Hey everyone!
OneLittleSpark18: And here's the payoff!
Maeve111999: Well, here you are for where I'm going with it!
TragicFiction: Why do you commenters keep giving me really good ideas???
Oh, man, I've been looking forward to this one. I hope everyone enjoys!
Mando'a translations at the end!
Ahsoka was still unsettled the next morning when Master Gek announced their next test: mind reading. It was only drizzling, so they were in the courtyard again.
"I hope you know I've never actually successfully read the mind of anyone I'm not bonded to." Ahsoka said.
"Oh, and you could speak with people thousands of lightyears away before, could you?" Gek asked.
Ahsoka frowned, but he had a point.
"Okay, who wants to be the willing victim?" Gek asked.
"I'll do it." Fives said immediately.
"Hope you don't have any secrets, Fives." Ahsoka muttered.
"You know them all." Fives replied.
She reached for Fives' mind.
And then she was Fives.
Domino, clone, notjustanothernumber, brother, friend, ARC.
So many burning emotions.
Love, for his brothers and Commander and General.
Grief, for every dead trooper, every lost brother.
Determination, to stay alive, to win the war, to avenge his brothers.
Fury, at all who dared touched the people he loved.
Loneliness, because he was the only Domino left.
A Darkness, unexpected and small, separate from everything else.
And Ahsoka pulled back, leaving a trail of herself behind. A bond. Ahsoka quickly severed it, before it could solidify.
She was on her knees again, being administered to by Kix. The pain was back, of course.
Fives had stumbled, a hand to his head.
"Okay, let's never do that again." He said.
Ahsoka sat, breathing carefully. That Darkness had surprised her. It was so small, and seemingly unconnected to anything else that was Fives. Perhaps something that happened on Kamino?
Ahsoka looked to Gek.
"Can we get an explanation now?" She croaked. "Because that worked far too well."
"You don't want to rest?" Kix asked.
Ahsoka shook her head, though the action sent more waves of pain through her skull.
"Imagine a door, holding back the Force." Gek said. "Force users have the ability to open the door part of the way. They also can control how far the door opens and how much Force comes through."
Gek slowly began strolling in a circle.
"Leave the door open too long, and let too much of the Force in, and you experience Force burn." He went on. "With you, it seems you have two options. Completely open, or nearly closed. The amount of the Force that comes through is greatly magnified, but the Force burn is immediate. You've gained the ability to completely open the door, but lost all control."
"You said nearly closed, instead of completely." Ahsoka said. "Why?"
"You're not suddenly a non-sensitive, are you?" Gek asked. "Force sensitives always keep the door cracked, for their movements, ambient sensing, and reasonable bond communication."
Ahsoka nodded again. She'd been able to sense emotions and speak with Rex easily when they were close.
"Apparently, you can do those things without a problem." Gek said. "Though that's just my theory. I'd like to do some physical trials with you to make sure."
"Sounds good." Ahsoka said.
"Take the time you need, and then we'll start with sparring." Gek said. "Don't worry, medic, this shouldn't happen again."
Kix nodded, looking relieved.
"We should also test if this affects endurance." Ahsoka put in. "I could be fighting for days at a time."
"I should have some results from your blood work soon." Gek said. "We'll be having a busy three days."
While Ahsoka waited to be well enough for the next part of their tests, she finally got through to the Bad Batch.
"This is Hunter." The Batch's leader was terse. "Commander Tano, how did you get this frequency?"
"Cody gave it to me." Ahsoka said.
She heard Hunter's snort.
"I told him to not give our frequency to anyone." He muttered.
"It's about the tests Tech was doing on my blood." Ahsoka said. "There's another interested party working on me."
"Tech will be excited." Hunter said. "That's been his pet project ever since he got a hold of it."
"Were you ever going to contact me if he discovered something?" Ahsoka asked.
She could almost see Hunter's shrug.
"Probably. Can Tech use this frequency to speak to this guy?"
"Master Bas Gek. And yes."
