“It would be naive to think advancements were only limited to military applications Ms. Tano.” Quinlan Vos stated as calmly as he could manage, finding the Togruta’s lack of trust in the claims infuriating. “Regarding your….”
“She’s not a clone!” Ahsoka cut him off, dueling with her own sentiments regarding such an outlandish claim.
“...hesitation, all I ask is a moment to prove my claim.” Vos continued. “Let me either prove or disprove it for the good of everyone Ahsoka, if it is indeed true, we have far more to worry about than mobile battle stations…”
Ahsoka could think of no counter argument to the proposition, understanding the dire nature of the threats involved, regardless of her emotional stance on the subject. She crossed her arms before her, clenching the elbows tight with her palms, “only if she agrees to it Master Vos.”
Quinlan smiled slightly, trying his best to arrange his features in the best manner to convey his sincerity, “Quinlan...please, I insist.” He said in a measured and calm voice as he turned to Kowani, “and do you?”
Kowani had yet to compose herself, her mouth wide open begging for words that wouldn’t come. Her eyes thrown wide, in search of a defense far beyond the one voiced by Ahsoka. Kowani felt compressed one second, as if all her internal organs were pressing together, than dispersed the next, a numbness with source flowing freely through her. She felt the flows of the Force, strong as they were, jumble into stagnated confusion, mirroring the complexity of her own cognitive state. She felt as if she were being swallowed into the maw Lake Naath had become only moments before, without lifeline or direction, sinking and lost with no hope of retrieval. Kowani felt something on her shoulder and spun her gaze in a wild assortment of directions to find the source, yet her eyes yielded nothing but colorful blurs of motion on which she couldn’t focus.
“It’ll be alright kid….either way.” A gruff voice said as she felt a hand squeeze her shoulder.
“Ani…..Ani….quiet your mind. Find my voice and focus on it. Close your eyes and follow my voice.” She felt it was Ahsoka but couldn’t be certain, her mind whirling beyond control.
Kowani felt an added pressure at her ankles, pinning her feet to the mottled decking under her boots. The pressure provided her with a focal point beyond words and gentle touches, something she could use to begin restoring order to the instant chaotic mess she had become. She was able to follow the soothing words enough to close her eyes, which at first brought a maddening dizziness that required a few minutes to clear. She pressed her focus toward the grounding sensation at her feet, using it to anchor her own recovery. She felt the pressure lighten then intensify in a certain rhythm and decided to breath along with its measure, providing a stable conduit with which to recenter herself entirely. Finally, Kowani redirected the Force flows in the manner they determined for themselves, allowing her to feed off the nourishing peace they provided. She opened her eyes in clear focus, Ahsoka kneeling in front of her, both of her palms resting gently on her own knees and Rex beside her, his hand moving in calming motions between her shoulder blades. She tried to speak but only croaked with a parched throat. A canteen appeared within her reach, Kowani following the offering hand up to see Nara standing above her. She drew the contents of the canteen in a quick gulp, its contents nourishing the will to speak the words that were beginning to clarify themselves in her mind. Kowani looked down quickly, seeing Mushi’s head resting gently on her boots, his eyes closed and body lifting in the same rhythm she was breathing.
“Ani...Master Vos…,Quinlan, will need your hand for this….are you ok with that?” Ahsoka asked lightly, as a whisper.
Kowani looked her in the eye, wanting to unleash a torrent of her inward emotion but saw only the caring friend, Ahsoka’s own eyes wide with concern. “Yes. I need to know.”
Everyone shifted in the confined space to allow the aged Jedi Master to seat himself before Kowani, Quinlan slowly doing so with audible groans of protest. “Not what I once was…” he offered lightly to the final pop of his left knee as it fell into place.
“You can say that again…” Rex offered, insistent on maintaining the semblance of levity.
Quinlan offered his open hands before him, opening the door for Kowani to grab them when she felt she was ready. Kowani stared at them with a balance of intrigue and horror, truthfully wanting to know but fearing what may be a truth for which she wasn’t prepared. ‘Truth,’ she thought to herself. Something she had always sought no matter where it led her… “Truth.” She blurted out and forcefully pressed her hands into the Kiffar’s weathered palms.
Kowani felt a sudden inrush of nostalgia working its way through her mind and body, although she couldn’t see anything through her thoughts that sourced it. She felt waves of joy and opposing grief. Solemnity and a wild euphoria conjoining themselves into ribbons of emotional bewilderment that she couldn’t place. Echoes of friends long since dead on Keno, jumbled themselves with orders she opposed, voiced by commanders she hated, never once offering her a visual glimpse of the commotion. Bits of fused dialogue between a host of allies and the chirping diatribe of R3 built themselves into a tapestry of audible peace through her mind scape. She felt the aged hands of the old man release hers in a manner she did not expect.
