Chapter 27
Turning to Luke, Ahsoka suggested they speak privately in another area. She asked Artoo to come with them, as Luke also had questions for him.
After handing Ben to Mara, Luke's small group left the room. This allowed Han, Leia, and Mara to talk with the kids.
"Alright, you three, I know you knew this before. And don't deny it because I saw you weren't as shocked as us earlier," Han said sternly.
Sighing on the inside, the three knew they had to speak the truth after hearing this.
"It's true, Dad. We did know about Ahsoka being a time traveler. She was the one who told us, but we did not know that she was our Grandfather's apprentice. That was as just a shock to us as it was to you," Jacen explained.
"I knew it," Jaina said next, which made her family look at her. "Before you ask how, let me explain," she added, then told everyone what Rex told her last night.
While this happened, Luke and Ahsoka walked outside as Artoo followed them. The two went to an isolated area a reasonable distance from the base. Looking around, Ahsoka saw they were in a large space where several trees had fallen over in a circular-like fashion. This created an arena-like setting, which made her guess why Luke brought her here.
"Earlier, when you showed me your lightsabers. I was cautious at first as I didn't know if they were real," Luke told her calmly, which concerned Ahsoka.
"However, after seeing that recording from Artoo, I'm starting to change my mind. But before I can accept this as true, I want to test you myself," Luke stated as he unclipped his lightsaber from his belt and held it with both hands.
"I understand," Ahsoka replied, then grabbed both her sabers.
She then watched Luke's saber come to life as he held it defensively.
Ahsoka went next and brought her hilts together, pulling them back as the two white blades came out. She then reversed both as she held them facing backward.
Seeing this interested Luke as he readied himself. Circling each other for a bit, Ahsoka waited as she wanted to see who would make the first move.
In the end, it was her as Ahsoka came, ran forward, and then began her attack with a series of fast strikes. Using her left saber, then the right next.
Reacting quickly, Luke blocked these attacks rapidly, allowing him to match Ahsoka. This impressed her, and she saw Luke go on the offense next. Using both blades to stop these attacks, Ahsoka got a few strikes in, which she guessed was Luke's doing, as he wanted to see how good she was.
"It seems my father taught you well!" Luke said with a calm look.
"Thanks, you're not so bad yourself," Ahsoka replied as she returned to offense, causing Luke to defend himself for a bit.
Suddenly, he decided to try something new. Luke grabbed a fallen tree branch and threw it at Ahsoka.
Seeing this, Ahsoka was able to slice through the branch with ease. Then Luke sent other objects her way, including rocks and pieces of wood. Some she sent away with her hands, and others back at Luke. As he focused on this, Ahsoka jumped over him and came in from behind.
However, Luke could counter this by using the Force to push Ahsoka, which sent her flying backward over the trees. Going after her, Luke found no sign of Ahsoka at first. Which made him look around to see where she might be hiding. But only saw the vast forests all around him.
"Smart thinking, using the environment to one's advantage," Luke thought as he walked slowly on guard.
As he did this, Ahsoka watched him from the side of one of the trees, using one of the vines to hold her steady. She waited for the right moment to strike. Once Luke had his back turned to her, she made her move.
Swinging down, Ahsoka came in with one saber in hand and made a slash that almost got Luke, but he ducked down in time and rolled away.
"Had enough yet?" Ahsoka called out to him as she dropped down from the vine.
"Not yet, but good effort!" Luke replied as he got back up. He walked carefully for a bit, ready for the next attack. Quickly, it came from the side as Luke blocked Ahsoka's strike. This was followed by him going on the attack next, which Ahsoka countered by blocking his attacks each time. Then, she went in to attack when the moment presented itself.
During this bout, Luke led Ahsoka back to where their duel first started. He decided to try a new tactic. Right after, he swung his blade at her. Luke extended his left hand and shot bolts of lighting from it.
Reacting quickly to this, Ahsoka blocked the attack with both sabers. Which absorbed the bolts of lighting as she held her ground.
After a few minutes, Luke stopped and lowered his left hand. "Very quick thinking, using your sabers to block my lighting," he noted with an impressed look.
"I've had plenty of experience, though it's not often to see a Jedi use something like that. It's a technique used by those who fell to the Dark Side," Ahsoka said.
