Ahsoka

  I woke up when the sunlight hit my face. It was orange and warm, it was very early. I got up from my bed and stretched, then, I sat down and meditated for a while. When my head was clear, I stood up and walked up to my small wardrobe.

  I'm taller and I'm older, so, logically, I outgrew my usual clothes: top, skirt and tights. Thankfully, I had seen this coming so, I grabbed the clothes I'd wear today: a skin-tight sleeveless shirt that reaches my thighs and has no back, —like Master Naberrie's, I really like her style— four stripes around my biceps, gloves that reached my elbows and boots that match the fabric's chedron colour and grey pants. The pants and the stripes had diamond cuts on their fabric, letting everyone see my orangish skin.

  When the clothes were over my body and I clipped my belt around my hips, I smiled to myself. I don't have a mirror but I bet it looks cool. I grabbed my two lightsabers and clipped them to the belt. On a recent mission with my Master, I found a small Kyber Crystal, so, I kept it and built a shoto lightsaber.

Yesterday I asked master Naberrie if she used to fight with two lightsabers and she said yes, when I showed her the new weapon and asked her to train me in two lightsaber combat she didn't refuse, she helped me gladly. It was hard though, When Allana thought I was ready to increase the difficulty level, she asked Anakin —who was watching the session— for his saber and he lend it to her. To be honest I thought that was weird, the reason why each Jedi has their own lightsaber is because it's theirs, something they don't share, it's 'their life' as Master Kenobi says.

  But anyways, when we started fighting my theory was right: the combination of combat forms (fifth and seventh) made her have a perfect balance with defence and offence. Her attacks were fast, faster than they usually are, stronger, brutal...it made my arms ache. She masters Jar'Kai and I'm glad she's the one teaching me so that I master it too.

  After a while she gave the lightsaber back to Skyguy and both of them attacked me so that I defended myself. Third combat form is cool, when they said it was my turn to attack, I used the fourth form, my usual one. In within five minutes, I defeated Smarty and in other five Skyguy. That's when the session ended, with the three of us pretty tired and two defeated grown ups that refused to admit defeat and that owed me an ice-cream. After three intense days of the same sequence of exercises, I've quite mastered the battle style.

  My day started quickly, as it usually happens at the Jedi Temple. For brief moments, life seemed to be simple, the quietness of the busy planet during dawn made it seem like there was no war. It was nice to feel the Galaxy was normal for a minute, but sadly the silence can't be eternal. I was eating breakfast when my comlink beeped. "Tano here." I said to answer the call.

"Hello Commander." Said Anakin on the other side and I chuckled. I've earned the rank of Commander in his battalion recently. "How are you doing Snips?"

"Cool, what about you old man?" Today's his birthday. He chuckled on the other side and the whisper of Allana's giggle was audible making me frown as I wondered how were they hanging out together so early in the morning. I shrugged. Surely they were wandering around and met at some point, they're very early birds.

"Cool, hey, where are you right now?"

"At the dining room of the Temple, enjoying the delicious and tasteful food we're always served, is everything okay?" I said with sarcasm.

"Yeah. Senator Amidala has asked for our presence at the Senate, we don't know why though." I frowned and finished my drink.

"Oh, okay." I stood up and grabbed my almost empty trade from the table and my empty cup to place them where the droids would wash it. "I'm on my way. Also, who's 'we'?"

"I met Allana here so, we'll be waiting for you." There's the answer.

"Cool, see you in a moment."

"Alright." I started to walk out and took a transport towards the Senate. When I arrived, I didn't exactly know where to head to. I checked on Padmé's office but they weren't there, plus, the Commando that's always taking guard of her office told me they were waiting for the session to resume, so, I walked up to Naboo's box and found the two Jedi, the Senator and her Captain talking vividly. As soon as they saw me, their smiled grew bigger.

"Hey there Snips." Allana greeted me with a bright smile that I returned. She was wearing her new go to outfit: marine —almost black— blue sleeve and backless shirt, green skin-tight cargo pants, dark brown, high combat-boots and her gloves —that are dark brown too— with the dark grey armour over them. Her brown leathered belt was clipped around her hips and her hair was braided in two but the braids met in a low bun. A few of curly locks were loose and framed her face.

"Hi Smarty. Senator, Captain." I greeted.

"Hello Ahsoka." Padmé answered for both of them, then, I looked at my Master.

