Unknown Planet, 9 ABY
Ezra Bridger trudged across the sands, pulling his tattered robe around his face to buffet against the searing wind. His rations had run thin, despite dolling out the portions, and hunger gnawed at him relentlessly, spurring an excursion into the wastes. So far, he had found only rocks, sand, and wind, with no sign of living creatures anywhere in the immediate vicinity. The excursion had only burned through precious calories, and as weakness seeped into his legs, he settled behind a rock that provided marginal shielding against the wind.
As Ezra scanned the surroundings, he saw nothing but kilometers of wastelands unfurling in all directions, with no sign of hope, food, or shelter. His desperation grew at the observation, and in the face of his impotence, he hung his head, awash in despair. The wind racked his body, pitting his exposed skin with jagged rock fragments. He pulled his knees in, curling inward as a corner of his mind began to whisper of a different kind of escape.
"Is it typical for a Jedi to give up at the first sign of difficulty?" an echoing voice asked.
Ezra looked up, feeling aggravated and annoyed. Armoth materialized before him, unconcerned and unaffected by the wind.
"Is it typical for a Knight of Ren to be so unhelpful?" Ezra shot back.
"Insolence," Armoth said. "Even in the pursuit of knowledge, you fail."
"Get to the point or get lost," Ezra snapped.
"Despair is not knowledge. Hopelessness is not knowledge. Desiring to die is not knowledge," Armoth said.
"Well, in case you haven't noticed, I am going to die regardless of how much I know!" Ezra shouted, wishing he could kick the man.
"Are you now?" Armoth asked before promptly vanishing.
Ezra pulled himself up, enraged, and he rushed toward the spot where Armoth had stood. He longed to strike the insolent bastard, but as he shot forward, he heard a hollow, echoing thump. He stepped back, looking down at the spot where he had just stepped. He knelt to the ground and brushed some of the sand aside. As his hand brushed the sand, it grazed a smooth cold surface. Struck by a sudden bolt of hope, Ezra feverishly brushed the sand away, uncovering a small segment of a ship's hull. With a wild grin on his face, he stepped back, recognizing that he was standing upon the fuselage of a ship.
He dropped down to his hands and knees, furiously wiping the sand away as he sought an entrance to the ship.
Corvus, 9 ABY
A cold, damp wind whipped at Ahsoka's cloak, and she gazed below her from the top of the wall, looking down on Lang, who stood alone, foolishly, beneath the cold, night sky. The Mandalorian stood below her, ready to strike at Lang's first sign of movement. Ahsoka, confident that the Mandalorian was capable of handling the situation, leapt backward, landing lightly in a courtyard. She stepped forward onto a walkway bound on both sides by rectangular ponds. The breeze blew through the leaves of several trees, the only remaining living trees within miles. Morgan Elsbeth had wreaked havoc on Corvus's forests, but she had not extended the destruction to her own co-opted space.
Elsbeth stood in the center of the walkway, still and silent. Ahsoka stood before her, mirroring Elsbeth's stillness. Elsbeth nodded to her, a trace of mocking challenge in the gesture. She held a beskar spear, and Ahsoka thought of the Mandalorian on the other side of the wall and how that spear might affect him. Ahsoka returned the nod, then casually removed her robe. Morgan removed her robe as well, as Ahsoka ignited both of her blades. Elsbeth raised the spear and pointed it toward Ahsoka. The two stepped toward each other, and Elsbeth stopped several meters away, tapping the butt of the spear on the ground. The vibrating beskar rang through the courtyard, and Ahsoka settled into a crouch, awaiting Elsbeth's move. Elsbeth lunged forward, and Ahsoka blocked the lunge effortlessly, holding the spear to the side. Elsbeth smiled a mocking smile, which vanished as Ahsoka countered, spurring Elsbeth's snarl.
They disengaged, mirroring each other's movements as they sized each other up after the initial engagement. Elsbeth launched forward, and Ahsoka blocked the thrust, countering with a slash that initiated a ferocious exchange. Both women growled and grunted as the resonant hum of Ahsoka's twin lightsabers clashed against the echoing ping of the beskar spear. They traded blows, pushing back and forth along the walkway as they battled. Several times, both women nearly landed blows, with Ahsoka somersaulting out of danger as Elsbeth lunged toward her. Elsbeth hooked the spear through Ahsoka's defenses, prying one of the lightsabers loose. The blade extinguished, tumbling into the pond, leaving Ahsoka with the shorter of the two blades. Ahsoka shifted her weapon, recalibrating her defenses. She scowled, stepping forward as Elsbeth stepped back, wary of the counterattack.
