bakerstreet | quote prompt;

[ coruscant -- imperial center -- is probably a bad place for ahsoka to be right now. it has been, arguably, since the night the jedi were wiped out, and so she's done what she can to avoid it. but then news came her way of a datacron lost and now found, something that might help in the fight against the empire, and it wasn't intelligence she could ignore. sneaking planetside with a diplomatic envoy from chandrila, she'd been quick to get away before she could get them in trouble with any imperial security.

since then, it's been half following a hunch and half listening to the force, but it's not until she's ducking between pipes that ahsoka realizes her feet have carried her to a water treatment plant. not just any one, but the one she fled through after the temple bombing, so many years ago. after barriss framed her. after she wasn't sure anakin actually believed her innocence or not. suddenly she's a teenager again, afraid and confused and being hunted by the people who would have fought beside her a few days before. the unwanted flashback knocks the wind out of her and she needs to pause a moment to regain her bearings before darting to the far side of the plant. she needs to be away from here, now.

sensing anakin nearby must have been just part of the awful memory, ahsoka convinces herself. but as she has to divert in order to avoid an imperial patrol, a suspiciously large cluster of stormtroopers, she isn't quite sure.

because of course, her luck would have her revisiting some of the worst moments of her life somewhere that smells terrible. ]

[There wasn't much that drew Vader willingly back to Coruscant, let alone the lower levels and industrial sectors. His talents were of more use on the front and this place still held too many ghosts of Anakin Skywalker's past.

Yet here he is, tracking down a threat to the Emperor himself. His master had not been forthcoming with many details, just that there was a saboteur... someone who was a danger to the Empire and more so, to his master. It was his duty to see that threat eliminated.

He pauses, the troopers accompanying him, stopping short and shooting silent questioning looks at one another. Something here felt uncomfortably familiar and almost forgotten. He knew this place.

Ahsoka. This is where Anakin's padawan betrayed him by refusing his trust. Strange that he can still feel her in this place... he would have to work harder to purge himself of whatever connection he still harbored for her.

He would not suffer the weakness of attachment again.]

[ the longer she lingers here, the more ahsoka feels like she's going to be sick. that perfect storm of bad memories and the lingering sensation of anakin's presence would be enough to get her just a little off her game, but the very real threat of imperial forces where she wasn't expecting any is making her anxious to get away from here.

it's that anxiety that has ahsoka making the rookie mistake of not looking where she's jumping as she moves up onto a catwalk, hoping to use the shadows to get herself away from here. there's a pair of stormtroopers up there already, though, and the sound of her boots hitting the catwalk is enough to have them turning, shouting at her, opening fire as she turns to bolt in the opposite direction.

she keeps her lightsabers belted for now, instead relying on the force to help her dodge. this is not the place to be mistaken for a jedi, she knows. but she can't quiet this chase now that it's started, so it's almost certainly attracted the attention of the larger imperial party nearby. ]

[That jump itself, more than anything, was her mistake. He had been considering dismissing her presence as a fluke, just another ghost of his past come to haunt his conscience... surely no force user would dare set foot on the heart of the Empire... but that jump might as well have been a beacon for how strongly it rippled through the stillness of Coruscant now.]

Captain, alert the guards and have them set their weapons to stun. I want that girl and I want her alive!

[He didn't even bother to dismiss them, immediately setting off to hunt her down personally. His 501st will at least keep her from getting off world easily while he closes in.]

[ vader. not just stormtroopers are gathered here, but vader, too, and he is exactly the last thing that ahsoka needs in her life right now. still as agile as she was as a teenager, she loses the two troopers immediately behind her quick enough, but she knows that's not enough to ensure her safety. she needs to get far, far away from here.

this is just like it was, except different. the troops, while still impressive, aren't what they were. wolffe and rex knowing how to corner her, fox's men with a personal vendetta against whoever had just killed their brothers-- those things had her cornered back then. there are no scary competent clones hunting her this time and for that she has to be grateful.

she turns a corner and comes face to face with a group of stormtroopers, on guard and looking for her. they start to fire immediately and ahsoka doesn't give herself time to have the lightsabers or no lightsabers debate, just pulls the curved hilts from her hips and lights up the white blades to send the stun blasts back toward the troopers that fired them.

a beacon for trouble now, she'll fight her way out of this if she has to, but now like before, she's not going down without a fight. there was no clean end before, but maybe she can do better this time. ]

[The rank and file of modern stormtroopers were admittedly less than the best of the best. They had quotas to fill... but his personal troops, the 501st, were another story. Many of them had helped him hunt down Jedi before. If he was the fist of the Emperor, then they in turn were his.