"Happy birthday Gramps." They all laughed. "How do you feel about getting older?" Typho walked away towards the box. Anakin has changed his outfit too, he's no longer wearing his grey armour, instead, he's wearing a dark brown shirt with dark brown fabric —that matched his shirt— and black leathered overtop. His usual belt matched his usual boots and his pants were the same too. I realised his hair is slightly longer too.

"Hey, I'm only twenty one, I'm not that old." Skyguy complained.

"But you're older." Allana chuckled as well as her sister and Anakin just rolled his eyes with a smile on his face. After a second, Captain Typho returned.

  "Sorry to interrupt." He called our attention. "Senator, the recess of the motion is almost over." Typho informed.

"Thank you Captain." Said Padmé. "If you'll excuse me." She told us with a smile and walked back into her seat to patiently wait for the motion to re-start. We followed behind slowly and reclined our backs against the columns of the entrance.

"So...what has happened?" I asked.

"Senator Saam has said that more troops are needed and a lot of people agree with him." Said Allana, before she continued, she sighed. "Very few Senators think that we should negotiate with the Seppies while a lot of them think war should continue."

"That's just great." I commented as I crossed my arms, the other two grown ups mirrored my movement. Once the session resumed, the crowd clamoured. Everyone yelled at the same time what they thought and made it impossible to hear what Saam was saying.

"Order, order!" Mas Amedda said loudly from the Chancellor's box and everyone shut up, their voices faded away slowly and got lost in the silence. "Let Senator Saam finish."

"This is a matter not of philosophy." Saam said. "Like I said earlier, more troops are needed, the Republic cannot afford to let the Separatists gain any more ground." I frowned.

"I have the statement of multiple Generals, like Allana Naberrie, Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luminara Unduli, Mace Windu and Adi Gallia." Senator Organa spoke from his own box as he made it float towards the center. "They assure that troops in the field continue to perform valiantly." He breathed in as he looked at everyone. "What we cannot afford is to be irresponsible. The Republic is near bankruptcy due to the cost of this war."

  The crowd started cheering and jeering and raised their fists as Senator Dod appeared into scene. I sensed my Masters tensing and getting pissed. I looked at them with a frown.

"You're angry." I said calling their attention, they looked at each other and nodded.

"He almost got me killed the day I was investigating Rush Clovis." Allana confessed.

"He poisoned her." Anakin explained.

"Oh." I said and they sighed.

"Yeah." They said at the unison.

  "Bankruptcy is not necessary my friends." Senator Dod said and I saw how Smarty rolled her eyes. "If we pass Senator Saam's bill to open the lines of credit, we will gain access to the needed founds."

"Won't this bill essentially deregulate the banks?" Asked Senator Mothma.

"A small price to finance the war, is it not?" Said Kamino's Senator, Halle Burtoni.

"We must keep the war going!"
"Get a bill on the table!"
"Keep the war going!"

  Those were a few statements the Senators yelled and I frowned as I hoped to hear some common sense. All I've known has been war so far. I'd like to live in a quiet and peaceful Galaxy where the problems are minimal and not a damned war. I was tired and I've fought for barely a year. My Masters are the ones that have been fighting far longer and I could see they're exhausted too even if they don't say it out loud whenever I'm around.

  I think that it's easy for the Senators to say that war must go on when they're not the ones placing their lives in the eye of the storm day and night, day after day. I breathed out slowly as I remembered all the Jedi that have perished before the shadow of the Clone Wars. They're more than a hundred. Thankfully, the voice of common sense stood up.

  "Members of the Senate!" She said loudly and hardly as she made her box float away towards the center of the room. "Do you hear yourselves?" The crowd fell silent in a matter of seconds. "More money, more clones...more war. Say nothing of fiscal responsibility what about moral responsibility? Hasn't this war gone on long enough?"

"Senator Amidala." Senator Saam called her attention. "Are you suggesting we surrender to the Separatists?"

"Of course not, but negotiation might be a better course of action."

"You can't negotiate with those animals!" Whoever yelled that has a huge point. I agree with that. "Keep the war going! Vote now!" I opened my eyes a bit and raised my eyebrows as I heard the Senators chanting 'vote now!'. They really want this war to extend itself until they win. Allana sighed.

"That shows you how ambitious people can be...they just want to win a war." She said in a whisper. "They don't care about a peaceful end, they have to prove they were stronger and better than the other part."

