Hello readers! We are very sorry about the long absence. LadySongbird16 and I have been pretty busy and did not have much time to do any writing, but we did have lots of time for planning, so this story will hopefully be updated more often. This chaper was a bit tricky, apparently writing for Yoda can be difficult. Enjoy the chapter and please leave a review or favorite the story if you have the time. Good luck in these difficult times and stay healthy.
Chapter 12
After almost four hours of space travel, Ahsoka and her crew finally reached Polis Massa. The planet was no longer a planet, but a field of asteroids.
"Of course," Ahsoka thought. "The information I acquired from the library mentioned that some mysterious cataclysm destroyed the planet and the system it's named after."
"Do you think we can expect any trouble on this rock commander?" Rex inquired.
"I don't believe it will be a problem," Ahsoka replied. "From my research on the planet, or asteroid field as it is now, the Archeological Research council of Kallidah established their presence here not long after the planet was destroyed."
"They must be studying the surface to figure out how exactly it was destroyed," Satine suggested.
"Will they give us any trouble, though?" Lux asked.
"I do feel a presence in the Force here, Ahsoka," the Daughter declared. "Thankfully, it does not feel malicious."
"I know I feel it as well," Ahsoka replied. "Perhaps some of the Jedi managed to escape the massacre."
"I can feel another presence in the force here," Ahsoka declared to the rest of the group.
"A friendly one, I hope commander," Kix replied.
"I don't sense any darkness," Ahsoka replied. "So not a sith, but friendly, I cannot tell."
"Well, let's hope they won't have a problem with seeing us," Rex replied.
"We have a transmission coming in," Lux declared.
"Put it through," Ahsoka said.
Suddenly a holo of someone quite familiar appeared on the ship's control panel. It was Senator Bail Organa.
"Attention unknown vessel this is a secure research base," he declared. "State your business here."
"Senator Organa, this Senator Lux Bonteri of Onderon," Lux stated. "I am on board with former Jedi Ahsoka Tano and several unchipped Clone Trooper refugees. Requesting permission to land."
"Senator Bonteri," Bail said in shock. "It is good to see that you are safe. Permission to land granted. I shall meet you at the ship docks."
Lux landed the ship and lowered the ramp for him and Ahsoka to step off.
"The rest of you stay here for now," Ahsoka said to Satine and the clones. "We'll talk to Senator Organa and come back for you when it's safe for you to leave the ship."
"You got it, commander," Rex replied.
"Remind me to tell him later it's just Ahsoka now," Ahsoka said to the Daughter. "Right now, there are more urgent matters for us to worry about."
Ahsoka and Lux exited the ship, and the first person they saw was Senator Organa. Ahsoka noticed someone else familiar standing at Bail's feet.
"Master Yoda?!" Ahsoka said in disbelief. "You managed to survive the massacre."
Ahsoka moved closer to the old Jedi master and kneeled before him.
"Please tell me what happened," she said. "Did any of the others survive?"
Before Ahsoka could even begin to ask another question, the green Jedi master wrapped his arms around her and drew her into a tight hug.
"Master Yoda?" Ahsoka questioned.
"Glad I am, safe you are," Yoda said with sadness in his voice. "I must apologize, too blind to see what was truly important we were. Failed you the council did sorry; I am Ahsoka."
Ahsoka gave the tiny green Jedi master a small squeeze.
"Master Yoda…it's okay," she said.
"Senator Bonteri," Bail said, addressing Lux. "What exactly has brought you and Padawan Tano to Polis Massa?"
"I think it would be better if Ahsoka were the one to explain everything," Lux replied.
"I had visions," Ahsoka declared. "Master Yoda, I saw Anakin and clones firing their blasters. I also felt this tremendously overwhelming sense of darkness."
"Yes," Yoda replied. "Chip in clones heads, programmed with a secret code it was, executed Order 66 Palpatine did. Clones turned on Jedi; they did."
