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 24 here.
Chapter 25: War and Peace
Huyang had been correct. By day’s end, Ahsoka had talked a gigantic space whale into letting them land in its mouth. Then it jumped to hyperspace. Or Huyang thought it was hyperspace, as the whales had no hyperdrives. They also weren’t sure where they were going, though they hoped to follow Sabine. Kendra did not get sick again, at least.
After another nap, she returned to the cockpit. She wanted to know more about the controls, this time without a checklist.
Huyang sat in the right-rear seat, reviewing the instrument panels. “Ahsoka is training.”
“I know.” She dropped into the co-pilot’s seat. “I just wanted to see how it was going up here and look at the controls some more, to prepare.”
“Don’t touch anything,” Huyang said. “I have no idea what it would do to us in this state.”
“The maybe-hyperdrive state?”
“Yes. I have not determined the mechanism by which the whales entered. I do think we are in actual hyperspace, which is something. This raises many questions about hyperdrive travel.”
Kendra started with the deflection shields, as those had been an issue earlier. She didn’t think she could fix them if they broke again, but she felt more comfortable with their on/off switch and the alarm panel.
She moved onto the navigation screens, which were entirely useless in hyperspace. But she managed to scroll through the screens that would be useful in regular space, familiarizing herself with their default order and options.
Ship status was next. These were odd as they were in hyperspace, but their own hyperdrive was not active. Life support, artificial gravity, and other systems checked out as normal. The backup systems for the sensors indicated those were working, as well.
Kendra asked, “Do you know when we will get there?”
“Well,” Huyang said, “we do not know where ‘there’ is for certain.”
Although the droid had gone along with the plan, he’d had some reservations about its lack of direction. “Let’s assume it is this other galaxy.”
“We don’t know where in that galaxy.”
“The center?” Kendra suggested.
“Likely a black hole, but I have already run some theoretical calculations. Unfortunately, they assume we know speed.”
“We don’t?”
“No. Different engines have different ratings, and the whales do not have engines.”
“But you have run some theoretical calculations,” Kendra said.
“I can make some guesses as to the speed of Morgan’s hyperdrive ring, but it is just an educated guess. We could then assume the Purgil are traveling at the same speed. And we could assume a straight path to the other galaxy, which does not seem likely. But given all that, the range for our arrival is between 3 days and 3.14 years.”
“What?!” That was not the answer Kendra expected.
“The low end assumes a very impressive speed. The high end is less optimistic.”
“Great.” Kendra suddenly felt grateful Chopper had kept loading up food. “What happens if we aren’t going the same speed as the ring?”
“We might get there earlier. Or later. Again, assuming we are going to the same place at all. I am hopeful the purgil will not take three years, though, as surely they need to eat.”
A series of problems entered Kendra’s mind, all more dire than the last, but she calmed herself.
Emotion, yet peace.
Ignorance, yet knowledge.
Passion, yet serenity.
Chaos, yet harmony.
Death, yet the Force.
Kendra asked, “You said the archives spoke of Peridea?”
“Yes, they did.”
“I guess they didn’t say how long it took to get there?”
“No,” Huyang said. “This is not surprising as the tales were not considered accurate.”
“Great.” The Force wanted her to follow Ahsoka, so this must be the right way, even if it took three years. Even if it didn’t lead to Sabine. Then again, it had come to her when she was out cold following a concussion.
~~~
She found Ahsoka in the training room, lightsabers activated, moving through the portions of a Jedi form. She did not pause for Kendra or take her focus from her movements, which were far more graceful than a woman who should have been dead should make.
A blue-tinted, recorded hologram of an attractive young man spoke as he walked in circles around her. “I won’t always be there to look out for you. If we get separated or something happens, you need to be able to make it on your own. Don’t be afraid. Just remember what I taught you and trust your instincts. I know you can do this, Ahsoka.”
The recorded man bowed, and Ahsoka bowed back as the recording faded. Ahsoka took a few breaths and collected herself. “That was my master,” she said to Kendra. “Anakin Skywalker.”
Kendra said nothing, unease rising in her stomach again. “Anakin became a Sith Lord.”
“He made twenty or more of these recordings,” Ahsoka said. “This was his last one.”
Kendra said, “That was… thoughtful.”
“He was a good master.” Ahsoka pulled the data recording from its slot at the control panel and returned it to the training closet. She pulled two wooden training swords out. “How is your eye?”
She’d focused on her own healing while meditating, and the swelling had reduced significantly. “Sore, but improving.”
Ahsoka nodded as she handed Kendra one of the blades. “Would you like to talk about Baylan?”
“Er… What about?”
Ahsoka looked rested and calm, not at all annoyed at Kendra’s hesitation. “You said Baylan told you to stay safe. What else did he tell you?”
Kendra’s pulse quickened. She did want to talk to Ahsoka about all this, but she wasn’t prepared. She stalled. “He knew my master.”
“He would have, yes.”
“He knew I was a healer.” Kendra spun the blade to her side, hopeful they could get to training.
Ahsoka didn’t move as she waited for more. She reminded Kendra of Master Edith.
The patient, yet expectant look prompted Kendra to duck her head. She lost control of the spinning hilt and grabbed it before it could clatter to the floor. “I’m not any good at fighting.”
“Did he say that, or is that what you heard?”
Kendra’s ears reddened. “It was implied.”