  "Members of the Senate!" Bail Organa called their attention and the crowd's cheers started to fade into the silence again. "I suggest we table any emergency bill until it is determined whether or not deregulation is the right course of action."

"Very Well." Said Mas Amedda. "We shall let calmer heads prevail." The session was over and apparently Padmé has more time to pull something off. She made the box float back to where it should be and walked out. Once she reached our side, we started to walk through the hallway.

  Senator Amidala was walking in between my Masters and I was behind them while Typho made his way towards the entrance of Padmé's office, he knows that whenever she's with us, she's away from any harm, that we'd take care of her.

  "You must ask the Jedi Council to speak with Chancellor Palpatine." She told the two Jedi Knights.

"I won't get involved in this." Said Anakin and Lana nodded.

"A peaceful solution is the only way out of this morass of war."

"Believe me, we know, but that's not our role in the war Padmé." Master Naberrie said.

"Why not?" I asked as I placed myself beside Allana. The three of them looked at me as we continued to walk. "Why isn't it your role? Aren't we Jedi Knights? Isn't it our duty to speak our minds to advice the Chancellor?" Allana smiled sweetly and looked at the front while Anakin cleared his throat.

"Uh...I suggest you teach my young Padawan a thing or two about politics." He asked Padmé.

"After today's debate, I was hoping she learned a great deal." The Senator said.

"Truthfully, I don't understand any of it. I know the Separatists are evil, but all anyone argued about was banking deregulation, interest rates, and, well...almost nothing about why we're fighting in the first place." From one moment to another, Anakin placed himself in front of the three of us and stopped our walk.

"War's complicated Ahsoka, but let me...simplify it." He crossed his arms, very serious, while Allana crossed hers with an amused smirk. "The Separatists believe the Republic is corrupt, but they're wrong and we have to restore order." Master Naberrie chuckled and arched an eyebrow, causing my Master to send her a glare. "What?"

"Sorry birthday guy, but maybe talking to the Jedi Council is, indeed, not the role for you."

"I agree." Said Padmé. "Thanks for your help though." She walked past him. "Ahsoka, Allana, come on." I looked at my Masters and started walking behind the Senator.

"Why me?" Asked Allana placing her hands on her hips in an interrogatory manner that I know too well.

"Just because...maybe I'll need your help." Master Naberrie sighed.

"Fine." She walked past Anakin and sent him a smile as he looked at us confused.

"Hey." He called. "Where are you taking my Padawan?"

"You told me to teach her about politics, so, I'm going to." Senator Amidala answered and I turned around to face my Master, shrugged and sent him an amused smile while he raised his shoulders and sighed just to walk the other way towards the exit.

[...]

  We didn't share a word as we arrived at Padmé's office. When we got inside, she walked straight towards the window, I sat on the guest chairs and Allana sat on the Senator's chair, opposite from me.

  As Padmé stated at the landscape, Allana spinned on the chair as she looked at the ceiling, looking bored and radiating younger sibling energy. As I smiled at her childish behaviour, her older sister sighed.

  "If only I could talk to Senator Bonteri." She said as she continued to face the horizon, where the pastel pink of the sky kissed the top of the skyscrapers and the lights of every single apartment started to make contrast in the painting, as if they were stars that started to burn faster as the night fell.

"Who's he?" I asked.

"He is a she." Allana answered. "A Senator in..." She paused. "The...Confederacy of Independent Systems, right?" Her voice sound proud, as if knowing that was an achievement.

"Right, I'm glad you do pay attention."

"Hey." Allana stopped spinning in the chair to look coldly at her sister —who smiled kindly and sarcastically— before she continued to make turns on the seat. I was wondering if she felt dizzy and how many more spins would it take for her to stop. "I had to in order to play my Senator Amidala role multiple times. All that information has come in handy." So it was an achievement after all.

"Hold on." The information finally sank in and I frowned. "Your friend is a Separatist?" I asked Padmé, who turned her sight back towards the ships that were flying behind the glass. "One of Dooku's pawns?"

"The Separatists used to be a part of the Republic." Padmé turned around to face me. "I was close to may of the Senators who left." She placed her hand on the chair, making Lana stop with a sigh and I smiled at the sight before she continued. "I may not agree with them, but they're more than pawns."

