“It was a silly thing to hope for,” Kaeden admitted. “I knew that almost right away, too. I just didn’t listen to myself.”
“You listened to your feelings,” Ahsoka said. She smiled at a memory of a faraway place and a time that was lost forever. “That’s something they teach Jedi, too, you know.”
“Well, at least we have that in common,” Kaeden said. She put her head on Ahsoka’s shoulder for a heartbeat and then straightened, shrugging free of Ahsoka’s arm. “And I don’t mind finding out that the galaxy’s a big place. I think I can handle it now.”
“I know you can,” Ahsoka said.
They were silent for a moment as the refugees and ship’s crew milled around them.
“Will we ever see you again?” Kaeden asked.
“I think it will be a while.” Ahsoka was already thinking about what came next, her mind moving quickly as the engine hum grew louder. “But as you said, the galaxy’s a big place.”
“Thank you,” said Kaeden as they made the jump to lightspeed.
“Anytime,” said Ahsoka — and meant it completely.
Chapter 30
THIS TIME, Ahsoka didn’t break into Bail’s office until she knew he was already there. She tracked his consular ship from Coruscant. He stopped on a nearby moon and dropped off a few crates that were not at all suspicious. Everything looked entirely routine, but Ahsoka, who had landed some distance away and infiltrated the spaceport while the cargo was being offloaded, knew better. She took advantage of the Tantive III being grounded to stow away on board.
Coming this far into the Core was a big risk, but she wanted to show Bail that she was serious and also grateful for everything he’d done for Kaeden and the others. At last, she felt the ship take off and the little shift that meant they were in hyperspace, and she set off looking for him.
She cracked the security on his door pretty easily and slipped inside. As on Captain Antilles’s vessel, Bail’s quarters on the Tantive III comprised more than two rooms. She was in the antechamber, which was big enough for two seats and not much else. She could hear the senator’s voice coming from the second room, which must be where he worked. She got closer to the door and overheard the end of the conversation, a series of repeated words in a child’s prattle that she couldn’t understand. He had no idea how Bail did it — maybe listening to all the shouting in the Imperial Senate was good for something after all — but he managed to answer.
“I know, love, but it’s more secure if we just talk without any visuals to trace.” There was a pause. Ahsoka couldn’t hear the answer. Then Bail spoke again. “Tell your mother I’ll see you both soon enough.”
There was another pause as Bail disconnected the call. Then he coughed.
“Do I have another Jedi break-in to report?” he called out.
Ahsoka laughed. It was nice to know she couldn’t fool him the same way twice. She got the feeling he knew exactly how much she’d overheard and that some of it had been for her benefit.
“Showing your vulnerabilities to put me at ease, Senator?” Ahsoka said, stepping into the main office. He waved her into a seat, and she took it.
“The whole galaxy knows I’m a family man, Ahsoka Tano,” he said. “The Empire is counting on it. They think it means I’ll be more amenable to certain suggestions.”
“Don’t you worry about her?” Ahsoka asked.
Bail shrugged, but there was some tightness around his eyes. Running a rebellion couldn’t be easy.
“She’s already a lot like her mother,” he said.
Somehow that seemed like a test. Ahsoka didn’t know the answer, so she let it pass. They were going to keep secrets, and they were going to trust each other anyway.
“I wanted to talk to you about what you’re doing to fight the Empire,” Ahsoka said.
“I thought you might,” Bail said. “Captain Antilles sent a glowing report. Only fifteen casualties during the Raada evacuation — one of his A-wing pilots and fourteen evacuees.”
It had almost been fifteen evacuees, but Antilles’s medical staff had been able to save Vartan. He and Selda were a matched pair now, the Togruta had joked, with four limbs and four prosthetics between them, but at least they were both alive. She’d left them on Captain Antilles’s ship with Kaeden and Miara. They were all impressed by the capabilities of real medical technology. Kaeden’s arm was almost as good as new, which freed up Miara to prowl the ship, looking for A-wing pilots to pester. When they found out how good she was at explosives, they took quite an interest in her.
“I’m glad it wasn’t worse,” Ahsoka said. “I took out that gray creature before my backup arrived. I got the impression he wasn’t the only one of his kind.”
“Was he talented?” Bail asked. “Or does he just carry the lightsaber for show?”
“He’s had some training,” Ahsoka said. “He mostly relies on brute strength. If he was going to be facing Jedi, or someone with my level of training, I’d say he wouldn’t be much of a threat. I defeated him without my lightsabers. But the others like him won’t be facing Jedi.”
Bail nodded. “We’ll do what we can,” he said. “What about Raada?”
“Well, the farmers can’t go back,” Ahsoka said. She slumped down a little bit in her chair. They’d won, but the cost had been high. “If they tried, the Empire would wipe them off the moon’s surface without even landing first.”
“I can resettle them on Alderaan, perhaps,” Bail said. “There aren’t that many of them, and there are enough refugees in the galaxy right now that Alderaan’s taking in a few hundred won’t raise any eyebrows.”
“They don’t want to be resettled,” Ahsoka said. She straightened her shoulders. “They want to join up.”
She could see Bail considering it. She knew he could use the extra people, but there were some obvious downsides. The Empire had no trouble using poorly trained people as cannon fodder, but Bail would refuse to do the same.
“They’re farmers, Ahsoka,” he pointed out. “They have only the training you gave them.”
“They’re resourceful,” she said. “And anyway, your rebels have to eat, don’t they?”
Bail laughed.
“I’ll have someone talk to them, and we’ll see what we can do,” he said. “There are a few planets that would suit us for an agricultural base, and we can start training anyone who is interested in piloting or weapons use.”
They sat quietly for a moment, and then Bail leaned forward.
“They told me your new lightsabers are white,” he said, and she heard awe in his voice. “May I see them?”
It was safe enough in Bail’s office, surrounded by the void of space. Ahsoka stood up and unclipped her lightsabers from her side. She activated them, and Bail’s office was filled with a soft white light, gleaming off the windows and reflecting the stars. The office was much smaller than a training room, being shipboard, but she did a few of the basic forms for him anyway. She would never get tired of the way they glowed. She hadn’t thought she’d ever replace her original green ones, and she still had to finish the handles, but these were all right.
“They’re beautiful, Ahsoka,” he said.
She turned them off, bowed slightly, and sat back down.
“I’ve never seen white ones before,” Bail mused.
“They used to be red,” Ahsoka said. “When the creature had them, they were red. But I heard them before I ever saw him on Raada, and knew that they were meant for me.”
“You changed their nature?” he asked.
“I restored them,” Ahsoka replied. “I freed them. The red crystals were corrupted by the dark side when those who wielded them bent them to their will. They call it making the crystal bleed. That’s why the blade is red.”