This is an Ahsoka fanfiction. It kicks off before the show, will extend through the end of season one, and hopefully conclude with post-show content before season two of the real thing airs. Let me know how I’m doing in the comments!
I’ve started loading chapters into Archive of Our Own. Let me know if you follow over there!
Rating: General, Spice Level: None
Characters/Tags: Original Character, Master and Apprentice Relationships, Original Female Character, Original Jedi Character, Ahsoka Tano, Huyang
Read Chapter 7 – All is as the Force Wills It
Chapter 8 – First Flight
Kendra did not have to do much manual labor the next day, as the townspeople flocked to Ahsoka’s ship to help move items. She was thankful, as she remained sore even after another night of healing meditation.
Saying goodbye to Master Edith was hard, but easier than it might have been if she’d not gone to the outpost with Ahsoka. If she hadn’t faced the Tarnox. If she’d not faced the pull of the Force so acutely in her meditation.
“The Force will be with you. Always.” Master Edith’s departing words lingered in Kendra’s mind, even as she explored the ship and daydreamed of what was to come.
Once emptied of Master Edith’s meager possessions and loaded with even fewer of Kendra’s belongings, Huyang offered her an official tour. The ship was so shiny, bright, and clean. Kendra was sure Edith’s model had been the same when it was running, but decades sitting in the humid jungle collecting dust hadn’t done much for its aesthetic.
The stairs leading up into the ship could convert to a ramp, allowing for easy cargo movement and fast exits. An entire room was dedicated to training, which converted into a dining area with a table that rose from the floor.
“The ship does clean the table when it rises,” Huyang said, “so there’s no need to worry about the mess of training.”
Kendra nodded and watched the droid. He was about the size of the 3PO series protocol droids she’d seen in holos, but more elegant. Brushed gray-silver plating covered most of his frame, and he carried himself like some of the fancy aristocrats she’d seen in holos. Master Edith said he was thousands of years old, but that couldn’t possibly be true.
She examined the closet. It held both training lightsabers and what looked like real ones. There were wooden swords, helmets, and other training devices, including several training droids that Kendra had used.
Huyang said, “Two of those training droids came from the Jedi Temple on Coruscant and are older than you. Perhaps once we are on our way, we could do some training.”
“That would be nice,” she said. Her enthusiasm for the idea clashed with how sore she remained from the Tarnox and her anxiety about her abilities. But there was only one way to improve.
They could access the sleeping quarters, various storage compartments, and Huyang’s workshop from the training room. Kendra’s heart leapt when the droid showed it to her; everything one might need to make a lightsaber was in this room. She didn’t ask, though. Not yet.
Huyang showed her the blaster turret at the rear of the ship. “This was added to the ship well after its commissioning. Ahsoka has found it eminently useful.”
The training room, lightsabers, and the blaster turret reminded Kendra that this ship was for more than traveling around the galaxy. This was a warrior’s ship, a Jedi’s ship. Clean, tidy, and peaceful, it still starkly contrasted with her hut and life with Edith.
She followed Huyang to the cockpit. There were four chairs, with two at the controls and two providing support behind. Ahsoka sat in the command chair. Huyang joined Ahsoka in the front, and Kendra sat behind him.
“Are we ready, Huyang?”
“Yes, Lady Thornbrook has now seen the whole ship.”
“Good.”
“Make sure you can see the controls, Kendra.” Huyang spread his arm out to highlight the wide panels of buttons, scopes, and levers. Many were lit, and some blinked.
Ahsoka started the engines, and more lights came online as the ship reverberated with the power. “Will this be your first time in space?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Buckle in,” Ahsoka said.
Kendra did as she was instructed, though neither Ahsoka nor Huyang used their belts. They hadn’t bothered to secure themselves when transporting Master Edith’s goods, but escaping the planet’s gravity and going through the atmosphere took more energy. It would hold more turbulence. Or so she’d read.
Ahsoka lifted the ship off the ground. There was no turbulence at first as the ship seemed to glide forward and up.
They flew over Fernwood, and Ahsoka banked carefully so Kendra could see the town through the windows. The morning fog was dense and appeared thicker from above. Smoke from chimneys rose to meet it. Kendra could barely make out people walking around, doing their morning tasks. All of them looked up toward the ship.
So small, already. Soon they’d be too small to see from the sky. Her life on Celestoria had been small compared to the world, even more so to the galaxy. Was she ready?
“Can you sense any of them?” Ahsoka asked.
“No,” Kendra said. “I, uh, didn’t think about it.”
“Understandable,” Ahsoka said.
