Aksokas' Beginning
By Jhayk' Sulliy
Disclaimer:
*All characters, sentient alien species, locations, and titles are copyrighted material of Lucasfilm LTD. and I do not own them, only wish to borrow them for the price of enjoyment. All rights reserved.
* All locations, names, titles, and events, are fictitious, no matter how similar to real life situations.
*The views of this righter are his own, and do not reflect in any way the views of the George Lucas, and/or his staff
*I am sorry for such a long disclaimer….
The bell chimed at six a.m. standard galactic time, and Ahsoka Tano threw open her eyes with wild excitement. Today was the day. She would finally start her new life as a padawan. Ahsoka could barely keep the excitement to herself, as she hurriedly and excitedly packed her clothes and small amount of belongings. In these was an Akul-Tooth Headdress, which displayed Ahsokas' abilities in the hunt to others of her species. The Akul was the only creature that Togrutas feared, and to kill one at such a young age, was an amazing task to be committed by one so young. Other items in Ahsokas' possession, as the Jedi Code dictated that she could possess very few, was her newly build lightsaber. This lightsaber followed the design of her new masters'. The Jedi Council allowed her images of her new masters' lightsaber, so that the new padawan could complete the age-old respectful tradition of padawans creating their lightsabers to resemble that of their masters. Other objects included Ahsokas' seldom worn Jedi robe. Ahsoka never truly liked the robes, and felt that they constricted her, and put her at an advantage if she ever needed to join a fight at the spur of the moment.
As Ahsoka packed quickly, she kept letting out little squeals of excitement that would sometimes stir her roommate. As Ahsoka was nearly finished packing, the alarm on her roommates' clock went off.
"Morning Ahsoka…." said Ahsokas' roommate, groggily. It wasn't early, but Ahsokas' roommate enjoyed the rush of doing things last-parsec, and so would awake, with only half an hour to get ready for the day. Being only eleven years of age, Ahsokas' roommate was only just of the age where Jedi Masters would begin to pick a padawan, and after Ahsoka moved out, to the padawan quarters, the her roommate would get a new partner to share the small space with.
"Morning!" Ahsoka accidentally yelled back. "Todays the day! I'm finally going to get to meet my new master. I'm finally going to be a Jedi!" said Ahsoka, excitedly.
"Mmmmh, good for you..." said the roommate, absent mindedly. Then, as the roommate realized what Ahsoka had said, she jumped out of bed, and went to congratulate her ex-roommate.
"Ohhh Ahsoka, I'm so excited for you!" "I hope you have fun, you must remember to keep contact with me."
"I'll try. I'm going into a War, remember, I don't think I'll always have time to keep in contact." said Ahsoka.
"Oh yeah, the Clone Wars….well, good luck! Don't get killed!" At this, the two roommates shared a good laugh. But when Ahsoka looked over to the clock, it showed that Ahsoka only had fifteen parsecs, before she had to go to her transport, which left at Seven AM, for Christophsis, which was, at the moment, an active battlefield.
"Oh my gosh, I've got to go! I'm so sorry maybe we can talk when I get back." Said Ahsoka, as she quickly hugged her roommate and ran out the door.
Ahsoka ran to the Temple Hanger where she found Master Plo Koon, and Master Yoda waiting for her, alongside a LAAT.
"Glad to see you could make it, little Soka, are you ready for your trip?" Greeted, Master Plo, Ahsokas' oldest friend.
"Yes, I think I am." Replied Ahsoka, nervously.
"Do not fret, young one. Clear your mind and peace you will find. Like many others, you are. For 800 years, have I seen padawans off to their masters. No different, is now." Advised Jedi Grand Master Yoda.
"Thank you Master Yoda." Replied Ahsoka.
As Ahsoka boarded her transport, she waved good-bye to her masters, and sat down next to another clone trooper.
"Your first time in war?" said one of the troopers.
"Yeah, a little nervous, you going to Christophsis too?" asked Ahsoka.
"Yep, my third time out to that hell known as war. Can't wait to get out there and get me some more of them Clankers. I'm no Shinie anymore" boasted the trooper.
