Star Wars: Ahsoka

Makala went off to sulk while the rest of the girls laughed. They started talking about learning to fly, a family requirement, and all the other things they’d done since Ahsoka had left. Eventually, as the sun lowered in the sky, they began to wander off in search of their dinners, and just Chenna, Ahsoka, and Hedala were left sitting in the courtyard. Hedala was seated on Chenna’s lap, and the older girl was brushing her fingers through Hedala’s straight black hair. By this time, Ahsoka had figured out that Chenna was Hedala’s sister and took special care of her on that account.

“Did you see terrible things out there, Ashla?” Chenna asked. “You can tell me in front of Hedala. Nothing scares her.”

“Yes,” Ahsoka said. It was important that Hedala know, but Chenna needed to hear it, too, if she wanted to survive. “The people I met suffered, and there wasn’t anything I could do about it.”

“So you left them?” Chenna asked. She held Hedala tighter, and the little girl squirmed.

“It was more complicated than that,” Ahsoka said. “They went into hiding, and I couldn’t hide with them.”

“Why not?” Chenna asked.

Ahsoka considered it for a moment and then selected a lie that held just enough truth to be reasonable.

“There aren’t so many Togruta at large in the galaxy that I fit into a crowd,” she said. “It would be different if I were Twi’lek, and it would be very different if I were human, but I’m neither. I’m not ashamed of who I am, but I have to be extra careful because of it.”

“We all look like each other, everyone in my family,” Hedala said. She had the manner of someone reciting a lesson, which Ahsoka reasoned was why she sounded suddenly mature. “Our long hair and our brown skin. People don’t try to tell us apart, and we fool them. It helped us avoid the shadow, and it keeps us safe from the law. I wish you looked like us, too.”

“My smart baby sister,” Chenna said. Her tone was full of warmth, and it made something inside Ahsoka ache. Hedala was too young to be so wise, and she would never get to prove her cleverness to Master Yoda like she should. “It’s probably all thanks to my influence.”

Ahsoka laughed, and the Fardi girls laughed with her. She was safe enough for now.

Chapter 18

IT WAS FIVE DAYS before Ahsoka managed to get Hedala alone. She spent that time working on one of the bigger Fardi transports, tuning the engine and installing a new compressor. She didn’t ask what the cargo would be. The Fardis were welcoming because she was useful, but they weren’t about to tell her the secrets of their operation. Frankly, Ahsoka wasn’t sure she wanted to know.

In the end, Hedala sought her out, padding into Ahsoka’s tiny room in the family compound after she was supposed to be in bed. Ahsoka had wanted to turn down the offer to stay in the family house but couldn’t think of a way to do it politely. Her old house had been taken over by someone else, and she couldn’t sleep on the ship. It wasn’t like she had a lot of options. The house was loud and noisy, but at least she could keep an eye on things.

“Sit, little one.” She said it the way she might have spoken to a Jedi youngling.

Hedala sat down on Ahsoka’s bed platform. She crossed her bare feet and put her hands on her knees. It was Ahsoka’s favored position for meditation, and she mirrored the little girl without thinking about it.

“Hedala, I need you to tell me about the shadow,” Ahsoka said. “Anything you can remember about it. Can you do that?”

“Yes,” Hedala said. “I never saw it, but I knew that it was here, in the city.”

“How did you know?” Ahsoka asked. “I mean, how did you know if you couldn’t see it?”

“I could feel it,” Hedala said. “Like I feel the sun when it’s too hot, only dark, not light.”

“And then one day it was just gone?” Ahsoka asked.

“Yes.” The little girl tapped her fingers on her knees.

Ahsoka considered how best to proceed. She didn’t want to terrify the child completely, but she did want her to be cautious. She wished she’d spent more time with younglings. Master Yoda always seemed good at talking to them. She tried to imagine what he would say and then found herself fighting off unexpected giggles when she remembered Master Yoda’s unique way of talking. Maybe that was why the younglings had liked him so much.

“You were very smart to stay out of the shadow’s way,” Ahsoka told her. “It’s always wiser to wait and learn when something is unfamiliar and scary.”

“I didn’t tell anyone,” Hedala said. “Do you think that was foolish? I didn’t think they would believe me.”

“But you knew I would?” Ahsoka asked.

“Chenna says that well-traveled people always believe more things,” Hedala said matter-of-factly. “They have seen more, so they have bigger imaginations.”

“Chenna might be right,” Ahsoka said. “I think you were right to keep the shadow to yourself. It’s easier to hide from something like that if no one else is looking for it.”

“I’m very good at hiding,” Hedala said.