Destined for Greatness
A Star Wars fan fiction.
By Count Mallet.
Attention: Passages enclosed in «angled brackets» have been translated from Togruti.
Members of the Tano tribe began the trip back to their settlement in the scrub lands. Tribal Togruta that lived near a large city periodically pooled their resources to obtain various supplies. At last, the tribe had enough credits or items they could barter. They traveled to Cover City and purchased some desperately-needed medical supplies.
The trip home was not going to be without incident, however. The buzzing in the adults' montrals signaled one thing: trouble was on its way. Sure enough, blaster-wielding pirates surrounded the group. Everyone knew that two Togruta sentinels with spears were no match for armed pirates.
The pirate leader approached the group. "Give me your credits," he demanded. The rest of his band aimed blasters at the Togruta group. They were ready to shoot on command.
"We have none, we used what we had for supplies," one of the Togruta replied.
The pirate leader circled the group slowly. All of a sudden, he grabbed the only Togruta youngling in the group.
"If you won't give us credits, we'll have to take something else instead," the pirate leader sneered.
The girl's parents looked on with horror. They had brought Ahsoka with them to introduce her to other species and to help break her shyness around off-worlders. The last thing they expected was to have their only youngling abducted.
«No! Please, not my daughter!» Ahsoka's mother pleaded.
The pirates, not understanding the native language, grew irritated. One of them grabbed the woman's rear lek from behind. He didn't realize he had committed a crime against a tribal Togruta. Still, he knew the woman would get the message after she let out a shriek of pain.
The group looked helplessly as the pirates left with the girl in tow.
«What will we do? We can't let them take her!» one of them said. The group then debated amongst themselves.
«We must hurry back to town. Our only hope is that the authorities will help us,» the group leader declared.
The Jedi master Plo Koon was set to land on Shili. The Jedi Council sent him to investigate the increasing number of pirate attacks on the planet. Normally, the Jedi Master Shaak Ti might travel to her home world for such a mission. Unfortunately, she was on her own mission at the moment and too far away to respond timely. Master Plo was one of the few other Jedi with a working understanding of Togruta culture and language, so he was sent in her absence.
He landed in Cover City at a traveler's depot. As he left his ship, he was approached by an attendant.
«Do you speak Basic?» Master Plo asked the attendant.
The man nodded. "How may I help you?" he asked with a slight accent.
Master Plo pulled out some credits. "Please refuel my ship and check for any other problems. If I incur any more expense, I will pay you when I return," he replied. "R-7, assist them with the diagnostics," he instructed his droid. R-7 chirped affirmatively.
As Master Plo walked through the street to consider his next move he sensed a group of Togruta running frantically. He took a neutral stance in their path to stop them in a non-threatening manner.
The Togruta, not expecting someone to block their path, immediately stopped.
«Sir, we need the authorities. Please move aside,» the leader said.
Master Plo, sensing their distress, attempted to assess the situation. «I wish to help. Can you tell me in Basic?» he asked.
The leader nodded affirmatively. "We were stopped by pirates. When they learned we had no credits, they abducted a youngling."
«Please, save our daughter. She's our only youngling,» Ahsoka's mother pleaded, ignoring the discomfort in her rear lek.
"I will do what I can," Master Plo stated. He turned to the leader again. "Is there someplace safe where you can wait?" he asked.
The leader nodded and pointed. "The building there. The merchant knows us and will let us wait," he replied. "But may my sentinels help? They know the scrub lands well," he asked.
Master Plo was about to decline the offer, but he realized the sentinels' knowledge of the area may prove valuable. "Very well, trail behind me and we will look for the youngling together."
«May the Spirits curse those pirates as the next meal of an akul!» Ahsoka's father muttered angrily.
As the group left, Master Plo sensed and understood the parents' anguish. It was logical to conclude the pirates had a ship in town. But, he knew he couldn't wait for them to return. There was no telling what they might do to their captive. His Kel Dorian nature motivated him to act decisively in this matter. Waiting was not an option.
Oddly, as he focused himself to the new task, he thought he felt a small pulse through the Force. "Can it be the youngling is Force-sensitive?" he thought to himself. This discovery could help him track the pirates.
Master Plo and the Togruta warriors slowly closed in on the pirates. Between his Force skills and the Togrutas' natural echolocation, they quickly bridged the gap.
"Gentlemen, when I engage the pirates, stay far enough away to avoid their blasters. When all shooting ceases, then you may rejoin me," Master Plo told the sentinels.
The sentinels gestured in a way that conveyed their understanding and agreement. As Master Plo finally reached the pirates, he ignited his lightsaber.
"What the... Jedi!" one of the pirates exclaimed at the unexpected adversary.
The pirates quickly drew their blasters to shoot down the Jedi. Master Plo deflected all the bolts quickly. Two pirates died when their blasters, set to kill, shot bolts that Master Plo deflected back at them. He then used the Force to grab two more off the ground and crash their heads together, knocking them unconscious.
Down to just two pirates, the leader's colleague shot frantically at the Jedi. Master Plo attempted a sun djem disarming slash. He inadvertently took the pirate's hand in the process. The pirate fell to the ground in pain.
The leader quickly grabbed Ahsoka, who screamed at the sudden action.
"One step closer and she gets it," the leader sneered.
Master Plo lowered his lightsaber and raised his free hand. Although he didn't close it, the pirate began to cough. The Jedi Master didn't intend to choke the pirate, but to incapacitate him just enough to loosen his grip. He extinguished his saber and quickly Force-pulled Ahsoka to him, much to her surprise.
«You may come now,» Master Plo called out to the Togruta sentinels.
One of them pulled a length of rope from a pouch and restrained the surviving pirates. The other drew his spear and prodded the bound pirates on their way as everyone returned to Cover City.