"Okay. Expect a call in a few hours." Hunter said, and then, as an afterthought, "Are you doing better, then?"
"Yes. Tell Tech they found a device in my arm they think was the cause. Master Gek has the details." Ahsoka responded.
"Huh." Hunter said. "Well, good luck, Commander."
"Thanks. You too."
Gek ignited his pale green lightsaber. Ahsoka switched on her two electrostaffs. They crackled with purple electricity. She hadn't really been able to test them and she was looking forward to it. Kix, Fives, and Tup sat at the edge of the courtyard, watching. At Gek's questioning glance, Ahsoka shrugged.
"They didn't give me my sabers back."
"You might have asked." Gek said.
"I was pressing my luck with them as it was." Ahsoka said. "These will work for now."
"As long as they can hold off a saber." Gek said, falling into a Form VI stance.
Ahsoka shifted into her own Jar Kai starting position. Immediately Ahsoka began considering the match up. Form VI was considered the precursor to her own Jar Kai style, so she was well versed in it. On the other hand, Gek was a far larger, older, and probably more experienced fighter. She was also out of practice. She didn't know if this was a fight she could win-
"We'll start slow." Gek said. "Simple trades, all right?"
Ahsoka nodded. She was perhaps a bit disappointed. She loved sparring with Anakin or Obi Wan for the challenge, not the technical aspect.
Ahsoka easily clashed with Gek using simple swings and blocks. Her muscles felt stiff, but there was no burning pain in her head.
Yet.
Despite the simplicity of it, Ahsoka enjoyed the saber work. Anakin had instilled a love for it in her within months of her apprenticeship. Working with her sabers had almost been like meditation for her with a calming effect few other things had.
Gek was starting to increase the speed and complexity of his strikes. Ahsoka grinned, falling into a rhythm. She was tiring easily, but this was the best she felt in weeks-
The Force choked and Ahsoka could feel someone suffocating.
Ahsoka stumbled and Gek's saber stopped short of her shoulder.
"Tup?" Fives' voice was confused. "What are you doing?"
Ahsoka turned to see that Tup had stood.
"Tup?" Ahsoka echoed Fives.
The trooper's eyes were locked on her. His mouth was moving, whispering something she couldn't hear.
The Force screamed.
Tup drew his blaster and fired once. At Ahsoka. Ahsoka raised her staffs but Gek's blade met the bolt first. Fives tackled Tup to the ground, Kix diving in to help.
"What the hell? Tup! Tup! Can you hear me!" Fives said.
Ahsoka ran to the writhing tangle of clones.
Tup began yelling.
"Good soldiers follow orders! Good soldiers follow orders!"
The words struck a freezing chord in Ahsoka's core.
"What's wrong?" She asked.
"I don't know!" Fives looked terrified. "He just started muttering that and then-"
Tup caught sight of Ahsoka and began to struggle harder.
"Kill the Jedi!" His voice was a hoarse scream. "Kill the Jedi!"
Kix and Fives looked up to her with twin expressions of confusion and fear. Their eyes were that of children, pleading with her to fix it.
Tup's mind was gone. Instead Ahsoka found a stranger. What he had become wasn't even human: an automaton formed of repeated words and bone-numbing Darkness.
Goodsoldiersfolloworders.
KilltheJedi.
"Tup!" Ahsoka said. "Stand down!"
Why she expected that to work, she didn't know. There was no break in Tup's yells or his struggling.
"Stand down!" Ahsoka said.
This time the words were not merely tinged or laced with the Force; they were saturated. Ahsoka's head burst ablaze. She felt her command come up against something. She pushed against it, forcing her words into Tup's mind.
Something broke.
Tup screamed.
Tup's presence returned: weak, but there.
Ahsoka let go and her surroundings burst into her awareness like a seismic charge. She gasped, finding herself already on her knees. Kix was holding her up. Gek crouched next to her with a concerned expression. Fives was clutching Tup, who lay lifeless in his brother's arms.