"Ah, you'll always be Shinie to me, Grits" said one of the more scarred troopers.
"High, I'm known as Scar around here." Said the older Clone. "I'm more of a veteran, you'd could say, they'd never get me promoted, I like the battle too much."
"Hey, Ahsoka, I'm the new padawan." Said Ahsoka, still nervous. Shinie, Clankers? All these terms were new to her, but Ahsoka also concluded a long time ago that she'd learn a lot, she just didn't expect to learn so much on her first day.
The LAAT landed at the Republic Naval Docks, where all the warships in the Galaxy called their berth. Here, Ahsoka could see gigantic double-bridged warships, which she knew as the Venators. Ahsoka was briefed on the war slightly, but in all honesty, she didn't really pay attention when she was being briefed. Closer, she saw smaller, ships, with a single bridge. These had a bulgy bottom, and the bridge seemed to have no windows, only a large black cover over the front portion of the bridge. These were the Acclimators, the original warships of the opening battles of the Clone Wars. Ahsoka was overwhelmed.
"You, ah…padawan Ahsoka Tano. You have been issued to the Acclimator on the right here. It'll be heading for Christophsis." Said one of the Clone Commanders awaiting the troops.
"Okay, uh…thanks." Said the new padawan.
"You can board immediately." Replied the Commander. "Right then, the rest of you men, fall in and report to…"
The rest of the Commanders' speech faded out as Ahsoka boarded the ship. She was immediately lost. As soon as she could, Ahsoka asked for directions to the bridge. Once there, Ahsoka was one again overwhelmed with what she had before her. The orderly chaos of pre-flight checks, and mad dashing's of clones, commanders, and technicians were incredible. Ahsoka didn't know what to make of it. Once again lost, Ahsoka asked what looked like one of the more experienced clones where the commander's quarters were.
At the commanders' quarters, Ahsoka was again lost. There was hardly anyone in this part of the ship, save for the few commanders who already were on board.
"Erm, excuse me, Commander, uh…I'm the new padawan, Ahsoka Tano, do you know where I can find my quarters?"
"Yes, miss!" "I can take you there right away." Replied the commander, surprisingly formally. The other clones seemed more laid back, but because this one was an officer, Ahsoka suspected that the clone would be more formal, to keep up a reputation.
"Here you are, miss." Said the commander.
"Thank you, uh that'll be all?" Ahsoka said the last part a little nervously, she wasn't sure that as a Jedi padawan, whether or not she outranked clones of her own stature, but to her surprise, the clone commander left without a word.
Ahsoka looked at the door, it crudely, as if it had been written last minute, had "CDR Tano" printed on the label. Ahsoka opened the door, and walked in. She knew it wasn't going to be a long flight, so she only laid out her robe, and put her belongings on the dresser. She looked around the room. It was small, smaller than the singles she had looked at, before choosing a Barriss Offee, to be her new padawan roommate for a double-dorm room at the Temple. Here, there wasn't even a mirror, simply a bed and small dresser consisting of three drawers.
Ahsoka lay on the bed. She figured that she might as well get some sleep, before the battle, or at least rest a little. Ahsoka slept, and awoke at a rapping at the door.
"Commander Tano, we have arrived at Christophsis, we will be landing shortly." Came the voice of the officer who introduced her to her room.
Ahsoka stretched, and gathered her things, belted her lightsaber, and rushed to the transport. There, she found several of the clones she had already met, including Grits and Scar.
"Hey, Grits, it's the new padawan."
"Hey guys. This the transport?" asked Ahsoka.
"One of them." Replied Grits. "We'll set up a perimeter, while more come in later. You're ridin with us, we're going to General Skywalers' and General Kenobis' front. There, you'll meet your new master."
"Cool, thanks." Said Ahsoka. All nervousness had left her, she was ready to become a padawan, and she was excited again.
As Ahsoka boarded the LAAT, the doors closed, locked, and the shutters on the doors did the same. A red light interior light came on, and the pilots' voice came on over the intercom, "We'll be landing shortly, everyone lock and load!"
As the LAAT started up, Ahsoka could hardly wait. She could hardly wait to meet her new master, Anakin Skywalker.