Star Wars: Escape from the Jedi Temple Begins

Chapter 41 Encountering Ahsoka

Lance's gaze continued to sweep across the crowd, finally settling on a mysterious figure.

The man was completely shrouded in a large cloak, making him perfectly concealed in the crowd.

The man seemed to sense his gaze and looked up slightly.

Their eyes met in mid-air, and both of them showed a hint of surprise and joy.

Lance quickly suppressed his excitement, his face expressionless, and slowly withdrew from the crowd.

A moment later, he arrived at a secluded, deserted corner.

"I didn't recognize you at first glance."

A clear, crisp voice came from behind, with a hint of teasing in its tone.

Lance turned to look at the other person, a slight twitch appearing on his lips:

"It's so good to see you're alright, Ahsoka."

Ahsoka walked up to him, a hint of joy flashing in his eyes:

"Me too, Lance."

"I never expected to meet you here."

Then, her eyes darkened.

After a moment of silence, he hesitated and asked:

What happened in Coruscant?

A complex look flashed in Lance's eyes; he didn't know how to tell her the truth.

Although Ahsoka had left the Jedi Order, her mentor-student relationship with Anakin remained unbroken.

Tell her that Anakin led the clone army to attack the Jedi Temple and helped Palpatine personally destroy the Order of the Knights?

This truth was undoubtedly extremely cruel to her.

What worries Lance even more is that Ahsoka might make some irrational decisions in a moment of impulsiveness after learning the truth.

He lowered his head and pondered for a moment, but finally decided to tell the truth.

It's cruel, but we'll have to face it sooner or later.

As friends, we shouldn't hide things from each other.

Besides, she'll find out the truth sooner or later.

"Asoka, I hope you're mentally prepared for what I'm about to say."

Ahsoka's heart skipped a beat, a sense of foreboding rising within him.

Could it be... that Master Anakin is dead?

She has a Force bond with Anakin.

She had sensed Anakin's pain within the Force, and then that bond vanished.

Ahsoka couldn't help but stagger back a few steps, overwhelmed by intense grief, his eyes welling up with tears.

"Asoka...are you alright?"

She took a few deep breaths, forcing herself to calm down:

"It's okay... Go ahead and tell me..."

"That night, Anakin led his clone army to surround the Jedi Temple... Palpatine issued Order 66..."

"What? You're saying Anakin massacred the Jedi in the Temple?"

Ahsoka clenched his fists, forcing himself to calm down, but his eyes were filled with shock and disbelief:

"Impossible...impossible..."

"How could Anakin do such a thing?"

"He wouldn't do that... I don't believe it..."

"Yes, he must have been lured, coerced, and controlled by Palpatine..."

She became more and more agitated as she spoke, covering her head with her hands and backing away.

Lance looked at Asoka with heartache, stepped forward, and gently pulled her into his arms:

I know this has been a huge blow to you.

"I also wish it were all a lie."

"But... that's just how it is..."

Ahsoka buried her face in his shoulder and wept uncontrollably, soaking a patch of his clothes.

It took her a long time to recover from the huge blow.

Feeling the tenderness in Lance's arms, she hesitated for a moment, but finally gently pushed him away.

"It's all my fault..."

"If I had been by Anakin's side back then, perhaps I could have won him back..."

Lance patted her shoulder and said softly:

"Don't blame yourself, it's not your fault."

"Anakin himself chose that path..."

Ahsoka wiped away the tears from his eyes and gradually accepted the truth:

"I can no longer sense Anakin's Force bond. What happened next?"

Her expression was forlorn; she remained silent for a long time before asking in a low voice:

"Is he... still alive?"

Lance didn't know how to answer.

Tell her that Anakin has become Darth Vader?

No.

If she finds out, given her personality, she will definitely confront Vader and try to win back Anakin.

At that time, she might have to face not only a Vida who had completely fallen into darkness, but also Palpatine, the Sith Lord.

She might never come back.

Ultimately, Lance had to come up with another explanation:

"Dead...killed by a Sith named Darth Vader..."

This doesn't count as deceiving Ahsoka.

Anakin killed his former self and became Darth Vader, who is shrouded in black armor all day long.

"Asoka, don't even think about revenge."

"We are no match for them."

"There are more important things waiting for us to do now."

Lance, fearing that Ahsoka might not understand and would want to take her sword and seek revenge, quickly threw out some news about the Jedi successfully escaping the Jedi Temple to distract her.

"Even though you are no longer a member of the Jedi Order, I need your help."

"I do."

Ahsoka agreed without hesitation.

Disillusioned with the Jedi Council, she left the Order, but the Jedi doctrine was already deeply ingrained in her.

It's impossible to stand by and watch someone die.

"What's your plan?"

"I can sense that my master, Procon, is still alive. The last time I contacted him, he was still on the planet Katonemoydia. I plan to go there to find him."

"Master Procon is still alive?!"

Ahsoka and Master Kong had an excellent relationship.

If I had to rank them, Anakin would be first, and Master Kong second.

Lance is ranked third, or second, tied with Master Kong.

Master Yoda is fourth.

Obi-Wan Kenobi is ranked fifth.

Gu Gu is probably ranked seventh or eighth.

"We need to leave as soon as possible."

"That's right, that's exactly why I came here."

Lance told him about his encounter with the Extraordinary Squad, how he entrusted Gugu to their care, and how he eventually made his way to Naboo to find Councilor Organa.

"Congressman Organa? Are you sure he's reliable?"

After experiencing Order No. 66, Ahsoka has become a frightened bird.

On that destroyer, all the clone soldiers were willing to die together with her in order to kill her.

If she hadn't had no other choice but to release Moore to draw fire, and hadn't received help from Rex, she might have really perished in the spaceship crash.

Now, apart from a very few people she trusts, she sees everyone as a crazed killer.

"I'm sure. I saw some visions in the Force. Senator Organa helped Master Obi-Wan and Master Yoda on several occasions during Order 66."

"I'm still a little worried... I can contact Rex and ask him for help."

Ahsoka's vehicle was merely a civilian spaceship, clearly unsuitable for carrying out rescue missions.

"Rex?"

"I used medical equipment to remove the inhibitor chip from his brain... Unfortunately, I only managed to save him..."

"Asoka..."

Lance's lips parted slightly, wanting to offer soft words of comfort but unsure how to begin.

The deed is done, and all words seem pale and powerless.

"The waiting time is too long. It would save a lot of time to go directly to Representative Organa."

He looked at Ahsoka and relayed another message:

"Furthermore, if my Force visions are correct, Senator Organa is keeping someone extremely important to Padmé."