The Clone Wars: One-shots

A Special Life Day

Timeline: 28 BBY (6 years before the Battle of Geonosis)

It was that time of year again. Ahsoka was told over and over by her elders that celebrating holidays within the Jedi Temple was prohibited. But they never said that she couldn't celebrate outside of the temple. She'd watched families on the holonet celebrating together and giving presents, and she wanted to do the same. It was an excuse to be kind and give presents to those whom she appreciated, and she wasn't going to miss out on another year. 

She was anxiously tapping her foot, waiting for a time to slip away from her Initiate group. She clasped the supplies behind her back so the Jedi Master wouldn't see.

And more importantly, so the other younglings wouldn't see. She could only imagine the amount of chatter that would shoot her way, each blow driving her closer to insanity.

The ship was getting closer and closer to Coruscant, and Master B'ink Ultrila wouldn't stop rambling on and on about the Force. "It is not to be used as a weapon," she would say. "That is the way of the Sith." The other younglings gasped at the word. The Sith were users of the Dark Side and enemies of the Jedi; while they were long gone, rumors have spread of their possible return. She sometimes heard adults discussing the absurd amount of younglings that came to them after a nightmare haunted by the clashes of red lightsabers and blazing yellow eyes.

"Can we see you do more lightsaber tricks?" A Zabrak youngling, Ruara, shyly piped up, no doubt hoping to change the subject.

"I've shown you many lightsaber maneuvers, younglings," she lectured. "There is more to being a Jedi than the weapon we hold."

"But you have to! They're so cool!"

The younglings began to pile up, including Ahsoka, begging the master to turn on her lightsaber. She was truly interested in seeing the master's lightsaber moves but had something more important to attend to. Lightsaber demonstrations would be a perfect distraction for the exhausted master and overly excited younglings.

Ahsoka was relieved as she felt the master's stubbornness fade through the Force.

"Fine. But this is the last time I'll demonstrate," she said, unclipping her lightsaber from her belt.

The children gasped when she activated her lightsaber and watched in awe as she spun the laser sword with precise and fluid movements that only a true master could achieve. After a few moments, Ahsoka slipped away from the crowd of children towards the barracks. She pressed the glowing red button to open the door then sat criss-crossed on the floor, dropping all of her materials in front of her.

Once she found the paper and a colored pencil in the pile, she began drawing, accompanied by only the Force and the low mechanical hum of the ship.

~

There was persistent honking and a whistling breeze atop the landing platform. The sun was setting, casting a golden glow across the cityscape as airspeeders sat below.

It was always an experience seeing the Coruscant traffic stuck at a standstill during this rotation. As a Jedi Master, he was taught to never embrace the celebrations that persisted in different cultures across the galaxy. To let the excitement and interest dissipate and drift away. When one was clouded by judgemental emotions, they lost their vision and wisdom.

Plo Koon wondered how Master Ultrila was doing with the Initiates; they were always a handful. He was tasked to escort them back to the temple, and they would be arriving any minute if everything went according to plan.

He took the job not only to have a small break from the rigorous duties that came with being on the High Council but to see a certain Initiate he'd been looking out for ever since he brought her in from Shili. Before she departed to learn from Master Ultrila, she expressed concern about being away from the temple; it was a lot for some younglings to handle: leaving the temple they were raised in and constantly being overwhelmed with unfamiliar Force signatures could be scary for Force-sensitive children.

However, Plo Koon knew Ahsoka was more than capable of handling it. He just wanted to make sure all went well with the trip and that she and the other younglings got back to the temple safely.

Through the Force, he began to feel the Force signature of Master Ultrila, then those of the younglings. He looked up as the hum of the ship came into earshot. It flew above him and lowered into the landing zone. His robes blew from the aggressive winds the ship created as it hit the concrete. The ship's ramp opened, and half a dozen curious younglings ran down to meet him.

"Is that Master Plo Koon?"

"I think it is!"

"He's on the Council!"

"I bet if I had a lightsaber, I could beat him in a duel."

"Don't be ridiculous, you'd get squashed in seconds."

He saw many faces jumping around him, but not the one he was looking for. Master Ultrila wasn't down yet either. Against his best wishes, Plo Koon felt a spike of worry grow inside of him. She wasn't hurt, was she? He could still sense them in the ship, so he assured himself that she was fine, letting go of the emotions that clouded his judgment.

"Welcome back to Coruscant, younglings. As you said, I am Master Plo Koon. You will be escorted back to the Jedi Temple by me shortly." There was a Zabrak girl among them who seemed to be the oldest, so he crouched down to her level. "What is your name, Youngling?"

She looked at him in awe, and she was silent until one of the other Initiates elbowed her. "I'm Ruara. Nice to meet you sir–I mean, Master."

"Ruara, can you lead these younglings to the airspeeder sat next to the stairway off the landing pad? I'll be there with you shortly."

He felt admiration and jealousy swirl around the younglings, and Ruara nodded. "Follow me, fellow Initiates. In a straight line."

"First one to the airspeeder gets first pick on bunk beds tonight!"

Ruara's line quickly fell apart, with all the younglings running as fast as their little legs could carry.

As if on cue, Master Ultrila walked down the ramp with Ahsoka by her side. She held her hands behind her back and looked nervous.

"Master Ultrila," he nodded.

"Master Plo."

"How was your expedition?"

"Younglings..." She paused, glancing down at Ahsoka, "can be a handful."

"I can take this one from you, and we can discuss at the temple sometime soon."

The master nodded, then walked away.

"What are you guys going to discuss?" Ahsoka asked, curiosity glinting in her eyes.

He laughed. "We like to discuss our Jedi experiences together. How was your trip, Lil'Soka?"

"It was good! Master Ultrila showed us some lightsaber moves. I..." She trailed off. "I actually have something to give you. Since it's Life Day and all. I know that's not—it's not—" Ahsoka paused, and he waited to let her speak. "I know celebrating holidays at the temple is forbidden, but I thought that here," she gestured around with one hand, the other still behind her back, "isn't technically at the temple, so..." She gulped. "I'm not in trouble, am I?"

He chuckled to himself. Ahsoka's kindness was one of her greatest gifts.

"Of course not, Lil'Soka. What did you have for me?"

She handed him a folded paper.

"Open it up."

When he unfolded it, his heart warmed. It was a colorful drawing of him and Ahsoka. Above them said "Happy Life Day!" and there was an arrow that pointed at him labeled "The best Jedi Master ever". He had never received a gift from a youngling before, but he was grateful that he finally had. Even though it was small, it made him feel appreciated in a way no words from other Jedi could. 

"Do you like it?"

He knelt down and placed a hand on the young togruta's shoulder. "Indeed. Thank you, Ahsoka."

A grin spread across her face and she smiled up at him. Plo folded the paper and tucked it in his robe.

"You ready to head back to the temple? Your Initiate friends are waiting for us."

"Beat you there!" She called as she began sprinting to the airspeeder. He smiled to himself, grateful to have found such an incredible girl to welcome to the Jedi Order all those years ago.