Anakin kept his word and behaved as befits a Jedi for the next six months. He trained hard, getting used to his prosthesis, and then immediately went to the library to review the theory once again. Anakin firmly decided to stop thinking about Ahsoka and not even look for her anymore, which wasn't difficult, considering that the situation in the galaxy had become even more tense than six months ago. Almost every day, armed clashes broke out on one planet or another with the troops of the Trade Federation, and the Order was struggling to cope with the conflict that threatened to plunge the entire galaxy into chaos and desolation. As a Knight, Asoka had to attend such negotiations on a regular basis, sometimes with one of the Masters, and sometimes even alone. Such was the case now, when several Masters and Knights were scattered across planets where KNS combat droid squads had landed almost simultaneously. Asoke was assigned to Christophsis, the only habitable planet in the Christoph system. Its entire surface was covered with grey-green crystals, inside which the inhabitants built their homes. In peacetime, it was a very beautiful and unforgettable sight, but now Caledonia, the capital of Christophsis, was simply painful to look at. The KNS had blockaded the planet and set itself the goal of kidnapping, or rather simply coming and taking all the valuable minerals and appropriating the food supplies, the planet's main export. The people did not give up without a fight and were prepared to stand to the last, but in the end they turned to the Order. In the end, because the beautiful and mesmerising world of Christophsis, untouched by human hands, was now a dumping ground for broken crystals, some of which could have been used for lightsabers. Asoka's heart ached at the sight of such barbarism, followed by rage towards the vile separatists, whose equally repulsive droids with their thin necks and elongated heads had brought the planet to such a terrible state. Only one thing stopped the girl — she didn't know how she could handle all this alone. There were a threatening number of droids, coming from all directions and simply sweeping away anyone who didn't want to leave on their own. On top of that, they were surrounded by a protective field that prevented anyone from getting close to them. The only thing that made Asoka happy was that there was another ship at the landing site, a very familiar one, even dear to her, belonging to her former teacher.
"He still cares about me," thought the nineteen-year-old girl as she descended the gangway. "He can't believe I've grown up. Although, it's nice, and sometimes it comes in handy. Today, for example, I can't imagine how I would have cut through all that metal on my own. I may have two swords, but I only have the strength of one person. Or rather, one togruta, but what's the difference? Oh, hello, teacher. What? Did I say that out loud? Silly, silly me! I must quickly correct myself and smile more charmingly, or he'll think I'm not happy to see him.
"Greetings, Master, I am very grateful to you for your support. I wonder which of us will get how much?" she asked, unable to resist.
"Hello, Asoka, depending on what you mean, if you're talking about bruises, then you have a good chance of beating me in an argument," laughed Plo, glad that even in such a difficult situation, Asoka had not changed and remained as direct and cheerful as only she could be.
"Do scrapes and bumps count?" she asked, also starting to laugh. "If so, get ready, it'll take a while to count them all. You'll have at least a hundred."
"That's not fair, Asoka," Plo quickly seized on her mistake. "You have less body surface area.
"But you have more room to manoeuvre," retorted the Togruta, and seeing the approaching enemy army, she quickly gathered herself and activated her swords. She was always like that, cheerful and playful, but in moments of danger, she quickly gathered herself and went into battle, fighting to the last breath and then sleeping for days in her room. The roar of the rancor couldn't wake him up, and Plo knew that better than anyone else. Although now was not the time for fun, and he, activating his blade before his former student, rushed from the other side into the thick of the droids firing left and right. Red blaster bolts flew off the blue, green, and rainbow-coloured blades, sometimes to the side, sometimes hitting the shooters themselves, causing them to fall motionless. Several hours of continuous battle passed before the two Jedi could even breathe freely. At least for a while. They were able to rest a little and have a bite to eat, which was provided by the grateful inhabitants of the planet.
"I suspect that's not all," said Ahsoka, taking a bite of a berry pie.
"You're right. Look at the field in an hour or so and you'll see that 'not all' is an understatement," agreed Plo, calming his former student a little. "But don't let your excitement spoil your wonderful appetite. Reinforcements will arrive soon. And perhaps my new Padawan.
The Master uttered the last words with an unusual intonation, which sounded like a conspiracy.
"Really? You didn't mention that you were going to take on a new apprentice," the Togruta said in surprise, washing it down with fruit compote.
"As you can see, I'm still full of surprises," the Master continued in the same tone. "What's more, I believe you are now mature enough to do it yourself."
"What? Did I hear you right?" Asoka was so shocked that she jumped up from the bench and, pressing her palms to her cheeks, paced around him. "You're offering me a Padawan?"
"I'm completely serious," the Master replied calmly. "I believe you would make a good mentor."
"I don't think so. A student will only distract me. You can see what the situation is like right now. We're on the brink of war, and now a student will take away the time we don't have," Ahsoka categorically disagreed with Plo, firmly deciding in her heart that even if she was forced to train someone, she would resist with all her might. And she would not give up without a fight, even if it was the same as before.
"Yes, Master, you were right, I think I defeated you," thought the Togruta, rubbing the bump above her right eyebrow left by the droid's severed hand. However, Plo was too tired to read Ahsoka's thoughts; it was preferable for him to continue engaging her in his topic:
"Ahsoka, understand, being a mentor is a very honourable mission, and teaching the younger generation is part of a Jedi's duties.
"No, don't even ask, or else quickly hide this poor apprentice who has a difficult fate ahead of him," Ahsoka said wearily, covering her eyes with her hand, pretending it was from the sunlight, but in reality so that her teacher would not see the expression of doomed despair at the realisation that she would have to take the Padawan after all. Oh, if only it could be later. But the Force had other plans.
