STAR WARS: CONFLICTED

CHAPTER V - NEW CHALLENGES

"You mean, Tarkin wouldn't share his side of the information?" Nathan said through a mouthful of food.
"No, he doesn't trust the Jedi with it. He decided it was best to inform the Chancellor of the information, rather than the Council." Ahsoka said glumly, stirring her food and trying to cool it down.
"I don't believe that. You rescued him, and he does that in return?" Nathan was confused as to why Tarkin was so uptight about this. They were on the same side, weren't they?

"I guess so." She replied.
"So, what about your information? What are you going to do about it?"
"I already shared my half with the Council. I wasn't going to let him interfere with my proceedings." Ahsoka said defiantly.
"I'm glad you stood up for yourself. Many people would have given in to pressure from someone like Tarkin." Nathan responded, smiling.
"Right, you've been gone for far too long. How about some training before bed?" He continued.
"I wouldn't want it any other way." replied the Togruta, her eyes glimmering at the idea of an ordinary training session, rather than combat of major importance.

The two began to make their way towards the dojo, laughing and chatting along the way. They enjoyed each other's company more than ever, especially once Nathan found out how serious of a mission Ahsoka had really been on. She didn't seem fazed, but Nathan was terrified at the thought of her being in danger. He was appreciating every moment he had with his best friend, more than ever.

Ahsoka was just as happy to see her friend as he was to see her. She had many close calls whilst on her mission to the Citadel, and she was relieved to see the back of that place.

"Tigre!" Nathan suddenly called, making Ahsoka jump. She nudged him in return, for scaring her. The clone turned around, and upon recognising his friend, beamed at the padawans.

"Afternoon, Padawan Tynan." Tigre said, standing to attention.
"At ease, Tigre." Nathan chuckled at his professionalism. Tigre loved his role in the 212th Battalion, and he wished so dearly to become a high ranking soldier in the Army of the Republic.
"Yes, sir." Tigre said, smiling down at his friend. "Had a good day so far?"
"I have now. Ahsoka here has returned from her mission to the Citadel." Nathan replied, gesturing to the Togruta.
"An honour to meet you, Ahsoka. Me and the boys have heard many good things about your service to this Republic." Tigre said, nodding to her in gratitude.
"You too, soldier." She smiled in response.

Nathan and Ahsoka continued on, and once they reached the training hall, they stopped, both sensing the presence of another from within. Nathan opened the door slowly, motioning for Ahsoka not to speak whilst he listened in.

There was no noise for around 10 seconds, and then a deep breath, from someone who sounded as young as the two padawans outside the door, followed by the ignition of a lightsaber. The hum was constant for a small time, signifying a lack of movement from the blade. Ahsoka poked her head past the door and noticed who was inside.

There stood Caleb Dume, blue blade in hand. He began to move and dance with the saber, making sure every move flowed with the last, and that every swing was precise and swift. In one particular move, he leapt as high as he could, throwing his saber across the hall, and then summoning it back to his hand before landing perfectly.

"Yes!" Caleb cried. "About time."

With his back to the entrance of the hall, he switched his blade off, and suddenly froze, sensing somebody watching him.

"Sorry, Master, I know it's late. I'll go to my-"

As he turned to face his master, he was stunned to see both Ahsoka and Nathan there, watching him, both impressed.
"Woah." Ahsoka said, still shocked by the last move Caleb had pulled off. "How long have you been practicing that?"
"A few weeks." He said sheepishly. He didn't like having people watch him train, hence why he had snuck into the training dojo to practice alone.
"That looked amazing." Nathan added, placing a reassuring hand on Caleb's shoulder. "You'll have to teach us someday."
"Really?" Caleb looked a little less embarassed now. "You won't tell Master Billaba I snuck out, will you?"
"Why would we do that?" Ahsoka said, raising an eyebrow. "Me and Nathan do it all the time. I'm sure they won't have an issue with it, if you're safe."
"Thanks, guys." Caleb said quietly.
"It's okay, Caleb. Now, me and Ahsoka were about to spar, care to join in?" said Nathan.
"Join in?" Ahsoka asked. "How?"
"I'm sure Caleb is strong enough to hold his own against us, Ahsoka." Nathan explained. "So now, instead of having one opponent to focus on, we will have two. Harder training. What do you say?"
"I'm in." Caleb said instantly, backing off to make space.
"You sure?" Ahsoka questioned again. "I'm not sure what Anakin would say."
"He would probably encourage it." Nathan reassured. "Come on, Ahsoka. You've done harder than this."
Ahsoka thought momentarily, before questioning herself internally. She too backed off, igniting her green and yellow blades and setting them to safety for the first time in a while.
"That's the Ahsoka I know." Nathan chuckled, stepping back and stabbing his blade into life, once more revealing the turquoise beam of energy from his hilt.

