He's Not Our Enemy
Disclaimer: I own nothing, all credit goes to George Lucas and Lucasarts.
Summary: After vanishing from the Jedi temple ten years ago, Anakin Skywalker is found. The Jedi imprison him until he decides to tell them what happened to him. After getting lost after fleeing from some of her abusive class mates, Ahsoka stumbles into Anakin's room and discovers a side to the force she never knew.
The Asteroid, Ahsoka Tano
I wasn't have the best of times after my first experience of nether travel. The main reason for that was that I was throwing up. A lot. I didn't see how it was possible since my stomach was empty but there you go. Anakin conjured up a bucket for me to vomit in and just cleared it up with the force every time I heaved. It was disgusting. I made a silent vow in my head that if I ever wanted to learn nether travel it would be because someone had persuaded me it was a good idea or because I didn't throw up every time I did it. Anyway, once I'd stopped heaving my stomach was completely empty and hurt worse than getting my arm broken in the competition.
"Ow," I complained, clutching my stomach. "I hate nether travel."
"You'll get used to it," Anakin said. "Unless you want to throw up every time I take you down to the planet's surface."
"Ow..." I continued to moan.
"Relax, Snips. Once we get inside I'll get you something to eat." Anakin offered.
"Can't you just heal me?"
"This is a problem caused by needing food. Not something that has openly or internally wounded you in some way. You'll be fine once you've had something to eat."
I didn't argue and looked around. We were standing on your typical asteroid terrain but in front of us it was an entirely different story. There was grass, grass, in a short area that surrounded a large house made of wood. You heard me, wood. I have never once seen a house made of wood in my entire life since the republic has way more advanced technology to make sturdier homes for people. The house was massive and had balconies where you could look out at the front yard. The front yard had a fountain in the middle that had clear water which was coloured deep blue like the oceans on Naboo but didn't look like salt water. I guessed it was fresh water since salt water fountains were things that I hadn't seen.
If you looked up you could see space itself with this barely visible field surrounding the asteroid. That was probably the ozone layer that was preventing all of the gas from escaping and protecting us from solar flares. Think of it like a really cool house in the middle of nowhere with a view of space wherever you looked and an awesome looking force wielder planet below. There was what looked like a speeder in the front but it had obviously been modified a hundred times and I instantly knew that it was Anakin's doing. He never stopped tinkering with things unless there was something really important that needed doing or there was a pod-racing show on the HoloNet. But I doubted they had the HoloNet way out here.
"You'll need a key for when you need to get inside in the future," Anakin explained as he handed me this silver thing that I'd never seen before. "The door won't open otherwise."
"Right," I said slowly. "And what is this?"
"A key."
"It doesn't look like a key," I said. "It's small and silver and there's no door panel on your door for it to go in. And what's that handle thing for?"
Anakin sighed with a smile. "I forgot, you're only used to technology and stuff." He muttered. "This is what a door would have looked like thousands of years ago. I personally don't know why anyone would swap them for automatic doors since there is no sense of privacy or personal touch on a big metal slab."
"I'm not following you."
"Just follow me and I'll show you how the door works," Anakin said. "It's really simple and easy. Nothing that you won't be able to do."
I highly doubted that since that... 'door' wasn't like anything I'd ever seen before. Anakin led me up the yard, past the fountain and right up to the front doorstep. There were two steps made of wood that led up to the door and decking that led around the whole front area. There were hammocks and swinging chairs and deck chairs on the decking and I hadn't really seen ones that looked so low tech before. Everything was low tech and I realized that a force wielder didn't need any of the stuff that we did back on Coruscant. They could just get what they needed with a single thought and that meant everything else could be old style and look like a historic site that was beautiful but really hard to live in if you were a normal person from my galaxy.
"Here's how it works," Anakin explained. "You put the key in there like this," He put the weird silver object into the tiny slot in the door. "And turn it," He did. "Then you turn the handle and the door is open."
I frowned. "This seems really out of style, Anakin. It's like your one of those elderly people on an outer rim planet."
Anakin blanched and pouted. "Fine," He waved his hand and the door was suddenly a metallic one that automatically opened and the silver 'keys' we had were now door panel cards. "Happy now?"
I nodded with a smile. "Yes, it looks more like something I would know."
