Sick Day

Part 4

The ship exited hyperspace and Ahsoka saw Onderon come into view. Laying her eyes on the planet, she felt butterflies rise up in her stomach. She was beyond elated to be seeing Lux again, but also terrified. What if he had moved on? What if she was just a one time thing for him? What if-? Ahsoka had to stop herself. There were a long list of "what-if" scenarios  and if she thought through them all, she would drive herself crazy. She just had to hope for the best.

As the ship descended into Onderon's atmosphere, the nervousness inside of Ahsoka grew. She kept playing the various scenarios in her head, worried about what would happen with her and Lux. Sure he had looked happy to see her on the hologram in the briefing before they left, but she wasn't sure what that meant, it could mean that he only thought of her as a friend.

Anakin looked at his not-so-young-anymore padawan. He could sense the unease oozing from her clear as day. He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, causing her to break from her thoughts. She looked up at her master and smiled. Everything was going to be alright.

"This is Valkyrie 2929. We're coming up on the DZ." The cargo bay exit of the ship lowered. Ahsoka gave Anakin a determined look and jumped out. Anakin gave out a chuckle as he followed his padawan. Obi-Wan shook his head at the recklessness of the two and hopped out. Rex was the last to follow.

The group looked up to see the ship depart from the atmosphere. They began to make their way through the thick, dark jungle, Ahsoka and Obi-Wan through the trees, Anakin and Rex on foot. They could barely see where they were going, but just had to hope they were heading in the direction of the Rebel Base.

After about an hour of walking, Anakin heard something. He quietly signaled for everyone to stop. The noise got louder and louder until finally a large quadrupedal animal emerged from the jungle and stopped in front of them. Atop the horse was a young human woman, probably about Ahsoka's age with long black hair.

"Stay where you are," she said as another of the animals rode up from behind them. "Identify yourselves."

Anakin lowed his hood. "It's alright. We're friends."

"Jedi," she said happily.

Ahsoka and Obi-Wan jumped down from the trees. "I'm Commander Tano," Ahsoka said lowering her hood. "We're here to help you take back your planet." I could sense unease in the girl as I mentioned my name, but shook it off.

"My name is Steela," she said introducing herself. "I'll guide you to our secret base." With that she turned the creature she was riding around and started heading back in the direction she came from.

The walk back to their base was long and quiet. Steela really didn't talk much at all the whole time. By the time they reached the base it was already light out, making everything and everyone visible.

"Hmm. A bit rough around the edges wouldn't you say?" Obi-Wan remarked stroking his beard.

"That's why I brought Rex here," Anakin replied.

"They're not exactly what I would call shinies, sir, but I could work with them."

Ahsoka wasn't paying attention to the three men talking, however. Her mind was on one thing, well one person. She looked everywhere around the base, but couldn't find him. She frowned slightly, but knew she'd see him soon.

Suddenly a large winged creature let out a shrill cry and landed in front of the group. Riding on its back was an older man, probably about Anakin's age, and slightly resembling Steela.

The man dismounted from the animal and walked up to the group. "General Skywalker."

"At your service," Anakin replied. "This is General Kenobi, Commander Tano, and Captain Rex," he said motioning to each of them as he said their name.

"We're looking forward to taking the fight to those scrappin' droids," the man said determined.

"Yes. All in good time," Obi-Wan reminded.

"Saw. Saw Gerrera," he introduced himself.

"He fashions himself as our leader, though no one elected him," Steela said throwing a playful punch at his shoulder.

"Well, for now, we're in charge and there is much to learn," Anakin stated.

Ahsoka continued her search for Lux, eyes darting around the encampment. She turned around to see if he was somewhere behind her, but her search came up empty, he was still nowhere to be found. She could feel Steela's eyes drilling holes into her head, but she didn't know why. They'd literally just met a few hours ago, and hadn't really talked. She had no reason to hate Ahsoka.

Ahsoka turned back to the group just in time to see another winged creature fly in over the trees. However, that's not what caught her attention. No, what she was focused on was who was riding the creature: Lux. Her heart burst with excitement when she saw him, thought she tried to keep her excitement internal and remain professional on the outside.

Lux guided to creature to the ground and landed. Everyone's attention turned to him, and that's when Ahsoka realized something. The way Steela was looking at him, it was now obvious: Steela had feelings for Lux too, and he must've told Steela about her. This worried Ahsoka. She was beginning to panic, more negative thoughts worming their way into her head. Did Lux know how Steela felt? Did he feel the same way about her? What if Steela and Lux were together already?

Ahsoka realized she was beginning to hyperventilate. She took a deep breath to calm herself before someone noticed something was wrong with her and started asking questions.

At this point Lux had joined the group. "Master Skywalker, it's great to finally meet you. I've heard many great things," he said bowing.

Anakin snuck a quick glance to Ahsoka before replying. "Same here Mr. Bonteri."

Lux then turned to Obi-Wan. "Master Kenobi I presume?"

"In the flesh," he responded. "This is Captain Rex," Obi-Wan said gesturing towards Rex, "and this is-"

"Commander Tano," Lux said smiling and giving a bow.

Ahsoka smiled and returned the gesture. "Mr. Bonteri." Despite Lux acknowledging her, she couldn't help but feel a bit saddened that he'd used her formal name. She knew it was because they were in a more formal setting, but it still hurt a bit.

"Well now that we're all acquainted, let's begin the teaching," Obi-Wan said gesturing for everyone to follow him.

As they all walked away, Ahsoka was hoping to talk to Lux, not necessarily about the baby or their relationship, but just to catch up. However, when she looked back to find him, she saw he was already talking with Steela. When she saw this, the seeds of doubt about her and Lux's relationship began to sprout. She frowned and turned around. She just hoped she wasn't too late...