Chapter 58 – A Battle Over

It has been quite a bit longer than I thought it would be to update my stories. Sorry about that. There's just been a lot of other things that I've been busy with and wanted to do. However, I'll still be continuing my stories when I can. I have enough ideas left and I want to work them out if I can.

I only recently noticed that fanfiction doesn't like the symbols I used for speech meant to be in Togruti. Rather annoying. Hopefully everything is fixed now in the previous chapter.

So, from now on "Speech in Basic" and {Speech in Togruti}. Hope it's not too confusing.

I've also made a small change to a scene in the previous chapter regarding Ahsoka using lightsabers. More about that will come in the following chapters.

Hope you enjoy.

;-

Ahsoka Tano was relieved as she walked through the halls of the Jedi Temple. She was still somewhat rattled about being back here, but her current relief overpowered the other emotions.

It was getting a little later in the night, but at least things were quiet again. The invasion of Coruscant had ended in a Republic victory, just as she had expected. It had become quite tense when Chancellor Palpatine had been kidnapped, but Republic reinforcements had arrived and broken the Separatist assault.

From what she had briefly managed to gather from Master Plo, the fleets lead by her former Master Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi had been instrumental in the victory. Especially considering the fact that The Team had managed to infiltrate Grievous' ship and not only rescue Palpatine, but also kill Count Dooku. What had first been a nightmare had now become a significant victory for the Republic. The Separatist Alliance had lost its leader. The war couldn't last much longer now. Grievous escaped again, running away seemed to be his greatest specialty, but without Dooku's support, he would probably fall soon too.

She was now back at the Temple to pick up Aisha. Her little sister had thankfully been safe at the Temple bunker. They had briefly spoken over the comlink when it became clear that the jamming had finally been taken down. Aisha was waiting for her at the bunker and had seemed quite excited to tell her about something that had happened while she was in the Temple. She hoped everything was fine. Her sister being alone in the Jedi Temple did have her a little worried, considering all that had happened between her and the Council. She figured it was all fine, Aisha didn't seem to be upset or anything, but the concern did keep swirling around in her mind. She just couldn't help it.

She shook her head slightly and continued walking on through the halls of the Temple, either ignoring the stares of certain Jedi she passed or returning a friendly smile or wave to others who seemed a bit happier to see her.

;-

Ahsoka walked into the bunker and looked around. This area had never seen much use during her time in the Temple. The only times she'd really been in there had been during emergency exercises and a few times while 'exploring' with her mischievous clanmates. "Well, the Masters called it sneaking around, but we didn't really pay it too much notice," she thought with an amused smile.

The place was quite a mess now. Multiple temple workers and cleaning droids running around to clean everything up again. She hoped that this place wouldn't need to see action again anytime soon.

She spotted Aisha walking up to her with a bit of an excited spring in her step, relief trickling through their bond. {'Soka! I'm glad that you're alright!} she said as she reached her.

Ahsoka smiled and patted Aisha's shoulder. {Yeah, me too. It was absolute chaos out there,} she replied slowly, the smile dropping a little.

{What's wrong?} Aisha asked. The tone in her sister's voice was clear that she wasn't fully alright.

Ahsoka gave a brief chuckle. {Am I getting that easy for you to read?} she asked jokingly. The look in Aisha's eyes was answer enough. {It's fine Aisha, I'm just trying to take it all in. I would have never have expected the Separatists to be able to actually launch an invasion on Coruscant of all places. We passed through places that I've frequently been to with Anakin. A lot of it has now been destroyed and I'm afraid that a lot of people were caught unaware by it all. This was a giant mess.}

Aisha nodded slowly. {We could hear explosions echoing through the building from time to time. It sounded really bad,} she replied. {But at least something good happened while I was waiting here.}

{Yes, you mentioned that over the comm,} Ahsoka said. {So, what happened here?}

Aisha smiled excitedly. {While I was waiting here, Master Yoda came up to talk to me. I told him about the bad dreams you were having and that you wanted to talk to him about them,} she explained to her sister.

