'ello, peoples of the earth!
For the last time, I get to thank the people who reviewed Chapter 9 - alexhacker39, katierosefun, and Lux's Sister. Thank you all for your sweet reviews! I'm sorry not sorry I broke your feels. Heh.
I now present the tenth and final chapter of I Know Places. Hope y'all enjoy!
Three months later
When Kira had returned to her quarters after Ahsoka left the Temple three months before, she'd slumped into her seat at the table, jumping when her fist landed on a piece of paper. She'd looked up to find a string of beads and a note.
Take care of these for me, Obi-Wan. I want to have something of hers, but I can't look at them right now. -Anakin
Kira had turned the string of beads over in her hand, tears building in the corner of her eye at the sight of Ahsoka's Padawan braid. She'd wiped the tears away and gently tucked the string of beads into the pouch she kept on her utility belt.
She didn't think Obi-Wan would mind, and she did want to have something to remember Ahsoka by.
Sometimes, like now, she'd take the beads out of her pouch and study them, going over all the memories she'd shared with her Togruta friend.
It was certainly much quieter in the Temple without Ahsoka around.
True, Kira still had Caleb and Cadena to keep her occupied, but both of them were much busier than they'd used to be. Caleb believed that he'd caught the eye of Master Depa Billaba, and he'd been doing his best to make it to the top of his classes so he could impress her. Kira hoped that maybe he'd become a Padawan in the near future.
As for Cadena, the Council had assigned her to Anakin Skywalker, the man Cadena had hoped would end up her Master (after Ahsoka had become a Knight, but Kira preferred not to think about that). The Council had had to drag him along kicking and screaming, but in the end he had accepted Cadena as his new Padawan. Kira believed Cadena fit the role of Anakin's apprentice rather well.
Kira was a little sad that she wouldn't get to spend as much time with Cadena or Caleb, but she was happy for both of them. It wasn't as if she had a lot of free time anyway. The week before, the Council had sent Obi-Wan and Kira to stop the natives of Lwehkk from entering a system home to primitive beings that would've ended up extinct had the Jedi not driven the Lwehkk natives back.
"Kira?"
Kira looked up from the pool and hurriedly replaced the beads in her pouch at the sound of her name echoing over the water. She grinned when she saw Cadena standing a few feet away. "Hey, Cadena! I thought you were sparring with Master Skywalker today."
Cadena sighed. "I wish. I came to say goodbye, actually. The Council's got a mission for Anakin and me on Shili, so I figured I'd come say goodbye since Force knows Anakin's going to be late anyway."
Kira froze at the mention of Shili. "You're going to Ahsoka's home planet?"
"Yeah!" Cadena's dark eyes sparkled. "I'm really, really hoping we'll see her. And even though he hasn't said a word about it - yes, we are talking about my Master - I'm pretty sure he's hoping to see her, too."
Kira exhaled. "Tell her hello from me if you happen to see her."
Cadena gave Kira the two-fingered salute she'd learned from Anakin. "Will do, Kira."
"Thanks."
Kira waved as Cadena turned to leave the room, almost bumping into Obi-Wan on the way out. They spoke quietly for a moment before Cadena bowed and left the room. Kira sat up a little straighter when Obi-Wan approached. "Master."
"Kira." Obi-Wan sat down beside his apprentice. "Are you feeling up to working on your mental shields?"
Kira fought the urge to roll her eyes and responded with a "Yes, Master," but she did nothing to disguise the sarcasm in her tone.
Obi-Wan only chuckled at Kira's displeasure as Master and Padawan turned toward each other, Kira already closing her eyes to help her focus. She could almost see the walls rising behind her eyes, shielding her thoughts from anyone who wanted to look.
"Good," Obi-Wan told Kira. She couldn't see him, since her eyes were closed, but his eyes were closed as well. "Have you picked something to think about yet?"
"Yes, Master."
After that, both of them were quiet. Kira was busy keeping her shields up, and Obi-Wan was probing for any cracks in her shield. Kira wouldn't admit it if she could help it, but she was imagining a scenario in which Anakin and Cadena found Ahsoka during their mission on Shili and convinced her to return, at least for a visit. A small smile appeared on her face as hope surged through her veins.
"Alright." Obi-Wan's voice brought Kira out of her trance. "You're doing much better. I think it's time you started working on keeping your shields up with distractions."
"Distractions?" Kira thought about that. "Droids can't feel emotions."
Obi-Wan looked serious. "No, but a Sith like Count Dooku can. And a Sith likes to tap into your mind and figure out exactly what it is that makes you tick."
That's when it dawned on Kira why Obi-Wan was so serious about her control of her mental shields. She'd only encountered Dooku once, back on Zygerria, and she wasn't eager to meet him again. Kira hadn't been spared the pleasure of meeting Dooku's mercenary Grievous, either, and she wasn't looking forward to their next meeting. However, she did know that they could meet Grievous on any Separatist command ship, and Dooku could pop out of nowhere. It was always good to be prepared.
"In the morning we'll work on that." Obi-Wan was almost ready to stand up when his comlink went off. He pressed the button. "Kenobi here."
"Master Kenobi, there is an urgent situation on Rodia," came Mace's stern voice. "You and your Padawan must report to the war room immediately."
"As you wish, Master Windu. We'll be there soon." Obi-Wan disconnected the call and stood.
Kira groaned. She couldn't help it. The groan just slipped out.
Obi-Wan merely chuckled. "Come along, my young Padawan. It seems that we have work to do."
Kira grinned weakly and stood up, following Obi-Wan out of the Room of a Thousand Fountains. Quickly they made their way to the war room to be briefed on the upcoming mission.
It was a pretty standard op. The droids were moving in to take another system, and the clones and Jedi Generals would be sent to force them back. According to their holomap, the droids planned to march to the capital city through the Rodian rainforest and take them by surprise.
"So we'll have a little surprise for them when they come in," Cody joked, nudging Kira with his elbow. Kira grinned at him and nudged him back.
Obi-Wan stroked his beard as he studied the holomap. "We'd need to get permission first. Since the Rodians don't know the droids are coming, they'll think we're the ones taking over. We'll have to send someone to negotiate our entry into the city."
At that, all eyes turned to Kira.
The aforementioned Padawan looked around, her eyes widening. "Not this again!" she cried, desperate to stay out of another mission having anything to do with politics or negotiation.
In the end, she ended up playing the negotiator, much to her chagrin.
Kira: So that's it? THAT'S it?
Me: Yup.
Cadena: You can't just end a story like that!
Me: Yes I can.
Obi-Wan: She's the writer, so, yes, I'm afraid she can.
Cadena: ...but...
Me: Cheer up, there'll be another story!
Kira: There will?
Me: Yes, there will. So guys, if you liked this story, there WILL be another one to follow. Not sure when I'll post it. Maybe next week, maybe in two weeks, I'm not sure yet. But there will be a third installment of Kira's story.
Cadena: That's a relief.
Me: Also - PLEASE DO NOT FOLLOW THIS STORY. If you like it, add it to your favorites. If you want to see the next story, add me to your author alerts. BUT DO NOT FOLLOW THE STORY WHEN IT IS MARKED AS COMPLETE.
Obi-Wan: To be clear, Amy isn't mad at any of you readers. On the contrary, she is appreciative of your support. But when she marked Eyes Open as complete, people continued to follow the story.
Kira: So please don't do that here.
Me: Well said, guys. All right! Like we talked about! One, two, three!
All: IF YOU LIKED IT, HATED IT, OR WANTED TO LIGHT IT UP AND WATCH IT BURN, REVIEW AND LET US KNOW!
Me: May the Force be with you, everyone! :D