The Divide : Episode I

Ahsoka Tano crept through the Temple Archives, trying with all her will not to make a sound. If she was caught, she would surely be thrown out, and by the time she got out of whatever punishment the Masters gave her, it'd be too late.

For the past few days, Ahsoka had felt like she needed to go into the restricted section of the Archives, to find something. She didn't know what exactly, only that she'd find it here. Unfortunately, none of her teachers had believed her, and they'd even threatened to punish her if she kept asking. Worse still, she knew she had to do it soon, or else it'd be too late to find whatever the Thing was.

So Ahsoka snuck in, hoping she could sneak by the Archivists and find the Thing. She could tell she was getting close, she was almost there-

Ahsoka rounded a corner, walking face-first into someone's leg. She looked up, and her crimson skin paled as she recognized the robes of a Jedi Master.

The man looked down at her with a slight frown. Ahsoka couldn't help but shudder at the Master's grave, serious expression. He looked like a man who'd fight a pack of savage snow wolves armed with nothing but a mean scowl and win.

"And what is your name, youngling?" the Master asked.

"A-Ahsoka Tano, Master..."

"Qui-gonn Jinn, miss Tano. Tell me... what's a youngling doing in the restricted archives? You'll be in quite a bit of trouble you know."

Ahsoka averted her eyes, staring at the floor. "You won't believe me... nobody does..."

Master Jinn was silent for a moment. Then, he knelt down on one knee, staring at her. "Look at me, miss Tano," he told her. Ahsoka looked up, trying to blink away the tears she felt forming, and met master Jinn's eyes.

"Ahsoka, you are being unreasonable. You are still a child, and no matter how important you think it is, or how strongly you feel, your teachers cannot read your mind. Not if they wish to remain a part of the Order, anyways. Whatever it is, you obviously felt it was important enough to sneak into one of the most secure parts of the temple and risk serious punishment. You understand how serious this is, right?"

Ahsoka sniffled, feeling tears running down her face, and nodded her head. "P-people have b-been... stripped of the force..." she managed. Master Jinn nodded.

"I'm glad you understand. Granted, as a Youngling, you'd merely have your free time taken away for some time, but the point is you came down here knowing full well how serious this was. If you're willing to risk that, then I promise you Ahsoka, I will hear you."

Ahsoka stared at Master Jinn's face. Something about his grave, the unrelenting expression seemed... comforting. Like it was a promise, one that he'd see through to the bitter end.

"I... I don't know, Master Jinn. It just... feels important. I need to find something... I'm sorry..."

Qui-Gonn nodded slowly, eyes studying her with quiet intensity. Then he stood up and gestured forward. "Lead the way, miss Tano."

Ahsoka looked up in shock, not sure if she heard that right. "R-really? You believe me?"

Master Jinn offered the faintest of smiles. "The force is our ally, miss Tano. As a Jedi, you must learn to trust the force to guide your actions. To trust your instincts. I will accompany you, and whatever you find, I will be there."

Ahsoka hesitated for a moment. Then she rushed forward, grabbing Master's legs in a hug with an excited squeal. A moment later, she took off, trailed by a bemused Jedi Master.

-----

"I don't want to go in there " Ahsoka said, staring down the long, dark tunnel nervously.

"I will be right there with you," Qui-Gonn reassured her. Ahsoka scrunched up her face as she concentrated. Something about that didn't feel right.

"I... I have to go alone..."

Master Jinn frowned. He closed his eyes, breathing deeply as he took a moment to meditate. Ahsoka waited, Master Jinn had believed her so far, but she needed to go in alone.

"The Force is... unsettled here. I cannot sense as much as I like... but whatever guided you this far was benevolent. If you are certain, miss Tano, I will wait here."

Ahsoka didn't want to go in alone, or at all, but she knew finding the Thing was important. She went in without a word before she had a chance to lose her nerve. Master Jinn stayed behind, choosing to sit down and begin meditating.

The hall was pitch black, yet Ahsoka felt no hesitation about striding through it at her normal pace. Before she knew it, she spotted a dim, pale light at the end. Getting closer, she felt shivers on the back of her neck. It almost looked like a Holocron, like one of the ones the Jedi teachers sometimes brought out for the Youngling to learn from. But it was... off, in a nebulous way she couldn't describe. She reached out to pick it up and inspect it, but the moment her fingers touched it, something pulled.

She stared uncomprehendingly at the Holocron. Somehow it was pulling something from her through the force, draining something from her. Yet it wasn't painful, or even uncomfortable. Just... tiring. The pale light begins to brighten, and after a few moments, the draining stopped.

"I apologize for that..." a woman's voice called from behind her. She swirls around and flinched as she saw a Jedi she'd never seen before.

"Unfortunately, I couldn't afford to wait... a few moments longer, and my Holocron would have been depleted. I thank you for allowing me to replenish myself, Padawan. What is your name?"

Ahsoka stared, the woman looked nothing like a hologram. She was translucent like one, but in a misty way, not a digital way.

"A-Ahsoka Tano, Master. And, um... I'm not a Padawan, yet."

"Well met, Ahsoka. I am Revan. And you are a Padawan as of now."