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Continuity & Analysis

Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Gone With A Trace (2020) [S7E5]
If there is no path before you, create your own.
"Betrayal! Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano was wrongly accused of treason by the Jedi Council and
hunted by the Grand Army of the Republic. Believing his apprentice was innocent,
Anakin Skywalker discovered the true villain was Ahsoka's close friend Barriss Offee.
Unable to reconcile her relationship with the Jedi Order, Ahsoka decided to walk
away from the only life she had ever known..."
Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Deal No Deal (2020) [S7E6]
Mistakes are valuable lessons often learned too late.
"Crossroads! After leaving the Jedi Order, Ahsoka Tano finds herself far away from the life she
once knew. Here in the underworld of Coruscant, she meets Trace Martez,
an aspiring pilot, and her older sister Rafa, a streetwise gambler with lofty aspirations.
In their short time together, Ahsoka realizes not everyone sees the Jedi as heroes,
a lesson she only recently learned herself..."
Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Dangerous Debt (2020) [S7E7]
Who you were does not have to define who you are.
"Prisoners of the Pykes! Ahsoka Tano has teamed up with the Martez sisters, who live in the
underworld of the city-planet Coruscant. Struggling to make ends meet, Rafa Martez
scored a job running a spice shipment from the planet Kessel. Tempers flared when
Ahsoka realized the spice was being sold to the Pykes, a powerful crime syndicate.
As Ahsoka and Rafa argue, Trace Martez dumped the spice, hoping to end the dispute.
With no shipment to deliver, the three attempted to deceive the Pykes and failed.
We now find them imprisoned deep within a fortress on the planet Oba Diah..."
Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Together Again (2020) [S7E8]
You can change who you are, but you cannot run from yourself.
"Prisoners in peril! Former Jedi apprentice, Ahsoka Tano, befriended two sisters, Trace and
Rafa Martez, who grew up in the underworld of Coruscant. After learning that
the sisters blamed the Jedi Knights for the death of their parents, Ahsoka must decide
if she's willing to reveal her Jedi past and use her skills to aid in their escape. Fearing
her new friends will feel betrayed by this revelation, Ahsoka is left with a difficult choice..."




CONTINUITY
These four episodes form a single storyline about Ahsoka. The chronological order of episodes is as given by Lucasfilm, and follows their
release order, however this storyline takes place before the Anaxes storyline which premiered first. Four worlds are seen in these episodes:

This storyline, with the production title of 'Ahsoka's Walkabout', was developed in 2012 and was planned to be part of Season 6, in which Ahsoka
befriends a young Human named Nyx Okami, leading to her involvement in the underworld through him. It was one of several unproduced
storylines when the original run of the series concluded, but unlike most of those storylines, it was revived for Season 7, as it is integral to
Ahsoka's story. The character of Nyx Okami was replaced by the Martez sisters, characters intended to be developed in other material.

Based on Anakin's appearance in this storyline, and the number of days that take place after that appearance, the last two episodes of this storyline
take place over a limited number of days concurrent with the next storyline. Within a day after this storyline, Ahsoka will have contacted Anakin
and Obi-Wan at Yerbana, having just arrived there a day earlier, perhaps two. There cannot be any significant additions of time between these
events, as the information about Maul would be useless later. As such, this storyline begins just over one week before Episode III.

- Ahsoka was last seen when she left the Jedi Order in 'The Wrong Jedi' (S5E20), which was over ten months earlier.


Trace's repair shop is stated to be located on the infamous Level 1313, deep in the Coruscant underworld.
Ahsoka is relatively near the artificial surface where the sky can be seen when her speeder bike malfunctions, and
although she is seen plummeting, there is no way she descended 4000 levels to reach Level 1313. Not even close.


- Anti-Jedi sentiment has certainly been exacerbated by the war, but is also a product of their perceived detachment from the average person. Trace suggests
that the Jedi are "running around starting wars, policing everything." Ahsoka says they are trying to stop the war, which Trace considers laughable, and
rightly so, as the Jedi are far more interested in stopping Dooku and the Separatists than they are in stopping the war. Trace suggests "they've forgotten
about us", and while the Jedi are very much occupied with the war, there was never really a time in which the Jedi could be there for everyone who could
use their help, or even most people. They are a relatively small group with incredible powers, and thus their efforts in any time period are devoted to those
issues the Jedi consider to be of greater significance. Trace and Rafa's views on the Jedi are also clouded by their emotions, as they blame the Jedi for
accidentally killing their parents while preventing a ship from slamming into a platform full of people.