Master Plo told his escorts he'd return Ahsoka momentarily. First, he wanted to make sure she wasn't harmed in any way. Thankfully, a cursory medical scan from his datapad revealed no injuries.
"Ahsoka, do you ever feel like you can sense different things that others can't?" he asked her.
Ahsoka looked at the intimidating presence of the Kel Dor Jedi. How did he know she could sense his trustworthiness? She silently nodded.
"I have one last thing to check. It shouldn't hurt very much, if at all."
He pricked her upper arm. Ahsoka gave a small yelp, but didn't cry. She looked at him curiously as he watched the meter measure her midi-chlorian level. The meter stopped slightly beyond the cutoff for Force-sensitivity.
"Okay, Ahsoka, let's go see your parents now."
Ahsoka smiled as the pair returned to other room.
Ahsoka and Master Plo entered the main room. Ahsoka's mother now had a bacta patch covering the bruise on her rear lek. The pirates were secured in the opposite corner and guarded by a sentinel with a rather fierce look on his face.
"What will become of them?" Master Plo asked the leader.
"Their crimes happened in the scrub lands. Therefore they will face charges of kidnapping and inappropriate assault of a woman. We will judge them according to tribal law," he replied.
Ahsoka found her parents and quickly ran to them.
«Momma!» Ahsoka exclaimed.
Ahsoka's mother hugged her daughter tightly. «Little one!» she replied joyously.
"Is she fine?" The leader asked Master Plo.
"She is, however, I have learned something else," he told the leader.
"What is it?"
"She is Force-sensitive, and I'd like to take her so she can begin her path as a Jedi."
"Let me translate for her parents. I don't know if they'd allow this."
The two men walked together to Ahsoka's parents.
«This is Jedi Plo Koon, he rescued Ahsoka,» The leader told the couple.
«Thank the stars!» Ahsoka's mother replied in praise.
«The Spirits have blessed us,» Ahsoka's father added as he kissed his daughter.
«He also wishes to take her so she can train as a Jedi,» the leader stated.
Both parents looked at each other in disbelief.
«Do we have to?» Ahsoka's father asked.
«Let her choose her fate,» Ahsoka's mother stated after a moment.
The leader turned to Master Plo. "Ahsoka will use the selection ritual to decide her fate," he said.
Plo was unfamiliar with this specific ritual. However, he knew he had to respect the local customs.
"Please explain it to me," he requested.
"Ahsoka will be placed in between you and her parents. Whichever of you she chooses will represent her choice."
Upon hearing this, all the Togruta, aside from the guard, gathered around. The leader took Ahsoka's hand and walked her into the middle of the makeshift circle of people.
Ahsoka looked around, slightly confused. She wanted to see her mother again; she obviously had been upset at her abduction. But she still sensed the kindness and trust in the man who rescued her. Her parents did mention something about being with different species... was this what they meant?
Ahsoka blinked her bright blue eyes a couple of times. She took a deep breath and slowly toddled over to Master Plo. She stopped for a minute, looking at him, before wrapping her tiny orange fingers around one of his.
«She has chosen,» the leader announced. Most of the other Togruta continued to look intently at the girl.
«Why are you sad, dear?» Ahsoka's father asked his mate.
«I'm not. I was sad when I thought I'd never see her again. But knowing she chose the path of a Jedi brings tears of joy,» she responded before nuzzling up against him.
The leader turned to Master Plo. "As the representative of the Tano tribe, I thank you for your help today. When I tell our chief what happened today, he will undoubtedly hold you in high honor for all you've done," he said.
He then looked down at Ahsoka. "You have chosen your path. May the Spirits be with you and may the echoes guide you," he told her.
«Ahsoka, I am proud to be your father. Someday, may you be the great Jedi you are destined to be,» Ahsoka's father whispered to her. He then hugged his daughter one last time.
«You will bring honor to your people, Ahsoka; it is your destiny,» Ahsoka's mother said one last time, trying to hold back more tears.
Ahsoka rejoined Master Plo. He then gave the members of the Tano tribe a formal bow of respect before leaving with Ahsoka.
As he returned to the ship, Plo finished paying for his ship's fuel and maintenance. He opened the hatch and then took Ahsoka's hand once more.
"Come, little Soka. Let's go home," he told her.
She smiled and looked curiously at his vessel and all its instrumentation. Finally, Master Plo helped her into the cockpit and secured her in place.
"R-7, set a course for Coruscant," Master Plo instructed his astromech droid.
R-7 warbled an acknowledgment and set the navicomputer for the requested destination. Ahsoka looked curiously at the astromech and then at Master Plo. The Kel Dor sensed he'd be answering a lot of questions on the trip back to the Jedi Temple. ▄
Disclaimers: Lucasfilm Limited owns all Star Wars characters & concepts.
Commentary: I've always wondered how Master Plo discovered Ahsoka. Seeing the young version of Ahsoka in The Gathering pretty much guaranteed I would write this story at some point. It's amazing how one brief scene triggered this story idea. Also, in response to the latest episode in this current arc, I decided to have Master Plo readily defeat some pirates. Athough my pirates aren't necessarily Weequay, I think they got their just dessert for their treachery here.
With all the Togruta wearing shoes in the scene that inspired this story, I can now see why Ahsoka does the same. I also wondered if her parents were part of the group. Also, I wanted Ahsoka to actively choose to go to Coruscant and begin her life as a Jedi. I've always had the impression that parents were required to hand over their younglings once they were found to be Force-sensitive. I didn't want to decision here to be forced upon Ahsoka's parents (no pun intended). And, I wanted to show Master Plo showing respect for a planet's local customs.
