Hi everyone. Here's chapter 7 and we are back with Ahsoka as she is visited by Luke Skywalker, what will they think of each other?
A Gift Lost: Chapter 7 – Meeting Luke
Ahsoka couldn't help it; she was worried; in fact she was so worried she had barely slept all night. She didn't let Lux or her daughters know of course; no need to worry them but she knew that Princess Leia had been scared of her the previous day. She knew the meeting could've gone better; she could sense that Leia had been very quick to end the meeting. Ahsoka had no intention of scaring anyone; least of all one of the leaders of the Rebel Alliance, her returned force power was causing more problems than it could solve at the moment; was she going to have that effect on everyone with force-sensitivity?
'Did I do the right thing by not telling her everything?' Ahsoka asked herself. 'Perhaps I should've left my lightsabers behind?'Ahsoka knew that Leia had seen them and knew she had reacted to them. Oh well it's too late now, she just hoped that Leia hadn't seen her as a threat. Perhaps she should trust in the Force; this had been the Father's plan after all and he was the essence of the force.
At least today was Saturday; no one had to be up early so she could stay in bed if she wanted, but since she had been awake a large proportion of the night, she decided to get up and get back into training. If she was going to be a Jedi again, she would have to ready. Dressing in her Jedi outfit, she pulled her lightsabers to her, went down stairs and into the garden.
It had been 24 years since she had swung a lightsaber in any kind of anger, so she decided to start small. Igniting both her sabers, she worked through various moves and katas; well, the ones that she could remember anyway. She also practiced using the force to assist her movements as she had done as a padawan. She was surprised by how quickly she got back into it; sure she was rusty, but she was far from a beginner; she just wished she had a training remote so she could practice blocking blaster bolts. 'Maybe Lux can fire a few low power bolts at me.' She thought remembering that she still had two blasters.
The one thing that really surprised her was how easily any force movements came to her; without any effort she was using the force to jump almost to the roof of her home, she also found that if she concentrated she could actually hover for a few moments. 'This could come in handy.' She thought. She also wondered what other force abilities she now had.
She continued to train for a few hours, after which, she mediated to try and gain control of this immense power she suddenly had. At least she knew that neither Lux nor her daughters would be up for a few hours so she would be left in peace.
-0-0-0-0-0-
Luke had landed about an hour before, now he and R2D2 were walking through the streets of Onderon (ok, R2 was rolling, but you get the idea). They had gained directions for Senator Lux Bonteri's home from the palace. Luke's new Jedi Knight status had its advantages; no one questioned him when he asked for the directions. He found himself in a typical high end suburb on the edge of town; even from here he began to sense three force signatures in a house at the end of the road.
'Three force signatures?' he questioned himself. 'That's unexpected.' He shook it off as he approached the house. The nearer he got, the more he could sense the immense power from one of the home's occupants. 'That must be her.'
Taking a moment to process what he was sensing, he could tell that the woman in question wasn't a Sith; he could breathe a sigh of relief at that, but he still couldn't sense exactly what she was. Gathering himself he knocked the door. Both he and R2 waited.
-0-0-0-0-0-
Ahsoka had been mediating for about ten minutes; she was enjoying the inner peace she now had when a knock on the door spurred her back to reality. She could now sense a powerful force signature on the other side of the front door.
Gulping slightly, she walked through the house and opened the front door. As soon as she seen the man waiting she instantly sensed who it had to be. "Master Skywalker." She bowed with respect; she was after all still technically a padawan indeed, she wasn't technically a Jedi at all. As she did this she noticed the astro-mech droid. "Artooie!" she exclaimed. "Please come in both of you." She said smiling.
R2 instantly went mad, his head spinning with joy. He emitted beeps and pulses that confirmed to both Luke and Ahsoka that he recognised her.
"Come on R2." Said Luke as both of them entered the house. As soon as Luke saw the teenage looking togruta, he knew why Leia had been concerned, though he himself did not share that concern. "You know who I am?" asked Luke once the door was closed.
"Yes, I heard your name on the holonet, and I sensed who you were when I opened the door." Ahsoka decided not to tell Luke that she had been told all about him.
"You know R2 as well?"
"Yes, he was my master's droid. It must be the will of the force that he ends up with you, his son." R2 beeped with glee in response to this.
"So, you are Ahsoka Tano, my father's Jedi padawan."
"Yes." She smiled. "Though it's Ahsoka Tano-Bonteri now. I've been married to Senator Lux Bonteri for 20 years."
