He's Not Our Enemy
Disclaimer: I own nothing, all credit goes to George Lucas and Lucasarts.
Summary: After vanishing from the Jedi temple ten years ago, Anakin Skywalker is found. The Jedi imprison him until he decides to tell them what happened to him. After getting lost after fleeing from some of her abusive class mates, Ahsoka stumbles into Anakin's room and discovers a side to the force she never knew.
Second Lesson, Day Six, Ahsoka Tano
I am sat on the floor, well lying down would be a better way of putting it, trying to figure out this strange puzzle that Anakin has given me. Well, it isn't really a puzzle, more like a miniature version of a planet. The aim is to maintain life on the planet and to act as the force, guiding the movements and development of the makeshift citizens by pressing buttons and scrolling through the options on a hologram. My head is propped up on a cushion, since the floor is pretty uncomfortable for a persons head, and I have been at this for the past two hours. I still haven't managed to create life - virtual life - on this tiny version of a planet and have no idea how to make it. Anakin refuses to help me and is sat on the sofa scrolling through things on his datapad that are obviously to do with the HoloNet; I can hear the reporters voices right now and they're really distracting.
The miniature version of a planet is like a ball that sits in the palm of my hand, the exact size of training droid that shoots blaster bolts. It is covered in rocks and dust and to make any life of any kind I have to do something - I just don't know what. Lazily, I flick through the options on the hologram and decide to add an Ozone layer, whatever that is. It gives the planet a blueish glow but I can see that it is quickly fading and I click on something called 'a magnetic field'. The laws of the universe are different for this tiny planet so I have no idea what I am doing but the Ozone layer stays put and actually brightens up a bit. I arch my eye marks in surprise.
"You certainly took your time," Anakin comments, not taking his eyes off the datapad.
"Not everyone knows as much about science and astronomy as you do," I retort, opening up another section of options and scrolling through them. "You could have at least taught me a bit about planets before giving me this."
Anakin shrugs his shoulders and as I turn back to the planet in my hand I notice that there is a HoloBook on the floor beside me. Shooting a murderous look at Anakin over my shoulder, which he returns with a cocky smile, I pick up the HoloBook and scroll through it. Everything inside it is about planets, science, astronomy and math. I don't see why I would need to know about maths to do this but it is at the back of the book so I don't have to go through it to get to the part about planets and such. At the front of the book are all the things listed for basic life forms to exist, which I could have used two hours ago when I was first given this abomination. Literally everything is listed for any sort of life to take place - though in this case I'm guessing its bacteria - and the first thing I notice makes me curse myself.
Opening up a tab filled with the options for substances and elements, I drag and drop some oxygen onto the planet and the sound of gas filling a room is made - only the gas is going into the planet. The Ozone layer prevents any of it from escaping, which I find confusing, and I watch the statistics of what is currently going on with the, what I am guessing is a, toy planet and I frown when the oxygen goes up to a hundred percent and another element appears underneath it. I watch in astonishment as another element appears also - how in the force did Carbon and Hydrogen get onto the planet? Narrowing my eyes, I draw out an options tab - again - and monitor the different compounds that can be made. I have no idea what any of these letters and numbers mean apart from a few that I recognised where in the equation for a smoke bomb that Anakin had written out.
With a resigning sigh, I turn back to the HoloBook and turn to the page labelled 'compounds' and scan through them until I find the one I am looking for: water. Thankfully, it needs two hydrogen molecules and one oxygen molecule. I frown thinking that the way the book is written may not be exactly right but think nothing of it as I turn back to the options tab and drag and drop the equation for water onto the planet. Surprisingly, the sound of a tap is made and from the equator of the planet a virtual version of water is made. My jaw drops as it spreads out across the planet and the sound of the water putting out the fires and cooling down the molten rock on the planet is made - before long the entire planet is blue and I cock my head to the side, unsure of what to do next. It feels so strange in my hand and, of its own accord, floats out of my palm to be just in front of me.
"Is that supposed to happen?" I ask Anakin, my eyes never leaving the blue orb in front of me.
"Yes," Anakin replies, looking over the top of his datapad. "You just have to wait until the water goes down and reveals the land for things to grow on."
"But... how much land will there be? What if it's just a water planet?" I question.
"You just have to monitor the changes," He advises, referring to the statistics that are shown via hologram. "The options should show the different things that you can put on the planet once the land has grown but it does take time - as with any normal planet."
"But it isn't a normal planet, it's a miniature version with it's own rules and laws." I point out.
"Exactly, except you are acting as the force." Anakin reminds me. "Now, since that's going to take a few hours at least to cool and such, any ideas on what you want to learn next?"
"You mean besides learning how to maintain a planet and hot wiring stuff?" I ask sarcastically. "What about... something that will help me win, maybe?"
The look he gives me is a calculating one, like he's trying to figure something out, and I match it with a stare of my own. Before long, he appears to have decided on something and puts his datapad down before going into the same small room where he got the HoloBook about fixing things from yesterday. I look back at the planet floating in front of me and notice the way that it is spinning around slowly and wonder how long it will take before any land shows. When Anakin comes back into the room he has a hologram projector in his hand; I cannot help but try to guess what it is going to show.