Several moves later, Ahsoka's blade flashed through the night, pulling the beskar spear from Elsbeth's hands. Ahsoka held her saber up to Elsbeth's throat, leaning forward in triumph as Elsbeth shrank back. Ahsoka straightened, and Elsbeth closed her eyes, hoping for death.
"Now tell me," Ahsoka said, her voice grim with determination. "Where is your master?"
Ahsoka paused, and Elsbeth remained silent. Ahsoka repeated her demand, saying, "Where is Grand Admiral Thrawn?"
Morgan Elsbeth smiled, then erupted in acidic, mocking laughter. As her laughter subsided, she smiled and said, "Honoghr."
"What?" Ahsoka exclaimed, off-balance at the quick admission.
"Honoghr," Morgan Elsbeth affirmed. Her smile deepened as she added, "Oh, the Jedi aren't as all-knowing as they seem, are they?"
"Where is Honoghr?" Ahsoka said, regaining her composure.
"No idea," Morgan smiled maliciously.
Ahsoka scanned her face, searching for the lie. Elsbeth maintained her smile, then asked, "What does it feel like to wield so much power, yet remain so helpless? Is that what it felt like when the Emperor slaughtered your friends?"
Ahsoka felt a flare of anger mount, but she quickly soothed it, refusing to play into the taunt. A blaster bolt echoed from beyond the courtyard, and Ahsoka – having recognized the sound of the Mandalorian's blaster – smiled.
"I don't have time for a proper interrogation," Ahsoka said, adding, "I'll leave this to the Republic."
Morgan sneered. "They'll never find Honoghr. You shouldn't have shown yourself two days ago. I knew not to take the coordinates from Thrawn. Take me to your Republic. He'll find me when the time is right."
"I'm going to see to it that you spend the rest of your life in a prison cell for what you did here," Ahsoka retorted.
"I'm sure you will," Elsbeth smirked.
Ahsoka had heard enough. She lowered her saber and brought her hand up to Elsbeth's face. She touched her face, then sent a current of thought through the Force. Elsbeth's eyes closed, and she collapsed to the ground in a heap. Ahsoka bent down to pick up the beskar spear, and she turned toward the small palace on the other side of the walkway. Leaving Morgan Elsbeth behind, she walked toward the palace, then opened the door. She passed through the spacious confines, examining the last pieces of wealth and culture spared from destruction during her reign of tyranny.
Ahsoka passed through the hall, seeking Morgan Elsbeth's private chambers. She walked through the spacious office toward a desk, upon which sat a small bonsai tree set in a terracotta pot. She rounded the desk and examined the holoprojector. Within the holoprojector sat a medallion with the Imperial insignia. Ahsoka leaned forward and activated the projector.
She waited nearly a full minute for the projector to initiate its connection. When the communication connected, she saw the chiseled features of Grand Admiral Thrawn regarding her imperiously.
"Curious," Thrawn whispered. "The erstwhile Togrutan Jedi – Ahsoka Tano, I believe you are called?"
"Where is he?" Ahsoka commanded.
"You refer to your Jedi friend," Thrawn said, his thin blue lips stretched tight as he smiled.
"What did you do to Ezra?" Ahsoka asserted.
"Nothing more than he deserved," Thrawn admitted. "Rest assured, he is where he belongs."
"Where are you?" Ahsoka insisted, her fear rising.
"I assume Madame Elsbeth already told you," Thrawn smiled.
"Honoghr," Ahsoka stated.
"A fascinating place," Thrawn admitted, "But quite out of reach by any means you possess."
"Tell me where. . ." Ahsoka began, but Thrawn cut across her.
"Please give my regards to our mutual Mandalorian friend," Thrawn purred. "Tell her that it has been far too long. I look forward to seeing her soon."
"Thrawn!" Ahsoka growled, but his feed cut off. She attempted to enter the code again, but there was no response.
"Madame Jedi?" an older man's voice asked. She turned to see the mayor of Calodan standing in the doorway. Behind him, several of the townspeople were binding Morgan Elsbeth's unconscious body to a chair.