Luke's face lit up. He'd found another Jedi and an incredibly powerful one at that. In addition this girl knew his father, probably better than anyone. "Obi-Wan was right." He said to himself. "Erm, sorry to bring this up, but I was under the impression that you lost your force connection." He didn't bring up that it was Obi-Wan's ghost that had told him.
Ahsoka winced. Even though it had now been explained to her why it had happened, that was still a painful memory for her. "Yes, that was a horrible time for me. It's only Lux that got me through it. In fact the force only came back to me two days ago. I'm still getting used to it again." Again, ahsoka had to be very careful how much she told.
"It's about your power that I am here."
"I know" said Ahsoka sadly "I scared Princess Leia yesterday didn't I? I didn't mean to. When my force connection came back, I suddenly had more power than I could fully control." Ahsoka mentally slapped herself again for having to hide the full tale, but she could sense that Luke wasn't ready to hear that yet.
"Yes, Leia was concerned about you. I'm happy those concerns are unwarranted." Luke stated. "She also told me that you wished to be a Jedi again. Is that right?"
"Yes, more than anything, but I am married now as well. I assure you, that won't be a problem."
Luke wondered what Ahsoka's husband; Lux would make of her statement, but decided to question her on something else. In fact he decided to go for the kill so to speak. "Do you think you can cope with Jedi life again? Though you appear to be a teenager, from what you have told me you must be approaching middle age." Luke hated himself for having to ask the question in that way, but he could sense there was something strange with her aging.
Ahsoka was silently panicking. This was the question that she couldn't hide from; the answer to this would confirm she had been specially gifted by the force. "Master Skywalker," oh well here goes "I can't tell you everything yet, but my aging has stopped, I'm still 16 biologically." Ahsoka thought her heart was going to stop any minute 'at least I'm not glowing today.' She thought.
"What? How? That's impossible."
Ahsoka cringed; she had been dreading this. "I have learnt that what has happened to me is for a special reason. Please don't fear me, I am just flesh and blood, but I've been given a gift from the force, of which my lack of aging is a part." Ahsoka was practically pleading by this stage.
Luke stood wide eyed and speechless. Was he hearing her correctly? "I don't suppose you can tell me the reason?"
"I'm afraid not. To do so might prevent what is supposed to happen. At least I think so; I don't fully understand it myself." Ahsoka now believed she was in trouble.
"I suppose your immense power is the other part of the gift?" Luke was still in a state of amazement.
Ahsoka was relieved she didn't have to reveal the purpose she had inherited. "Yes it is. I am here to help in any way I can. I assure you, I am just a girl who will live longer."
Luke could sense Ahsoka was telling the truth. The force also told him that Ahsoka was important to him and the future of the Jedi. Where in the force this information came from he had no idea. For the moment, he decided to leave it there; the rest would be revealed in time. Sensing Ahsoka's unease, he changed the topic "I sensed three force signatures in this house. You are obviously one, who are the other two?"
Visibly relieved by the change of subject, Ahsoka responded "Oh my two daughters, Mina and Padmé. I only discovered their force-sensitivity when my force connection returned."
The fact that Ahsoka had given birth relieved Luke somewhat; it proved that she was normal in all other ways. He smiled. "Are you going to train them?"
"I can't Master Luke. I'm technically only a padawan." Ahsoka lowered her eyes to the floor.
"It is important to train younglings like them if we are going to restore the Jedi Order." Luke had already decided that he needed to watch Ahsoka and making her a Jedi was the best option to do that. "Where are they?"
"Oh, as it's the weekend, they are sleeping in. So is my husband for that matter. Do you want to meet them?"
"Yes please" replied Luke. "But don't get them up, I'll wait for them."
Ahsoka smiled. She sensed that Luke was happy with her; she decided not to waste the opportunity. "Master Skywalker, can I ask a favour?"
"Yes."
Holding up both of her lightsabers she continued. "I've been trying to get back into my Jedi ways. Is there any chance of some sparring or training?"
Luke thought about it for a bit and realised this was a perfect opportunity to see how good or otherwise Ahsoka was. "Yeah ok, where do you practice?"
"I just started this morning in the garden." Leaving R2 in the living room, she led Luke through to the garden.
Luke slipped off his robe and ignited his saber, at which Ahsoka ignited both of hers, to which Luke widened his eyes; he'd never sparred or fought against anyone with dual sabers. This was going to be training for him as well.
Luke was amazed by Ahsoka's skill; yes she was out of practice, but she managed to better him in quite a few of their sparring matches. The pair continued for about an hour until Ahsoka heard stirring in the house. Her daughters were up.
I think that's a good place to leave it for now. Things start happening in the next chapter and Ahsoka will be called to use her power. How will everyone react?
