Ahsoka, Daughter of the Light (Book 6): Hero

Chapter 17: Understandable Concern

KATOONI ADANA

It was getting quite close to nightfall. Master Tano should be back by now, right?

Well, for whatever reason, she wasn't. And that was obviously worrying.

Katooni sat in the grass, waiting to see Master Tano's ship fly over her head. It would be here any minute now, right?

"Worried about Master Tano?"

Katooni looked behind her to see that, as was expected, Petro had met her outside.

"Why is it that you always tend to follow me around?" Katooni asked.

"Well," Petro said, "I know you better than anyone else here, so if I want to talk to someone, why not you?"

"Good point," Katooni replied. "Here, sit down."

Petro gladly sat down in the grass next to Katooni.

"Why isn't she here?" Katooni asked.

"Could be a number of reasons," Petro said. "She could have gotten injured, or she's having trouble with her mission objective, or... well, I don't want to mention the worst-case scenario, but..."

"Do. Not. EVER suggest that she's dead," Katooni said, somewhat angrily. "I... I don't want to think about it... I... I don't know what I'd do if she died."

"Look," Petro said, "I don't want her to die either. I don't think anyone here does. But We have to be prepared for it if it ever happens."

"It won't" Katooni said. "She... you know her. She's not going to give up."

"She's not invincible," Petro said.

"I know, but... but..."

Katooni began to cry.

Suddenly, the two heard footsteps coming up from behind them.

"W-what's going on here?"

Katooni and Petro turned around to see Lux standing behind them.

"Oh, hey, Padawan Bonteri," Katooni said. "I'm worried about Ahsoka. I don't want her to be dead."

"Oh, come on," Lux said. "She's not dead."

"What do you know," Katooni replied.

"She... literally contacted us," Lux said. "The Empire's invaded Mon Cala, and she's likely gonna be stuck there for a while. But she'll be okay. She's always okay, right?"

Katooni breathed a sigh of relief.

"I came here just to tell you that," he continued.

"When do you think she'll be back?" Katooni asked.

"I have no idea," Lux said. "She didn't tell me that. And there's a lot she didn't tell us, simply because the Imps could pick up on her signal, and if they found out too much, they'd send Vader her way and she might not be able to make it out of there."

"We just gotta hope Vader's not already there," Petro said.

"And hopefully she avoids him if he is," Lux continued. "Last thing I'd want to see is her getting killed trying to bring him back to the light."

"And if she does die?" Katooni asked in a somber tone.

"Hey," Lux said, kneeling down to Katooni's height. "I'm just about as worried as you are about losing her. Maybe more. She's... She's the only family I have left, aside from our daughter. I don't want to lose her, but... I hate to say it, but things happen. It's just... the will of the force, I guess. We all move on one day. But if there's one thing I know about Ahsoka, it's that she's strong, and she'll never give up. I ran through the streets of a desert village on Mirial with her, on the run from Vader, and three Inquisitors, while she was pregnant, and we came back hauling a Star Destroyer. She'll accomplish things once thought impossible just to reach her goals. That's why I'm so confident about her going on this mission, because I know she can handle this. Okay?"

"Okay," Katooni said, calming down. "Okay."