"So the news about Tup and Fives," Ahsoka began. "What Kix told me he heard was true."
"Unchipped clones you have with you, you mentioned Ahsoka?" Yoda asked.
"Yes," Ahsoka replied. "After I heard the news about what happened to Tup and Fives, I found it quite strange and unsettling. So I decided to do some research on my own and see what I can find. After some investigation and finding a somewhat helpful source of information, I sent a message to Captain Rex, warning him of the possible danger. Later on, I found Kix in a crashed Separatist vessel on a desert planet called Ponemah Terminal. He was frozen in a cyro-cycle stasis pod, but we managed to get him out safely. He said he discovered the truth, and Count Dokku had him kidnapped for it so he couldn't warn the Jedi of the danger."
"And with you now, he is?" Yoda asked.
"Yes," Ahsoka replied. "He and several escaped clones of the 501st as well as some other legions. "Master Yoda, please, what happened to Anakin, though, and how did you escape?"
Master Yoda hung his head. "Not here we will discuss, to Senator Organa's ship, we will go."
"Master Yoda wait," Ahsoka interrupted. "The clones were not the only ones we managed to save. We went to Mandalore, Darth Maul, the sith Obi-Wan faced years ago was there. You remember Duchess Satine Kryze, yes?"
"Master Kenobi informed us that this Darth Maul took control of Death Watch and killed Duchess Satine right in front of him."
"That's what he wanted to Obi-Wan to think," Ahsoka replied. "We found Duchess Satine, Maul wounded her, but only to the extent that she lost consciousness, it just looked fatal. We managed to find and rescue her. She is on our ship now."
"Bring her with us, we will then," Yoda said. "The clone troopers as well, all of this, hear you should."
"Lux, can you go tell the others they can leave the ship now?" Ahsoka questioned.
"I'll be right back," Lux said, boarding their ship.
Ahsoka, Lux, Satine, and the clone troopers were sitting in Bail's ship with him and Master Yoda.
Satine was explaining everything that happened to her to Master Yoda and Bail.
"And Maul?" Yoda asked.
"He is dead, Master," Ahsoka confirmed. "How, I believe, is something we should discuss at another time. Now please, Master Yoda, you have not told us, what happened to Anakin, and how did you escape?"
"Was on Kashyyyk I was," Yoda declared. "To stop a possible impending Separatist invasion. The downfall of our fellow Jedi I felt, Commander Gree and another trooper, tried to kill me they did, kill them I had to. Escaped back to Coruscant with two Wookie pilots."
"So the order was galaxy-wide," Rex said.
"Yes," Yoda replied. "Rendezvous with Senator Organa and Obi-Wan I did."
"Where was Obi-Wan when Order 66 was executed?" Ahsoka inquired.
"On Utapau he was," Yoda declared. "Pursuing General Grevious he was. Returned to the Jedi temple we did, found a beacon relaying all surviving Jedi to return to Coruscant. Planned to reconfigure the beacon we did, warn any survivors to go into hiding. Many bodies of our fallen brothers and sisters we found as well as several clones. Reconfigured the signal we did, then Obi-Wan wished to see who was responsible for the massacre. Warned him, painful to watch the slaughtering of the other Jedi, it would be. Security footage showed us shocking and painful truth it did. Young Skywalker led the massacre, fallen to the dark side he has."
"What?!" Ahsoka exclaimed. "No!"
Lux put a hand on Ahsoka's shoulder.
"Truly sorry, I am Ahsoka," Yoda said. "Cared for your master, I know you did."
"What about Palpatine?" Lux questioned. "Is he the one who was indeed behind this?"
"Yes," Yoda replied. "A lord of the sith he is. Went to confront him, I did, while Obi-wan went to confront Skywalker he did, followed him to the planet of Mustafar."
"Mustafar?" Ahsoka questioned.
