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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Even after seeing her again for the third time this week, Ahsoka couldn't make up her mind and decide what she thought of Lady Noronessa Taevarion.
The younger woman was quick-witted and to the point, qualities Ahsoka had learned to respect in people like Anakin. But Noronessa didn't have any natural charisma to soften a blunt delivery, like Anakin had – or if she did, she never used it. Noronessa genuinely relished in catching those around her off-guard.
But on the other hand, it was much easier to slip away after a speech when Noronessa and Lux were bandying words, Noronessa pressing her advantage and Lux backtracking to circumvent a blow to his pride or inquest into his private life.
As uncomfortable as it made Lux to go against Noronessa, contests of wit were his area of expertise. He didn't need Ahsoka to protect him from an off-putting noblewoman, even if leaving him to it felt like feeding him to the wolves. Besides, there were other people here who needed her help more than Lux did.
Suddenly mindful of how much time she was losing by letting her thoughts wander, Ahsoka glanced from the pile of crates containing rations and medicine to the manifest on a nearby datapad. She'd filched it from a deck officer upon infiltrating the back storage lot of this small Imperial supply depot, but if the man was even moderately competent, he was sure to come looking for it soon.
She had to switch these crates with empties bound for the local reclamation center before that happened; she'd already told the locals to expect them.
She heard voices, but the Force's warning that enemies were attached to them came a few heartbeats too late. The back door of the squat building slid open, and the deck officer walked outside with three storm troopers. At least her shawl was still up; they'd see nothing but the vague outline of her montrals and a flash of orange skin between the tops of her boots and the bottom of her knee-length tunic.
The man gawped when he spotted Ahsoka – an understandable reaction, considering the electric fence encircling the lot on three sides and two-story wall of the depot on the other. She gave him a halfhearted wave.
"How did you get in here?" he spluttered.
Discretely Ahsoka set the datapad down behind her. "Would you believe me if I said I'd gotten lost?"
"What? No, I–" The man tugged his little grey cap – one that was chillingly reminiscent of Republic military uniforms, she noticed – lower over his forehead and straightened his uniform, trying to reclaim his dignity. "Troopers, I want her ID'ed immediately. If she resists, arrest her for trespassing on private property!"
Ahsoka summoned the Force on reflex as the four troopers approached. "You don't need to..." She trailed off, scowling at herself for the unnecessary risk. "Kriff this," she said, then turned tail and ran.
The trio scrambled after her, but they weren't fast enough to intercept her before she reached the building behind the deck officer. Thankfully, the brick was cracked with age and repeated storms, and Ahsoka had a myriad of handholds to choose from. She didn't even need to use the Force to climb high enough to clear the fence – though she did use it to soften her landing on the other side.
