Though the fall wasn't long enough to be lethal, the impact with the watery surface still felt like landing on solid rock to her abused body. As salty water enveloped her body, stinging in her eyes and filling her throat, for a moment, a tiny moment, she contemplated the idea of going limp. Letting the ocean drown the failure she had become. But she couldn't allow herself to escape her guilt in such a cowardly way. Not after Chewbacca had just given his life for hers mere seconds ago.

Her tired limps feeling like stone, the Togruta fought herself back up. After her head broke through the surface, she coughing spat out the salty water, eagerly trying to replace it with fresh air. Due to the fall still affecting her, as well as the salty water in her eyes, the padawan's vision was blurred and she wasn't entirely sure if the vague shape she spotted in the distance was actually the island she'd come from. However, with the threat of getting shot from above literary looming over her (not to forget any possible Sea predators), Ahsoka started swimming there as fast as her beaten body would allow.

It truly was frustrating. About quarter an hour before, she and her companions had crossed the distance from the island to the fortress in a minute, using a glider. Now, the shape in the distance, while becoming more and more likely to be an actual island, stubbornly refused to get nearer. The Padawan felt like hitting something, fortunately the depressive guilt over her companion's death discouraged counterproductive actions like trying to beat up the sea. When something briefly brushed alongside her calf on the other hand, she immediately doubled her efforts to reach dry land.

After what felt like hours, Ahsoka finally reached the shore, letting the waves carry her the last few meters.

It was frustrating. Since she had joined the war effort, it had been a quite common situation to be engaded in desperate combat situation for days or month, participating in battles going on for hours, not to mention encounters with big guns like Grievous and Ventress themselves. However, thanks to the incredible nutritious rations supplied to republican troops, as well as her masters bothersome concern, she had always done that with a full stomach and enough sleep. This time however, she had gotten next to no sleep in the last three days, and the scare provisions the other younglings had had wouldn't have been enough to be a decent meal for one of them on his/her own. Let alone a Wookie.

Though as tempting as the idea of staying on the ground and sleep through the rest of the day was, if eventual Trandoshian pursuers didn't kill her, the next flood certainly would. So, with trembling legs and blurry vision, the young Togruta stumbled away from the water. The wound on her head where the Trandoshian leader had tried to skin her had stopped bleeding, but the contact with salt water produced a stinging that caused her a killer headache, to top her already bad state.

Still, she could not allow herself to despair. At least not more than she did already. She still had a reason to life. Admittedly the pain in her head made it hard to remember that reason, however such were concerns she could sort out AFTER she found shelter.

Fortunately finding said shelter didn't prove to be hard, for she soon arrived at the ship wreck Chewbacca and her had searched for parts of that damned communicator. To Ahsoka's dazed mind it seemed like the best option. The original hideout was out of the question, surely any attempts to get in there would result in a broken neck at best. And in the wreck she'd be safe from the elements and searching eyes. Granted it wouldn't hide her from a thorough investigation. But since it was still hard to remember the exact reason why she had to life, the Togruta didn't really care.

After making her way inside, she fell to the floor right after being out of the sunrays. Following the events from before, the cold metal surface felt like silken bed sheets to her. Within seconds she drifted off into a dreamless void.

Hours had gone by when Ahsoka woke up. Though her muscles were still aching, the headache was gone and she felt fit enough to take on whatever the situation might throw at her. On that case, her head shot up, quickly moving left and right while taking in her surroundings. The Togruta then quickly rolled away from the opening to the ship and crouched defensively into the next dark corner. Well, the one slightly more dark than the rest of the environment, for apparently she had slept into the evening, the last rays of the planets sun just barely illuminating the land.

That was of little concern however, compared to the reason Ahsoka had awoken. A constant rumbling noise, weak but steady. Immediately images of primitive gliders manned with the remaining Trandoshian hunters, bent on revenge and searching for her entered the padawans mind.

Her eyes never leaving the ships entrance, Ahsokas hands hastily swept over the ground, fumbling for something she could use as a weapon. The axe and knife she used on the fortress probably lay on the oceans ground by now. Soon her right hand closed around something she identified as a short metal pipe. Far from ideal, but it would have to do.

