The Duchess and The Jedi.

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Ahsoka arrived in a traditional Mandalorian starship. She landed close to Hondo's hut and disembarked. She was accompanied by a young man, Korkie Kryze, the son of Bo-Katan. The two of them walked down the ramp with a hovering casket and met Obi-Wan at the bottom. "Thank you both for coming." he said bowing to them. "I'm so very sorry Korkie, I did everything I could. I really did." Obi-Wan's heart broke for the boy. Not only had he lost his father, but now his mother.
"I know you tried Obi-Wan," he said cooly. "My mother always knew she would die trying to protect Aunt Satine. I am not sure how she knew it, but she always did." Korkie then walked over to his Aunt Staine and gave her a big hug. "How are you holding up Aunt Satine?" he asked her looking into her eyes.
"Well you know, I have your uncle." She said smiling, "He always looks out for me. And so did your mother. She will never be forgotten." Satine turned to Obi-Wan. "Obi-Wan, this is an internal Jedi matter now, there is no need for me to stay with you. I want to go back to Mandalore for a proper funeral for my sister." Satine's words were soft but firm. It was clear that she was going back, even if that meant leaving Obi-Wan.
"Satine, I don't want you traveling alone. I'm coming with you. Bo was my friend too, and she was starting to become more of a sister." Obi-Wan said walking over to Satine. "We can come back to this after the funeral. This can wait." Obi-Wan force lifted the body of Bo-Katan Kryze onto the casket, once her wrapped body was safely inside he closed the transparisteel lid and bowed his head. "May you become one with the force and allow it to guide you in the afterlife."
"May you become one with the force and allow it to guide you in the afterlife." Both Anakin and Ahsoka repeated Obi-Wan's farewell. It was a traditional Jedi farewell to a fellow Jedi, or a close friend.
After the goodbye,Obi-Wan went to tell Hondo of the change of plans. "You are more than welcome to come back to Mandalore with us, we will, only be there a few days before we head back to Coruscant." he was saying. "Ahsoka is helping prepare for the funeral, we could use all the help we can get. And besides you knew Bo, she would have wanted you to be there." The sound of Obi-Wan talking didn't effect Ahsoka, she was used to hearing him talk as if he were no longer a Jedi. After all, she was no longer a Jedi herself. Ahsoka was wrongly accused of killing many Jedi Knights and clones. She was then betrayed by her friend Barriss Offee, who framed her and had her arrested, Ahsoka was stripped of her Padawan status and all military statuses. When her master got to the bottom of the plot Ahsoka was asked to rejoin the Jedi Order with the Order's most sincere apology of wrongly accusing her. But she didn't want to return to a Jedi Order who didn't trust her in the first place, so she left her life as a Jedi. She found herself finding Asajj Ventress. The two got to know each other more, and Asajj showed Ahsoka a way of life after leaving the one she knew best. The two of them found themselves on a cargo ship heading to Mandalore. Little did the two know that former Jedi master Obi-Wan Kenobi, was personally waiting for the shipment of Maja coming from Alderaan. When Kenobi found them, he took the two of them to the palace and asked his wife if the two of them could stay. How could Satine say no? She had know Ahsoka for a long time, years infact. Ahsoka had helped her uncover the truth behind the corruption of former Prime Minister Almec. Mandalore was in her debt. So the two of them were able to stay on Mandalore, it was a safe place for them. But over time Asajj wanted action, and moved in with the pirates leaving Ahsoka on Mandalore, Ahsoka was okay with it. She knew Asajj would be just fine, and it was time for them to walk their separate ways. Ahsoka become the duchess' personal body guard and Obi-Wan took her to the icy planet of Illum to build her new lightsabers. Unlike her old ones, these were white. This symbolized that she was not a Jedi of any kind but a Mandalorian. In the old days when Mandalore and the Jedi order had their war, many Mandalorians carried lightsabers and wore armor made of beskar iron. The iron could withstand a blow dealt by a lightsaber. Most Mandalorians had White, Yellow or Red lightsabers made from synthetic kyber crystals, but Ahsoka's were real kyber crystals.
"Hey Snips." Anakin's voice broke into Ahsoka's thoughts.
"Oh, hello Anakin." She said looking up to see her former master. It had been a good two years since she has last seen him. "I didn't know Master Kenobi was still under arrest." she said looking past him. Ahsoka's look had changed. Insteed of her traditional Jedi robes she now wore a traditional Mandalorian dress with an open back, much like the ones Satine wore. Ahsoka's lightsabers hung on her belt under her cloak. Ahsoka was a Togruta female, she had small horns protruding from her head that looked like hair, then covered her whole head and fell around her with two tails in front of her and on in the back (if you don't know who Ahsoka is, please see character bio for more information) her skin was a dark orange and she had tattoos or birthmarks on her face. Ahsoka slumped down on a crate and waited for Obi-Wan and Satine. She knew they would not be long but she could not stop thinking about her former master Anakin, why was he here?