“Your memory only goes back to the exploits of Keno I am afraid.” Quinlan said with an uncomfortable level of exasperation. The comment sounding more like a question than a statement to Ahsoka. “Five years…” He said with dying breath, shaking his head through his own confusion.
“What is it?” Ahsoka asked, her gaze flitting between the two participants.
Quinlan stretched a hand to the stubble at his chin, pinching lightly at his own flesh, “Retrocognition doesn’t reveal itself through memory alone. It works in concert with experience and physical retention. I should be able to see flashes of childhood, adolescence, places, parents….something.” He blew out an irritated breath.
Kowani was the first to hear it despite Nara’s attempts to hide it, a subtle sniffle and subsequent sob that had escaped her mouth. Kowani looked toward her as Nara tried turning from the group altogether, pushing up from the seat she had occupied and strode slowly toward the cockpit, raising her hands to her face. “Nara?”
There was no response other than a chortled attempt to regain her composure.
Ahsoka looked between the two Mirialan’s, toward Rex who only shrugged then to Quinlan who stared back into her gaze, a distance set within them that she couldn’t explain. “Nara, what is it?” She said, rising to her feet and briskly sweeping a hand over her shoulder in an effort to turn her slightly. “Oh my…” She mumbled, seeing a cascade of tears whisking themselves with unfettered haste down each cheek.
“I saw….” Nara began than stammered to a halt, unable to make sense of what she had witnessed. “I saw my Derhe and Nerha. My Father and Mother Ahsoka.” She managed through her fluttering ability to breath.
“What? When?” Quinlan turned quickly to face them.
“When you held Ani’s hands…” Nara began, “I saw Derhe returning home, from somewhere. Nerha writing lines in her kabar.”
Kowani fired a glance toward Nara, the shock from earlier pulling at her very soul.
“Her kabar is full of text, handwritten.” Nara continued.
“Poems.” Kowani blurted, everyone turning to face her.
“Na sevwi doch ka sue a shor...A string tied to what you love.” Nara recited, her eyes closed to the emotional tirade as the tears ran unhindered, everyone again turning to face her.
“A bond woven with tender care.” Kowani said immediately after, raising her hands to either side of her face as her heart began hammering in her chest. As the words finished, dying in the air before them, she turned toward Nara, whose own form was turning to face her.
“It whispers secrets to your heart.” They both sang in unison, locking their eyes together, horror and fascination registering between them. They were oblivious to the shared gazes of Quinlan, Ahsoka and Rex, each firing looks toward one another in some hopeless search for answer none of them could ever have.
“A melody that lingers in the air…..” They both finished jointly, pinching right thumb and forefinger together and presenting them to each other. As their fingers met, neither knew how to proceed. All they could do was stare into each other’s eyes as the poetic song replayed itself through subconsciousness.
“Soooo….not only Force ability, but the Empire can clone memory as well?” Rex was the first to say anything after several long moments, his gruff voice snapping the attention of both Mirialans. “I think I can speak with some authority on the subject, none of us ever had memories of the host.”
“I feel that I must repeal my earlier assuredness after what I just witnessed.” Quinlan added, his face a window to the confusion currently scrambling his thoughts.
“I don’t understand. Which is a clone? Are both?” Ahsoka stammered as she shook her head. “Or...no….the odds….” she blurted, unable to stem the words before they had a chance to transition properly from thought. “It’s impossible. Barriss would have been taken from the family as a youngling….”
“And her ‘sister’ with her.” Quinlan added, his own confusion growing exponentially. “We would have all known.”
Ahsoka looked between them both unsure what to say or how to proceed, or if they even should. “Nara, how did you know that cube would contain the Mother’s essence?” She asked, changing subjects quickly.
“Because Zannah told her it would.” Kowani replied, dodging her head back immediately after realizing she should have no way of knowing that. Ahsoka firing her a look that mirrored her increasing astonishment.
“This speaks directly to the dangers I feared Ahsoka. Outside of running blood tests, which we cannot perform presently, there is no way to unwind the truth. Cloning is dangerous…..No offense Captain.” Quinlan added as he pushed himself up from his seat, with a nod toward Rex.
“Non taken…” Rex returned awkwardly; his attention focused entirely on the Mirialans.
