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.
Package, Day Ten, Ahsoka Tano
I'll admit that when someone started shaking me awake, again, my first thought was to use the force to shove them through the door and lock it behind them. I was having the most wonderful dream, about floating lights and a beautiful meadow where I was sat staring at the clear sky; I don't think I've ever had such a peaceful dream. My dreams usually involve pain and fire and someone getting hurt, these are the dreams that everyone is having because of the war - but the dream that I just had was much more pleasant than watching anyone get slaughtered by droids.
"Ahsoka! Wake up!"
With a groan, I open my eyes to look at whoever is shaking me awake and am surprised to find that it is Katooni. She has never woken me up before. Katooni isn't the kind of youngling who doesn't give a damn about personal space and whether you were sleeping or not, this must be important. I stifle a yawn behind my hand and sit up slowly, so as not to make myself dizzy. On many occasions I would either sit or stand up too fast and end up nearly falling down because of the dizziness that accompanies it.
"I'm up," I mumble, rubbing my tired eyes. "What is it?"
"We have to go and get the packages with the briefs and intel on what we're going to have to do in the competition," Katooni explains.
"I thought we already knew that?" I remember, standing up anyway.
Katooni rolls her eyes and grabs my hand before pulling me out of my room, I seem to be getting hauled around a lot these days. Before we leave, I use the force to summon my datapad to me and stuff it into my pocket when Katooni lets go of my hand. I wouldn't half mind all of the hassle for the competition if it was at a later time in the day but the fact that there is hardly anyone about shows me that it is before the time when even the Jedi masters get up. However, since I went to sleep at three o'clock yesterday, I'm not actually that tired, just a bit annoyed; I really need to stop falling asleep in my day wear.
I notice for the first time that the parts of Coruscant that I can see through each window that we pass are not as vibant and busy as they usually are at this hour, the traffic never ends. The war is really having an effect on everything and, if I weren't so caught up in the upcoming competition, I would have most likely noticed all of this much, much earlier. Not for the first time, I wonder if there will ever be an end to the conflict in the galaxy. There always seems to be so much of it and even with the Jedi out trying to stop it there doesn't seem to be a difference, whoever invented the sith should be burning in hell for all eternity if you ask me.
The walk through the corridors is mainly silent since I am still waking up and I cannot seem to sense anything about what Katooni was talking about, it must be due to drowsiness. When we finally do reach our destination I am surprised to see that the rest of my class - including Slimo this time - are already waiting and I go immediately to stand beside Barris. There is already an excited murmur of chatter, which I don't see that point off, and I look at Barris.
"When did you get here?" I ask. "I only woke up a few minutes ago."
"Our mentors were told about this yesterday," Barris informs me, frowning. "Katooni went to go and get you when you didn't show up. Did you forget?"
I silently thank Master Kenobi for teaching me how to keep a straight face. "I forgot to set my alarm," I lie easily. "Maybe it's because I was asleep for more than twelve hours -"
"Wait, Ahsoka. How long were you asleep exactly?" Barris cuts across me.
"Um, what time is it now?" I ask.
"Four-thirty."
"Thirteen and a half hours," I conclude. "Give or take five minutes."
Barris gives me a serious look. "You went to sleep at three in the afternoon?" She asks me. I nod. "Ahsoka, you're not ill again are you?"
"No," I say. "I went to sleep to get better and I feel fine now. Well, apart from the odd thing once every few hours but it's not that bad."
I know at once that Barris is still concerned about me and probably doesn't believe me but that's one of the last things on my mind. If everyone's mentors were told about the meeting this morning then someone must have seen that there was no mentor listed beside my name, they'll think I don't have one. More to the point, if I don't have a mentor - in their minds - then I'll have the least chance of winning the competition, so what are they going to say if I do? I'd never thought that keeping me visiting Anakin a secret would be so hard, things just keep popping up that can cause suspicion.
Slowly, and after a few minutes of Barris watching me like a hawk, the door to the room that we are supposed to be entering opens. I deliberately avoid eye contact with everyone and anyone who is nearby because I have no idea what to expect from inside except from the knowledge that there is a package inside; this might be a very fatal flaw in my chances of winning, not that I want to. True, I want to build my lightsaber as soon as possible but if I win the competition then it will cause loads of questions which I just don't have the answer to right now.
We all walk inside in an orderly fashion - as we always have to - into the room and I decide that I really do not like competitions. There are folders with presumably all of the data that you need for the competition - which we could have done with a week ago at least - and it's obvious that we have to stay in the room for a while because of the seats that have been set up. Actually, this is more of an entrance to the temple than anything else. On one side there is a ledge and then the room is open to the morning of Coruscant. This should be a very interesting day.
"Welcome, younglings." Master Yoda says in formal greeting. "Rules there are, for the competition." I swear there has never been a tenser moment in the history of my class and we've been in some pretty tight situations. "Take into the competition you may, a datapad." I do not dare to believe what I have just heard, did he just say that? We can bring in datapads? "A free-for-all, it is. Attack anyone, you may. Now, your package you must collect and remain in this room to read them before seeking the aid of your mentors."
