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ijedi: Thanks for your review! In this story, Ahsoka already knows Leia. I am currently writing a story called Acceptance. Ahsoka meets both Luke and Leia in the chapter I'm currently working on for that story. As for whether or not she will train as a Jedi, I have made a decision about that. However, only PART of it is revealed in this story. The rest of it is revealed in a later story that will have something to do with the Jedi representation in the Republic. As for the condition of Darth Sidious, that is addressed in one of my other stories, Returned, though in short, yes he is dead.
hoysterrule123: Thanks! I know its been ages, but here's the next chapter, and guess what, it's a little bit longer to make up for the wait! Enjoy it!
Chapter Three
Departure
The next morning, Anakin made a point of going with Ahsoka, Barriss and Luke to the hangar to see them off. He still didn't like the idea of Luke going off to see a destroyed planet, but he'd seen things just as bad around his age. As soon as Luke was aboard the ship, Anakin sighed.
"I still don't like this idea." he said.
"He will be fine, Master Skywalker. He has a good teacher, as well as a good father." Barriss replied. He rarely got comments from her in the past, but ever since she and Ahsoka had become friends, he had begun to finally warm up to her. She smiled, then followed Luke's example, without running. Anakin was still conflicted though.
"Come on Skyguy, he'll be alright. And Barriss is right, he has a good teacher. Besides, when have I ever let you down?" she teased.
'Damn, I hate it how she does that. I'm going to regret this.' he thought. She'd always had a knack for confusing the hell out of him, and convincing him to agree with her in the same sentence.
"Alright, Snips. Just get him back here unharmed. I know your track record." he told her.
"My track record? Master, we both know my track record is the same as yours. I was your Padawan for nine years, you know." she said smirking.
"Hey, there's nothing wrong with my track record."
"Really? Need I remind you of Geonosis, Naboo, Ryloth, or for that matter Coruscant before the end of the war?" she answered with mock surprise.
"Ok, Geonosis was my fault, Ryloth…lets not go there. Naboo, well lets blame that on Jar-Jar, he always finds a way to get into trouble. As for Coruscant, that wasn't even my fault. Grievous blew the ship in half as he was escaping, and I ended up crashing half the ship." he argued.
"Yeah, but still, your track record is still just as bad as mine." she answered. From her tone, he could tell that she really wasn't going to let this go, and that it was pointless to continue the argument.
"Ok, Snips, I see your point." he replied. As she rolled her eyes sarcastically, she was able to see Master Kenobi making his way in their direction, which meant it was time to go. She smirked at Anakin, said a quick goodbye, and then started toward the ramp.
"Ahsoka!"
"Master?" she asked, turning to look at him with a questioning glance. She found him giving her one of his serious looks, the one that said something was wrong.
"I know I seem overprotective of your Padawan, but he's my son. Just take care of him and get yourself back here in one piece." he said. Ahsoka stared at him. He never could convince her nothing was wrong.
'Something is wrong, but if I ask he'll push me away. Why can't he ever trust me to help him?' she thought to herself. She wasn't surprised to find him glaring at her. He'd read her thoughts easily, because she had let him.
"You know, thinking like that isn't exactly good for you." he told her. She glared back at him, crossing her arms. She almost pouted like she had when she was still a Padawan.
"Why shouldn't I? You never let me help you with your problems anyway. I thought that after helping to save your butt from the dark side you'd let me in, but you still seem to think you can figure everything out by yourself." she shot at him. She wasn't pouting, and she wasn't being snippy either. In fact, she was angry at him, upset even. She wasn't always like this whenever he reached into her mind to read her thoughts, just when he was having problems. Usually he'd scold her and send her off. This time, however, he decided on a different approach. It was time to start trusting people instead of keeping everything to himself.
"Look, Snips, the reason I'm so against you and Luke going on this mission in the first place is that…well…I had a vision." he said. That was enough to get her full attention. She instantly unfolded her arms, and gave him a quick look of sympathy before becoming serious. She knew him well enough to know that whenever he had a vision, they almost always came true.
"Barriss?" she called into her comlink.
"Go ahead. What's taking so long?"
"Last minute instructions from the Council. Get the ship ready to depart, and watch Luke for me. I'll be back soon."
"No problem, Ahsoka. I'll take my time." she replied, knowing exactly what Ahsoka was really doing. When the connection closed, Ahsoka looked to her former Master in askance. Anakin however, didn't say anything.
"So…you had a vision." she said, urging him to continue.
"Last night when I was meditating˗"
"You, meditating?" she asked jokingly, unable to help herself. That is, until she caught sight of Anakin's annoyed glare. "Sorry."
"When I was meditating, I saw three ships. I didn't recognize them. They had a claw like shape to them. They…disabled the Twilight. The next thing I saw was you, Luke and Barriss unconscious and the Twilight being tractored into the nearest claw like ship." he told her.
"So, we were captured? I don't understand, who would want to capture Jedi?"
"That's what has me worried, Ahsoka. The only people I know of who'd want to capture Jedi are the Separatists, and the war has been over for years." he replied, the worry obviously showing in his voice.
"If you're really that worried, then why not come along? You know, to observe?" she asked, knowing it was a stupid question to ask altogether.
