Sean still tried to dissuade Asoka from participating in the race, but both men unexpectedly took her side.
"Don't worry, sir," said Plok Koon with his characteristic calm confidence, looking at the agitated father.
"I would participate myself, but I don't know how," Eleot supported him, and the three of them went to Watto to negotiate a deal for tomorrow. As soon as they had left the house, Asoka immediately asked the Master:
"Tell me, are you a Jedi?
"How did you guess?" he asked in turn, not at all surprised by the girl's insight. Meanwhile, the excitement in the Force showed no signs of abating; on the contrary, it was growing exponentially.
"It's very simple," Tano replied without boasting, adjusting her shirt. "I saw your ship on the landing pad. It had the emblem of the Republic on it, although it was faded. Then I noticed your lightsaber — that's a Jedi weapon. You must have come here to free us.
Such hope rang out in her voice that it was very difficult for the Magister to respond:
"I'm sorry, but freeing slaves is not a Jedi's duty, however," he hastened to add before Ahsoka could object, "we must help those in trouble, as our Code dictates.
"And what does the Code say about wanting to join the Order?" Asoka was so happy to finally see the Jedi that she rushed to ask them all the questions she had been wondering about. This was the most pressing one, and Plo understood this and tried to explain as clearly as possible:
"You see, the Order traditionally accepts those who are not yet four years old, that is, without free will, based on their sensitivity to the Force. However, there have been exceptions when a candidate was older than the age specified in the Code, but the decision on whether to accept him or not is made by our Council.
"Could he accept me?" Asoka asked the main question, the answer to which meant a lot to her, but she was unable to get it yet, because they had reached Watto's shop. The Teidorian, already well aware of the races, was eagerly preparing for them, putting forward his own candidate — the repulsive Sebulba, Asoka's eternal rival in the races, so that they could then drink away the winnings together. Hearing that the Jedi had come to see him, Watto straightened up and even spread his wings, but as soon as they offered him a deal, he clicked his teeth sceptically:
"Hmm, and what do you want if the girl wins?
"You sell us her kar, we'll improve it so much that it will be worth more than the day we bought it, and in return you give Asoka and her father their freedom," Plo laid out his terms. Watto thought for a moment, obviously weighing the pros and cons, and apparently deciding that the pros outweighed the cons, he laughed contemptuously:
"Hahahaha, you want too much for one victory and two slaves, although I'm sure Sebulba will win anyway!
"In that case, we'll only talk about the girl," the Master conceded, not rushing to reveal his personal interest in the situation. He would tell them later, but for now he continued negotiations with the repulsive slave owner. The latter had come up with a new game of chance, which, unlike the Master, he believed in:
"No, that won't do. Let's play republican roulette! Let's throw this dice and imagine that the red side is the girl and the blue side is her father! The edge means the deal is off! Go ahead!"
Immediately, a dice the size of a palm appeared from the depths of the counter. Watto tossed it up, and it somersaulted in the air, landing with a thud on the table, standing on its edge, but only for a split second, because in the next one it swayed and fell on its side, looking at the ceiling with its scarlet side.
"Sleight of hand and no cheating, right, teacher?" Eleot asked him mentally, seeing how his mentor, using only the Force, had dropped the cube, but in reality had only winked slyly at him. The teacher nodded in response. The deal was done, and Watto, gritting his teeth, ordered him to come to the Beggar's Canyon at eight o'clock tomorrow morning. He hated losing and sincerely believed that this time would not be the first in that sense.
"It will, Watto, it will," Asoka would have thought, if she could read minds, because she, like both Jedi, believed, if not in victory, then certainly in a successful race, even though her rivals were mostly adults and experienced racers.
"Why have you never won?" Phil asked, as if he had overheard her thoughts, as they walked back to Ahsoka's house, where they had decided to spend the night.
"The first time, I almost won, but on the home stretch, Sebulba blinded me with his exhaust fumes and I flew off to the side, leaving the track," Tano said confidentially, sensing her audience's gratitude. "And the second time, some overly nimble Twi'lek just knocked me off the track into a ditch and then charged me for the broken car.
"Don't worry, we'll fix your vehicle tonight, and remember — trust the Force and the whole world will open up to you," said Plo, trying to calm the girl down. "By the way, tell me about your life, I'm interested to know everything."
They had already arrived and were sitting on a bench in the courtyard of Asoka's house, deciding to repair the car after dinner. Asoka spoke a lot and passionately, enjoying the opportunity to openly talk about what she wanted and what her soul craved most. Plô listened attentively and replied with only one sentence:
"If the Council approves, your life will be difficult.
But Asoka, with her keen perception, heard what worried her most:
"So you agree to take me in? I'll try really hard, I promise!"
The Master did not know how to respond. He was accustomed to trusting the Force, but now it was saying very contradictory things, so he tried to answer in a way that would give him time to think about it and interpret these strange messages:
"The race will decide that. Think about it first, because a Jedi must be able to reject what is unnecessary and focus on what is more important at the moment.
Fortunately for him, Asoka's father called her to help set the table for dinner, and the girl ran into the house. Eleot came in and sat down next to the teacher, asking with his usual directness:
"Teacher, tell me honestly, why did you decide to help this family? As you yourself correctly pointed out, the Jedi have no obligation to free slaves.
Plo thought for a moment, but decided to share his thoughts with his student. After all, he also had the right to know where the Force was leading them this time:
"You see, Phil, I told you when we were flying to Tatooine that I was sensing a powerful disturbance in the Force, the likes of which I had never felt before. Now, as you know, there are two sides to the Force. We study the light side, and the other, the dark side, is studied by the Sith..." Phil looked at his mentor, rubbing his cheek with his hand. He already knew all this, but it never hurt to remember, and this was not knowledge that could be ignored. "Now, there is a prophecy that someday a very special adept of the Force will appear in our galaxy who will be able to end the long-standing conflict between two truths, only one of which can emerge victorious. We have all been waiting for this prophet for many decades, and perhaps we have now found him.
