Hello everyone. Thanks for the continued support and constructive criticism. I've just seen some of the lost missions and I'm glad to say that some of them fit with this story perfectly but I'll keep how I use them secret for now since they will be different in this story. Anyway here is chapter 2; Master Yoda brings Shaak Ti in front of the rest of the council, but first, we will take our first glimpse at what Ahsoka is doing.
Shaak Ti's Secret: Chapter 3 – Ahsoka Tano
Did she always hurt this much when she woke up? That was the first question that came to Ahsoka's mind as her eyes opened. She scanned around and her head dropped. For a few precious seconds, she had forgotten and she almost expected to see the quarters that she used to share with her former master, but no. Coruscant was not the best planet to sleep rough on; not that sleeping in the street was particularly good anywhere, but nowhere surly was as bad as Coruscant.
She had spent the night under a walkway between buildings and the late morning sun flashed in her eyes as she moved her head in and out of the shadows cast by the steps that were next to her. Even though the walkway had provided her with some degree of shelter, she was still cold, wet, hungry and thirsty, and the desperateness of her situation became all too evident to her mind. Her stiff limbs clicked in defiance as she forced herself to sit up and her rear lek was throbbing from having to scrape against the floor as she slept, not to mention the ringing in her montrals from the noise of the morning aerial traffic.
Tears appeared in her crystal blue eyes as the events of the last week and the decision she had made the day before again came to her mind. It was a week where she had gone from a successful Padawan and commander to…..well, what was she now? Ahsoka didn't truly know but the best guess she could come up with was; nothing. Yes, she was nothing now, but at least she no longer had to devote her life to a Jedi council that were more concerned with the war and their standing within it than their own people. At least she no longer had to fight in a war where the only true winner was the Dark Side of the Force.
She glanced up. From where she had spent the night, she could still see the temple in the near distance. She could almost see the tendrils of darkness hold the temple in its grasp almost as if the Jedi Order was now serving as the Dark Side's own personal lightsaber. Ahsoka sighed; there was truth in Barriss' words and her former best friend was right; it was only a question of time. Because of that, she knew that she couldn't trust the council anymore; how long before they turned on her again? The next time it was convenient for them to turn on her, she supposed. She couldn't stand to go through that again and what would she have done if she had have found herself in that situation again?
That was the real reason she had left. As she told Anakin; how could she trust herself anymore? After all, she now knew, without doubt, that the Republic was corrupt; that the Jedi Order itself was corrupt. Would that knowledge do her what it had done to Barriss? No, she wasn't going to let it and leaving the situation was the only way to guarantee that she wouldn't fall. Ahsoka may have left the Jedi Order, but she made a promise to both herself and the Force that she would not fall into darkness. She had to leave the only life she had ever known to guarantee it, but she would not fall.
She hoped Anakin would find a way to move on. Ahsoka hoped that he had listened to her when she said that it wasn't about him. She wished that there was a way to have left the council to their fate without having to leave Anakin, but there wasn't. As she said, she needed to sort this out and answer the questions within her alone and, as unfortunate as it was, that meant without him too. She would have been lying if she had said that there wasn't a part of her that wanted to run back to him and tell him that she'd made a mistake since there definitely was, but no, to do that would be unfair to herself and unfair to everyone else.
She sniffed her tears away. She wasn't a fugitive anymore at least; she didn't have worry about being executed or hunted by former friends but she knew that she was still in trouble. As a Jedi, she had food, clothing, shelter and companionship but now, she had nothing. She didn't even have enough credits to buy herself some breakfast. More important than any of that, however; she had no purpose now and she had no role or employment.
There was one thing that she was certain of, however. She had to get off Coruscant. This planet had been her home and she had always associated it with the temple and her friends; her purpose in life, but now, she could only associate the central planet of the Republic with betrayal, death, pain and darkness. There was only one place that she wanted to go to really: Shili; her planet of birth. Perhaps she had family there that she could return to.
Ahsoka knew that her father was, unfortunately, dead. Although she mercifully couldn't remember, she was with him when he was killed. However, she had a mother somewhere, didn't she? Ahsoka had no idea who she was, but she vaguely remembered her father saying that her mother was a wise, strong and wonderful women and that it hurt her a great deal to have to leave Ahsoka and her father. She was quite certain, however, that her father never said anything about why her mother had to leave. Ahsoka wondered if she could be found and even she could, first, Ahsoka had to get to Shili and without credits that wasn't going to be easy.