- Trace says regarding the Jedi that "as a kid, you hear stories. I guess they're not what I thought they would be." The Jedi are legendary in the galaxy for
their selflessness and heroic deeds, and are seen as superheroes by many children. The complexities of the real Jedi are sometimes disappointing to
adults, who imagined them from a child's perspective as paragons of altruisitic virtue, rather than imperfect beings who deal with pragmatic realities.
Regardless, although most people may never see a Jedi in person at any point in their lives, they are widely known even by children.
Main Article: Awareness of the Jedi and the Sith

- Type II 'Binary Loadlifters' are repurposed demolition droids, which are prone to violence due to their original purpose. According to Ahsoka, they
were a fraud, as they were apparently sold for this purpose despite not being reprogrammed correctly.

- There is a massive slum underclass on Coruscant, with billions of people growing up with a major disadvantage in upward potential and an extreme
lack of opportunity. There are apparently no public trade schools, or similar educational programs, in the lower levels, which means the social
mobility of the residence of the lower levels is severely limited, likely increasing the rampant criminal element. This is probably not by design but
is the product of millennia of stratified society on Coruscant, and is reinforced by the privileged of the Galactic Republic, who understandably wish
to maintain some level of exclusivity of opportunity for themselves and their children. As a result, many millions of skilled persons are 'wasted' by
the society which doesn't take advantage of their potential, and many that could have made much of themselves are never given the chance.


- As has been observed since the planet's first appearance, Coruscant has air traffic lanes, which we now learn are stratified and organized according to
the purpose, direction, and speed of travel, which is usually related to the distance of a traveler's destination.

- The Republic maintains a system of starpilot's licenses, which are required to legally operate a spaceworthy craft.

- Anakin and Admiral Yularen are in the sky above Coruscant taking on supplies and personnel for the Battle of Anaxes, seen in the next storyline.
While the rest of this storyline takes place, they journey to Anaxes, and begin their contribution to the campaign, which is already in progress
in 'The Bad Batch' (S7E1). This is Anakin's first campaign in the Core since joining the Outer Rim Sieges several months earlier.


Anakin is in the sky above Coruscant, despite his statement in Episode III during his reunion with Padme about a week
after this storyline that "if the Chancellor hadn't been kidnapped, I don't think they would have ever brought us back from
the Outer Rim sieges." Anakin was last seen on Coruscant in 'Voices' (S6E11), which must have been about 6 months
earlier. He was seen in the prior Clone Wars storyline in this chronology to have been in the Outer Rim with Obi-Wan,
until Mace contacted them to announce that Coruscant was under attack. Most of his statement must now be ignored to
accommodate the retcons of this Season 7, which is why the two Clone Wars storylines of Chapters 22 through 25 must
now be split, otherwise much of Season 7 must be considered non-canon. This alarm to return must therefore have been
regarding Anaxes, a major near-by world in the Core. Anakin will be seen in the Anaxes campaign in the next storyline in
'The Bad Batch' (S7E1). This will be followed by a brief adventure on Skako Minor, also in the Core, before returning to
the Outer Rim with Obi-Wan for the Battle of Yerbana. Soon after, they rendezvous with Ahsoka in 'Old Friends Not
Forgotten' (S7E9), which is where Anakin learns that Coruscant is under attack, leading to his return to Coruscant for
the beginning of Episode III. Not counting his detour in the Core, Anakin has been in the Outer Rim for many months
at the beginning of Episode III, and was only recalled due to these invasions of the Core, so his statement to Padme
in that film still makes sense despite these changes. Anakin obviously had not seen her for 5 or 6 months at that point,
considering that she has two powerfully Force-sensitive children within her which Anakin would have probably sensed
even if they weren't unusually strong in the Force, not to mention the physical signs of being pregnant with twins.


- Kessel Castle, the palatial mansion of King Yaruba and the Yaruba family who rule the planet, is located in a remote location in an unspoiled region.
The planet's vibrant ecosystem features dense forests and jungles such as the jungle surrounding Kessel Castle, however in regions of spice mining
there is severe environmental damage. Affairs at Kessel Castle are overseen by Kinash Lock, who is King Yaruba's majordomo.


- The potentates of Kessel are extremely wealthy, due primarily to their legal spice trade. Spice is used in pharmaceuticals and medicine, and while it is
also used as a narcotic, its mining and sale isn't illegal even under the Republic. While they likely derive huge profits from their sale to drug dealers
and criminal organizations, their legal trade is highly lucrative on its own.

