CH-7

She wanted to protest this declaration and insult towards her, but she really couldn't do so with any hint of truthfulness. Her performance in the bar had been atrocious, and it was lucky he was there to help. This man seemed to excel at blunt statements and criticisms, but it was almost bearable because she knew he meant no true insult by it, and actually wanted to be helpful.

His tone once more turned serious "You may also want to consider that everyone else in that bar was armed. Even… even… the bartender lady. Damnit, you distracted me from getting her name this time! I keep forgetting to do so! Call me old, but I really believe that if you feel someone up, you should at least know their name."

"Anyways, you really should consider bringing your lightsaber to situations like that, Miss Jedi." Harry finished his tone more exasperated than serious at the moment.

Ahsoka was having trouble keeping up with Harry's rapid emotional changes, from serious to joking to serious to frustrated but amused, she was getting some pretty severe mental whiplash. However his last statement seemed to deflate Ahsoka slightly "I'm not a Jedi…. at least… not any more."

Harry raised an eyebrow, and though he didn't break stride, he looked over at her forlorn expression and then visibly sighed. "You know. I'm sure I'm going to regret asking this. But why?"

Ahsoka hesitated a moment before replying, looking down at the ground. Her hand went to where her Padawan braid had once sat for several years now. She didn't want to really rehash but at the same time felt her statement deserved an explanation. "I… there was an explosion at the Temple. I was framed for causing it."

Her voice was a careful neutral as she spoke despite the emotions she felt. "The Jedi Order booted me out, and allowed me to be put on trial before the Senate."

"Yeah, that's where I recognized you from. Earlier today as I dropped outta Hyperspace. The holonet broadcasting something about the guilty party being found and you being not guilty. Some big scandal." Harry waved his hand carelessly. He hadn't really paid attention to any of the specifics and had only seen a few headlines.

Ahsoka nodded a little bit, "Other than my Master, none of them believed me." She tried but couldn't quite keep the bitterness from her voice. "My innocence was finally proven, which of course took my Master finding the actual culprit who turned out to be a fellow Jedi I thought was a friend. Afterwards, exactly one Jedi Master apologized to me. The rest simply said 'They were proud of me for being strong enough to persevere through my trial'."

Ahsoka's eyes narrowed in irritation, "Then they offered me a place back in the Order like nothing had happened."

She shook her head, disgust still in her voice, "I turned them down and left. That was only a few hours ago."

Harry paused a moment at that, his eyes narrowing slightly at her retelling, but looking entirely unsurprised. Finally he nodded, slightly in approval as he restarted walking. "Good for you. The Jedi Order is a buncha stuffy old sods who can't see what's directly in front of their faces, and that's going to come back and bite them in their collective asses."

He grinned at her wryly, "You did stick around long enough to tell them to stick their lightsabers where the stars don't shine, right?"

Ahsoka's bemused reply was cut off by the sound of someone calling her name. "Ahsoka Tano?"

She turned, belatedly realizing that Harry took a few moments longer to do so as he likely didn't know her full name yet. They both looked to the source of the voice and found themselves face to face with a group of six Republic Clone Troopers wearing all-white armor with no insignia. The troopers were behind and flanking two beings wearing jedi robes and looking at her seriously.

Ahsoka was about to bow her head instinctively before the two Masters, before she stopped herself and straightened. "Master Mundi, Master… Tre'jin." she instead nodded by way of greeting.

She recognized Ki-Adi-Mundi on sight, he was a member of the Jedi High Council. The other Master was initially unfamiliar to her and had taken her a moment to recall his face. She had only seen him a few times in passing, but Skywalker had never been fond of him. Apparently, the two had not liked each other from some incident at least a decade in the past when Anakin, outdueled him not long after receiving his first training saber, despite Anakin being several years the older man's junior, and many fewer years instruction in using a lightsaber.

"Padawan Tano, what are you doing here?" asked Master Ki-Adi-Mundi in lieu of a greeting of any sort.

"Former Padawan. She is no longer a member of the our Order," interjected Master Tre'jin. There was definite condescension in his tone, and it was mirrored in the slight sneer on his face as he regarded the woman.

She felt Harry's hand touch her back suddenly. The tone of voice of those opposite her was definitely confrontational, and Harry surprised her by instantly letting her know in an unobtrusive manner that he would support her through just that light touch to her back.

"Masters", Ahsoka finally said respectfully, though it was easy to hear the momentary gritting of her teeth. "What are you doing here?" She inquired, striving to keep her voice polite, and definitely not answering the question initially posed to her by Mundi's rude form of greeting.

"There was some sort of disturbance in the Force near here and we're checking it out. Do you know anything about it?" Master Mundi again asked in his blunt manner as his eyes flicked back and forth between Ahsoka and Harry, who had stood there quietly, but still carried a man over his shoulder.

Ahsoka glanced involuntarily at Harry for a moment before she tilted her head back at their questioners, "What kind of disturbance?"

"Nearly every Jedi on the planet felt the disturbance, and Skywalker's former protege is clueless, what a surprise." Master Tre'jin scoffed sarcastically.

Master Mundi spoke up, nearly cutting off the other Master, not really wanting it to degenerate into an argument. "It was a very powerful surge in the Force, unlike anything we've ever felt before, but it was only for a few seconds before it disappeared."

Ahsoka immediately knew it was when Harry had healed the bartender, and her first instinct was to say so. But just as she was about to open her mouth, she found herself reconsidering it. She realized that she didn't really feel the need to enlighten the two Masters as they ran off on what might become just another witch hunt. For all she knew, they'd probably do to Harry what they'd attempted to do to her in that sham trial she had been given.

She was about to say she hadn't felt anything, when Harry spoke up, rendering any chance or hope of him staying anonymous, impossible.

"Only able to sense something a few seconds with that hokey religion you guys use? It's obvious that the problem is one of two things." Harry was speaking calmly and looking thoughtful.

"Oh?" Master Mundi asked, focusing on Harry now, surprise in his tone. Ahsoka's expression mirrored that surprise, she certainly hadn't expected Harry to go telling the Jedi about what he had done, certainly not after his expressed opinions of the Order.

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