Early in the morning, upon learning of what was happening on Shili, Master Plo deliberately wrote his name in the log, volunteering to fly there with his student. He not only wanted to personally deal with the insolent pirates who had decided to take over the beautiful and untouched world of Shili, but also saw an opportunity to show Asoka what her people's homeland was like. By seeing how it suffered, she would be able to develop a sense of empathy and better understand her comrades. While the Master was telling the girl about what this planet was like, he said:
"You see, Asoka, this planet is something between the tropics and a nature reserve. It is dominated by forests and jungles, as well as a large number of seas and lakes.
That was enough for Asoka to want to see Shili. From the Master's description, it was so different from the grey, desert planet of Tatooine, where Tano had spent most of her life.
"Really? There are lakes? That's awesome! I've always dreamed of swimming in a real lake!" Asoka forgot all about her troubles with Barris and clapped her hands excitedly like a little girl.
"I think if the mission is successful, you'll have that opportunity. Togruts are grateful creatures," the Master noted with satisfaction that the girl was already interested in the mission, which meant there was a good chance his idea would bear fruit.
"And now you're probably wondering why I'm not like the rest of my people?" Asoka immediately changed her mood to a slightly more offended one.
"I didn't think that at all," replied Plo immediately. "You know how I feel about you.
"Yes, and now you're going to use Master Ti as an example," Asoka had recently learned to read minds and was now eagerly putting her new skill to use.
"And not only her," her mentor did not argue, knowing it would be useless. "By that principle, you could judge at least half of our Order. After all, we choose future adepts primarily because they stand out from their peers from an early age. Perhaps when you get to Shili, you will see this for yourself.
"What, you have a premonition again? Can you feel the Force stirring in your heart?" asked Tano, already knowing the answer.
"I admit, the closer we get to the Expansion region, which includes Shili, the stronger I feel that the three of us will fly away," replied Plo, though not quite as Ahsoka had expected.
"Three of us? Does that mean we're leaving Barris and Master Undulli there as a consolation prize?" Asoka immediately caught her teacher off guard.
"Ahsoka, there you go again. You're just incorrigible!" Plo tried to frown, but it didn't work very well.
"That's why you love me," Ahsoka replied, completely unfazed by his remark. "I'm just doing what you told me to do. You told me to think about the mission, so I'm thinking about how to get those nasty pirates out of there as quickly as possible, otherwise I'll be too embarrassed to go swimming with them around.
"You're such a child," said Plo tenderly, ruffling Asoka's hair. Her hand rubbed against his rough palm. This involuntary movement reminded her of her father and made the Togruta serious again. She thought about how Shili was also his home, which meant that this mission was partly for him too. Asoka thought about this as she looked out the window, where she could already see incredibly beautiful fields and forests dominated by deciduous trees. Lakes and seas were marked by blue uneven spots. This made Shili a little reminiscent of Naboo, the first planet Asoka had seen, except that there were no waterfalls here and the meadows did not look so flooded. Looking at this natural beauty, it was hard to believe that there were civilised cities, towns and even a capital on this planet. However, that was where she was headed, as pirates had settled there and taken the peaceful population hostage in order to claim their rich lands for themselves. But the capital was still far away, and nothing prevented Asoka from enjoying the views of nature, to which she felt a strange attraction. She wanted to jump out of the ship so badly that it hurt, to run across the field, stretch out on the grass, jump into the water and swim a few metres underwater. There had always been severe water problems on Tatooine, and Asoka remembered how, on her first day at the Temple, she went to the shower and stayed there for almost an hour, splashing around in the water and lathering herself generously. This abundance of water seemed like incredible happiness to her, and even now, although enough time had passed, she couldn't stop rejoicing in it. But then the natural landscape ended, and wooden and stone single-storey buildings appeared below. It was one of the villages. In normal times, it must have been beautiful and cosy, but now, even from a short height, it was clear that almost all the houses had broken windows, the vegetable gardens had been dug up, and the yards had been ransacked. Here and there lay various items and utensils, either accidentally dropped by looters or carelessly thrown away because they were considered worthless. In one of the yards, near a house with a red roof, Asoka saw a broken toy box with its contents scattered around it: a wingless plastic spaceship, a one-legged droid, a metal soldier and a soft toy depicting an animal unknown to science, blue in colour with a round snout, large oval ears and a long red tail. At the sight of these toys, Tano wanted to cry. She could clearly see a child who had been playing with these toys just a short time ago, now being forcibly taken away into captivity. And for some reason, this child immediately seemed different to her. Perhaps it was because the toys were slightly different?