"If you think negotiating is the right thing to do, let's talk to her." The two Naberrie's smiled at me kindly and I returned the gesture.

"The Senate has made it illegal." Padmé faced the window once again.

"Illegal?"

"They say official meetings would only legitimise the Separatists."

"Well, Snips, Skyguy, sometimes Obi-Wan and I hold aggressive negotiations, right Snips?" Said Allana as she placed her boots on the edge of the desk, making me chuckle and nod, then, she sighed. "It's honestly a shame you can't hold more peaceful negotiations when you want." When those words left her moth, Padmé turned around once more.

"You just gave me an idea." She told us with a soft smile.

"Oh no." Smarty said under her breath as she placed her feet on the floor again and sat properly on the chair as Senator Amidala walked around the desk as she looked at us. "You're Jedi."

"No shit Sherlock." I chuckled and Padmé rolled her eyes as Lana looked at me. "Sorry." I shook my head with a smile taking importance off of her comment.

"I mean that being a Jedi gives you special clearance, right?"

"Right." We answered at the unison.

"And Jedi are allowed to travel to neutral worlds like Mandalore." Smarty scoffed.

"I see what you're trying to do." Padmé smiled and crossed her arms with triumph on her face.

"Well, the Padawan doesn't." I commented.

"I mean, maybe, from Mandalore we could board a cargo ship to a Separatist System." Padmé added to the thought and I frowned.

"You're smart." Master Naberrie complimented.

"I know." Said the Senator.

"Hold on." I said raising my hands a bit. "You are suggesting that we use our status as a Jedi to smuggle you behind enemy lines?" The two almost identical women nodded.

"It's a great plan." Said Padmé.

"I agree." Said Allana. "We could get us through to meet with Bonteri." Amidala nodded again.

"And I haven't seen her or her family in so long." I chuckled.

"Relax." I said. "We'll help you."

"What she said." Smarty stood up.

"Yeah. The three of us in another mission sounds like fun." I commented and Smarty nodded.

"That's the spirit Snips, besides, Anakin said you should teach his Padawan about politics, I'd call that...a perfect excuse." I scoffed.

"You know? You and Anakin have so much in common, no wonder you get along so well." I finally spoke what I always think.

"Huh...of course." Said Allana with a smile and Padmé chuckled.

"So? Where are we heading?" I asked.

"Raxus." Answered the Senator of Naboo before we walked out of the office.

  In a while, we placed plain robes over ourselves and their big hoods over our heads. After ten minutes, Master Naberrie was piloting the ship towards Mandalore, teaching me how to operate a Naboo starship properly in the process.

  When we arrived, Duchess Satine told us we could leave the ship in her personal hangar util we returned with no problem, so, shortly after that conversation, we hopped into the cargo ship and traveled as refugees. Allana stayed a couple rows back, saying that three people, dressed like we were dressing, would call too much the attention while I stayed with Padmé.

  [...]

  After an hour or two, we jumped out of hyperspace. The Separatist ships surrounded the system, as if they had a blockade and I wondered if it was the situation even for a Separatist system, but my brain discarded the idea, it sounded stupid.

  In five minutes, the ship landed and we moved to the ramp. It slid down in seconds and the first thing that I saw was a yellowish battle droid. I had to suppress the urge of destroying it.

"Move along." He said. I looked over my shoulder and met Allana's serious face, she nodded and I looked at Padmé, who offered a kind smile.

  The droids started to look at the passengers and asked for their ID's. A wave of concern washed over me, we obviously don't have such things.

"Keep walking." Senator Amidala whispered and I followed her lead as I spotted a droid who was about to approach us, I couldn't help another wave of worry from flooding my system. By instinct, I placed my free hand — because I was carrying a suitcase with the other one— on my hip to grab my lightsaber if needed and looked over my shoulder again realising that Allana was already behind me when I saw how a lady with a purple dress approached the droid and asked him something that I couldn't catch. In that moment, another two ladies approached us and Master Naberrie, they were weaing the same dress.

  "This way." They whispered and guided us away from the droids,  they didn't seem to notice at all. Huh, great strategy. After a couple seconds, we spotted a woman that had her hands behind her back, with short, dark brown hair and a few grey strokes next to her ears. Her silver greyish dress looked beautiful and her features were kind.

"Hello old friend." She told Padmé as Allana placed herself beside me.