{I see,} Ahsoka quietly replied. She wasn't sure what to make of it. She still wasn't sure how to feel about the Council, so Master Yoda speaking to her sister when she wasn't really supposed to be in the Temple unnerved her a little bit. {So, what became of that talk?}

{He agreed to meet with you!} Aisha said happily. {He said that we should come and see him once the battle was over. I really hope that he can help you. He said that he would try to.}

Ahsoka smiled. Her sister was being her usual helpful self. {Well, he probably didn't say it exactly like that. With him it was always: Do or do not, there is no try,} she replied with a slight shake of her head. {I'm pretty impressed that you got him to agree to it sis. I thought it was going take a lot more to get him to see me. Thanks a lot.}

{Happy to help!} Aisha said with a bright smile. {I just hope he can do something for you. I mean, he must be able to, right? He's ancient! He must know so much about the Force!}

A Togruta Knight that passed by them couldn't help but give an amused glance in Aisha's direction, but she didn't see it. Ahsoka did give the Knight a brief nod.

{You're right, he knows a lot about the Force,} she replied. "But I'm sure that Daughter knows a lot more than him and other knowledge that the Order has forgotten or never even known," she thought quietly. It was obvious that the Force Wielder she was connected to was even more ancient than Master Yoda. Without a doubt, there was still a lot more she could learn from Daughter. They'd probably barely even scratched the surface of her knowledge.

{Come on, let's go. Master Plo asked if I could stop by the Council briefly, so we'd better go and see what they want,} Ahsoka said as she gestured towards the exit. {It'll also give me the chance to thank Master Yoda for agreeing to see me. After that we'll head back to the apartment. I think we could both do with some well-deserved rest after everything.}

Aisha nodded and failed to fully stifle a yawn. {Alright, let's go,} she replied, choosing not to comment on the amused pulse she felt from her older sister.

;-

Ahsoka walked into the Council Chambers with Aisha following right beside her. "Masters," she greeted, giving them a brief nod and choosing not to bow. They didn't deserve that kind of respect just yet. The wounds were still a little sore for her.

"It's good to see you on Coruscant again, 'lil Soka," Plo Koon greeted her warmly. "Our earlier meeting was… interrupted, but I am thankful for your help during this crisis. You and the warriors from Shili helped us out greatly."

"Thank you Master Plo. It's nice to see you again as well," she replied with a small smile. "We were glad to help. After all, I wanted to insure the safety of my sisters and they were both at the Senate building. Besides that, there's no way that I would just stand to the side and let a bunch of droids destroy things around me."

She took a moment to scope out the room. From what she could tell, Masters Yoda, Obi-Wan and Shaak Ti also seemed welcoming, but the other Council members seemed rather indifferent to her presence. Or they just chose not to comment their displeasure with her being there. None of them appeared to be able to sense the change in her Force presence though. She couldn't help but wonder how they would react to it. She certainly wasn't going to tell them about it though. She could do without that headache for now.

"We greatly appreciate your assistance, Ahsoka," Shaak Ti commented. "This invasion was a nightmare. From Plo's earlier report, your help saved a lot of lives."

Ahsoka looked at the older Togruta. "Don't mention it, Master Ti." She paused and frowned. "But I must admit, this whole invasion doesn't feel right to me. There are countless warning and defense systems that Coruscant has on the planet and around this sector, yet the Separatist attack went completely undetected until it was already too late. I suspect foul play."

From the feelings that pulsed through the room, Ahsoka could tell that others shared the same thought.

"Hmm, hard to not draw that conclusion, it is," Master Yoda replied with a thoughtful tap of his cane. "Shrouded by darkness, this invasion was. Many questions, there are to ask. Investigate this matter, we will."

Ahsoka nodded at the elder Jedi, glad the Council would investigate it. Yet, she couldn't deny the nagging in the back of her mind about the last time she experienced the Council investigating something.

"Master Yoda, Aisha told me that you had already agreed to meet with me later. Thank you. I find myself rather confounded by everything I'm currently experiencing and I would like to ask for your insight in the matter," Ahsoka told him. The other members of the Council passed a few glances between them, but chose not to comment, at least not in her presence.

Master Yoda nodded. "Help you, I will. Least I can do, it is," the elder Jedi replied. "Much to discuss, the Council has, but send you a message later, I will. Plan a time for a talk, we shall."

"Thank you Master, that will be fine," Ahsoka said with a small smile. Aisha looked up at her and smiled as well, pleased that this went so well, despite her older sister's worry about it.

"By the way," Obi-Wan began, "who is this with you, Ahsoka? I don't believe we've met yet." The younger red-skinned Togruta girl was unfamiliar to him, however. "You are quite strong in the Force, young one." His comment earned him a shy glance.

