Chapter Thirty-Six

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Ashara stood outside the training room, Master Yoda next to her. She was confused why the Jedi Master wanted her to meet him here before she went to the meeting for their next mission.

"Master Yoda, why are we here?" she asked as they entered the room.

"A padawan you requested, yes?" Yoda chuckled. "In here, he is. Meet him, you must."

Excitement ran through Ashara's system, as well as a flash of nervousness. They passed by many dueling younglings, before eventually coming to a human male and a twi-lek male sparring. They spoke as they talked.

"I'm sure you'll get a master soon, Teriko", the human male said.  "You just have to be patient."

The twi'lek, now known as Teriko, huffed. "But you've been a padawan for so long. I'm still with the babies!" 

"With the younglings, you are, Teriko", Yoda interrupted. The two sparring younglings leapt apart, surprised by the sudden appearance of the small Jedi, before greeting the Master respectfully.

"Sorry, Master Yoda", Teriko said. Ashara tilted her head.

"Find your master, Caleb", Yoda said. "Searches for you, she does."

The human nodded, and ran off, speaking into his comm-link as he does. 

"Who was that?" Ashara spoke up.

"Caleb Dume", Yoda mused. "Depa Billaba, his master is." Ashara vaguely recalled the Jedi Master. She was on the council, Ashara thought. 

Teriko started slinking away, hoping that he would be able to escape what he thought would be a stern talking to from the two older Jedi.

"A master, I hear you want, Teriko?" Yoda said to the young twi'lek. The blue twi'lek nodded, a bit shyly. Ashara couldn't help but smile. With his friend gone, he didn't seem to talk much. "A master, you shall have."

Teriko brightened up, looking to the yellow togruta who sent him a soft smile. He looked back to Yoda, who continue to speak.

"Ashara Ki, your master shall be", Yoda said, before hobbling away, leaving the two to get acquainted with each other.

"So...", Teriko mumbled. "You're my master?"

"It appears I am, Teriko", Ashara said.

"So what are you going to teach me?" he asked. Ashara shrugged.

"I'm new to this whole teaching thing. All I know is that we have a mission we need to be getting to."

Teriko's face lit up. "I'm going to be able to go on a mission?"

Ashara chuckled. "You'll be able to go on a lot of missions with me. There will be few times when you are not by my side. And those times, you'll likely be with Anakin, Obi-wan, or Anakin's padawan Ahsoka."

"Oh! I remember Ahsoka. She was really funny, and she made me laugh a lot."

Teriko's cheeks turned a slightly different shade, and Ashara bit back a smile. Her new padawan seemed to have a bit of a crush. She didn't say anything about it, though, and instead turned to walk away.

"Come on", she said. "We're already late enough as it is."

The two walked together in silence, heading to the Jedi Temple hangar. Ashara led the way through the ships, all the way to the Ghost. She boarded without a second thought, though Teriko took his time looking around the ship. He eventually found his way to the cockpit, where Ashara sat, starting up the ship. He sat in a seat slightly behind her, watching in amazement as they left the hangar, and headed up into space. They approached a huge cruiser, and Ashara sent the authorization codes needed to be let onto the ship. Within moments, they were landing in the main hangar of the cruiser, and Ashara was leading the way through the halls of the ship.

The duo reached the bridge, where Anakin, Obi-wan, Ahsoka, Rex, and Cody stood, discussing the mission. Anakin smirked at Ashara, his arms crossed.

"So what was more important than being debriefed on this mission?" he teased. Ashara rolled her eyes, and stepped to the side, revealing the young twi'lek behind her.

"I was retrieving my new padawan", she stated. Obi-wan's eyebrows shot upward in surprise, as did Anakin's and Ahsoka's.

"Padawan?" Obi-wan and Anakin asked at the same time.

"Yes, padawan", Ashara said moving to stand beside Rex. She noticed that Teriko seemed a little unsure of where to go.

"Teriko, come stand by me", she said. He started, not expecting to be called out like that. A deep blush covered his cheeks, and he hurried to stand next to her.

"Oh!" Ahsoka exclaimed. "I knew you looked familiar, but I couldn't remember your name. Teriko Che, it's good to see you again!"

Teriko smiled at the togruta. "I-It's good t-to see you again, t-too, Ahsoka." Ashara could feel his nervousness and embarassment, and shifted the subject.

"So, what's going on? What are we needed for?"

"The planet of Kiros has been invaded by Separatists, and we are being sent to rid them of that invasion." Ashara's breath caught in her throat. That name was such a familiar name, she had often thought about going there. But she never did. 

"We need to leave immediately", Ashara said, determined. Anakin gave her soft smile, understanding why she was so determined to go back there.

"We have left. We jumped into hyperspace the moment you arrived on the bridge."

Ashara nodded, walking away. "Teriko, come."

She heard her padawan following close behind her, and smiled softly.

"Master, I don't mean to intrude, but why are you so adamant about us needing to leave immediately?" he asked. Ashara faltered in her confident walk, and sighed softly.

"I am originally from Kiros", she murmured. "I was taken from there when I was a child."

"Why?" Teriko asked. Ashara didn't say anything, and just kept walking. Teriko hurried to follow after her. Ashara stopped by a door.

"This is your quarters. This is were you will rest when you are not needed, and it is your safe haven on this ship. Mine is right next door. Anakin and Ahsoka's are on a different part of the ship, I'm sure Ahsoka will be happy to show you at a later date."



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