Back in the Game (COMPLETE)

9.2.1

Pedro was the first to speak up among them. "Why were you gone for so long, Ahsoka? You haven't been here in forever."

She smiled softly at him. "Civilians can't come into the Jedi Temple whenever they wish to, Pedro. You know that I don't have the same rank I used to. I've also been traveling to some other systems. I haven't been on Coruscant the whole time, only for a few months."

Byph frowned. "Doesn't the High Council still know who you are?"

"I'm sure they do, but it's not that simple. This is a sacred place, and I am not a part of it anymore," she told him. This was one of the reasons the Younglings liked Ahsoka: instead of dismissing their questions, or saying 'You can't understand it,' she did her best to explain in a way they did understand.

O-Mer didn't quite agree with her, though. "Why would you not be a part of the Temple?" He asked while tousling Gungi's fur. "You still were a Jedi, even if you aren't now."

Ahsoka sighed. "Perhaps the Temple will always be in my past, but you can feel how I've changed, O-Mer. The Temple can feel it too."

Caleb drew his knees up to his chin. "Older. Different."

At that moment, she wanted to take him aside and talk, because the way he said those words almost sounded like he was accusing her. He had every right to, Ahsoka knew, but he deserved an explanation.

Katooni spoke up before she could, though. "It's so cool, though! I've never felt anything like this before. It's kind of interesting!"

Zatt nodded. "You probably learned a lot out there."

She chuckled. "I certainly did. You can learn a lot by living on your own."

"What has been your greatest lesson?" Gandhi asked, her big eyes trained on Ahsoka. "Can you tell us?"

The entire group waited for her to speak. Ahsoka tried to think of something that wouldn't scare them, or give away what she had truly been through, but would still be meaningful. She also didn't want to oppose the Jedi teachings. They were still following them, even if she wasn't. She ought to respect that.

Ahsoka thought back to her many...arguments with an old coworker, Granger. He had a deeply rooted disliking of the Jedi and one that was rationally founded. Initially, it had created a barrier between the two of them, but when it came down, Ahsoka saw that his true nature wasn't to bask and insult people, but to care for them. He was loyal to a fault and wasn't afraid to express it. She hadn't understood it, though, until she had learned about what had caused it. With this in mind, she began to speak.

"I've met a lot of people in the past few months," she began, looking at each of the others in turn. "Some of them have done things or acted in ways I don't agree with. Not all of the things I did made sense to them either, but that was because none of them had ever received Jedi training. I realized, though, that it was the same for them. I had never been through the things that they had experienced. Those events changed them and made them into who they are now. I realized that I won't understand the people I meet until I know where they come from."

The others took in her steady words, mulling over the meaning in their minds. "I guess it makes sense," Gungi said. "It is a part of who they are."

"Isn't that kind of obvious, though?" Jinx asked. "Doesn't that apply to everyone?"

Ahsoka smirked slightly. "It does, but have you applied it to everyone?"

Jinx shrugged, unsure of where Ahsoka might be going with the conversation. "I think so."

"Have you applied it to the Trandoshans?" She asked, and he fell silent.

The Twi'lek looked to O-Mer, looking for an answer to Ahsoka's question, but he looked as disturbed as Jinx. The two of them, who remembered all too well the many years they had spent evading their hunters, were at a loss for words. Caleb was also speechless because he had heard the story of their escape more than once. The Younglings, who hadn't been told yet, were confused but understood that the tension in the group had risen.

Ahsoka went on, quietly. "It's easy to understand with people you're familiar with because you already know their story. It's more difficult with strangers, or enemies, but every person, every creature, every being in the galaxy has a reason for acting the way they do. Sometimes, when you discover someone's past, it explains the present, and the 'bad guys' don't seem so evil anymore."

No one spoke for a moment, then Katooni asked in a soft voice: "Do the Separatists have a story too?"

The Togruta nodded. "Every single one."

The weight of her words rested on their minds, churning inside their heads. Pedro shifted his weight and asked, "Is every Separatist good then?"

"Not everyone," Ahsoka admitted, "but some of them are just like the people that live on Coruscant. The only difference is where they live. Most of them don't even want the war to happen."

"At least the battle droids don't have stories," O-Mer joked, breaking the silence. "Otherwise, that would be a little awkward."

Everyone laughed, grateful for the release, but the words still worked their way into their heads and stayed long after that day.

Jinx was suddenly tackled by an orange Twi'lek girl from behind. He groaned and pretended to be wounded, and the other Younglings laughed at their play. "Oh! Ahsoka, you haven't met her yet," Katooni exclaimed. "She's a new Youngling that Master Plo rescued from the Inquisitor. Her name is Lura."

Ahsoka stared at the little girl who was hugging Jinx. As a matter of fact, Ahsoka almost had met her, seeing as she used to be the Inquisitor. She had tried to kidnap the child but did her best to fail so that the Jedi Master could take her instead. Plo Koon had not disappointed.

For a moment, Ahsoka was afraid that the girl would only remember her as her predator. When Lura looked at her, she froze, and although the others around her were encouraging her to go say hi, she hesitated.

"Is the red gone?" She asked cautiously, facing the Togruta.

Ahsoka nodded solemnly. "Yes. It's just me now."

In response, Lura ran and hugged Ahsoka, trusting in the one who had made the red girl go away. Ahsoka held her close, grateful for the blind trust of someone so little, so innocent. If she believed Ahsoka was safe, then maybe she really was.

She wasn't surprised that the girl was so intuitive about Ahsoka's nature. She had been the same was as a Youngling. Children were often adept at one area of the Force, but lacking in all others until trained. Lura, like Ahsoka, was talented at sensing who to trust and who was dangerous.

Pulling away and stroking her face gently, Ahsoka caught a glimpse of the clock on the wall behind Lura. It was about the time that the Jedi ate their evening meal, but with the chaos from earlier, Ahsoka doubted the Knights would be serving the Younglings and Padawans their food. Not with the crisis at hand.

"Who's hungry?" she asked, and nearly everyone in the room raised their hand. The other Padawans began to corral the little ones to the mess hall, and even though Ahsoka never wanted to eat another serving of rations again, she forced herself to smile as she helped serve the children.

If there was one thing Ahsoka did not miss about the Jedi Order, it was the food.