The Unchronicled Adventures Of Ahsoka Tano, Book Ten

Chapter Sixty-Nine: New Things To Worry About

LUX BONTERI

They all looked so happy, the children running back and forth across the field grasses turned gold by the setting sun.

Lux reckoned that at that age, it was hard not to be happy at a birthday party, but for the adults it was a different story. And as someone in the latter category, Lux had a lot of things on his mind, and few of them were good.

The situation with IronFist was deteriorating rapidly. Ever since the abrupt change in leadership on Lothal with Minister Tua's death, the Empire was starting to take a closer look at the small company whose official finished products were far less than they should have been considering the resources put into them.

Not to mention something about Ahsoka was off. He supposed how someone grieved for a loved one changed after every death, but he suspected Ahsoka's ever- present sullenness ran deeper than mere mourning for her apprentice's passing.

"Why the long face?"

Lux sighed, tilting his head back and letting his hair catch on the bark of the tree he was leaning up against as Christo came to join him. But he didn't answer.

"Lots to think about, huh?" The taller man nodded in understanding and tilted his chin towards something in the distance, but Lux didn't have the height advantage to see exactly what it was over the crowd. But he still had a few ideas.

"I don't know," Lux said finally. "Ever since Ahsoka got back from Lothal, she's been... different."

"Good different?"

"I don't know... but I don't think so. She's grown sort of distant. Like she's seeing right through me." Christo furrowed his brow, so Lux did his best to clarify. "Like she half expects me to be gone when she looks at me."

"Then you should go talk to her; ask her what's on her mind."

"That's the thing – I have. Something's troubling her – I can tell – but Ahsoka has this way of retreating into herself when she feels she has to be alone in doing or coping with something. Hell, if it weren't for me and the kids and the New Jedi Order, she'd probably have broken all bonds of fellowship and gone into hiding somewhere years ago, emerging only when she had to in order to keep the Rebellion running."

"Then I suppose it has to be a good thing we're here, right?" Christo laughed heartily and clapped Lux on the back, but his silver-grey eyes were dark. "But seriously: go talk to her."

Then, Christo walked off to talk to someone else, and Lux did the same. It was time to get back to the task at hand: entertaining the guests like he was supposed to.

AHSOKA TANO

"You're positive this isn't a false alarm? We can't move in unless we're sure."

"The program is running perfectly. I ran a diagnostics check and everything."

Ahsoka took a breath in and held it for a moment, deep in thought. So long as the Imperial network was up and running their program would do the same, but that didn't stop her from listing technical issues as a possibility.

She wanted to hope that they were false alarms. After all, the fewer Force-sensitive children showed up on their radar, the fewer had already been marked by the Empire's agents for death – or worse.

"Who do we have to send?" she asked finally, releasing her lungful of air all at once in a small puff that turned pearly grey for a moment before fading away.

"The usual teams are already out. We can't send anyone else without compromising Temple security. And since you're not here enough to be part of the regular shift rotation..."