LITTLE SECRETS By Kondoru
Standard Disclaimers
Thanks to JP for Betaing
Part of an AU…Which seemingly has no structure as yet
Bail Organa vets a potential tutor for his children. A very irregular tutor for very irregular kids. Ashoka has very big confession.
Ashoka Tano was reluctant to trust anybody
Bail Organa wanted Fulcrum.
He wanted her to teach the Twins the ways of the Force. The Togruta was reluctant. But he knew she wold be a good teacher for them…Since the Jedi were unsuitable and Darth Vader…Well…
Bail Organa had indeed discussed this with his semi-willing guest. "Snips would be a good teacher." Darth Vader had told him during one of his compulsory social visits. (Left to his own sulky devices, the crippled Sith would have completely gone into seclusion. His doctors did not permit that). "I mean, if she wanted to be. Ashoka isn't the trusting type."
"Would you speak to her?"
He had shaken his head sadly. "She wants to kill me."
Bail had laughed. "Do you think I would let Lady Tano knock off my most useful informer?" He replied.
Darth Vader laughed his gruff laugh in return. "I thought I was your biggest liability?"
"Only when you refuse to take your medicine." Bail had told his pet monster. "Now how do I make a good impression on Ashoka Tano?"
So following Vaders helpful advice, Bail Organa had invited the evasive Togruta to a `Non Commitment High Tea.` hosted in the Organa's chalet in a very Select mountain resort on Alderaan. It was a quiet place, with pleasing natural views and better still, was a continent away from Darth Vaders even more Select hermitage. Much as the Viceroy had hoped to reunite Master and Padawan, certain criteria had to be met first.
Such as integrating her into his nowadays rather expanded family first.
He met Ashoka Tano in the evening room, a quiet place decorated with hunting trophies (Bail had spent the afternoon before in moving them around, concentrating the collection on fearsome predators such as the Togruta preferred, rather than harmless beasts). And with a big picture window with a stunning view.
Tea was fairly simple, a good platter of meat products, and bread and biscuit, also cheeses and some of those nice home-made preserves that Darth Vaders Aiders and Abetters liked to supply him with. (The defunct Sith Lord was getting used to eating again). Alderaan high tea often had cakes or scones…But a Togruta would not like sweet things.
(It was his job, amongst many others, as Viceroy to see that the Queens guests were comfortable and happy. Bail had not envisioned performing that service for someone like Ashoka, whose personal needs were both simple and very exacting).
He had also set up a quiet bedroom, with open fire and a sleeping mat, should she wish to remain overnight. He knew the Togruta seldom stayed long in one place though.
On time, Ashokas beat up old craft landed. Bail stood at the top of the steps, the customary position to see an honoured guest in.
Ashoka trudged on up the hill, bag over shoulder, lightsabres on hips.
The Togruta had changed from when the viceroy had seen her last. It had been over sixteen years after all. Gone was the perky adolescent with the attitude problems. Now Ashoka was a fully grown member of her species; big, muscular, with fully developed montrals and lekkus. Her eyes bore an ancient pain. The Viceroy had vetted Fulcrum very carefully. This woman had spent the best part of her life in combat, combat and hiding from combat. In recent years Ashoka had returned to her homeworld…And he knew she did not fit in well with her tribe.
She was dressed in ancient Jedi armour over buckskin trousers. On top was a nerf wool cloak. An embroidered sash encircled her waist. All over she was decorated with fetish pouches and trophies. Ashoka was now the Tano tribes Shaman…A position that always edged a fine line between honour and outcast. Bail thought the role fitted her well.
Ashoka had greeted her patron with warmth, but no real affection. (Bail knew she had trust issues). They had made small talk, while she polished off the meat platter with tidy and economical efficiency. Ashoka listened more than she spoke, and balanced every word as if she had one ear open for informers. Bail had noted silently her actions when she came in. Ashoka had scanned the room for traps and enemies, and kept aware of a potential escape route. She knew she could trust the Alderaanian royal family, indeed it had been Bail who had recruited her for the Alliance; and she knew there were no enemies on Alderaan. (Except maybe one; and he was safely chained up).
But she did open up. Ashoka had a little confession for Bail
"I will let you into a little secret." Ashoka gave a sad smile. She shook her head, lekkus swinging. "Anakin never wanted a Padawan…Let alone me." The Togruta woman told Bail. "And the Jedi Council never intended I become a Padawan."