"Ahsoka, Allana, this is Mina Bonteri." Padmé introduced us. "She was my mentor when I was growing up on Naboo."

"Hello." Said Allana with a kind smile that Bonteri returned.

"So you're the famous Allana Padmé never shut up about." Both sisters chuckled.

"Guess that's me." I studied the Separatist Senator from head to toe, she seemed like a common person but...

"You're a Separatist?" I asked and felt Master Naberrie's eyes on me.

"Well, of course, my dear." She answered as she chuckled. "What were you expecting? Now come, I have a transport waiting." She said and started to walk away, so, we followed her.

  We hopped on a red ship and piloted all the way to her home that was far from the center in a more private area, more quiet. That meant safety.

  My Master and I removed our robes and placed them into a bag she brought before we landed. As soon as that happened, we grabbed Padmé's suitcases that were barely filled with clothes. In a minute, the ramp of the ship opened and we walked out.

  "Lux!" Bonteri called someone. "Come down here and help our guests with their luggage please." She added. Lux appears to be a boy who dresses fancy clothes and had a gesture of...superiority on his face that made me frown and almost roll my eyes.

  Padmé and Bonteri were walking side by side and went inside while Lux approached us.

"Please allow me." He said and offered a smile to Master Naberrie that she returned as he grabbed the suitcase from her hand.

"Thank you." She said sweetly and my eyes met his green ones as he approached me.

"May I?" He asked but when he was about to take the suitcase, I moved it away from his grip.

"I can handle it." I commented as I frowned. He mirrored my expression and pursed his lips, then, I walked away from him and reached Allana's side. "How long are we gonna stay? I already wanna leave." She chuckled.

"As long as Padmé needs I guess, but I don't think we'll stay long, few hours the least, a day the most. She just likes to travel with a lot of luggage." She shrugged and paused for a minte. "Or until the Council calls..." She sighed. "We didn't think of that."

"Of what?"

"The Council." She grabbed her disk communicator and opened the line, boosting the signal as to contact someone in the Nucleus from the Outer Rim. In no time, the hologram of my former Master appeared before us. "Skywalker, hey."

"Hi Naberrie." He said. "I've been looking everywhere for you, I thought we were going to Dex's Diner with Obi-Wan as tradition dictates." They chuckled.

"Yeah, I'm afraid that won't happen today, I'm sorry. Padmé did need our help with some...reports and at the hill hearing."

"It's fine, but you owe me one."

"Sure, sure, perhaps later on. How are things on Coruscant?"

"They're fine, everything's quiet. I haven't been dispatched anywhere so, that's cool."

"Great, then, I need your help." Anakin frowned and nodded. "If the Council summons me and, or Ashoka, tell them we're with my sister."

"Sure." For some reason his voice sounded...sceptical about something.

"Yeah, we're her company for the talking, so that Ahsoka learns."

"Oh, okay."

"Great, thank you." We reached the gate of the house. At last. That was some long pathway. "Gotta go Skyguy, see you soon." He sighed.

"See you Smarty." The transmission ended.

  "You should try to be nice to our hosts." She told me as the disk was placed in its pocket in the back of her belt.

"I'll try."

"Like Master Yoda says: 'do or do not, there is no try'." I rolled my eyes and Lux approached us. "I can take it from here Lux, thanks for your help." He smiled at her and nodded before handing the suitcase over.

"My pleasure." He looked at me and walked away as we walked into the Bonteri household. It was a huge manor and it was beautifully adorned. As we walked in, I saw Allana had a playful smile on her lips.

"Three questions." I said and she nodded. "One: What's the 'dictated tradition'? Two: Why didn't you tell him where we are? And three: Why are you smiling?" She chuckled.

"The tradition is that we go to Dexter's Diner whenever it is Anakin's or my birthday to get burgers. Sometimes it's Kenobi, Ani and I and some other times Adi is added to the plan." She smiled. "When Anakin turned ten we were training together, the four of us. Skywalker and I were exhausted and hungry, so, Obi-Wan said he knew a place and took us there. Anakin liked the food so much that he asked his Master to take us there every single birthday." I smiled as I imagined my young Master getting excited about such a simple thing like hamburgers. "It's been eleven years of that."

"That's cute."

"Yeah. Second question's answer: I didn't tell him because he'd freak out if he knew that his Padawan, his best friend and his...other best friend came to Separatist territory. He cares deeply about his friends Ahsoka, I don't want him to be all stressed out today because of a simple and small mission. And finally, I'm smiling because of the way he looks at you."