"I'm sure you'll do well, especially considering that you'll only be a few years older than him and you haven't forgotten what it's like to be a teenager yourself. You'll be able to understand how a student feels better than I do," Plo continued to persuade her, glad that thanks to his mask, Ahsoka couldn't see the sly smile creeping across his face.
"I doubt I'll be able to do it. Enthusiasm alone isn't enough; experience is also important," Tano objected, leaning back.
"Experience comes with practice," replied the teacher, looking towards the ship already visible on the horizon. "Here comes the promised reinforcement," he added, pointing to the growing dot.
"It looks like it," muttered Togruta, getting up from the bench so they could go together to meet the new fighters and explain everything to them. But how surprised they both were when, after the ship landed and the gangway was lowered, a single passenger descended, and he looked nothing like a fighter from the newly created clone army. The light of the setting sun hit his back, so his face remained in shadow for a long time, revealing only his tall, though still youthful, thin figure, beige overalls, and blond hair cut short, as required by the regulations. Only at his right shoulder had one of his thick strands been deliberately grown out and braided into a tight paduan braid. Judging by all appearances, this was the apprentice. But why now? Why here? In the hottest spot? Nevertheless, since he was here, she had to at least meet him, not send him back without even saying hello. Meanwhile, Master Plo was already near the ship, talking to the young emissary. Only a few words reached Asoka:
"Greetings, I am glad to see you in your new capacity. I hope you understand that being a student is not only a great honour but also a great responsibility, both for me and for you. However, I have enough experience to structure your training in the right way," began Plo, confident that it was his duty to teach this new recruit. The latter looked up in confusion and, after a couple of seconds of silence, shifted from foot to foot, slightly embarrassed, and replied to the Master:
"I'm sorry, but I think there's been a mistake. Master Yoda said that I was assigned to train with Knight Thano.
At this point, Asoka could no longer contain herself. She jumped up to both of them, looked at the apprentice with a stern gaze, and, not yet realising who was in front of her, said, enunciating each word carefully:
"Yes, that's right, there's been a serious mistake. I wasn't going to take a student, but he was going to — she pointed to her former teacher, who also seemed confused. The newly arrived Padawan clarified the situation:
"The Council appointed me this morning, and since we didn't hear from you, they decided to send me as a messenger.
"What? But we sent you a distress signal and waited for reinforcements," Asoka said puzzledly to her student's back.
"Obviously, the separatists are jamming the communications," said Plo, expressing the general opinion. "Let's try to contact the ship.
"Greetings, Master Plo," said the hologram of Kenobi, appearing in the middle of the round disc of the communication device. "Did the Padawan arrive safely?"
"Greetings, Master. We need reinforcements soon," said the Kel Dor, rubbing his chin. "The droid army continues to arrive."
"Master Kenobi!" Asoka cried out, running up to him. "Explain to me what is going on behind my back! By what right did you impose a student on me without even asking if I was ready for this or if I even wanted to teach anyone!
"Knight Tano, calm down," Obi-Wan said sternly. "Now is not the time to argue about such trifles. At the moment, we must focus on liberating the planet. We will send reinforcements today, and we will resolve the other issues later, upon our return to Coruscant."
With that, Kenobi turned away, signalling that the conversation was over, and soon the hologram began to flicker and then faded away completely. Ahsoka bit her lip in annoyance and stamped her foot. She felt uncomfortable and ashamed, as if she had been publicly humiliated, pointed out for the nonsense she was preoccupied with while real trouble was going on around her. And it seemed that the Master shared her opinion, looking at her reproachfully, and Asoka quickly pulled herself together, ashamed of her childish outburst, and even a second later counted it as a plus for her situation.
"There, you see," she said mentally to all twelve Masters of the Council, "What kind of teacher am I? I'm just a child myself, who still has a lot to learn. I can't even control my emotions!"
And with that thought, she kicked the bulkhead hard and, limping slightly, trudged after her teacher. The Padawan followed her and, thank the Force, remained silent, otherwise he would have heard everything. The commander of the clone army, Captain Rex, was already waiting for them near the ship. He looked more serious and older than the other fighters, although in reality his appearance was no different from the others, who were all copies of the prototype — the shameful deserter Jango Fett, who had still not been found. He paced back and forth, glancing at the ship, waiting for the generals to emerge. When he saw them approaching, he said with a surprised smile:
"Commander Tano, you've made up your mind after all? You've taken on a student, unexpectedly, considering how much you didn't want to half an hour ago.
"Well, you've added fuel to the fire, thank you, Captain," Asoka thought indignantly, but aloud she said, trying to speak calmly and evenly, as befits a true commander:
"That's right, Captain, this youngling has nothing to do with me.
To confirm her words, she took a few steps forward so that the annoying "tail" of the younger generation would fall behind her a little and they wouldn't even look like they belonged together. However, the insolent boy clearly did not agree with the role assigned to him and, in a single second, overcoming the distance set by the troop, said loudly, addressing everyone but looking at only one:
"Actually, I'm a Padawan, and not just anyone's, but yours, General Shpilka.
Not stopping there, he approached Asoka closely and, standing sideways to her, took her elbow possessively. Such insolence made the girl turn around and freeze, swallowing all the barbs she had prepared for this insolent man, leaving only one for the person who had come up with this idea:
"Master Yoda, you are just an old, self-important bore," she muttered, burning with anger at the elderly head of the Council who had dared to revive this exchange of barbs.
***
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