Chapter 20 - Concerns
DISCLAIMER: We (unfortunately) do not own Star Wars. :P
Author's Note: In which Ahsoka raises concerns among the Jedi...
Many thanks to loldelegate here on ff. net who has been giving us advice and suggestions for this fic! We never could have made so many unique plans without you! :D
~ Amina Gila
"Master Yoda, can you teach me more about the Force?"
Yoda looks up at the Togruta Knight in front of him, sensing her eagerness and sincerity. But more than that, he senses her hidden desires, her greed, and it worries him. For weeks now, ever since the war started, in fact, he has been keeping a close eye on Ahsoka. Something isn't right about her; she is not balanced the way a Jedi ought to be, instead seeking out power instead of working striving to protect lives. If not for the fact that she is such a good general, he would give her several weeks of mandatory meditative leave, preferably in a remote temple far from Coruscant and the war. But alas, he cannot.
"Want to learn what do you?" he questions, leaning on his gimer stick as he studies Ahsoka both with his eyes and the Force.
"I wanted to know more about Force lightning," she explains. "I know how it's produced – Master Plo showed me – but I want to know how to defend against it with the Force. I'm probably going to run into Dooku again, and it'll be easier to fight him if I know how to protect myself with more than my lightsaber."
On the surface, her request seems reasonable, but Yoda fears what else she might do with that knowledge. She is far too young to wield such immense power in a responsible manner, and perhaps it is the failing of the Jedi that she has become this way, but it's not as if she isn't well aware of how the Jedi frown on seeking out power for the sake of it. Yoda makes a mental note to speak with Plo later, asking him what he taught Ahsoka. It's something which he feels he needs to know.
"Hmmm... Seek power for the sake of power you should not," he chides, though he keeps the rebuke mild. Somehow, he knows that pointing out her imbalances would not be a good idea. Perhaps it is something which he should have Obi-Wan address with her. Certainly she would be far more willing to listen to her former master than him, since she is likely closer to him.
Ahsoka's eyes widen, and her expression becomes confused. "I'm not!" she protests, frowning. "I think I need to know. I deserve to know!"
Her choice of words send a tendril of warning through him, and his ears twitch, a visible sign of his worry. "No," Yoda replies sharply. "Young you are. Older you must be before control your power properly you can."
Her lips move, but no sound comes out, and Yoda can feel her startlement – as well as a quiet undertone of anger – in the Force. "I understand, Master," she says at last, though he can sense that, in truth, she doesn't. She's upset by his refusal. Ahsoka says nothing more, simply bowing her head and walking away.
In this moment, Yoda realizes that if the Jedi Order tries to rely on its Chosen One to save them, they will all be doomed. She is too young, far too young, for the burden being placed upon her. And more than that, she already seems to be wavering from the Jedi path. If she missteps, the Order will be doomed. This is not something he can keep to himself. He should speak to someone else about the situation. Maybe there is something they can do before it becomes dire.
**w**
"You wanted to speak to me, Master Yoda?" questions Windu as he steps into Yoda's quarters.
"Hmm. Yes, wanted to speak to you, I do," Yoda replies. His expression is grave, far graver than Windu has ever seen it in the past. Whatever he wants to speak about is clearly troubling him greatly.
Windu sits down cross-legged opposite Yoda and waits for him to speak. "Worried I am about Knight Tano," Yoda tells him, ears twitching slightly. "Darker she has been growing since the start of the war. Power she now seeks for the sake of power. Asked me to teach her more about deflecting Force lightning she did, but refused I did. Dangerous she could become if learn to control herself she does not."
And really, if this doesn't summarize everything that Windu himself has been noticing. He thought it was simply because he has the ability to see Shatterpoints. Maybe not. "I have seen it as well," he acknowledges. "The shatterpoints around her... concern me."
"What seen, have you?" inquires Yoda.
"She is steadily growing closer to the Dark Side," Windu continues. "She intends to win the war by whatever means necessary." He doesn't know how close she is to Falling, or how likely it might be that she will, but it's definitely not a possibility that he's going to dismiss. Dooku taught him that; that they must always be prepared for the worst-case scenarios.
"Disturbing, this is," the grandmaster murmurs.
"I think we need to be prepared in case she eventually... goes too far," Windu suggests. As the heads of the Order, it's something they have to consider, and be prepared for much as he might loathe the thought. Never in the recent past have they had to do this for any Jedi, much less the most important one, the Chosen One.
"Agree, I do," Yoda replies, "One of the strongest in the Force, she is, and one of the best duelists. Stronger she grows every day."
"Some of our Jedi Masters would still be able to neutralize her if it became necessary," Windu replies, considering. Most of the top ones are strong enough, and combined, they would be successful.
More and more, he's beginning to regret the Council's decision to train her. Or maybe they should have at least given her a different master altogether.
"See if we can help her first, we should," Yoda declares.
