In the dust on the planet’s surface, Hedala Fardi played with her cousins in the empty yard where her family’s ships docked. The ugly feeling that had been bothering her for the past few days, like a toothache or a dark spot in the corner of her eye that she could never quite bring into focus, suddenly lifted, like the sun coming out from behind a cloud. She took her turn at the toss-and-catch game and was perfect as usual, making her shot with no real effort. Her older sibling and cousins didn’t question her skill at the game. It had long since ceased to be a wonder to them.
Chapter 17
IT WAS MUCH WORSE than Ahsoka had expected. Every system she passed through had an Imperial presence, and they weren’t just discreet bases set up to monitor local governments. They were oppressive, controlling resources and populations alike, with no regard for personal rights and needs. Any overt resistance was crushed. Ahsoka had nearly wept when she read the updated bulletins of what continued to happen on Kashyyyk while she’d been out of contact on Raada. She wondered what had become of Chewbacca, the Wookiee with whom she had escaped from captivity on the hunter moon. She hoped he had survived and that he hadn’t regained his freedom only to lose it again, but she was starting to lose that hope.
The planets that weren’t under the control of the Empire had all been overrun by crime lords, none of whom were friendly. Ahsoka didn’t think Jabba the Hutt would feel obliged to pay her any kindness, let alone keep her presence a secret. She briefly considered Takodana, a green world covered with water and more plants than she felt comfortable around, but decided against it without even making landfall. There were just too many unknowns.
After the seventh Outer Rim system that she deemed too Imperial to approach, Ahsoka made a decision. She couldn’t go back to Raada yet. It was safer for everyone, safer for Kaeden, if she stayed away until she came up with a way to rescue everyone at the same time. The Imperials would still be looking for her, and it would be better for her friends if they didn’t know where she was.
She also couldn’t go anywhere in the Core. Even the Inner Rim would be too exposed. As much as she would like to find a hidden valley on a mountainside on some planet like Alderaan or Chandrila, she couldn’t risk it. Her life as a Jedi meant that she knew too many people there.
What she could do was go back to the Fardis. The Empire was already installed there, so things were stable, but the world wasn’t terribly important to galactic politics. She wasn’t even sure who the senator was, despite having lived on the planet for almost a year. The guilds and federations that had held so much power under the Separatists had mostly been obliterated at the same time as the Jedi. That was what had allowed the Fardis to step into power in the first place, without allying with a larger family like the Hutts. She could dodge patrols, and she knew she could get by without raising suspicions as long as she kept a low profile and made absolutely sure not to use the Force for anything. Ever.
In her heart, she was willing to admit a secondary motivation. She needed to check on Hedala Fardi. She’d failed the child before, and since she couldn’t help Kaeden, she could at least try to help someone else who needed her. If she had another rescue to organize, she needed to know about it as soon as possible. She owed the family that much.
She was close enough that the jump through hyperspace was short — an easy calculation, and then she was in orbit. She looked down at the familiar dusty landscape she’d briefly considered home and sighed. She was going to have to do some fast talking to convince the Fardis to take her back, even though they had all but given her clearance to leave in the first place.
She could just hide. Bury her head in the dust, eat only what she could hunt, and disappear from civilized life entirely. It wouldn’t be easy, but she’d be safe. She’d also be completely cut off. Hiding wouldn’t protect anyone except herself, and it wasn’t like she had anything to wait for. She’d just atrophy, alone. It would be better to try lying low again, until she figured out her next move. She squeezed the package of metal pieces, but it didn’t make her feel better. Not having a mission was hard.
The last time she’d landed in the Fardi shipyard, the girls had met her. This time, it was the chief Fardi, the man who’d bought her Republic vessel, and he didn’t look particularly happy to see her.
“Back, I see,” he called out as she disembarked. “Are you returning my property?”
“I think I’ll keep it for a little longer, if that’s all right,” Ahsoka said. “If you have anything that needs fixing, though, I’d be happy to help out again.”
He looked at her in a measuring way. She knew he didn’t know the truth about who she was, but he did know that she’d taken the opportunity to leave when it was presented to her, rather than stay and face Imperial scrutiny. Maybe he would decide she wasn’t worth the risk.
“There’s always room for a good mechanic,” he said after a long moment. “Or even a competent one, like you.”
Ahsoka smiled. Competency was tolerable.
“Even less luggage this time,” Fardi commented.
“I travel light,” Ahsoka said.
“Well, you might as well come back to the house with me,” he said. “We’ll attract attention if we stand around for too long. Usually, we’re ignored, because the Imperials can’t tell us apart, but you’re definitely not related, so it’s best to get out of the open. The girls have missed you, and there’ll be food.”
Ahsoka followed him down the dusty road. It was different than it had been when she left — quieter, an air of expectation hovering on every corner, but not the expectation of anything good. People kept their heads down, and Ahsoka would have to do the same, but keeping her head down wasn’t the same as ignoring what was happening around her, and Ahsoka had no intention of doing that. She’d check on Hedala, mend relations with the Fardis, and then see what she could do for Kaeden back on Raada.
Hedala Fardi knew Ahsoka was coming. That was the only explanation for the girl’s appearing in the door of the family house by herself, away from the gaggle of children she usually ran around with. Even her uncle noticed the strangeness of it, though he let it pass without remark. Perhaps they’d grown accustomed to Hedala’s being strange.
The little girl walked over to Ahsoka and hugged her around the waist. Ahsoka was pleased to see that she was alive and safe. She knelt down to give the girl a proper hug.
“I’m glad to see you,” she whispered.
“Me too,” Hedala said back. The girl was about a year past the age when the Temple might have found her, as far out from the Core as she was. Her baby lisp was gone, vanished in the weeks Ahsoka had been absent. “There was a shadow while you were away.”
Ahsoka wanted to ask what she was talking about, but before she could, the Fardi cousins swarmed her. Already on the ground, Ahsoka had no choice but to submit to the hugs and remonstrations about her absence.
“We’re happy you’re safe, though, Ashla,” said the oldest girl. Ahsoka still couldn’t remember the girl’s name. She’d have to do better this time.
“I’m happy you’re all safe,” Ahsoka said. “The galaxy’s starting to be kind of an ugly place.”
“Shhhh, don’t let Mama hear you talk like that,” one of the girls said. “She doesn’t like politics, and she’ll make us talk about something boring instead. We’ll wait until we’re alone.”
Ahsoka nodded, happy to be involved in so innocent a conspiracy if it led her to good intelligence, and fought her way back to her feet through the hugs from the littler girls.