Ahsoka closed her eyes. She no longer trusted herself with the Force fully, but she had no option. She had to see if the Force had a solution to her problem. She hoped and prayed that it hadn't abandoned her just because she left the Jedi Order. Various images flashed through her mind and Ahsoka was relieved that the Force was at least still with her. One scene was particularly interesting to her; a freighter leaving Coruscant and blasting off into hyperspace and then, the same ship dropping out of hyperspace and landing on Shili.
She opened her eyes and smiled; she had her answer. No, she didn't have any credits, but she did have something equally important; experience and mechanical knowledge. That was how she was getting off Coruscant. She would hitch a ride on a freighter in exchange for working the trip. Satisfied with her answer, Ahsoka stood up, groaning as her limbs popped and clicked as she did so. The spaceport was an hour's walk from where she was, but it didn't matter. There would be a ship there heading for Shili; there always was. Finally, she could put all of this mess behind her and start again.
-0-0-0-0-0-
Shaak Ti stood in the middle of the council chamber. The genetic test that Master Yoda had subjected her to had just confirmed her story and had proven to Master Yoda that Ahsoka Tano was her biological daughter. After he had seen the outcome, Master Yoda had given her no option and he had insisted that she came to the High Council chamber and face her fellow council members. This was a meeting that she was not looking forward to and again, she had to fight to stop herself being consumed by the pain and loss that now filled her soul.
For the first time in her life, Shaak Ti was afraid. Fear was a path to the Dark Side, but how could she not be afraid when her entire future could unhinge in the next few minutes? It wasn't that she was particularly bothered about the possibility of being expelled; in her opinion, she deserved that for betraying Ahsoka. Rather, she was concerned what her fellow council members were going to think and the conclusions that they might jump to. After what they had put her daughter through, Shaak wasn't particularly optimistic about their response. They were highly likely to accuse her of falling to a dark path straight away and would probably do so without even asking her. After all, that was what happened to Ahsoka.
"Tell everyone the truth, you must," Master Yoda began. Already, Master Yoda's mind was working overtime. He already knew what the outcome of this meeting needed to be, but the big problem was how to accomplish it. He knew that most of the council members would want to expel Shaak on the spot. That was something that he could not allow. The Force had already told him so. He hoped that he could convince the council without having to reveal too much, especially since his plan was dangerous.
Shaak gulped as the eyes of all the council members rigidly looked on to her. Their gaze was unbearable and secretly, Shaak wondered why Master Yoda hadn't passed the datapad with the results of the test around. In fact, Shaak noticed that he didn't even have it with him. Nevertheless, she knew that there was no hiding as Master Yoda would tell everyone anyway. "I'm sorry everyone, very sorry, but I'm afraid I must tell you what I have told Master Yoda." She paused for breath as a few tears again began to slip down her face. Dipping slightly into the Force for strength, she continued, "The reason why I broke down earlier is that Ahsoka Tano is actually my daughter."
A stunned silence that hung like an early morning fog filled the room. Shaak winced as she felt every council member apart from Yoda try to read her mind and penetrate her mental shields. It was exactly the kind of violation that she had expected would happen. In addition, the feelings that she was getting from them were unreadable as they were so jumbled.
"Your d….d….daughter?" Stass Allie eventually managed to stutter out. "Is this really true? When? How?" Stass was staggered. She had known Shaak Ti for years and she had known Ahsoka Tano for a long time also. Not once had it crossed her mind that the two Togruta could be mother and daughter. She knew that according to the Jedi Code, she should be appalled, but she was just too stunned to think.
Shaak closed her eyes and dropped her head. She sensed the shock, disbelief and outrage in her fellow council members. She couldn't see any way in which she wouldn't be expelled. "Yes, it's true. I fell pregnant whilst I was training my first Padawan, Kila, on Shili. Ahsoka's father, Pash Tano, saved my life when I was jumped by an Akul. I'm afraid I fell for him and I…I slept with him. I found out I was pregnant a month later. I gave birth to a daughter eight months later. I called her Ahsoka and I returned her to her father just before I returned to the temple."
Realisation suddenly hit Master Plo Koon. Suddenly, everything made sense. "That is why you wanted me to investigate the pirate attacks."
Shaak sadly nodded in response before Mace Windu bellowed, "You mean to tell us that not only have broken the Jedi code, but you've kept it secret for what…..seventeen years? Despicable."