Ahsoka stepped away from the holoprojector, pocketing the medallion as she stepped around the desk. She paused before the mayor and gestured to the desk, welcoming him back to his rightful place.
Ahsoka stood before the lowered boarding ramp of the Razor Crest, watching silently as the Mandalorian attended to Grogu. The care and tenderness he showed toward the child belied his lethal ferocity, and she had a sense of the child's feelings of safety and trust.
The Mandalorian carried the child down the ramp, and Ahsoka called out, "You're like a father to him."
The Mandalorian, surprised by her appearance, paused before descending the ramp. When he reached the bottom, Ahsoka said, "I cannot train him."
The Mandalorian paused and said, "You made me a promise, and I held up my end."
Ahsoka stepped toward him, gazing at the small creature, feeling the strange echoes of Yoda's presence as the child regarded her curiously. She took the child's hand and said, "There's one possibility."
"Go to the planet Tython," she instructed. "There you will find the ancient ruins of a temple that has a strong connection to the Force."
She glanced at Grogu, allowing her own thoughts to pass forward to the child – a reinforcement of her respect for his own will in choosing his destiny. She also conveyed her own refusal to dictate another's destiny, especially one with such strong attachments and such deep fears.
"Place Grogu on the seeing stone at the top of the mountain," she directed.
"Then what?" the Mandalorian asked.
"Then Grogu may choose his path," Ahsoka said, as much to the child as to the Mandalorian.
Grogu withdrew his hand and continued to regard Ahsoka with serene curiosity.
"If he reaches out through the Force, there's a chance a Jedi may sense his presence – and come searching for him," she said somberly.
She thought of Luke, and she wondered whether he would be capable of working through the complex range of trauma that Grogu had already experienced. Taila , perhaps. Cal, perhaps as well. She felt apprehension considering Masters Kcaj and Rancisis, both of whom would subject Grogu to the old ways – something she felt certain would send him down the same path as Anakin. She recognized the inner voice calling out her motivations, but still compelled to dissuade the Mandalorian from setting Grogu on this path, she added, "Then again, there aren't many Jedi left."
"Thank you," the Mandalorian said.
"May the Force be with you," Ahsoka said, nodding. The Mandalorian returned her nod, then turned away, walking up the ramp. She watched him walk away, hoping that she had made the right choice. After a lifetime of trauma, terror, and torture, perhaps it would be best for the child to remain with the Mandalorian rather than become a part of an organization that still clung to rules that would be too limiting. But realizing that his fate was not hers to decide, Ahsoka accepted that, as with all things, she would have to leave this to the Force. She smiled, watching Grogu gazing at her as the Mandalorian carried him away, and feeling a swelling of warmth and gratitude, she nodded at Grogu, saying farewell through their connection in the Force.
As the ship's boarding ramp closed, she stepped back, watching the Razor Crest rise from the earth and drift into the clouds. As the ship vanished, Thrawn's words came back to her.
Nothing more than he deserved. Rest assured, he is where he belongs.
Ezra. She thought to herself. Where are you?
As she thought of Ezra, she thought next of Sabine. Sabine had relayed the history of what happened after Ahsoka vanished, and she knew that Sabine and Ezra had grown close. She also knew from Sabine just how dangerous Thrawn was. Thrawn had manipulated her before, using her talent with art and engineering to harm her friends.
Please give my regards to our mutual Mandalorian friend. Tell her that it has been far too long. I look forward to seeing her soon.
Sabine, Ahsoka thought. Realizing that her friend was in danger, she turned, leaving the spot where she had said farewell to Grogu.
Unknown Planet, 9 ABY
Ezra Bridger sat cross-legged on the floor of the Imperial shuttle's galley, staring in confusion at the mess of parts that lay strewn about the galley. He had collected everything he could get his hands on, and while he could identify obvious uses for some of the components he had salvaged, many of them were foreign, leaving him uncertain whether they might help, much less whether they were even necessary. Some of the ship's drive functions were now operational but the ship was no closer to flying into space than he was. He had a momentary flash of Sabine teasing him over his mechanical ineptitude, and he smiled – a strange sensation that he had not felt in some time. Then the awareness that Sabine was trillions of miles away beyond an impenetrable wall of dust and gas hit him, and without a ship with a functioning hyperdrive, he had no more hope of seeing her again than he did of killing Thrawn.