Ahsoka smiled at him. "This is Aisha, my little sister. We met when I working on the defenses for Kiros. The Force brought us together and she became part of my family," she explained. "And you're right Master, the Force shines brightly in her. She was eager to learn, so I've been teaching her about It." There were some muted pulses through the Force as she said those words. Obviously several members of the Council had some thoughts about her teaching someone about the Force, but they remained silent. Obi-Wan, however, seemed rather pleased.

Obi-Wan gave them a small smile. "You always were a good teacher with the younglings Ahsoka," he replied. "I'm sure that it will go fine for you both. Undoubtedly, you'll have a much easier time than I had with Anakin." Despite his words, there was a fond look in his eyes.

Ahsoka couldn't help a brief chuckle. "Speaking off, are you well, Master Obi-Wan? I heard you and Skyguy really were in a real tangle with Dooku," she said, briefly looking him over.

"Don't worry Ahsoka, I just got flung around a bit. Nothing that won't heal," he answered simply.

Ahsoka resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Anakin had always complained that Obi-Wan never admitted to being hurt, so she figured he wouldn't say more. Then again, Anakin wasn't really that different in that regard. "Speaking of Skyguy, is he in the Temple right now?" she asked him.

Obi-Wan chuckled at the question. "He might be returning soon. I'm afraid he got pulled away by Chancellor Palpatine to be portrayed as the hero again," he replied in an amused tone.

She laughed at hearing that. "He must be loving that," Ahsoka said sarcastically, shaking her head lightly. "Maybe we'll go and wait for him a bit." It would be nice to see him again, it had been a little while. Besides, she couldn't really care anymore about the Council and their views about attachment. "Did he ever chance his door code?"

"No, he did not," Obi-Wan replied.

Ahsoka smirked a bit. "Then I guess we'll crash there for a bit until he shows up. Maybe raid the fridge a little," she said, earning her a smile from Obi-Wan. "Master Yoda, I'll wait for your message. May the Force be with you with the investigation Masters, I fear that there is a lot hidden in the darkness."

She gave the Council a brief nod again, before turning to Aisha. They both left the Council chambers and made their way to the quarters she used to share with Anakin.

;-

Anakin Skywalker finally arrived back at his quarters with a heavy sigh. This had been a very long day. From arriving in Coruscant space in absolute chaos, infiltrating Grievous' flagship, fighting and killing Dooku, rescuing Palpatine and finally landing the half-destroyed cruiser on Coruscant. After all that, Palpatine had dragged him along to be the hero to the people yet again. The endless stream of reporters had certainly done nothing to help him relax after the long, tiring day. Or was it more than one day already? It certainly didn't help that he felt a little conflicted about killing Dooku. Sure, he'd said he would do so plenty of times, but the way he had done it now felt wrong. The Sith Lord had been beaten. He should have taken him in alive and yet, he hadn't.

There had been at least one very bright, positive light about today. Padmé had told him that she was pregnant. He was going to be a father soon. That news had made his whole day. He only regretted that he wouldn't be able to stay with her now. He would be expected to give plenty of reports about everything that happened today, so he had no choice but to return to the Temple.

He sighed again and keyed the password for his quarters. The door slid open and he walked inside.

"Long day Skyguy?" A very familiar voice called out from his side.

"Heh, you know it Snips," he automatically responded as he stepped further into the apartment. He wanted to grab a drink and probably pass out on his bed. His head then snapped up and he froze. He instantly turned around to see a very familiar smirking Togruta sitting on the couch in his quarters. "Ahsoka?!" he asked in startled surprise.

"Hey Skyguy!" Ahsoka replied as she laughed at his expression. "It's been a while."

He was still in shock. "W-what are you doing here?" he asked her.

Ahsoka smiled at him. "Well, our sisters had a bunch of political meetings and things here on Coruscant, so we decided to tag along. I figured we'd pay you a visit as well," she replied.

He smiled at that, before her words made him pause. "Wait, 'we'?" he asked confused. He looked further around the room. He was surprised to find someone else in the room as well. This girl was a Togruta as well, several years younger than Ahsoka with red skin and blue-white montrals and lekku somewhat similar to Ahsoka's. He had no idea who she was.