“Unless…..Quinlan, take both of their hands.” Ahsoka suggested, doing her best to lighten the mood and turning to both Kowani and Nara for their approval.
Nara moved to sit beside Kowani, Mushi canting his head to lie across both sets of feet. They looked toward one another and in unison turned to face Quinlan with outstretched hands. He looked at them hesitantly, offering a quick glance toward Ahsoka. She didn’t offer any indication to proceed immediately as she swirled various thoughts through her mind. ‘Once known it cannot be unknown,’ rocketed through her psyche, prognosticating a slower approach, something that could be explored over time. However, Quinlan did have a good point regarding the dangers of biological intervention and the quintessential need for truth should outweigh all. Another thought lingered slower than the others as it began piecing itself together, one that could sway them away from the elusiveness of her self-appointed agenda and, by extension, aid in recovering Ezra. “If they are willing Master Vos, now is the time.”
Quinlan seized both proffered hands without another moment of hesitation, instantly taking his breath from him. The Force aided with its calming flows as it always did when he utilized his gift, and he was able to focus on the images and sounds rather than his slamming heartbeat and ailing lungs. He saw an expanse of grasslands, a family of five sharing time together as they combed a beach with a high white cliff face overlooking calm azure waters gently lapping at black sands that stretched as far he could see. The same family huddled close together around a crackling fire in an ornate living space, laughing and prodding one another. He saw twin girls gathering colorful flowers with their mother in a mildly forested setting, naturally carved benches and intricate waterworks fountaining crystal clear into a pond. The girls with their father, learning to pilot a transport shuttle over the shipyards near Hannah city. The images flashed much of the same, intriguing locale and very close-knit familial bond. They began to transition to the cold arid dunes of Mirial, the family, one member short, huddled in a dull gray tent snapping in a fierce wind. The family is short the father now as the mother lies under dirty blankets, twin girls at her side. He feels the insensible pain as they are torn from her, white armor tossing them viciously into a small cargo hold. Other children are there with them, crying, sobbing or emotionless. He sees the twins torn from each other as they are plunged into bacta tanks with little regard for comfort. Quinlan pauses, stays the image as he focuses on a terminal screen in one of the rooms and recites its contents to memory. He sees nothing else as the images begin to distort, fray, and ultimately die before newer ones appear much further into the future. Keno, the Jedi Temple…. “No.” Quinlan shouted, dropping the woman’s hands from his grasp, “I’ve seen enough.”
“Which was…?” Ahsoka was quick to ask.
“Aborah.” He said just as quickly in return, recalling the particular item seared into memory, “D21-02,” he added with a finger toward Nara, “D22-01.” He finished pointing another finger toward Kowani. “Neither of you are clones...precisely.” He panted through the burning in his chest while the words remained on the tip of his tongue.
“What does that mean?” Rex asked for everyone, combating the statement through his own interpretation.
Although not ignoring the question, Quinlan turned to the women, “You are sisters….after what we experienced that shouldn’t surprise anyone. But, I believe, you have both been altered….somehow….” He scrambled for the words as he reviewed several of the images from his mind, trying to delicately remain objective. “You were born Force sensitive, which, I will not lie, comes as a mild relief. You’re father continually moved your family throughout the Empire to keep that fact hidden from the Emperor.” He blew out a breath as he prepared his next statement, “the Empire did something to the both of you, alterations, accelerations, new memories, enhancements...I don’t know specifically.”
“I am not Barriss, nor of Barriss?” Nara spoke up, the grin on her face presenting the relief she clearly felt.
“I do not have names, only images I am afraid, but it is safe to assume that the answer is no, neither of you are. However, aspects of Offee are present, in the form of either latent memory or biological implementation.” Vos responded, his tone churning lower through the recitation. He looked down upon his own boots for a moment before lifting his chin to look upon Ahsoka again. “Either scenario is quite troubling indeed.”
Ahsoka understood his meaning through several aspects, all of which would need to be acknowledged in their own way. She looked blankly toward Nara who wasn’t paying much attention to anyone, the smile on her face in no hurry to retreat as she clearly wore the freedom this truth imparted. As her gaze shifted to Kowani on the other hand she saw a sorrow that was unexpected. Although the revelation was far from dire she felt she could relate to the displayed sentiment in ways very few could, there was little that hadn’t been taken from her as well. Ahsoka placed a hand on Kowani’s cheek as she lifted the Mirialans chin with the other, forcing her friend to share the weight she felt she carried alone. “Ani, those memories are still yours, despite them being shared by another.”
