As requested by Starf

This story is set right after the events of the 2008 film and has no connection to the other three (Reprimand over Ryloth, Running Down a Lightsaber, and Attitude Adjustment)

This will be a stand alone story

The First Time I Tell You

Three weeks have passed following the daring rescue of Jabba the Hutt's son, Rotta. Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and his new padawan, Ahsoka Tano have been getting used to one another. However, the young apprentice has lied about her studies, something that has been brought to her master's attention by her Jedi Instructors. With a new mission having been assigned to General Skywalker, his young padawan is eager to tag along, completely unaware of his knowledge of her deceitfulness. It is aboard the Jedi Cruiser Resolute that we find our heroes.

Chapter I: Studious Shortcomings

Anakin had been assigned to investigate the Separatist shipyard on Pammant that was rumored to be in the process of creating a massive new warship. Rex would be coming along as his backup and the two would be tasked with infiltration. In total, the mission would last for approximately two weeks. If the rumors of the new vessel were to be well founded, then they were ordered to return as quickly as possible and inform the Jedi Council.

Assuming there is something to find

"Can I come with you?" Ahsoka asked expectantly.

Anakin Skywalker, Jedi Knight and master to the young togruta currently at his heels, sighed aloud as they walked through the corridors of his flagship.

"Ahsoka, we've been over this already. You can't come with me on every mission. Besides, aren't you behind on your academic work from the Temple?" Anakin chided.

"No?" she responded, a bit unsure.

Anakin stopped in his tracks and turned to look at his apprentice. He fixed her with a knowing look and crossed his arms. Ahsoka smiled innocently at him and gave her best attempt at puppy eyes.

"That's what I thought" he said as he turned and continued his in his stride.

"So is that a maybe?" Ahsoka asked with a mildly cheeky tone.

"Nope" he replied, still walking away.

Ahsoka groaned and made to catch up with the knight. This would be a lot harder than anticipated. But, being the optimistic, enthusiastic, and bubbly teen she was, persistence would win her the day. That's what she thought anyway.

"But Master, I can finish up my studies when we get back! Besides, wouldn't you and Rex like some company on this mission?"

Rex would be his company, which suited him just fine. As for the teenage girl beside him, he had other plans in store. This was the same girl who, as he had been loath to discover, had tried to hide her academic slide for far too long. And to think she wanted to come along while she was close to failing a few of her courses? Not a chance. Especially considering how much trouble she was in for how she tried to hide it. That's right, one snippy little padawan was most definitely not tagging along because of her grades. One snippy little padawan will be staying put and with just the right person too.

"Right, just like how you finished up your hyperspace navigation studies last week?" Anakin said sarcastically as he stopped and faced her.

The togruta, bewildered that her plan to keep him out of the loop had failed, tried to play dumb.

"Yeeeessssssss?" she stated, eyes wide as an astromech's dome

"Really? Because I got a holomessage from Master Leems stating that you failed your navigation test. So of course I told her that was impossible because you had spent the whole week studying for the test. At least, that's what you told me every time I asked. So you'll imagine my complete surprise when I was further informed that you've been missing assignments for two of your other classes."

Ahsoka gulped and felt her mouth go dry. Anakin was borderline glaring, leaving her shaking in her boots. Talk about being cornered. It was almost funny, she thought she had blocked his holomail inbox from receiving calls from the Temple instructors. Apparently not. Yet, for some odd reason, she felt the need to ask a mildly hasty question.

"Wh-What were the other two?" she said with a nervous laugh.

"Master Bear's Rope and Climbing Class along with Master Tycho's Military Strategy Class. But I guess you already know that since they had supposedly sent me around three or four letters each about your studies, none of which I actually received." Anakin responded, a bit louder than expected.

Ahsoka's eyes only grew bigger, if such a thing were possible. She absentmindedly rubbed her arm and averted her gaze from the displeased Jedi before her. She figured each of those reports were probably none to kind about how well she was doing. Yes, looks like the Lothcat's out of the bag. She peered her eyes back up at him as he folded his hands behind his back. Scolding definitely inbound.