"He's breathing." Fives said. "What just happened?"
"Something's in his head." Ahsoka croaked. Her vision was fuzzy and her words seemed insufficient. "I broke it."
"In his head?" Kix asked. "What was it?"
"Dark." She mumbled. "Something very, very, Dark in the Force."
Kix jabbed something into her neck. Her vision began to clear within a few moments.
"Whatever it is is still in there." She said. "But I think it's done affecting him. We'll be able to tell when he wakes up."
Tup didn't wake up.
A rotation came and went and Tup was still unconscious. He was still breathing on his own, but he hadn't stirred since he had collapsed.
Fives and Kix stayed by his side. Ahsoka would have too, but Gek had insisted on her continuing her tests.
"You'll do nothing to help by sitting there and moping." He'd said.
Gek himself had been contacted by Tech and shut himself away in the third building, which Ahsoka assumed was a lab. He was gone for most of the rotation, leaving Ahsoka to test her limits by herself.
Now he sat in front of Ahsoka in the courtyard, studying her.
"I think we've figured it out." He told her. "That clone's a smart one."
Ahsoka nodded. The news that she would have been ecstatic to hear a rotation ago was a mere novelty in the wake of her worry.
"It seems your midichlorian count is the same." Gek went on. "But the midichlorians themselves have been changed."
"Yeah, they mutated." Ahsoka said. "Tech figured that out pretty quickly."
"But what did the mutations do?" Gek said. "Your clone friend and I believe that we've figured it out. The midichlorians' sensitivity has been increased exponentially."
"And that means-" Ahsoka said.
Gek sighed.
"Have you ever flown a speeder with bad controls? One where you have to use a greater amount of force to achieve what you want?" He asked.
"Yes, they're a nightmare." Ahsoka responded.
"You've been working with a speeder like that all your life. Now you have a speeder with hair-trigger controls, and you're using the same force as before."
It clicked.
"Does that mean I'll be able to regain control again?" Ahsoka asked.
"We think so, yes." Gek said. "With proper time and practice, you should be able to finetune your use of the Force to something like before. You'll have to be extremely precise, or you'll end up like you have been."
Relief washed over Ahsoka. It seemed it would take time, but she wasn't crippled. Palpatine hadn't beaten her.
"This will take a lot of meditation." Ahsoka said.
Gek nodded.
"You best get started now. I want to see progress before you leave."
"Sir?"
Ahsoka had felt Fives' approach. He wasn't looking at her. He was nervously fiddling with his helmet as he addressed Gek.
Gek grunted his acknowledgement.
"Sir, it's Tup." Fives' voice was more uncertain than Ahsoka had ever heard it. "He's- Kix thinks he's dying."
Ahsoka's stomach plummeted.
"Isn't there anything more you can do?" Fives asked.
Gek heaved a huge sigh.
"The scans I did didn't show anything. I can't find what's wrong with him." He said.
Fives shifted.
"Kix says there's another scan you could do-"
"That would almost certainly kill him." Gek interrupted. "I'm sorry, but we just have to wait it out."
"I sensed what was affecting him." Ahsoka said. "Maybe I could find it."
Gek shook his head.
"That would require not only power, but precision." Gek said. "Precision that you don't have yet. You'd have to be able to communicate the exact details of the problem as well."
Gek ran a claw over his head.
"If you'd give yourself a few weeks, maybe-"
"Tup doesn't have that long!" Fives burst out.
"It'd require multiple simultaneous Force usages, which we don't know if she's able to survive, let alone do it properly." Gek shot back.
Ahsoka looked at Fives' stricken face and thought of Tup.
He'd been one of the clones who rescued her. She had promised both Fives and Tup a debt.
"I can do it." She said.
Fives met her eyes, hope gleaming.
"Go back to the others." Gek growled.
Fives shot him a dirty look but Ahsoka nodded to him.
Gek pulled her aside as Fives retreated.