- The spice mines on Kessel extract a naturally occurring mineral spice with medicinal properties, in a process that is exceedingly unhealthy to workers and
the environment, desolating the regions around the mines. In most time periods, this work is chiefly performed by forced labor, despite the fact that
worker life expectancy is only a matter of years. The mines are seen to have become a massive slavery outfit, which was probably always the case, but
has almost certainly become the primary source of laborers due to the Jedi's inability to effective police the Rim due to the Clone Wars. It is likely that
prisoner labor accounted for a larger percentage of their workforce when the Jedi were watching. The connection between the rise of the Sith and
the state of Kessel is suggested by the presence of a Zygerrian overseer, probably indicative of the continued growth of their slave empire.


- The leader of the Pyke Syndicate is now Minister Marg Krim, replacing longtime leader Lom Pyke who was killed by Dooku in 'The Lost One' (S6E10).

- Pykes use Sarisa-class gunships for patrol and security enforcement on Oba Diah.

- The jail cells in the Pyke fortress have ray-shielded doors which are a physical lattice of metal with the shields acting as semi-transparent windows.
The emitters for each 'window' is independent, and when the door is locked, they activate in a sequence.
Main Article: Shields, Deflectors, and Ray Shields


Why did Bane take Ziro down into the underworld after the last scene of 'Hostage Crisis' (S1E22)? It was unclear at
that time why it was so easy for them to board a ship and leave the planet after bombing the Senate, and this at
least proves that it was indeed not that straightforward to escape. Nevertheless, it is odd that Bane would choose
to trap his group deep within Coruscant. It is also true that this is the kind of misdirection and effective strategy
which makes Bane an effective operative. Some Jedi apparently caught up with gangsters, who chased them down
a portal, and were only thwarted by Bane putting civilians at risk. As the distraction allowed them to escape, they
were apparently able to board a ship in the underworld appropriate for escaping the planet safely.


- Luminara Unduli was the Jedi which came to visit the Martez sisters when their parents were killed during their attempt to capture Ziro. Perhaps
because of the war, or perhaps as a matter of usual practice, the Jedi don't go out of their way to aid those whose lives are negatively effected by
their work for justice, at least those as old as Trace and Rafa, who would have still been young women two years earlier when this occurred.

- Ahsoka aids the Martez sisters in their escape after being arrested for attempting to swindle the Pykes. In their escape, they shoot several Pykes, and
almost certainly kill a number of them, even crushing one with heavy machinery. Apparently it doesn't violate Ahsoka's "high ideals" to kill and to be
an accessory to killing in order to escape a legitimate arrest, as long as those being killed are murderous drug dealers, and the criminals who robbed
them are her friends. The fact that the spice was sold to the Pykes for use in illegal trade does not make it ethical to steal from them, or to kill them.

- Oba Diah City is located adjacent to the fortress of the Pyke Syndicate, and as such is heavily involved in the trade industry. It is inhabited by Pykes,
as well as a significant population of other species from diverse backgrounds. The Syndicate seems to be the legal authority in the city.


- Bo-Katan and some of her allies are on Oba Diah as part of their mission to track Maul's movements. This is the very mission Ahsoka undertook on
her own after learning of Maul's connection to the Pykes. Ursa Wren states that Ahsoka's presence "could compromise our mission", as she does
not know Ahsoka's intention. She is also not aware that Maul wants to be located as part of an elaborate trap.

- The Martez sisters stop at the fuel depot on Orondia, first seen in 'Friends and Enemies' (S4E16). It is located near Nal Hutta, and is a sensible
distance from Oba Diah to have been their next stop, particularly if it is known as a regional location for starship refueling and resupply.

- Despite the major distraction of the war, the Jedi are still involved in policing the underworld of the Republic. While an operation as large as
the Pyke Syndicate is likely to have attracted Jedi attention due the growing scale of their operations, it is also possible the Jedi have noted
the large scale coordination taking place in large-scale organized crime, which is secretly being orchestrated by Maul under the auspices of
his Shadow Collective. Jedi recently led a raid against a Pyke spice shipment on Coruscant, as evidenced by the fact that no Pykes made it out.

- Maul is able to sense something is amiss when Ahsoka is eavesdropping despite being on a distant planet. We have seen several examples in which
Force wielders, and the Sith in particular, are able to use the connection forged by technology to utilize their powers directly from great distances.
This may be an unnatural ability of the Sith, as we have only seen Jedi access electronics with the Force to open doors, other than one instance in
Clone Wars 'Chapter 23', which is almost certainly a continuity error. Maul senses Ahsoka's direction, and his hologram turns to look.

