Hey guys! May the 4th be with you! I've really grown to love Akirah, so I decided to reuse her, this time as an adult after the rise of the empire.
Ahsoka Tano had been a rebel informant for years now… Since the rise of the Empire. She thought she'd be used to distress calls by now. At 14, she'd seen more war than some twice her age, and now at 30, she'd seen enough death and destruction to last five lifetimes. She didn't think she could be surprised, but she was. Ahsoka stared at the holo image of her best friend from the Jedi Temple.
"It's been a while." Said the holo.
"Akirah Canis. You're alive." Replied Ahsoka.
"Aurek, I need help. I'm hiding on my Master's planet, but I think they found me."
The use of her childhood nickname was all the proof Ahsoka needed. She had to help her friend.
"I'm coming. Use the old subspace channel if you need to contact me." Ahsoka said urgently.
"Ahsoka," Akirah said, "May the Force be with you."
"You too, Kir."
Ryloth was not a pleasant place for humans. Particularly a human who has spent a little less than half my life in hiding. It didn't matter, because I was safe, and I needed to be safe. The galaxy was in turmoil; almost worse than during the Clone Wars over ten years ago. At least Ahsoka was coming. I decided I had to go to the place where I buried my lightsabers. I'd need them if I was going to start fighting back. I'd say 30 was cutting it a bit late, but I could still be helpful to the rebellions. Master Jinn was already 70 when he took on Obi-Wan as a Padawan. I sighed and pulled my hood down low over my face; one can never be too careful. Aayla, on the other hand, had been only 29 when she took me as her padawan. I'd already outlived her by two years. I touched the long braid behind my right ear. I'd always thought I'd be knighted by now; I thought I'd be a Jedi of the Republic. None of that happened, of course.
By then, I had reached the hill where I'd buried my twin sabers. I looked around carefully and removed the rock under which my lightsabers were hidden and took out the metal handles. They felt good in my hands, familiar, even after all these years. Aayla would've been disappointed in me; I'd practiced with a staff and stayed fit, but I hadn't used the Force once in twelve years. I went back to my little hut and sat down. For the first time in years, I sat down and meditated. Breathing deeply, I opened myself up to the Force and let it flow through me. I almost physically exhaled. I felt like I was 18 again, young and ready. I felt my friend's presence in the Force nearby. I whispered without talking.
Aurek, I'm here. I'm here.
I didn't move as I felt her approach.
I know.
The door opened. I watched as a tall Togruta female walked into the small one-room house.
"Kir, It's been a while." She said.
"Ahsoka Tano. You got old."
A misty look came over her eyes, but I didn't understand.
"So did you. Now come on, the ship won't wait long."
She pulled her cloak up over her now considerably taller montrals. I mirrored her.
"You still wear your hair the same way."
Ahsoka said as we walked across town, heads down.
"Yeah, unlike Togruta, we can cut our hair whenever we want."
She smirked. Whenever we sparred, we'd jab at our different species.
The ship Ahsoka had come in was a decent ship, except for the large amounts of carbon scoring.
"How many fights has this ship seen? Ahsoka?"
She pursed her lips.
"It's a rebel ship, so, a lot."
We walked onto the ship.
"Welcome to the Ghost."
"Aurek! Are you crazy?!"
I heard a group of people start walking towards us.
"Aurek? Like the letter?" Someone said.
"That's me." Ahsoka said, "It's my nickname from when I was a padawan."
The group in front of me was a scraggly bunch. The pilot was a green skinned twi'lek. I choked with the memory of my twi'lek master. There was a Lasat, a droid, and three humans: one was about twenty and the other maybe fifteen. I gasped when I saw the last human. He was by far the oldest, but he wore armor that was scarily familiar. I reached for my lightsabers and ignited them.
"YOU!" I screamed.
"Kir! Calm down! It's just Rex."
"Ahsoka, this man is dangerous. His brothers are the reason my master is dead. They slaughtered her!" I yelled. "I was sent ahead to scout and when I came back, I saw the troopers I'd served with for years aiming their blasters at her. I wanted to go to her but I couldn't. I had to project myself through the Force to go to her right before she died. They shot her down and I made them believe they shot me down, so they left. I held my master in my arms as she died. DO YOU KNOW HOW THAT FEELS?!"
Tears streamed down my face as I crossed my sabers at Rex-no, the clone's neck.
"He never killed anyone. Some of the clones removed their inhibitor chips." Ahsoka said.
I wiped my eyes, quickly composing myself with Jedi self-restraint once again. Looking around the group again, I did a double take when I looked at the man again.
"Caleb? Caleb Dume?" I asked.
"Caleb? Who's Caleb?" The young boy looked up at who I was almost certain was Caleb.
"I just blew a cover, didn't I?"
We both smiled.
"It's been a while. Do you have yours?"
He asked and put one hand behind his right ear. I mirrored him but pulled out the braid I wore. Ahsoka gasped.
"You kept it." she gasped.
"I will be knighted. Even if it's not until I return to the Force."
"So, Caleb, are you going to tell me who you are to them and who I am? Or Ahsoka."
"They call me Kanan Jarrus. Ezra, Zeb, that is Akirah Canis. The three of us were padawans in the Clone Wars. Ahsoka left the order, but my master and Akirah's were murdered during the Jedi purges."
"Who's the young one?" I asked. "He's strong in the Force."
"I'm Ezra Bridger, and Kanan's training me to be a Jedi."
I closed my eyes. The Force winked at me from a corner of the ship. I reached out and brought it to me. It flew into my hand, Ahsoka barely having time to dodge it. I looked at it, then reached deeper into the Force. I heard the mechanism click and when I opened my eyes, Obi-Wan Kenobi was looking at me. I watched the holovid of him warning the Jedi and I closed my eyes. I knew what came next; the holo showed different things depending on who opened it. My master's voice filled the small ship.
"Remember, the Force knows the past, present, and future. Trust in the Force."
I looked at my master. She always said that when I needed to focus. I felt a hand on my shoulder.
"They're all gone. All of them."
As always, please review.