A Master and Padawan's Bond

Younglings

A loud, insistent beeping near his head forced Yoda to emerge from his meditation. Upon closer observation, it was his wristcomm that was making the racket. He raised his arm slightly and pressed a button.

"Help you, I can?"

"Yes, Master Yoda," came Tano's voice. "We are back on the Resolute, and we managed to pick up some...younglings."

He frowned. "Younglings? Force-sensitive, they are?"

"We're not sure, Master. It's too early to tell. But they're malnourished and a few of them seem sick with an invisible illness. Kix can't make any sense out of it. They're going to need to visit the healers if they stay at the temple."

Yoda thought for a moment. The temple was always open to those in need, though not many came to visit. This was unorthodox. "Stay at the temple, they may. Speak with the council and make space for them, I will."

~

She was burning.

Not literally, she was fairly sure, but it felt like it. Burning from the inside out. Her small body shivered with fever, she could feel her heart palpitating; she suddenly flailed her arms in a feverish twitch, hitting something near her.

"Ow!" It said. "Watch it, Hedala." She heard her sister, but she sounded far away.

She tried to open her eyes, but it was too bright. She whimpered. Cool, gloved hands smoothed her hair back and rubbed her wrist with something cold, then placed a metal ring on the rubbed place. A noise that sounded like a knife unsheathing rattled in her skull, and then she drifted into a peaceful sleep.

~

Ahsoka watched nine tired, malnourished, anxious little girls sleep. There were so many of them it was impossible to remember all of their names. There were two to a bed, they were all so small, except for the littlest one. She was in the worst condition, and twitched in a feverish, sedative-induced coma.

The Jedi was so lost in thought she didn't see or sense the healer come up beside her, and she jumped slightly when she began to speak.

"The littlest one is Hedala. Her sisters are quite worried about her." Ahsoka nodded, brow furrowed. "Have you ever seen anything similar to her condition?"

"No," Ahsoka said. Then she chuckled.

"What is it?"

"I find it funny that a healer is asking me if I know anything about a sickness."

The doctor smiled a bit and shrugged. "Jedi knowledge of illness only stretches so far."

"I suppose so."

There was a pause. "They will be asleep for a while yet, Master Tano. I suggest you try to get some rest. No point in staying up with them right now."

Ahsoka sighed and nodded. With a last look at Hedala, she turned and left the infirmary.

She would have gone back to her quarters, but something about these children was puzzling. She didn't sleep well when pondering something, so she went to the library instead.

One would have thought that Master Nu would have retired by then; she was incredibly old for a human, but she was there to greet Ahsoka at the data center.

"Anything in particular I can help you with, Master Tano?" She asked in her wizened voice.

"No, thank you, Master Nu. I'm just doing some research." The older Jedi bowed and went back to reorganizing things that didn't need reorganizing.

Ahsoka's fingers hovered over the keypad; where would one even start? These children obviously weren't native to Felucia, but they weren't new to the area, either. If they hadn't been orphaned as babies, then they had to have been living on their own for quite a while. She had seen many children without parents, and these girls did not act like them.

Then again, perhaps their minds were on other things, like Hedala.

These children were different, and Hedala was very solemn for her age. When Ahsoka and Luminara had taken them back to the Resolute,  she had not cried or squirmed away from the Jedi, like some of her sisters did. Instead, she had watched quietly and not said a word. But maybe it was just her fever.

Ahsoka sighed. Research was not going to do her any good. She gave up and returned to her room.

~

Master Yoda observed the children playing, watching carefully for any signs of Force-sensitivity. Normally, this would be quite obvious—and if it wasn't, blood tests were available, but he didn't want to stick any more needles in them unless absolutely necessary. Children, if put in situations where their sensitivity could be manipulated, developed an involuntary instinct to hide their abilities.

Perhaps they were all Force-sensitive. Yoda wouldn't have been surprised.

He rose from his mat and circled the room. Three of the children, the two eldest and the littlest, sat together in a small circle. Hedala listened intently to her sisters as they spoke in hushed voices. The other six played a game of cards.

Suddenly bored with the conversation, Hedala wandered over to the bigger group. One of her sisters handed her a small pile of cards and a die, which she placed carefully before her.

Yoda was getting up to leave when it came Hedala's turn to roll. Without laying a finger on the die, it tumbled into the center. And without laying a finger on her cards, three lifted up and landed before her.

Her sisters cried out in mock annoyance, saying she cheated, but Yoda didn't hear them. He was hurrying out the door, headed for the Archive.