Which is a good thing for him as all they really need to do is slow her down. Unlike her, he's not as fast as he used to be. He could move quickly enough when he needed to, but he preferred to avoid it if possible. For one thing it aggravated the interfaces in his cybernetic limbs and for another he found it enhanced the fear he could inspire in those he was hunting down. He became an inevitability, methodical and unyielding.

He enjoyed the power that gave him.

She may fight her way past these troopers, but he had plenty more to keep her busy. Frankly he doubted they would capture her, even his best troops. She was too well trained for that.

He could hear the sound of her lightsabers before he could spot them flashing in the darkness of the undercity. It was only a matter of time until she'd feel his approach.]

[ it's habit, some part of her stuck as a teenager, as a jedi (only because she's here, she reassures herself, she wasn't like this before) that has ahsoka disabling more troopers than she kills. they're her enemy, but tactfully aiming their stuns right back at them will stop them just as effectively as slicing her lightsabers through them will.

she's not confusing them for clones, she promises. it's just a little hard to keep things straight here.

they distract her, keep her busy, until vader is too close to ignore. he's behind her and she could run. she could find a way out. but something roots her, has her slashing out to fall a trooper to her right as she whirls around to face him, still ready for a fight. she hasn't changed that grip anakin used to gripe about. in a lot of ways, she hasn't changed at all. it's only her enemy that has. ]

[He unclips his lightsaber as he draws up behind her, using this time to watch her and see what, if anything, has changed in her fighting technique. She is more refined now, her movements more assured and less showy. Her skills haven't slipped in her years away from the rigors of the Jedi lifestyle as so many others had let theirs.

Good. This will be a worthy test of his skills.

His troops know not to interfere and they draw back as he approaches. Except for that one guy. He isn't going anywhere.]

Surrender now and I will make your death a swift one.

[She won't agree. No one ever says 'sure, why not. I'll just hold still and stick my neck out for you, shall I?', they always make a big show out of defiance. Still, it's only polite to make the offer.

Honestly, it's so much more worthwhile when they fight.]

I don't want to fight you.

[ she just keeps thinking of that night, that chase. wolffe was nearly as much like a brother to her as anakin was. but it's true, she doesn't want to fight this mass of darkness in front of her, this mechanical, cold thing.

ahsoka shifts her weight to her front leg, preparing to push off the rear one if she needs to make a jump. it's only a slight shift, really, but she has no doubt that he would notice it. ]

That's not what I came here for. [ intelligence, help. not this. ] But I will if I have to.

[He remembers. He remembers pleading with her to trust him. To let him help her. Even if she couldn't trust anyone else, she could trust him. But she didn't.

None of them had ever trusted him. No matter how hard he tried to prove himself, in the end all he earned from them were lies, mistrust and betrayal.]

You should not have come back here.

[He ignites his lightsaber and steps forward. Can you feel his hate for you Ahsoka? Jump and he will knock you from the sky... even if it means throwing his own men at you, just in hopes one will hit you.]

I had to. [ not here here, though. ahsoka knows full well that finding her way to this exact location was a mistake that puts her in more danger than she'd promised she would be. but that's her: she'll downplay how bad her situation is every time. either that, or someone might worry. ]

People are depending on me. [ she narrows her eyes slightly. ] But I doubt you remember what that's like.

Then I'll be doing them a favor by killing you.

[Did she really think anywhere on Coruscant would be safe? Of course she did. She is the same as when she left... still as overconfident as ever.

Now, is she still so easily goaded?]

We both know, you'll only disappoint them.

[ she's disappointed people before, she knows that. but every time she does, it just strengthens her resolve not too. and right now, there's too much at stake for her to let the rebel alliance down. ]

Not today.

[ ahsoka's eyes dart to one side, and that's the only warning she gives of movement before she turns and uses the railing beside her to push off, landing on a slightly higher catwalk. but it's not just distance she needs, it's a distraction, and a quick slice in the nearest pipe, sewage water gushing out past her, aimed squarely at vader. it won't buy her much time, but she's fast, she can still outrun him. ]

[The downside to being really mad is that his vocorder can't quite handle it and anything he says comes out an angry garble. The water doesn't help any... plus it's really gross. And it ruined his coffee.

Seriously, that is the most insulting part.

He pushes the water aside to see where she went and then launched himself after her. The catwalk shudders and rings with the sound of his bulk hitting it.

His latte will be avenged!]