"So, you mean... Eleot couldn't bring himself to voice what he had guessed, as the assumption sounded too absurd. Just as absurd as the identity of the candidate for this role, but apparently the teacher thought otherwise, because without losing his former seriousness, he expressed his Padawan's thoughts in one sentence:
"Yes, you're right. There's something about this girl. And I think I can persuade the Council to accept her into the Order and give me permission to train her. She could become a true Jedi.
Asoka appeared, followed by Jar Jar, who called them to the table. It was there that Master Plo finally decided to talk to Sean about Asoka's future, about her desire to join the Order, about the abilities that were evident in the daughter of this hard-working Togrut. But first he asked:
"Tell me, who was Ahsoka's mother, and where is she now?
Ahsoka froze, waiting for her father to respond. He was usually reluctant to discuss this topic. Now, Sean also did not seem particularly eager to talk about his daughter's origins, responding with an insultingly vague answer:
"Asoka had no mother. She came into this world without her. She is only my daughter.
With these words, he hugged her and stroked her head, obviously remembering how she had appeared. The girl, in turn, thought again, believing that such an answer would clearly not satisfy the Jedi, but the opposite happened. The Master's face relaxed, and something resembling pleasure appeared in his eyes, the kind you get when, after a long search, you finally find what you've been looking for. But Asoka felt disappointed once again, as she still hadn't managed to find out anything about her mother. Even now, when she might be leaving her home for a long time, if not forever. Only now did it suddenly dawn on her that she would not only be leaving Tatooine, as she had long dreamed of, but would also be forced to part with her father, whom she had never been apart from for a single day. And this would leave a bitter taste in her mouth for a long time, even if she were to succeed. Fortunately, she didn't have to think about it for long, because evening was falling and the car needed to be repaired, so the girl, accompanied by the Jedi and the ever-present Gungan, went to the backyard. Her local friends had already heard about the races and immediately came to her to help with the repairs and offer moral support. Incidentally, the repairs weren't very serious; they just needed to straighten the cabin, tighten some wires and touch up the paint. Ahsoka took on the second, most difficult task, while the boys did the first, and Jar Jar, without being asked, offered to help. Asoka sighed and handed him the tools, knowing that he wouldn't leave her alone anyway, and that this way he might at least shut up, because his empty chatter was giving many people a headache. And he wouldn't have left her alone, but even after getting the job he wanted, Binks didn't even think of keeping quiet.
"Ahsoka, this is a big deal! I'm happy to help you!" the Gungan chattered, taking out the tools.
"I'll do everything perfectly! My great Master!" he shouted to the whole of Mos Espa.
"Watch out, don't put your hand under the beam," Ahsoka warned, noticing that he had started welding the wheels with a laser. "Otherwise, it will be numb for at least an hour."
Jar Jar heard her and, even more surprisingly, managed to understand correctly — don't stick your hands under the beam. Well, he wouldn't anyway, why take such a risk when the Gungans have something better, their long and flexible tongues. It's even easier for them to reach a part that has fallen under the car.
"Aaaah!" he cried a second later. "Apho, where did my jaw go? My jaw is numb..."
"Just keep quiet, it'll be fine in an hour," advised the Togruta, hoping that now she would at least be able to enjoy some peace and quiet for a while. She hoped in vain.
"My leg is broken," moaned the gunungan, continuing to jump. "My leg is broken!"
Asoka could only sigh and continue twisting the wires, some of which were very inconveniently located and difficult to reach, but in the end she succeeded, albeit with a few minor losses.
"Finally!" she breathed with relief, looking at the result of their joint efforts. The car gleamed like new, even better than on the day she bought it. Asoka looked at it, imagining how it would race along the canyon road tomorrow. Suddenly, she froze, feeling a sharp pain in her right arm. Looking down, she saw a rather large and deep abrasion stretching from her wrist to her elbow. How on earth had she managed that, and, remarkably, without even noticing? Now it would hurt for a long time. The girl was so deep in thought that she didn't notice the Master sitting down next to her. Yes, it seemed that she wasn't noticing much at all right now.
"Well, I see someone's had a bit of bad luck," he said with good-natured irony and reached into one of his belt pockets. "Sit still, I'll clean up that scratch.
Only now did Asoka see that he was holding a small bottle with something yellow-brown in it and two sterile wipes. The Master dripped some of the strange liquid with a sharp smell onto one of the wipes and deftly wiped the bleeding scratch, warning her that it might sting a little, then stuck the other wipe on top to prevent infection.
"There you go," he said with satisfaction and, for some reason, instead of throwing away the dirty napkin, he reached into his pocket again and pulled out a small device of unknown purpose, similar to a datapad, only slightly smaller. He placed the napkin on its left edge and the screen immediately lit up.
"What are you doing?" asked Asoka, not quite understanding the Jedi's actions.
"I'm checking your blood, in case you've contracted an infection," explained the Master, not yet ready to tell the truth, and only when Asoka called her father again was Plo finally able to contact the medical corps laboratory at the Jedi Temple to inquire about the results of the blood sample he had sent:
"Give me the exact number of midi-chlorians," he said, stating what was of primary interest to him.
"Over twenty thousand. The counter is off the charts," the lab worker replied readily. "Who's that? Even Master Yoda has less."
"And four times more than me," added Eleot, who was sitting nearby. The Master glared at him, urging him to be quiet. All doubts were dispelled, and the Council could be convened. The prophecy was true. The chosen one had been found. All that remained was to wait for him to fulfil it. And how.
***
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