Chapter Ten: Obi-Wan's Counsel

                                    

                                          
AHSOKA TANO
                          
“I cannot put it into words how glad I am to see you alive, young Ahsoka.” Obi-Wan Kenobi sipped his mug of a hot drink. “And that you managed to get sixteen padawans out of the Temple. This is very good news. And you say that Lux Bonteri was involved?”
                          
At the mention of Lux’s name, Ahsoka felt gentle pinpricks in her eyes, signifying the presence of possible tears. She took a deep breath. “Yes. He bought me a ship and supplies to keep the Order going – for now. He was… fond of me.”
                          
“As you are of him?”
                          
Her breath caught in her throat, and she stared at him. “How did you know?”
                          
“I would be a fool if I hadn’t noticed. Well, perhaps I am a fool, to allow this calamity to happen,” he said with a sigh. She had never seen him look so deflated, and without his usual ‘Obi-Wan’ spark in his eyes.
                          
“No, no, you’re a great Master. We all blame ourselves for actions that had nothing to do with us. Those to blame are the Emperor and Ana–Darth Vader.”
                          
He smiled sadly at her. “You are very wise for your age, Ahsoka. May I hear how you knew about this attack in the first place?”
                          
“Yes, of course.” She told him the nearest account to the complete story, with the exception of the kissing episodes with Lux. She would get a shudder of pleasure, which would then fade into regret, at the memories of the sweet kisses shared between them.
                          
She banished the thought from her mind. And yet… she could feel him, far away. She let her subconscious self take over her narrative, and pushed harder for the presence… There. He was in an Imperial starship above Coruscant, and she could detect a blackened aura beside his. But there was something odd about it. Lux’s presence was laced with veins of velvety black lightening.
                          
Suddenly she could almost see them. Lux turned towards her and smiled a ghastly smile. His eyes were yellow rimmed with red.
                          
Her vision went black.
                          

                          
“There we go. Rest easy,” said a voice. It was Obi-Wan’s. It took her a moment to register the words and their speaker. A cool cloth was applied to her face. She decided to open her eyes.
                          
She was on a couch in the room that she had been in with Obi-Wan earlier. He removed the cloth from her face and looked down at her.
                          
“You had a premonition,” he said in a knowing way. “You stopped talking all of a sudden, and then you fell into an unconscious spell. I didn’t want to disturb you, in case you were learning something important.”
                          
“I was,” she replied, trying to collect her thoughts. “I think that what I saw was something that’s happening right now. I saw the Emperor. Lux was standing beside him, and his eyes were yellow with red around them.”
                          
“Like Darth Vader’s?”
                          
“Like… like Anakin’s.”
                          
He stroked his beard a little, in deep thought. “Well, I can think of several courses of action that you might follow. Either you could ignore the obvious threat to Lux’s life, and focus on this ‘Lost Wind’ mystery, or the reverse; or you can see Master Yoda about the situation, or consult him for both.”
                          
“Wait, what? Let me get the facts straight. Master Yoda is alive?” She was dumbstruck. But it was true that Yoda was the wisest and most powerful of the Jedi. It wasn’t unlikely that he had survived.
                          
“Yes. I believe that he is currently in the Dagobah system. You could seek him out.” He was completely unperturbed by her surprised reaction.
                          
“But if you’re both alive and well, then why don’t you join the New Jedi Order with me? Then we would have two Masters to teach us, and a real Grand Jedi Master to lead–”
                          
“No, Ahsoka. This is you destiny, your path to follow. Ours are tied to young Luke’s. I think that he has a future importance that will only become apparent if I stay here. And that way,” he said with a smile, “I can give him this when the time is right.”
                          
He walked over to a small chest in a corner. He opened it, and took a small, metallic object out from inside. The sight of it made her hand fly involuntarily to her face.
                          
It was Anakin’s lightsaber.