Chapter 18: 18. Chapter

- Fall asleep, she did, hm? 

- It seems so. It must have been too much effort for her body. - Said Aayla while carefully picking up the girl from the floor.

- A dark veil has been lifted from our eyes, one that dulled our senses for years. - Added Yoda as his observation. 

- We were indeed blind if a little child had to open our eyes to the truth. It is a failure that could have cost us everything; I could only hope, that we are not too late to stop the scheme of the Sith. - Stated Obi-Wan with a grave expression on his face.

There was a momentary silence in the almost empty room, that was soon broken by the grandmaster.

- Your observations are correct; Obi-Wan. The danger is still present; we must prepare ourselves to face it. A Sith Lord as skilled and powerful, able to blind our senses for years even without us realizing it, is our enemy. This is a true Sith Lord; a master of the dark-side, one that we haven't seen in the last thousand years. To find and destroy this Sith Lord must be our first priority. 

- I fear, that the separatist leaders may have been deceived by the lies of this Sith Lord. - Noted Obi-Wan then continued.

- Your former padawan is no exception, I am afraid. 

- Count Dooku, failed to resist the lure of the dark side. Realize this: I fear, he will, too late. It is another failure of mine that I still couldn't accept. 

- It was his decision to leave the order; Master Yoda, - Said Aayla, trying to reassure the weary grandmaster. 

- The failure of an apprentice always holds a mirror to the failure of the master. 

- Even if that is true, in the end, each of us chooses his or her own fate. - Said Obi-Wan - You can't force someone to do something that is against his or her ideas. It never ends well. 

- Hmm... Qui-Gon, used to say this, as well. 

Yoda's expression turned into a solemn and thoughtful one, than he stated as he looked Obi-Wan in the eye. 

- Admit this, I will, your master was right from the very beginning. We were blinded by our arrogance. We failed to act on time. Now a war has begun, and the consequences are unforeseeable. We are scattered around the galaxy while a Sith Lord hides in the darkness. I will send out all of the Jedi Shadows to search for this Sith Lord and destroy it if possible. Obi-Wan, I ask you to watch over Nizzal. Her official rank will still be your padawan, and we will not disclose the details, of her punishment. The Sith Lord, must have already realized that someone had destroyed it's barrier. It will search for the culprit, thinking that the council destroyed it. We must act ignorant about this; only then will he find the girl, with time.

There was a solemn silence in the room. All of them looked at the young twi'lek innocently sleeping form in the hands of Master Secura. She was completely ignorant of the things happening around her. The child's knowledge may have been exceptional, but she was in the end still just a child. They will question her when she wakes up, from her order one more time. 

- Using her as a bait, is indeed an efficient way to find this Sith Lord. It may see a rival in her, or a new opportunity. - Said Obi-Wan with a troubled expression.

- A rival? Hmm, I think not, when it realizes that she is just a young child, it will try to use her against us, than throw her away. Only this time, it won't work. I trust you to guard her as much as if she were your own padawan; but we must trust in her abilities and not treat her in a special way, or the Sith Lord will sense our trap. To speak about this I will, with the other masters. No one else who didn't hold at least the rank of a master can know about this. 

- We understand. - Said both of them in unison. 

- Good, Aayla, if I may ask, start a rumor in the temple, that our exchange student from the Grey order likes to use dark side techniques like force lightning. I am sure, that it will also get in the ears of the one we are looking for. 

An evil smirk appeared on the face of the blue twi'lek master, as she began to nod eagerly. 

- I would never have thought, that I would live to see master Yoda ask such a condemnable thing from old little me. - She said with trying to hold back her bubbling laughter. 

- Oh, I bet it was only because there was never a need to ask. You did it either way. 

- Ah, how rude! You are hurting my feelings. 

- I could only imagine. 

- Aayla, could you take the youngling to the infirmary? I sense that someone is waiting for her arrival. - Yoda wisely interrupted their banter.

- Of course, master, I will go immediately. 

- Obi-Wan for a word, please stay. 

- Of course. 

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As the twi'leks left the council room, all of the cheerfulness left with them, it was soon replaced by solemn expressions. 

- I trust you with this heavy duty Obi-Wan, you will have to reveal the identity of this Sith Master. You must understand, this is not a mission to destroy it, but to discover its true identity. We are powerless against it until we don't know who it is. I will also send two of the best jedi shadows with you, but know this, they will not reveal their presence. Until the Sith Lord certainly appears, their only mission is to help in destroying it if an opportunity may arise. 

- I understand, I will do my best grandmaster. 

- Good. Very good. This is the first time in years when we have had a chance to strike back. It could easily be the only chance we have left. I trust in your judgement, Obi-Wan. You will leave Coruscant in a few days; it will be best to let your padawan meet with her squad and let them become acquainted. Some shared training might help her out a little, hmm? 

- Definitely.

- Take Anakin with you, and his padawan too. Ahsoka is more than ready to start her missions alongside her master, and her master's master. With this, even Anakin can't resist taking her with him. 

- I am starting to suspect, that the true punishment has actually been inflicted on me, and not on my new padawan. 

- Hmm-hmm-hmm. Beyond wise, your years, you always were. Master Kenobi. 

