Chapter 1 - Awakening

First, let me say this: I am working on the Ilum chapters for both my Ahsoka and Barriss stories. However, the chapters are long and are will take quite some time.

This is the opening chapter for a new story idea that I've had in my head for some time now. I'll continue with the llum chapter first, but I just wanted to get this chapter done.

In some ways, this story is an alternate version of Rebirth of Light, hence the similar name. In this story, Ahsoka wakes up alone. After remembering what happened, she intends to leave Coruscant and go back to her homeworld of Shili, to try and start a new life there.

I will say, to some this might not seem like the most serious story at times, but to me it seemed like an interesting idea to work out, so I hope people will like it as well.

Hope you enjoy.

;-

Cold.

It was cold. That was the first thought that was able to form in her mind. She was cold. Whatever she was lying on was cold. Her body felt numb.

She tried to move, but her body only ached and refused to work with her. She felt tired and sore.

With some effort, she managed to open her eyes, but shut them immediately again. The light above her hurt her eyes. She took her time this time around and slowly opened her eyes to let them adjust to the light above her.

Her sight was a little hazy, but from what she could tell by moving her eyes, the room was mostly grey and just added more to the cold she felt. The light in the ceiling were a stark white, which only seemed to add even more to the chill.

After a few tries, she managed to raise her head enough to look forward. Amongst the grey, she saw an uneven and very pale orange shape. It took her a few moments to realize that she was looking down at her own body. She wasn't this pale before, at least she didn't think so.

Drained somewhat by the effort, she rested her head back again. "How did I end up here?" she asked herself. She had no idea what happened. She let her mind drift back through her memories. The Gathering journey came to her mind, the battle on Onderon with Lux, her and Anakin one a mission, but being called back to the Temple because of the…

With a shocked gasp she jumped upright, gasping both in the agony of the sudden movement that her body didn't like and the horror of the nightmarish memories instantly appearing in her mind. Someone had bombed the Temple and framed her. She had been blamed for what had happened. They had hunted her down like some common criminal. Everyone had been after her, thinking that she was a monster. She had tried to get away to prove her innocence, but they had captured her. She had tried to tell them the truth, but no one had cared to listen to her. No one had believed her. She had been put on trial. Padmé had tried her hardest to defend her, but no one seemed to care. They were out for blood and their sights were set on her.

She had been found guilty and was sentenced to death. She shivered as she recalled the satisfying smirk on Tarkin's face. She had been placed in death row to wait for her execution. Several people had tried to get her to sign a confession, Shaak Ti included. The Togrutan Jedi Master she had always looked up to hadn't believed her either when she said that she was innocent and her words had been very hurtful. After she had left, all that she had been able to do was counting down the minutes towards her death.

She remembered the clones coming for her, preparing her for execution and then leading to her to the chamber where she would die. She remembered being strapped to that table, bound helplessly, saying a few final words and then the gas had started flowing into the room. It had become harder and harder to breathe, until finally, her eyes started to get very heavy. She had tried to fight it, but eventually, her eyes did fell shut and she felt herself fade away. Then there was nothing.

She drew a few shaking breaths and stared around the room. "So… Am I dead?" she asked herself. "Is this the Force?" It didn't much look like what she had expected the Force to be. Besides that, she could practically hear her heart pounding in her chest at the memories of what had happened.

Despite the strain in her body and its refusal to work with her, she managed to sit upright a bit more and hug her legs. She rested her head on knees and sobbed, not able to handle everything anymore at the moment. For a few minutes she just sat there, gently rubbing her legs, trying to get some feeling back into them.

She regained her composure a bit and stretched her legs out. She noticed that she was lying on what seemed to be some kind of metal examination table. There were what looked like cooling cells along one of the walls. "A morgue?" she asked. "I died, didn't I?"

She just sat there and looked around, wondering about what would happen now. Everyone had wanted her dead. She assumed that everyone now thought she was dead, seeing how she was in a morgue.