"W….w…..what choice did I have?" Shaak pleaded. "I couldn't just openly tell everyone and what about Ahsoka? Once Master Plo brought her to the temple, she would have either been turned away or prejudiced against if the truth was known."
"It wouldn't have affected her, but you would have been expelled, Shaak," Mace Windu replied. Once he had sensed that Shaak was telling the truth, he was furious. "In fact, that is what will probably happen now. You know the code. Any kind of relationship can cause you to lose focus and draw you towards a dark path. You cannot deny that the news of former Padawan Tano's decision to leave has left you a wreck. Tell me, did she know of this?"
Mace's words felt like a knife through her chest. Just as she figured, the council were turning against her like they had Ahsoka. Unlike Ahsoka though, Shaak couldn't deny what he was saying. "No she didn't and I'm glad. Now, she'll never know just how badly I betrayed her."
"Betrayed her?" Obi-Wan Kenobi asked. He was desperately sad about the situation he was witnessing. After the tragic events involving Ahsoka and what they did to Anakin, he prayed to the Force that nothing like that would happen again, but now it looked like Shaak was out as well. He wondered what Ahsoka would say if she knew that her mother was, most likely, about to be expelled. That thought filled him with grief. If he had anything to do with it, Shaak would be helped rather than cast out. He felt that they owed Ahsoka that much.
Tears again dripped down Shaak's face as she answered, "I knew she was innocent. I knew it. I kept quiet because I thought I was being the better Master and that the truth would come from the Force." Her breathing became ragged and her chest heaved up and down as the pain hit her with full force. "I FAILED HER. MY OWN DAUGHTER AND I FAILED HER. WE ALL FAILED HER." With blood shot eyes, she looked at the council. "I pray that she is okay. If she isn't, her fate is on our conscious."
"May I remind you, Shaak," Saesee Tinn stated. He was shaking his head vigorously. It was clear that he was appalled, but also that he still didn't truly believe it. He was also seriously worried about Shaak's stability. "Ahsoka Tano is no longer part of this Order and is of no concern to you or us. We are truly sorry for the mistake that we made with her and we wish her well in her new life, but it is out of our hands now."
"NO CONCERN? How dare you," Shaak replied with anger. Her Togrutan instincts had kicked in; she simply couldn't help it. "She is my daughter; of course she is my concern."
"You are unstable," Mace Windu stated with a frown.
"Oh really?" Shaak responded with a hint of sarcasm that she had never demonstrated before. As every council member pinned her with a look, Shaak gave a few deep breaths as realisation began to dawn. She added, "I'm sorry masters. You are right, this has unbalanced me slightly."
Stass Allie looked at her friend. As a healer, Stass knew the pain that Shaak was in. She had dealt with civilians who have had children go away. It was never pleasant. Because of this, Stass knew that Shaak needed support. "It's okay, Shaak. I for one understand." She then turned to the rest of the council. "Masters, Shaak Ti needs our support not condemnation. It is our fault that her daughter has left and Shaak has been perfectly fine for seventeen years."
Master Yoda gave a slight smile. Up until now, he had been silent. He knew that his fellow council members would be angry and calling for expulsion. Whilst that was going on, it would have been pointless to say anything. He was waiting for someone to call for support and now Stass Allie had, he could act. "Agree, I do," he replied. "In turmoil, Shaak Ti is. Helping her arguing and questioning, is not. Acted too quickly with young Ahsoka, we did. Cost us that has. Take time to discuss this, we will." He turned to Shaak Ti. "Wait outside, you may. Call you back, we will when a decision we have made."
Shaak noticed that everyone looked at Yoda with surprise, but she certainly was not going to dwell on it. Master Yoda had given her a way out of this heated situation and she was glad to take it. She bowed. "Thank you, Master. I am truly sorry I didn't come clean earlier." She quickly left the room before anyone called her back. At least she didn't have to hide anything now. She knew that this was going to be an agonising wait, but what choice did she have? She could say no more.
As soon as the doors into the council chamber closed, Master Plo Koon stated, "She really needs help. Shaak is one of my closet friends and I hate to see her like this. It upsets me greatly that our misjudgement has hurt both Little 'Soka and her mother."