"Yeah, well, don't expect me to change anything else for you." Anakin said seriously. "Everything else inside is high tech and all the stuff that you don't need but want to have anyway." He waved his hand and the door slid open. "After you."
Now I had lots of experience with the way Anakin tended to live. I had no doubts at all that if Master Kenobi hadn't constantly nagged him to keep his living area clean then there would be things strewn out everywhere. And that's exactly what I saw when I walked inside. It wasn't one of those hallways that you expected to see but instead a front room that led all the way to the back so it was actually a living area. There were parts of droids in every possible place and the lights came on once you walked inside. There was a set of sofas in the room just in front of a screen that had a lot of devices underneath it. A gaming unit, along with another one, a set of games and DVD's mixed in together, what was probably one of those boxes that allowed you to have a thousand channels to chose from and another gaming unit. It was like the home of a thirteen year old who lived on their own.
"Woah," I said with arched eye marks. "So this is what it's like when you live alone."
Anakin rolled his eyes and flicked his wrist. All of the droid pieces floated around the room until they were all stacked neatly in the corner so that there was way more space than there was last time. However, there actually wasn't that much space left in the room since it was packed. There was enough space to move around no problem but there was a coffee table in the middle of the set of three sofas so you could put things there and right now there was the remote for channel surfing and controllers for the three different gaming units. There were comfortable chairs in various locations such as in front of a desk that looked like it was used as rarely as possible, a bookcase which I was amazed Anakin even had and a set of chairs around a small table.
"There are lots of other rooms," Anakin said. "A room devoted entirely to games where the entire room is programmed to become whatever game you want and you are the player. You don't actually get hurt but you can get thrown about at times. The bathroom is upstairs and the first door on the right and there are three bedrooms. One that I use and the other two I haven't really needed to use. Guests usually stay in those but I guess one of them is yours now. The kitchen is next to the games room and the lounge is to our left where the staircase is. The backdoor is in the sunroof area and if you go through it then you reach the backyard. Any questions?"
"Yeah," I then asked. "Are there any rooms that I shouldn't go into?"
"My room," Anakin answered. "Unless you want to get your head cut off by a psycho training droid."
I nodded. "Okay."
"I'll show you upstairs so you know where your bedroom is. It's probably going to be the one next to the bathroom instead of my room because I can be pretty loud and no-one should have to deal with that kind of problem."
We walked through the doorway, which didn't have a door, to our left and I saw the lounge. There were couches and chairs set up all over the room and lights in the ceiling with tables and lava lamps that made the entire place seem really, really cool. There were also neon lights and everything. I wondered what the place looked like when the lights were all off and the curtains were pulled on the windows. There was an aquarium in one corner with the most beautiful fish I had ever seen and the walls were either windows of made of wood painted a nice maple colour. I could see why Anakin liked living here. Especially when the design made this room look like party central when all of the lights were turned on and it totally fit into Anakin's personality. He always did like being carefree.
The staircase led upwards and was connected to the wall which meant you could only see half of it before the ceiling cut off the view. They were made of this white kind of wood with a blue carpet leading up the middle. I noticed that every floor had blue carpet that looked really soft and went well with the design of the place. Anakin led me upstairs and it was pretty much plain up there which I didn't mind. Blue carpet in the hallway with wooden plank walls and doors that were, thankfully, mechanical leading into each room. They were all labeled at the top so I knew which was which. The bathroom was right where Anakin said it was and his room was at the far end of the hallway and undoubtedly the biggest room of the lot since there was way more space between his door and the other one than there was between the one that was mine and the bathroom.
Anakin waved his hand over the sign saying 'guest room' above the door and it changed to say, 'Ahsoka's room' instead.
He opened the door for me using the door panel, thank force there actually was one, and I could see that it was basically a plain old room. White bed sheets with a blue carpet and wooden walls. There was one bed side table and not a thing else.
"You can make any improvements you want," Anakin said. "You'll learn how to make new things to put in here and you can just ask me otherwise. The mattress is the softest one I could find just like in my room and the other guest bedroom. Clothes appear in the wardrobe which is in the corner so you can't see it right now and you just have to type in the code for them so that they appear. That means no clothes shopping. Which I hate. You want to settle in or does you stomach come first?"