"I don't think she would be very receptive of either of us trying to talk to her about it," Windu responds, "Perhaps we can talk to Obi-Wan about it." If nothing else, her former master should be able to help her. Or at least Windu can hope as much, because they need to do something before Ahsoka becomes a threat to the Order.
"Perhaps put on meditative leave, she should be," suggests the Grandmaster after a moment of consideration.
"Under normal circumstances, I would agree. However, I don't know if the war effort can afford it. She is one of our best generals."
"Agree, I do," Yoda replies gravely, after a moment, ears drooping. "But take action, and swiftly, we must, or lose her, we may."
**w**
Obi-Wan isn't expecting it when he's suddenly called to Yoda's quarters to find both the Grandmaster and Windu there. He instantly senses that something is wrong, though he has no idea what it could be. "What is it?" he inquires cautiously.
"Need to discuss your former padawan, we do," Yoda tells him. Despite the openness of the words, Obi-Wan's bad feeling only grows, perhaps because of the graveness in Yoda's voice.
"Ahsoka?" Obi-Wan frowns. Why would Windu and Yoda call him here to talk about her? Did something happen that he didn't hear about?
"Yes," Windu confirms, "Master Yoda and I have noticed that she is becoming increasingly dark."
Obi-Wan can't deny having noticed as much himself. They haven't been around each other that much, all things considered, since the war started, but all the times he has seen her, the signs have been obvious. He wants to chalk it up to her fighting in a war, but if the other two are noticing as well, maybe it's something more.
"I have noticed that as well," he admits.
"Concerned for her, I am," continues Yoda, "Beginning to seek power for the sake of power, she is."
"What do you mean?" he asks, worriedly.
"She asked Yoda to teach her more about how to deflect Force lightning with the Force," Windu explains, "And the Shatterpoints I sense around her concern me. She also requested that Plo teach her how lightning is produced."
Well, he can definitely see why that is concerning them. He's worried about it too. Why would she even want to know something like that? He can understand why she'd want to be prepared for extreme cases on the battlefield, such as if they end up fighting Dooku again, but still.
"We need to take action before she does something... rash," Windu says grimly.
"Believe it best, we do, for you to talk to her," Yoda adds.
They want him to talk to Ahsoka? "I'm not sure... if she would actually listen to me," Obi-Wan admits, no matter how much it hurts to say this aloud. "We haven't... spoken much since she was Knighted." He's not sure how she would even react to him trying to broach such a subject. She's been a lot more... distant with him then he was expecting. He doesn't like how things in their relationship have changed so much, but he doesn't know what he can even do about it. And approaching her about something like this isn't likely to go over very well.
Windu seems to be doing his best not to sigh in resignation. "You know her best. You're the best person who might be able to help her before things deteriorate any further."
"I will see what I can do, Masters," Obi-Wan concedes after a momentary pause. He doesn't even know what he can do, but he can't simply do nothing, especially considering that both Yoda and Windu are asking him to. Besides, if there's even a chance for him to help Ahsoka find her balance once more – whether he's her master or not – he'll take it. He owes that much, at least, to the child he raised and trained as his own.
**w**
Losing Ventress was nothing more than a minor temporary setback, Dooku thinks as he watches the battle raging around him. Shortly after her capture, he had gone to Dathomir in search of another assassin to take her place, and found one easily enough. Savage Opress doesn't have the same stealth abilities, but he's good in a fight, compared to the skills of most Jedi. For now anyway, he has his uses.
Dooku sees a flash of light in between the trees, before two familiar figures run into view, lightsabers held ready. Both the Jedi look equally startled at the sight of the yellow and black Zabrak standing next to him.
"Dooku," Kenobi greets, gaze jumping between him and Savage, "I see you found yourself another... pet to replace the last one."
Savage instantly ignites his double-bladed lightsaber, lunging at the Jedi. He spins his blade furiously between them, fending off Kenobi on one side and Tano on the other.
Is Kenobi's padawan here? Dooku would admittedly find meeting the boy quite interesting, after what he heard about him from Sidious. He's clearly extremely talented, and his skills could be put to much better use elsewhere then with the Jedi.
Tano finally throws up a hand, sending Savage skidding a few feet backwards, who slams his lightsaber into the ground to slow himself. It's in fights against extremely experienced Jedi that Savage's skills prove to be a lot less useful.
Tano spins around, promptly charging right at Dooku. "Ahsoka, wait!" Kenobi calls in warning, but she isn't listening to him.
Apparently their duel on Geonosis didn't teach her much after all. Dooku's blade hisses to life in his hands, and he brings it up to block her two blades as she attacks.
Their three blades clash together, and he pushes her back, attacking her again. She might be a good fighter, but she's extremely arrogant if she thinks she can defeat him alone. He can't kill her if he wins a fight – Sidious would not be happy – but it would have to look convincing, and she hopefully has the sense to run if she starts rapidly losing.
