Galaxy Into Darkness

Chapter 10: The Bar

Tatooine:

Two hours after having Ahsoka patched up, the trio of three had decided to look around and see what was to scope out around Mos Eisley. While walking around, one of the things on their minds was to look for a basic clothes seller who would be willing to take Republic credits. Because of the news of a sudden Empire going around, many beings were going about referring the Republic credits as Imperial credits.

Rex didn't see the point of this sudden change. After only establishing the new order not that long ago, it seemed too sudden to think about name changes of the currency. He just sighed and round relief that he didn't need to do any work to change the currency used. If the credits were to change form, Rex would see it as annoying. At least only the title of the credits was changed and didn't need to be replaced with newly manufactured currency.

Ahsoka observed the people in the area and noted a lot of them with stalls set up, eager to sell something to a customer for credits. Ahsoka could tell that a majority of the merchants were only doing this for greed by persuading other people to buy their 'amazing' supplies. Most notably was a Rodian selling meat that was hanging loosely on a rack at his stall, with the product wobbling constantly as the violent dust storms brushed constantly. Ahsoka would've gladly helped and given advice to a legit salesman, but she could see something that no one else did. The meat that was hung on the rack was definitely something that could make anyone potentially sick if they had ingested it. Instead of getting this stall to stop selling their supplies, Ahsoka waited for the wind to pick and knock the entire rack onto the sandy surface all around. But the chances of that weren't entirely likely. The Togruta stopped in her tracks and bared witness to nothing happening. She was more focused on the stall rather than Rex and Fives who were talking to each other behind her back, questioning what their Commander was doing.

Refusing to allow the meat to be sold to the civilians of Mos Eisley, Ahsoka waved her hand softly towards the direction of the meat rack and made it wobble. She kept her hand to her side as she toyed with the rack. The wobbling that the rack did was done as if the wind was combating against it, making it look as if it were losing balance. The meat dealing Rodian was careless enough to lose focus of his product. As a result of his carelessness, the rack had tipped over backwards and fell onto the dealer selling it. The Rodian cursed within his native tongue and got dragged down into the sand.

The customers on the street looked over to the green skinned merchant for a moment before returning to their own business. The evidence that the meat had fallen to the ground meant that no one would be interested in buying it. Not only was the meat foul, but it was now evidently dirty from short observation.

"Ahsoka, did you just…" Rex started while lightly tapping the Togruta on her right shoulder.

The Togruta turned back to the Clone Captain and gave a smirk to her soldier, knowing that Rex had noticed her using of the Force. The Jedi had slowly started to walk again and made sure there wasn't too much pressure on her leg wound.

Rex looked to Fives who looked just as unsure for what the Commander was doing. Rex just shook his head in response to Fives' helmeted expression. The two just decided to follow, not bothering to question what had happened… yet.

Another forty five minutes of walking around the town and Ahsoka had spotted a clothing merchant, who actually looked rather legit, considering what kind of folk lived on the dust ball of a planet. The person was obviously of human dissent and didn't look like a rich person either. The human was a female and she appeared to be a bit aged. Humans on Tatooine tend to either be in slavery or they just managed to get by. Knowing that Anakin was from here, Ahsoka now knew the reason why her Master must be filled with anger a lot of the time.

The Togruta teenager walked up to the woman's stall casually and directed her attention to the pants and leggings available for purchase. Because of the lack of value on Tatooine, the clothing was a real cheap price. Ahsoka set her eyes on a pair of pants that were dark brown, which looked rather similar to her pair she was wearing at the moment.

The store owner looked at the Togruta teen that was observing the clothing and smiled at her. She felt a positive sense within the girl and allowed her to brose as she pleased. Ahsoka momentarily looked at the older woman and smiled back in response. Ahsoka turned away and looked behind her to see where her Captain and ARC Trooper had gone, only to find them on the other side of the street, pretending to be strangers, assuming that they were trying to get the Jedi to buy something without any trouble.

After looking at the clothing available on the rack, Ahsoka had finally gotten what she needed. A pair of pants and a pair of leggings, as well as a belt she thought looked good when matching it up with the new material. Ahsoka liked the belt because of a unique design pattern that ran through it. There was a thick brass line that reached from each end of the belt and met up in the middle. The rest of it was brown but it was perfect for what she was going to be wearing. Before heading over to the stall owner, Ahsoka had realized that she needed to get clocks for herself and the boys; otherwise other people might get suspicious easily. She observed another rack that was nearby filled with thick material designed like coats with similarities to Jedi fabrics. The specific reasons for these to be sold here was to either to hide from those around you, or to keep yourself from getting a Tatooine grade tan.