Ahsoka chuckled a bit and stood up. The girl followed her example and walked up to her. He couldn't help but notice that Ahsoka had gotten a little taller, so had her montrals and lekku. They all sported a new stripe on them. Ahsoka placed a hand on younger girl's shoulder. "This is Aisha. She's my little sister," she introduced her.

"It's nice to meet you, Master Skywalker," Aisha said with a happy smile. "'Soka told me a lot about you."

"Uhm, nice to meet you too," Anakin managed to get out. He was still worn out from the day and he certainly wasn't expecting to find Ahsoka and her apparent sister in his quarters. "Hold on, I thought you only had two older sisters?" he asked confused as a few memories popped up in his head.

Ahsoka gave a bit of a shrug and was about to answer, but her sister was a bit faster than her.

"Ahsoka rescued me from being sold to the Hutts as a slave. I became part of her family after that. I was an only child, but now I have three sisters and a niece!" Aisha explained with a smile.

Anakin was a little startled at her words. This young girl was almost a slave to the Hutts like he had been when he was younger? "Well, I'm glad that Ahsoka was there to save you then," he replied. He had been a slave to those filthy Hutts and it was a horror that he wouldn't wish on anyone, especially not a young female.

Ahsoka smiled. "She's been a great part of our family," she said smiling. "It's been wonderful to have her with us. I'm glad the Force guided me to her when It did." She studied Anakin a bit and an amused smirk grew on her face.

"What's so funny?" Anakin asked a bit hesitantly.

"We're probably going to be on Coruscant for a few weeks. How about we come and visit you again another time? You look like you're about to pass out on your feet," she teased. Aisha giggled next to her.

Anakin tried to frown, but couldn't really keep the smile from his face. Ahsoka was still as snippy as ever. "That's not fair Snips, do you have any idea how long of a day it's been for me?" he asked, trying to feign a hurt tone.

Both Togruta sisters laughed. "I heard a couple things from Obi-Wan earlier," Ahsoka replied. "You've definitely earned your rest. We should also be getting back. I'm sure we'll talk later Skyguy. Goodnight."

"Uh, yeah. Goodnight Snips. It was nice to see you," Anakin replied. "But you'd better come to visit."

Ahsoka gave him a smirk before she and her sister started heading towards the door. "Goodbye Master Skywalker! It was nice to meet you," Aisha said happily with a small wave. Anakin returned the wave and watched them leave.

Ahsoka was on Coruscant. That was some welcome news after the chaotic battle they just went through. He would definitely try to find a few excuses to go to see her. Maybe Padmé could help in that. She'd be happy to see Ahsoka as well. But for now, he really needed sleep.

;-

Ahsoka and Aisha were making their way out of the Temple. Ahsoka was sharing some details about the battle, when she suddenly felt a familiar presence in front of them. She looked that way and saw her friend Barriss Offee walking in the same hall. To her surprise, her old friend Scout was walking at her side.

She smiled at their surprised expressions when they noticed her presence. "Hey Barriss, hey Scout. It's great to see you both!" she said happily. It had been a few months since she had last seen Barriss and even longer then she had last seen Scout.

"Ahsoka!" Barriss replied in surprise, a smile spreading on her face. She calmly walked closer to her friend, while Scout quickly rushed up to the Togruta and gave her a hug.

"It's great to see you again! It's been so long! How are you doing?" Scout said happily and eagerly.

Ahsoka smiled as they separated. "I'm doing fine, just a bit tired after this chaotic day," she replied while studying her friend. "How about you? It's hard to miss this." She gently flicked the Padawan braid in Scout's hair.

Scout beamed with joy. "Master Offee took me as her Padawan! And she was able to help me with the Force too! I'm a lot stronger now! She's a great teacher," she explained happily.

"That's wonderful to hear Scout! You feel a lot stronger. I'm sure you two will make a great team," she replied as she looked at Barriss. "And how are you, Barriss? You feel about as tired as I do."

"It's been a long day," Barriss replied with a slight shake of her head. "We got caught right in the middle of this mess. We went after dozens of droid transports before Scout got wounded and we moved back to the Temple. After that I spend hours helping the other Healers. So, I'm pretty spent." She looked at Ahsoka and the fatigue in her was easy to sense. "Did you get caught up in this invasion as well?"

