Anabeth: Spark Of Change

Chapter 9 - Past And Future

Ana was walking through the door to the Council Chamber for the second time today. She froze up fo a second as she noticed the Jedi Masters, that were already waiting in the room, looking at her intently. Ahsoka needed to gently push her forward in order to get her to continue walking into the middle of the room. While Ahsoka silently stood with Ana, Obi-Wan once again took his seat and Anakin and Cin waited on the side.

With a nudge of her ellbow Ahsoka finally brought Ana back to reality who immediately straightened up and tightened her mental shields to brace herself for the Jedi's questions. "I'm ready to answer whatever questions you have on the condition that you give me a fair chance to tell the whole story before you judge me" the girl eventually broke the silence in the room. The Council seemed a little confused by her request, but they granted it anyway as it seemed reasonable.

"Very well then. We would like to start by asking you who it was that trained you in lightsaber combat and how to use the force" Master Windu brought up the first point of many. Ana quietly took a deep breath as she wondered why he had to start off with such a hard topic. Then again, her whole story was difficult so it didn't really matter what she was going to tell them first. She looked at Obi-Wan and then back to Windu as she told them the truth "I was trained Darth Maul and his droid LO33"

Surprised gasps that turned into nervous whispers filled the room as the Jedi's eyes widened in disbelief. Whatever they had expected, it wasn't this. Anabeth looked at the floor, trying to ignore what was happening around her as Ahsoka looked around the room. She spotted Anakin who had a confused and slightly pained look on his face as he whispered something to Master Drallig she couldn't understand. She then shifted her gaze over to Master Kenobi who was sitting in his chair, his face pale with an unplaceable expression. Ahsoka could only imagine how hard it must be for him to hear this.

The Jedi were silenced by the sound of Yoda's cane hitting the floor a few times. Everyone watched as Anabeth slowly raised her head and looked at Obi-Wan. "I'm so sorry" she half whispered as a single tear rolled down her cheek. Ahsoka couldn't tell whether it was Master Kenobi or Anabeth that was taking this confession harder, but it was clear that they were both struggeling with it. She didn't know what to do. Should she comfort Ana, or should she take a step away from her because the chance that she was a Sith was very high? Her instincts were telling her one thing while her brain was telling her another, so Ahsoka simply stood frozen in place, unable to decide between them.

"Interested we are in how that came to be" Yoda spoke calmly, only mildly surpised by what Anabeth had said. Her eyes glimmered as she turned to the Grandmaster to tell him her story. "It all started thirteen years ago, shortly after my third birthday. It was late in the afternoon and I was playing outside. My mother was inside, probably cooking dinner for us, and my farther was probably still out in the fields, but I can't remeber it very well. I went into the forest right behind our house because I felt that something was off. That was where I found Maul, or rather he found me. I don't remeber what he said to me, I just know that he took me off planet with him" Anabeth told them the story.

The Jedi Masters all had their mental shields up, but one didn't need the force to see the guilty expressions on their faces. They felt guilty for what had happened to the girl. They felt guilty for having lost yet another innocent, force sensitive child. "I take it you don't remeber the names of your parents or of the planet?" The Jedi with the tall head asked Ana who shook her head to confirm this. "Do you have any idea why Maul took you out of all the children he could have had?" another Master wanted to know. "I'm afraid I don't. I once asked, but LO either didn't know or wouldn't tell me. I believe the later is the case though" Ana replied to the question.

"Why don't you tell us about your time with Maul then?" Master Windu suggested, changing the topic back to Anabeth's past. "He took me to his hideout on some remote planet in the Outer Rim. There I also met LO33. He was Maul's personal droid and he had programmed him with almost every bit of information about the force that would be relevant to me including all seven forms of lightsaber combat. Maul became my Master, but whenever he was busy LO would train me. He also left the droid to take care of me whenever he visited his Master off world and sent me and LO away when his Master would visit us in order to keep me a secret" Ana told them the story of her time with Maul.