"What is that?" I question.
"A holographic map of the area that your competition will be held in," Anakin informs me, placing it down on the coffee table and activating it. A 3D map of a forest area, clearing and lake shows up with moving things on it that I frown at.
"Uh, what are those?" I ask, pointing to what looks like ten foot high metal giants. "They're not what I think they are... are they?"
"Giants," Anakin nods. "That's what they are."
"Giants?!" I exclaim. "But-but my class is a class of younglings... how are we supposed to go up against giants?"
"It's not just giants, Ahsoka. It's giant scorpions, magma figures, nexu's and ackley. Those are the only things in the area that will want to harm you - the others are just animals that are in the area. It shouldn't take long for your classmates to get knocked out of the competition, all you have to do is stay alive."
"How am I supposed to stay alive against those?" My hopes of winning the competition are quickly fading. "Why is this even legal? The council shouldn't be allowing this."
"Relax, Ahsoka. It's nothing more dangerous than any separatist battle."
"Really? It sure looks like it is to me." I grumble. "When am I ever going to have to stay alive against things as dangerous as these?"
"Just focus on it, okay?" Anakin stops my protests and nervous speech. "There are two training sabers with a high enough power level to stun any of the creatures with one hit."
"Okay, but how am I going to find one?" I ask.
"There's one here, in the centre of the forest." Anakin points to a specific location and it is highlighted in green. "It's attached to the top of the oak tree."
"How will I know which one is the oak tree? I don't know the difference between any trees."
"I'll teach you," Anakin says. "Anyway, the second one is hidden here -" He points to the lake and it is highlighted in green also. "At the bottom of the lake. You have to be a good swimmer to get it, though, or try to complete the puzzle to get the platform to lift up."
"Puzzle?"
"There are loads of puzzles around the area," Anakin continues. "You'll need to complete a certain one to unlock the compartment which holds the HoloFlag. They're on this datapad," He uses the force to float a datapad from another room into his hand and hands it to me. I look at the first puzzle and frown - it makes no sense whatsoever. "You should probably practise doing those whenever you get the chance."
"What does this mean?" I ask in confusion. "This man is a mystery to me and my world, but this mans father is my father's son. What?"
"Think about it and look at the answers." Anakin suggests.
I look at each of the answers in turn and slowly say, "He is my son?"
Anakin nods. "Yep. Just click the correct answer and it will move to the next puzzle. There are about thirty of them in total, probably a little more." I look down at the next puzzle and frown again - these things don't make any sense to me. "Anyway, to win you have to stay alive - or not get stunned even though death is possible - you need to know how to defeat any of these creatures without a weapon. I know you might be able to get a training saber but you should still know how to do it."
I nod slowly, having the strangest feeling that there's something I should know. "What's the catch?"
Once again I am exhausted because of the things that Anakin is teaching me. This time I am lying on the floor with my head resting on a cushion and about a million datapads and HoloBooks are around me. Why? I just learned all the hundred points on an acklays body that can either stun or kill it and had to repeat them all ten times to Anakin - believe me it wasn't pretty. I had to recite the twenty-six ways of downing magma figures, the point on a giants body that will knock it unconscious, learn the names of all the trees and leaves and their uses, make a trap for a giant scorpion and take a test on all of those things until I got it one hundred percent right.
Now all of the things are just going around and around in my head and I have been at this for eleven and a half hours, plus the time that I was eating a dinner that Anakin said I had to eat.
Apparently, force users are supposed to eat meals with a high level of calcium to maintain the midi-chlorine count in the blood stream and bones. Now I know what Barris was talking about, but instead of only being allowed to eat certain foods I'm supposed to eat anything with a high level of calcium - basically every type of food in the temple because younglings need to have strong bodies. On the bright side, the worst is over because Anakin used the force to make sure I would never forget the things that I learned until they came to me as quickly as my name - though I do not see how that is necessarily a good thing.
According to Anakin I have learned everything that I was supposed to and now all that I can do is practise with a training saber - which is what the training droid in the corner of the next room is for - and learn a few other things about survival. I'm not overly smart or anything, force knows that's true, but now I can tell anyone how to defeat an acklay or something else... I'm far too tired to even think of the things I can do and I just thank the fact that now I'm just practising with a saber and not reciting things. I don't like sitting still, it makes me restless and unbelievably cranky.
"Don't fall asleep now, Snips." Anakin chuckles. "It's half nine. Aren't you supposed to be back in your room by eleven?"
I sigh and open my eyes - I was literally on the edge of sleep when he started speaking. "If you hadn't tired me out with those pointless facts then I wouldn't have to worry about when I get back to my room." I say in a tired voice.
He smirks. "Come on," He crouches down and pulls me to my feet. "I just don't want you to die, okay? Now, don't forget your datapad or planet - tomorrow I'll let you sit around and do whatever you want, even if that involves me teaching you how to make light."