Tano backs away from him as he presses his attacks, remaining mostly on the defensive. Their duel slowly begins to carry away from where Savage and Kenobi are fighting, until they're mostly out of sight in the trees, although he can still make out their flashing lightsabers on occasion.
Tano retreats a few steps again, and Dooku suddenly gets the feeling that this was entirely intentional. She couldn't possibly be stupid enough to think she can take him down alone out here with no backup whatsoever. Kenobi couldn't even get here to help her in time if she needed it, especially not with Savage on his tail.
His conclusion isn't disappointed. "We need to talk," Tano declares, standing a few steps away from, though she keeps her lightsabers activated.
"Is that so?" asks Dooku, mildly surprised by the statement. What is she up to? Is this her own doing, or is it something Sidious put her up to? He isn't sure, because there's certainly no other Jedi who would ever try something this foolish, but Tano isn't really a normal Jedi anyway.
"Yes," she states firmly, "I can't imagine you want the war to continue any more than I do."
"The war was started by the Republic," he replies, and is mildly surprised when she doesn't argue the point, "And they won't stop until the Confederacy is destroyed, despite their legal and legitimate reasons for leaving the Republic."
"I know," she agrees, again surprisingly, "The Republic Senate doesn't have any interest trying to reach a peaceful resolution to this, and I wouldn't be surprised if the Separatist Senate wasn't any different, but the same isn't true for the Chancellor." Oh, she has no idea. But Dooku has to say, he certainly wasn't expecting a Jedi to see it and try to talk to him about this.
He can see why Sidious wants her as his next apprentice, which reminds him again of his thoughts back when they last talked about it. If he could explain to Ahsoka what was really happening, would she team up with him to fight against Sidious? She would be a useful ally, but she's also clearly quite loyal to Palpatine, and he doesn't know if even finding out that the Chancellor is Sidious would change that. It's not a risk he can take without surety of her agreement, something he definitely doesn't have.
He is still wondering if she's doing this of her own volition, or if Palpatine is planning something that he has yet to tell Dooku about. He doesn't know, so for now, he'll have to play along. "This conflict is beyond peaceful resolution. The Republic still refuses to even recognize the legitimacy of the Separatists, which makes any peace talks impossible."
"The Chancellor himself would like to bring a swift end to this conflict, even if the Senate refuses to see likewise. We can work together to end this," proposes Tano.
Did Sidious put her up to this? She clearly talked to him about this, unless she's lying, which he doubts. She respects him far too much to use his name in such a manner.
"Many other factors are involved, aside from the Chancellor," reminds Dooku.
"I know," she agrees, "That's why I'm proposing we work together. We could... manipulate the war to restore peace to both sides."
Does she understand the implications of her proposal? "I assume you are well aware that would be treason in the eyes of the Republic," Dooku points out dryly, "You are willing to go to this extent?"
"If the laws are preventing peace and working against the greater good of the galaxy, they don't concern me. It isn't something that needs to be public knowledge," she replies, "If you're really interested in the greater good as you claim, I'm sure you can arrange something."
"I will... consider it," Dooku decides finally, because he doesn't know what more he can say right now. He doesn't want to agree to anything without consulting his master, at least not for something as crucial as this. Still, he has to admit that Tano has surprised him yet again. He never would have believed her capable of seeing past the flaws of the Jedi and the Republic in the way she has. It is such a pity that she is fully under Sidious' sway; she would be a powerful ally, if turned to his cause.
She walks a few paces, clearly in thought, before she turns back to him, eyes momentarily flickering in the direction of where her former master is still duelling Savage. "Is there another you must consult?" she asks, a bit too knowingly for his liking.
She's fishing for more information, Dooku realizes, testing the waters and trying to see if she can get something out of him, something which she can use to her advantage. Oh, this girl is good. "Does it matter?" he counters smoothly, not really answering her question, though his non-answer is probably answer enough. It rankles how she was able to catch him totally off-guard. He doesn't like when that happens.
"Even if I did, I would still need time to consider your proposal." He pauses, suddenly remembering something else which they should probably address. "If – if I decide to go along with your offer and work with you, we will need a means of communication."
Tano smirks in a very self-satisfied way. Perhaps it was a deliberate oversight then, one which she was hoping he would mention. "Then if you agree, I'm sure you can find a way to let me know," she replies, much too smugly for his liking. "Or else, we will undoubtedly meet again on the battlefield. I'm sure we can work something out."
She positions her lightsabers in front of her. "And now, I believe we have a duel to finish. Wouldn't want to look suspicious, would we?"
He can't disagree with that and as she lunges at him with a graceful agility that she wasn't demonstrating earlier, Dooku realizes that he really underestimated her. It's something he vows he'll never do again. Ahsoka Tano is far more dangerous than anyone can conceive.
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