Disclaimer: Star wars franchise belongs to many people and companies from Gorge Lucas to Disney. Ratchet and Clank is an iconic, forefront duo of Insomniac games.
Story summary: Kenobi's padawan finally arrives to the Resolute. As the new addition to the team feels more at ease in the new environment, Ahsoka feels turmoil she never had before – not on the long run.
A/N: inspired by the fact that both Obi-Wan Kenobi (from 2008 Clone wars TV series) and Ratchet (from Ratchet and Clank franchise) share the same voice actor.
Birds of a feather flock together
By your-biohazardous-friend
Ahsoka watched bewildered as Obi-Wan Kenobi paced in his own, dignified, Jedi master way. She thought that The Negotiator was never anxious, never nervous. But here he was – instructing Commander Cody, once more, about up-coming cargo ship. Of course, Cody knew the procedures by heart. Heck! It was like teaching old man how to spit! The commander, due his flash training, was well aware since he was just a toddler. What made that vessel so special tho, wasn't crates or new batch of clone troopers. Ship with that kind of cargo would be treated just like any other that came and went to the Kra-Niec outpost.
That ship had Kenobi's new padawan on board.
Normally the padawan choosing was a great deal for both sides - younglings and their future masters alike. Jedi acolytes were dreaming, hoping and competing against each other to win respect or at least spike interest from their supposed future teachers. There was whole ceremony to it, sometimes more complex and subtle than any mating ritual known to a man. However, since the war started it all changed, padawans and their masters were paired at random at best. It almost seemed like that holoNET program – the dating game – Ahsoka caught her troopers watch the other time.
The ship arrived just in time for Kenobi to not pop a vessel. It gracefully landed at the hangar bay. The doors opened with characteristic hisss of depressurizing hydraulics. the clones tackled the boxes, at the same time the hatch touched the floor.
Ahsoka craned her neck for better view. She wasn't expecting anyone in particular. Of course, she remembered few faces and had her few picks among them that would be a blast to have in the team on a daily basis, but it wasn't as if she was hoping to meet someone in particular.
Who came out of the underbelly of the ship, however, wasn't anyone she expected. The new Jedi learner, Kenobi was so impatiently awaiting for the past few days, was small, thin and somewhat scrawny looking fella; covered in yellow fur with brown stripes. His enormous ears, just as his long brush-like tail, twitched at every sound that surrounded him.
Ahsoka remembered that boy from the Temple, he always stayed close to Talwyn – the freshly knighted Jedi female. He was that yellow smudge at the corner of her eyes at the dim corridors or yellow dot cutting against gray shelves of the library. He wasn't especially gifted in the force nor he was a good fencer, not on the long run. Exceptional Master was going to teach an average apprentice.
Great…
Ahsoka felt a pang of jealousy bubbling in her stomach as her peer jogged happily to his new master's side to exchange honorific bows. The kid's green eyes were open wide in awe, Ahsoka wandered if he even remembered how to blink. As weird and contradicting as it sounded, deep inside the Togruta hoped she would stay both Anakin's and Obi-Wan's padawan till her knighthood. Kenobi was a rock of their team and last line of defense against Anakin's bravado getting out of hand. Now, she had a feeling that this new padawan learner would ruin the ecosystem that was growing and flourishing steadily over the past few months of her apprenticeship.
"That's how the jedi version of a shiny looks like" Ahsoka playfully elbowed captain Rex and pointed her slender finger toward the new Jedi acolyte.
The man nodded in agreement, she could feel the smirk concealed by the helmet. The clone captain would definitely pass the message forward to other troopers. Who knew, maybe the new, shiny padawan would experience a little bit of innocent, customary hazing?
Obi-Wan and the kid walked side by side toward the rest of the team; upon reaching them Kenobi started the official part of the introductions.