All Kendra had wanted to do for years was escape Celestoria and see the wider universe. She longed to play her part as a Jedi against the forces that would oppress people. Now that they were airborne and she watched Fernwood disappear out of sight behind the bulkhead, she felt a sudden wave of fear. Her stomach floated toward her neck in the same way it did when she jumped from a great height, before she used the Force to slow her fall.
What if she wasn’t a good Jedi? If she slowed Ahsoka down instead of helping? Could she return to Celestoria and Master Edith? She didn’t think she wanted a quiet life, but what if she changed her mind?
She blushed and glanced at Ahsoka. There was no doubt she could sense it, but thankfully, Ahsoka focused on the controls.
Huyang, the droid with no emotions or Force powers, must have guessed. “Many Jedi Padawans found leaving the safety of the Temple at first to be daunting. How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine,” Kendra lied. She saw the tiniest smile appear at the corners of Ahsoka’s lips.
They rose quickly, and Kendra would have bounced out of her seat if not for the belt holding her against the bumpy ride. The color of the sky changed to a blue she’d never seen before, even among the rare patches of blue wildflowers Master Edith enjoyed.
Ahsoka banked again, and Fernwood was gone, replaced by the greens of the forest with occasional brown patches of desert and strings of white topped mountain ranges. Large swaths of clouds blocked some areas, but at their height, everything above them was perfectly clear.
Light blue skies rose to meet ever-darkening air. A bright border highlighted the curvature of Celestoria and showed just how large the tiny backwater planet was. The light blue border met a darker blue, and then the blackness of space. On banking, the window showed entire continents, with hazy browns and greens.
Her seat vibrated violently as they continued through the atmosphere. She grabbed both armrests as she continued to stare. Her stomach continued to feel like it was in her throat.
“How are you doing back there?” Ahsoka asked.
“I’m not sure,” Kendra said.
“Do not throw up in the cockpit,” Huyang warned.
The ship’s gravity now pulled down toward the floor, and Kendra breathed through a brief spell of dizziness. They leveled off relative to the planet’s surface, and then there was a clear distinction between the dark vastness of space and the planet. The light from the sun lay behind them, and they accelerated toward Celestoria’s small moon. She’d read it was small. It didn’t look small.
“Are you watching the controls, Lady Thornbrook?” Huyang asked.
Kendra blinked, realizing she hadn’t looked inside the cockpit since takeoff. She’d also had her mouth open in astonishment the whole time. “No, I’m sorry.”
“We will review them again,” Huyang said. “It is important for Jedi to have a base understanding of how spacecraft work.”
“Of course, thank you.” Kendra leaned to the side to view the controls. They looked much like they did when they were on the ground, but a few more were blinking. There was no way she’d ever learn how to fly a ship.
The view out the window called for her attention. All the stars! She knew there were too many to count. She’d read about them, watched videos. That did nothing to prepare her for the quantity of bright white dots in space. The overwhelming vastness of the scene made her feel small and even more anxious, even as her awe thrust her desire to see more to new heights. None of the feelings helped her unsettled stomach.
She took several deep breaths and centered herself on the Force. It felt familiar, even in space.
Emotion, yet peace.
All her feelings combined into one confusing mess, but she reminded herself that was to be expected. She was in space. She was leaving home and her master. This is what the Force willed.
“Here we go.” Ahsoka checked a few more gauges before her. She pushed the throttle forward, and they jumped.
It didn’t feel like jumping, but the name felt apt based on what Kendra saw. All the points of light in front of them quickly elongated into white-blue lines zooming past them. The ship emerged into what she could only describe as a beautiful blue tunnel of swirling light.
Jedi did this all the time. They got to use hyperspace their entire lives, going from place to place to solve problems. Her mind swirled in amazement. She could do that now, too. Kendra was on a Jedi ship, flying through space, on her way to do Jedi things. Perhaps she should be more mature about it all, but she’d never been as happy. Even if she was also terrified.
Ahsoka leaned back and let go of the controls. “It will be just under six days until we reach Coruscant.”
Huyang turned to face Kendra. “As a warning, their light cycle is eleven hours and twenty-three minutes offset from Celestoria. I recommend moving your sleep-wake cycle later by an hour each day.”
“Thank you, Huyang,” Kendra said. Kendra continued to stare at the blue light outside the windows.
“I will return to cleaning up my workshop,” Huyang said. Apparently, some things had been knocked out of place during a rough landing days before their arrival on Celestoria. He jokingly had blamed Ahsoka. He left the two Jedi alone in the cockpit.
Kendra moved to Huyang’s seat. “This is beautiful.”