"Care to explain why I didn't get them?" he asked sternly

She didn't respond, instead choosing to look back down. This made Anakin furrow his brow and tilt his head while waiting for an answer. He cleared his throat, making her look up immediately.

"I-um…I don't know, master" she answered unevenly.

Anakin shook his head and maintained his gaze on her. Perhaps he was approaching this the wrong way. Directly confronting her might serve to move this along.

"Well I want you to explain to me why you're not studying and why you thought it was a good idea to try to keep me from finding out."

"I am studying!" she retorted defensively.

"Failing a test that you were 'studying' the subject on for a week tells me differently! Not to mention reprogramming my inbox to block incoming messages from you teachers."

She felt her heart rate jump. Acknowledging that statement would only serve to get her in major trouble. She had to scoot around it somehow. Impulsively, she tried to lie her way out.

"What makes you think I did it? It could have been slicers working for the Separatists!"

"Right, because the separatists don't want me to know about my padawan failing her school subjects. How silly of me to assume you had anything to do with it." His voice dripping with sarcasm.

"It's possible," she hesitated. "They could be impersonating the instructors at the Temple!"

Crossing his arms, he glared at her. Not what he was implying whatsoever. But at the same time, he chose to play a hunch that he believed would get the truth from her one way or another. If he played his cards right, she'd reveal her hand and there would be no getting out of it. Here goes nothing.

"Enough Ahsoka. I know it was you. I've known for quite a while now too." He said, not a trace of doubt in his tone.

Ahsoka shook her head, confusion overtaking her. She was so sure she had covered her tracks so well that he wouldn't notice. There was no way he could just know it was her. She hadn't left any clues. He must be bluffing. No, she wasn't convinced that he was convinced in her being guilty of said charge.

"If you knew it was me this whole time why didn't you say anything earlier?" she said genuinely confused.

"Because I was waiting for you to come clean about it. Like an honest student would" he answered sternly.

She was taken back by his words. Why would she willingly tell him she was doing this behind his back and get herself in trouble? This doesn't make sense. But back to the not so subtle insult.

"I am honest" she said, a little bass in her voice.

"No you aren't. You wouldn't come clean about this to me. You went behind my back and lied about studying to me, not once or twice, but on multiple occasions"

She balled up her fists and narrowed her eyes at him. Tantrum inbound

"No I didn't!"

"Yes you did"

Her nostrils were flaring and her eyes were locked with his. She wasn't giving in, not when her character was under attack.

It was a legitimate attack though. a small voice chimed in the back of her mind.

"I didn't lie!" she retorted angrily.

"Then who tampered with my holomail inbox?!"

"I don't know!" she fired back.

"Ahsoka!"

Her face was hot as lava and her eyes were shimmering. She wanted so badly for him to stop and not make her say it. She wanted to scream at him for making her feel so guilty about the whole thing. But if she did, then she'd be admitting to him that he was right. She's a liar. Even though she knew already knew it to be true. He wanted an answer? So be it, damn the consequences.

"Fine! I did it! I messed with your holomail! Are you happy now?!" she yelled.

"One, don't you ever raise your voice to me like that again. Two, I'm not happy at all. I'm disappointed. Honesty is key between a master and apprentice. So from this point forward, I don't want to catch you lying to me again, got it?"

She crossed her arms and looked away. She was breathing hard through her nose, a sign that at any moment she may explode. He waited for a response, though there was none forthcoming. Being that indignant only served to make Anakin's patience, what was left of it anyway, to fizzle out. If she won't respond, then maybe she'll listen to his warning instead.

"Look at me" he spoke, his voice on edge.

She kept her gaze fixated on the wall of the corridor. She shifted uncomfortably, one because she knew it was childish to ignore him and two because she had admitted the truth. Form his perspective, he tacked on defiance to the list of things that was pushing his limits. If she wasn't going to face him, so be it. Heavy artillery on call.

"Look. At. Me. Now." He said darkly.