Kowani focused her eyes on Ahsoka’s, a certain fogginess lifting through the effort. “I know...I know.” She said quietly, “It’s just….” her words failed her. She couldn’t express the joy within due to the blanketing sadness that she couldn’t explain.
“Ani, you’ve gone from operating solo for many years to finding a place within two families in a very short time frame, believe me...I understand.” Ahsoka said with a light wink, although she couldn’t. She, herself, had gone through quite the opposite, only finding some measure of regularity on Lothal. Kowani turned to face Nara since the two had completed the poetic duet, both relaying the same confusion to one another through awkward shoulder shrugs, facial tweaking, and shared smiles.
“I am returning this to you Ahsoka.” Quinlan said, interrupting the moment she silently shared between the two sisters as he handed her the gold saber hilt. “Your actions stirred up quite the event I must say.”
Ahsoka said nothing as she looked down upon the cylinder lying in her palm, unsure if she wanted to ask the question that had gnawed at her since Tatooine. She felt it might be better to not know some things, however, one truth she did want, “was it treason?”
Vos pulled his eyes together tightly as he gauged the question from either perspective.
“Master Windu had every intention of detaining the Chancellor Ahsoka yet fell short the moment he allowed the Dark side favor.” Quinlan spoke after a long moment of internal deliberation. “His compassion for Skywalker tipped the scales..” He paused noting the bemused look upon Ahsoka's face, “Yes Ahsoka, Master Windu loved him as he would a son.”
“But he never trusted…” Ahsoka began then stopped, trying to pierce her clouded memory of the man.
“Does a parent ever truly trust their children Ahsoka? Do they believe everything they do is just and righteous?” Vos asked, surprising Ahsoka with the directness. She knew it was rhetorical and could only slump her shoulders forward in acknowledgment.
“If Anakin would have just been honest with him…”
Quinlan placed a hand on her shoulder lightly, “impossible to conceive Ahsoka, he was never honest with himself.”
She had no argument for the statement, nor would she try, Quinlan was right.
“At any rate, the hilt provides no insight as to his current status.” Vos squared her directly in front of himself, “Ahsoka, we base our decisions on two elements. Myself and the conclave, a sisterhood of seers. We can see the past as well as glimpse probable future events.” Quinlan dove his glare straight into the flaking metal of the well-worn deck. “Something happened that disrupted their channeling that is as of yet unexplained, an event that currently leaves one of their number unconscious and clinging to life but barely.”
Ahsoka reached out for both of his shoulders, offering him her steady stance to brace what was clearly very troublesome for the old Kiffar. “Tied to the saber hilt, the sister’s revelation, our intervention or your further endeavors, we have all been left to guess.” He blew out a breath after summoning the strength to lift his head again, “We lost many in this battle Ahsoka, very many.”
“And your actions have unleashed something that was not meant for this time or place.” Nara said boldly, loud enough for Quinlan to turn toward her, Mushi grumbling lowly as he cued on the raised voice.
“I mean no offense, it was not what was transpiring planet side that caused one of our Captains to choose a path of greed and vengeance, for that two thousand perished with her.” Quinlan fired back quickly, his eyes glazing over with genuine sorrow.
Nara bowed her head slightly, “none taken but I refuse to digress Master Vos, it was not the Empire that shattered the tether down there, we both know that.” Nara was still visibly upset, her hands quaking as quickly as her lips were trembling. “Abeloth and Sidious cannot exist mutually. Those are the stakes at hand.”
Quinlan turned his lips upward, “Abeloth is a myth.”
“No, she isn’t.” Both Kowani and Ahsoka said in unison, Kowani looked toward Ahsoka briefly as Ahsoka nodded, “that is, the three of us saw her.”
“Ah, yes, and now she’s safely trapped in that fancy little box…” Vos said nearing condescension, “as told to you by Zannah….who is Zannah?”
“Yes.” Ahsoka spoke up immediately, coming to the defense of her entire party but eluding the name entirely, purposefully.
“You’re all crazy.” Quinlan said as he looked from face to face finding the exact same resolve no matter which pair of eyes he chose. “It is for that reason that I will not entrust our forces to any further escapades involving this insanity.”
Ahsoka braced herself to a rise in her own resolve as she felt an irrational anger stirring within, “and we will not ask that of you, nor any further sacrifice on behalf of those you represent, but to label our actions as escapades is beneath you Master Vos.”
