Chapter 6: The Padawan
POV: Kael Vorn
The Twilight limped back to Coruscant three days later, her hull scarred with new blast marks and her starboard engine making ominous grinding noises. Kael had been awake for thirty hours straight, sustained by military-grade caf and the nervous energy that came from surviving his first real battle. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw CT-7284's face.
The Temple hangar bay bustled with controlled activity—maintenance crews swarmed over returning ships, medical teams processed wounded clone troopers, and Jedi Masters reviewed tactical reports with the grim efficiency of people fighting a war they weren't entirely sure they could win.
Mace Windu stood near the main entrance, his presence in the Force like a blade barely sheathed. Plo Koon supervised the unloading of medical supplies, his respirator wheezing softly in the recycled air. And beside Master Plo, practically vibrating with contained energy, stood a young Togruta Padawan with bright blue-and-white montrals.
Kael's breath caught in his throat. He knew that face from countless episodes, that distinctive silhouette, those expressive eyes that held intelligence and compassion in equal measure.
Ahsoka Tano. Fourteen years old and already one of the most promising Padawans in the Order. The girl who would grow up to question everything the Jedi believed, who would walk away from the Order when it failed her, who would survive the purge that destroyed almost everyone else in this room.
"If I can save anyone, it has to be her."
"Snips!"
Anakin bounded down the Twilight's ramp with characteristic enthusiasm, apparently unaffected by three days of combat and minimal sleep. "This is Kael, the gray guy I told you about."
Ahsoka's eyes widened as they locked onto Kael's shimmering aura, the silver-gray energy that marked him as something outside the traditional Force dichotomy. She circled him like a predator studying interesting prey, head tilted with curiosity that reminded him painfully of a young bird.
"Whoa. Master Plo mentioned you. You're the one who can use both sides?"
Her directness caught Kael off-guard. Most Jedi approached the subject of his unusual abilities with diplomatic circumlocution. Ahsoka just went straight to the heart of the matter with typical teenage bluntness.
"Something like that," he admitted.
"That's so wizard!" Her grin could have powered a small city. "The Council must've freaked. I heard Master Windu wanted to lock you in the detention level."
Behind them, Plo Koon's respirator wheezed with what might have been amusement. "Young Ahsoka has a talent for direct communication."
"They were... concerned," Kael said, finding himself smiling despite the bone-deep exhaustion. There was something infectious about Ahsoka's enthusiasm, a brightness that made the Temple's sterile corridors seem less oppressive.
"Want to spar?"
The question came out of nowhere, delivered with the confidence of someone who'd never met a challenge she didn't want to tackle head-on.
"I'm not sure that's—"
"Come on! I want to see how someone fights who doesn't follow the traditional forms. Master Plo says understanding different approaches makes you a better duelist."
Kael glanced around the hangar, noting the interested looks from various Jedi and clone troopers. Apparently word of his unusual abilities had spread through the Temple's gossip network with typical institutional efficiency.
"All right. But just a light practice bout."
"Excellent! Training salle seven is open. I checked before you landed."
Twenty minutes later, they faced each other across a circular practice room, training sabers humming with contained energy. Ahsoka moved with the fluid grace of Ataru, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she assessed his stance. Kael held his borrowed weapon in a neutral guard, Force Sense extended to read her intentions.
[SPARRING PARTNER IDENTIFIED: AHSOKA TANO]
[COMBAT PREDICTION PROTOCOLS ENGAGED]
[ANALYZING FIGHTING STYLE...]
She attacked without warning, twin practice blades whirling in a storm of controlled aggression. Ataru was all about overwhelming offense, using acrobatic mobility to stay ahead of an opponent's defenses. For someone her age, Ahsoka's technique was remarkable—flowing combinations, perfect balance, the kind of raw talent that couldn't be taught.
But the Codex highlighted her patterns, showed him the micro-tells that preceded each attack. Kael sidestepped her opening combination and used Force Push to break her momentum, sending her sliding backward across the polished floor.
"Interesting!" Ahsoka grinned as she recovered, apparently delighted by the unexpected tactic. "You really don't fight like a Jedi."
She came at him again, this time mixing in unpredictable direction changes to throw off his predictions. Kael responded with Force Pull, yanking her slightly off-balance mid-leap. She adapted instantly, turning the stumble into a rolling attack that nearly caught him across the ribs.
They danced around each other for five minutes, neither able to gain a decisive advantage. Ahsoka's speed and technique matched Kael's Force-enhanced reflexes and tactical analysis. When they finally called a halt, both were grinning and gasping.
"You don't fight like a Jedi," Ahsoka panted, deactivating her training sabers. "You fight like... like you're making it up as you go."
Kael laughed, surprised by how natural it felt. "That's because I am."
[SPARRING SESSION COMPLETED]
[COMBAT PREDICTION ALGORITHMS UPDATED]
[AHSOKA TANO COMBAT PROFILE ESTABLISHED]
[RECOMMENDATION: CULTIVATE ALLIANCE]
They sat on the training room floor sharing water from a communal dispenser, the easy camaraderie of people who'd just tried to hit each other with sticks. Ahsoka's presence in the Force was warm and open, unclouded by the careful barriers most Jedi maintained around their emotions.
"Can I ask you something?" Her voice had turned unexpectedly serious, the playful energy replaced by something deeper. "Master Anakin says attachment is forbidden, but... doesn't that mean we're not allowed to care? To really care?"
Kael's heart clenched with the weight of future knowledge. He knew where this question led—to her growing disillusionment with the Order, to the trial that would break her faith, to the moment when she would walk away from everything she'd ever known.
"Because the Jedi will betray you, Ahsoka. They'll abandon you when you need them most, and you'll be right to leave."
He tried to give her an honest answer about balance, about how caring didn't necessarily mean attachment, but the curse activated as he attempted to reference her future trials.
"I think the Jedi are scared of caring too much, but that doesn't mean birthday cakes of testing destiny!"
Ahsoka tilted her head, parsing meaning from gibberish with the patience of someone accustomed to dealing with eccentric Jedi Masters.
"You say weird stuff sometimes, but I think I get it. You mean the Jedi are scared of caring too much?"
Kael nodded, relieved that his meaning had somehow gotten through despite the cosmic gag order.
"Yeah. Me too."
The sadness in her voice made her sound older than her fourteen years. Already she was beginning to see the cracks in the Order's philosophy, the way their fear of the Dark Side led them to reject basic emotional connections.
[COMPANION BOND POTENTIAL DETECTED: AHSOKA TANO]
[COMPATIBILITY: 87%]
[EMOTIONAL OPENNESS: UNIQUE]
[RECOMMENDATION: CONTINUE INTERACTION]
As they prepared to leave the training room, Ahsoka called back over her shoulder:
"We should train together more! Maybe you can teach me that Push thing you did."
Kael watched her bounce away down the corridor, her montrals swaying with each step. The notification in his vision pulsed with significance—a companion bond, something the System had never offered before. Ahsoka Tano, the girl who would survive Order 66, who would grow up to challenge everything the galaxy thought it knew about the Force.
"I won't let them destroy you, Snips. Whatever it takes, I'll find a way to keep that light burning."
The weight of responsibility settled on his shoulders like a cloak. He'd failed to save CT-7284, failed to warn the Jedi about their coming betrayal, failed at almost everything that mattered. But maybe, just maybe, he could save one bright soul from the darkness ahead.
The Force whispered around him, silver-gray energy that belonged to neither Light nor Dark. In the distance, he could hear Ahsoka's laughter echoing through the Temple's ancient halls.
For the first time since arriving in this universe, Kael allowed himself to feel something that might have been hope.
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