Okay, yeah, that was a really long wait.
I'm going to apologize, but at the same time, I think the break was great for me. I had some time to relax, ride my horse, analyze what I'm planning on doing with this book, and come up with some new ideas.
But, without further ado, here is the next chapter!
"Look, I'm sorry Lux! I didn't really mean to be knocked out cold for a few days."
Ahsoka could tell through the hologram that Lux seemed slightly more relaxed, but the majority of his body was still extremely tense. By the time that the Togruta had recuperated from successfully healing Caceryn, it had already been way past the point of time where Lux and Anakin had grown extremely anxious.
"Just... please don't go off and nap for several days in a row. You deserve it my 'Soka, but it terrifies me when you don't respond. Where are you, anyway?"
Well, that was going to be difficult to answer. Did Lux even know about Dantooine? It was a topic rarely discussed in general, so she doubted that the senator would have a clue.
"I... uh... have you ever heard of a planet named Dantooine?"
Lux sat still for a moment, pondering, before finally replying, "Yes, a time or two before. What are you doing there? Have you been kidnapped? Are there... men there?"
Ahsoka laughed at Lux's panicked voice. "No, I'm not kidnapped. It's kind of my home, in a way, it's hard to explain."
"You still didn't answer my last question."
"No," Ahsoka returned with a roll of her eyes, "unless you count a 12-year-old, then no."
"That's good. Just... just come back soon. I can't live without you."
Ahsoka chuckled and shook her head before firing back sarcastically, "Needy much?" Lux was apparently not fazed in the slightest. Instead, a crap-eating grin spread itself across his face.
"It feels good to be needed though, doesn't it?" He countered, giving her a knowing glance through the blue-toned hologram.
Ahsoka could only respond by looking away as her lekku quickly morphed into a deep, vibrant navy. She hoped that Lux wouldn't notice, but she knew he would be able to spot it a mile away, despite the fact that the color change would be diluted through the hologram.
"May...maybe," she sputtered, resulting in a chuckle erupting from the senator's mouth.
"Well, I believe I have some people calling me. Just... come home soon, alright? I know both me and Anakin are anxious for your return."
"Okay," Ahsoka relented, "and if you get the chance, would you mind telling him I'm sorry for being out of contact for three days? I'll try not to blackout again."
"Alright," Lux laughed. He hesitated for a moment, looked around at his surroundings, and quietly said, "Love you, 'Soka."
"Love you too, Lux."
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"Well, of all the things I missed, the hike to the Temple is definitely not one of them," Ahsoka grumbled as she shuffled her feet along. Of course, she could always just manipulate her body into flying the whole way there since she had worked on it plenty during her training with Sidious, but Caceryn had been adamant about hiking there with her. Ahsoka had no clue why the woman had decided to do this. Perhaps as a recreation of their original adventure together? Perhaps to enjoy the fact that she had finally gained use of her legs after a long time of battling for survival? The Togruta was still stumped at this.
"Oh come on," Caceryn playfully fired back, lightly slugging Ahsoka in the arm, "I know you enjoy spending time with me."
"I would," Ahsoka admitted, "if it wasn't while we were walking for endless hours."
"I thought you are so fit as a Jedi that something like this doesn't even make you lose your breath?"
"Oh don't get me wrong," Ahsoka assured her, waving her hands as a gesture, "I'm not bragging, but I am. This is just flat out boring."
"Boring?" Caceryn scoffed in mock offense, her hand flying up to her chest. Ahsoka shook her head and let out a chuckle, in which the human joined in. "You're in luck, actually. If I remember correctly, your fun walk is about to come to an end."
"Wait what?" Ahsoka asked in confusion, swinging her head around to look at the land sprawled out in front of her. Sure enough, a large prairie was ahead of them, followed by an all-too-familiar mountain range. "I didn't realize we were this close."
As the two neared the edge of the rocky outcropping that dropped off to the grassy fields, Ahsoka turned to look at Caceryn with a frown. "Is this where we say goodbye again?"
"I suppose so," Caceryn replied, giving the Togruta a hug. They exchanged their goodbyes, then finally turned on their own ways; Ahsoka towards the mountains, Caceryn towards her home town.
