Previously on Star Wars: Exile's Journey

Ahsoka Tano has started living a dual life. With a public identity of Riella Masso, a bounty hunter who wears a mask painted in a fierce reptilian scale pattern, and the private identity of Ahsoka Tano, Jedi Knight, she intends to use her bounty hunter persona to find a way into the center of action, and more importantly, to follow up leads that other hunters may use to find hidden Jedi.

After being asked by a student at the university of Rudrug to help find his missing sister, a Jedi Padawan named Mirian Varos, she discovered that at Mirian's last known location, the planet Susevfi, innocent people were being killed by a mad Jedi. Finding another Jedi, a Caamasi named Ylenic It'kla who was also looking for Mirian, the two discover that the unique silvery sheen of the lightsaber used could only belong to Mirian herself...

Chapter 21

Healing

Mirian Varos scrabbled backwards awkwardly, scraping her hands against the rough ground and leaving a few drops of blood from her palms on the pavement of the alley. "I don't want people to get hurt! I don't want people to die! Stay away!"

She felt a hand grasp her shoulder. She shrieked and tried to pull away, but the furry hand on her shoulder was too strong. A soft, calm voice said, "Rest, child. You are safe now."

The words, and more importantly, the calm behind them penetrated the fog around her mind. She knew that voice. She turned to look, and she knew that face. "Master It'kla... I..."

The Caamasi Jedi gently touched her cheek, and even from several meters away Ahsoka felt a surge of calm warmth from him in the Force. Mirian slumped to the ground, limp and unconscious.

"What did you do?" Ahsoka asked.

"I merely attempted to calm her mind so that she was capable of speech. I suspect, however, that she has been awake, alert, and terrified for far too long. Human beings can only go without proper sleep for so long before their minds start to lose coherence. She probably requires sleep far more than anything else. Can we safely return her to your ship without garnering attention?"

Ahsoka nodded and lowered her armored mask to cover her face. "As far as the rest of the galaxy knows, I'm a bounty hunter named Riella Masso. She sure looks like she's been on the run. Nobody would think twice if I dragged her unconscious body back to my ship. I wouldn't complain if you helped, though."

She hadn't learned to read Caamasi expressions yet, but she guessed that the twist of his ears was his equivalent of a smile. "This is something you may have to look into, Padawan Tano, should you choose to pursue this identity further. The ability to drag unconscious bounties back to your ship is probably a prerequisite."

"I'll figure something out," she said as she lifted Mirian with the Force. Ahsoka slid her shoulder under Mirian's and Ylenic did the same on Mirian's other side. "She's pretty light."

"Yes, I fear she may be suffering from malnutrition." Ylenic started walking out of the alley, and Ahsoka matched his pace. "There is something I have been meaning to ask you about since we encountered each other."

"What's that?"

"There is something... different about you. Despite being expelled, rather unfairly, from the Jedi Order some time ago, you have proven beyond any doubt in my mind that you are still, in fact, a Jedi." He shifted the weight of the limp Alderaanian slightly as they walked. "However, when you were at the temple I don't believe I ever heard to you refer to a Jedi as anything other than Master. You have not done so since we met."

Ahsoka was taken aback. "I don't suppose I have."

"I also get the impression," he said, "that referring to you as Padawan does not seem appropriate. Or wise, given the current climate. But that is another matter entirely."

"I'm not sure what to say," Ahsoka said as she readjusted her grip on Mirian's arm. "I suppose... I don't see myself as part of the Order anymore. I am a Jedi. I've always been a Jedi. Now that the Order is gone, it's my duty to stand up and do what Jedi do."

Ylenic nodded, something she could barely see out of her the corner of her eye. She made a mental note to ask Xho to look into ways to enhance the peripheral vision with her mask. "The war forced many young Jedi to grow up too fast. After the debacle when you were falsely accused and expelled from the Jedi order, the Council had considered making you a full Jedi. You would have been one of the youngest in history. Sixteen years old. Padawan to one of the most powerful Jedi in the order, and yet when put through something more trying than most Jedi trials, proven to be more mature and capable than anyone could have ever asked you to be."

"Thanks, I guess." Ahsoka was never really sure how to respond to praise. Humor was a good deflection technique usually, but when walking through a crowded dockside and lugging an unconscious human girl a few years younger than herself, things were just a little too weird and awkward to make any jokes.

"I believe what I am trying to say is this: you are a Jedi. If you choose to take the title of Jedi Knight, I don't think there's another living creature who can argue that you are not. If you choose to simply be, and take the mantle of Jedi, then I don't think that even you can argue that you are not. You walked away when the Jedi Order proved itself to be too fragile to save itself. We who were too mired in tradition could not see that. You left an Order. You never stopped being a Jedi. Titles like Padawan, Knight, or Master belonged to the Order. They belonged to the organization."

They had reached the edge of the docks, and the crowd was thinning out. "I don't think I'm ready to be an Order of one just yet," Ahsoka said.

Ylenic's ears flicked back again, and from what she could feel of him through the Force, it was definitely a smile. "No, but you will always be one of a kind. You may use whatever name you wish, but there will always be a part of you who seeks justice, truth, and seeks to aid those who are in need. As for myself, I will always carry the knowledge of my time in service to the Jedi Order. But the Order is gone, and with it any rank or titles I may have had in it. The greatest trial of any Jedi is to let go of attachment. At the age of sixteen, you did so in a way that the greatest of Masters could not do. Thank you, Ahsoka Tano. Your example has taught me much about what it means to be a Jedi."

Ahsoka was silent for a moment. "Do you think that's what caused the downfall of the Jedi Order? The Jedi had become too attached to the Order itself?"

Ylenic nodded, "It is possible. And likely one of the many causes. However, in our last days the dark side clouded the ability of even the greatest of Masters to see a clear path. The war... the Sith... the failings of the Jedi... the will of the Force. There is rarely a single reason for such momentous changes in the universe. Now, perhaps I should take Mirian so that you have your hands free." Ylenic twisted around and put a hand behind Mirian's knees so that he could pick her up more easily. Ahsoka let go of the young Alderaanian's arm and Ylenic scooped her up easily.

"Why do I need my hands free?"

Her question was answered when she heard the snap and hiss of a lightsaber blade being ignited overhead.

A cloaked figure stood on a rooftop above them, a shining silver blade in hand. "You can't have her!" the man screamed, "You can't take away my soul!"

The few people nearby started panicking and running away. Ahsoka pulled her new lightsabers off of her belt and separated them. The moment the civilians were out of view, she activated them both. "What is it about dark siders? Are they always this weird?"

"It is possible," Ylenic said sagely, "Although to be fair, Jedi are rarely normal when compared to sociological norms."