#twj

Found this lovely challenge from a very old 18+ art blog of mine.

Four things to be noted here:

Tarkin is outright lying about the number of dead clones. The clones in the monitor room were very alive, just beaten up and rolling around on the floor or unconscious. There are three clones who were killed via lightsaber in a completely different part of the prison. Fox himself says that three are dead when calling in a shoot-to-kill order.

This footage/evidence most likely does not exist, as Tarkin could have just showed “Ahsoka” killing the clones, but he doesn't. He's lied about the number of casualties and where they happened; he's lied about the entire event.

If this footage actually exists, then Tarkin knows that Ahsoka is innocent. He could have easily said an accomplice broke her out, implicating the Jedi Order, but he only goes after Ahsoka here. Unless Barriss has a pair of fake montrals in her closet, there's no way anyone could mistake her for Ahsoka, as the arc goes out of its way to show you how noticeable her horns are with the homeless man's cloak.

The Jedi Council does not immediately call Tarkin back and demand to view this evidence. Plo Koon says, “I do not believe that Ahsoka could have fallen so far.”, but he never says, “Allow me to verify your findings, Admiral.” Whether or not they believe Ahsoka is innocent here, they don't take the easiest route of looking at the supposed footage of Ahsoka killing clones. They just take Tarkin's word for it, and while I'd like to believe that they viewed this "evidence" off-screen, am I to believe that Shaak Ti couldn't recognize a fellow Togruta, one she trained? That Obi-Wan and Plo couldn't recognize the girl they've been fighting alongside for over two years? Our only two options here is that the Council can't see the difference between a Mirialan and a Togruta, or that they never reviewed the evidence to begin with before deciding to expel Ahsoka, and I can't decide which is worse.

If Tarkin can just make up evidence with full knowledge that no one on the Council is going to fact-check it, then Ahsoka staying in her cell changes nothing. Tarkin could build an entire case on lies, and Ahsoka would be left to deal with the consequences.

Barriss & The Break In

So, Barriss breaks into the prison again, beats up some Corries, steals Ahsoka's com and lighsabers, and leaves the key card outside her cell. Why does Ahsoka staying put change nothing about her situation?

Well, put yourself into the position of a clone working in this facility. If your brothers were beaten up or unconscious at the entrance and you found a key card to the cell of the person allegedly responsible for killing more clones in the bombing outside of it would you: A. Think she was being framed? Or B. Think an accomplice was trying to break her out?

Now, I love Ahsoka, and even I wouldn't believe her if she said she was being framed when I just found a key card to her cell outside of it and her com and lightsabers were left in the hallway for her to find. This is just extra “evidence” that Tarkin can use against her, and it paints Ahsoka in a bad light without her having done anything.

Palpatine

This section is mostly speculation on my part, but seeing as how Sidious wants to get rid of Ahsoka to isolate Anakin further, and he had no problem implying Ahsoka may be a Separatist spy during the trial, I think it's worth mentioning.

I cannot overstate how trapped Ahsoka is in her cell. With Tarkin having ordered her isolation, literally anyone could do anything they wanted with her. Like say, Sidious strangling her like Letta, leaving her body for Fox to find, and then blaming her death on the mysterious Jedi bomber. Someone Anakin cares about dies brutally- again- and the culprit is a Jedi this time. This works doubly as this is the second time in less than 24 hours that someone was force choked in a Republic military prison, meaning Palpatine can use this as propaganda against the Jedi and as a means of controlling force sensitives (the Inquisitors).

Seeing as Sidious had no problem taking a discrete trip to Mandalore to kill Savage and capture Maul, I think walking to the prison to off a 16yr old is maybe not too far out of his alley.

The Trial

While I imagine Padme would defend Ahsoka again, I wanted to list the reasons why Ahsoka is already at a disadvantage.

She's a Togruta Her species is heavily sexualized, with Ahsoka herself having been called “quite the prize” and being subject to many instances of sexual harassment and assault by various characters. Her people are seen lowly, with Trade Federation and Death Watch seeing her as nothing more than a servant or plaything, meaning that going into this trial, many of these corrupt, social elites may have preconceived notions about her as a person and her ability to be innocent.

The Prosecution Has It Out For Her, And It's Allowed No one, not Bail, Mothma, Riyo, or Padme, calls out the vehemence with which Tarkin goes after Ahsoka. When asked to present his evidence, he opens up by telling her he's going for the death penalty. He mockingly claps after Padme speaks and gets into a verbal spat with the defendant. It's not professional; it's notably personal, and at no point does anyone say anything about it. There is no objection, no appallment, so it leads to the question if military proceedings are normally held like this and the implications that brings.

Padme and Ahsoka are Friends, And That's Known While it's great that Padme is defending Ahsoka, it would actually be a point that Tarkin could use against her. Padme had Ahsoka take her across enemy lines a year ago to meet with Mina Bonteri, and Tarkin could use that to paint Ahsoka as a Separatist. Lux Bonteri would later interrupt peace talks between Separatists and the Republic and then kidnap Ahsoka, but it's not like anyone would know the specifics, seeing as R2-D2 was out of the room when Lux tased her. Even if Ahsoka were to outline what happened during her absence, it's just hearsay. Padme could point out that Ahsoka helped train the Onderon Rebels to free it from the Separatists, but Tarkin could also point out that Steela died and try to paint Ahsoka as having killed Steela, having dropped her on purpose instead of being shot by enemy fire.

Ahsoka staying in her cell would change nothing about any of these points. There's a stigma against her people that she's powerless to change, and she has an imperfect history that many would be willing to use for their own ends.

In summary, there are far too many variables at play to assume Ahsoka not leaving her cell would lead to anything good. If she stays put, all she has to rely on is a corrupt system that is already stacked against her and leaves her as prey for those who wish her harm. Personally, it feels naive to say that Ahsoka staying in her cell would fix anything, instead of it leading to the exact same outcome or maybe even something worse.