I snap my head up to meet his gaze; I was a little distracted by something on the coffee table. "Make light?" I ask, eye marks rising. "Are you serious?"
"Of course I am," Anakin smiles. "Now go on, if you fall asleep tomorrow I can't guarantee I'll wake you up in a simple way. Good night."
"Good night, Anakin." I stifle a yawn behind my hand and depart the room. Careful to not fall asleep, I go about my usual business of taking off the vent cover, climbing inside, replacing it and making my way down the shaft without fault. The twins are nowhere in sight and I am thankful for that fact and it takes me about half the usual time to get to the next vent cover, climb out of the vent and to walk from the deserted corridor into an inhabited one.
There are barely any younglings about and I know that the Jedi around me can sense how tired I am because they give me sympathetic looks if they aren't engaged in conversation. I am fine as I walk down the corridors and ponder my decisions for what I should do now when Pedro and the twins walk into view. Groaning, I resign myself to the conversation that is definitely about to take place. They walk up to me and I know that it is obvious how tired I am - they can sense it too - and I am grateful for the fact that these Jedi tunics have large pockets. My datapad is in one pocket and my planet is in another, hopefully the water will have gone down by now.
"Hey, 'Soka." Kay greets. "You look really tired."
"I am," I reply. "For the past eleven hours I have been reciting things and staring at datapads - thank force that's over."
The twins smirk. "Think you can stay awake long enough for dinner?"
"Why not?" I ask, hiding a yawn behind my hand. "I could use another dinner."
"Don't tell me your mentor gives you dinner too," Jay says, eyes widening.
"Dinner, lunch, snacks... whatever you want." I shrug my shoulders. "Let's get something to eat."
The twins exchange a look and I notice that Pedro is reciting things under his breath, things that sound like the different ways to stun an acklay and I repress a groan. If anyone so much as mentions any of the creatures involved in this competition I am going to die - everything about this competition seems to be designed to either kill or stun the competitors.
As we pass through the corridors on our way to the mess hall, I notice that every Jedi who isn't a youngling and most of the padawans have grim expressions on their faces. I don't know why and, frankly, I don't want to know. The war between the republic and the separatists is the reason for any of the bad feelings that people have and the dark side is stronger than it has ever been, why would I want to know what terrible thing has happened?
"Hey, what's that?" Kay questions, pointing to my pocket.
I reach inside and pull out the miniature planet that Anakin gave me. "This is just a simulation of what it's like to look after a planet," I say casually. "You decide on what to add to it to create life. Watch." I wave my hand in front of it and the options tabs and statistics appear.
"Let me guess, your mentor gave it to you?" Pedro asks, stopping his muttering to look at it.
"Yeah," I resist the urge to ask how he knows even though it is obvious. I wave my hand in front of the planet again and the holograms disappear before I put it back in my pocket. "How's your mentor been? I doubt he's as ruthless as mine." I add bitterly.
"Yours doesn't seem ruthless if he gave you that," Pedro comments. "And my mentor has been telling me to focus on getting rid of the acklay's. There's a small spot under it's hundred and thirteenth scale that, if hit, will kill it instantly. You just have to punch the scale and -"
"It will be stunned, I know." I cut in. "Actually it's the hundred and thirteenth, twenty-seventh, fourth and seventieth scales that when hit can stun it instantly. Then there are the spots on its neck and head and," I pause and sigh. "This is what I've been doing for the past eleven hours. Now I can't forget any of them."
They don't seem to be interested in my comment since their jaws have dropped and they're giving me that awe stare that many younglings seem to be giving me so I am happy when we enter the mess hall and their attentions are diverted. Without bothering to see if they are following me I go to the counter and get my dinner before returning and sitting at one of the free tables. A minute later, after I have started eating, they come to sit with me and it takes a grand total of two seconds for them to start asking questions.
"So, how much did you get taught?" Pedro asks, beginning to eat his meal.
"Everything you can think of to do with the competition," I say miserably. "You name it I've learnt it. If anyone says that they can learn so much in so little time they have no idea."
Kay smirks. "We'll take your word for it," He comments.
Before anyone else can speak, the door to the mess hall opens violently and we all turn around to see what is going on. A very excited looking youngling is stood there and I cannot help but roll my eyes - it doesn't take a genius to know that something has happened that everyone needs to know about.
"Hey, guess what?" He says loudly. "There's an Aak dog in the hanger, it escaped from a nearby shipment!"
The sound of chairs scraping and excited chattering is all I need to hear to know that it is time to shrink into my chair and the moment I look up and around again, there is hardly anyone left in the room. Sighing, I take one last mouthful of food before standing and walking out of the door. I don't see how a creature is exciting enough for everyone to want to go and see it when the Jedi masters will prevent them from going anywhere near it and probably send everyone to their rooms.
I am practically sleep walking by the time I return to my room and I place my datapad and planet on my bedside table before walking into the 'fresher and changing into my sleep wear. My eyes are half closed as I climb into bed and fall asleep, knowing that if I have another day like this one it will damn near kill me.