Turning Point

Chapter Thirty Eight

I force myself to start moving again, and I leap of the ramp, dodging around the ship and sprinting off in the opposite direction. I can only try and get as far away as possible, but it's hard to stop my rhythm faltering as I replay the scene in my mind. He is definitely supposed to be dead. I saw a the blade price through his body with my own eyes, I saw him slump to the ground, dead.

As it always has been, the scenery is too cheerful. I throw scowls at the plants I know will be dead within hours. This is the last place I'd ever want to be, which probably means I'm going to die. Except, this time, I'll be more cautious, and far less trusting. Trust doesn't seem to do a lot for me recently.

I run for several hours, with each minute wondering why I'm not being chased. Maybe I'm being watched somehow, or they expect me to get lost. My only way off this place is Ren's ship, and I'm running away from it.

Eventually I find a sheltered cave, not unlike one I'd been in before. Remembering the advice about the deadly storms, I creep in, half expecting some huge beast waiting for me. But it's empty. I don't know whether this is a good or bad thing, but it certainly doesn't make me feel any better.

I search the cave from top to bottom, unsure of what I'm looking for. I find water running steadily down the wall, splashing into a crack in the rock that disappeared somewhere underneath the floor. I hastily take a drink, but end up there a while, considering I haven't eaten for several days.

Then I explore the mouth, inspecting a tree I barely glances at earlier. After picking a round, oval shaped fruit, I inspect it, but I can't find anything wrong with it, so I eat it. I eat a few more after that to quench my hunger, and then I retreat back inside as the sun begins to set.

As I expected, thunder soon shakes the floor, and lightning lights up the sky. It strikes the ground at random, as the plants wilt and dry up. A few minutes in, rain lashes down, and I retreat to the back of the cave.

I force myself to rest, closing my eyes. But the way I'm doing it is closer to meditation than sleep. It's too loud, wet, cold and uncomfortable to sleep, and I have too much to think about.

***

I must have fallen asleep at some point, because when I open my eyes again, the storm sounds slightly muffled, as if far away, and I'm left with a suffocating silence.

Rubbing my eyes, I sit up and look around, everything is the same as it was.

You mustn't let your master near him. He craves obsessively for him, and will not rest. He is incredibly dangerous. He will do anything to control your master, and you, you must stop him. The chosen one must not visit this place!

Jumping to my feet, I twirl around, as a soft voice carries through the cave. I stare around finding nothing. The voice of a woman was so clear, so echoing, that I wonder if I heard it at all, but heard it inside my head.

Then suddenly a fire appears in the centre of the cave, and a beautiful women walks out; her ghost glides towards me, a troubled expression upon her face.

"Ahsoka Tano, beware. The planet is in dark times, and there needs to be light," she expresses, waving an elegant hand, "You mustn't believe anything he says, anything he tells you. For the future of the galaxy, he must not leave this planet,"

"I don't understand," I whisper, stepping back, as panic consumes me.
"Trust in the force Ahsoka," and then, steeping back she disappears in the curl of the flames, but the fire lingers.

I frown down towards the floor, confused. I don't understand what's happening. Walking to the mouth of the cave, I stare out into the darkness. Somewhere out there, an enemy is waiting, watching. One I thought was dead. There are many differences this time, but the main one, is the fact, that I'm utterly alone.

I play through the memory in my head, searching for gaps. Anakin's blue bladed lightsaber plunged through his chest, there is no way he could have survived.

Then suddenly I have an uneasy feeling, one of being watched. It turn to find a female Togruta watching me. An adult version of myself. I vaguely register my eyes widening, and stepping back, but I'm too shocked to do anything.

"Are you happy child? Are you safe? Are you alone? Who are your friends, and which of them trust you?" Eyes shining, she asks me in a soft voice, somehow different to the last time we met.

"What do you want?" I ask her harshly, glaring over at her.

"I want you to realise Ahsoka, that your master can't protect you forever! Take my last advice, he can not teach you any longer, he is holding you back from your fate, which is far greater than his own!" She sweeps an arm gracefully, revealing my lightsabers at her hips, "I am your future Ahsoka, without you making the right choice, you will have no future!"

"I don't understand. What are you trying to say?" I enquire, frowning at her panicked, yet equally pleading expression.

"You must leave the Jedi. The future of the galaxy lies in your hands, and my staying, you will destroy it," she exclaims, shutting her eyes briefly. I admire her, the way she looks, everything I've ever wanted to me.

"You want me to join the Sith?" I exclaim crossly.

"No. I am no Sith, young one. I am much more, but not a Jedi, either. I am your future, should you make the right choice," she explains gently, waving her hand towards the fire, which suddenly glows a pure white.

"And what happens if I stay with the Jedi?" My eyes meet hers, and she looks gravely out into the night.

"Then you have no future, and the galaxy falls into the hands of evil,"

I gasp loudly. I watch her, wondering why she's so different to last time, deciding to help me instead.

"Your friend, Barriss, was not a traitor at all. She has seen the visions of what will come, and understood it. When she framed you, and attempted to expelled you from the Jedi, she was trying to save you. The Jedi are becoming as bad as the Sith in a way, increasing war instead of stopping it. Soon, they will be nothing more than soldiers, defying their own code. They kill the innocent, and refuse to save others," she informs me, her voice echoing around the cave.

"That's true," I admit slowly, "But we can't save everyone!"

"No. But you tried Ahsoka. And that's what makes you different," she says, smiling at me, and I frown.

"But the Jedi have managed for thousands of years, but they aren't doing anything differently!" I argue, unconvinced.

"Once upon a time the galaxy had so much faith in the Jedi. But now Ahsoka, now, tell me why so many lack faith, why are so many afraid?" She asks me seriously, and I pause.

"Because they're afraid! They fear for their lives! But me and my Master, we restore it, and when we leave, they trust us again!" I exclaim, offended.

"You and your master are different from the other Jedi though, aren't you? You never truly follow instructions, and you form many attachments. Don't deny it young one, you and your master have made many friends," she says, and I sigh.

"Yes, but...that's different," I argue lamely, and she smiles slightly.

"But what Ahsoka. At the end of the day, isn't it just repeatedly breaking the Jedi code? Then you wonder why nobody trusted you," she replies, striding back to the fire, which slowly turns orange again. I frown at her, thinking deeply. I barely notice her disappear in a whirl of flames, and then, I'm alone again.