When You Come Home

-19-

"What are you going to do when the war's over?" Ahsoka's question caught Anakin off guard.

He continued to walk alongside her, holding the silence as he thought. The beauty of their midnight walk made it difficult to concentrate on giving an answer. Strings of lights interspersed with strings of pennants on which was the Mandalorian symbol, as though they were trespassing on a week of festivities. The whole town was dressed in lights that danced and mingled with the stars and the cool moonlight. Each house had at least one light — whether it be a small glass lamp, a coil of fairy lights, a lantern, or even a glass bowl with a nest of lights — visible from the street. Even at the late hour of the night, they still glowed. It was as though they celebrated something, which was odd, considering they were in the middle of an occupation.

"It's a symbol of hope," Ahsoka informed Anakin, noticing his distracted gazing. "It's a tradition Duchess Satine Kryze started after Mandalore separated from Concord Dawn. The Concordians are less peaceful than the Mandalorians — and associated with the Sith —and she wanted to symbolise the 'light at the end of the tunnel.' Each civilian was encouraged to display some form of light outside their house in times of darkness. That's how the story goes, anyway."

"But Satine isn't ruling anymore," Anakin wondered aloud. "Did her sister keep the tradition alive?"

Ahsoka shook her head. "Though I don't know if she directly opposes it, I do know that it's the people of Mandalore that have kept this trend going."

"So, it's a silent protest for Satine to come back?"

"It could be. I'm not here for politics, though. I'm just here to protect the innocent people."

Anakin cast her a sideways glance. "Are you?"

Her cheeks flushed, and she looked away quickly. "That's my job: protecting people. Have you seen Omega?"

He watched her a moment longer before looking around the black shadow that had been ghosting them. "Leia! I mean, Omega! Where have you gone, girl?"

They stopped at a crossroads between the residential area and a more industrial sector, checking all directions. Every shadow that moved or flickered seemed to hold the missing cat, but two green eyes didn't appear, and she didn't walk towards them.

"I knew it was a bad idea taking her," Anakin sighed. "How do you get her to stay when she's with you?"

"She just knows to stay," Ahsoka said, hunting in the shrubs and corners. "Don't worry; she won't be far. She never is."

"Which way is she more likely to go?" Anakin asked, glancing at the different sectors. "Does she like people or machinery?"

Ahsoka shot him a withering look. "What kind of question is that?"

He smirked, but his retort was cut short when a clattering sound caught their attention. "Omega?" he mouthed to her, then sneaked towards the origin of the sound. Echoing from down the empty street, the shuffling and clanking came from inside a large warehouse. Set back from the road and only accessible through a narrow driveway, the noise-maker must have been making quite the racket for them to have heard it. Omega was too small to create such a din, but that wouldn't have stopped her from trying.

A white light danced from inside the dirty windows before disappearing further into the building, leaving just an aura. Huge roller doors stood as the entranceway; one was partly open. The warehouse itself was made of corrugated iron, rusting at the edges, but not wholly abandoned. Anakin couldn't decide if the building was still in use or not.

"Omega won't be in there," Ahsoka whispered. "She wouldn't be able to get the door open."

"But who is in there? And what are they doing at this time of night?" He cast her a shrug before creeping up to the door and peeking in.