The threatening manner in which he spoke was just enough to make her turn, ever so slightly. The angered knight bent down until he was eye level with her. She subconsciously moved her head back at his closeness. His gaze pierced her and left her feeling nervous, something the Jedi before her was well aware of.

"Do you remember what I told you on Christophsis? About you and I having a talk? Did you understand what I meant?"

Ahsoka slowly shook her head 'no' and gave a confused expression. He ever so carefully inched closer until they were only an inch apart. Anakin maintained his stony stare as he spoke.

"It meant I was going to give you a spanking. Next time you think it's a good idea to mess with my inbox so you can hide your grades from me, that's what you're gonna get. Next time you decide you want to lie to me about something, that's what going to happen. Understood Ahsoka?"

The young togruta paled and she knew for a solid fact that the stripes on her lekku were darkened. She was grateful in the sense that he had said all this with no one around to hear. But it was still quite embarrassing to have this kind of censure coming from her relatively laid back mentor. She shook her head in acknowledgement, careful not to take her eyes off him and also apologizing as she did so.

"I'm sorry for tampering your holomail and lying Master. It won't happen again." she said quietly.

"Good, it better not. Now, as for this mission debate, I think you have a pretty clear picture as to why I'm not letting you come with me. So no more begging. I already took the liberty of planning out what you'll be doing instead. You are to call your teachers and explain to them what you did. You will apologize for what you've done and make up the work you didn't complete. Since I won't be here to make sure you do, Master Kenobi will. I'm transferring you to the Negotiator. Heis going to be taking you with him on his way out to deliver injured clones to the Kaliida Shoals Medical Center."

Ahsoka's face dropped. She was being forced to apologize to her teachers? With Obi-Wan there to babysit her? Talk about the definition of embarrassing. She considered crossing her arms over her chest in consternation but thought better of it seeing that Anakin was being serious and with his blunt threat still hanging over her.

"While you're there, Obi-Wan will supervise your studies and make sure you actually do your homework. I've already informed him of everything you need to improve on and what classes require the upmost attention. I expect you to be on your best behavior for him."

"But-" she started.

Anakin raised his hand, causing her to fall silent.

"This is non-negotiable. By the time I get back, I want to see improvement in your grades Ahsoka. This mission should last for about two to three weeks. That should be plenty of time for you to get your act together. I'm trusting you on this one. If I hear that you aren't following Obi-Wan's instructions, then you and I are going to deal with this at the Temple and we will have a talk. So when I return, I'm not going to hear any complaints from Master Kenobi am I?"

"No master" she huffed out.

"Good. Go get your datapads from your quarters and head down to the portside docking bay. A shuttle will be leaving in ten minutes to transfer some of our injured clones over to the Negotiator. Be on it and remember, I'm going to be expecting good news when I return. Got it?"

Ahsoka shook her head and turned around, heading back to the turbolifts. This was going to be a long couple of weeks. With any luck, Master Kenobi would be too busy to keep an eye on her, allowing her some semblance of freedom. Besides, Obi-Wan was incredibly polite and kind. There's no way he would give Anakin a bad report on her 'behavior'. Now that was something she disliked, a word such as that used in the same sentence to describe her. It was for younglings, not fourteen year old padawans. However, before she could continue this line of thought, Anakin called out to her. She stopped and turned around.

"A little word of advice my young padawan?" He began, "Do not mistake Obi-Wan's calmness and patience for him being a pushover. He is anything but and you'll find out real fast. Believe me, a talk from him is no fun at all. Be safe, and May the Force be with You"

"Yes Master" she replied.

Turning away from her, Anakin continued his walk down the corridor. He would be meeting up with his clone captain in the hangar and departing thereafter. Hopefully, a certain teen would heed his advice and not poke the lion that his old master was.

Hopefully

"Good luck Snips" he said as he disappeared out of her sight.