“I think Baylan is very good at saying what needs to be said in order to throw off his opponent.” Ahsoka moved to the center of the training area. “He might even be able to sense feelings and thoughts, and then use that information in conversation.”
“Oh.” Kendra followed.
Ahsoka tilted her head as her eyes dropped to the floor. “He spoke very aggressively to me. Did he to you?”
“No, Kendra said. He’d seemed a comforting presence on a dark and alien world. “He was almost friendly.”
“And I can guess he told you other things to help you.” Ahoska made eye contact with Kendra and held it. “Things about me.”
Kendra forced herself not to look away, but her words felt locked in her chest.
“You don’t need to be embarrassed, Kendra. I fell for it too. I let him stoke my anger until I could no longer fight effectively. That’s how I lost.”
Kendra made the words come out, but only in a whisper. “And he used my fear.”
“Exactly.” Ahsoka spun her own blade, slowly. “I’m worried if we don’t talk about what he told you about my master, it could affect us in the future. Our ability to fight together. To help Sabine.”
She didn’t want to tell Ahsoka. She was afraid it was true. “He said Anakin was a Sith.”
“He became one, yes. He helped destroy the Jedi Order and abandoned the Republic to build the Empire.”
“Why?” Kendra asked.
“Fear.” Ahsoka stopped the rotation on her training blade. “Fear is the path to the Dark Side.”
“Master Edith said that, too.”
“It is true, must as we don’t like to admit it. Most people don’t… get as bad as him. He was very powerful in the Force.”
Kendra stared at her training blade, thinking. Master Edith talked about the dark side like a constant threat, but Kendra had never understood it. How could someone be so afraid that they became evil? But, she’d never had much fear on Celestoria. “What was he afraid of?”
“I don’t know for certain tipped him over the edge,” Ahsoka said. “But he was afraid to lose the people he loved.”
“Attachments,” Kendra said. “That’s why we avoid attachments.”
“Do we?” Ahsoka asked. “Will you be sad when Master Edith dies?”
“Yes. That’s different, though.”
“How?”
Kendra had no answer.
“So, you’re attached to your master. That is normal and good. Would you kill innocents to prevent her death?”
“Of course not,” Kendra said. “She wouldn’t want that, either.”
“No. So you can love someone and still be willing to let them go.” Ahsoka tapped her sword on the ground, and her voice softened. “Anakin was not. He would do whatever was necessary.”
Kendra thought back to Evan and the vine cough. All of Master Edith’s rules about healing. Kendra’s argument against letting people die. Had her master been warning her against this very scenario? But that was to save lives, not take them.
“Baylan said it must have left a mark,” Ahsoka said. “A lot of things left a mark. I spent years fighting it, afraid of it. What did it mean about me? I’m no Sith Lord, but I’ve been in more than my share of destruction. I’ve been too afraid to face it, and that fear led to anger.”
Kendra had been afraid for Evan, and for all of Fernwood. She’d become angry with Master Edith over that fear. Fear led to her defeat at the hands of Baylan. He’d used her fear against her, just as he had with Ahsoka.
“This information has to bother you to learn. I don’t blame you at all.” Ahsoka tapped her sword against Kendra’s. “I hope you didn’t come because of what Baylan said about my master?”
“No, the Force really did tell me to go with you. I think, anyway. It sounded like Master Edith.”
“Also, you couldn’t just leave Sabine with a possible Sith.”
Kendra stuttered.
“It was a joke,” Ahsoka said. “A bad one.”
“You don’t tell many jokes.”
Ahsoka shrugged. “I hope that changes, too. Other questions?”
Kendra thought for a moment. Ahsoka had never been so open. “What happened before, with you and Sabine?”
Ahsoka didn’t reply immediately. Her eyes scanned the ceiling, and she shifted uncomfortably. “Another mark. One I’m not proud of. Sabine’s family was killed by the Empire at the end of the war, along with most of her planet. I was concerned her anger would make her fall.”
“Like Anakin?”
“Like Anakin. But Sabine isn’t Anakin. I failed her.” Ahsoka paused. “It may be why we’re now in this situation to begin with.”
“I was going to blame the space whales,” Kendra said.
Ahsoka chuckled. “A joke.”
“Huyang says Sabine doesn’t have much Force potential at all. How would she have turned that to the Dark Side?”
“Huyang doesn’t know everything.”
“Does Sabine know about your master?”
“She does. I should have told you earlier.”
“But I’m not your padawan,” Kendra said.
“No, but you are a padawan, and you are entrusted to my care for training. More importantly, you’re stuck on a ship with me, traveling to another galaxy. I’m sorry.”
“It was my choice,” Kendra said. “Why did the Force tell me to come with you?”
“We may never know. We can guess, though. I had a few years of relative peace at the Jedi Temple before the Clone Wars. Sabine and Ezra have never really had peace. Most of our lives have been involved in war. You have not.”
“Probably why Baylan thought I’d be of no use here.”
“If I’m right, Baylan was using your own thoughts and feelings against you. And you’re wrong. Yes, you must learn to fight and may need to, but your baseline is peace. And that is a far better baseline to have, for all of us.”
“Assuming I don’t get us all killed.”
“I think you’ll find you are better at fighting than you think, especially when you’re not up against old Jedi who have known nothing but war.” Ahsoka stepped back and finally raised her blade. “In the meantime, would you like to practice?”
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