- This is Crimson Dawn's earliest mention in canon thus far, a crime syndicate which is a major part of Maul's Shadow Collective, which probably
predates Maul's takeover, but has nonetheless gained increasing prominence due to the Clone Wars and Maul's growing criminal empire.

- Transmission logs contain records of the source location of incoming transmissions, as well as the locations that have been transmitted to.
Main Article: Hyperspace Communication

ANALYSIS
Rafa is an optimistic person, but is also jaded and self-centered. She believes that nearly everyone is selfish and opportunistic, and thus she acts
accordingly and operates with those motives. She tells Ahsoka that "everyone plays an angle", which is obviously true and goes without saying,
but also implies that everyone's desire is to benefit themselves in some way beyond the benefits of helping others. Rafa doesn't like Ahsoka
interfering with her pushing her philosophy on Trace, or interferring with her ability to rely on her younger sister as a loyal agent. She justifies
her lack of ethical concerns with the pragmatic reality of making money, telling Ahsoka that "we can't pay off debt with your morality." Despite
her disaffected position regarding caring about others, she isn't a malicious person, and honestly believes that swindling and opportunistic
dealing is the most beneficial course of action, telling Ahsoka honestly that she is "just trying to do what's best." She probably wanted to act like
a better person generally, but has learned from her experiences that only the unscrupulous succeed. Her experience with Ahsoka serves to
reawaken some of her hope about people's better nature, as Ahsoka's selfless actions befitting the true Jedi she imagined as a child remind her
that the world is only full of opportunism and selfishness when people choose that, and that it is their outlook which determines their reality.

Pyke Syndicate leader Marg Krim tells his majordomo Fife that Maul will likely kill him for losing the spice shipment. Maul's vision through
the Force, and likely also more mundane intelligence sources, mean that he is already aware of their troubles, as it seems based on experience
that Maul "always knows", according to Krim. Maul has engineered a functioning and unitary conglomerate out of crime syndicates which
are otherwise competitive with each other. As a result, their vast resources can be strategically utilized in a manner which brings a steady
increase in business, but also serves to create a network across the galaxy under Maul's control. Maul tells Krim that "you are but one small
piece moving in this mechanism I have designed, and yet, when you falter, it jeopardizes everything." Maul's timetable for implementation
of his plans was delayed by Sidious taking him captive, and Maul is now increasingly pressured to complete as much of his design as possible
before the Republic ends, something he is aware is imminent due to the growing power of the dark side of the Force. Maul's new flagship
organization is Crimson Dawn, a syndicate whose aims more directly suit Maul's plans beyond making money, and he uses the threat of
transferring control of operations to Crimson Dawn to motivate the other members of the Shadow Collective not to disappoint him.
The organizations still theoretically run themselves, leading Fife to suggest they don't have to please Maul just because he is terrifying, but
admits to Krim that he personally wouldn't dare challenge or upset Maul, who is the only reason the Shadow Collective stays unitary.

Ahsoka left the Jedi Order because she felt betrayed, and rightly assessed that the Jedi leadership wasn't living up to their own principles.
Instead of staying in the Order to make a difference, change things for the better, and attempt to steer the course towards idealism, she
becomes disaffected and goes off to find herself. She doesn't know what she is doing, is somewhat purposeless and confused, and tells
Trace that "things couldn't be a bigger mess for me than they already are", certainly a massive overstatement, but probably true in terms
of Ahsoka's confidence in what she is doing with her life. Much as Anakin grew as a better Jedi by teaching Ahsoka, she grows back towards
her Jedi purpose by teaching the Martez sisters why it is important to be a good person, and to help others. She observes that "we live and
learn", which although it is somewhat of an obvious cliche, it is certainly one of those things that doesn't truly make sense until after one
has done some living to reflect on. During their ordeal, Ahsoka acts like what a Jedi should be, according to the Martez sisters, but also
in Ahsoka's own estimation. Ahsoka is worried about taking any path that might lead back to the Jedi, because she believes herself to be
incompatible with the Order, at least as long as the politics of the war are guiding their priorities. If she returns, she will either be at odds
with the majority of Jedi, or will have to learn to co-opt her own principles in order to conform to the demands of the Order. Just as other
Jedi with her type of idealism, she chooses a path that will allow her to serve the will of the Force without betraying who she really is.
This is the path which led Dooku and Anakin to the dark side, but is also the path of Qui-Gon and the most spiritually advanced Jedi.


FURTHER ANALYSIS
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