Hope you guys had a good new years. I've got some pretty big plans for 2014, let's hope they go well.
And in the meantime, here's the next chapter. Shorter than I want, again, but I've got a deadline, so here it is. Enjoy.
A/N: Sorry about the delay in updating. was apparently having issues yesterday.
Ahsoka was seated by the old man; the floor was cool, but he had placed a mat on the ground to keep the cold from seeping into her skin.
She watched him move about, studying him. He first made some tea, and then left the room and returned with a biscuit.
"Here," he said, handing her a small mug and the biscuit. "You must be hungry."
Right then, Ahsoka was acutely aware of how hungry she was. "Thank you," she said, taking them from him. She set the mug on the ground beside her, and took a bite of the biscuit. Trying her best to be polite, Ahsoka inhaled the biscuit in about three bites. She carefully wiped her mouth, and looked up to find the old man's gaze upon her.
"You are very patient," he remarked after some silence.
The comment caught Ahsoka off guard. She took a sip of the tea to give her some time to think of a reply.
"I was trained as a Jedi. Patience is necessary for them."
He chuckled softly. "Do you not associate yourself with the Jedi any longer?" he inquired.
She set the mug down before her and inhaled deeply. "Not exactly. There are no more Jedi," she whispered.
The man kneeled in front of her and tisked his tongue. "Not so, child," he told her.
She looked up at him. His face seemed so serene, and despite him being blind, his sightless gaze rested on hers.
He stood up abruptly and began to pace the room once more. "Tell me something, Ahsoka. Why do you say there are no more Jedi?"
Ahsoka watched him as he walked back and forth. She chose her words carefully. "Well, the Empire was created, and they hunted down and destroyed the Jedi order. Those of us that survived…well, we changed identities. There was nothing else left for us to do."
"Ah," he said, as if he had just made a discovery. He smiled softly at her. "So the organization known as the Jedi is gone, but not all of its members."
Ahsoka thought about how to word her answer. "Not exactly," she said eventually.
"Explain, then, to me."
"Well, yes, some of the individual members survived, yes, but they ceased to be Jedi," she replied.
His head cocked in confusion. "How?"
She was surprised by his question. How had they stopped being Jedi? How had she herself stopping being a Jedi?
"I see your point," she said slowly, her head nodding in agreement.
He smiled. "You are always who you are," he said matter of fact way. "Doesn't matter who you align yourself with, what you call yourself. You are always you, and in this case, a good person who once called herself a 'Jedi'. But just because your life has taken a different course than that what you had originally expected, does not mean you cease to become what you are."
Ahsoka smiled at him. "Thank you," she said. He returned her smile and gently placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Oh don't thank me yet," he said. "I have so much more to tell you."
"You mean to tell us that he just took off, much like Skywalker?"
Leia winced at how harsh it sounded. "Well, yes. He went to go find Luke and bring him back, knowing full well how valuable Luke is to the Alliance."
The admiral looked her in the eye, and then ran his hands over his face. "I suppose there isn't much that we can do not, is there?"
Leia gave him a pitiful smile. "We just continue as we did without them, and when they return-"
"If they return," the Admiral interjected.
"When they return," Leia continued, giving him a pointed look. "We'll go on as we have been. Nothing has changed."
The man before her huffed. "I hope you're right, princess. But I don't like my people just up and leaving in the middle of the night. That's bad form."
"I agree, and they shall be dealt with when they return. But in the meantime, we need to work on the problems at hand," Leia said, fully intending on dealing with those two….boys.
Lando Calrissian watched as the young lady in front of him paced back and forth, muttering some words, yelling some of them, and at some moments just making frustrated noises. Finally, she came to a pause right in front of him.
"What has gotten into him?" she demanded, her voice brimming over in anger.
Lando stood up from his seat and smoothly placed his hands on either side of her in a calming manner. "Han Solo is the type of fella that needs to be the hero," he explained. He let his hands drop to his sides. "He probably feels like he's got something to prove."
Leia crossed her arms and glared at the wall behind him. "But he knew how upset I was over Luke leaving, and he thinks that it'll be just swell that he too just up and leaves?"
Lando chuckled slightly. "Han's not exactly the type of guy that thinks things through. He gets an idea, and just goes with it. It's gotten him into trouble quite a few times."
Leia glanced towards him, a small pout forming on her lip. Lando gently brushed the side of her arm again. "He probably thought he was doing something manly and impressive."
Leia dropped her arms. "What?" she asked, a confused look growing on her face.
Lando took in a sharp breath, like he was about to share a secret. "Well," he drew out. "I didn't want to be the one to tell you this, but he's…Han's got a reputation of romancing young ladies. Making them feel like they're special to him. He does big favors, treats them like princesses, and once he gets what he wants…"
Leia's her jerked backwards in shock, or confusion. Lando couldn't really tell which. "What?" she repeated.
"I'm just letting you know of his character towards women. Just be careful around him, okay?" Lando said to her. "I would hate to see such a strong personality broken."
Leia chewed on her bottom lip, thinking. Finally she nodded and threw him a smile he knew was anything but genuine. "Thank you," she said, and then walked away.
Lando blew out a quick breath, grinned to himself and strutted back to his room.
Leia returned to her quarters and sat at her desk. She drummed her fingers against the wood, a frown etched on her forehead. She stared at her computer for a long time. Finally, she pressed a button, and it lit up. She paused again, absentmindedly chewing her lip. Shaking her head at herself, Leia entered a small disk, and the computer played it.
"Leia, I just left this for you so that you would, well know, I guess, where I went. You are completely right about Luke. The Rebellion needs him, and he can't just run off, so I've gone to go get him. I'll only be gone a few days, I promise."
Leia rolled her eyes at the screen. "Han you piece of fodder," she muttered under her breath. She leaned back in her chair and stared at the ceiling. She kept thinking about what Lando had said to her. Was that all Han was doing? Trying to get into her pants? That thought angered her more than anything. And what made her angrier is that she was angry about this in the first place.
She jumped off of the chair and left her room. She needed to do something to occupy her mind.