"That planet is aligned with the separatists," Lux confirmed. "A very volcanic planet if I remember."
"What about Palpatine Master Yoda?" Ahsoka asked.
"Went to the senate to confront him I did," Yoda declared. "Duel, we did, more powerful than I thought he is, had no choice but to flee I did, failed I have."
"Master Yoda," Ahsoka began. "It is better that you are here now. Palpatine could have killed you; like it or not, you are one of the most powerful Jedi masters alive, and we need to keep you that way."
"And what of Obi-Wan?" Satine inquired.
"We have not heard from Master Kenobi since he left Coruscant. As far as we know, he is still on Mustafar, facing Master Skywalker."
"And Senator Amidala?" Lux questioned.
"Last I saw her, she was still on Coruscant," Bail declared.
Ahsoka began to think back to her last vision; fire, lightsabers clashing, the overwhelming sense of darkness, the pain of being choked, the crying of babies. It couldn't be, could it?
"Master," she said, looking at Yoda. "I had another overwhelming vision, as well. I felt a sensation of being choked, a baby crying, as well as this asteroid. I'm not saying it is her exactly, but what if Senator Amidala is in danger?"
"She is pregnant," Bail confirmed.
Suddenly the comms started beeping. Bail rushed over to answer them.
"Master Yoda," he began. "We've made contact with Master Kenobi; he has Senator Amidala with him, he says she is in terrible shape."
"We need to have help ready for when he gets here with her."
"To the medical facility we will go to alert the doctors," Yoda said, getting up from his seat. "At the spaceport, Senator Organa will wait for them."
"Lux, Satine," Ahsoka began. "Come with us."
The group made their way to the medical facility as quickly as they could. Master Yoda had told Ahsoka were it was and had her sprint ahead since she was much faster than the others. When she got there, she saw that the Kallidahins did not have faces and that there we small levitating medical droids everywhere. One stopped right in front of her.
"May I help you miss?" It asked.
"We have a Jedi coming in," Ahsoka began. "He was in an injured woman with him. She is heavily pregnant and has possibly been choked."
"We will get a room set up right away," the droid stated.
A few minutes later, Lux, Satine, and Master Yoda showed up, and soon after, Bail Organa arrived with Obi-Wan, carrying an unconscious Padme. The Kallidahin medics immediately put her on a gurney and rushed her into a room. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan looked in Ahsoka's direction; he could not believe that he was seeing her but someone else as well.
"Ahsoka, Satine!" He exclaimed. "It can't be! How?"
"Obi-Wan, please," Ahsoka began. "I know this only adds to your shock, but it is both of us, we can explain later how Satine is here, but you need to focus on the situation at hand. What happened to Padme?"
"She is pregnant," Obi-Wan said. "Only the child, it's Anakin's."
"What?" Ahsoka exclaimed. "This can't be, I knew Anakin and Padme were close, but not that close!"
"I sensed it, Ahsoka," Obi-Wan declared. "Anakin is indeed the father of her child. I begged her to help me stop him, but she refused a first. Right after I left, though, I saw her boarding her ship. I knew she had to have changed her mind and was going after Anakin, so I snuck on. When we got to Mustafar, I saw her talking to him, but as soon as I made my presence known, he started calling her a liar. I saw him force lifting her off the ground and her clutching her neck, I told him to let her go. Then she fell unconscious to the ground."
"What about Anakin?" Ahsoka questioned.
"I dueled him after that," Obi-Wan said. "He was too far gone, Ahsoka; there was no turning back; he would have killed me."
"You mean you…..?" Ahsoka asked in horror.
"I didn't kill him, no," Obi-Wan confirmed. "I was able to stop him buy slicing off the rest of his limbs and he landed very close to the lava. There was no way he could escape. I knew I had to get Padme some help quickly…so I left him there."
"I see," Ahsoka said, hanging her head. "The odds of him surviving those burns are not very likely."