Master Yoda knew that he had to pick his words carefully here. He needed a council debate on the subject, but he needed it to go his way. He determined that his best option was to say his opening line and then let the debate run. He had sensed already that the council were divided and normally that was a bad thing, but on this occasion, he would make use of it. His plan depended on it. "Agree, I do; take the blame, this council must. Our fault this situation is. Find a way to handle this, we must." Yoda hoped his last sentence would have the effect he wanted, and draw out the conflict within his fellow councillors that he needed.
"There is no handling this," Mace Windu responded. "Yes, we made errors with young Tano, but it was undoubtedly her great trial. As for Shaak, she has broken the code and lied about it. It is simple. As hard as it would be for everyone, we must expel her. She is now dangerous to keep within the Order."
Stass Allie shook her head. In her opinion, Mace was being just too rigid with the code on this occasion. "We can't Mace. How can we abandon Shaak when she is clearly in such distress? As a healer, that is something I simply CANNOT do. It goes against everything my medical training has taught me."
Agen Kolar decided to be as direct as he usually was. Usually, he had a hard time seeing bad in anyone, but Shaak's outburst had concerned him and he agreed with Mace, that the Jedi Code must come first. "The Jedi Code is clear here. As Jedi, we must not have personal relationships that would interfere with the will of the Force. To do so is to invite darkness. Everyone here knows this so I can't understand the debate. As much as Shaak Ti has served this council well, she did have an intimate relationship with a man on Shili and that did lead to her giving birth to a daughter. We have just seen what the news of Ahsoka's departure has done to her. As unfortunate as it is, Master Windu is right; she must be expelled. We cannot trust her anymore."
"Cannot trust her?" Kit Fisto asked in total surprise. "Shaak Ti has served on this council for years and has been a successful Knight and Master even longer. The intimate relationship you speak of happened seventeen years ago and her daughter had been in this order for fourteen years before we destroyed her. How can you say that we cannot trust her? That was the thinking that led to us making the mistake with young Tano that we did. We must learn our lesson now. We cannot make that mistake again. Shaak needs our help and she isn't going to get that if we throw her out."
"I agree," added Master Plo Koon. "We cannot abandon Shaak like we abandoned Little 'Soka. We have lost one of the most promising Padawans any of us have ever seen because we didn't listen to her. We cannot do the same thing again."
Ki-Adi Mundi sighed. It hurt him that the council were facing a second decision of this type in under a week. They had made a terrible decision with Ahsoka Tano and the young girl had left because of it. He didn't want the council to make another, but by the same token, Shaak had broken the code. However, he knew that he was not really the right man to condemn her. After all, he had been allowed to have several wives and children because of the low male birth rate in his people. "With the exemption that I have been granted, I can't really comment on Shaak's decisions seventeen years ago, but the fact that we did not know about this until now is interesting. It seems to me that she functioned perfectly well all that time even when Ahsoka was sent on dangerous missions with her master. Do the events of all that time ago really have to be considered now?"
Obi-Wan shook his head. He didn't really know who to agree with now. On one hand, even he had to admit the code was clear and he remembered having to remind Anakin a few times about that when his former Padawan was around a certain senator from Naboo. On the other hand, this was reminding him of the debate over Tarkin's accusations against Ahsoka too much. At the time, he had had told rest of them that Tarkin's choice of actions surly couldn't be supported. His fellow council members had ignored him and Ahsoka was almost executed and because of that, she had left and if he was honest, he couldn't really blame her.
Obi-Wan sighed. He could only really add Anakin's condition to this. "Don't forget Anakin. He still hasn't left his quarters since Ahsoka left and we are doing nothing to him. As much as Shaak Ti broke the code, surly she does have reason to be upset. Ahsoka is her daughter and Anakin treated Ahsoka like a daughter. The two of them are mourning the loss of the same girl for the same reason. If we expel Shaak, then should we expel Anakin? The point I'm making is; we must be careful. Many of the younger knights and Padawans are watching us. We must be seen to be fair."
"Ahsoka Tano is not the issue here," Mace Windu responded. "And for once, neither is Skywalker. We must consider Shaak Ti and Shaak Ti alone. As much as everyone here seems to forget, she did admit her guilt. I do not believe she has left us with any option."
"Surly we could give her some kind of chance couldn't we?" Stass Allie asked. "Besides Master Windu, how can you say that Ahsoka and Anakin are not the issue here? Ahsoka is Shaak's daughter and Anakin Skywalker has lost trust in us over Ahsoka's departure. Everyone here has sensed that. What happens to one will affect the others. What happens if young Ahsoka does discover the truth at some point and finds out that we have abandoned her mother like we did her? Sometimes I think that we have forgotten compassion."
