ReunitedLight is back! This is my oldest multi-chapter story, but I've enjoyed working on it so much. I know it's been a really long time since I updated, but I have been writing so much more than I used to, mostly in the TOR Era. But I decided to add another chapter to this story, and I will definitely be finishing it and adding more in the future, and it's been so great getting back into these characters. Please enjoy, and don't forget to review if you're interested in seeing another installment!
Patience. A virtue that the Jedi kept telling Ahsoka was extremely important to have in life, but even now, with all of her experience as a Padawan, Ahsoka couldn't help but feel like being patient was going to be harder than ever. She kept doing mindless tasks, the Jedi Council kept telling her "later, later" and it was a vicious, endless cycle.
Anakin knew it, too. That's why he visited her room every now and then, asking her to train a little with him just to keep her skills sharp. So Ahsoka just meditated on her cot in her quarters, isolated from everyone else, contemplating the past and fearing the future. The dreams, they still haunted her, they still left black circles under her eyes every day from lack of sleep. Until one day, Ahsoka had had enough. She refused to leave her room and didn't show up for their morning meal for three days in a row. She felt Anakin tapping into her mind every now and then, checking up on her without actually being there, just to make sure she was okay.
On the fourth day, Ahsoka had woken up from another restless sleep when Anakin barged into her quarters without knocking. "Hey!" she snapped, desperately sliding on a loose pair of pants. "Seriously, I'm not hungry."
Anakin just raised one scarred eyebrow at her and shook his head. "We can talk about you skipping meals later. The fracking Council has finally decided to do something, after I bothered Obi-Wan about it for a week straight. Freshen up and meet me outside their chambers-I've got a feeling that we're going to do something useful at last."
His words sent a tingle up Ahsoka's spine and for the first time in a long time, she was grateful and excited to be the Padawan of the Chosen One. All of her musings about the past, about Revan's unhappy ending, vanished in an instant, and in her mind, the only things that existed were this day and the future-but not far enough so that the masked figure could torment her. "Wow… thanks, Master, for being so persuasive. I'll be there right away."
Anakin slipped her a mock salute and exited her room, closing her door behind him. Her tiny quarters suddenly began to feel claustrophobic instead of like home, so Ahsoka got herself ready as fast as possible, tidying up the masses of clothes that had begun to pile up during those long, boring weeks. She picked up her lightsabers from the dresser, studying them eagerly. The Council's finally letting me put these to good use. She clipped them onto her belt.
When Ahsoka arrived at the door leading to the Council chamber, Anakin was already there. Beads of sweat had gathered on his forehead, and he waved her in, blue eyes more shadowed than usual. "I have a feeling that this mission won't have anything to do with the war," he warned her. "Just be prepared if that happens."
Ahsoka shrugged. "A mission's a mission, right? Either way, we get something action-packed and interesting."
"Not if it's some diplomatic escapade," Anakin countered.
"I really don't think it'll be like that, especially if you made a case about my dreams," Ahsoka replied in return.
"Just bracing myself for the worst."
A temple guard stuck his head out and waved both Anakin and Ahsoka in. "Come. The Council awaits you." This time, instead of scrutinizing the guard, Ahsoka forced herself to look away, willing those thoughts of being trapped behind a mask away and into another portion of her mind. She wouldn't let that weaken her, not again.
And this time, when the eyes of every single member on the Jedi Council bore into her back like lasers, Ahsoka shook off that uneasy feeling. There was a time to act like a lowly Padawan and a time to actually focus on the mission at hand-and if the Council was actually going to get them a mission this time, instead of lying to them and coming up with some excuse on the spot like they did last time-Ahsoka thought it would be better to simply listen.
"Padawan Tano, thank you for coming again," Yoda began, his small arms crossed serenely across his lap. Ahsoka tipped her head slightly towards his in respect.
"We apologize for calling you in last time," Plo Koon cut in. "We understand that your time is very valuable. Even though we have been disagreeing on a variety of topics concerning your dream, the majority of the Council has decided to send you on a scouting mission on a planet that has not been explored in a very long time."
Ahsoka's eyes flicked towards Anakin's, who met hers. Scouting mission on a mysterious planet? Sounds like fun, Ahsoka thought to herself. It wasn't the action-packed adventure she knew both she and her Master had been anticipating, but this was a lot better than playing hero on the streets for weeks on end or even worse, doing nothing at all and completing boring history assignments.
Well, they weren't too boring. Revan's story had showed her that there was more than one side to the seemingly perfect and benevolent Jedi Council-at least in the past. But Ahsoka couldn't help but feel something uneasy prick at the corner of her mind. If the Council had been flawed back then, what was to stop it from having equally as many issues now?
Mace Windu nodded at them, snapping Ahsoka out of her haze of thoughts. "This mission will last at most a few days, minus the space travel. We want you to be very careful and make contact with no one on the planet unless we order you to. You'll be traveling to Malachor…"
And with that word, everything in Ahsoka's head exploded, and the ramblings of Master Windu faded away into an echo. The voices of long-dead Jedi once again made themselves known from deep within her consciousness as if they had been planted there by something or someone… maybe the very same someone that had been causing the nightmarish masked figure to appear in her dreams… or maybe, it was the Force. Either way, Ahsoka's heart filled to the brink with anticipation, excitement and thirst for knowledge, but most of all, it was fear. But Ahsoka took that fear and locked it away in her mind, keeping her face stone cold, so that the Council wouldn't detect it. Anakin seemed to have caught on with her panic and sent comforting thoughts her way.
"...as there is a small risk of Sith artifacts being found within the temple, we are trusting Knight Skywalker, your Master, to protect you from any potential harm. This will be the greatest test you have had so far. If you are lucky, perhaps you shall find something to aid us in the current war, and if not, maybe your dreams will finally be silenced. You leave tomorrow, first thing in the morning," Windu finished in a monotone. Ahsoka wondered how the Council had reached such a decision. Did they really care about all of this, or were they just sending Ahsoka and Anakin away?
Nonetheless, Malachor was both a well-known yet dangerous planet, the kind that Masters never really mentioned in lessons lest they scare some of the younger initiates. And the fact that Ahsoka would be able to travel there? That would be exciting. It would be a new taste of adventure, and from the way Anakin was grinning ear-to-ear, he thought so too. "We accept this mission, of course. Thank you, Masters," he told them all, breathing quickly. Ahsoka forced a smile, and Obi-Wan winked supportively at her. Then Anakin's mechanical hand latched onto Ahsoka's arm, and with clenched teeth, he pulled her out of the chambers.
"Wow," she gasped once they were out, "I can't believe this is happening! The journey of a lifetime, Master, don't you see?"
"Sure, Snips. Are you sure you're up to the task?" His blue eyes were concerned.
Ahsoka hardened her gaze and stared at her Master as deliberately as she possibly could. Nothing was going to stop her from doing this mission, now. She could see the planet in her mind's eye, in her future, as clear as day. "I am. I'm ready. I've never been more ready."