"No?"
"I was destined for the Exploratory corps." She told him. "Not the Knights."
Both knew that explorers enjoyed far less status in the Order than the Knights. Every youngling's ambition was to become a Knight. Any other path and you were a failure.
"As part of that the Council sent me off on courier runs. One of them was to Christopheris, where Knight Kenobi and his recently knighted Padawan Skywalker were fighting…I had a choice."
Bails face broke into a broad grin. "And you told them you had been sent as a Padawan…Oh, you have more cheek than a porg!"
Ashoka grinned in reply. "Timid folk kill no Akul." She said. "Yes I did, Obi-wan had applied for a new Padawan…So I had to go with Anakin." She sighed, "less questions that way. He was a bit shocked, I will say."
"And Obi-Wan?"
Ashoka looked at her feet. "I think he was a little disappointed…But he told Anakin that a Padawan was a big honour and the responsibility would be good for him." She smiled at the memory. "Anyhow, to cut a boring story short, I came through the mission like a true would be Knight." She smirked. "Anakin was very surprised when the Council threw me in the brig when we returned to the Temple."
"I should think so."
Ashoka settled back. "He could have flatly refused to take me on. I had committed a major fraud and would have been given a stiff sentence." She didn't say that she probably would have ended up in the penal level until her lekkus were as long as Shaak Tis.
Bail nodded. "I can't see Anakin as standing idly by and letting that happen. Not after you helped him so ably on the mission."
"He did not. He stood up in front of the Council and demanded me as his Padawan." She said. "I wasn't there but Obi-Wan was, he told me what went on. Anakin can be quite persuasive."
"Yes, that's just like him."
"So the next thing I knew was these two big Temple guardians stomp into my cell, drag me out, and haul me up before the Council." Ashoka continued. "Anakin was demanding that I be unchained, what had I done to deserve bonds…The Council smirking away at both of us." She said. "They asked him if he wanted to take on the responsibility of a Padawan when he was only just knighted…`Unconventional, this is`, Yoda said. "
"I knew Anakin would stick up for you."
"He was lumbered with me, more like. But we got on well, so he could not say no."
"`Bring her up properly, you will. ` Yoda told him firmly." Ashoka continued. "`Grandmaster, she evidently insists on becoming. ` And the Council laughed themselves silly at that."
Bail rubbed his beard. "Yes, I bet they were amused."
"`I never asked for a Padawan. ` Anakin moaned again." Ashoka took another strip of dried meat. "But by then he had lost. `Not get away with this misdemeanour, you won't. ` Yoda was very stern. "
"So you were punished after all?" The Viceroy knew the Jedi Council were a strict lot.
Ashoka nodded miserably. "I was sentenced to fifty lashes…Delivered by my new Master."
"He went light on you?" Asked Bail hopefully.
Ashoka shook her head. "No, Anakin did not dare do anything less than give me the works." She turned around and pulled up her shirt to reveal a back scarred with lines. "And I had shown him up in front of the Council. Very Bad Form."
"Indeed." The Viceroy had been very angry when he had learned that the Twins were being beaten in the New Temple…But they were not his children now, not any more. They belonged to Darth Vader now…He remembered how upset his new ward had been when he had been told how badly the Twins had been treated.
"I knew nothing of this." Darth Vader had said, clenching his mechanical hands until the joints squeaked. "My children said nothing to me…I should have known."
"I was most upset when I found out what they were doing to my kids. I thought I could trust the Jedi…And Darth Vader was angry too."
Yes, that was it. The Big Black Cybernetic Bantha in the Parlour…
Darth Vader.
Ashoka, who had been cheery all conversation went very grim. Kanan and Ezra had told the Viceroy what had transpired during their mission to Malachor…Indeed until recent weeks none of them believed the Togruta was still alive.
But Ashoka was still around. Bail trusted Fulcrum; yet he was well aware that Lady Tano seemed oddly unwilling to commit herself to the Alderaanian Alliance, even after its official secession two months back, nor was she at all keen to get involved in the new Jedi Temple on Danitoone. Ashoka was very much the rogue loner Togruta. (As reports of her activities on her homeworld suggested; unbeknownst to the Ex-Jedi, Bail kept a close watch on her antics). He believed that her betrayal as a teen by friends and the Jedi Order had severely affected the natural gregariousness that typified her species. Being on the run from the Empire all her adult life had not helped…And then there was the shocking discovery her beloved Master was still alive….Alive and Not Himself.