"Hey there sips." Anakin said walking up behind her. Did she still resent him for not finding her sooner? Was she angry with him for not coming to her in her time of need? All these things went through Anakin's head as he walked up to his former padawan. "How are things going on Mandalore?" he asked looking down at her.
"Things are fine." Ahsoka said looking past him. She didn't want to confront him, not yet.
"Look snips, why didn't you come to me? Why did you go to Obi-Wan?" Anakin blurted out. It was clear to Ahsoka that he was angry with her. She started to understand. After all, she was once his padawan, not master Kenobi's. "Why didn't you come to either me or Padme? Why did you have to go to-to him?" The wind on Florum was hard and could cause large sand storms to race across the desert planet. The makeshift huts could withstand some of the of these storms, but on any desert planet some places were blown to bits or ripped down. Beside Ahsoka was a small group of crates full of supplies, such as food and gear. Ahsoka leaned back in the hutt and looked past her master. Doesn't he understand that I'm not ready to talk about this yet? Doesn't he get it? Ahsoka thought to herself angrily. Anakin has no right to question me! Where was he when I really needed him? Oh that's right, he was caring about how it would look if he tried to help me. Ahsoka wished that she could ignore her master, she wished she could just walk away. Then she remembered she was no longer a Jedi, and he was no longer her master.
"If you'll excuse me master Skywalker." she said rising. I must prepare for departure. The duchess will not want to wait. Ahsoka started walking towards the Mandalorian ship when Anakin reached out and grabbed her arm.
"Now wait a minute snips." he started.
"Don't call me that." Ahsoka said turning back to him. She jerked her arm out of his grasp. "I hate it when you call me that. Infact I hate the fact that I even knew you." Ahsoka stormed onto the ship without another word.
"Well atleast I know what master Obi-Wan feels." Anakin said aloud.
"Yes I suppose you do." the duchess appeared behind him. "Sorry to overhear, but I don't think you came to her in the right way. Ahsoka needs time, time away from you, and time away from the Jedi."
"Funny, she wanted to be away from the Jedi, so she went to someone who was once a great Jedi master." Anakin spat at the duchess. "What did she think she was going to get from him?"
"Training." someone said from behind both of them. Anakin turned to see that it was Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn. A younger Qui-Gon, not the one he remembered from all those years ago. "Ahsoka came to Obi-Wan hoping to learn from him." the Jedi master said smiling.
"B-B-But master Jinn, you died on Naboo, Obi-Wan saw you die." Anakin said dumbfounded. He had not seen Master Jinn in over 20 years. Where had he been? What else was Obi-Wan hiding? So many questions rushed into Anakin's head.
"Obi-Wan and Ahsoka traveled to the center of the Galaxy, there they found a planet. And on that-" Qui-Gon stared but was interrupted by Obi-Wan who came to stand by his former master.
"Ahsoka and I found a way to bring life back to someone we lost." Obi-Wan said smiling at his master. "The Jedi council knows of this, it was always looked down upon but never forbidden." he said looking past Anakin.
"So are you going to bring Bo back then?" Anakin asked flatly. "Is there anything else I should know before I board this ship?" Anakin looked down at the orange and red sand beneath his feet.
"Yes, there is." Qui-Gon said walking closer to Anakin. His hair blowing around him in the wind. Master Jinn was dressed his typical Jedi robes that came short near his knees. His cloak was the same dark brown it had been all those years ago. The things that had changed was his face and hair, he looked about ten years younger than he had when Anakin met him, his hair was a dark brown and had no signs of graying. He looked young and fit, like he might have when he first took Obi-Wan as a padawan 13 years before Anakin had met him. "You're not coming with us." Qui-Gon said pressing his finger to Anakin's chest. So he also acts younger too? Anakin wondered to himself.
"Master Jinn has.... "Stopped" picking up pathetic life forms." Obi-Wan said walking past Anakin, "Maybe you should stop trying to be one." Qui-Gon gave Anakin a small bow and walked past him and onto the Mandalorian ship.
Anakin stood alone outside the ship dumbfounded. He had no idea Obi-Wan had every thought he was a pathetic lifeform, but when he really thought about it, Obi-Wan had not really been honest with him over the past 20 some years. Anakin quickly boarded the ship and walked into the cockpit, he was expecting to see Obi-Wan or Satine flying the ship, instead he found Ahsoka sitting in the pilot's seat and Qui-Gon in the copilot's seat. The cockpit was large and had enough space for four or five people, but only had three chairs. Qui-Gon sat with his back facing the open window, he didn't turn but he knew Anakin had walked in. Qui-Gon turned his maroon copilot's seat around to face Anakin. "Welcome Anakin." Qui-Gon said smiling at Anakin as he looked up from the controls.
