Ahsoka didn't know what to say. She had rescued crash survivors and had encountered… difficult people, but this Doctor was clueless. Maybe he is telling the truth, she suddenly thought. If he is a Time Lord as he claims and he can travel through time, and if his ship did malfunction, then that would explain the blatantly ignorant comments he keeps making. He's not from this galaxy.
With that thought, Ahsoka realized that she would have to start with the basics of the Republic and this galaxy. She looked back at the Doctor and when she saw him looking at her for an explanation, she sighed internally, realizing the inevitable. But where do I start? What do I say? She took a breath and then started.
"You are on Coruscant," she began, "the capital of the Republic. Of this galaxy anyway." She added for his benefit. "I'm a Torgrutan, and my name's Ahsoka Tano." She stopped before she said that she was a former Jedi, something that this Doctor didn't need to know.
The Doctor took this pause as a sign to ask a question. "And being a Torgrutan lets you use telekinetic powers?"
"No, it's my affinity with the Force that allows me to do things like that." The Doctor nodded but Ahsoka could tell that he was still clueless. He doesn't even know about the Force, she thought with some incredulity. "But that can wait for another time."
The Doctor nodded again, then said, "And what do you do? I can imagine someone with this Force powers could be considered an asset or a threat, so where do you stand in this Republic?"
He catches on pretty quick. "I stand no-where. But that's not your concern right now." Ahsoka said, avoiding the question. "Now, where do you come from? You said you are a Time Lord, so what does that mean?"
Ahsoka looked at the Doctor and she could see the sudden change of emotions in his eyes. They were at first confused and then curious, but then they changed. Something inside him welled up and was trying to be buried, but shone through his eyes. They were now filled with sadness and regret, and they looked old.
But as quick as they changed, they went back to being energized and cheery. But the oldness didn't leave. "The Time Lords once traveled through time and space across the universe and also through different realities." He said. "We kept the time line from being undone and also kept the universe from spiraling out of control."
"Just like the Jedi…" Ahsoka murmured. Little did she know that the Doctor took a keen interest in that name.
"Jedi? Jedi? Where have I heard that before?" The Doctor said. "What are the Jedi?" He asked.
Ahsoka decided to tell him, but keep the fact that she left the Jedi a secret. "We- the Jedi," she said strongly, internally cursing her slip up, "are an order made up of many different beings from this galaxy who use the Force. They try to preserve peace and justice in the galaxy using what is known as the Light Side of the Force."
The Doctor nodded in understanding and then said, "Yes, very noble if I do say so myself. If the Time Lords had known about the Jedi then we probably would have saved both of us some trouble in the long run. However…" He paused thinking. "If the Jedi use the Light Side of this Force, then there must be another, the other side of a coin, the polar opposite, light, dark, right?"
Ahsoka nodded slowly, "Yes, there is a group of people that use the Dark Side. They call themselves the Sith. They generally are the aggressors in all galactic conflicts, such as the Clone Wars right now, and are the enemies of the Jedi."
"Ahh, so that's why you were offended when I called you a Sith. Sorry about that by the way." Ahsoka just gave him the stare, not quite sure if she should trust the Doctor. "Ahem, anyway if I'm going to know about this galaxy, you might tell me about this Clone Wars you mentioned."
Ahsoka sighed. "I'll condense it for you. A rather large group of people got fed up with the way things were going and left the Republic, forming the Confederacy of Independent Systems. This split the galaxy and eventually fighting broke out on a planet called Geonosis when Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi found out that the Separatists were building a droid army. A group of Jedi arrived to try and stop the fighting, but most were killed in the initial battle. They would have all been killed if not for the clones which showed up under the Republic's authority."
The Doctor asked, "And where did these clones come from. I know several species that depend on cloning, both for armies and to survive and I would like to know more about them."
Ahsoka glared at him again but told him anyway. "The clones were genetic copies of a bounty hunter named Jango Fett. They take ten years to fully develop and have been training their entire lives to fight for the Republic. If not for the clones, none of the Jedi on Geonosis would have survived.