“It really is,” Ahsoka said. “It is easy to spend hours just watching.”
“Did this ever get boring? Space?”
“No. I never understood how some Jedi could remain at the Temple, studying all the time.”
Kendra nodded. She glanced at the controls and considered looking at them further, but that would wait for another time. She also didn’t want to accidentally touch something she shouldn’t, but wouldn’t admit to that.
“I think I’m going to get some water.” Ahsoka stood. “If you sit here long enough staring, you might go mad.”
“Really?” Kendra had never heard that.
“Probably not. It is an old tale. You’re far more likely to fall asleep. When you start to drift off, I bet Huyang would show you the training room to wake up again.”
“Thank you, Ahsoka.”
~~~~
Kendra stopped and stared in awe at the training room, again. She’d need to get used to it if she was going to walk through here. Huyang stood near the closet with the lightsabers, checking on a blinking panel.
“You are not in your workshop,” she said.
Huyang leaned back and made eye contact. “Ah, Lady Thornbrook. You indicated you might be interested in the training room, so I have been preparing some equipment.”
“Thank you,” she said. “I need to practice. And I’d love to hear about the history of the Jedi Order. Master Edith said you’d be able to help there.”
“Your master was much better at lightsaber combat than she was at history.”
“I’ve heard she was good at it.”
“Yes. She won at the tournament before becoming a Padawan. Did she tell you?”
“No.” Was this another secret?
“It was quite impressive. Her opponent, a taller boy named Gregory, disabled her lightsaber with a careful strike. He grew too confident then, and she used the Force to disarm him and use his own weapon against him to win the match.”
It was hard to imagine Master Edith having the agility to fight well, though the use of the Force did not surprise Kendra. “Wow.”
“Indeed.”
“What was this tournament?” Kendra asked.
“I suppose you’d have no reason to know,” Huyang said. “Have you heard of the trials?”
“Yes, to go from Padawan to Knight.” Kendra said.
“Quite right. Well before going from initiate to padawan, there was a tournament for the students to fight each other to show their abilities. Many knights and masters would attend, seeking their next apprentice.”
“And Master Orion chose my master after that?”
Huyang paused and appeared to consider something. “Oh dear.”
“What?”
“It is a matter of record, I suppose. Master Edith’s first master was a Jedi Knight named Connor Char. She served with him for only a few months before he was killed in an outer rim diplomatic mission. She was lucky to escape.”
“Oh.”
“This was almost a hundred years ago,” Huyang added. “Your master has lived a very long life. It is not surprising she has not been able to share everything.”
Most of what Kendra knew from her master was about the Jedi Order and her life just prior to the Clone Wars, the Wars, and the purge of all the Jedi at the hands of the Sith. She’d known of past apprentices, but it seemed too painful for Edith to speak of them often, so Kendra had not asked. The death of her first master must have deeply unsettled Edith.
“Would you like to train now?” Huyang asked.
The droid’s question pulled her from her thoughts. “I would like that.”
“Wonderful. Might I suggest we switch you to a training lightsaber or wooden blade? Or we can turn yours down to a training setting.”
“You don’t trust her, Huyang?” Ahsoka entered the room, eyebrow raised. She leaned against the wall.
“Lady Tano, I have not survived this long by allowing unknown younglings or padawans to swing deadly weapons at me voluntarily.”
Ahsoka waved her hand, indicating he should proceed.
“I’ll take a wooden blade.” Kendra had spent far more time with a wooden sword than with a lightsaber and didn’t want to jump all in the first session, especially with Ahsoka watching.
“Very well.” Huyang handed her one of the training blades. “Do you know the basic stances?”
“Yes.” Kendra held the weapon out in front of her, testing the weight. Several dents marred the blade, and the grip was darker than the rest, worn with frequent use.
“Excellent.” Huyang removed four cylinders that looked like lightsabers for himself. “I will deploy four holographic bars at various points around me. We will work through the stances, and you will use your lightsaber to attack the bars. I will collect data about your accuracy.”
“Right.” Four?
Two more arms extended from Huyang’s back. He clicked on the cylinders, and six-inch-wide holographic dim yellow tubes appeared, each extending around four feet.
“Set,” Huyang said.
The droid called out numbers as Kendra worked through the stances, grateful she knew all of the ones he referenced. Master Edith had taught Kendra these when she was six, after explaining the Jedi and formally taking her as an apprentice. They did not have holographic bars for training but Master Edith had marked spots on trees for her to target.
Huyang finished and returned the bars to neutral. Kendra relaxed.
