It's Commander Tano, Not Padawan

Chapter 4

When she arrived at the stairs of the Temple, she could feel the odd looks from the sentients walking around. Knowing her face had been splashed across the holonets for the past few days, Ahsoka wanted to cloak herself in the Force again, but she took a breath and trekked towards the entrance.

Head up, she didn't stop walking till she was in the antechamber right outside the Council Room. Taking a moment to let the Force calm her, she raised a hand and knocked.

The doors opened and she strode forward to the center circle.

Master Windu stared at her with his dark, dark brown eyes. "Padawan Tano."

The only reason she didn't flinch at the title was because the Force was still residing actively within her, curling around her, like it constantly hung around Anakin.

"Masters."

"Come to a decision, you have?" Master Yoda looked at her with his wide eyes, open and questioning.

"I have."

"Returning to the Order, you will be?"

For a moment, she paused, and her stomach did flip-flops, but, pulling at the Force once more, Ahsoka calmed herself to speak. "No. No I will not be returning to the Order."

All the Masters, appeared, in varying levels, surprised – some troubled. She pushed forward, however, because she needed them to agree with her new path. Whatever anger and bitterness she felt toward those before her had to wait.

For her men. For Rex.

"Before I explain why, I must request something of you."

Master Yoda nodded his wrinkled head in uneasy acquiescence.

"Though I cannot come back, I feel that the Force is guiding me to not completely abandon the position I currently hold, and I wish to propose a different option."

"What do you mean, 'Soka?" Though his facial expression was a bit hard to understand because of his eyes and mouth covering, but she could hear his uncertainty.

Ahsoka took another calming breath. She could do this. "I cannot stay as a Jedi for a multitude of reasons, yet, as Master Kenobi pointed out, I cannot walk out on my men. My Captain." She paused again, repeating the words he had spoken to her. "I request to be reinstated as Commander for the 501st in an independent military capacity. Not as a Jedi, but as a solider."

She could here the rustle and shifting from the physically present Masters, setting her on edge, but she kept the Force heavy around her, allowing her to stay calm. She waited before she spoke again.

"Though I would prefer to keep my sabers, as those are the weapons I am skilled with, if I am not permitted to have them returned, I accept. I don't need to be paid beyond a very small stipend to cover basic necessities. But I can save more lives doing this than if I was forced to leave to become a civilian."

For the second time in the same day, she was faced with a complexly simple question. "Why?" Master Plo asked.

Out of all the Jedi in the room, it surprised her that it was him who didn't understand. Everyone knew his relationship with his Wolffe Pack. They were his family – his brothers and his sons.

Still though, she answered with complete honesty because this had to work. With a wry grimace on her lips, she began. "I guess you could add it to an ever-growing list of reasons why I'm not fit to be a Jedi: I'm attached to them. I fight for them, I kill for them, and I would be honored to lay down my life so they could see another day."