"I am sorry, Ahsoka," Obi-Wan said. "I loved him, too; he was like a brother to me."
"You did what you had to do, Obi-Wan," Ahsoka confirmed. "He would have killed you."
"Ahsoka," Lux said, moving to put a hand on her shoulder. She stopped him.
"Please, Lux, don't," she said. "I need a few minutes alone. I'll be on the ship. Keep an eye on Padme, make sure they examine her pharynx, from what you told me Obi-Wan, it sounds like he force choked her."
Ahsoka made her way back to their ship, not letting anyone see the tears that were beginning to fall from her face.
Ahsoka was back on the ship. She couldn't believe everything that had just happened. Anakin turned to the dark side, nearly killed Padme, who's pregnant with his child, turning on Obi-Wan, and killed other Jedi. She always had an off feeling about Palpatine, but never had she imaged all of this happening.
"Ahsoka," the Daughter said. "Please, I know this all must be beyond unbelievable."
"Unbelievable," Ahsoka said, "My lady, my former master, a man who was a mixture of a father and a brother to me, turned to the dark side, Padme is carrying his child, Palpatine is the sith lord!"
"Take your time to grieve dear Ahsoka," the Daughter said."Please remember that there are people who still care about you that are lucky to be still alive."
"I never have left the Order," Ahsoka declared. "If I had stayed…"
"Then, you could have died along with the rest of the Jedi!" The Daughter exclaimed. "Or you may have had to assist Obi-Wan in fighting your former master. Tell me, Ahsoka, could you have gone through with that?"
Ahsoka was silent for several seconds.
"No," she finally replied.
"Remember," the Daughter said. "You are here; you have a purpose, and you still have friends."
"Speaking of having friends, I've been thinking about something", Ahsoka stated.
"What has been on your mind?", the Daughter asked.
Ahsoka was quite for a moment and then started speaking. "I need to figure out if I should tell Masters Yoda and Obi-Wan about the Society of Light, and about you." She was paused for a second and then continued. "What do you think?"
"I don't mind whether you tell them anything or not Ahsoka. Ultimately the choice is yours to make", the Daughter responded.
"I figured you'd say something like that", Ahsoka said aloud and then lost herself in thought, contemplating the choices infront of her.
A few hours later, Rex came in to see Ahsoka.
"Excuse me, commander," he said.
"Please, Rex," Ahsoka began. "You don't have to call me that anymore. It's just Ahsoka now."
"Sorry," Rex replied. "Old habits die hard."
"Is there something you needed to tell me?" Ahsoka asked.
" Oh, right, General Yoda and General Kenobi wish to speak with you," Rex declared. "Should I tell them you need time?"
"No," Ahsoka replied. "Send them in."
"Very well," Rex replied.
A few minutes later, Obi-Wan and Yoda came in.
"Ahsoka," Obi-Wan greeted.
"Master Yoda, Master Obi-Wan," Ahsoka addressed the two Jedi Masters. "I assume you both have questions about what I've been doing."
"Indeed," Yoda replied. "Wish to know, where you went when walked away from the order you did; how ended up here, you did?"
"Well," Ahsoka began. "After I walked away from the order, I ran into Lux, Senator Bonteri, and he offered me a place to stay until I figured out what to do. Then I started hearing voices, voices of someone I've heard before. Master Kenobi, do you remember what happened when we crash-landed on Mortis."
"Of course," Obi-Wan replied, throwing a cousious look at Master Yoda. He, Ahsoka, and Anakin and never spoken about what happened on Mortis with anyone, not even each other. "We met the ones, the Daughter, who was the Light, the Son, who was the Dark, and the Father, who was the balance."
"Spoke of this planet, you never have," Yoda said in shock. "Jedi have only spoken of it, in legend they have."
"On a mission a while back," Obi-Wan began, tiredly rubbing the back of his head. "When you sent us to investigate that old Jedi distress signal. We were supposed to rendezvous with Rex and a few of the 501st at the coordinates of the distress call. When we got there, we could not see them, even though they claimed to be at the same set of coordinates as us."
