Letters to Senator Bonteri

xv

Ahsoka POV

After leaving the cemetery that day, I started paying closer attention to my surroundings. I found that many many people were living in poverty. The Empire controlled everything– grocery stores, clothing stores, housing, etc.– so prices for everything were massively inflated. Not to mention the fact that the people that worked there got payed next to nothing, if citizens were even allowed to work at said locations. Sometimes these "stormtroopers", as I had learned they were called, just ran to businesses. 

I saw families huddled in card board boxes in alleyways, four or five families crammed into a single two or three room apartment, and many other horrible things. Some people could barely afford to buy a ration of bread. I saw some people going behind restaurants and eating out of the garbage they were so hungry.

Seeing all of this deeply hurt me. Just over a year ago I had been working to make sure these people were free from oppression, but now it looks like it's even worse than before. At least the Separatists made sure the workers could afford to have a decent life. It seemed like the Empire wanted them to be poor and weak, probably to prevent an uprising.

I knew I had to help, but I wasn't sure how. Obviously I had to start small. I wasn't going to be able to overthrow the entire government by myself. As they always say, Coruscant wasn't built in a day, and neither would my rebellion. 

My biggest problem was the fact that I had no weapons. My first goal was to get my hands on something, anything that could incapacitate my foe. It wasn't that difficult honestly. I just lured a stormtrooper into an alleyway, telling him that a man was stealing something from a store. When he followed me, I knocked him out and stole his blaster. These stormtroopers were even more ignorant than those stupid battle droids, and that was saying something.

I had never used a blaster before, so my next task was to learn how to use it. I went back into the woods and began to practice. The first thing I did was practice hitting a stationary target. I set up a rock on top of the branch of a tree and tried to shoot it off. At first it took me three of four shots to finally hit it, but soon I was able to hit it on the first or second attempt. Satisfied with my work there, I moved to a moving target. For this, I started to use the blaster for hunting. This helped me learn to hit moving targets, as well as provide me with food.

Once I was satisfied with my ability to use a blaster, I began to put my plan into motion. I began going into Iziz every day, stealing food or clothing or medicine or whatever I thought the poor needed. I hit only shops ran by Imperials, for I did not want to be the cause of anyone losing their job. Some days I was able to get more than others. Regardless of what I could get my hands on, the families I gave the supplies to were extremely grateful. I had begun to give a little spark of hope to the suffering people of this planet, and that made me happy.

One day, not long after I had started, I was making my usual run to get supplies, when a stormtrooper caught by surprise. He pulled me into an alleyway and pinned me to the wall. I tried to get him off of me but it was no use, I was going to be sent to jail, put on trial, and likely killed– or so I thought. The man removed his helmet and told me his name was Ryan. Ryan told me that he hated what the Empire was doing, but he had been forced into it at a young age. He told me that he wanted to leave but couldn't for fear that the Empire would harm him or his family.

What he told me next surprised me the most. He told me that he wanted to help me. He said if he couldn't leave and directly help me, then the least he could do was indirectly help by feeding me information. He gave me a secure encrypted commlink which we could use to contact each other. Since that day, he has helped me tremendously, giving me scheduled patrol times, always making sure I had the easiest path into Onderon, etc. He was a huge help to me, and to the people of Onderon, even if they didn't know he was helping.

Soon, I began to get a reputation for what I was doing. People began to give me the name the "Woman in White" due to my white cloak. Street art of me began to pop up all over Iziz. It was really touching that they were doing this. For the first time in my life I knew what I was doing was right beyond doubt. There were times during the Clone War where I wasn't sure if what we were doing was right, but I knew helping these people was the right thing to do.

It had now been roughly five years since I began my quest to better the poor people of Onderon. I had expanded my ventures into not only helping the poor, but trying to cripple the Empire's hold on the city and planet. I began to attack shipments of weapons and other supplies for the Empire, as well as freeing prisoners that were wrongfully being sent to prison. Security was continually increasing, but with Ryan's insight, I was always one step ahead. The Empire didn't seem to have an answer for me.

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Lux POV

I was in my office, going over a new memo from the Emperor, something about trade routes and what not, when my chief of police burst into the office. I looked up semi-angrily, as he stood there catching his breath.

"What is is Owex?" I said irritated. 

"I am sorry to intrude my Lord, but she has struck again. This time taking down a weapons transport."

I slammed my fist on my desk. That was the THIRD time this week alone that she had taken out a transport. When she was just stealing food or other supplies for the poor, I let it go. It wasn't really hurting much, and I didn't want to waste troops on trying to catch her. However, it seems that that was foolish on my part. She began to get more bold, beginning to attack our supply transports about a year ago. While I had tried to up the security, and even put a bounty on her head, it seemed like she was always one step ahead.

"Sir what should we do? We've tried everything: doubled, even tripled security on transports, put a bounty on her head and she's still managed to escape our grasp."

I rubbed my temples. "I'll call the Emperor. Maybe he has something he can send us to stop her." Owex nodded and left. I hated to get the Emperor involved, but he would find out eventually anyways, so better to get in touch with him now before it got any worse.

I turned to lights off in my office, and soon a hologram of Emperor Palpatine came up. I kneeled before him.

"Ah Mr. Bonteri. To what do I owe the pleasure?" He said smiling a sinister smile.

I gulped. He was so intimidating. "My Lord," I began, "I wish I was calling on happier terms, but there's a problem here. A lady going by the nickname, the "Woman in White" has begun to attack our transports. I've tripled security on them, and even put a bounty on her head but we just can't seem to stop her. The people are starting to rally behind her. Is there anything you could do to help?"

"This is most... unfortunate," he said angrily. "But I may have something for you. My apprentice has been working with force sensitive individuals, training them as Sith assassins. We have named them 'Inquisitors'. I will send one of them to you. He should be able to rid you of this annoyance."

"Thank you Emperor."

With that, he ended the transmission. I sat back in my chair pleased. I smiled, for soon I would be rid of this rebel for good.