It's Commander Tano, Not Padawan

Chapter 24

Note: Sorry for taking so long, my brain wasn't cooperating this week. 

Neither spoke till Ahsoka had firmly closed the door of a private training salle, well beyond the halls of the Senate building and the curious ears of younglings.

When Ahsoka had left the Order that fateful day, asking only to be a Commander, she had prepared herself to never see any part of the Temple again outside the War Room or Council Chambers, so the familiar cream and wood was simultaneously a deep ache and powerful relief.

Master Windu discarded his robe on the shallow bench built into the wall beneath the training sabers as Ahsoka remained awkwardly shifting along the edge of room.

She hadn't expected that they were actually going to train.

"Thanks for your help back there, by the way," she tried, wincing at how stilted she sounded even to her own montrals.

The Jedi merely nodded in acknowledgement as he gracefully knelt to the sisal square pad.

What is he doing?

"When will you be prepared to share your... information with me, Commander?" he asked.

Ahsoka knew there were no recording devices in the majority of the Jedi Temple, but that reality did little to ease her worry. "Hopefully, four to five days. I will warn you though, it could be longer."

Frown deepening at her words, Master Windu's brown eyes drove into her own. "Why?" he demanded.

Hands gripping nervously at the hilts of her sabers, Ahsoka lifted her gaze to stare at the Order's symbol hanging on the wall behind him. "Truthfully, there are a lot of moving parts right now and opportunities for complications. I'm trusting that everything works out. It must work out."

"You're 'trusting that everything works out'?" he repeated, bone deep skepticism eating away at her increasingly short patience.

What a kriffing morning.

"It works for Anakin," she snipped, eyes dropping back down to meet his, lips pursed.

It's probably not your best idea to goad him.

"That's what worries me," he replied darkly, not at all with the familial affection Master Kenobi would've had.

Ahsoka had to physically bite her tongue before she opened her mouth and said something she likely wouldn't regret but would cause her unnecessary trouble.

She took a breath, shutting her eyes.

Blood tinged her taste buds.

She released it, opening them once more.

"Can I count on your silence until I get my update?" Ahsoka ground out, crossing her arms over her chest. If she couldn't, she needed to know now so she could prepare for the fallout.

Ahsoka stiffened to beskar under his raking appraisal, holding her ground as well as her breath as she waited.

"Yes."

Thank the Maker.

She dipped chin in silent thanks, still unsure as to what he was doing. Sparring with their sabers or even hand-to-hand typically began standing. And meditation with anyone beyond Anakin or Obi-Wan was distinctly out of the question.

Silence fell once more, heavy like the humid air of Felucia, but Ahsoka didn't bow to her discomfort and asked what he wanted of her. If she had to stand there until it was time to receive her new orders, she would.