"I'm back~" Ahsoka sang in a somewhat manic voice as she got closer to the mountains. (Think Loki :3) Deciding that walking was for boring people and that she really needed the practice, Ahsoka came to a halt and closed her eyes in concentration. Then, channeling her connection to the Force to the matter than surrounded her, she altered the atoms to allow her to levitate. A little smile graced her face, then she took off like a rocket. In a mere minute, she had traveled all the way across the meadows, over a couple of mountains, and to the Temple. The Togruta made one swoop around the wooden building, then landed in front of the front doors.
"Welcome back, Ahsoka. Sure took ya long enough," a female voice called out from behind the Gray Jedi. Instantly recognizing the tone, Ahsoka slowly turned around with a smile.
"Well, I do have to admit, life can sometimes be a pain," the Togruta chuckled as her eyes fell upon a familiar Pantoran, "but it had been too long, Grandmaster Aylile."
"Ah, I have a feeling you won't be calling me that for long."
"What do you mean?"
Aylile gestured for Ahsoka to follow her into the Temple. Once they were inside, they wound their way into the meditation room that Ahsoka had originally spent the majority of her first stay in. Then, once the two were seated on mats, Aylile turned back to her and began to speak. "Well, for one, I'm not exactly the definition of lively," she paused and the two chuckled at her joke, "and for two, you are the one we left a legacy behind for. You are our successor, and it is only a matter of a short time before you fully withhold your position as one of the most powerful leaders in the galaxy. Sure, you might have had a rough few years, but look how much it has matured you and taught you important life lessons."
"You know, you've made a point that nobody else has, really. I guess I've never looked at my years as practically a slaved Sith in a positive view."
"That right there," Aylile exclaimed, waving her pointer finger at Ahsoka, "is one of the Jedi's biggest downfalls. They're so focused on trying to follow the rules that they hardly ever try to see the light in things. The beauty of life. That's why several fall to corruption throughout the years."
Ahsoka let out a sigh as her mind digested what the Pantoran had said. All of it was just... so wise. Almost every word that came out of her mouth was seasoned with the knowledge that Ahsoka felt she would be lucky to obtain after her predicted 200-year-lifespan.
"I just don't get why the Gray Jedi is such a hidden culture. If we were to have come out of the shadows all those years ago, surely the galaxy would be a much better place today."
"Maybe so," Aylile returned, "maybe we made a mistake. Or, perhaps we did right by following the path the Force wanted us to, and prevented a much worse outcome. Any organization can go corrupt, Ahsoka, nobody is invincible. Once somebody believes that, they have truly become a hypocrite. It's up to the leader to decide if they are capable of guiding the Gray Jedi through thick and thin and preventing ourselves from going corrupt."
"So," Ahsoka replied, trying to summarize what the Force ghost was telling her, while at the same time trying to make sense of her role in the grand gist of things, "what would be my best play? Do I run with this all? Stay hidden in the shadows of the Jedi and use them to carry out my plans? Or reface our people and build a church upon a pebble?"
"Only time will tell," Aylile answered wistfully, standing up from her position, "but for now, I think it's time you accomplished what you came here to do. I will see you soon, young Tano."
With that, Aylile looked up to the ceiling and faded away. Ahsoka sat in silence for a minute, allowing her mind to catch up with what all was going on, then drifted into a deep meditation. Now that she was actually looking for it, she could feel practically the whole area teeming with the Force. It was in both biotic and abiotic objects, and it flowed like the river of life. It left such a calming feeling throughout Ahsoka that, if she wasn't trying to stay awake, she could've easily fallen asleep.
Suddenly, without much warnings, small whispers began to emit from the darkness that swirled around her. It wasn't frightening, but it definitely wasn't like her talking to some old friend. It was strange, foreign, and slightly uncomfortable. She had no clue where the little, genderless voices were coming from.
Stay at ease, Gray Jedi.
You don't know this, but this knows you.
"Daughter? Son? Father?" Ahsoka quietly mumbled.
They are not here at the moment. It is only you and this. Be one with the Force.
"But I don't even know what this is," Ahsoka argued back, but she instantly hushed as a wave of realization washed over her.
