Lost and Longing.

Aayla hesitated a moment. The warning from Harry was clearly ringing in her mind. She went over what she knew of every person in the room. She couldn't imagine any of them falling to the darkside though she had seen more than one of them face temptation. She definitely couldn't imagine any of them hiding the fact that they were the elusive Dark Lord they were so sure was lingering in the shadows, much less any of them working as a spy or traitor for the dark lord.

However, the more she thought about it the more it made sense that the Sith knew what was going on in the Council. With that in mind she decided to choose her words carefully.

"The first thing I have discovered is that there isn't a snowball's chance on Tatooine of Ahsoka Tano ever returning to the Jedi Order," she stated.

'Or maybe not so carefully' she thought as she snorted to herself. But she couldn't stop herself from continuing. "Especially once she receives word that the Jedi Council, who sat idly by, tacitly giving their approval to the Chancellor's Office's decision to have her executed, if found guilty, will now do essentially nothing to a known and admitted murderer like Barriss Offee.."

She couldn't help it, she glared at the image of Luminara Unduli, and said, "I guess it pays for your Master to be a member of the High Council, as Anakin padawan's treatment."

found

out

with

his

She waved her hand dismissively in the air, "But that is neither here nor there."

She knew she had likely just irritated most of the members of the Council and audience except for Skywalker, Kenobi, and it sounded like Shaak Ti, but she had been rebelling against many of the Council's edicts and decisions for years, and seeing this latest hypocrisy had irritated her beyond belief.

Of course, Ahsoka's betrayed and stricken look as she had stormed out of the cockpit had no effect whatsoever.

She had always been somewhat of a maverick as a Jedi, and had rubbed more than one Master the wrong way. What was another few here in a report as controversial as this?

The Master's all exchanged looks, though she saw the ghost of a smile cross Shaak Ti's face. The only one who seemed to truly ponder her words was Master Yoda, who closed his eyes in contemplation.

After letting her statements hang in the air for several seconds too long Aayla continued, "I arrived in system and docked, and almost immediately was blindsided by what should have been rather obvious to all here. Ahsoka Tano, because of her actions on behalf of the Order, has made very powerful enemies throughout the galaxy during her extensive service during the Clone Wars."

"Now, without the protection of the Order, some of those enemies have either hired bounty hunters directly or… judging by the sheer number I encountered, likely put a price on her head so high that anyone in the galaxy with a blaster is attempting to take a shot." That caused some shocked breathing and muttering from several of the Masters, making it clear that something 'obvious' had completely not been taken into account.

"Needless to say this has complicated my mission." Aayla said dryly.

"I tracked the two to a bar. Apparently, over half of the patrons of the bar turned out to be Bounty Hunters looking to cash in Miss Tano's head. The Trandoshan hunter Bossk, who last I heard, Ahsoka had actually put behind bars, was one of those hunters present." Aayla said, one of the bounty hunters she had discovered was in the area, and while not the brightest, was tenacious dangerous.

and

was

still

incredibly

"I happened upon the scene minutes after a massive fight kicked off, and was immediately targeted by hunters who wanted the head of a Jedi, whether they were currently in the Order or not. I escaped, barely, and proceeded immediately back to the hidden berth where my starfighter was docked, as I'd deemed the current situation on Nar Shaddaa far too volatile for a Jedi's presence at the moment and was going to fall back to attempt to pick up the trail at a later point if I could."

Aayla took a breath and shook her head slightly, "I was less than a few hundred meters away, when I felt and then heard a massive explosion as bounty hunters destroyed my starfighter. I'm not sure if they thought I was there to retrieve Ahsoka, or simply a target of opportunity."

"After that, I knew I was on my own, because I doubted the Council would send anyone to investigate for days, if not weeks, so I pursued the only reliable exit strategy I could think of, I tracked down Ahsoka and her bounty hunter, to the landing bay her ship was in and practically begged for transport off world." Aayla finished and then looked around for reaction.

The Council members exchanged looks in the silence that filled the air.

"You are currently with Padawan Tano and this… Bounty hunter?" asked Obi Wan.

Aayla nodded, "They're not with me at the moment, obviously, but yes." She deliberately neglected to mention that Ahsoka had been there earlier. She said nothing more as the Council stared at her expectantly.

Eventually, one of them seemed to recognize she was not going to volunteer any information unless asked directly, "What can you tell us about the bounty hunter?" asked her former failed love interest, Master Kit Fisto

Anakin interrupted before she could answer, "Aayla, how's Ahsoka doing, is she okay?"

Aayla allowed a small smile on her face, it was clear that at least he had his priorities straight. "She's … alive. Somehow, despite having every mercenary from the Deep Core to the Outer Rim who can lift or point a gun, after her head." Her tone turned slightly accusatory, as she turned her attention to the hologram of Kit Fisto, "As for 'the bounty hunter'… several of those mercenaries have had shots at Ahsoka, both on Coruscant and definitely on Nar Shaddaa. That 'bounty hunter' has kept her alive through all of it."

Aayla frowned a little bit wondering why she was getting quite so impassioned defending Harry. She shook her head slightly, "As for Ahsoka, aside from apparently becoming a most wanted bounty, she's dealing with the actions of this Council, and after she discovers today's proceedings I'm sure will have more to deal with."

"Oh, I did discover that the 'criminal' they were so focused upon taking in when they were harassed by two Masters of our order was the leader of a group of seven wannabe bounty hunters who had Ahsoka dead to rights in an Coruscant bar she had wandered into after quitting the Order." Aayla added as an afterthought.

"From an extremely vivid vision from the Force, Miss Tano has said that she would have died if it were not for Harry's intervention in that bar." Aayla sighed a little bit as she recalled her own vivid foretelling.

A number of the council members look up at that slip, "His name is Harry? This is confirmed?" asked Master Windu.

Aayla snorted visibly at the question and how it confirmed her thoughts. It seemed that the Masters couldn't care less about Ahsoka, as demonstrated how they grasped on to the first bit of information on Harry they heard. It was no wonder Ahsoka was still upset with the Council's actions.

"The name he seems to go by most is Harry… " Aayla confirmed shortly, unable to keep irritation out of her own voice.

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