Oppo Rancisis had stayed quiet up until now as he usually did. The Thisspiasian was a great believer in the ancient traditions of the Order and so Shaak's confession had not gone down well with him. Nevertheless, the events of the last few years and had made him realise that sometimes, compromises in those traditions needed to be made and maybe, this was one such occasion. "Although I believe Shaak Ti has acted shamefully with respect to the code, I do think we must think more about this."
Master Yoda realised that Oppo's comment was the perfect time to jump in. He had gotten the conflict with his fellow council members that he wanted and now was the time to unleash his plan. He had been going over what he was going to say since the genetic test had confirmed Shaak's story. He hoped it would have the desired effect. Of course, he couldn't let anyone know that he was counting on the conflict within the council, so in an annoyed voice, he stated, "Obvious to me it is, that reach an agreement on this, we will not. Enough of this, I have heard. Suggest a compromise, I do. Be fair to both sides, it will."
Obi-Wan was delighted to hear some kind of sense. His fellow councillors had been annoying him as well. "What do you suggest, Master Yoda?"
Master Yoda sighed; he had to be very careful here. "Hmmmm. Young Tano's departure; left a rift in the Force it has; sensed it, I have. Dangerous our situation is. Speaking out against us, younger members are. Careful we must be. Broken the Code, Master Ti has. Agree with that, I do. However, deserve a chance, she does. Give her that chance, we must; the only way, it is. Commit her to meditative retreat, we could. Give her time to re-centre herself, it would."
"Meditative retreat?" Mace Windu asked with a raised eyebrow. "So, she gets away with it then?"
Master Yoda closed his eyes and dropped his head to show sadness. In reality, that was exactly the response he was hoping for. "Gets away with it? No, gets away with it, she does not. Barred from the temple for two months she would be. Find herself again, she must. If successful she is and restore her own balance, she does, then continue in the Order she can. If not, expulsion an option, still is."
Obi-Wan stroked his beard. He liked this idea. In his opinion, it was a perfect way to handle this situation as it accounted for both sides plus, it would put any younger members of the Order at ease since Shaak had been given a chance whatever the outcome. No one could say that she was thrown out without a chance. "Yes, that would solve the problem and give us time to see how she went."
Stass Allie smiled. She also liked Master Yoda's idea. "How would it work, exactly?"
"Provide Shaak with a ship and the means to feed herself, we would," Master Yoda began. "Spend the two months in meditation, she needs to. Purge her pain it will."
"Yes," Saesee Tinn replied. Although he was worried over Shaak's stability and believed that expulsion was the best action, he could see some benefits to Master Yoda's idea. "It would give her a chance to stabilise without putting anyone else at risk if she does fall."
"I say that we pass Master Yoda's plan," Master Plo stated; his deep voice adding gravitas to his words.
All the council members looked at each other, before Mace Windu sighed and nodded. With that, the rest of the council nodded. Master Yoda allowed himself a slight smirk. "Decided, it is," he stated. "Call her back in, I will. Inform her, we must." Master Yoda was relieved; he hadn't been forced to state what his plan really was. However, the first part of it was safely in place. He knew that the Force would do the rest; he just needed a final word with Shaak Ti before she went. It was with some enthusiasm that he sent the signal for Shaak Ti to re-enter the council chamber.
I think I will leave it there for this chapter as it is a natural break. I do feel that some explanations are required for this chapter, however. I know that there is nothing particularly new in the section about Ahsoka and that those feelings have been seen before. That section was really just to explain Ahsoka's actions and her path to Shili.
I hope I have handled the council deliberations well here, especially Shaak's responses. I wanted to show that she has been left slightly unbalanced by all of this and that the caution that Mace Windu and Saesee Tinn are displaying about her is actually reasonably justified. I know I made the council to be distinctly two sided here, but that was actually Master Yoda's plan. We start to see in this chapter one of the reasons his plan is so dangerous. His plan actually required the council to be divided since he would never get his compromise idea through otherwise.
I decided to include Oppo Rancisis in this chapter since he appears in the Lost Missions so he must be still alive as this point and I've never used him before and decided to be different.
Anyway, next chapter; Shaak gets told of the council decision and does Ahsoka find a ship to take her to Shili?