"Then our ship lost all power for a few seconds," Ahsoka continued. "When it came back on, we suddenly noticed this dark and mysterious pyramid structure right ahead of us; it pulled our ship right toward it; we lost all control of the vessel itself. The pyramid opened up and pulled us directly in; we were all blinded by a bright light."
"It must have caused all of us to blackout because right after we all woke up on an organic mass of some sort," Obi-Wan added. "We could not determine where we were, and nothing on the ship's systems was working even though diagnostics showed everything was fine. It then that we meet the ones. Forgive me, Master Yoda; we did not think anybody would believe us if we told them what happened. I feared you would find it too outlandish. As you said, Jedi have only talked about Mortis in Legend."
"Understand your worries, I do," Yoda replied. "Come to me instead of the rest of the council you should have. Listened, I would."
"Well," Ahsoka continued. "It was the Daughter's voice that I heard."
"But all of them were dead when we left," Obi-Wan questioned.
"Believe young Ahsoka, I do," Yoda stated.
"You do Master Yoda?" Ahsoka questioned.
"Many strange things I have seen in the Force since you left Ahsoka," Yoda replied. "The Force truly works in mysterious ways it does. Encounter similar events, I have. "
"To continue my tale," Ahsoka began. "The Daughter told me everything that happened on Mortis. Things that occurred that I didn't recall. Things you and Anakin withheld from me."
"Ahsoka," Obi-Wan began.
Ahsoka looked him in the eye and continued her explanation, her voice steadily rising with every word. "That the Son took control of me, had me duel against you and Anakin, used me to get the dagger, killed me once he had it!"
"We didn't want to cause you any distress by learning about what you did, Ahsoka," Obi-Wan declared. "Anakin was so upset when the Son killed you; he begged the Father for help."
"So the Daughter told me," Ahsoka replied. "She told me of how she jumped in front of the Father when the Son tried to slay him with the dagger. That Anakin begged for help. How the Daughter wanted to put the rest of her life force in me. So the Father used Anakin as a channel to do so."
"So lives inside you, the Daughter does, you are saying?" Yoda inquired.
"As crazy as it sounds, yes," Ahsoka replied.
"But all of them were dead when we left," Obi-Wan confirmed.
"Ahsoka," the Daughter said. "Let them see me, please. I wish to speak to them."
"Are you sure about that, my lady?" Ahsoka asked.
"Yes,"the Daughter replied. "I believe I should explain the situation to them."
"Master Yoda, Master Kenobi," Ahsoka said, getting their attention. "The Daughter has informed me that she would like to speak with both of you herself."
"How will she be able to do that, Ahsoka?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Focus your attention on the ship windows. You will be able to see her on a reflective surface."
Ahsoka concentrated on the Daughter's form, and soon enough, Obi-Wan and Yoda were seeing her in the ship's window."
"Master Yoda," she said, acknowledging the green Jedi Master. "It is good to finally meet you. Master Kenobi, it is good to see you again."
"Daughter," Obi-Wan said. "It is true; you have returned."
"My spirit never truly disappeared Master Kenobi," Daughter declared. "The rest of my life force was channeled into Ahsoka's body. That is where I have been all this time. You could say that Ahsoka acts as my vessel."
"Makes sense, strangely, this does," Yoda said.
"If you are still present, though," Obi-Wan began. "What of your brother and your father?"
"My father is dead. I am sad to say," Daughter confirmed. "My brother is still around. He simply has a more sinister way of obtaining hosts."
"Explain to us if you please," Yoda said.