It was easy to understand how Ashoka had internalised these issues as anger at Darth Vader. Yes, he had destroyed the Jedi Order, and with it her family and ideals. But as the Viceroy had found, Darth Vader had been treated extremely badly by both the Emperor and the Jedi, and was as much a victim as anyone else. Not an innocent victim, by any means, but still deserving of a modicum of care and sympathy.
The Jedi tortures had not loosened his tongue, but his children's love had proven very successful in getting Darth Vader to divulge his vast quantity of potentially useful intelligence. He was being interrogated in a lazy friendly way by General Reikan, this was in two hour sessions twice a day without respite ever since he had been brought to Alderaan, three months ago. The fount showed no sign of letting up. Darth Vader had a very good memory and he had resources and contacts way beyond what the Emperor had trusted his best slave with. Not only that, many of the Emperors troops were personally loyal to the man who led from the front, rather than his Master who spent his days in seclusion in the Imperial Palace. Defections were rampant, and the Alliance now had more troops than they knew what to do with. A few gentle public interviews with the Sith Lord had done a lot to reveal the abused slave behind the fearsome mask.
"I'm very angry with him still." Ashoka looked glum.
The Viceroy nodded; Ashoka had gone to the Jedi when her ex-Master had been captured; She had asked to be the one to question and execute him. Though the Jedi survivors treatment of Darth Vader had been rather uncharacteristically brutal, they had sensibly refused Ashokas generous offer.
(And had he been any kinder? Bail revealing Anakins children were alive and well had broken his seemingly adamant arch enemy…Broken him finally and done a lot of emotional damage. Ends and means, he pondered, but now Darth Vader was finally giving the Alliance all the information they needed, also annoyingly, trying to establish a parental relationship with his disgusted children. He could not do anything permanent to the black armoured monstrosity now…)
"What are you planning on doing with him?"
Ah, that was the potentially awkward question. Darth Vader was on Alderaan now, he could not be executed, not even by upset Padawans, to put him on trial…Well, his physical and mental health would not allow for that, and there would be a lot of very pointed questions asked about his slave background; Here was the friendly masked poster boy for Empire brutality…Victim of.
Though certainly not a member of the Alliance he was an incredibly helpful informer, and Bail knew that getting the Emperors abused Enforcer on his side had turned the Alliance from a joke into something that might actually overthrow the Emperor.
Plus there was Leia.
And Luke.
The Twins had lost pretty much everything when it had been revealed just who their sire was. Bail had squirmed over the potential aftermath of such a revelation. He loved Leia, and he was getting to love Luke, who was every bit his esteemed daughters twin.
And yet he had been prepared to sacrifice their welfare in order to get Darth Vader cooperative. It had been a tough decision. Leia would no longer be the heir apparent, and Luke had lost the safe freedom of anominity. Bail hated himself for it.
But he had consoled themselves that the Twins were going to join the Jedi. They would be protected and trained to make a difference in the Galaxy.
However his adopted children had some fall out with their new teachers. (Things never go easily when teenagers are involved). The Twins did not want to see their natural born sire, Sithi monstrosity that he was, executed. (And hadn't he taught Leia well? Bail was angry with her and at the same time very proud).
They had run away from Danitoone with their father as supercargo. (Quite where they had got transport the Viceroy still did not know; Some still hidden agent of Vader he assumed.)
Now Bail had to deal with two teenage rebels…And a misbegotten adopted brother. This whole situation had nearly destroyed the still unstable Alliance. The Jedi were not to be trusted, the Twins were trouble incarnate and the Alderaanian justice systems leniency was going to be stretched as far as the Rishi maze. Someone was going to get the book thrown at them.
Bail had plans to farm the Twins out to Ashoka to learn more about the ways of the Force. (This was shorthand for banishment of two political offenders). Technically they had done nothing wrong, but they had gotten themselves into trouble.
