The Republic has fallen.
In the final days of the Clone Wars, Chancellor Palpatine died under mysterious circumstances. With the Senate struggling to retain a sense of unity, it was the perfect time for the Separatists to strike. And strike they did...
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They snuck out of the villa shortly before dawn in a brief interval between guard rotations. It was a process Ahsoka found laughably simple, but the household staff probably thought itself too well protected by their ray shield to bother with tighter security. She could use that, if it came to it.
Still, that shield was going to be a problem. It covered such a large surface area that Lux saw no need to go beyond it to find a secluded place to train. Ahsoka still had no idea if the shield's filters were programmed to allow her through – and even then, Zakhan had promised to link her slave tracker to Lux's person, but how far she could get from him before it activated was a mystery.
She hadn't dared ask for information on either point thus far. Her alliance with Lux was stable for now, but that didn't mean she could let her guard down. If he'd been involved with a rebellion against the Separatists during the Clone Wars, it was a safe bet he agreed with Republic ideals or at least disagreed with Confederate ones. But consorting with Jedi was another matter entirely.
"The spot I was telling you about is just up ahead," Lux said. Ahsoka glanced up, scanning the jungle for a break in the trees. They hadn't been following any set path she'd been able to make out, but confidence and nostalgia wreathed Lux in the Force like twin plumes of colored smoke. He knew exactly where he was going.
"What's the terrain like?" she asked, tucking the couch cushions she was carrying a little tighter under her armpits. Lux had insisted they were the firmest he'd been able to find in the villa, but Ahsoka still thought they had too much give even for makeshift punching bags. She wasn't going to be picky, though. If she wanted to uphold her part of their agreement, she couldn't afford to be.
"It's a flat clearing protected from the wind on the seaward side by a few boulders. I used to go there for picnics. The ground wasn't rocky, as I remember it."
"Good. I don't want you to break any bones if I throw you. We're trying to stay under the radar, and that wouldn't look suspicious at all."
" 'Throw me'?" Lux echoed, incredulous. He snorted before Ahsoka could fire back a snappy comment on his faith in her, and she held back a smile. "Well, I guess I got myself into this. Just what exactly are you going to be teaching me?"
Ahsoka wished she knew. She was a capable leader, but she'd never felt the same certainty in a teaching role. She'd always told Anakin as much when Temple rotations or mishaps on the frontline made sharing her skills with others instead of just briefing them necessary. He'd been convinced she would grow into it – but she was nearly the same age he'd been when he'd started teaching her, and still nothing.
Though she and Anakin had clashed often in the early days, he'd always been able to rely on what Obi-Wan had taught him, and the preliminary teachings she'd received in the youngling crèche. Ahsoka couldn't teach Lux how to fight at her level – a Jedi's level – when his connection to the Force was too weak to levitate a pebble.