"Stomach," I chose and Anakin made a bag of shurra fruit appear and he handed it to me. When I looked inside I realized that there were other types of fruit in there too that I hadn't seen before. They looked and smelt delicious so I had absolutely no problems with trying them. I instantly felt better and Anakin smiled.
"Glad you feel better, Snips." He said. "Now you should get settled in for a few minutes in your room whilst I go and sort some stuff out. Then we need to decide what to do about your school and stuff."
"School?" I questioned with a frown. "You mean like a public school thing?"
Anakin frowned. "No, not a public school. Can you imagine that? The kid who lives with the chosen one going to a public school? You would not make it through the first day there, Snips. And I don't have it in me to let you get mobbed by other force wielding kids. I'll introduce you to Simon and Jack. They're Saddie's kids and she's only two hundred and eight."
My eyes went wide. "Two hundred and eight?"
"Ahsoka, these are immortal force wielders you live with now. But Jack and Simon are your age. Eleven almost twelve and still in first school."
"First school?"
Anakin sighed. "It's what you call a primary school back on Coruscant," He explained. "Do you want to go to school straight away or learn a few things first?"
"Definitely learn a few things," I said as I knew that I did not want to be beaten up by other force wielders.
"Okay, I'm going downstairs for a few minutes and I'll be back once I've called Simon and Jack and then you can get to know them and stuff." Anakin frowned. "I wonder if I should make sure they don't try to freeze you or something."
"Freeze me?"
"Don't worry about it," Anakin assured me. "Go inside your room, sit down and eat and then I don't really mind. I'll be back in five. I promise."
He turned and walked back down the hallway. I saw him walking down the stairs and taking a com. link out of his pocket and then I was alone. I looked up at the ceiling and saw that there were swirling lights up there that lit up the entire area. I couldn't help but wonder if they were what lit up the space downstairs since I hadn't really been looking when there were tons of cool stuff around for me to look at. After looking around for a few more seconds, I walked inside the room that was now mine and saw exactly what Anakin had said was there. A wardrobe hidden from view if you looked through the door was neatly tucked away in the corner and everything else was exactly where Anakin said it would be.
I sat down on the bed and realized that it was really, really comfortable. If I wasn't munching on about twenty different types of fruit then I might have fallen asleep right then but I'd learned from Anakin that food always takes priority. I didn't feel sick anymore which was a good thing and I didn't feel as nervous as I was before. To be honest, I was thinking about the first school that Anakin wanted to send me to. I was almost twelve years old which meant it wasn't long before I would be moving up to the next school where all of the older kids went. Also, I was a little worried about how many years you stayed in school for. I thought about Anakin's friend behind two hundred years old and having gone to school with him... it just seemed so strange in my mind.
Then there was Master Kenobi and I didn't even know what was going to happen to him. Anakin was never going to let any harm come to him but that didn't mean I was definitely going to see the Jedi master again. I waited in my room for five minutes just like Anakin said I should and the moment five minutes passed he was standing in my doorway just like he'd promised. He looked even happier and I couldn't think why. In his hand was a device I'd never seen before and it had images floating around it like the ones on a screen. Except there wasn't a screen so I guessed it was one of those really high tech devices where you could do whatever you wanted and such.
"Hey Snips," Anakin said. "You want to come downstairs now? Simon and Jack are going to be here in about three minutes to see you."
I nodded and stood up. "Okay," I agreed. "What's going to happen to Master Kenobi?"
"Well we'll get a call once he's been healed and then I'll bring him back here," Anakin replied. "It's all going to be fine. Then I can help you look for a school you want to go to although I already have an idea of where you should go. Anyway, let's go downstairs and I'll show you this really cool game to play."
Now you may not know this but games that are made by force wielders tend to be way better than games made by non force sensitives or just plain force users. I figured this out the moment Anakin showed me his game collection. There weren't just pod-racing games, believe it or not, even though the pod-racing games looked pretty good if I was honest. I saw blaster games, games where you were in the times of swords and shields and had to run around doing quests for people, this football game which I wasn't too sure about and a whole series of games where you basically started out as a rogue Jedi for hire in every game, slowly progressed up to a higher rank in society and you had a lightsaber that you could customize. I chose that one to play and started to play the first of the seven game series with Anakin showing me the controls and stuff.
