The Unchronicled Adventures of Ahsoka Tano, Book Eight

Chapter Fifty-Four: A Soldier Goes AWOL

AHSOKA TANO 

Ahsoka had been waiting for nearly an hour for Saw to wake up, to no avail. This whole situation was beginning to scare her. None of the other Jedi present seemed to have noticed anything like it, but she felt something... wrong in the Force. There was a disturbance of the worst kind surrounding this attack.

And she had absolutely no idea who, or what, was causing it.

Suddenly, someone walked into the room. Ahsoka looked up, thinking that it was one of the doctors who could give her a report on his condition, but it was... someone else. A soldier – and an ex-Jedi, as Saw had told her – who was waveringly loyal to the Rebel cause. He had only been thirteen at the time of Order 66, and having his soldiers turn on him had affected his ability to work with large groups.

She knew several young Jedi back on Cialone who had never really learned to work with the Rebel Troopers, despite Order 67 and the troopers' change of heart.

Anyways, the guy's name was Kanan Jarrus, and he had once been a Jedi, or so Lux had told her. "Jarrus? What is it?" she asked. "Has something happened?"

"I need to speak with Commander Gerrera. Now," he said in a rather curt tone. "In private."

She raised a white eyebrow at his manner of speaking. He was practically kicking her out of the room. Others would have taken grave offense to such a statement, especially since this kid was far outranked by Ahsoka's status as a General. But, being a Jedi and understanding the values of patience and tolerance, she said nothing about it. He probably had no idea who she was.

"I don't know if he's capable of entertaining company at the moment, Mr. Jarrus," she said calmly, moving to the side so he could see that Saw wasn't awake.

His defensive manner deflated a little bit, but it was still there. "Fine. But tell me the minute he wakes–"

"Do I look like a medical officer to you?" she asked, with just the slightest hint of sarcasm in her voice. "I'm a patient woman, Kanan Jarrus, but I'm no subordinate of yours like the soldiers you used to command during the Clone Wars."

Kanan's hostility disappeared immediately, instead replaced with fear and alarm. "How did you–"

"Remember your training, Kanan. You've become sloppy. What would your Master Billaba say to that?" She asked, striking at a tender area. From what she was reading in his thoughts, she had died to save him. Even if it was painful, this was for his own good. "If you were in the company of other Force-sensitive people, you would shield your thoughts carefully. You're letting your guard down."

"You're one of the Jedi Saw told me about, aren't you?" He said it more like a statement than a question.

She nodded. "And you, my young friend, chose the wrong one to mess with."

There was a charged silence. Finally, he spoke up. "I'm sorry."

"I know." She smiled gently, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You've been going through a tough time. These are good people, Kanan. You're safe here. You can let another person in."

He sighed, offering a slight nod. He opened his mouth to say something else, but a groan from beside them stopped the words before they even began.

"Saw! Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah... I think," he mumbled sluggishly. "What the hell do they put in those medical sedatives, anyways?"

Kanan and Ahsoka both chuckled. "Glad to see you're back with the living, Commander," the younger Jedi said.

"Well, it's nice to see that I was missed." Saw sat up, clearly over his earlier grogginess. Then his eyes sharpened, focusing on Kanan's expression. "Jarrus, do you have something you want to say? Because your eyes are asking me questions."

Kanan took a deep breath. "Saw, I have to leave. I can't stay here anymore."

"What? Why?" Saw looked shocked, and maybe even a little hurt. His voice rose. "You belong here, with us! You're making a mistake!"

"I... I'm..." Kanan looked around the room, his eyes wild, and Ahsoka caught a glimpse of him as a frightened young boy during Order 66. Every minute of working with others, he was reliving the betrayal. He had so much trouble trusting anyone. "Sorry," he whispered. Then he turned and ran from the room.

"Jarrus! You can't just abandon us, you traitor! You'll give us all up to the Empire! I know you will!" Saw yelled, making a move to try and follow him. But Ahsoka stopped him before he could get too far.

"Saw, you need to calm down," she said, keeping a hand on his shoulder to stop him from moving too much. Although he was better than before, he still wasn't completely healed. "Listen to yourself!"

Once he had quieted down, though she could see that he was still simmering beneath the surface, she asked him, "Saw, what were you saying earlier? About the army that turned to dust?"

"Ahsoka, they're not real." His eyes bored into hers. "They're illusions of some kind. They turn to dust when you kill them. And I don't know how..."

She patted his shoulder gently. "Okay. Thanks for your help. Now you try to get some rest, all right?" He opened his mouth to speak, but she silenced him with a look. "You're not made of steel, Saw. We can handle ourselves while you're out of commission."

He nodded, sinking down in the pillow on his cot. Ahsoka knew that this was putting an awful lot of stress on him. As he closed his eyes, she left the room.

She sighed anxiously. Her worst fears had been realized. There was only one Sith she knew of who used techniques such as these to take out his enemies: Maul.

Suddenly, she felt an explosive tremor of terror run through the Force. She recognized it immediately. It was Lux! And he was in mortal danger! She needed to find him at once!

Fear turning her blood to ice, she ran down the hall.

*Ahsoka has felt the looming threat to Lux's life, but doesn't know where it's coming from. Will she find her husband in time? Or will it be too late? And where will Kanan go, now that he has left the Rebellion on Onderon? And how will Lux be able to tell him the truth about their complicated family tree now? You'll find out in the next riveting chapter of The Unchronicled Adventures Of Ahsoka Tano!

Hello there! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, because it was certainly interesting to write! You might all think that Ahsoka was being a little harsh on Kanan, but I think that with the events following Order 66 and the death of his Master, he turned bitter, and resented and feared working in groups. Cooperating with the Rebels was a strain on him, and he never really got used to it. Therefore, he's hostile and hard to talk to.

This was inspired in part by that one scene in the first episode(s? Idk) of SWR season 2 when he's arguing with Hera about joining the larger movement against the Empire, because it brings up painful memories and he's a little scared of the possibility of seeing Saw again. 

So, I have to go, but I'll update again soon!

Go to train with Yoda on Dagobah to become a Jedi Knight and may the Force be with you,

Sharron*