"Why are we here again?"

Here, at the moment, was en route to Alderaan. Kanan, Ezra, and Zeb were flying the Ghost while Hera, Sabine, and Chopper were manning the new B-wing. The hyperspace jump was almost over, so all three men had gathered in the cockpit of the Ghost.

"We're here to drop off the B-wing for inspection," Kanan explained, fiddling with the controls. "The rebel council wants some of their mechanics to give it a once-over before they start manufacturing more, just in case."

"I've never been to Alderaan before," Ezra realized, looking to his master. "What's it like?"

Kanan laughed a little. "You know, I've never been either. I guess this will be a first for all of us."

The Ghost dropped out of hyperspace right before the B-wing did right next to them. The beautiful planet appeared before them, quite serene and secure. It was a nice change, after the most recent mission the Spectres had been assigned.

The capital city, Aldera, was beginning to enter its night. According to the coordinates Senator Organa had given them, that's where the mechanics were based. Kanan activated the engine and began flying toward the surface, knowing Hera was close behind him. As they got closer to the planet, it only seemed more beautiful. How was it that something like this still existed in such a horror-ridden galaxy?

None of them spoke much on the way into the atmosphere. Everyone was more concerned with taking in the view. After they entered the lower atmosphere, they could see the royal palace, where Senator Organa lived. Though no one said as much aloud, they all wished they could spend a few days there. It would probably be quiet and peaceful, although their armor might seem out of place in such a serene establishment.

The city surrounding the palace wasn't nearly as fancy, but it still respected the natural landscape and highlighted Alderaanian taste for beauty. Perhaps it was the lack of Imperial presence. As far as the rebels could see, no stormtroopers were patrolling the streets, and they hadn't seen any Star Destroyers on their way in. Compared to what the Ghost crew was accustomed to, this felt like paradise.

Near the outskirts of the city, Senator Organa's coordinates led them to the right workshop. The Ghost and the B-wing touched down on the landing pad outside, but no one greeted them when they disembarked from the ships.

Sabine took off her helmet, looking around. "It's quiet. I think the shop already closed."

"Closed to the public," Hera agreed, "but not for rebels. Just follow my lead." They walked to the garage doors, and Hera dug in her pockets for a small wooden medallion she had been given. It had the Rebellion crest on it, and according to Senator Organa, it would confirm their identity to the mechanics.

The lights were off in the garage, but when Hera peered through the windows, she saw a young teenage girl sweeping the floor. She tapped on the glass to get the girl's attention, then held up the medallion. After a moment of staring, the girl recognized the symbol, and her face brightened. She held up one finger, signaling for Hera to wait, before running to the door on the opposite side of the garage and disappearing.

"You see? What did I tell you?" Hera asked, tucking the wooden piece back in her pocket.

"What is this shop called?" Zeb asked, looking around. "I don't see a name on the side of the building."

Hera racked her memory for the answer. "Slashed Diamonds... I think."

After a moment, Ezra pointed at the window, where someone had put up a sign. "Looks right to me," he noted. The sign he was pointing to had a rhombus with a line running diagonally through it.

They didn't have to wait very long. Less than a minute later, all the lights turned on in the garage, stunning the Ghost crew. When they squinted through the windows again, the girl had returned with a slew of adults, presumedly the other mechanics. She ran to the side of the building, and a few moments later, the large garage door rolled up, revealing the building's interior.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting!" The girl called from the side. "I had to get the others."

"Is one of you Captain Syndulla?" A human male from the group of adults asked, stepping forward.

Hera walked up to shake his hand. "That's me. Senator Organa sent us here to drop off the B-wing for inspection. I hope we didn't interrupt anything."

The human shook her hand firmly, smiling. "Nothing important." He looked up past the Ghost crew and saw the fighter next to the Ghost. "That'll be it, right there?"

"Oh, she's pretty," A Rhodian male admired, walking up next to the ship and running his hand over the paint job. "Could definitely use a few touch-ups, though."

"That's why it's here," reminded a female from the back of the group, a Pantorian. She was climbing into a lift and turning it on. "You all might want to clear the floor. I'm going to move it inside."

Following the other workers, the Ghost crew stood against the nearest wall and watched as the B-wing was carefully maneuvered inside the garage. The same human that had greeted them leaned over to Hera so she could hear him over the lift. "Our mechanics will give the engine a once-over to make sure there won't be any issues down the road. They'll reseal the paint and make sure the landing gear is in good shape, and make any other adjustments it needs. I'll contact the senator when it's ready to go."

"Who are you? I never got your name," Hera realized.

"Anton Jackson," he answered, "though I tend to stick to my last name. I'm just a clerk though, most of the others are the mechanics."

She nodded. "It's nice to meet you. Thanks for doing this."

Looking back at the B-wing, Jackson assured her, "Anything to make the Empire's life hell."

"I take it you people aren't fond of them either?" Kanan asked as the Pantorian shut the machine off. The teenage girl from earlier hit the same switch again and closed the garage door.

A brunette human crossed her arms in disgust. "If half of what the Rebellion has told us about the Empire is true, how could anyone be fond of them?"

Sabine shrugged, scowling just at the thought of it. "You'd be surprised. There are more than a few people out there who support Emperor Dooku and his regime."

"You won't find any of them here," another human man assured the Ghost crew. "Don't spread it around, but all of us used to live on Coruscant before the Empire formed. Well, all of us except for this one," he amended, gesturing to the teenage girl who was now at his side. "She wasn't born yet."