I was just about stumbling through the first level when there was a knock on the door and the two kids known as Simon and Jack came barreling in. They almost knocked Anakin off his feet with two bear hugs at the exact same time but I guess he must have had a lot of practice preventing himself from falling over. Their mother, Saddie, was with them along with D and they started talking with Anakin and laughing about things I couldn't even understand. Simon and Jack came to sit next to me and since the game allowed up to four players they joined in and showed me what to do. It was like we'd been friends for years or something and I had to say that the uncomfortable feeling that you get when you meet a new person disappeared in just under four minutes. Even after Anakin had left the room I didn't feel bothered.
"What are those?" I asked as about twenty weird creatures appeared and started attacking our in game characters.
"Lesteroins," Jack explained. "Like the ones you get in the dunes on the east side of the planet."
"You mean these things are actually real?" I questioned in surprise as I sliced two of them in half with my green lightsaber. They were slimy, hissing creatures with two heads and arms for legs. They were also covered in feathers that were stuck to their bodies and dripping gunk.
"Yeah," Simon said. "But we don't see a lot of them since they only live in deserts."
They both sounded so calm about it. I noticed that they were having no problems slicing up the monsters on the game whereas I was jumping over them and trying to regain my health before I died. Once we'd killed all twenty of the Lesteroins and I'd changed my characters clothes since they were now covered in blood and the insides of the monsters, which Simon and Jack didn't seem to mind, we continued to play the game but we didn't see any monsters for a while. That was because we'd all gone back to base to polish our lightsabers and stuff like that. I couldn't understand how Jack had already got eight upgrades on his character but Simon assured me that Jack played games as often as he could and not to worry about it.
We built some add ons, got some speeders and went on a high speed drive in a random forest area because Simon and Jack got, and I quote, 'bored'. There had to be about a hundred different types of monsters in there that I had never even seen before and I was barely alive once we got out. My character looked like she'd just been through hell and back again and I was a little flustered since some of the monsters jumped out at you and made you scream. I wasn't the first one who screamed, luckily, but that doesn't mean I came out of that unscathed. Then I got told that the forest we'd been in was just the easy part of the game and that since you could do whatever you wanted there were thousands of monsters to kill that were ten times harder than those ones. I was glad that I wasn't just playing on my own.
That was how it went for the next few hours. We just played on the game and made tons of progress but didn't even manage to get a quarter of the way through. Apparently, games made by force wielders have so much data on them that it can take you a month to complete them even when you do everything right first time and don't stop playing. I knew that most of my time was going to involve playing games. Then we looked out of one of the windows and saw that it was dark out. Now I know what you're thinking. How can it be dark out when you are living on an asteroid? Well, Anakin used the force to make it so that the asteroid has its own axis and weather system. That means it can rain and snow and everything. So when our side of the asteroid faces away from the sun it gets completely dark. You can only see the stars that are far away and not the big ball of gas that has a field around it so you can look and not get your eyes burnt.
Of course, as soon as it got to pitch black Simon and Jack had to go home. They had school the next morning and it was already ten o'clock at night with them not having had any dinner yet. I couldn't believe that you could make time pass so quickly by playing video games. Then Anakin and his friend D came back in to see them all off and sat down on the couch to play the game with me. I wasn't so sure if D had ever played this game before since his character just kept walking around in circles but Anakin had definitely played before. It wasn't because it was in his house and everything but mostly because of the way he played. He made tons of modifications to our base so that when you walked inside a droid greeted you with a list of options and there was ten new lightsaber modification kits in the storage shed. But then it got to just after midnight and D had to go and Anakin said that it was time for sleep.
I wasn't very happy about the idea since I didn't even feel tired and wanted to stay up and play the game some more but he stood firm in his reasoning. He said that if he didn't Master Kenobi was going to kill him and make he rules ten times as strict. I still wasn't very happy about it but then Anakin said that there were no chronos around so I could sleep in for as long as I wanted and I warmed up to the idea somewhat. He had to go and talk with a few people to make sure nothing bad came of his 'absence' but wanted me to go to sleep before he left so that he could put all of the protective stuff around the house and ensure nobody could get in.
I went upstairs to my bedroom, changed into some striped pajamas that I got from my wardrobe and got into bed. The bed was so comfortable that it took me about a minute to close my eyes properly and fall asleep.