Although He Smiles
Chapter Nine: Untimely Revelations
"Ah, tea."
The piping-hot chrome mug was placed in front of her, the Jedi Master pressing a hand to her shoulder as he went. Taking the seat opposite her on the small table, he slid another cup to the space beside her.
"A definite staple here on the SS Escape, I'm sure."
Obi-Wan Kenobi offered his comment with a serving of dryness that could potentially rival the planet they were mere hours away from touching down on. He took up his tea, a certain note of mischief to line his tone and gaze over the brim of his mug. The ends of Ahsoka's mouth curled upwards despite herself, and instead she chose to hide her amusement in her tea. Master Qui-Gon arched a brow at his padawan before taking a sip himself. Whether it was the Force that seemed to relax around him, or simply just his oncoming headache being chased away by the welcomed brew, he neither knew nor really cared. There were more pressing matters at hand.
His eyes again fixed on Ahsoka.
"So you stood on the steps of the Temple?"
She'd been cajoled out of their quarters with the arrival of Qui-Gon, who'd barely missed their parting as the doors slid open. There'd been no awkward blushing or ungainly attempts to dance around what had happened, only a quiet acceptance that even Qui-Gon sensed resonating between them. Consequently, at her outburst and Obi-Wan's one-too-many discoveries, she could no longer hide behind a hazy screen of indecision. They had to be told something.
That was why she found herself in the galley of the cruiser, again. However, this time the cruiser was preparing to pull out of Hyperspace in orbit around Tatooine. Tatooine.
Come on, Ahsoka.
At his question, Ahsoka nodded. The artificial light in the galley spilt over her face, illuminating the minute changes in her expression better than it had in the dusty illumination of their quarters. Qui-Gon could see the slight shift in her gaze, the eager press of her lips; they all stood as milestones across her face, indicators of her inner turmoil.
"I'd just made it to step seven-hundred and fifty when it happened." And here she was, explaining her predicament to a man that should, according to causality, be dead.
Pfft.
"Hmm, sounds like step seven-hundred and fifty might have been a bit of a misstep, Ahsoka. Wait, how many steps are there out front?"
"Padawan…"
At the sound of his Master's cautioning tone, the young man seemed to recoil. "Sorry Master." Qui-Gon again quirked a brow at him, sensing the boy's instant blanch. However, he couldn't sustain any frustration he might have harboured, not when he knew the reason for his padawan's impudence. He and Obi-Wan surely had their fair-share of dealing with distressed teenagers throughout their long, illustrious time together (Qui-Gon in particular). Obi-Wan had dealt with each distraught young teen differently (he'd unwisely fallen in love with a few along the way, but what could Qui-Gon expect? Beneath the calm, serious and collected façade, Obi-Wan was a bleeding heart). It seemed his response to the young Ahsoka was to… crack jokes every few moments and constantly distract. Qui-Gon heaved a sigh into the Force, mentally rolling his eyes. Force, he hoped he'd simply misread the situation. Please.
"Seven-fifty in total, Obi-Wan." She added, a sly grin betraying her as she shook her head in exasperation — but it disappeared as readily as it had appeared. "I barely stepped off the last step when it came. The Force seemed to whir around me, I — I had no idea what was happening," Her hands fell back around her cup. I had just left Anakin beneath the pillars… I had left the Council, and the Order high above the Coruscanti skyline. I had left a part of myself within the walls of that Temple.
Yet, here I sit.
They had to know.
"Master," She began. She didn't know how to do this. She felt the need, knew the destination, but didn't know how to get herself from point A to point B.
Her gaze fell heavenwards, her mouth now positively parched despite the tea she had swallowed mere moments before. She'd have to ease them into this, there was no other way. "Master, I've been having visions."
The older Jedi's chest seemed to swell at that, the air passing heavily from his nose with an audible sigh. "I believed as much. And judging by how volatile your reactions are to these visions, they're not exactly optimistic, are they?"
She shook her head. "No, not exactly." The word understatement seemed to pass between all three Jedi present.
"There… There is something else," she tried not to rush her words. She needed to breathe. "I don't know how to tell you without sounding absolutely crazy…" Her gaze shot up from the table below her where she'd almost been begging her tea to consume her whole. (At least, that was how Obi-Wan perceived the staring contest between the Togruta and the tea cup.) An incredulous laugh teared from her chest, empty of any mirth that might have been felt. "I'm not going to begin explaining why or how, but —" She sighed. "Force, it might've been easier if I'd simply assumed the body of my five-year-old self in this time, rather than have to explain this." She all but whispered, both Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan straining to hear her crazed muttering.
"Padawan Tano…"
She met his gaze, her hands abandoning her stewing tea instead to press firmly against the cool tabletop. Here goes nothing. "Master Jinn, I'm from thirt—"
"Master Jedi."
A voice called across the room, effectively cutting her off. All eyes in the galley turned to the doorway where Captain Panaka was striding towards them. His gaze briefly jumped to her, Ahsoka reading his distrust with ashamed eyes, before they were back on Qui-Gon. "We're beginning our approach on Tatooine. I thought it would be prudent to begin organising a plan for once we're planet-side. As such, the Queen has called a meeting in her chambers. She wishes for you to attend," his eyes hesitantly fell to the opposing side of the table, "Your apprentice and charge as well."
A part of Ahsoka rallied at that. Padmé had requested that she attend. Friends and allies were always a good thing to have.
"Very good, Captain." Qui-Gon took a slow sip from his tea before he was placing the mug down. "Inform her Highness that we shall be with her shortly."