Quinlan could feel his own temper rise through the exchange, wanting nothing more than to quell the disturbance that this group was more than likely to cause through action, whether it was done with noble intent or not. He blew out an exasperated breath and headed for the hatchway to the cockpit but stopped just before opening the door, “we are headed to a rendezvous before we depart separately. Your ship is there Ms. Y’mmat as well as your intuitive droid….and a stowaway.” He said over his shoulder before activating the door and whisking himself through.
“Well, that could have gone better…” Rex was the first to say anything after the minor episode.
“Thank you...both.” Nara said through forming tears as she looked upon Ahsoka than Kowani in turn. “Thank you for believing me...in me.”
“I think I can speak for everyone Nara; we made that choice a long time ago.” Kowani responded in her usual unconcealed manner, her facial features displaying a level of sentiment Ahsoka hadn’t witnessed since Dagobah.
“On that note, where do we go from here?” Rex spoke up, looking to add his own measure of usefulness, his tone light, almost cheerful. Ahsoka noted the depth in her old friends’ eyes, something she hadn’t seen within him since she had left him on Atalon years prior.
“You mentioned Praxius Nara. Planet? System? I am not familiar with the name at all.” Ahsoka said.
“Yes, Praxius system. Conum Arnia specifically within the system.” Nara responded.
“Praxius doesn’t exist…” Vos’ voice crackled harshly over the dated shipboard comm.
“I thought you were done with us?” Kowani expressed with a false vehemence, contrived specifically to aggravate.
“I am. It does not exist.” The aged system squelched the voice loudly then pitched it into decibels far too high.
Ahsoka crooked her eyebrow then swept toward the door, smacking the activation switch, “what do you mean it doesn’t exist?” She demanded as she barked the question into the cockpit.
“Which part of that wasn’t in basic….we have no record of the system...at all.” Quinlan said, turning in his acceleration seat directly behind the pilot.
Ahsoka motioned a hand forward, asking for permission to enter without words. Vos nodded approval and she walked in swiftly toward the navicomputer display, looking over the co-pilot’s shoulder she watched him enter the name on the prompt and come up empty in response. She turned her head over her shoulder slightly, “Nara, they don’t have any records of a Praxius system. You’re sure about that?”
Several paces behind her, Nara did her best to hide her confusion, “Yes, I am positive.”
“Well, just because they don’t have a record doesn’t mean it does not exist.” Ahsoka said returning a stare toward Quinlan. “We’ll just have to wait until we’re aboard the Liberator.”
“That will be in just a few moments Ms.” The pilot spoke over his shoulder as he forced the hyperdrive accelerator forward, the ship decanting with only a mild lurch in response. Ahsoka drew her gaze forward, staring through the viewport. The massive freighter was directly before them, its huge hangar bay door already open and waiting for them. She could see the remainder of the assemblage, cruisers, and corvettes for the most part, some dating back longer than she had been alive. Several of the vessels were spewing gasses into the vacuum of space, cascades of sparks that flowed into extinction meters from their sources, crews already en force in EVA patching what they could externally before the ragtag fleet headed for its next destination. “And you say were crazy?” Ahsoka turned to face Quinlan. He only smiled and shrugged his shoulders in response.
Ahsoka continued to watch as the shuttle entered the massive hangar bay, sidling in toward an accessible area far removed from the Liberator. She turned quickly to head back toward the passenger cabin, ready to decant herself from the tiny shuttle. Quinlan grabbed her hand as she passed lightly, “I harbor no ill will Ahsoka, may your travels remain safe.” He said, sliding a small object into her hand. She stopped abruptly, eyeing the holo communicator he had given her.
“I thought you wanted no part of what we’re doing Quinlan?” She asked with genuine sincerity.
“Everyone needs a friend.” He replied with an enormous smile spread across his lips, the weathered features crinkling into themselves, completely selling his own sincerity. He turned his features inward momentarily, his lips bobbing after the smile faded. Ahsoka could sense there was something the man wanted to tell her.
“What is it Master Vos?” She asked softly, her voice light and delicate.
“Master Windu Ahsoka.” He broke his gaze from her own and looked away from her. “He lives.”
“Master. Why wait until now to unleash that?” Ahsoka’s voice crackling with her own frustration.
“Because I wasn’t certain it was something I was going to tell you at all to be honest about it.” He responded, lifting an eyebrow involuntarily as his mind still wasn’t sure this was the correct course of action. “If he doesn’t want to be found, there is a reason.”
Ahsoka considered it but only for a moment before shaking her head as she held up the holo communicator he had just handed her. “Until several months ago, I was unaware that you had survived as well Master Vos…..everyone needs a friend.” She finished with a wink before leaving the cockpit and decanting the shuttle with the remainder of her friends.