"There are two societies that worship the Light and Dark sides of the Force," Daughter declared. "Being that my brother and I are the personifications of both, we are treated like deities. Ahsoka is my host because my life force was channeled into her body. My brother has a parasitic relationship with his hosts. When he enters them, he drains and burns out their life forces, so he can never stay in one for an extended period of time, yet members of his society see it as an honor. They offer themselves up to him, happily, even though they know it will lead to their deaths. In contrast, I will remain with Ahsoka until the day she dies."
"Found your society, young Ahsoka did?" Yoda questioned.
"Yes," Daughter replied. "After finding evidence of them on Coruscant, I told her of them, and she decided to seek them out."
"And joined them, she has?" Yoda continued.
"Yes, she and Senator Bonteri," the Daughter replied. "They have sent her on a few missions. I believe Ahsoka will want to tell you of our most recent one."
The Daughter disappeared, leaving Ahsoka seemingly on her own.
"Amazing," Obi-Wan said.
"Master Kenobi, I assume you remember Darth Maul?" Ahsoka said. "You encountered him on Mandalore not too long ago."
"Yes," Obi-Wan replied. "I watched him kill Satine right in front of me, or at least I thought I did. I cannot thank you enough for rescuing her Ahsoka."
"Of course," Ahsoka replied with a smile. "That isn't the point right now though, the Society of the Light sent me to investigate him because they had a feeling he may have already aligned with the Society of the Dark, or that they would soon ask him. When we got there, we found Satine and rescued her, but then we ran into Maul. I fought him, but he came this close to finishing me."
"How did you manage to stop him?" Obi-Wan questioned.
"The Son showed up," Ahsoka declared, looking away from him and out the window. "He told Maul that he had broken the one rule he was given, do not harm or kill me, and then…he killed him."
Obi-Wan and Yoda looked like they could not believe what they heard.
"Dead Darth Maul is?" Yoda asked.
"Yes," Ahsoka said. "For good this time."
"What did you do after that?" Obi-Wan asked.
"I was frozen in fear," Ahsoka declared. "My killer was standing right in front of me. He spoke to his sister and me, though. He said that he did not wish for me to die. One because I was carrying his sister around with me, and two because he had plans for me in the future that he believed would be mutually beneficial for both of us. Then he disappeared, he was oddly polite the entire time."
"What these plans are, he did not say?" Yoda asked.
"No," Ahsoka replied.
"Will they get involved in a war that may come in the future, the societies?" Obi-Wan inquired.
"No," Ahsoka said. "Their war is only with each other."
The next day Padme was still in the medical facility. Satine refused to leave as Padme was her friend, and Ahsoka and Lux agreed they would not go until her baby was born and a plan for her and the baby was decided. Master Yoda, Obi-Wan, and Bail were still trying to figure out a plan.
Ahsoka walked into the medical facility and found Satine exciting Padme's room.
"Hello, Ahsoka," Satine greeted.
"Hello, Satine," Ahsoka greeted back. "How is Padme doing today?"
"She's quite exhausted," Satine stated. "Thankfully, she will recover. If you hadn't told us that they should check her pharynx, then who knows what would have happened."
"Is there any word on when she'll deliver the baby?" Ahsoka asked.
"It should be soon," Satine replied. "Wait, Obi-Wan and Master Yoda did not tell you yesterday, did they?"
"Tell me what exactly?" Ahsoka inquired.
"The medics found two heartbeats," Satine declared. "Padme is carrying twins."
"Twins!" Ahsoka exclaimed. "Are they sure?"
"Yes," Satine replied. "Padme is asleep right now, but if you wish to go sit with her, you can. I was about to find Obi-Wan. I need to speak to him."
"I will soon," Ahsoka said. "Not now though, I am still processing everything, and Padme needs her rest."
"Very well," Satine said. "I shall be back soon, but please come find me if she wakes up or there are any changes."
"Of course I will," Ahsoka replied.
Satine went off, and Ahsoka began to look through the window of Padme's room.
Twins, Anakin's offspring, soon they would be born into a world not only without their father, but a world that he had plunged into darkness.