"Listen, Tano. This isn't a case of 'if it kills you.' It's a 'this will kill you unless you are extremely lucky."
"Master Obi Wan says there's no such thing as luck." Ahsoka said boldly.
"No such- of course there's luck! That's what the Force is!" Gek said. "Did you hear what I said?"
"I'm willing to risk my life for them." Ahsoka said. "They'd do the same for me."
"Sweet merciful mother of the Force what is wrong with your lineage?" Gek said with a groan. "You will die!"
"Clones die every day!" Ahsoka retorted. "I don't see you being that upset about it!"
"Listen, I normally wouldn't care if you risked your life on whatever you want." Gek snapped. "But I would have to deal with your master! 'Sorry Skywalker, but she decided to pull an extremely dangerous Force stunt I warned her against to save the life of one clone.'"
"Anakin has nothing to do with this! I recognize this Darkness. It was in Fives' head too!"
This made Gek pause. He narrowed his eyes at her. Ahsoka took her chance.
"Tup told me something the night before he collapsed. Something about a never ending mission." Ahsoka said. "It could change the fate of the galaxy, Gek!"
"And the Force just told you that." Gek said.
"Yes, it did!" Ahsoka said. "I don't know if you've noticed, but I've been pretty connected to the Force lately."
Gek snorted.
"Gek." Ahsoka said. "The Force has a destiny for each of us, right? This is important, I know it. My destiny could be sacrificing my life in order to find out what this is."
Gek groaned and scrubbed at his snout.
"Kriffing- I hate this. I hate being a Jedi and kriffing caring about the balance of the world!" He said angrily.
He looked at Ahsoka and heaved an enormous sigh.
"At least we know it's localized in the head." He grumbled. "And I might be able to assist you in the Force."
"Thank you, Gek." Ahsoka said quietly.
Gek grunted again.
"You're too much like Qui Gon." He said. "He'd needle me into 'doing the right thing' too."
Within an hour, they had gathered in the lab. Fives carried Tup, ignoring Gek's grumbling that he didn't need to be there.
"Kix, give me a hand getting him on the surgery bed." Fives told Kix.
"It's an operating table." Kix muttered, helping lift Tup.
"Prepare the patient." Gek told Kix. "You'll have to be ready to perform the surgery."
Kix blinked.
"Don't you have a medical droid?" He asked.
"Don't like droids. They talk too much and they're never as accurate as the manufacturers say they are." Gek said. "Now get him ready."
When Kix began to shave Tup's head, his beautiful hair that he took such pride in, Ahsoka had the odd urge to cry. She was suddenly frightened that even if they could save Tup's life, he would wake as a stranger.
Kix finished and stood ready, white faced but determined. Fives hovered back. Even through the surgical mask, Ahsoka could see the absolute distress on his face. Gek pulled something up on a datapad.
"I'm going to transmit the diagram of a human brain to you." Gek said. "You just have to pinpoint where the problem is and the nature of it."
He paused and snorted.
"Just." He muttered. "Okay, put a hand on his head and I'll touch you. Theoretically, touch helps in these circumstances."
He reached out and touched Ahsoka's head. She in turn placed a hand on Tup's temple.
Ahsoka closed her eyes and dove into Tup's mind.
The problem itself was easy to sense. A dense ingot of Darkness hidden in Tup's mind. But Ahsoka struggled to see into Tup's physical mind, rather than its representation in the Force.
The pain was building. It was taking too long.
You need to stop. Gek's voice ordered.
Ahsoka nearly did. The pain was spreading from her head into the rest of her body.
But she owed them all a debt.
Tup, help me! She pleaded in desperation.
Commander?
Tup's voice was faint and scared.
You have to show me what's hurting you, Tup. Ahsoka said.
You're hurting. Tup sounded surprised.
Yes, and you can help me by showing me where the problem is! Ahsoka said desperately.
She had mere moments left.
Tup was silent.
And suddenly she could see it. A small, fleshy tablet embedded in his brain. She looked at the diagram Gek was projecting. She was able to show him where.