"Ahsoka can you give me and master Jinn a moment please?" Anakin asked smiling at his former Padawan.
"Sure master Skywalker, but don't be too long, we have to take off as soon as possible." Ahsoka said rising from her seat.
"Hey, snips, don't worry about it. I'll fly you go hang out with Kenobi." Anakin said coldly turning away from Ahsoka. Sense you think so highly of him. The words almost escaped from Anakin's mouth but he stopped himself before he said something he knew he would regret.
"Fine. But when Obi-Wan gets mad, it was not my fault." Ahsoka said walking from the cockpit. She passed the tall columns that held up the ship's structure, and walked down the long carpeted hallways of the ship. The ship's interior design was luxurious. The deep reds and blues, the golden trims. The life Ahsoka was living now was not so bad. She had a home, friends, and she was finishing school, like a normal life form would in the galaxy. Ahsoka stopped in front of a set of golden double doors. She paused a moment to regain her posture, she hated looking sloppy in front of Master Kenobi. He had been kind enough to take her in after she had left the Jedi order. Anakin had barely wanted to see her. Ahsoka was thankful that Obi-Wan and Satine had opened their doors and home to her, she didn't know where she would be without them.
The doors hissed open and she walked inside the room. Obi-Wan was seated at a long table, he was wearing traditional Mandalorian armor and had his lightsabers attached to his back instead of his belt like he usually did. Obi-Wan turned on his chair when Ahsoka entered. "Ah, Ahsoka, just the person I was looking for." he said smiling and gesturing for her to come in. "Sit. Would you like something to eat or drink?" Obi-Wan gestured to the drinks and food on the table. There were so many options, roasted gurk, deep fried nuna leg, some maja fruit and many other dishes. Ahsoka took and seat and reached for a plate.
"Thank you Master Kenobi." she said helping herself to the food and drinks. She was about to reach for an ornate bottle of wine when she felt the force reach out and grab her hand.
"I don't think so young one." Obi-Wan said chuckling, "Not until you're old enough." He used the force to call the bottle to him and poured himself another glass. He looked at the purple bottle in his hand and smiled. "Mandalore's finest wine," he read out loud, "But it still manages to be a lousy wine." It was not like Obi-Wan to drink, after all it was against the Jedi code, then again, so was his life. Who he was and who he was choosing to be. Ahsoka had gotten used to this new Obi-Wan, this Obi-Wan who dank, argued with his wife and was a normal man, not a noble Jedi master. Ahsoka called on the force to bring her a large plate of roasted nuna. She looked at the plate then set it down near her.
"Master Kenobi, do you believe that bringing Anakin with us was the best idea?" she asked taking a small helping from the heaping plate. "I know he is a well respected Jedi, but bringing him into the council's internal affairs could be dangerous. It is not that I don't trust him..... It's just that-" she started but was cut off when Asajj spoke up.
"You don't trust him." she said walking further into the room. "I know what you feel little one." she took a seat across of Ahsoka and helped herself to the food. '"After you came to me for help, after your "friend" betrayed you, I knew you didn't trust him anymore. If he really had cared for you, he would have tried to help you, like you and Obi-Wan helped me." Asajj took a big bite out of her roasted gurk. Ahsoka looked down at her food, suddenly she was not hungry anymore. How did Asajj know that she didn't trust Anakin anymore? How did she know what it felt like? But now was not the time to question these things, now was the time to be happy of the family she had made.
"I hear what you're saying Ventress, but I don't think you get it." she started.
"Oh I get it Ahsoka, you are the one who does not get it." Asajj answered staring Ahsoka down. The woman's pale skin and dark birthmarks made he appear scary but Ahsoka had come to know that she was a kind and reasonable person under her mask. "You think if you had been down there longer he would have tried to help you. You think he might have left the order for you? Well sorry to bust your bubble but he would have left for Padme, and told you it was for you so you would feel better." Asajj spat. "Skywalker is despicable and hated by more than he is loved by." the words seemed to come naturally from Asajj, and Ahsoka knew these things were true, she knew he would have lied to her even if he did leave, but she knew Anakin would never do anything like that for her. Once again Ventress was right and she was wrong about Anakin, she seemed to be wrong about him a lot lately.
"Can we all get along and eat dinner?" Obi-Wan said waving his hand over the table loaded with food. "I'll go check on Qui-Gon in the cockpit, I shouldn't be long." Obi-Wan rose and his red armor made close to no sound as he walked towards the door. He stopped and looked at the red activation button then turned back to Ventress and Ahsoka. "I thought Ahsoka was flying the ship."