"If I did that it would be like me telling you I don't trust you to train Luke. I do trust you, though, as much as I trust Obi-Wan. It's just…He's my son, and my family's been through hell and back. You're probably going to have a hard time with his training."
"Master, I'd be disappointed if I had anything but a hard time training a Skywalker after having to deal with you for nine years." she said. That got her closer to a smirk than the smile she was expecting.
"Oh don't worry. You'll have Master Kenobi to help you out there. After all, he trained a Skywalker already." he said in a teasing tone. She glared at him with her arms folded. He knew full well how to pull his old Padawan's strings. He enjoyed doing it to her about as much as she enjoyed giving him gray hairs.
"I can handle one kid, Master. If you remember, I did just fine last month when I had to rescue three children from Bane."
"Alright, point taken. Just take care of yourself out there and get yourselves back here alive." he said. She knew him well enough to know that this was the end of the conversation.
"You know I will, Skyguy!" she quipped, smirking as she entered the Twilight. As the ship took off, Anakin made out a slight snickering from behind him. It was then that he felt Obi-Wan's presence.
'Oh Force, please tell me he didn't hear her say that!' he thought to himself.
"Master, what are you doing down here?"
"I just wanted to make sure you weren't going to throw a fit over not going on your son's first mission."
"It's not just about Luke, Obi-Wan. It's Ahsoka too. This is her first solo mission that may be dangerous. I'm glad that she's going on it, of course, but…"
"You feel bad that if something does happen, you won't be there to protect her and your son from harm."
"Yeah, that kind of sums it up, Master."
"Don't worry, Anakin. I felt the same when you went on your first dangerous solo mission. Everything turned out just fine, though. By the way, my old Padawan, nice nickname."
"You're not going to let me live this down, are you?" he asked, as he glared at his former Master.
"And miss the chance to exact embarrassment on my old Padawan for my own enjoyment? Not a chance, Anakin." he replied, trying not to laugh, but it was the expression on Anakin's face that kept him from doing so.
"What is it?" he asked.
"I don't know, Obi-Wan. I just have a really bad feeling about this mission. I think the Force is trying to tell me something. It…showed me a vision last night" Anakin replied, looking to the floor as if his boots had suddenly become of profound interest. Ever since Ahsoka had graduated to Knighthood, Anakin had changed. He would never admit it openly to him, But Obi-Wan knew it, and it was because he was more open with him then he'd ever been, as much as Anakin would say otherwise.
"Like the ones of your mother?" Obi-Wan asked.
"No, it was different than that." Anakin said, and then proceeded to explain his vision to him.
"I don't think I like where this is heading. I'll tell you what, Anakin. If after they arrive at Tygokor, you're still having visions of danger, go after them and I'll explain matters to the Council to cover for your absence." Obi-Wan told him. Anakin nodded, smiling. Ever since they had defeated the Sith, he knew he could trust his former Master with anything. They turned and strode out of the hangar together. Still, there was one thing left to do. He still had to break the news to Padmé, and that was never an easy thing to do.
When Anakin arrived home, Padmé was waiting for him. She was curious, however, as to why both Ahsoka and Luke weren't with him.
"Ani, you're home early." Padmé said, smiling.
"I know, angel. Obi-Wan is covering for me." he said, but she could tell he was holding something back.
"What is it? Why do you look so worried?" she asked, concern showing in her facial expression.
"Padmé, I have something to tell you. You're probably not going to like it." he said. She looked at him and waited for him to continue. When he didn't, she put her arm around him.
"Whatever it is, I promise I won't be mad." she told him.
"The Council voted to send Ahsoka on a mission. It's a dangerous one, but she took Barriss with her." he said, but still she knew he was holding back.
"That's not all of it, is it?" she asked,
"She took her Padawan with her too. Luke went with them. I tried to reason with the Council, but they wanted it to be a test of whether or not he can behave himself…well…better than I usually behave, or at least that's how Master Yoda seemed to put it. They went to go investigate the destruction of Tygokor, Padmé. Last night, before they left, I had a vision of them getting captured by some unknown ships. I told Ahsoka and she wanted me to go with them but…it wouldn't have looked right if a Council member went on a mission he wasn't assigned to." he said, spitting it out as quickly as possible so he could get the argument over with.
"Anakin, Luke is old enough to go on missions if Ahsoka thinks it's safe. He's her student after all, and I trust her. Still, at least you tried. But Ani, what if they do get captured?"
"Don't worry about that, angel. Obi-Wan told me to go after them if I still sense danger in their mission after they get there, and that he'd cover my absence in the Council." he said. Padmé nodded, and then embraced him. Telling her wasn't as hard as he'd thought. Ahsoka and Luke would be at Tygokor in the morning. He decided to sleep then talk to Obi-Wan in the morning, and they could decide what to do.
I must apologize, however, for the very long wait for this chapter. I really did mean to keep this going at a nice pace, but real life has been complicated and I have been horded by that which is known as writers block. YES, I know I said this chapter would be of Ahsoka and crew leaving the Temple and arriving at Tygokor, but I wanted to add the bit about Anakin's vision, and then him discussing Ahsoka's mission with Padmé.
Next Chapter: Ahsoka, Barriss, and Luke arrive at Tygokor and complete their mission uneventfully. Anakin is shown in horrible clarity just who wants to kidnap his former Padawan Ahsoka, Barriss, and his son and races to save him, though not without help.
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