Memories of the Past

Chapter 19

"Ahsoka, Hera said you wanted to speak with us?" Ezra asked as he and Kanan walked in.

"Yes, please come in," I responded.

"Are you ok?" He asked.

"I am, thank you. I wanted to ask about the Sith Lord you encountered on Lothal."

"You know we've encountered an Inquisitor before," Kanan started, "but this was different. It was nothing like that. The fear, the anger, the hate - you felt it. I haven't sensed a presence like that since-"

"The clone wars," I interjected.

"Yeah," he said without any enthusiasm.

Ezra looked shaken by this. "Ahsoka, do you know who or what he is?"

I debated how to respond to this. He was my master, my older brother, my inspiration, and my motivation. We shared a bond tighter than most master-apprentice duos.

I took a deep breath and sighed. "No, I don't. But I do know that he will be coming. They'll all be coming now."

"Then we've got to be ready to fight!" Ezra exclaimed.

"We must find the strength to fight," Kanan corrected. "It takes greater courage to know when not to fight."

Hera and the rest of the Ghost crew walked in. "And we'll be beside you either way," she said.

I smiled. Maybe this would work out after all. At least, for the rebellion it will. The toughest challenge I have yet to face lies before me alone: facing Vader, just like before.

I thought about the bit and pieces of the future I had seen earlier. The boy and girl are Luke and Leia, about 5 years older. My main objective is now to teach Leia all I possibly can about how to resist the temptations of the dark side. It is obvious to me that she will be discovered by the Empire and will be in more danger than ever.

I stood up and walked out. Hera gave me a glance, and I nodded goodbye. I reached up and took my small bag of belongings from the stuff shelf, as we all call it, and made my way back to my small fighter in the hangar of the cruiser. I set course for Alderaan, and left the fleet.

After some time, I was in Leia's study room, attempting to teach her how to control her emotions. It was much easier now that she was 15 or so years old. She understood instructions, but was struggling to control her thoughts.

"Come on, I know you can do this!" I encouraged.

"But this is impossible! Why are you making me do this?!"

"It could save your life one day. I have just learned something on my recent travels. The Empire's head officers are going to come after you. I don't mean this to scare you, but you are special. You have the potential to do things other people can't. Try it again."

She closed her eyes. I attempted yo read her thoughts, though she did not know I was doing this. I couldn't see anything this time. She had succeeded in blocking me out.

"Ok, that's enough." She opened her eyes and began to breathe again. Her face had been turning an interesting shade of purple due to lack of air. I didn't tell her to hold her breath, she just refused to breathe. While concentrating.

"Did I get it?" She asked hopefully.

"Yeah, you did. It wasn't as strong as I'd like it to be, but I'll take it for today."

The days of teaching Leia one-on-one went by quickly. I taught her how to block out her mind, shoot a blaster with supreme accuracy, and some telepathic abilities. She did pretty well, but wasn't quite as gifted with the force as Anakin had been. Her midi-chlorian count was extremely high, she just didn't know how to utilize that in order to make herself stronger.

I had also guided her to become the next Senator of Alderaan, replacing her father. She definitely had her mother's way with words.

There was one Senatorial meeting in particular that was difficult for me, being only a single person. There was some sort of attack, and I defended Leia. The room was cleared, and we were left alone with an Inquisitor. Leia took cover somewhere, while I dueled this Inquisitor. What she had said to me really scared me.

When dueling her, I recognized the fighting style immediately. It was the same as the person I'd dueled in the warehouse on level 13-15.

We had started circling each other, so she took off her helmet to reveal her identity. It was Barriss. I figured this would happen, even though she was believed to be long dead.

"Barriss, I see you've joined the Imperials."

"Yeah, I have. But this doesn't make me all bad. Just hear me out this once."

"Fine, but make it quick."

"She's in danger, Ahsoka. Vader has sensed something. He sent me to track you down, and kill you if I must. He's interested in getting her alone. Vader doesn't know where she came from, but knows that she is a threat. There is no point in fighting me anymore. I have accomplished my goal."

She ran out as I helped Leia up. She had heard the whole thing. I told her to forget it, and that all wpuld be explained in time. She didn't like that answer, but she accepted it.

I decided at that point that someone other than myself needed to get involved in this. I finished my lessons with Leia for good, and left for Tatooine. I needed to have a chat with Obi-Wan.