"For me, I always wonder what's worse: an emotional betrayal or a physical betrayal? That's a really tough call."

—Hilarie Burton

Preface

Initially, this story was written with multiple points of view. Eventually, I rewrote the story to be third person from start to finish. In 2015, I added an epigram, this preface, cleaned up some grammar, and restructured the story to be more consistent with my current writing style.

In the fall of 2011, I began writing an unpublished fan fiction where Ahsoka ends up on earth after Order 66. There, she eventually completes here training and becomes a wife and mother. Her adolescent daughter has been curious as to how her mother ended up as the only full-blooded Togruta on Earth, but Ahsoka has yet to reveal the story. I decided to write the back story as my first multi-chapter fic here. It's safe to say this story is definitely alternative universe (AU).

When I first wrote this story, I was under the impression that the full string of beads attached to Ahsoka's headdress made up her padawan braid, and not just the extension on her right side. It wasn't until well after I completed this story that I saw I was incorrect. However, I believe that Ahsoka would rather prefer to wear an entirely new chain once she was a Jedi Knight and keep the old string as a reminder of her tumultuous time as a padawan.

The original version of this story contained nine chapters and an epilogue. Because there is no prologue, I've changed the last chapter to be a finale while preserving the content. The finale still remains the place where Ahsoka reveals her OC pairing. Some might dislike how and where I presented it, but I planned the story that way and a good writer always has readers wanting to know what comes next, right?

Acknowledgments

Very special thanks to Lucasfilms Limited for all Star Wars characters and concepts.

Special thanks to the following authors:

· Shadow Griffin (#940553), for allowing me to use the 100°F [37.8° C] body temperature for Togruta. The ½°F [0.3° C] degree tolerance is my own concept.

· AVP5 (#1991184), and his friend "Z", for advice and suggestions that made their way into different scenes.

· CC-645 (#3528411), for clarifying writing terminology for me and for his behind-the-scenes advice.

Some information about Togruta traits mentioned in chapter seven comes from Wookiepedia.

Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Opening Time Period: 2011 AD (19 BBY/16 GrS).

Ahsoka took a break from her meditation. She still didn't know why her master wouldn't let her accompany him on his latest missions. It was frustrating to hear about Anakin's latest mission as secondhand news. She would have much rather been by his side when he rescued the Chancellor and defeated Count Dooku.

Ahsoka wasn't sure why her master ordered her to meditate tonight. He knew she wasn't a big fan of it. Had Anakin been more of a conventional Jedi, she might think it was some sort of punishment or exercise in emotional balance. But in her mind, her master's recent instructions made no sense.

As she closed her eyes to meditate again, she had the feeling something wasn't right. She thought she felt a rather dark presence that seemed out-of-place. Nobody ever infiltrated the temple, aside from the time Cad Bane did. And Bane didn't have a dark Force presence about him.

Ahsoka's thoughts were interrupted by a violent shock wave that rocked her room. It felt strong enough to ripple through most of the Jedi Temple. As Ahsoka opened her eyes, her montrals began to buzz with activity. As she opened her door, countless people ran frantically in the hallway. The dark presence felt stronger and oddly familiar.

"Get to safety! The temple is under attack by clones," someone yelled in passing. Ahsoka didn't recognize the person, but she found the statement peculiar.

Clones? That can't be right, Ahsoka thought.

Ahsoka nearly lost her balance as another explosion rocked the temple. Suddenly, she recalled a secret passage that she and her Clawmouse Clan classmates discovered by accident long ago. If she could find it again, just maybe she could escape without being trampled in the commotion. She quickly returned to her room and grabbed a small box. As she left her quarters for the last time, she ran through the hallway. She was determined to find the secret passage if at all possible.

As she turned a corner, nobody else was around. Walking to the other end of the hall, she sensed the secret panel to her left.

Thank the Maker I remembered where it was! she thought.

She opened up the secret panel and entered the dark passage, making sure to pull the panel closed behind her so that nobody else could follow. As she passed each floor, she sensed the increased chaos through the Force and her montrals. She briefly lost her footing when two more explosions rocked the temple. After a quick yelp, she regained her balance. The last thing she needed was to lose her balance and injure herself falling down the stairs.

Finally, Ahsoka made it to the hangar level. She cracked the door open just enough to squeeze through the opening. Now, a number of disturbances rippled through the Force. Clones were already in the hangar and opening fire. Ahsoka could only watch in horror as the clones shot down Jedi as if they were battle droids. Although she felt sharp pains of discomfort, she spotted a small ship at the far end of the hangar. She was determined to navigate the chaos to get to the ship and make her escape.

As this happened, Darth Vader looked on as his clones attacked the Jedi frantically trying to escape.

"Sir, look at this," a trooper said. He handed Vader a set of macro-binoculars. Vader was surprised to see Ahsoka, but not surprised to see her trying to escape.

