"Asoka Tano," Master Plo said solemnly, noticing his student at the entrance to the Hall. "Come to me."
Ahsoka froze, anticipating reproaches and explanations for her escape, but no, Master Plo said something completely different, or rather, he asked:
"What happened, Ahsoka? What trouble has befallen your homeland?
The Master's voice sounded sympathetic, and there was only sincere compassion and a desire to find out what was going on and then try to help in any way he could. This was the essence of Plo's nature, who had earned himself a reputation in the Order as the most patient and understanding Master. If only he could have known what had happened to his favourite student. But he could only guess.
"He's gone, Master," Asoka squeezed out, feeling the soft, comforting warmth of her mentor's voice begin to melt the grief in her heart, and her eyes fill with tears again. "My father is dead."
Saying it out loud for the first time, the girl finally realised that it was true. It was not a dream or an illusion. It was reality. It was death. Tears rolled down her cheeks. Asoka clenched her teeth until they hurt and dug her nails into her palms to distract herself, but nothing helped. The pain was too great to be pushed inside and shoved into the far corner of her soul, to be forgotten, at least for a while. Never. It would never be the same again. She would never see her father again. Never hear his voice. Never look into his kind, attentive eyes. Now all that was possible only in her memories. The Master understood her state without words and, coming closer to Asoka, embraced her and pressed her tear-stained face to his broad chest, allowing her to release her emotions. The girl was in great pain, from which she would not be able to recover today or even tomorrow, but time can help; it is the wisest and most patient of healers. However, given her current state, it was hardly possible to tell her what Plo had intended to say. Her joy would not be so great, and he himself did not consider the Council's sudden decision to make so many Padawans Knights at once a cause for celebration. The fact was that rumours had reached him that the separatists were planning to wage war against the Republic, and that as many mature specialists as possible would be needed for this confrontation. What's more, what she had gone through today could well count as trials for Asoka, and tomorrow she would be presented at the ceremony to be inducted into the Knights. This is exactly what the Master wanted to tell the girl, but instead he just hugged her and waited for her tears to dry. After all, he could tell her tomorrow; today she needed to rest.
"You probably think I should be expelled?" asked Asoka, regaining her composure slightly. "I understand. It would be the right thing to do. I don't deserve anything else."
"Don't be silly, Asoka," Plo was very surprised by his student's suggestion. "I have rarely seen such selflessness and determination in the desire to help others. You knew you could die, and yet you risked your life on such a dangerous journey. That's exactly what I told the Council when they asked me about you. I also added that I am very proud of you."
"Really?" Ahsoka couldn't believe what she had heard at first and was secretly glad that she hadn't told her teacher about the massacre she had organised, as she still needed to figure that out for herself. Just like she couldn't believe that Anakin... that his attitude towards her had changed so unexpectedly that she didn't quite know how to react. Fortunately, Plo didn't ask her to react; his only order now was to go and rest immediately. Ahsoka gladly took advantage of this opportunity to escape. She needed to be alone to think things through and figure out how to move forward. She thought she wouldn't be able to sleep until morning, but as soon as her montralls touched the pillow, Ahsoka fell asleep instantly. Unlike her, however, her teacher could not afford the luxury of sleep or even rest. He still had to endure the Council meeting, where an interesting and very disturbing message concerning the separatists awaited them all. It was brought by Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, who had only recently been promoted to this rank. He was a fairly young man, just over thirty, very serious and focused. He spoke little, but always to the point, and was considered by his colleagues to be a level-headed man with fair judgement, who could always be relied upon in all matters. Obi-Wan did not mince his words, and now he proved it by presenting the following story to his more experienced colleagues. Just a few days ago, at a Senate meeting dedicated to the confrontation with the separatist movement, which had a new leader who made even Vice-King Gunray look like a kind and loyal man, one of the politicians, Satin Kraiz, representing the planet Mandalore in the Senate, suggested that this could be the work of one of the former Jedi and proposed that several candidates be reconsidered. That very evening, she received an anonymous message warning her that if she did not stop digging, she would end up in the same place as the unfortunate Phil Eleot, who had dared to take on the Sith. Satin, however, pretending to be frightened, secretly turned to Obi-Wan, whom she had known since childhood, and asked him for help. He could not refuse and now informed his comrades that he intended to personally investigate the situation and start tomorrow, or rather, he had already started today, ordering Satin to fly to Coruscant in the morning using a public ship, and tomorrow he would give her shelter and assign guards to the duchess while he conducted the investigation. The Council approved this and gave its permission, deciding, however, to assign two more people to the case for good measure — the Magister and the newly appointed Knight, whose initiation would take place at dawn.
"How lucky she is, this Tano," said Darra, hearing who had been granted such an honour. "She hasn't even become a Knight yet, and already she has her first assignment! And what an assignment! Maybe there will be something for me too."
"Yes, of course, carry the train of her cloak when she wins," Ferrus rebuked her. "It's high time you accepted that there's nothing in store for people like us in this life.
"Not enough light?" Darra quickly chimed in. "Borrow some from Skywalker, he's been glowing since this morning."
"Well, it won't shine for long. Soon Vind will come and smash Codex over the head!" Ferrus disagreed with her.
"Why Codex? He didn't do anything terrible, he just helped Tano," Darra defended Anakin.
"Yes, he helped, but you should have seen the way he looked at her. He was devouring her with his eyes!" Ferrus seemed ready to eat his hated rival himself. However, they had already had dinner, so they had to content themselves with appetisers of their own speculations and other people's hints, and then go to bed. Tomorrow was the ceremony, which Asoka was told about as soon as she woke up. Everything that followed seemed like a continuation of the dream. Asok, barely allowed to wash and dress, was led into the Council Chamber and placed in the middle, where twelve voices began to read a farewell speech. Then Master Yoda said:
"We are all Jedi. The Force speaks through us. Through our actions, the Force speaks of itself and of all that is real. We are here to bear witness to what the Force says.
The remaining eleven Masters bowed respectfully to him, and then, as soon as they raised their heads, Yoda looked at Ahsoka standing in the middle of the Hall and continued, addressing her directly:
"Step forward, Padawan Ahsoka Tano. By the authority of the Council, by the will of the Force, I declare you a Jedi Knight of the Republic.
Ahsoka timidly approached the Grand Master's chair and, as was customary in this situation, knelt and bowed her head slightly, allowing the Master to remove the Padawan chain from her crown and rise just as slowly. When she was level with the window of the Council Chamber, Yoda solemnly concluded:
"Take your lightsaber, Ahsoka Tano, Jedi Knight. And may the Force be with you."
Togruta reached out with strange hesitation toward one of her swords and suddenly thought that if the ceremony had taken place a little earlier, it would have been just as she had imagined it as a child. Everyone would be happy for her and smiling, and then her father would come to see her, alive and well, cheerful and happy for her. But everything had happened now. And now this silent Hall, the complete absence of joy on the faces of those present. The magisters, sympathising with her grief, did not put on their ceremonial white robes, remaining in their everyday mourning black, and Asoka herself was now wearing a tunic the colour of the midnight sky. The new Knight's eyes were swollen from yesterday's tears, and there was not a single joyful thought in her head about what had just happened, not even a hint of elation when her now full-fledged colleagues approached her to offer their restrained congratulations. Only when everyone had done so did the ceremony smoothly transition into a meeting at which Asoka was informed that she, together with Magister Plo, would be assigned to guard Duchess Satin. The assignment was not quite what Asoka had imagined, but eager to justify the Council's trust, she agreed to all the conditions, even though she was sure that nothing but boredom would come of it. But how wrong she was...
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