"He who?"

"Lux." I scoffed.

"He's not looking at me in any way."

"Sure kid...whatever you say."

"Seriously! Besides, how'd you know?"

"I just do. Plus...I know that look." I raised my eyebrows.

"What? There's no way you do."

"I do, but it's not the moment for boys talk."

"Oh, come on, you can't do that." I chuckled as we reached the dining room where both Senators were.

"Watch me."

"I want to know about that."

"Someday." I sighed annoyed and amused as we placed the suitcases by the entrance and two handmaidens grabbed them to take them upstairs.

  "He's grown so much, Mina." Padmé told her friend as her eyes returned from the window. Great, Lux is the topic of the conversation here too.

"Time won't stop, even if we are at war." Bonteri commented, then, she looked at us. "Would any of you like a refreshment?" She asked.

"I would love one." Said Allana and another lady brought a trade before us with a cup and a martini glass. Naberrie obviously was the one to take the glass while I took the cup, I felt like a child. "Thank you." She said and I smiled at the blonde woman. Allana took a sip of her martini and I sighed before I took a sip of my cup wondering if it was altered. Thankfully, it wasn't. The taste of the cranberries was delicious and the cold water felt great against my dry throat.

"I'm afraid these events are shaping his young life." Mina added to the previous subject and we started waking up to where they were.

"With all due respect, as a Separatist, didn't you create this war?" I asked and Master Naberrie almost spit the sip she was taking.

"Ahsoka!" She scolded me with an angry frown before Padmé could.

"It's alright." Said Bonteri as she looked at the Naberrie's. "That's a very polarised point of view my dear." She started to approach my side and Padmé and Allana relaxed their frowns. "Would it surprise you to know that many of the people you call Separatists feel the same about the Republic and the Jedi?" I frowned. "Lux's father was like that." She started to walk away from us. Padmé's eyes looked at the ground and Lana seemed to catch things immediately, as she usually does.

"Maybe I could speak with him." I said as I tried to read in between the lines of her sentence, replaying it in my head.

"If only you could." Bonteri's voice was sad now, it was off. "A year ago next week, he was setting up a base on Aargonar when clones attacked. My husband fought bravely in self-defence but was killed." My eyes opened wildly and my lips parted as I sensed her pain and surprise flooded me. Shit.

"Excuse me." I said in almost a whisper as I didn't know what to say anymore. "I...think I'll get some air." That being said, I walked out and started my way down the extremely long stairway towards the gardens. My hands were behind my back as I walked. A manner I've adopted from my Maters. I breathed in slowly and enjoyed the silence until...

  "You're a Jedi, aren't you?" Lux's voice said behind my back, making me stop.

"Yes." I answered. As if it wasn't obvious. "Why do you ask?"

"Before the war, I was always told the Jedi were good."

"And now?" He hopped off the railway where he was sitting.

"I don't know anymore." He started walking downstairs to get to my position and I resumed my walk. "There are a lot of terrible things happening, a lot of killing. And now my friends are saying the Jedi are to blame."

"I'm the first Jedi you've ever met, aren't I?"

"Well, um...yes." We reached the bottom part. "And the lady that's upstairs with Senator Amidala and my Mother." I crossed my arms.

"Look at me, I'm not so bad, am I?" He smirked and frowned as his eyes scanned me from bottom to top.

"No...not bad at all." I didn't repressed the eye roll this time.

"Ugh, well, it seems boys are the same wether they're Republic or Separatist." I started to walk away from him but he reached my side again.

"Wait, how many Separatists have you met?"

"What?"

"Well, I mean, you think we're all the bad guys, but how many of us have you actually met? And droids don't count." I sighed.

"Well, other than military officers like Grievous and Ventress, none, I guess. You and your mother are the first." He stood before me.

"Well, look at me, am I so bad?" I opened my mouth to answer but truthfully, there was no answer in my head, instead, I scoffed.

  We sat down on the bench that's underneath the kiosk's ceiling and talked about the differences of our realities, realising it's the same in some way but opposite at the same time.

  After a while, Allana showed up with a huge smile on her features as her hands rested behind her back. When she raised her eyebrows amused, I rolled my eyes with a smile while Lux seemed not to notice.