"You... and you," Vader said, pointing to two troopers on his left, "See to it the Togruta doesn't get out of here alive. Destroy anyone or anything necessary to make it happen!" he commanded them.

"Yes, sir!" the two clones replied emphatically and obediently. One shot laser fire towards Ahsoka. The other armed missiles for destroying the ships still docked inside the hangar.

Ahsoka turned around as she navigated the chaos of fleeing Jedi and dead bodies. She hoped that what she saw wasn't real.

Anakin? No! It can't be! But... but it is?! Ahsoka thought. What was he doing with the clones that shot down her colleagues? As she tried to shake off her discomfort, a voice echoed in her head.

There are many contradictions in you. And in him. Be warned. You may never see your future if you remain his student! her older self warned her on Mortis.

A missile exploded next to a nearby ship and spread shrapnel. Ahsoka narrowly missed being impaled by the airborne shards. Shaken back into the present, she realized she had to escape as soon as possible.

Ahsoka quickly drew her lightsaber, but she didn't ignite it. If she deflected any laser fire, the stray bolts might hit and kill other Jedi. She couldn't and she wouldn't; she was determined to avoid that at all costs.

Ahsoka's montrals buzzed, bringing her back into the moment. She saw laser bolts heading right towards her. Without realizing it, her Togruta survival and flight instincts begun to assert themselves. She leaped into the air and twisted her body so that the bolts raced harmlessly past her. As she landed on the ground, she was set to run again. However, she bumped into another Jedi and dropped her box. She didn't expect him to offer her some sort of hand-held device with two buttons on it.

"Here, take this. Go to the preprogrammed coordinates and press the black button. Go forward, select new coordinates, and then press the green button. Hurry! And may the Force be with you!" he yelled before pushing Ahsoka forward again. She didn't know who had helped her, nor did she have a chance to thank him. Unfortunately, time was of the essence. She picked up her box of possessions and started to run again.

The clones continued their attack and shot down more panicked Jedi. Ahsoka had difficult concentrating because of the pain and death rippling through the Force. Nevertheless, she continued to make her way to the ship.

Almost there, can't give up now, she thought.

As another explosion knocked her off her feet, she used a leaping somersault to continue moving forward. Thanks to her echolocation, she evaded more laser fire as she reached the ship and quickly entered it. She swiftly powered up the engines the navicomputer. As the former came online, she looked at the strange hand-held device and programmed the coordinates it listed. As she left the hangar, one last explosion provided enough of a diversion and cover for her to leave the Jedi Temple. She flew as fast as she could without overloading the engines. Destroyers appeared to be setting up a blockade. Fortunately, they appeared to ignore Ahsoka. Her ship lacked markings identifying it as a Jedi vessel. Ahsoka looked out at the Jedi Temple through the transparisteel window one last time. The smoke that poured out of the temple haunted Ahsoka.

I hope others make it out safely. May the Force be with them, she thought. She shook her head before checking her instrumentation and continuing her escape route.

Meanwhile, at the temple, Darth Vader assessed the carnage. The troopers from the 501st slowly ceased fire.

"Did we get her, sir?" one of the clones asked.

Vader closed his eyes for a moment. "No, she somehow escaped. That's not a surprise, though. I trained her well—too well. But, it won't matter soon," he replied.

"Should we pursue her, sir?"

"No, I will track her myself and send a team or two to intercept her. You did your job here with peak efficiency. I will take over from here."

"Yes sir," the clone replied instinctively.

Ahsoka made the jump the lightspeed and set the auto-pilot. She didn't know how long it would be until she reached her destination. However, she knew that the longer she traveled, the more likely it would be that someone would track her down again. As the ship cruised in lightspeed, her built-up emotions were ready to burst. In spite of her Jedi training, Ahsoka gave in and let her emotions flow freely.

Skyguy, how could you do this? You always rallied against senseless slaughter. Now you're leading it? How could you do this to me? Why would you of all people want me dead? Ahsoka thought. As she cried uncontrollably, she felt tears running down her right cheek marking. She then buried her face into her hands.

Ahsoka recalled all the events, good and bad, they experienced together as master and padawan. However, the warning from Mortis was coming true, much to her horror. She felt like she was being torn apart from the inside out. She briefly reached out into the Force. However, she didn't know if something was truly amiss, or if her emotions clouded her judgment.

Ahsoka then did her best to stop crying. She had to think about her future now.

If I do end up somewhere else, what will happen to me? What will I do? Will I always have to fear being hunted down and killed? she thought. She also wondered if the local natives would accept her. Most importantly, what would her destiny be? Without a master now, she would never complete her training and become a Jedi Knight. The uncertainty of her future was enough to start her crying again.

Ahsoka couldn't help to think about Anakin again. He had ordered clones to open fire on her. They were shooting to kill and not to stun. She wasn't sure how she could move past such a terrible betrayal.

An audio alert and a blinking green light interrupted her thoughts. She finally reached the coordinates. She took one last deep breath.

I made it! Here goes nothing, she thought.