Darth Vaders alliance these days was obvious; his embarrassed children. There was no hiding it. He regarded the Alliance as an amusement for the Emperor at most (`It was he who had my Starkiller start your precious little revolt…Sidious thrives on enemies`) and a liability at worst. (`Do you truly think you can fight the might of the Empire? `) But he was very concerned over the wellbeing of his Twins. Darth Vader wanted to see Queen Breha and her motley friends win.
Even if it meant he was sentenced to `The Death of a Thousand Social Workers`…
Bail remembered his few meetings with the Hero Anakin Skywalker…The man was not dead…Just buried under a lot of poorly constructed cybernetics and angst.
"You do have plans?" Ashoka prompted, breaking his reverie.
Bail looked grim, his wife had made several suggestions; suggestions that troubled him immensely. "I have done a lot of thinking on that."
"Presumably put him on trial, -show everyone how just you are?" There was a lot of cynicism in Ashokas voice.
Bail shook his head. "You have seen his medical records, haven't you?"
Ashoka was silent. She could not understand how her Skyguy, tough as he had been, could survive such horrific injuries, or such terrifying treatment as he had suffered at Palpatine's hands.
It was also hard to believe how any being could behave themselves under such nightmarish conditions. Plus the drugs cocktail he had been dosed with pretty much precluded freewill.
"I suppose you have heard of the concept `Unfit to stand Trial`?" Bail said slowly.
"A little, yes." Ashoka paused. "We have no such thing on Shili."
"Don't tell me it would be trial by Akul."
"The Akul are really good at disposing of problem citizens." Ashoka said firmly.
"Like cripples and the elderly?" The Viceroy knew that the Shillian healthcare system, though in many ways advanced, was not that helpful with those unlikely to recover.
"The Togruta are too poor to be able to look after the helpless much." It was quite obvious that Ashoka did not agree with that aspect of her people's culture. "But things are changing."
"Oh."
"Do you really think being locked up to rot is better than dying relatively quickly in the wilds?" Ashoka said with her usual sadness. "Being caged is pretty awful. How do you think I felt when I was imprisoned after being accused of bombing the Temple?"
"It must have been very hard on you."
Ashoka sniffed. "I still have nightmares to this day." She said. "I don't get nightmares much about my time in the GAR, but I do of imprisonment." The Togruta whimpered. "I was trapped and helpless, and the Clones I regarded as my brothers now hated me, as they believed I was responsible for killing their brothers. I was scared." She paused. "Anakin and his wife were the only ones to speak up for me." Ashoka said in a small voice.
"I can just see Anakin and Padme doing that." Bail replied. No one had truly believed the spunky Togruta girl guilty…But there were other things to worry about in the war. The Jedi and Chancellor had been convinced of her guilt.
Ashoka clenched her orange hands "He killed her! He loved her! Why?"
The Viceroy shook his head sadly. He had not yet questioned Darth Vader as to the exact circumstances of his secret wifes demise. Bail had seen Padme Naberries death certificate…puzzlingly inconclusive. She had bruises on her throat, finger marks, consistent with throttling. But the Polis Massan medics had stated that these were superficial, and to be unlikely to have been the exact cause of her demise.
They had concluded she had lost the will to live. Bail had considered this over many sleepless nights these past sixteen years. He had known that Anakin was close to his friend; even suspected he might be the father of her child. Obi-wan, and, recently, Ashoka had confirmed they were married…In defiance of the Jedi Order.
He had difficulty in visualising Anakin hurting Padme…As much difficulty as visualising him hurting younglings…But the temple security recordings were evidence. (How trustworthy evidence, he did not know, Bail was well aware of the Jedi's millennia long war with the Sith). Something at one time had seriously gone wrong, and it was hard to imagine the man who now hugged and kissed his children, played with Pittum kittens and was routinely attended by unarmed warders was the Dark Side monster the Jedi portrayed him as.
But it is all too convenient to paint your victim as evil and so deserving of abuse, isn't it?
Bail contemplated the remains of his tea. "There are a lot of things we need to get to the bottom of." He replied grimly. "I think having to live with the fact he committed those crimes right in front of his kids is a pretty severe punishment." He ended.
Ashoka shook her head grimly. "It's not enough." She made a disgusted face.
"No. It's not anywhere near enough. Rest assured that the eventual fate of Darth Vader will have even the Rakata shaking in their boots."
Ashoka thought for a moment. "I didn't know the Rakata even wore boots." She said slowly.
The talk turned to lighter matters.