"I'm glad to see you're getting along." She said and we smiled at each other, then at her and she returned the gesture. "We have to go inside, Mina is taking Padmé to the Senate and we have to go with her." She said looking at me and I nodded. Both of us stood up and made our way inside again.

[...]

  Half an hour had gone by and we were on our way to the Separatist Senate. It made me nervous to be surrounded by people that I thought were completely evil and may see us the same way.

  "How many lives on both sides have to end before we see futility?" Mina Bonteri spoke before the Senators as we fixed the hoods that covered our faces and admired from afar. "Surely there's room in the Galaxy for Confederate and Republic planets to coexist. I move that we immediately open peace negotiations with Chancellor Palpatine on Coruscant." The crowd cheered and some people even stood up to applaud the bold Senator, although some others jeered.

"The Corporate Alliance will never allow this to happen." Said a Senator that has green skin and bright pink eyes with a strong and angry voice that matched her angry frown.

"This is a democracy, and unlike the Republic, corporations do not rule us." Said a man with the same complexion than the woman, causing people cheer and jeer again.

"Quiet!" Said Count Dooku's hologram from his box. "In accordance with the bylaws of Independent Systems a voice vote is required. All in favour of initiating peace negotiations with the Galactic Republic say 'aye'." Most people in the room said 'aye' and it felt amazing. The thought of this war finally ending...surreal. "All those against?" Almost no one said 'nay', very few voices echoed around. "The ayes have it." Mina's eyes met ours from afar and we smiled at her as she nodded.

  We returned at the Bonteri's, and after we enjoyed a delicious meal, we gathered everything that we brought and got to the landing bay to go back home. Lux was coming with us.

  The dusk's light kissed Raxus' architecture and made it look ancient, in the best way of the word. It looked beautiful and peaceful.

  "Well, this is goodbye." Padmé told her old friend.

"I've been disappointed before, and yet, I almost feel as if, this time, the tide has turned in the war." She placed the hood over Padmé's head, like a mother that protects her child. "You should hurry." She looked at Allana. "Goodbye General."

"It was a pleasure Senator." Said Naberrie.

"Goodbye young one." Her blue eyes met mine and a kind smile flashed through her face. When I nodded with a smile, Lux approached my side. Lana looked at me playfully and walked a few steps away with Bonteri and Padmé to give us a bit of space.

"Do you really think the Republic will vote for peace?" He asked.

"I hope so." I answered with honesty. "I wouldn't want to meet you on the battlefield...for your sake." He chuckled and smiled, so, I returned the gesture.

"Go, you three, quickly." Said Mina, interrupting our moment. With a final looks exchange, we started walking towards the ship to get back to Coruscant.

  I had a weird feeling, although it wasn't a bad one it just was...an odd one. One that I haven't experienced and it matched the smile I had on my face for some reason that I couldn't explain.

  When we entered the ship, we sat in the same way. When we arrived at Mandalore and got on our ship and Master Naberrie piloted home. When we arrived, Padmé changed her clothes into the fancy grey with creme and golden touches, placed the elegant wig on her head, we got rid of our robes and we made our way towards the Chancellor's office.

  When we were there, Padmé told him everything that had happened in Raxus that had only 'reached our ears'.

"Well, well, well." Said Palpatine. "This is quite a stunning development."

"Your Excellency, we would be remiss, if not irresponsible, to reject the Separatists' proposal." Said Naboo's Senator.

"Of course."

"An end to the fighting would mean there's no need to borrow money for more clones."

"I can see why you would want so badly to believe that the Separatists desire peace." They started walking around the room and we looked at each other with confusion.

"I don't understand."

"In the past, whenever we've reached out our hands in peace, they've been slapped away. Can we believe that they're ready to sue for peace so easily?"

"If I might speak with you confidentially, I know this time it was sincere. I've been in contact with my old friend Mina Bonteri and the origin of the proposal was with her." And...there goes the alibi.

"Bonteri? How was the dialogue stablished?"

"Does it matter, Chancellor, if the result is an end to the war?"

"I see your point my child. Then we shall put the vote to the floor immediately. Head to the Motion Room, this is a new emergency vote."

"Thank you Chancellor." He offered us all a smile that we returned before we walked out. "That went amazingly."

"We can all agree on that." Said Allana. "So it'll happen now?" Padmé nodded. "Great, we may have time to go the Diner after all." I chuckled.