"That is true, but things have changed in the time you've been gone. Which I would be happy to tell you about now that you have passed my test," Luke replied as he deactivated his lightsaber and clipped it back to his belt.
Hearing this made Ahsoka smile as she did the same with her sabers. She followed Luke back to where their duel first started, where they found Artoo waiting for them, who asked how things went. Luke told him the outcome. Afterward, the three returned to the base and entered the vacant office of the former commander.
Taking a seat behind the desk, Luke waited as Ahsoka found a spare chair and sat down before him.
"So now that I know you were trained in the Jedi ways, I would like to learn about how you met my father and what your relationship as master and student was like," Luke asked.
Nodding to this, Ahsoka began by telling Luke of her first meeting with his father on Christophsis. She said that Anakin first had no interest in teaching her. However, he had no choice but to accept this due to their situation on Christophsis.
Ahsoka then said she, at the time, was too eager to learn from her new master. She was also overconfident and quick to act without thinking things through. Anakin would tell her he often did the same thing in his youth. He told her of some of his past mishaps, some of which she found funny.
Afterward, Anakin accepted Ahsoka as his student. He taught her much about the galaxy from his perspective, as well as tactics that she would use during the war, how to fly and maintain starships, and so on.
During this time, Ahsoka would come to see Anakin as a friend. Which Luke could tell from her smile as she spoke fondly of him.
"I can see that my father was an important figure in your life. This brings me to ask you, were you told about his fate by the Observers?" Luke asked next.
However, he saw Ahsoka shake her head to him as a response.
"They didn't, which is one of the reasons I came here, as I was hoping to learn what happened to him. After the Empire rose to power, I was able to hack into their database and found a list of Jedi killed in the purge. Anakin's name was listed among the deceased. However, I can't believe that is true, as Anakin wouldn't go down easily. And after learning you and Leia were his children, I was hoping you might know if he survived?" She stated with a hopeful look.
Hearing this made Luke feel conflicted. A part of him knew that Ahsoka wanted to know if his father survived. And that, as his former student, she had the right to know. But given the nature of this, Luke knew Ahsoka would take the truth hard. Just like he did on Bespin so long ago.
"However, given our situation, this is more of a personal matter for me. We should wait for now, as I do need you and your family to believe my claims about myself and my allies," Ahsoka stated as she told Luke this, who was impressed by how mature the young woman in front of him was.
After a brief silence, Luke said, "I understand, and based on what you've told me so far and from what I saw from our duel earlier...I do believe what you are saying." He then stood up and offered his right hand to her. Seeing this and the look on his face, Ahsoka accepted it and shook his hand.
"Thank you, Master Skywalker, you won't regret this," she said with a grateful look.
"You're welcome, and please call me Luke."
Luke then turned to Artoo next, who had remained quiet during this time.
"Now then, Artoo, I must ask. Why didn't you ever tell me you were my father's droid? Or about Ahsoka ether," Luke wondered as he asked the droid these questions.
Going quiet for a bit, Artoo looked at Luke first, then at Ahsoka, who was also curious about this. After a few moments of these, Artoo beeped his response to them.
The droid said he didn't tell Luke about Ahsoka as he believed her dead. Which saddened the droid long ago. He kept the knowledge about her a secret as he didn't bring up these old wounds.
Artoo added that he was surprised when Luke and the others talked about Ahsoka the other day as he hadn't heard her name in ages. This made him wonder why at first, but like the others earlier, Artoo was too surprised to learn that Ahsoka was alive. And that was because of time travel, of all things.
Luke and Ahsoka could understand why Artoo never talked about her before. It must have been hard for the droid to lose a friend and discover she was alive again. Ahsoka could relate to this, given she felt the same when reuniting with Padme not too long ago.
When it came to Anakin, Artoo said that he didn't know Luke was his son when they first met long ago. Over the years, he never brought this up due to Luke and him being busy with the war with the Empire and rebuilding the Jedi Order.
Luke knew there was more to this than Artoo was letting on, as the droid could have told him at any point in the past. But didn't for some reason, which made him wonder why.
However, they had other matters to focus on. Luke decided this would be discussed another time.
Ahsoka felt the same as she heard this but didn't press further. She saw Luke turn back to her after telling Artoo he understood.
"So, I was wondering if you could tell me about these allies of yours?" he asked her directly.
"Of course. Aside from myself, another former member of the Jedi Order held the rank of Master: Rahm Kota," Ahsoka replied, then described the man to Luke.