His frustration grew at the thought, and in the face of his impotence, he flung one of the pieces as hard as he could at the wall of the shuttle. The component clanked off of the wall, leaving a dent in the wall and a dent in Ezra's hope of escaping. He slumped, defeated by the mechanical array, and a small corner of his mind began to whisper of a different kind of escape.
"Again, so quick to give up," Armoth remarked.
Ezra looked up, feeling aggravated and annoyed. He did not need a ghost chiding him for how he felt.
"Could you not?" Ezra shot back.
"I could not, but left alone, you seem to favor failure," Armoth criticized.
"And I suppose you're about lecture me about knowledge again," Ezra retorted.
"Not if you remain insolent," Armoth said.
Ezra rolled his eyes, then, his voice dripping with sarcasm, said, "Hey Armoth, I would love a lecture on knowledge right now."
"You ask the wrong person. Why are you not asking that which we do not name?" Armoth asked.
"The Force?" Ezra asked, mildly befuddled.
"Is that not from which the Jedi derive knowledge?" Armoth asked again.
Ezra shrugged, then closed his eyes. He felt the Force, and he noticed how it felt different here. It was not as pure and clear. It was distorted, almost fragmented. It still held power and came to him willingly, yet it did not feel as clear and as strong as it did where he came from. His mind ached as he longed for Third Sight. With Third Sight, he could just pass through the world between worlds, find Thrawn, and rip his throat out.
"You seek easy solutions," Armoth chided.
"Why is the Force like this?" Ezra asked, disregarding the criticism.
Armoth's expression darkened as he explained. "Legends say that the galaxy was once whole, but a great darkness emerged, threatening to swallow all. To contain that darkness, the galaxy split, leaving the darkness confined and contained. They say a Guardian stands at the boundary, his life dedicated to holding that darkness back indefinitely."
"Is that what this is?" Ezra asked, alarmed. "The dark side?"
"Is that another foolish conception created by your Jedi?" Armoth asked, unimpressed.
"Concept?" Ezra shot back. "It's a real thing. Surely you can feel it."
"I feel only that which we do not name," Armoth said. "But your answer is telling. It is the concepts that blind you."
"How is this supposed to help me fix this ship's hyperdrive?" Ezra asked, his impatience growing.
"Look past concepts. See what is. Allow that to be your guide; not your certainty that you know," Armoth urged.
"I'm better off with the instruction manual, but ok," Ezra said.
He closed his eyes, reaching out with his senses and uncertain of what he was reaching out for. Around him, he had the same sense of the Force, refracted and disjointed, yet still powerful, if not somewhat volatile. It differed from what he knew as the dark side, and as he considered the nature of what he felt, he realized that it too had something to say to him. Setting aside his thoughts, his concerns, and his frustrations, he quieted his mind and opened his heart.
In his mind's eye, he felt the image of the components emerge, but instead of seeing foreign components, he saw that there was a harmony and purpose to each; that each served some essential function. He looked closer, recognizing that each part had its integral design, and that the design was universal. His mind recalled a tree growing from the plains and blowing in the breeze, and he saw there a universality in form. He dismissed the concept of the tree and allowed his awareness to drift toward the hyperdrive, and there, he observed the same universality, the same purpose of form, the same underlying logic. The parts could only work one way, and that one way was repeated infinitely across all of technology. Something in the refracted Force that he felt assured him that this was universally true, yet there were no words to described the unspoken, immutable harmony of purpose.
In a flash, Ezra recognized that some of the parts he had were unnecessary, and that some of the parts – with a slight adjustment – could find their way into the harmony of the hyperdrive. Visualizing one of the parts, he felt it lift off of the floor of the shuttle and drift toward the partially dismantled core of the shuttle's hyperdrive. He allowed the Force to whisper to him, and the Force suggested how the part fit into the overall harmony. There were only a few superficial cosmetic differences. A tweak here; an adjustment there, and. . .
The ship's sublight drive kicked on, and the floor vibrated. Ezra's eyes flew open, and a grin spread across his face as the sublight drive hummed, vibrating the ship around him. Ezra felt certain that the connections were correct, and he knew that he could run to the cockpit and launch the ship off of the ground if he so desired. Desperate to spare fuel, he killed the engine and settled back into his cross-legged position, opening himself to the Force.
As he settled back into his deep connection, he heard Armoth's voice resonate within his consciousness, "Here, Ezra Bridger, is true knowledge. The first lesson of many. Thus begins your journey home."