For some unnervingly long minutes, the padawan stayed put, her survival instincts telling her to not pick a fight now and wait until whatever was out there left. Unfortunately the rumbling noise only became slightly louder, nothing indicating it would distance itself. After some minutes more, Ahsoka's impatience got the better of her and she decided to risk a glance outside.

Her steps silent, the pipe heldin her usual Shien reverse grip shielding her front, Ahsoka slowly advanced towards the entrance. When she reached it, she cautiously peered through it, to discover…

… nothing. Well, sure, seeing how dark it had become, it wasn't THAT surprising. Still, due to their montrals, Togruta had a better hearing than most sentient species, and even with one of hers now sporting a hole, Ahsoka was still able to clearly make out a steady sound, certainly not produced by the natural environment. And it seemed fairly close as well. But that simply made no sense. The Trandoshian lot that got her into this nightmare was far from subtle, she had already checked the wrecks inside and the beach didn't really have much cover. But the sound seemed so near! Was this some native predator that only came out now that the lizards were gone? Did they have some sort of specialists, some sort of stealth droid that could get close enough to her to emit a sound that seemed to come right out of her…

….

…

With a CLANK the Torgutas makeshift weapon hit the floor while its former holder facepalmed herself. Why, of course the sound wasn't from the environment, and of course it seemed near. It was the growling of her own bloody stomach. Natural reaction if one didn't have a decent meal in like four days (who knew how long she had been passed out after the Trandoshians captured her?).

Ahsoka scoffed. So much for effective hiding. Every half way experienced hunter/tracker would have taken notice of that sound from like a mile away. Which made her assume that for the moment nobody was on her heels. She imagined Master Obi Wan making a comment about seeing the silver lining of such a situation. And her master rebutting that, instead of wasting time looking for positive things, on should simply focus solving on the problem at hand.

Not that there were many positive things to be found anyway. She was still alive, that was a plus. However, four people had died in her stead. During the course of the war she had already been forced to learn how to cope with her leadership affecting the possible survival of other, but this was different. The clones she usually commanded were professional soldiers who knew what to expect and all willingly participated in the war effort to keep the republic safe. Damn it, THEY were soldiers. But Kalifa, O-Mer, Jinx, Chewbacca… They had been innocents. Chewbacca had been a civilian, and the other Padawan's told her that before they were taken they had never been in overly serious confrontations, least of all being forced to kill someone. They had been the sort of people Jedi were supposed to protect, something she had failed in tremendously. She wasn't worth to be a Padawan, much less a Jedi. Perhaps it would have been better if she had gotten along with their plan to simply continue hiding and hoping for rescue…

NO! By the force, she might be no longer worthy of being the Padawan of the chosen one, but that would not make her abandon the ideals the Jedi, Plo Koon and he taught her. First of all to never give up. Yes, she had failed them, and she didn't think that she could ever forgive herself, still Chewbaccas last words had told her to life on. Giving up now would only add to her failure.

Having recovered her reason to life, Ahsoka set on deciding her next course of action. Getting back to the reason she had woken up in the first place, food seemed to be the first priority. And bandages, the three slashes on her arm had started to trickle and too wide movements would most likely reopen the wounds completely. Unfortunately she remembered that when Chewbacca and she had last raided the wreck for spare parts, not only did they find no medical supplies (given the rapid healing of Trandoshians, not that surprising) and the only food had proven to be Lizard exclusive, not meant for Wookie or Togruta digestive organs.

Picking up the pipe from the ground and attaching it to the spot that usually held her lightsabres the Padawan decided that the hideout seemed like her best option. Assuming she could manage to find it by herself, of course…

As it turned out, even to her own surprise, Ahsoka did find the hideout surprisingly quickly. After thanking the force for guiding her, she refrained from using the same to help climb the branch that lead to the little cave. Her body was drained enough as it was. The excessive use of her arm muscles of course reopened the wounds on her arms, but what almost made her fall was being reminded of her missing left baby finger after feeling his loss when catching hold of a bump in the wood.

In the end she made it into the cave in one piece. Going through all the items assembled in there was a depressingly short affair. Deciding to save her own clothes, she used the one spare article of cloth the other Padawans had possessed to create a makeshift bandage for her arm. After, begrudgingly, using half of the water supply (consisting of the awesome amount of one empty bottle and the scarcely filled half of a hollowed out fruit) to disinfect her wounds and wash the bandage as well as she could. Still she intended to thank Rex for pointers in dealing with non laser injuries and infections, should she ever see him again.