Standing alone in the corridor, Ahsoka felt the nervousness from before return. She had never been in a situation like this before. During her tenure at the Temple, she had only once ever received a stern warning about this type of punishment. What had her most concerned was the sheer embarrassment of it all. To know that even though she was fourteen, her master and possibly even Master Obi-Wan would still put her across their knees. This was not looking to be a very good sitting experience for her. However, realizing that she had a shuttle to catch, Ahsoka immediately high tailed it back to her quarters and collected her schoolwork and a set of clothes. She checked her chrono as she filled the small container with everything she would be taking.

"Don't want to be late for a nice long boring trip" she muttered.

Running out of her room, she whipped past Rex who jumped out of her way and looked after her retreating form in confusion. He barely heard her utter 'sorry' as she continued running. The orange blur that was his Jedi Commander just barely avoided colliding with two more troopers down the hall. Rattling off her apologies, the two troopers looked at each other and then down to the Captain. Shrugging to them, Rex shook his head in amusement. With a slight chuckle, he commented on the matter.

"Must be some party she's late to."

Ahsoka, still running through the corridors of the Republic warship, barely skidded to a stop as she rounded the last corner to the docking bay. Two minutes to spare and just in time too, a group of injured troopers were approaching a singular Rho-class heavy transport. Being the only vessel with hospital markings on it, Ahsoka approached the shuttle and boarded. Carefully she made her way to the rear, finding a place to stand since majority of the space was already taken by beds.

"This oughta be interesting" she said as the boarding ramp closed.

With a slight rumble, the shuttle received liftoff clearance and departed shortly thereafter. Inside the main hangar of the Resolute, Anakin having just been joined by Rex, watched the heavy transport carrying his padawan zoom past the open bay doors. The craft became smaller and smaller as it approached his former master's flagship, banking towards the starboard side bay. Taking one last glance, the two men saw the transport enter the bay. Taking this as their cue to depart, the knight and clone entered their own vessel, a Nu-class shuttle, and after a few moments of prep and clearances, departed the Venator-class star destroyer.

"We have the coordinates for the planet Pammant entered in, Sir. Shall we depart?" Rex asked as he checked the navicomputer.

"Just a second Rex, I need to advise General Kenobi of his new charge's arrival."

Rex nodded and fought the urge to laugh. He had a feeling his Jedi Commander's sprinting had something to do with this. He was glad that his helmet was still on. It was a whole lot easier to hide his grinning under it than his hand. Anakin knew the clone was amused, he could feel it through the Force. Of Course, Rex didn't know that.

"Skywalker to Obi-Wan"

A brief pause ensued as he waited for the older Jedi's response. Seconds later, a hologram appeared before the younger knight in the cockpit. Standing with hands folded behind his back, Obi-Wan nodded his greeting to his former student.

"Anakin, I see you're ready to depart. How'd your padawan take the news?"

"Pretty well, considering I let her in on why she's staying with you. Other than that, she knows that you'll be 'assisting' her with her studies while I'm gone. She also knows to contact the Temple once you're available. If she requires any additional guidance, you're more than welcome to dispense it Master." Anakin replied with a knowing look.

Translating in his mind what the younger Jedi was saying, Obi-Wan shook his head, a ghost of a smile on his face. This was going to be an interesting couple of weeks for him. Almost like old times with his former apprentice.

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind, Anakin. We'll be fine here. I wish you success with your mission. May the Force be with You."

Flashing his trademark grin, Anakin answered in kind and ended the transmission. Looking over towards the star destroyer his apprentice was now aboard, he hoped everything would be alright before his return. Wishful thinking? Possibly. Either way, it was up to Ahsoka now. Behave and get her grades back up, or deal with the man who set him straight when he needed it. Better the former option. Returning his gaze to the star field before him, he pulled the hyperdrive lever. The shuttle jumped into hyperspace, leaving a wise Jedi Master staring after it.

"Cody" Obi-Wan said as he turned away from the viewport.

"Yes Sir?" the clone commander answered.

"Please inform Ms. Tano that I would like her to meet me in my quarters." He said as he approached him.

Cody nodded his head and made to depart the bridge. Hopefully these next few weeks would go by smoothly.

*Author's Note (9/15/2021): I uploaded the draft for the first chapter by mistake. I forgot to label it. This is the one I meant to post instead.