If the Captain wasn't happy with the Jedi's response, he could do precisely nothing about it. Of course, except grumble something incoherent after he'd given them his acknowledgment and left the room. When Ahsoka spared a glance to her fellow padawan, she was met with the impish grin that she'd sparingly seen on Master Kenobi. Albeit, it was hard to discern the subtle, conspiratorial curve of his lips past the beard (and what were these, dimples?), but she'd certainly seen it during more lighthearted moments throughout her three-year stint as a war-trained Jedi padawan. Usually it was spared for outwitting huffy-puffy senators with a lot to say. Anakin usually favoured his lightsaber in such situations.
His gaze flickered to hers, the definite goading flash meeting hers. She cracked an involuntary smile.
"He doesn't like me. Yeah, I noticed."
"And I simply cannot fathom why."
A hum of humoured agreement joined their exchange, Master Qui-Gon again taking another sip of the still-steaming tea. It prompted Ahsoka to do the same before it was no longer steaming. What a waste.
Heavy eyes set on her though, as she put the cup down. The feeling of nausea began creeping its way up her throat again, sending her stomach over as if she had just suddenly slipped from the highest point of Coruscant. Gone was the brief moment of banter, and in came the galaxy-churning revelations. For the umpteenth time that day, Ahsoka Tano sighed.
"You were muttering something about being five-years-old, Padawan?"
Yes, ha ha. That. She swallowed. Oh, boy.
"You're gonna think I'm insane Master." Flickers of Anakin, Vader came to her. Then Liam, barley clinging to a lightsaber that was almost as long as he was tall. The burning hell of Mustafar, the smell of her master's charred flesh, the wailing of Padmé joined by her newborn children. And Obi-Wan's heart, shattered into pieces and desperately clinging onto an image of the young innocent visage of his fallen apprentice. The stench of failure hung with a rancid resolve around his aura.
Breathe.
"Master Qui-Gon, I'm not from here."
His head turned, so did Obi-Wan's. The two men shared a glance, before Ahsoka was pressing her lips together. She stifled an empty smile. "I mean, I'm not from this time." That earned her a serious head turn, brown and grey eyes now boring into her as if scrutinising her very existence. In some ways, she supposed they were. "I think I'm from roughly thirteen to fifteen years into the future."
A beat, where only the sound of her heart pounding against her ribcage and her entire stomach plummeting into the floor of her pelvis filled the uneasy silence. Her gaze darted intermittently between the two Jedi and the table (the latter winning out) as she waited on tenterhooks.
Finally, "You can't be ser—"
"Believe me, I wish I was joking. Every single time I've woken up here I wish it were back at the Temple. But here I am." She shook her head. She was reluctant to admit it to herself, but there was more than a slither of truth to what she had said.
A grave nod from the Jedi across from them caused her fists to clench beneath the table. "There's nothing to be frightened of, Ahsoka. The truth is a far better explanation than any other deception you could have used." He arched a brow at his padawan, whose eyebrows seemed to have risen a few, considerable notches. "This one believed you were a Federation spy." The young man in question whipped around his head to meet Qui-Gon's lighthearted gaze. The Jedi Master lifted a heavy hand to massage away the inevitable headache. "Padawan, if you stay like that and the wind changes…"
A disgruntled cough brought Obi-Wan's face into a more schooled expression of grave acceptance. That's better.
"Well, it would certainly explain why you keep addressing me as Master Kenobi. And the Queen…"
"And it would explain why your reactions to your visions are so volatile, young one." Qui-Gon cut through, his gaze settling on his still half-full chrome mug of tea. Suddenly, he felt the need for something a bit stronger than Hubriscus tea — which, according to his petulant padawan, was not a feat so easily achieved. "And why your presence in the Force was initially so unstable."
"Master, I wish I could explain to you how this happened,"
"Padawan, I think your only concern should be that it has. Keep your concentration on the here and now. Be mindful of the Living Force."
Ahsoka fought the urge to blink. He'd begun disciplining her as though she were his own padawan. The way Obi-Wan's attentions seem to throw momentarily, he'd also sensed the shift in tone. However, the padawan had started at the sound of a phrase that had been repeated to him so often — it was a teaching that Qui-Gon so often attempted to instil in him, it'd become a mantra of sort between the two Jedi. However, try as Qui-Gon might, Obi-Wan's strength always lay with the Unifying Force. It brought a sense of balance to their relationship, he liked to think. While Qui-Gon contributed a profound sense of the present, Obi-Wan was always the watchful eye tuned towards the horizon. They kept each other in check and provided the other's weaknesses as strengths; a healthy partnership by any stretch.
However, to hear Qui-Gon's almost-mantra in regards to him repeated to another padawan…
"Yes, Master." She dipped her head, steeling herself. It hurt somewhat to have someone, let alone a Jedi Master, begin passing lessons onto her again so soon, but… She'd swallow her pride. There were much bigger things at play than simply her hubris. While the Jedi would eventually need the specifics of her vision (time and place), for now she envied them to some extent. She could never forget the apocalyptic horror the Force had subjected her to.
"For the time being, I believe we should keep this revelation between ourselves." Brown eyes passed over blue and grey ones. "Our first priority is to the Queen, and I believe it would be in her best interests if the Naboo remain in the dark regarding Ahsoka's situation for now."
Obi-Wan gave a hum in agreement before voicing any concerns or the like. "And besides, in the interests of Captain Panaka's inevitable migraine, it's best we keep this amongst ourselves."
Ahsoka had to laugh at that, grey eyes flickering to her's. The master and padawan rejoiced in such a radiant thrum in the Force, however briefly it existed for.