  After —more or less— thirty minutes, every single Senator arrived at the Motion Room. When the Chancellor's box lifted from the bottom part of the building towards the center of the, the motion started.

  Padmé made her box float to the center of the room and started giving her speech while Master Naberrie and I stayed by the entrance, reclining our backs against the walls.

"Given that the Separatists have put a call for negotiations on the table, the need for additional troops seems ill-timed." Said Amidala.

"Which means there is no need to deregulate the banks." Senator Organa pointed out.

"I say we vote that down now." Senator Farr proposed.

"There is a move to vote on the proposed bill to lift regulations on the Banking Clan." Said Mas Amedda. "You may enter your votes." The Senators got to work and suddenly Master Naberrie recovered her posture as she frowned.

"What is it?" I asked, frowning as well.

"There's a ticking...or a beep? I don't know but it's fast." I sharpened my ear but I couldn't hear the beeping.

"I can't hear anything."

"How could you not? It's loud." She covered her ears and looked worried.

"Master?" I approached her and placed my hands on her shoulders. Then, the world went quiet for a minute and my blood felt cold when she spoke...

"Bomb." In that second the lights went off and were replaced by red lights as a commotion of voices echoed all around the place. She recovered herself and we looked around everywhere trying to spot something but it'll take a few seconds for my eyes to adapt to the new illumination. The bomb was not in the Senate, that was certain. More explotions echoed in the distance, way far from us and my worry increased. The bombs are spread around the Capital.

"We're under attack!" Senator Taa yelled and an alarm went off. The boxes of the Senators floated back to where they're supposed to be while the Chancellor's floated back down. Once Padmé was beside us Allana turned her communicator on and contacted, who I assumed was Anakin.

  My assumption was right. She asked him what was going on out there and he said —with a voice was barely audible because of the air raid sirens blaring— that the main power generator of the Capital Planet had just been bombed, that they were investigating but so far everything pointed at the Separatists. She wouldn't think that's true, none of us do so, we were skeptical about that last bit. Anakin also said that he'd meet us soon and ordered us not to get out of the Senate and stay here.

  Once his report was done, we informed Padmé and she informed the rest of her co-workers. Surprisingly, some of them had already been informed about the situation too.

"The bombing of the power generator has been confirmed as a Separatist attack. They must pay for what they have done!" Said Senator Saam.

"But it was the Separatist Congress that issued the bill of peace!" Said Amidala.

"Obviously a tactic to lower our defences and launch this attack." Mas Amedda said and I felt Padmé's frustration, anger, sadness, worry...she was riding an insane rollercoaster.

"No! That's not true!" She said as she made an effort not to let her voice break.

"I move to immediately deregulate the banks." Said Kamino's Senator.

"We need a bank loan to get more troops now!" A man yelped.
"What are we waiting for?" Another one followed.

"I'm afraid we've been given little choice." Said Chancellor Palpatine. "To ensure the safety of the Republic, we must deregulate the banks." Padmé sat down, defeated and held her head with her hands. Allana walked up to her and placed her hand on her shoulder to comfort her as I frowned and shook my head.

  When the motion was lifted, we walked out, meeting with my Master in the hallway. Before we spoke, he confirmed that the bombs were implanted in some maintenance droids and were confirmed to be Separatist.

  "I'm returning your teammates." Said Padmé with a low tone of voice after she sighed.

"I'm sorry your talks with Bonteri failed." He said and I frowned.

"How did you know?" I asked him and his eyes fell upon me.

"We have eyes and ears everywhere Ahsoka." He answered, raising his voice a bit. Then, his eyes went from mine to a pair of hazel ones that are to my right. "That was dangerous and careless going to Raxus, not to mention illegal." He looked at Padmé too. I could hear the way he cares for his close ones, I always have. "You three went too far this time." He started to walk and we walked beside him.

"You'd do the same, in fact, you do the same all the time." I commented.

"This was too much."

"Maybe so. But I did realise something." The three adults looked at me. "The politics of this war are not as black and white as I once thought they were." Allana's soft giggle echoed beside me.

"At least something good came out of all of this." She said with a smile that was contagious as we walked through the hallways. Once Padmé had left with Typho —who was there to ensure she was safe— towards her apartment, we made our way to the Temple to get some sleep so that we had the energy to help rebuild the quite shattered Coruscant and keep perusing peace tomorrow.