Ahsoka, Daughter of the Light (Book 5): Rescue

Chapter 5: Survivor on the Run

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Two months.

It had been two months since her life had changed forever.

Everything had changed in an instant. Nowhere was safe anymore.

The Separatists had never been the real threat. It had been her own troops the whole time.

She had narrowly avoided death at the hands of the troops who had served beside her for three whole years.

Thankfully, the Wookiees had given her some help. Blending in on Kashyyyk and being anything other than a Wookiee was hard, so they managed to get her off to a town on Mirial, where she could blend in easier.

What had happened to her on Kashyyyk, she would remember for the rest of her life, though that life would likely end up being shorter than she first thought.

Every hour that passed it felt like she could be found. Nothing ever felt certain anymore. The Dark Side clouded everything.

There were rumors among the townspeople that there was more than just clones behind the purge. Some people spoke of "Sith" and "Red-blades" and "Vader."

She was being hunted. The Empire knew she survived. She was living off of borrowed time. Once they found her, there was no certainty that she would make it out alive again. Especially if Sith were involved.

Yet in these desperate times, there was one thing that gave her hope:

The message.

She opened up the secret compartment in her room, as she did almost every day, and pulled out a holocron.

It was one of her best-kept secrets. Nobody knew of it. Nobody knew of her past with the Jedi.

The same as she always did, she sat down with her legs crossed, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and lifted up her arm.

The holocron whirred and clicked as it opened. The bits at the corners flew apart, and the hologram displayed the message.

It had been sent to her, and presumably any remaining Jedi who could receive it, during the day of the purge.

It was a message of hope. Hope to any Jedi who remained.

But the real surprise was the one who sent it.

The message was from Ahsoka Tano.

"This is Ahsoka Tano," said the message. "I regret to report that both our Jedi Order and the Republic have fallen. This message is a warning and a reminder for any surviving Jedi: trust in the Force. Do not return to the Temple. That time has passed, and our future is uncertain. Avoid Coruscant. Avoid detection. Be secret... but be strong. We will each be challenged: our trust, our faith, our friendships. But we must persevere and, in time, I believe a new hope will emerge. May the Force be with you always."

Those words... oh, they brought the slightest glimmer of hope in what seemed like an unending darkness.

She never understood why and how Ahsoka sent the message. Ahsoka had left the order. Perhaps she snuck in while the Temple was being attacked.

But that still didn't answer the question: why? Why did Ahsoka return to the Temple to send the message? Why would she send a message of hope to the ones who turned her back on her when she needed her the most?

For Ahsoka to do that, to put that horrible incident behind her and do the right thing... well, that spoke volumes.

She understood how heartbroken the incident must have made her feel. She knew it because she, too, had to deal with the reality that she had failed as a teacher.

First her Padawan had been stripped from her. Then her clone troopers and the Jedi Order. What was next... well, she didn't want to think of it.

But at least Ahsoka had suceeded.

She had given a faint glimmer of hope to Luminara Unduli.