"Master Plo, where are the villagers now? Are they alive?" she asked in a voice hoarse with excitement.
"I don't know, girl, I sincerely hope that the pirates are not so stupid as to kill everyone at once," replied the teacher, trying to tell the truth. The Force told him that life still existed on the planet, but it was unknown what form it took. Meanwhile, the small houses had been replaced by more substantial stone buildings, not all of which were residential; some had been converted into shops and offices. However, both types of buildings looked equally ransacked. It was in the middle of all this that Master Plo decided to land the ship.
"This is so that the peaceful inhabitants can see us," he explained before allowing the others to disembark. From the outside, the planet looked even more desolate than it had from the ship; it seemed as if no one had been there for at least a week. However, that was true, as there were almost no humans there, because the planet was inhabited by Togrutas.
"I suppose the prisoners are being held underground," suggested Master Unduli. "That's why we can sense them but can't find them.
"But they couldn't have taken everyone, someone must have stayed outside. At least to serve as bait for us," Master Plo disagreed.
"Perhaps if they are there, they are most likely staying together as a group, because Togrutas are social creatures," Asoka interjected. Barris pursed her lips sceptically but chose to leave her comment unanswered.
"But she's right," Luminara agreed unexpectedly with Asoka. "And most likely, this group consists of children, because they evoke much more pity. Besides, what kind of psychological pressure is it on their parents not to know what is happening to their children?
"Then they must have locked themselves in the basement or crawled into a cave," Asoka continued to speculate. "Think back to when you were a child. Where would you have gone if something like that happened?
The Masters considered this a sound judgement, and all four withdrew to a quiet place to meditate and see how their thoughts matched what was happening. Their visions synchronised and formed a single picture of a damp, cold dungeon and another, smaller one in a more illuminated part of the planet. The distance between them was considerable, making it impossible for them all to go there together.
"I have a plan," said Plo finally, when everyone came out of their trance. "Master Undulli and I will go to meet the prisoners. I think the pirates will be here soon, and you, Padawans, will go look for the children. Barriss, you'll back up Ahsoka if there are any difficulties. You've been on missions like this before and know what to expect.
Offi nodded in agreement, putting on her mask of a model student again, while Ahsoka frowned and struggled to resist the urge to show the Masters her fist. She guessed that this was another idea from her dear teacher, who had not given up hope of teaching Ahsoka how to work in a team.
"Of course, Master Plo, I'll do everything exactly as you say," Barris reported clearly.
"I won't let you down, teacher," said Asoka, trying not to show her emotions.
"I think you should head towards the village. There's some rocky terrain there; the children are probably hiding there," Master Unduli directed them.
The Padawans nodded and turned in the right direction.
"And may the Force be with you," came the reply, and soon the echo brought the same phrase back to the Masters, now spoken in thin young voices.
"Ahsoka, won't you be hungry on an empty stomach? The Masters told us to eat well, but you didn't listen, as usual," said Rose, barely sure that the teachers couldn't hear her as she started singing her favourite song.
"Of course, dear, but you ate for two, gobbling up my portion too," Asoka retorted. "Maybe now you'll put on a little weight and look a little less like a hungry snake.
"And you could lose a little of that fat, Offie," Asoka replied, not missing a beat. "You can barely jump in training anymore."
"Buntas, by the way, are the strongest and most enduring of animals," Asoka didn't take the bait. "Snakes are actually terrible cowards. They want to be feared, but they're scared of their own shadows. There you go, an example."
Tano said the last sentence because she saw a rather large beast with thick red fur and powerful jaws slowly approaching Offee from behind. Ahsoka knew what it was, but Barris didn't, and as soon as she felt its hot breath on her back, she turned around, screamed in terror and tried to step aside. The beast charged at her, pushing her aside and cutting off her escape route. Barris's eyes widened in terror, but Asoka remained calm, knowing that Offee was in no real danger. Not yet, anyway. But then...
***
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