I know for a fact that every member of my class is happy. Having a datapad for help will be a massive way to survive, but on the downside you can't use them to contact people. Still, they will be a great way to help identify different things and solve puzzles, not to mention how the Jedi masters will be able to monitor our movements, which must be why they're doing it. Not only can the Jedi masters supervising see everything that we are doing but they will remove people who have been stunned or injured. Well, at least no one is going to die now.
Calmly, as calmly as I can right now, I follow the other members of my class and pick up the folder that has my name on it. Naturally, I watch Barris as she sits on one of the benches near the exposed section of the room. She is obviously as confused about having a folder to explain everything as I am but happy about being allowed a datapad aswell. I don't exactly find an indoor environment calming and, instead, I move to sit on the ledge outside which is not that high up but just enough so that my feet are a few feet above the ground.
Preventing myself from yawning - I really need to get used to being woken up early - I open the folder and roll my eyes at the wad of files inside. What do they expect us to do? Sift through them until we find the ones with any decent information on them? I smirk and pull my datapad out of my pocket. Luckily, I have a device that can help me find what I need. However, I have no idea what to do to get it to work or give me any advice.
The moment I pick up a piece of data my datapad buzzes quiet enough so that only I can hear and I look down at it and smile. "That's the rule page. Go to page 24, that's where it explains about the creatures that you will be fighting."
Following the advise of my datapad, something that I'm positive will make me go mad one day, I flick through the page numbers until I find page twenty-four and my eyes widen at the holograms of terrifying creatures that must be the magma things Anakin told me about. I know that it's a little stupid to be terrified of the things that I've been learning about but they're made of magma, where do they even find these things?
"They are delivered from native planets in the outer rim." More writing on my datapad explains.
I roll my eyes.
A thought reading datapad.
Oh joy.
I read through the entire page and am relieved to know that there aren't many chances of death - though forty percent isn't exactly a number I would refer to as meaning safe - but each creature in the area where we try to get the HoloFlag will give it their best shot. Serious burns and injuries are the minimal expected things and the thought makes me cringe slightly, if only Anakin were allowed to heal me afterwards, then I wouldn't have to sit in a medical ward for a few days which, force knows, I'll obviously be doing.
Carefully, I put the pieces of data back in the folder and focus entirely on my datapad, which is sitting in my lap. I have to stay in this room, or the part of it that I'm in now, for a few more hours and I'm not sure I can survive. Frowning, I have an idea, I open up the entertainment part of my datapad and cannot help but smile when I see the different applications already installed. Maybe having a datapad with a conscious won't be too bad, I open up the common chess app, now I have something more experienced than a computer to play against.
Fifteen loses.
Against a datapad.
Fifteen.
I am really bad at chess, that much has become clear in the few hours that I have been playing and losing. On the bright side, there are no objects flying at my head so I don't have to worry about being knocked off of the ledge by anything. I wouldn't mind losing if my datapad wouldn't display a boasting message afterwards and make me glare at the screen, meaning that I would play again. Not this time, I've had enough of being pushed around by a machine and it might do me some good to do something else or have an actual person talk to me.
Most people have left by now, to go and find their mentors and other things, but there is still Barris and Pedro left - this doesn't surprise me at all. They always overwork things, it's just because I was so drawn into my game that I am still here, and I can remember many occasions when I have told them to live a little; when I give them advice it doesn't tend to go too well since they then remind me that I'm friends with the twins and need to get my head out of the clouds. These conversations tend to result in me either arguing with them - this tends to happen with Pedro more than with Barris - and not speaking to them for at least two days.
Sighing - and ignoring the buzzing, taunting datapad in my hands - I get off of the ledge and depart the room without a word; for some reason I don't have the energy to even speak to either of them and I honestly don't care why that is. I was woken up early in the morning so there is no need for me to bother asking why I am so tired.
I automatically head for the mess hall but stop still when I see two Jedi healers escorting a stretcher with a youngling on it. More specifically, the youngling is Liam - one of the members of my class. What could have happened to him? On his face are terrible boils and pimples that I know were not there before, things that cannot just appear after an hour or so. There is a crowd of younglings around the stretcher and in a matter of moments Master Yoda has appeared at my side; when his eyes make contact with Liam he immediately walks towards him. Maybe now I can understand what has happened.
"Happened, what has?" Master Yoda asks at once.
"We are not sure, Master Yoda." One of the healers says. "However, we did find him in one of the corridors beside the west tower and the window beside him was broken."
Everyone, except for a few smart ones of which I am, gasps and begins to mutter. If he was attacked in the temple then it stands to reason that the attacker could still be here and that is a cause for concern, obviously. It is no surprise when Master Yoda looks away from Liam, apparently figuring something out. When he turns to look at me that is a surprise.
"To your rooms, you all must go." He says to everyone, but his eyes linger on me for a few more moments before looking around. "At once."