[ knowing that this is more than base hatred fueling him now, ahsoka's sure to be quick, getting as far away from him and as high up as she can, lightsabers off so he has to use the force to follow her, instead of the bright white blades.

only when she's put some distance between them, her back to a long drop and some steam conveniently clouding the space between them, does she stop and turn back in the direction that she came. ]

I'm not going to fight you, Anakin. [ she's been avoiding saying his name out loud for a long time, because it always puts a little pain in her chest, and now is no exception. but if she can use it to get through to him? it's worth trying, at least. ] And I don't think you really want to fight me.

[He's surprisingly fast when he needs to be; between the enhanced strength in his artificial legs and the power of the Dark Side urging him on, he at least keeps pace with her, at the very least he's not losing any significant ground.

But then having to follow the wake her passing leaves in the Force divides his attention and causes him to drop back a little more. The fact that his respirator lags, unable to switch quickly from it's regular pace and thus robbing him of much needed breath. Yet another reason he doesn't do this sort of thing more than necessary.

She's worth the trouble.

He reaches the steam and stops just at the edge. He can feel that she's in there, but the temperature of the vapor makes his infrared useless for seeing her. Otherwise he could have ended this quickly.]

Hiding in there won't save you. [Still, he doesn't press his advantage, choosing to stay where his is. Part of him still wants to take her alive. The rest of him wants her dead. Either way he needs this time to suppress that conflict.] Give yourself up. It's the only chance you have of leaving Coruscant alive.

I won't be your prisoner. [ she knows the fates of too many jedi and rebels alike to think she'd have any chance of survival in imperial custody.

ahsoka stays put, hiding where she is for now, doing what her heart tells her is right, even if the force is decidedly less sure. but her heart and the force have disagreed before and reconciliation has happened just fine. here's hoping it's another one of those times. ]

But it doesn't have to be like this, either. You're better than this, than being a monster.

No. Not as my prisoner.

[Even as enraged as he had been he wouldn't let that be her fate. She would have a clean death if it came to that. But there was still a way.]

Join me, Ahsoka. I can complete your training and together we can stop the Emperor.

[Come back to him.]

[ that stills ahsoka, sparking a war within herself she knew had to be quickly decided. if it's bait, it's damn tempting. but if she really can help him, really can fight for good and justice at his side again... she's waited over a decade for that. ]

So you understand that what he did was terrible? That what you're both doing, terrorizing the galaxy, needs to stop?

[ the needs of the rebellion come before her heart, but he can probably feel the ache in it from where he stands. ]

You used to want to save the galaxy. I need to know that you still believe that you can.

I still want that, I never stopped wanting it. I can't do it on my own.

[He doesn't lie to her, she would sense it too easily. The bond they once shared is all but gone but still she would know. Just as he can feel her conflict.]

Help me.

[ the honesty in the middle of that mess that is vader, not really anakin, nearly makes her cry. that's all she's wanted, for so long. just anakin back, anakin being honest with her, anakin at her side.

ahsoka thumbs the curve of her lightsaber hilts to remind herself of what she's fighting for as she gathers courage for a response. ]

You know I'm with the Rebellion. I have an obligation to them. I have to make sure they'll be okay.

Traitors!

[He practically snarls the word. Dark hatred radiates from him through the Force. Ironically loyalty still matters to him and the rebels had betrayed the Empire and the peace he was trying to bring to the galaxy.

Still... He calms himself again, this was more important than a handful of rebels.]

Join me and if they will renounce their actions.... I will spare their lives.

Edited 2016-07-10 22:33 (UTC)

They're not traitors! They are my friends, my allies, the very people your Empire has backed into a corner with injustice.

[ so that there's no way out but fighting for them. ironic, then, that ahsoka is getting the hunch that if she doesn't make up her mind soon, she's going to be fighting her way out of here, too. ]

[He fumes quietly, his own conflict bubbling up to the surface. Early on he had his doubts about some of the actions the Empire was taking. His master assured him they were simply the birth pangs of this new order, that they would pass once the galaxy was properly pacified.]

They plotted from the moment the Emperor ascended to the throne.

[He was doing the right thing. Bringing the Empire's justice to the irredeemable. It would all be worth it in the end.

Force, he could really use that latte right now.]

No. They brought it on themselves...

[He doesn't say it with as much conviction as he'd like.]

Edited 2016-07-11 03:54 (UTC)

The rebellion is people who never asked to be repressed. People who are doing all they can not to be slaves to an unfair Empire.

[ she still believes that order and peace is possible. in her own twisted way, she's just as much a peacekeeper now as she was during the clone wars. it's just even muddier morally, as if it wasn't bad enough before.

and so, in the interest of peace, she aims a low blow - ] You of all people should have sympathy for slaves, Anakin.

quote prompt;

wildly winging it commences (lmk if this doesn't work!)

Works for me :3

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