Star Wars: Ahsoka полностью

Ahsoka Tano would find him, and he’d be ready for her. He didn’t know what he would say to her, how much she knew already, and how much she should know. Perhaps it would be for the best if he didn’t tell her anything at all. He thought of his daughter, safe on Alderaan, and the boy, safe in the desert. He owed them his silence, but he would do his best to sound out Ahsoka. If she already knew, she would be a valuable ally. He couldn’t tell her that Obi-Wan lived, but he could gain her trust in other ways, and he would start by making his invitation in person.

He left his quarters on Captain Antilles’s Tantive IV and made for the bridge. The captain was on duty, so it didn’t take long to make his request. Antilles was loyal to a fault and knew better than to ask questions in front of the crew. They were working, slowly, to replace each crew member with a rebel or recruit the existing crew to the cause, but it was patient, cautious work. As it was, everyone was loyal enough to Alderaan, and to Breha specifically, to keep secrets. The rest would come in time. It was as safe a place as any to meet a Jedi.

The trip through hyperspace was short, and Tage’s ship was waiting for them when they arrived. There was no sign of Ahsoka. The system they were in was mostly empty, but there were a few unpopulated planets nearby. Antilles liked to arrange meetings where there were hiding places available if he needed them. They waited for a few hours, with no sign of another ship. Eventually, Bail ordered Tage to return the R2 unit to the blockade runner and go. Perhaps he’d been wrong about Ahsoka’s loyalties. Perhaps she was already settled into a new life and didn’t want to be embroiled in another war. He couldn’t say that he blamed her.

Bail saw the R2 unit returned to his flighty golden protocol droid companion, who immediately began to berate the little astromech, and then made his way back to his quarters. They were in the center of the ship, accessible by the main corridor. He’d never given much thought to the maintenance shaft that ran behind the row of guest quarters. It provided access to the panels that controlled the environmental systems in each suite and also connected the bridge to the engine room as an alternate route if something happened to compromise the main passageway. There were several escape pods located there and one airlock.

Bail walked into his temporary office, turned on the lights, and nearly had a heart attack. Sitting at his desk, wearing a pressure suit with the helmet off and resting on the table between them, was Ahsoka Tano.

“Hello, Senator,” she said pleasantly. “I hear you wanted to talk.”

“HOW DID YOU GET IN HERE?” Bail said the first thing that came into his head.

“Artoo opened the hatch for me as soon as he got on board,” Ahsoka said.

“I should have him deactivated,” Bail said with no real heat in his voice. “He is far too independent for a droid.”

“He had a lot of bad role models,” Ahsoka said dryly.

“That’s true,” Bail said. “Though Skywalker was your teacher, too.”

“I was talking about Senator Amidala, actually,” Ahsoka said. “Artoo belonged to her first.”

“Where’s your ship?” Bail asked, changing the subject to avoid the sudden tightness in his throat.

“Hidden on one of the lifeless rocks in this system. I knew that I’d be too small for the scanners to pick up, unless someone got very lucky looking out a window.” Ahsoka glanced at the helmet. “I’m surprised I found one that fit.”

“Why didn’t you just come with Chardri Tage?” Bail said. “Save yourself the hassle?”

“In my position it’s difficult to trust someone who employs a tractor beam before a hello,” Ahsoka said. “I take it you didn’t tell them who they were after?”

“No,” said Bail. “I wanted to preserve your anonymity. I didn’t know it was you until I saw the surveillance footage.”

“Artoo was supposed to wipe all of that,” Ahsoka grumbled. “I think you might be right about his independent streak.”

“It’s difficult to look for people without compromising their safety, I’ve found,” Bail said. “The new order is harsh and unforgiving, so I thought if you didn’t want to be found, I would give you the option.”

“How did you even know where to look?” Ahsoka asked.

“I keep an eye out for acts of kindness in this new galaxy of ours,” Bail said. “When there’s a concentration of them, I try to find out who is behind them, and then we have a talk.”

“What do you talk about?” Ahsoka asked.

Bail gave her a measuring look and decided to go for it.

“The Rebellion, Padawan Tano,” he said. “I look for people who will fight against the Emperor, the Empire, and everything it stands for.”

“I don’t deserve that title anymore, Senator,” Ahsoka said quietly. “And I don’t deserve your trust.”

Bail let her sit on that statement for a few moments. Politics had made him good at getting people to talk.