The Unchronicled Adventures Of Ahsoka Tano, Book Ten

Chapter Ninety-Four: Evaluating Skills

AHSOKA TANO

Ahsoka and Ezra made good time getting back to the main base; it wasn't long before they had the Ghost, and the Phantom, which Chopper had taken out of its socket to run a few final system checks, in their sights.

As they walked, Ahsoka found her thoughts wandering back to Kanan. She could sense it in their thoughts that they were varying degrees of dismayed he and Ezra were leaving – they all looked up to him as a strong leader they trusted with their lives.

He was their general, the commander they could always count on when things were at their worst; a far cry from the boy she had first met on Morvolo.

The wave of memories that washed over her then soon brought on another train of thought: that of Kanan's bond to her husband. Through them, I'm irrevocably tied to these people, in ways they don't even realize...

Kanan was waiting inside the Phantom; Ezra must have commed him while she was lost in thought to let him know to meet them there. Ahsoka nodded in greeting as they walked inside and pulled down a seat from where it was secured to the wall. Then, she eased herself down into it and pulled a small datachip from a pouch along the back of her belt.

"I managed to get ahold of some old Jedi records – don't ask me how, it's too long of a story to tell now – that mentioned Malachor in passing, but they weren't specific enough to give me the exact location." The lies and half-truths rolled almost too smoothly off her tongue as she plugged the datachip into the reader. A moment later, the holoproj set into the floor turned on, and a scaled-down map of the eastern part of the Chorlian sector flickered into being before them.

"I've narrowed it down to these twenty-seven planets, all uncharted, based on the conditions described in the old texts," she said, gesturing to the holographic spheres colored in red. "Ezra, you'll do the honors?"

"Wait, what do you want me to do?" Ezra asked, confused.

Ahsoka pursed her lips. "Master Yoda gave you the task of finding it, so I think it'll probably be up to you to narrow down its exact location."

"How do I do that?"

Kanan nodded in understanding, and Ahsoka knew he had caught her drift. "Remember how you first found the Jedi Temple on Lothal? Focus on the planet the same way you did then, and it'll come to you."

Ezra nodded and knelt down before the map. Then, with a final look at Kanan for confirmation, he closed his eyes and extended a hand toward the tiny red orbs spinning around on themselves in slow, deliberate circles.

His hand was still for a long moment as he found his inner balance with his connection to the Force. Then, Ahsoka felt something in his aura shift, and his hand began to move to follow the holograms, hesitating over each one as though momentarily caught in their individual gravitational pulls.

Ahsoka watched him attentively, noting every time his fingers slipped from the metaphysical grip of each planet with a degree of satisfaction. Thus far, he was on the right track and hadn't strayed from it. And sure enough, a few moments later, she had to hide a smile behind a look of casual interest as his fingers came to a stop above a planet a few parsecs away from the Zygerria system.

"It's this one," he said, opening his eyes and gesturing again to his choice.

Ahsoka furrowed her brow, letting false doubt cloud her face for a moment to give him a chance to reconsider. "Are you sure?"

Ezra nodded, and it was plain to see he was totally confident in his decision.

Powerful and sure of himself, Ahsoka thought to herself. That's a good combination in small doses, but it takes a specific kind of person to make it work for too much more. And even then, it can be tricky... I'll have to keep an eye on him to make sure it doesn't get out of hand.

"Okay." Kanan skimmed over the readings hovering above the hologram for a moment before rising to his feet. "The grid coordinates are... S-4. That'll make it an eighteen-hour journey at least," he mused. "I'll start laying in a course."

Ahsoka went to follow him to the controls as Ezra stayed behind, studying the map with avid interest. "His powers are growing stronger," she told him, speaking softly so that only he would hear.

Kanan turned towards her, a look she couldn't quite place coming to his face. "You knew all along which planet it was, didn't you?"

"I wanted to test him." Ahsoka exhaled her lungful of air in a small small puff, biting her lip as she thought. "He's come so far, but he still has so much to learn..."

"From you?"

Ahsoka sensed the hint of a challenge in Kanan's voice, and arranged her words and tone of voice to appease it. "From both of us."

Kanan nodded to himself and began running the coordinates through the navicomputer, making a few preliminary corrections to the course its systems were beginning to shape as he went along. Before long, they were ready to depart.

As Kanan cleared them for takeoff and started the engines, Ahsoka returned to her seat, stuffing her bag into the compartment behind her and closing her eyes. Although it had ultimately been her decision to leave so soon, the Force flowed darkly along the road ahead, and she wanted to probe it in hopes of learning more.

But as Ezra pulled on one of the panels next to her to turn it into another chair and sat down, she realized that wouldn't be possible quite just yet.

"Ahsoka," he said, "tell me more about Anakin Skywalker. What was he like?"

Ahsoka remembered to lift the corners of her mouth just before they could fall into a sad frown. She couldn't let him see how much talking about her former Master hurt her. "Perhaps I'll tell you some other time, Ezra. I'm tired, and I'd like some time to meditate before we get there."

Ezra nodded and made a move to withdraw, presumably to speak to Kanan about something. But then, an odd lense fell over her eyes, and she suddenly saw Ezra almost as one of her own children, to whom she was refusing a story. And the pain of facing times when she and Anakin had been happy when she knew what had happened was worth making sure that didn't happen.

"Ezra, wait." She gathered her courage as he turned around again, and asked, "What would you like to know?"

"Uh, maybe..." He thought for a moment. "How did you first meet?"

"That," Ahsoka said, a laugh in her voice, "is a very good story. It all started when I was sent as a messenger to Christophsis to alert him and his old Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, that they were to return to Coruscant immediately for a very... unusual mission..."

*It would seem that Ahsoka has more people than Rex or Kanan to contend with when it comes to prying questions... But with a long eighteen-hour flight stretching out before them, will Kanan take the opportunity to inquire further about the cryptic answers Ahsoka gave him about the Bonteri twins? And what new difficulties may arise as Ezra's new powers continue to grow? Could there be others vying to control his abilities? You'll find out in the next thrilling chapter of The Unchronicled Adventures Of Ahsoka Tano! 

AND NOW THEYRE LEAVING FOR MALACHOR

NO DETOURS

NO FUEL RUNS

THERES NO STOPPING THEM NOW

*laughs evilly even as tears run down my cheeks*

Anyways, this chapter was important for me because we don't get to see too many Ahsoka-teaching-Ezra moments in SWR, and given her motherly nature and wealth of knowledge of the Jedi arts and military organization, she probably had a ton of wisdom to impart on him. This particular scene happened because while she can take Kanan's word for most things, there are some tests she has to do herself to better her own understanding of his abilities.

Another thing about that: if any of you thought she was talking about Anakin when she was thinking about how Ezra is powerful and at the same time very sure of himself... you were right XD

Also, in the new canon Malachor has no official grid coordinates, so I did what anyone else would do in my position: went over to the handy-dandy legends section of the article on Wookieepedia. And sure enough, there it was :D

Okay, I'll let you guys get to the next chapter now. I've rambled on long enough, I think XD

ONWARD!!!!!