhoods, but I want to give him one for as long as possible."

Ahsoka nodded. She understood completely. She'd been shoved into the Clone Wars while she was still barely a teenager. She was happy for this Luke kid. Coddling could be dangerous, sure, but if her suspicions were correct, Luke had a very difficult life ahead of him. He deserved some semblance of normalcy.

Ahsoka left after a quick 'fresher stop and walked outside. It was barely dawn, thankfully, so the suns weren't too bad yet. Ben carried her things to her speeder and hugged her goodbye.

"Remember: Dagobah," he said.

"Remember: Maul," Ahsoka responded.

"May the Force be with you."

"May the Force be with you," she said back.

She pulled up her hood and started her speeder, waving as she sped away. She looked back and saw Ben waving back at her.

It felt like no time at all had passed when Ahsoka pulled into Mos Eisley. The suns were quickly climbing higher so Ahsoka entered her cool ship as fast as she could without looking suspicious. She breathed a sigh of relief at finally being back in at a more bearable temperature.

"Anakin, I can't believe you lived here. I can't believe anyone has lived here, ever. This place is the worst."

Ahsoka entered Dagobah into the nav system and took off. Given that Tatooine was notorious for all kinds of crimes that made up a lot of the galactic economy, they'd stopped having people go through customs on their way out. Ahsoka thanked the Force because she was far too antsy to go through customs again. Turning on autopilot, Ahsoka went into one of the Phantom's cabins for a nap. She set an alarm on the ship to wake her up just before she got out of hyperspace.