Foreign object. She sent, along with its dimensions.
Good, now stop! Gek's voice was a shout.
But Ahsoka couldn't. Her entire body was being immolated by the Force.
Ahsoka!
Five voices cried out to her. It was useless. The Force was pulling her, inviting her to become one with it. She wanted to. That way the pain would stop.
Five voices wouldn't let her.
Snips, don't you dare, what are you doing?
Little 'Soka, do not let yourself go. Do not let your men's sacrifices be in vain!
Young one, I cannot lose you as well!
Ahsoka, please, you promised!
Dammit, Tano, I am not dealing with your Master if you die!
The Force sang, beckoning. The voices clamored to drown it out but the song pierced through. It promised peace and rest.
Little one, you need to stay. This was a new voice, deep and fatherly. Part of the Force, yet separate. The galaxy needs your strength yet.
Haven't I done enough? Ahsoka argued back. Haven't I given everything to help bring peace?
You are a fulcrum, child. A point of balance. Your importance is beyond the pains of one life.
Ahsoka could hear the screams of clones, the cries of Jedi, Padme's sobs and-
Heavy, mechanical breathing that she knew belonged to Anakin.
A mask, black and imposing appeared to her. Horrible, grating laughter echoed around her. The rest of the sounds were smothered in Darkness, leaving only the breathing and the laughter.
She saw Anakin behind the mask.
You can save him, as I would have.
Ahsoka chose to stay.
Ahsoka was disappointed to find, when she awoke, that the pain was still her companion. It was nothing to the agony of the moment, but her head throbbed and her limbs ached. She groaned.
"Ahsoka?"
The shock of her name being spoken by that voice forced her eyes open. Fives sat at her bedside. She stared at him, trying to figure out what was different.
His head was shaven, and a bacta patch was on the side of his head.
She raised her hand and reached for the batca patch.
"What-"
"We found an organic chip in Tup's head." Fives said. "Me and Kix had one too. We got them out."
"Is Tup okay? Why aren't you with him?" Ahsoka asked.
Fives grinned. His eyes were shimmering.
"He woke up before you. He's a little confused, but he's just fine." Fives said. "You- you saved him, Ahsoka."
A tear dribbled down his cheek, followed by another. His grin slipped and he lowered his head.
"Vor entye." He said in a shaky voice. "I thought we had lost him. You saved him. Vor entye."
His shoulders shook and Ahsoka reached out to him and he took her hand. He squeezed it tightly.
"I don't know what I would do if I lost Tup." Fives said. "After everyone else."
Ahsoka's heart clenched for him. She waited quietly as he composed himself.
"I'm sorry." He said. "It's been a straining few rotations waiting for you and Tup to wake up."
Ahsoka sat up with a jolt.
"A few rotations?" She asked. "Has Anakin been in contact?"
"Right after Tup's surgery. He acted angry, like he does, but we could tell he was scared." Fives said.
"He could sense what was happening to me." Ahsoka said. "I'm surprised he's not here already."
"He's on his way." Fives replied. "The campaign on Ringo Vinda was successful, so they're going to meet us here. It'll be a rotation or two."
Ahsoka nodded. She felt relieved Anakin was coming here, if only to have Gek's help explaining things.
"We need to tell him about the chips." Fives said in a hushed tone. "We don't know exactly what they do but we can guess. We need to get this out there."
"Not a good idea." Gek had entered the room. "Good to see you alive." He added to Ahsoka.
"Why not?" Fives protested. "If there's something in our head that makes us kill the Jedi-"
"Those things are absolutely drenched in the Dark side." Gek said. "Whoever got those things in your heads is probably a Sith. Perhaps the one manipulating the war."
"All the more reason to tell the galaxy!" Fives said.
"All we have for evidence is one trooper having a breakdown and recovering after we removed the chip. That's easily dismissed. I've just finished speaking with Tech. His team has dug around the Kaminoan records and the chip is officially classed as an aggression repressor." Gek said. "We have one bit of evidence that most people won't believe. We'd also be showing our hand to the enemy, who'd be able to stop us short."