"The point is, we were citizens of the Republic before it fell," a human woman continued. Now that they looked a little closer, she looked a lot like the teenage girl. Maybe that was her mother? "None of us were fans of the Empire, so when we made contact with Senator Organa, we offered to aid the Rebellion. We can't fight, but we can fix things. It's the least we can do."

"We can also cook," yet another human male added (there were so many humans here). "We have some leftovers from dinner tonight. If you can afford to stick around for a little longer, we can send them with you."

The Spectres glanced at each other, no one objecting. "That would be great," Hera answered for them, smiling. "Thank you."

Two of the humans left to grab the leftovers. Jackson sat on a bench nearby and looked at the rebels. "So, who are all of you?"

Hera introduced them, pointing to each person as she said their name. "Kanan, Sabine, Zeb, Ezra, and this is Chopper." At the mention of himself, Chopper cheered and spun around, making the mechanics laugh.

"Sorry for asking," the Pantorian from earlier asked, "but do Kanan and Ezra have lightsabers?"

The two Jedi smiled at each other before taking their weapons out and igniting them, showing off the blue blades to the others. One of the human men murmured, "Haven't seen one of those in a while."

Stroking the teenage girl's hair, the mother from earlier smiled at Ezra and Kanan. "Good to know not all of you died that day. We saw the news reports when it happened. We're sorry."

"Thank you," Kanan nodded solemnly, deactivating his lightsaber. "It means a lot."

"What about you guys?" Ezra asked, putting his own weapon away. "I mean, I probably won't remember all of your names, but it's worth a try."

Jackson laughed, then did his best to introduce his team. "Three of us aren't mechanics, just clerks. I'm one of them, and Tyme over there is another." He pointed to one of the human men, who hadn't spoken yet. "Leslie is another; she just went back to grab the food," he explained, pointing to the door.

"There are five mechanics here. The one with blue skin is Wheeler, the Rhodian is Luce. Jake went back with Leslie to pack leftovers, and those two, Thyla and Journey, are married. That's their daughter, standing by them."

"I'm Soka," the girl introduced herself, waving.

That name was very familiar to the rebels. "Soka? As in Ahsoka Tano?" Sabine asked, stepping forward.

Soka nodded, smiling. "Yeah, it's a nickname. She used to work with my parents."

"Did you know your namesake was a Republic General?"

It seemed that she didn't. Freezing, Soka turned to her parents. "You never told me that."

Journey and Thyla looked at each other, then at the others. "We didn't know," Journey admitted. "We knew Tano got involved in the Clone Wars, but she never told us how. She always said she wasn't allowed to."

Kanan didn't speak, but his mind was racing. Ahsoka had known these people when she was a civilian? It made sense that she had found work as a mechanic, but for some reason, it didn't click until that moment. He found his gaze drifting, but something caught his eye. Upon the wall, next to the door, someone had pinned up a jacket. He hadn't seen it in years, but sleeves had the same chevron stripes that Sabine's armor had, meant to mimic Ahsoka's lekku. It was impossible to misplace. She really had known these people years ago.

In the middle, Soka had begun to ask Ezra and Sabine what it was like to fight in the Rebellion. Most of the adults watched them, amused by their conversations, but Wheeler noticed Kanan staring at Tano's jacket and walked up next to him. "You knew her too?"

"Yeah," he admitted, not tearing his eyes away. "I didn't realize anyone had kept it."

"After we saw the news report, I went to her place," Wheeler explained quietly. "She had left the jacket at home, and her house was about to be sold. I grabbed it and a few other things. When we left Coruscant, I took it with us."

Remembering the symbol outside the door, he finally faced Wheeler. "Slashed Diamonds... is that supposed to be about her too?"

She nodded, looking back up at the jacket. After a moment, she started reminiscing. "We always knew she was a war veteran, but I don't think any of us realized exactly what that meant until after she died. Tano was... she was so..."

"Crazy?"

"Well, that too," she admitted. They both laughed, the memory bringing a smile to their faces. "But no, it was something else. She acted like one of us, just a mechanic, but she was always so much more than that. I don't know why she bothered to worry about people like us when she always had the Clone Wars on her mind. Or the Force, or the Jedi, or whatever else she did when she lived on the surface."

"Ahsoka worried about everyone," Kanan explained, smiling at Wheeler. "She worried about you because she cared about you. She did that to a lot of people."

Wheeler recognized that he was speaking from experience. "You too?"

For once, the memory didn't seem to sting like it usually did. In fact, it felt more like a reassurance. Now that he was standing next to someone who had seen the same thing he did, it didn't seem to hurt so bad. "More than I realized, at the time."

Looking down at the ground, she stared at her boots. "She seemed so simple when I first met her. Then things started happening, and I learned more about her, and... she knew about things I hadn't even dreamed of. She never said anything. After she... I felt like I didn't really know her at all. I knew almost nothing."

"I don't think that's true," Kanan predicted, trying to reassure her. "Ahsoka had a lot of secrets, but you don't have to know those secrets to know her. Ahsoka is still Ahsoka no matter what she told you. She always has been."

His words seemed to inspire a bit of hope in Wheeler. She looked back up at Tano's jacket. "You know, when all this Empire stuff started happening, she would have known what to do. I wished I could just... talk to her, or something."

"Join the club," he teased. "I'll get you a t-shirt."