- Eh, much good it ever did for me... 

Hearing Obi-Wan's sarcastic retort, Master Yoda couldn't help to let out a loud smirk. 

___________

Ahsoka was frustratedly walking left and right in front of the Jedi council room. She wanted to go in, but that would be too disrespectful, and she would never hear the end of it from Anakin, or in fact from Obi-Wan. She tried to forcefully calm herself, but her breathing techniques this time simply didn't work. She was either too frustrated or didn't focus on it enough to do them properly. She was confused, hurt, but at the worst of it, she felt guilty. She saw her new friend Nizzal's face. She saw how dejected and sad she looked, when she realized that she was afraid of her. She couldn't help it, those glowing eyes were so unnatural as if she had stepped out of an old jedi legend. The eyes of a dark side wielder, they were scary. All those child stories she heard in her life, the ones that were shared by the older younglings and padawans to scare the younger ones for fun. They liked to hear them, even if they couldn't sleep properly later. Those stories were a source of joy in the mostly empty temple. They treasured them, but now Ahsoka was confronted by their meanings. There was a dark side wielder here, and she became one of her only friends. She was a kind natured girl, and she would never even imagine that she would willfully hurt someone if there was a possibility to evade the fight. 

She winced, as the glowing blue lightnings appeared in her memory, but something still wasn't right. When she looked at her face, at the moment she created that lightning technique. There was no glee or satisfaction seeable on her face; only pain, disgust and regret. It was an entirely different picture she saw than the stories described a sith. At that moment, it became clear to her, she couldn't be a sith! This belief only solidified in her heart as the strangely clothed jedi suddenly stood up in the fountain, and began to, even if hesitatingly, walk out of the water. She didn't want to kill him, only stop him from hurting or killing her. She was forced to do this; then she remembered that strange presence she felt in their team's meditation. It was so dark and cold, and after she gave over the control to Nizzy, she was almost immediately frozen to her place, as that presence appeared. The only thing she was able to do, was to hold onto Nizzy's hand as much as possible. If she wasn't there, that thing, who knows what could have done to them. It felt like the manifestation of darkness; she will never forget that coldness. It felt like a barely tamed, furious and hungry animal, that was ready to consume everything that got too close to it. 

She only knew her friend a few days now, but she already understood one thing. She was unnaturally calm, specifically for a thirteen year old; but even she looked terrified by that presence. That was the only cue she needed to realize the danger they were in. Her usual grandmotherly act immediately crumbled, followed by sudden series of decision making.

That act that was her signature sign, she was a year younger than her. Yet when she felt comfortable enough, she could naturally create this air of confidence around her, as if there was nothing in the world that could surprise her. It was actually really funny; she even thought for a while that she was acting like that purposefully to make her laugh. Although, she slowly realized as she began to look more carefully, that it was her genuine personality. It was so ingrained in every part of her little gestures and expressions. It couldn't be an act. Jedi were trained to see these things, and that was true for the padawans too. She realized, that in her sects, there must be no other children of her age. She was probably like this, because she didn't know how to act around other children, or how to be a child in the first place. After realizing all of this, Ahsoka picked up Rika, because she was still unconscious and ran to the council hall. She pleaded to the temple guard at the door, to ask the grandmaster to see her. Soon, she was let in, and she told everything to Master Yoda, and also Master Aayla Secura, who was also in the room. 

In the end, they asked her to take Rika to the infirmary and told her to stay calm; they would handle everything carefully. But how could she stay calm! They also realized that for some reason, the masters couldn't sense this suffocating barrier around the temple she was talking about. It was strange, she didn't sense it until she saw it and felt it in their meditation; since then she was feeling this sickening aura everywhere in the temple. How didn't she realize that it was here for so long? Suddenly a sense of peace and relaxation settled over her. It was soon broken by an annoying beeping sound. 

- Wh-what? 

There was a holo call incoming from the grandmaster, he was asking her, if she could still sense the dark presence surrounding the temple. She tried to feel it only to realize, that it disappeared. She wanted to ask Master Yoda, what had happened, but the call had already ended. 

She was going left and right before the council hall for another few minutes, than the door to the council room finally opened, and master Aayla Secura walked out; there was something in her arms, wait!? She saw that her new friend's deathly pale body was carried by master Aayla. Did she? No! Calm down, reach out, search for her presence! There... there was a weak force presence in the body; it was tired, but stable. She was simply asleep. As she understood this, she relaxed. Only to realize, that Aayla was looking at her expression and sensing her chaotically changing force presence with a very amused expression. 

- You remind me of your master, sometimes. 

Ahsoka blinked confused by this seemingly out-of place statement. 

- He also used to act as a mother hen around his injured friends. 

Ahsoka felt as if her montrals were on fire. She looked down to her feet, as the other woman laughed. lightly. 

- There is no shame in worrying about your friends health, but be careful and ready to let go if the time comes. Sometimes, letting your friends go when they have to leave, is the hardest thing to do. 

Ahsoka only nodded to that, then they began to walk to the infirmary, where this time not she, but Nizzal were placed in a bed and treated by the medics. 

 

 

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