Light yellow and dark orange rings appeared on the bars, identifying where Kendra’s blade struck. The dark orange indicated a good score, while the lighter rings were off angle or farther away. There were more oranges than yellows.
“Very good,” Huyang said. “I will increase the speed.”
They repeated the exercise several times, until Kendra had difficulty keeping up and sweat rolled down her back. More yellow circles appeared, but she maintained a higher count of orange circles throughout.
“Now,” Huyang said, “we will try out of order, and I will move more.”
This did not go as well. The trees on Celestoria she trained on had not moved, and she’d never been good at responding to the numbers. Most of the rings were orange after the next set.
“Let go of the numbers,” Ahsoka suggested. “Rely on the Force.”
Kendra nodded as she wiped her hands on her pants and prepared to go again.
Huyang repeated the drill, over and over, until Kendra’s tunic stuck to her with sweat and her hands cramped. Ahsoka would remind her to use the Force each time, and Kendra would increase her score. It still wasn’t good, but it improved.
“You have a solid mastery of the basic forms,” Ahsoka said, giving a break between sets. “You said you’ve practiced against blaster fire?”
Kendra opened and closed her hands, trying to work through the cramping. “Master Edith found or bought me four training droids over time. One of them died, but I can hold my own against three of them.”
“That’s good,” Ahsoka said. “You’re far more likely to face blaster fire than another Force user.”
“But they hunted Jedi at one time, right?”
“Yes, there were Inquisitors. The Sith, of course. There have always been dark side users, as well. They are rare. Blasters are more common.”
“I should have trained more.”
“No time like the present.” Ahsoka took out another wooden training sword. “Let’s go slow.”
Kendra nodded, the anxiety returning to her stomach. The idea of fighting someone using multiple other skills and lightsaber forms against her was theoretical until now.
The older Jedi circled Kendra, holding her blade in front of her, prepared. She did not attack, though.
What is she doing? Kendra wondered. She must be waiting for Kendra to begin. Kendra knew many ways to block and parry, but only a few attacks. She thought through her instruction and altered her feet so she was ready to advance while Ahsoka continued her slow circle.
Kendra stepped forward, extending her blade across Ahsoka’s front. It was too slow, and even if Ahsoka had done nothing, it did not come close to her body. Ahsoka stepped back, and Kendra’s blade went wide.
“You’ll need to be more assertive on the attack.” Ahsoka took a few more steps back, then darted forward with the same slash against Kendra.
It was too fast, and Kendra could tell it wasn’t as fast as Ahsoka could go. The blade touched her shoulder before her own sword even moved from her guard position. She jerked left at the sudden pain.
Kendra shook her arm out and then resumed her position. This time, she lunged at Ahsoka, but it threw her off balance, and when the Jedi stepped back, Kendra ended up face-first on the floor near Huyang. The droid offered her a hand up.
“Balance,” Ahsoka said.
This continued for several rounds. Kendra would attack and inevitably miss, though she did at least start hitting Ahsoka’s blade instead of air. Clearly, she wouldn’t last more than a few seconds in a real fight with the older woman.
Kendra settled into a more defensive position and stayed there as much as possible. She wasn’t going to win, but it meant each bout lasted longer before the training blade stung the padawan.
Ahsoka circled more widely and added pressure, which made Kendra move back and forth across a larger area. At one point, the older Jedi dropped her guard just enough, and Kendra made it through and touched her blade to Ahsoka’s side.
“Good,” Ahsoka said. “You need to take advantage of your opponent’s mistakes.”
“You naturally favor Form 3,” Huyang said.
“Yes,” Ashoka said. “I think that will be good for you to focus on.”
“Okay.” Kendra wasn’t sure what that meant, though she remembered Master Edith mentioning the Forms as numbers at some point. It didn’t seem the time to ask, though. Ahsoka attacked again.
She parried all the strikes, but Ahsoka held her hand forward, and Kendra suddenly found herself flying backwards.
“Oof!” Kendra grunted as the air left her lungs on contact with the wall. She dropped down to her knees.
Ahsoka lowered her sword. “We’ll need to work on that, too.”
Kendra stood up, a little dizzy. She’d been too busy thinking about the blade to defend against the Force. “I’m not sure how to focus on more than the fighting.”
“And yet you have very good focus on a single thing. I think you’ll find it much easier with more practice. Your meditation will serve you well there, even if you don’t see it now.”
She felt like there were many things she’d need to practice, and they weren’t even to lunch.
“You think too much.” Ahsoka took the training blade from Kendra and returned both to the closet. “But nice job. We’ll do it again this afternoon.”
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