He was surprised to hear that another Master from the old order was alive and had questions for him. He wanted to know if Kota knew K'Kruhk or those who made it to Arkinnea.
After this, Luke was told about Kota's apprentice, who went by the code name Starkiller. He was a powerful warrior, as Ahsoka told Luke about how she and Starkiller took on the Yuuzhan Vong at Myrkr. This impressed Luke as he was keen to meet this man to see his strength.
"The fourth member is a close friend to Starkiller and Master Kota. Her name is Juno Eclipse. She was a member of the Rebel Alliance who knows your sister Leia. Along with her Senator Bail Organa," Ahsoka said, adding that Juno and two other members were here on Endor at this time.
"I'm sure Leia will be surprised to hear this," Luke thought to himself with a grin.
Ahsoka then spoke about a Clone Solider called Rex, a friend of hers.
"A clone, as in the same ones that the Jedi led during the Clone Wars?" he asked cautiously.
"It's true, and I know this may seem like a bad idea. But I want to let you know that Rex is not a danger to anyone. He's a brave man whom I worked with during the war. And had great respect for your father as he led the unit Rex was part of," Ahsoka answered.
Taking in these words, Luke was stunned on the inside to learn that there was another person who had a connection to his father. But knowing Rex was a Clone soldier might cause problems, especially if Kira were to learn of this. However, it also presented an opportunity to answer something he had wondered about since hearing her story last night.
"Hmm, by chance, would Rex happen to know why the other Clones turned against the Jedi after the Clone Wars ended?" Luke asked with a serious look.
"He does; Rex told me what caused the Clones to turn against the other Jedi. I can tell you if you like," Ahsoka told him but saw Luke hold up his hand to her.
"I appreciate this, Ahsoka, but hearing this from Rex would be better. Besides, I still need to hear about the other members first," he told her gently.
Nodding to this, Ahsoka went on, and she spoke of her other friend, Bo-Katan Kryze, a female Mandalorian who had a history with her. As Ahsoka said, they started off as enemies but later became allies and friends due to them fighting a common enemy together.
Ahsoka also said that aside from helping to stop the Vong, Bo wanted to know what became of her people and home world when she was gone. After hearing this part, Luke said that Bo could talk to Leia or Han as they would know, given their history with the Mandalorians.
"Not to mention who's currently leading them," Luke thought.
After this, Ahsoka spoke of the last three members but was careful about how to proceed.
"Two of the next members are...well... let's just say they have a close connection to your family, is all I can tell you," Ahsoka stated nervously, which Luke saw and was curious about why she acted this way.
"Do we know these two?" he asked calmly.
"Somewhat, but if you want to find out, you'll need to meet them in person," Ahsoka said.
Luke wanted to ask more about this but saw the look on Ahsoka's face. He knew she wasn't going to say anything more about this. So he decided not to say anymore and then moved on.
"And who is the last member of your group?"
Going quiet at first, Ahsoka knew that she would have to tell Luke about him. This concerned her initially, as she didn't know how Luke would react. But given how he had taken things so far, Ahsoka decided to roll the dice and tell him.
"The last member is someone that you and your family know of. Given that he was an Imperial Officer who led a campaign against the New Republic. And nearly defeated them," She said seriously.
Luke's eyes widened as he could only think of one person who matched that description.
"Are you telling us that Grand Admiral Thrawn is involved?" Luke questioned with a severe look.
"He is," Ahsoka answered.
(Author's Message)
Hi Everyone.
This chapter sees Ahsoka and Luke talking about her connection with Anakin Skywalker.
The idea of the practice duel was something I came up with as a way for Luke to see how skilled Ahsoka was in person. And it worked as he now believes what she said about being his father's apprentice.
As for why Artoo never told him about either Anakin or Ahsoka, this is in part due to what he saw on Mustafar when he was there decades ago. He kept it a secret to spare Luke and Leia the horrors of their father choking Padme and also believing Ahsoka was dead as well.
Also, the character of Ahsoka was created long after these stories were published, and she was only brought into the EU after Disney bought Lucasfilm. I wished they had done a series of books about her time in the EU during the decades after Episode 3.
In addition to this, Luke also learns about the other Time Travelers.
The following chapters will continue the reactions from the rest of the Skywalker/Solo family. Till then, May the Force be with You all.