Being out of ideas what else she could do about the injuries, the Togruta changed her attention to the next pressing matter. Food. Unfortunately she and her former companions had eaten most of their stores before yesterdays attack (not that it had been satisfactory then). So all she could find after turning every cursed stone in the cave was a root and two berries.

Naturally Ahsokas first instinct was to swallow them right away, but bare inches before her open maw she stopped her hand, looking at the food in resignation. As tempting as it was, she had to think long term (another thing to thank Rex for, her master would have surely swallowed them instantly. Then again, he didn't get lectures about survival from the clone captain) and that meant thinking about future meals. And concerning that, she currently had no idea which parts of the local fauna were edible. If she wanted to avoid food poisoning, it would be better to leave the pitiful meal outside of her mouth for now and eat it AFTER having compared it to other plants.

A second away from jumping out of the cave to go on a food hunt, Ahsoka hesitated in the last moment. The Togruta took a moment to take in the sight of the landscape. The very dark landscape. Curse it, the nights on this stupid planet may be brightened by the stars enough to wander around without risking to walk into a tree. But telling one sort of tree from another, not likely.

With a groan Ahsoka almost turned around, however before she did her eyes caught sight of the three fat birds sitting on the branch leading to the cave without a care in the world.

One raised hand along with a tiny tug from the force was all it took for one of the birds to be transported into the waiting hands of a Padawan that let its stomach direct her actions. Its innocent eyes gazing up to its captures face, the tiny brain of the bird failed to comprehend the danger, let alone the turmoil inside the Togrutas mind.

Inside said mind, Ahsoka began to suspect that the whole situation, along with the hunger, was beginning to affect her mental health. For she could swear to hear her master urging her to do the practical thing and just eat the damn bird. While Plo Koon on the other hand was scolding her about contemplating to abandon the vegetarianism he had taught her(1). Her master laughed and said that holding on to something like that while starving was as unwise as one could get, and Jedis were wise people. Plo Koon countered with some wisdom about holding on to ones believes as a sign of strength, and then the two got into an argument about whether or not the Jedi order was too conservative.

During said argument playing out in her mind, Ahsoka got more and more annoyed. Visualized by how the eyes of the bird she was holding kept getting more and more big, with her hold getting tighter in accordance with her annoyance. Finally she flung the feathered thing into the night with a frustrated growl.

"I am NOT doing this!" the togruta thought forcefully, silencing the voices in her head. "I have been alone on this damned mud ball for barely half a day, and I am NOT hearing voices or start making up imaginary friends already. That was just the hunger and nothing more! Even though I am no longer worthy to be the Apprentice of the chosen one, I am still a Jedi! Okay, Padawan actually, but definitely not some crazy person who does nothing but whine about her fate and talk to herself. I have been in other tough situations, have made mistakes before and managed to come out on top. So I am NOT going to give up, oh no, I am going to find a way to survive and get off this force abandoned planet!
And I am not going to eat that stupid bird, because in the Jedi temple I have heard enough horror stories about force wielders who foolishly decided to use the force for everything, even the most menial of tasks, causing their bodies to grow weak, their muscles become nonexistent for the lack of use and ended up as invalids. And when I am forced to decide about abandoning being a vegetarian, I'll catch the animal without force help."

"Besides," came the dry afterthought "creatures that were able to fly with overly fat bellies and proportionally tiny wings usually got their flight from a huge amount of some special gas inside their stomachs, so it wasn't like the bird consisted of as much meat as it looked."

That being (mentally) said, to her relief not challenged by any more voices, Ahsoka went and lay down in the cave. Seeing how she was pretty much out of options, trying to sleep until it was morning seemed like the best way to go. Just a question of what was stronger, her tiredness or the pain in her tummy.

In the end, tiredness won out. When Ahsoka woke up, she was still as hungry as a black hole, but at least she didn't feel as sleepy anymore.