You've known what this is your whole life, you just haven't allowed yourself to see it. Now here it is. Take this. Use this opportunity. You have proved yourself worthy to the Force, now listen to what this is telling you.
Ahsoka did as she was told. She opened her mind to the Force, allowing it to have free reign over her own self. The time that she had been waiting for had finally come, and now, she was completely ready for it. She was finally feeling like she was going to redeem herself from the evils that she had been forced into, as though she would finally be good enough for what the Force had bestowed upon her. She had been given a legacy, and in turn, she would give back a future of peace.
Good... yes. You have it right, Gray Jedi. The Force chose well.
Now all Ahsoka could do was wait. She had opened herself completely to the unseen power, and now all that was left was for the Force to give her the answers she needed. And, with that, she would be able to bring the galaxy back to light.
Sidious is more strategic than you think. If he can't the war with a single hand, he's building an army.
"The clones," Ahsoka pointed out, "he was going to use Order 66 to turn our armies against the Jedi."
He's playing a much larger game, now. He sees power, and he is rising to meet it.
"Not going to lie," Ahsoka nervously chuckled, "you're kind of freaking me out."
Palpatine will be a force to reckon with. Don't blow this opportunity to defeat him because you think your powers will easily best him. You have the skill, he has numbers.
"Numbers," Ahsoka echoed thoughtfully, "the Separatists fight in numbers, but they almost consistently lose to the clones, because real men are much more talented than some program. Doesn't that sort of follow the logistics of this whole situation? Why would Sidious be trying a tactic that's already proven to be ineffective?
He's learning. These aren't just dumb droids. They are something much, much larger.
"So..." Ahsoka began, trying to summarize what was being told to her, "you're saying that Palpatine is building an army. Where? How could he be doing this under the Republic's nose, while gaining such support? That sounds nearly impossible."
You yourself have proven that it's easy to do things without the Republic noticing. You just uncovered a whole entire Temple in pristine condition, have traveled here twice, and nobody is the wiser except the few you have told. Would you like to reconsider your position in this matter?
"I might just do so. However, I still need to know where he is."
However, this time, the Force didn't speak back to her. Instead, it showed her an image. She had to admit, she was quite confused when the picture wasn't of a planet, moon, star, or anything of the sort. Instead, it was of some geometrical, 3D device that shone a brilliant red.
Suddenly, something clicked in her head. She wasn't looking at some block that was used in basic school teachings. This was a Holocron, a Sith one, to be at that. Right now she was gazing upon one of the rarest things in the whole universe: a Sith Wayfinder.
"That's why they can't find him," Ahsoka gasped as she opened her eyes, finding the object still hovering in front of her, "they're looking in their territory, not his."
"You've nearly done it," a voice exclaimed from behind her, "now take it. Use it to find Sidious."
Ahsoka hesitantly reached a hand out to the hovering Holocron. Was this really it? Was the answer this simple? In one swift move, the glowing red figure had been moved from its levitating position and into the hand of the Togruta. She turned around, still with a slight gleam of red from the Wayfinder in the reflection of her eye, and saw who was talking to her.
"Well done Ahsoka."
"Thank you, Grandmaster," Ahsoka smiled, looking down at the handheld G.P.S.-like device. She was literally holding the key to finding Palpatine, and all she had done was meditated. Meanwhile, she figured that the Jedi weren't even a step closer to finding the Sith Lord. However, at the thought of the Jedi, her beam faltered. What would she do now? The Force said that Sidious was building an army. What army did she have? The Jedi? They probably wouldn't even bother listening to her, given that she was just some lowly Jedi Knight. "I just... I don't know where to go from here. It just seems that I'll never be good enough for the Jedi. How can I gain their help if it still feels like we're on opposing sides?"
"Hey," Aylile whispered, getting Ahsoka's attention as she walked towards the Torguta and laid a hazy hand on her shoulder, "I know you can do this. We all do. Wanna know how?"
Ahsoka only answered by looking into the Pantoran's eyes.
"Because you're Gray strong."
Okay, that was a little cliché, even for me.
Don't get too upset though, I'm just happy that I got a chapter out again. Hopefully, I'll be able to get some more uploads up quickly.