In the End {1}

iii: The Catalyst

As Ahsoka packed her things for work, she couldn't help but feel tension in the atmosphere around her. Maybe it was because of the war escalating with no end in sight, or the fact that she was still hung up on Lux. Whatever it was, she pushed it to the back of her mind as she left her apartment and braved the streets of the lower levels.

She smiled, remembering her first day on her own.

Ahsoka walked down the steps of the Jedi Temple, letting tears fall freely. There was no one out there to help her now, not even Anakin, who believed in her without question.

She must've wandered around the same block for a while because a woman a few years her senior stopped her.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Ahsoka froze. "Uh... yeah. I'll be fine."

The woman gave her a once over. "You're not from around here, are you?"

Ahsoka shrugged. "Yes and no."

"You got a family? You look pretty disheveled to me."

"Well... no, not really. I've lost contact with my family and I don't want to see them again. I'm on my own now."

The woman smiled. "Save your story for another time. I know who you are, and I can help you."

"Excuse me?" Had she really already been recognized?

"You and I are similar in more ways than meets the eye." She brought her hands to her hips and tapped her fingers. "The difference is that I never had the chance to wield these like you did."

Ahsoka's eyes widened. She was referring to her lightsabers. Her belt still had the lightsaber clips on it. That would mean... "You're force-sensitive?"

The woman nodded. "The Jedi must've missed me. Either that or my parents didn't want me to be taken away. It doesn't matter now. I can help you start over. My name's Maggie Gistella."

"Nice to meet you, Maggie. I'm Ahsoka."

It felt like a lifetime ago that Ahsoka met Maggie, and she couldn't imagine where she'd be without her.

She pulled her speeder into the garage and parked it. The rest of the spots were vacant except Maggie's, which was nothing new. Ahsoka was always the first one to show up for her shift, besides Maggie, of course.

She slung her bag over her shoulder and sauntered inside. "Good morning, Maggie." She said as she reached the front desk. "Did you get a chance to fix the broken transmitter on that guy's bike yet?" She looked down behind the desk, expecting to see Maggie hunched over asleep, but the chair was empty.

Now that was odd. Maggie always took a nap after she opened the store for Ahsoka.

"Maggie?" She called out. There was no response.

Ahsoka put her bag down on the desk and turned on the lights. There was no sign of Maggie, so she slowly opened the door behind the desk to the filing closet.

"Maggie?"

She peered around the door and saw Maggie's body in a heap on the floor. She had been stabbed in the abdomen by what Ahsoka guessed to be a poison dagger.

Ahsoka closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She searched the force, trying to see if Maggie's attacker was still in the shop, but she was alone.

She knelt down next to Maggie and checked for a pulse. When she found nothing, Ahsoka stood up and took another deep breath. She wasn't ready to lose Maggie yet. Maggie was there when the galaxy turned their backs on her, and Ahsoka needed guidance from a friend.

Yet she couldn't bring herself to cry. Even though she was upset and nervous for the uncertainty to come, Ahsoka wasn't really thinking about it. She was a survivor. There was still an immediate danger, and she would have plenty of time to be sad later.

Should I call the authorities?

The question rang through her mind. If she did, she'd have to give them her information, and she didn't want the Jedi to be able to find her. But she knew it was the right thing to do. Her circumstances had changed, but she still wanted to make the galaxy a better place. Helping the police find a murderer was definitely a step in the right direction.

She stood up and walked over to the desk. The communicator sitting right where it should've been, but something caught her eye. There was a small slip of paper folded beneath it. Ahsoka tentatively picked it up and unfolded it.

People like her don't decide my fate. I'm coming for all of you. The message was handwritten in Aurebesh, a combination Ahsoka didn't see too often. Her stomach turned as she reread it again and again. The killer must've known Maggie was force sensitive. That's what he meant by "all of you." If the killer knew about Maggie, did they know about Ahsoka, too?

She picked up the comm. Now she was sure she had to tell someone, but would the normal city police be able to handle the investigation properly? The letter complicated things. She was certain that they wouldn't have the same sort of passion about this case as someone threatened by the message.

She opened the comm in the back and reconnected some wires to tune it to a frequency she hadn't used since she was a Jedi.

There were a few seconds of silence before a familiar voice responded on the other line.

"This is a secure channel. Please state your name."

"Hey, Master. It's Ahsoka. We need to talk."