Star Wars One-Shots

A Padawan Found

Author's Note: A little canon-compliant aftermath of the Padawan Lost arc, centering on Ahsoka and the 501st! :)

To lilacs_and_lavenders: I hope you enjoy your gift! :D

~ Amina Gila

Ahsoka's kidnapping by the Trandoshans was hard on everyone. It left scars on them all, her most of all. Anakin lost her, but Rex did too. So did the 501st. She was their commander, their Jedi, their... sister. And now, she's finally back home. Or, aftermath of the Padawan Lost arc.

She might be out of there now, but the memories from the past week keep haunting Ahsoka. Memories of running from the Trandoshans, of watching Kalifa die next to her while she could do nothing, of watching them shoot down the other prisoners while all she could do was run for her life.

She throws a sideways glance at Anakin, to convince assure herself that he's really here. She didn't know how she would ever get out of there, and even if she refused to show her doubt and fear to the other padawans, that didn't mean she wasn't afraid. It wasn't like war. She might be hunted by droids all the time in war, watching as the clones die all around her when there's nothing she can do to stop it, but this was completely different. Violence is expected out there. The Trandoshans were hunting them for sport, for their own twisted sense of pleasure. And she didn't have a weapon or anything to fight back with. It worked out in the end, but it might not have.

She never realized until that moment how much Anakin's been shielding her from the worst of the brutality out there. Or how well his training has prepared her to handle a situation like that on her own. She never showed him the kind of gratitude she should have.

"They've been waiting to see you," Anakin comments, "I told them as soon as you came back."

"I can't wait to see them either," she replies readily, staring out the window of the shuttle at the receding view of Coruscant below them. They're almost to the main Cruiser of the 501st. It's beyond relieving to be back here, in familiar territory, where she knows Anakin and the boys will always be there to back her up, if they're able to.

The shuttle lands in the main hanger, and she goes in search of Rex, leaving Anakin to talk to some of the other clones who stopped to greet them on the way.

"Commander," Rex greets, relief obvious in his voice, "It's good to see you back."

"It's good to be back," Ahsoka replies, stopping in front of her friend. She doesn't think she's been this relieved to see him in her entire life. Before she can fully think the decision through, she steps forwards, wrapping her arms around the captain. She missed him so much, only because she never knew when she'd see Anakin or him or anyone again. Or anything beyond the endless trees of that jungle.

He freezes in obvious surprise for a moment – this is the first time she's ever hugged him, after all – before he slowly wraps an arm around her in return.

After several moments she pulls away, looking up at him. "I missed you," she admits. "I didn't know when I would ever get back."

"What happened?" Rex wonders, "The General briefly mentioned that you were kidnapped by Trandoshans."

"One of them came out of the trees and shot me, right before I could climb the wall," she responds, "They capture people and hunt them down for sport. When I woke up, I was locked up with a number of other people." In a cage. She's never been captured by anyone before, except briefly by Cad Bane and the Son, and she can't forget the sickening feeling of helplessness that clawed at her as she had realized she couldn't break out. "They dropped all of us off on an island on their planet and started shooting at us. I... ran into the trees before they could catch me."