With a little more enthusiasm than the day before, the Padawan took the food and left the cave. Now that she wasn't on the run 24/7 she had more time to take in her surroundings in full. Aside from a few bugs, the fat birds and some animals that looked like blue little monkeys, the animal kingdom on the island seemed to be nonexistent, probably had the Trandoshians to thank for that. There also was no grass to be found anywhere, just a lot of trees and an incredible amount of plants that grew on the trees instead of the rather hard ground.

While there were a lot of trees, most of them seemed to be of the same kind. Fortunately the kind the root she already had belonged to them. It took her some time, but Ahsoka figured out that the only part of the trees that was actually edible consisted of the roots underground, and a few inches above ground. There the plant seemed to be filled with water and were soft enough to chew. The actually visible part of the trees was incredibly solid, as well as almost completely dry. Unfortunately that meant the only edible parts of the trees that could be removed without proper tools were the parts where the root right above the ground was thin enough to be broken out. The ground itself seemed to be as thick as the wood itself.

Ahsoka most likely spent an hour searching for and breaking of roots that meet the requirements. They tasted like wet sand and did little to satisfy the hunger, though they DID smother most of her thirst.

During her root search/meal the young Togruta stumbled upon a clearing. One where the trees had a wonderfully huge variety of bushes that sported berries attached to them.

Soon a very happy Padawan found the equivalent of the berries she got from the cave. After the roots, along with her still very present hunger, they tasted like the finest delicacy. Shoving memories of Rex telling her that eating too much after a long period of starving, especially unknown food, was a bad idea, she gleefully tore into one of the things that thankfully did grow on trees.

It didn't take long until most of the bushes growing the specific berries were almost emptied. Mostly satisfied, but still euphoric about how good the berries tasted, Ahsoka was tempted to try another sort. Indeed, those berries in the next bush looked just like the ones she had just eaten, only violet instead of green. And she could swear that she had seen a few of them in the cave already after she first arrived…

Shrugging, with the assumption that it couldn't hurt to try ONE new berry, Ahsoka quickly plucked one from the bush and threw it into her mouth, eagerly chewing it.

It took seconds for the consequences to unfold. The Togruta doubled over, feeling like her organs were ripping each other apart. Throwing her head back with a pain filled groan, she grabbed her stomach in a futile attempt to dampen the pain. She felt dizzy and her vision blurred. As the pain in her stomach only increased, she was so desperate that she stuck her fingers into her mouth to trigger the gagging reflex, just to get rid of that Sith touched fruit. And soon it came out along with pretty much all of the other berries she had just recently swallowed. Coughing and sputtering, her body remaining in pain, Ahsoka fell to the side, her eyes closing.

Five minutes later one of the blue little monkey creatures came to the clearing. Curious about the odd shape lying there, it decided to investigate. When it reached the shape, it first sniffed, then felt at it, confused about the odd second skin the shape that seemed to be some other animal possessed. Not knowing what to do with this mysterious, though seemingly harmless thing, the next instinct was to search for food. Following its nose, the monkey found a slimy heap of edible substance lying next to the strange things head.

The monkey had just reached that heap and was about to take a bite, as it suddenly felt a huge hand catching it in an iron grip. Shrieking in surprise, it turned its head. To stare into the mad eyes of a predator driven by primal instinct.

Wailing in terror and desperately trying to break out of the unyielding grip, the monkeys screams intensified when a set of fangs tore into its body.

AN:
In case someone thinks that the animals behaved completely unrealistic in showing little to no flight instinct: I see the birds and monkeys on the island like dodo's. Creatures that life on an unknown island while having no natural enemies or predators. So they have no reason to keep a flight instinct. Until men and his dog comes and eats them all.

Okay, first an apology for the unforgivably long absence is in order. My only excuse is that university has been harder this semester than before, and it started two days after I posted the first chapter. I try to be more frequent in the future, but I don't think anything more will come this month, because this is where the exams come into play. But in February I'm free. And as compensation I'll release another clone wars fic along with this chapter, hope you'll like that one as well.

(1) Jedi being vegetarian is not canon in Star Wars, as far as I know some fans had a few discussions about it and that's it. Personally, I think it would fit with the Jedi, but in this story I just say that vegetarianism is something encouraged, but not enforced. And since Plo Koon was the one who brought Ahsoka to the temple and is the next thing to a father figure she has, he has raised her to be vegetarian (and no, him being vegetarian isn't canon either, I made that up).