"this is my good friend Anakin Skywalker…" Obi-Wan started with his former padawan, Skywalker nodded politely in response. "And his apprentice Ahsoka Tano" Ahsoka waved her hand half-heartedly "the man with Jaig eyes painted on his helmet is the captain of 501st and Anakin's most trusted soldier - Rex," the clone came to attention and saluted in response "on his right, stands my right hand man - Cody" another salute, more stiff and formal. "Anakin, Ahsoka, gentlemen. This is Ratchet – my new apprentice,"
Ahsoka rolled her eyes, annoyed with the official tone. When she first arrived, everyone was making fun of her – she was a youngling, she even heard one of the troopers call her a gremlin! Why no one called this guy some names? Like space rat, fur ball or… or something! Anything?
Kenobi watched Ahsoka for a while, as if the man could read her thoughts. He opened his mouth to speak, then glanced at his new student, who was already trying to coax one of the troopers to show him his blaster, and decided otherwise.
Ratchet did not eat with them; he excused himself, claiming he already had his meal on his way to the Resolute and decided to take a short stroll down the ship's corridors. Ahsoka was glad, as most likely it would be their last meal in old way of things. She wished the boy would just disappear. But even when Ratchet wasn't physically present at the table, he was still there nonetheless.
"From what I managed to gather from the archives, Ratchet is a sole survivor of a purge of his kin" Obi-Wan said between the spoonfuls of salty soup and mouthful of stale bread "Lombaxes were exceptionally advanced species, especially when it came to gadgets and tinkering – so I guess I've finally got someone to fill in Anakin's spot."
The chosen one rolled his eyes, smirking.
"yet even their most sophisticated minds couldn't win against brute force of Cragmites"
"Cragmites? Didn't they have an empire of some sort, at some point?" Ahsoka cut in, remembering a short note written by someone at the margin of one of the Jedi history textbooks.
"yes, they did" Anakin agreed, turning to her "there is whole conspiracy surrounding their conflict with Lombaxes. As that even with all the force and weaponry Cragmites had at the time, the stunt they pulled was impossible"
"what do you mean?"
"about fourteen- fifteen years ago the whole Lombax population disappeared overnight. Poof!-" Anakin made gesture with his hands imitating a blast of smoke "just like that. no bodies, no struggle - as if they all just vanished into thin air"
Ahsoka gasped. How could such a devastating weapon even exist? The Togruta female hoped that Separatists would never get a hold of such device.
"some people believe that Cragmites didn't kill Lombaxes at all" Obi-Wan added, seeing the dread on the padawan's face "but that the latter created a device that teleported them… elsewhere"
"teleported?"
"yes, most people believe they all teleported to the different dimension; others - that they just improved hyperspace travel which took them farther than any ship ever travelled."
"What do you think really happened?"
"Any guess is good at this point, Ahsoka"
"to sum up, Snips, Ratchet is the only Lombax left; be it genocide or space-travel"
"he's all alone in the universe" Ahsoka murmured to herself.
She quickly finished her meal and excused herself. With a nod of approval from both masters, the girl left the mess hall. It must have felt terrible knowing to be the only one in the universe. She would feel terrible being the only one Togruta left. But what filled the girl with more dread was that, if the Lombaxes really just travelled further into the space, why did they left one person behind? Was it because he was a force sensitive or was it an oversight?
A cacophony of laugher brought her out of her train of thought. She peered into the hangar. Inside, a multi-legion group of clones was chanting encouragements to someone in the middle of the circle. Suddenly a blast was shot to the air, half of the men shouted in approval, the other in anguish. So on the side there was also a bet going. Ahsoka even heard one clone throwing his helmet to the ground, grunting something along the lines of 'showe it up your arsenal, Dixit!' - Whatever that was suppose to mean.
"come on! Blaster's too easy!" Hardcase stated, passing through another type of weapon to the middle of the circle "let's see how you will handle that"
The roaring of voices erupted, trying to shout one over another. Ahsoka squeezed between the swarm of plastoid armours to get to the front line. There, in the middle of the hassle, sitting on the cargo box, was Ratchet. Ration bar hung between his lips like an unlit cigar. His glowed hands were dismantling and assembling the device with ease. He really knew how to tinker with gadgets, as the Lombax was performing the task blindfolded.