"After that initial battle, the galaxy erupted into a full scale war that is close to three years old now. That's the condensed version and don't ask me for the longer version because I don't feel like giving it." Ahsoka said before the Doctor could get started.
The Doctor looked slightly down, but bounced right back. "Well from what I gathered it seems that this galaxy is a very diverse place even if it is following the normal way people fight amongst themselves. I would enjoy traveling all over the place." He paused, his smile dying.
Ahsoka could sense something was wrong. "What's the matter?" She asked.
The Doctor shrugged. "Well, first off I have no idea what's here and how to interact with the people here so it might be a lost cause. Second, I don't want to interfere with the naturally occurring events of this reality. Third, and most important, I can't."
Ahsoka frowned at that answer. It sounded too similar to her reasoning for leaving the Jedi. "Something wrong?"
The Doctor looked directly at Ahsoka, his eyes boring into her. "Believe me when I say that I have been to the far ends of the universe and back, all across time. I saw every galaxy that exists come into formation and, once, saw when they were all gone. But I have never been to this one and that cam only mean one thing: that I have found a crack in my universe and fallen into yours. I'll need to seal the crack."
"And what happens if you don't?" Ahsoka asked.
"Maybe nothing. Maybe it'll collapse on it's own. It might also go unstable and destroy one universe or the other. But it might also continue to split until two universes are combined and that could negate and destroy both of them. I can't let the possibility of that happening exist."
"Oh." That was all Ahsoka could say. Although, how often do you hear something like that? What would anyone say?
There was dead silence for a moment. Both people reflected on the past few minutes. Then the Doctor stood up, "Well, I need to be off. As much as I enjoyed your company I'm afraid that I can't stay. I don't know what happens yet here and it would probably be better if I avoided any impact on future events, which I have a habit of not being able to follow that, but no time to start like the present."
"I see." Ahsoka said. For some reason, the thought of this man leaving seemed to be saddening to her. In the short time he had been there, she had barely avoided the depression that was threatening to consume her and had found something to occupy her attention instead of wallowing in the past. And now he was leaving. But she couldn't impose herself on him… or could she? "Do you think that-"
"No." The Doctor interrupted. When Ahsoka began her question, the Doctor had already pieced together several pieces of the puzzle that was Ahsoka. She was living in a run down place, which meant that she did not want to be there, or was forced to be there. She also seemed to be very touchy on the subject of the Force and the Jedi, which either meant that she was on the run from the Jedi, or that she was one. And the Doctor knew enough from experience to avoid members of orders that relied on special powers to aid them.
So when she was about to ask if she could join him, he had already made up his mind a long while ago.
"No? You don't even know what I was about to ask." The Torgrutan named Ahsoka Tano said, and the Doctor could tell she was upset but didn't even know it.
"Yes I did. I learned from past experience that people who want to join me get messed up in the end. I do not want that for you." Faces passed in front of his mind. Rose Tyler, left on a parallel earth. Martha Jones, a nurse turned into a warrior. Donna Noble, containing knowledge in her mind that could literally destroy her. All failures on his part. He promised to keep them safe, and he and been their worst enemies. He would not do this to Ahsoka.
Ahsoka looked down. Silently she said, "Don't worry if I get messed up. That already happened."
The Doctor frowned at her, wondering what that meant. She clearly has a past to her. And for someone so young too. She has seen things that no one should have. But that does not change my answer. "I'm sorry but my answer still stands. I do not want you to join me, for your own good. Being around me is dangerous. Too many people have found that out the long, hard way."
Ahsoka was still for a long time and the Doctor could see all the emotions running across her face, from sadness, to anger, then finally to resignation. She sighed and said, "At least let me see you off."
The Doctor looked at her and debated within himself. He knew what could happen just by letting people come with him for even a short time. But on the other hand, he did not think the girl would leave him alone and would do it anyway.
He gave a small smile. "It would be my pleasure."
Is this the end of the journey already? How will the Doctor seal the crack? Cliffhangers... cliffhangers everywhere.
In the meantime, thank you for all the positive reviews! I promise to continue writing this story as quick as I can, but school recently started up for me and that may cause some delays.
Anyway, the usual applies: Review, Comment, Favorite, etc.