Ahsoka knew that she needed only a small robe to keep herself hidden while the 501st Captain and the ARC Trooper needed larger ones. The Togruta observed the choices and noted that the sizes changed in a neat order, from smallest to largest. The teen grabbed at one of the small ones and also claimed two large ones. There was also medium available, but they were a little big for her and too tight for the Clones.

Finally, Ahsoka had finished getting what she wanted and proceeds to the older woman, who observed the orange skinned teen with curiosity. She was curious as to why the girl had decided to buy what she had collected, evident that she had no idea the large robes were for the soldiers, nor did she even notice them.

"Hello there, dearly, how can I help you today?" The woman asked warmly to the girl.

"Hi." Ahsoka responded clearly. "I just need these if that's alright?"

"Of course, just let me get the prices of those down and you'll be on your way." The woman responded before pulling up a box from beneath the booth she was working at. When she had opened the box, there appeared to be tag listings of what each product was valued at on Tatooine. Ahsoka casually turned to look at her boys for a moment before turning back. The look on the woman's face clearly meant that she wanted to say something.

"Tell me, I haven't seen you around here before. Are you new to Tatooine?" The woman asked nicely.

"Um, no… I mean, yeah, but I only visited here once and that was for a day. Right now, I think I'll be staying for quite a bit." Ahsoka responded now sounding awkward.

"Any reason as to why you're saying here?" The woman asked.

"Well, I lost a few friends lately and I'm here to… get away from it all and try to settle down. Though I don't know how long that'll be for." Ahsoka responded.

"I see." The woman responded with a sudden frown. "I wish I could offer you some shelter but-"

"No, no, don't worry. I'm here with some of my other friends, so everything is alright for the moment." Ahsoka responded.

The woman's frown returned to a smile and she nodded to the Togruta. She was at first worried for the girl, but knowing that she wasn't by herself made the older woman feel much better. Because of her young innocent appearance, the older woman thought that the girl wouldn't last long on this planet, considering the world's inhabitants. But she didn't know what Ahsoka is like or what her friends are like. They're considerably strong and they weren't easy to mess with. However, with the robes that they were going to put on, anyone who has a simple hint of knowing who they are would no longer be able to tell.

Ahsoka had finished up at the stall and went back to Rex and Fives, where the two were watching the orange skinned teen march back. She brought up her arms and placed the robes in front of the two Jango Clones. Understanding where she was going with this, the two didn't hesitate.

Thirty minutes after they had left the stall area, Ahsoka had replaced her current pair of pants with the leggings and new pants that she had paid for, as well as the robe. The two Clone had dawned into their disguises rather nicely, considering that they were wearing helmets underneath. They were still looking around the town in search for something of interest.

The group of three had stopped in motion together and looked at an interesting building onto their left. It was titled as 'The Mos Eisley Cantina'. The two Clones who were at the sides of Ahsoka looked to their Commander for a response.

"How about it boys? We should go inside for a bit and have a bit of a rest from this sun. The robes we're wearing might be keeping the suns from burning us, but I think we should sit down." Ahsoka says.

"That's up to you, Commander." Fives responded.

"Remember, we're trying to remain under cover, Fives." Rex warned the ARC Trooper. "Using names or ranks is not suggestible."

"Ah, right, sorry about that guys. I'll do better to keep ourselves less suspicious." Fives responded.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go. I'm buying." Ahsoka announced to her friends. "And remember to stay in character. We want to make sure no one is willing to mess with us."

The two Clones nod with a grunt and follow their Commander in, with grumpy looks underneath their helmets. Not only were they trying to play the part but they were also looking the part.

In the bar, the three Republican veterans sat together at one table with their arms on the table cupped together. Rex and Fives had taken a moment to remove their helmets and leave them at their sides to inhale a bit better… and also so they could begin drinking.

Fives removed his arms from the table and placed them behind his neck while leaning backwards on the hard seat he was on. Even though it wasn't soft enough to enjoy, he did enjoy leaning.

"Ah, yeah that's it." Fives expressed happily. "Feels nice to lean back."

"Agreed. It's good that we have this time, although we shouldn't stay for long." Rex says observing the other patrons. "I notice that the people here don't really look friendly."

"Relax, Rex. We just need to stay cool and we'll be fine." Ahsoka says quietly before thinking about what they would do before night time strikes. They couldn't stay at the ship just yet, because it would be too much hiking back and forth to the town. "Once we're done here, we should consider finding an apartment to stay in for a bit. At least until we have another plan."

"I suppose that's the best idea. We should start very soon." Rex said looking around.

"We'll get ourselves some drinks first. The heat around here has made me dehydrated. I'd rather start after we're better." Ahsoka said back to her Captain.

"Yes, sir." Rex responded.

End of Chapter: