Clouded by the Dark Side

Prologue

Ahsoka Tano

"Ahsoka!"

The voice cuts through my thoughts as I amble down the hall of the Jedi Temple, leaving my classes for the day. I pause in my tracks, looking back to see the familiar figure of my best friend running up behind me.

"Alema!" I exclaim happily as the light blue skinned Twi'lek skids to a stop in front of me. "I was beginning to wonder when you'd be back."

"Being a new padawan is a busy job," she grins, though the smile doesn't quite reach her eyes. Probably because it's also very stressful at times as well, considering the war that's raging across the galaxy. But really, I'd rather be out there fighting than attending classes with Initiates who are all younger than me now.

"How are you doing?" Alema inquires as she falls in-step next to me.

"I'm worried," I admit as we round another corner in the hall, rapidly approaching the cafeteria. "I'm already fourteen... and if no master takes me soon, I'm gonna be sent to the AgriCorps." It's the place where Jedi are sent if they aren't taken as padawans by the time they're thirteen. And if I'm sent there, I'll never see Alema again. She's practically like my sister, more of a family than any of the rest of the Jedi. I know it's probably considered an attachment that I shouldn't have, but there's no way I could live never being able to see her again. That thought is scaring me even more than not being able to become a Jedi Knight – what I've spent my whole life working for.

A soft sigh escapes Alema as she pauses, resting a hand on my arm. "Try not to worry too much, okay?" she requests understandingly. "I'm sure someone's going to take you soon. Worrying about it too much is only going to make things worse. I was afraid of the same thing for a long time and now... well, you know where I am now."

I nod, sighing quietly. I know worrying incessantly about it isn't going to help, but it's hard not to when almost everyone else who I knew as an Initiate has already been either taken as a padawan or sent out to the AgriCorps already. The only reason I haven't been taken yet is because I'm a Togruta, so the cut off limit is longer, since we grow slower than humans.

"So how have you been doing?" I question, veering the topic away from myself.

"I'm... alright," Alema sighs, glancing out the window for a moment before looking back at me. "I honestly miss being at the Temple. I wish we could see each other more often."

"Me too," I reply, "But hey, once I become a padawan –" Or if, but I don't add that. Master Kenobi promised me he knew someone who would take me, but he hasn't said anything about it since. "We may be sent on the same missions sometimes, so we'll be around each other more."

"Hopefully," she murmurs, her gaze turning to the window again. Not for the first time, I get the feeling something's bothering her.

"What is it?" I query finally, "You seem troubled."

She shifts slightly, looking almost uncomfortable. I frown. What could be wrong? She's never like this. She's always been happy to talk to me about whatever is going on with her, not that there was usually much to say considering that we've been in the same classes pretty much our entire lives, but still.

"It's just..." she trails off, not looking away from the window, "Nothing really."

"Nothing?" I repeat, raising an eye marking, "Alema, I know something's wrong." I take a step closer to her, resting a hand on her arm. I don't miss how she immediately tenses at the contact. That's strange. She doesn't mind people touching her, even if a lot of Jedi get all goofy about it. "You can tell me anything, you know."

There's a heartbeat of silence before she finally turns to face me again. I can see the turmoil in her blue eyes. "I just – it's hard. Every battle, I feel people dying around me. Everyone keeps wanting me to be someone I'm not. I can do a lot, but I can't change who I am. Anyway, my master is gonna be getting impatient if I'm not back soon. We can talk about it later."

She wraps her arms around me, pulling me into a tight hug before I have a chance to reply. After a startled moment, I hug her back. My concerns are only growing. I really want to argue with her, insist that she can stay a few minutes longer and just explain whatever it is, but something tells me she's not going to be very receptive to that right now. I'll just have to wait for now. Until next time.

If there is a next time, a dark corner of my mind whispers. I hastily squash the thought. I've been doing enough worrying about that already. Best not to start all over again. It's not like it's helping anything.

"See you later, Alema," I say, "But we are going to be talking about this. There'll be no getting out of this next time."

"Bye Ahsoka," the Twi'lek responds, carefully ignoring my last comment, "And try not to worry too much about everything." She turns, hurriedly disappearing down the hall.