"So what do you suggest we do?" Fives asked angrily. "Just wait for someone to take advantage of these things?"
"I've taken the procedure to remove the chips and sent it to Tech." Gek said. "He's hiding it in the Republic's medical system as a different procedure. You're going to spread Tup's story and that there's a chip in the clones' head to the clones and a few Jedi you trust. From what I understand, rumors spread like wildfire in the GAR. And you'll also tell them that they can get it out, using the procedure we've hidden. All they'll have to do is tell any Republic medical droid to do procedure 1973-T."
"You've got quite the plan there." Ahsoka said.
"I've had a few rotations to think about it." Gek told her.
"I think it's a good one." Ahsoka said. "Not many people pay attention to the clones, the rumors would stay in the army."
"Hopefully no one rats us out." Fives said with a scowl.
Ahsoka perked up as Kix and Tup approached. Both had shaved heads, though on Kix there wasn't much of a difference. Tup still looked wan and apprehensive as he came in.
"Commander." He greeted Ahsoka quietly.
"Hi." Ahsoka replied. "How are you doing?"
"I'm alive." Tup said. He ducked his head, ashamed. "I'm so sorry, Commander."
Ahsoka got up, though her head still swam, and pulled Tup into a hug. He was stiff only a moment before returning it.
"It's not your fault." She said before letting go.
"I nearly killed you twice." Tup mumbled.
"That was my choice." Ahsoka told him. "Don't forget you saved my life too."
Tup smiled a little.
"Thank you, Commander." He said.
Ahsoka smiled at him and knew she'd do the same for him again. For any of them.
Ahsoka stared at the rock in front of her. Her men sat behind her on the courtyard, staring intently. Gek watched nearby. Carefully, carefully, she eased out a sliver of the Force. The rock rose a few feet in the air.
Whoops and cheers exploded behind her. She immediately lost her concentration and the rock dropped, but the clamor continued.
"Well done." Gek said.
Ahsoka grinned up at him. The last few rotations had paid off.
"You'll have to keep meditating and practicing." Gek went on. "But now we know you can control it."
"I won't be able to use it in battle." Ahsoka said. "Not with the amount of concentration I need."
"That will come in time." Gek said. "In the meantime, I clear you for service. Just don't do anything stupid."
Ahsoka rolled her eyes. Gek looked over at the excited troopers.
"You three and the other clones make sure that when she does do something stupid she'll make it out all right."
All three saluted.
Ahsoka's comm chirped.
"Hey, Snips." Anakin said. "We're here. Come on up when you're ready."
"Can you come down to the planet first?" Ahsoka asked. "Master Gek and I need to discuss my service in person."
"All right." Anakin said nervously. "Should I bring Obi Wan?"
"Yes." Ahsoka said. "He should hear this too."
Mando'a:
Vor entye: Thank you. Lit. I accept a debt.
Let me tell you, I was going to let Tup die. I tried to think of a way to save him, and I just couldn't. But that was when Gek didn't exist and neither did this entire section of story. I was just gonna move on after Ahsoka is healed. My editors wanted to explore her Force issues more than the sentence or two I originally had. So Gek was born, as well as this section. And suddenly I found a way to save Tup.
A note on how Tup survives. In the show, Nala Se mentions that an atomic level scan would probably kill Tup. Fives has it done anyway. What if Nala Se was telling the truth and the scan is the final thing that killed him? Here, Gek refuses to do the scan, and it's Ahsoka that finds it without the scan. Boom! He lives!
The five voices speaking to Ahsoka in order are:
Anakin
Plo
Obi Wan
Rex (through his bond)
and Gek
And to confirm, that's Qui Gon talking to her.
I hope my explanations of what happened to Ahsoka's Force abilities make sense. Let me know if you have questions!
Okay, wear your masks, remember to review, and have a great few weeks!