She shivered again as she looked around the room. "I want to get out of here," she thought. "But what do I do? Where do I go?" She rubbed her arms and legs, trying to restore the feeling in them. "The Council just cast me aside like I was a common criminal. The entire Republic cried for my death. I don't think I want to have anything to do with them anymore." A few tears rolled down her cheeks.

She looked down at herself and the slight reflection of her face in the metallic table. The pale color of her skin made her feel ill in more ways than one. "Shili…" she suddenly thought. Her people's homeworld was a neutral planet and had made it clear that they would remain neutral. One Togruta more wouldn't be noticeable in the cities or in one of the smaller tribes scattered across the planet. Seeing as she was presumed to be dead, she would easily be able to disappear there. That gave her a glimmer of hope in this dark place.

A slight nudge through the Force suddenly caught her attention. She carefully looked over in the direction she felt it from. On a desk of sorts stood a box with her name on it. She slid of the examination table and nearly fell to the floor, her legs still a bit weak. She slowly made her way over to the box and found that it contained the clothes she had been wearing while she was imprisoned. There was a long brown robe lying next to the box. It was perfect for hiding herself.

It took her several minutes to get her clothes on. Her body was sore, stiff and moving hurt quite a bit. Eventually, she did manage to get her old set of clothes on. However, she did notice with quite some sadness, that her necklace, Togruta Sash and Akul-tooth headdress were not there. The fact that she had lost those items made her feel like she had lost a part of herself.

For now she shook the thoughts away. At the moment, getting away from here must have the first priority. Besides, if she got to Shili, she could remake those items should she join a new tribe somewhere. With that in mind, she put on the robe. She pulled on the hood and looked at the door, wondering how to proceed from there. There was a push in her mind, another nudge from the Force. It seemed to look out for her, guiding her path out of here.

Deciding to follow what she felt, she slowly made her way over to the door. Very carefully, she opened it and peered out into the hallway. There was no one in sight and she was grateful for that. Taking it as a sign of good fortune, she moved into the hallway.

;-

It took her several minutes, but she finally managed to get out of the building. It was pitch black outside, she had no idea what time it was, but it was obviously in the middle of the night. "Good, that means there'll be very little people outside," she thought as she walked away from the nasty building.

After a short time of walking she sat down on a bench on the walkway to get some rest. Her body was still sore and just walking around was painful. She kept a wary eye on her surroundings, terribly frightened that an army of clone troopers would storm around the corner at any moment to kill her. Again…

She had no idea where to go now. She wanted desperately to get off the planet, but she didn't know how. She didn't have any money or travel clearance or anything. Despite that, she was supposed to be dead. How could she possibly explain that one to the spaceport security?

Seeing no other option, she decided to open herself to the Force slightly. It seemed to have been looking out for her so far, so she hoped that it would guide her now as well. It took her a moment to calm her thoughts enough, it was clear to her that she was a wreck, but she eventually managed.

A picture of what looked like a transport ship came to her mind. From the looks of it, it wasn't a very special ship. It likely belonged to some smaller transport company. From what she saw, it was currently undergoing some kind of repairs in what seemed to be a smaller hangar somewhere. She then saw that same ship leaving the planet and arriving on Shili.

She slowly opened her eyes again, she had her answer. In her vision, the hanger seemed empty, so she would be able to sneak on board. Ships like that always had plenty of places to hide.

"That settles it then," she thought. With some newfound determination, she got up and started making her towards the hangar she had seen. Fortunately for her, it wasn't too far away from her current location.

She would leave Coruscant and everything else behind now. A new life waited for her on Shili. But as the Force moved around her, guiding her towards where she wanted to go, she had no idea what kind of destiny it had planned for her.

;-

That's it for this first chapter.

In the next one, Ahsoka will arrive on Shili. She will try to find somewhere to go, but in her weakened state she won't get too far, but the Force won't abandon her either. It will lead her to someone that will help her on the path for her new chapter.

But first I'll continue working on the Ilum chapters. I've already make quite some progress with those, but there's a lot more I want to add to both chapters. I'll be sure to upload them when they're both finished, but I won't upload them any sooner than that. I don't want to rush these chapters and upload them still incomplete.

Until next time.