For a few seconds, all three Jedi padawans locked eyes with one another, making sure none of them could sneak up on one another.

Caleb was surprisingly first to make a move, despite being the junior of the three. However, instead of using his saber, he pushed Ahsoka back with the force, sending her back, but keeping her on her feet. Turning to Nathan, Caleb attempted to swing downwards at the senior of the room. Seeing it coming a mile off, Nathan caught it with his blade and allowed both blades to rub momentarily, before pushing through against it, making Caleb spin himself with the force of it. Nathan sensed the presence of Ahsoka sprinting behind him, and used the force to leap over her oncoming rush, sending her into a lockup with Caleb instead. Nathan landed on his feet perfectly behind them both. He watched on as the two began to interchange blows and swings, with Ahsoka beginning to get the upper hand. She moved with a green and yellow blur which Nathan could barely catch up with, never mind Caleb. Her movement was swifter anything she had seen, and it didn't take long for her to disarm the youngest of the three, sending his saber into the wall at a high pace.

Ahsoka had time to smile encouragingly at Caleb, trying to tell him to not give up through just her eyes, but she soon had Nathan to worry about. The taller Jedi was instantly pressing the attack, clashing his ocean saber against the smaller yellow blade of Ahsoka's with such a force, that with a non-safety blade, it would have been near fatal. He hammered against her blade 4 times in quick succession, locking up at the last swing.

Ahsoka was trapped. Any wrong move and Nathan would have her finished. Thinking on the spot, Ahsoka fell onto her back as Nathan swung, before launching her right foot into his midsection, sending him off the ground and onto his back. Dazed, Nathan tried to reach for his saber, which had fallen out of his hand as he fell. His hand was met with the foot on Ahsoka, who trapped him where he laid. Without hesitation, Nathan used the force to summon Caleb's blue saber, bringing it across Ahsoka's shin. As she made a small noise in pain, Nathan sprung up from where he laid, and re-summoned his saber. Ahsoka stepped back, taking a short break.

"Didn't I win?" Nathan teased, twirling both sabers in his hands, both blue and blue-green blades circling him.
"You win, when I lose." Ahsoka replied, using the force to leap at Nathan, at a pace he had never seen before. His inexperience with two blades was instantly on show, as Ahsoka found every gap possible, connecting with almost every swing she made. She must have hit him about seven times with her blades, before delivering a spinning kick to his face, sending him down to the floor instantly.

Her own pace had sent her off balance too, and she stumbled and fell on top of Nathan, who was holding his jaw already before the Togruta landed on top of him.

"I win." Ahsoka whispered, staring directly into the defeated eyes of Nathan. He had already had the breath taken out of him by Ahsoka's rapid attack, but this almost took it again. He stammered as he laid there, whilst Ahsoka got back onto her feet.

"Come on, loser." Ahsoka teased, holding out a hand to help Nathan up, which he took reluctantly.

"Woah! That was incredible!" Caleb shouted from across the hall. He had moved away as the other two fought, to get a good view of the fight. And what a fight it was.

"Better luck next time, Nath." She smiled at the Jedi, who could do nothing but smile weakly in response. She had never called him Nath before, but he was a fan.

Ahsoka looked at him a little longer than usual, almost reading his thoughts. She glared jokingly at him.
"Hey, what's wrong? Sorry if I kicked you a little hard." Ahsoka apologised.
"No, no, it's okay." He replied, letting go of his face. "I guess I'll need to figure out a way to stop those kicks, they were lethal."
They both chuckled as the three of them headed out of the dojo, having had one of the best training sessions Nathan had had since arriving at the Temple.

For more reasons than one.