Ahsoka nodded with a bit of a sad smile. "Yeah, we were right outside the Temple when it started. Aisha took shelter in the Temple bunker while I joined Master Plo and a squadron of clones to get to the Senate building. Our sisters were there, so I wanted to make sure they were alright." She gestured for Aisha to step a bit closer. "Let me introduce you. Scout, this is my little sister Aisha. Aisha, this is my friend Tallisibeth Enwandung-Esterhazy." She smirked at Aisha's reaction to the long name. "But everyone calls her Scout."

"It's nice to meet you!" Scout said happily.

"You too!" Aisha replied with a smile. "And it's nice to see you again as well, Barriss."

Barriss smiled at her. "It's nice to see you too, Aisha. You've gone through some changes, haven't you? Your headdress looks good on you," she said, causing Aisha to smile even wider. "What brings both of you to Coruscant?" she asked, looking back at Ahsoka.

"Our sisters have some political matters to attend to for Shili. We tagged along, seeing as there were a few things I wanted to discuss with Master Yoda," Ahsoka replied. "I'll meet Master Yoda in the coming days, but I feel that our sisters' talks will be postponed a bit because of this mess. They might not even happen at all in the coming weeks, maybe months."

Barriss nodded. "Yeah… I'm afraid the cleanup and fallout of this invasion will take a long time. I mean, I don't think anyone expected Coruscant of all places to get invaded." She shook her head. "This all just feels very wrong." Scout nodded in agreement next to her.

"I won't disagree with you on that one, Barriss," Ahsoka replied. "I hope the investigations will reveal what happened. I suspect that there is definitely treason involved in this." She shook her head. "But it's too late right now to think about such things. We need to be getting back to our sisters and I think you both could do with the rest as well. You're not too hurt, Scout? Barriss said you were wounded."

"Don't worry, it's not that bad! Barriss already did some healing on it, so I'll be fine in no time," Scout said with a smile.

"As long as you take care to properly rest and let it heal," Barriss added in a slightly strict voice. "I won't have you aggravating the wound again, like some people here have done." She send Ahsoka a look that said it all.

Ahsoka laughed a bit and shook her head. "Yeah, you'd better watch yourself Scout. With a healer like Barriss as your Master, you'll be sedated and locked up in the Halls of Healing if you're not careful," she teased. "We'd better get back now though, otherwise our sisters will send the guards to look for us." Aisha giggled next to her.

Barriss gave a slight nod. "You'll be on Coruscant for some time then?" she asked. "Maybe we can get together soon and catch up."

Ahsoka smiled. "That sounds great Barriss," she replied. Aisha nodded in agreement next to her. "I'm sure we'll plenty of time for that, knowing the usual speed of Coruscant politics."

Barriss resisted the urge to shake her head, even with Scout giggling next to her. "Then I'm sure we'll see each other soon. Right now I plan on getting as much rest as I can."

"Fantastic idea if you ask me," Ahsoka replied. "We'll probably do the same ourselves."

They said their goodbyes for the night and parted ways again. Ahsoka and Aisha continuing towards the exit of the Temple and Barriss and Scout towards their quarters.

;-

Ahsoka stretched out slightly after putting away her headdress on the nightstand. After returning to the, thankfully intact, apartment, Aisha and her had quickly gone to retire for the night. Her little sister had tried to hide it, but during their flight back her energy had quickly waned and she had been really struggling to stay awake. She told her to go to sleep with only a slightly teasing comment.

Her original idea had been to maybe go and surprise Lux with her presence as well. However, that plan was a bit ruined now. "He'll no doubt be very busy the coming weeks now because of this," she thought saddened. "I'll try to see him if I can, but I don't want to take away his time from helping his people. Guess we'll just see how it goes."

She failed heavily in stifling a yawn. It was definitely time to rest now.

;-

That's the end of this chapter.

The invasion of Coruscant is over and everyone has a chance to rest. Now we're going to be moving to one major arc of the story. I've had a few scenes with Ahsoka and Anakin planned for ages, since I started these stories really. Finally getting to that point is exciting. My stories became larger than I thought they would when I started.

Ahsoka and Aisha are on Coruscant and will stop by in the Jedi Temple a few times. Some will be happy about that, others will not be. The invasion might be over, but the excitement certainly won't be.

I think I will (finally?) work on Gift of Light again next. I want to write the next part after a timeskip. That will be the part where the Republic learns that Ahsoka is still very much alive.

Perhaps I will later add in short stories following Ahsoka and Barriss on Shili during Ahsoka's reign as queen, but for now I want to focus on the main story.

Until next time.