Apparently, my speech had motivated the officers quite well, because by the end of the tenth hour everyone reported that they were ready for departure. During that time, we loaded cargo and stocked up on goodies—new uniforms and clothing, insignia, and food. And for our wardroom, we even managed to snag a small crate of booze.
But all of that paled in comparison to the smug faces of Puck and Lucky. Those two ARC clones had somehow gotten their hands on Katarn, elite clone armor, from the warehouse. The only drawback of this masterpiece of military engineering was that it was… uncomfortable to sit in. Then again, the same could be said of standard clone armor.
And since I had received unambiguous instructions from the Council to hurry, we didn't delay our departure—especially given that the flight ahead would be long. Not all of our ships were particularly fast, so we would have to match the pace of the slowest vessels, those equipped with second-class hyperdrives. On top of that, the journey was divided into several legs, which adds its own constraints. According to Sumeragi's calculations, the flight would take a staggering forty-nine hours, whereas the Acclamator would need only thirteen—without stops, that is; with stops, about twenty. That was the math.
Still, in wartime, it was safer to make shorter jumps so you can find out in time if something ahead goes wrong. Otherwise, we might drop out of hyperspace right in the middle of Grievous's squadron. That would certainly be one hell of a surprise…
After that, it was business as usual. We left hospitable Nis, entered orbit, and from there made the jump. Our route consisted of several waypoints. First, Byblos; from there, Denon. Then stops at Milagro, Mon Gazza, and Herdessa. From there, we would reach Christophsis, where the Corellian Route ended and we would turn onto the Molavar Route.
Forming up in marching order, we made our first jump.
Since we—well, Ahsoka and I—had plenty of free time, on the morning of the first day of the flight (we had departed in the evening, galactic standard time), I decided to continue our joint training. To start off, we warmed up a bit by sparring with sabers, and then Ahsoka began practicing the Force Barrier. The results, though… were pretty mediocre, even though I knew perfectly well she was capable of much more. This performance didn't even come close to her previous level.
"Why are you being so… sloppy today?" I deactivated the training droid and studied the girl closely.
"Just…" The Togruta hesitated slightly—something unusual for her.
"Well? Speak up. What happened?"
"Master, I…" Ahsoka faltered, then finally said, "I turned fourteen today."
I was completely thrown off, and not just a little
"Wait, say that again. It's your birthday today?"
"Yes."
"And you didn't say anything?!" I exclaimed indignantly.
The girl looked at me in puzzlement.
"This is something to celebrate!"
Quickly, before she could react, I activated the comlink, calling the officers and clones—Li Noriega, O'Connor, Cerri, Mirro, Blam, Puck, and Lucky.
"Listen up, everyone! Assemble in the wardroom immediately! We have an important occasion—Commander Tano is turning fourteen today! All other duties are canceled. Attendance is mandatory!"
"Master…" Ahsoka sniffed oddly. "Why… celebrate? Jedi don't celebrate…"
"But we will," I said with a smile, stepping forward to hug her. "Now come on. Let's go."
Ten minutes later, we were in the wardroom. It was a cozy space, I had to admit, though it was used… very rarely. Others began arriving shortly after us. When the girls showed up, the hugging started immediately. Ahsoka was clearly embarrassed by all the attention, but… I could tell she enjoyed it. The clones who came in were visibly out of their element—they simply didn't know what to do—so after exchanging a few glances, they sat down silently on the couch.
Catching Mirro at the entrance, I sent him off to fetch drinks in a tone that brooked no argument, then headed into the adjoining… well, something between a storage room and a kitchen.
After rummaging through the storage area, I gathered what I needed: chocolate, baked crackers, something resembling waffles, sweet syrup, sugar… Finding a suitable container—a flat, square tray—stocking up on tools, and even stumbling across a servant droid, a funny little thing that looked like a rabbit, I set to work…
The hardest part turned out to be the candles, but I managed to improvise them from napkins. It took me a good five minutes just to get them burning evenly, and I had to use the Force to manage it. nd needless to say, my lighter of choice was a lightsaber.
In the end, I walked back into the room with pride, carrying a cake topped with fourteen makeshift candles, all burning steadily, held out at arm's length. The droid followed behind me, carrying a tray with juice, snacks, and cutlery.
While I was gone, O'Connor had taken charge. Everyone was already seated, with Ahsoka at the head of the table and the others gathered around. A seat had been saved for me beside her. When I appeared with my creation, the room went silent as everyone stared at me in astonishment. I approached the table and placed the cake in front of my padawan.
She looked at me, completely bewildered.
And then, unexpectedly, Lichtendal Cerri spoke up.
"You have to make a wish, and then blow out the candles."
Ahsoka stared at the flickering flames for a few seconds, then smiled—and blew out the candles. Lichtendal and I started clapping, and the others quickly followed suit.
"Congratulations, Ahsoka!" Sumeragi and Grace chimed in unison.
"Happy birthday!"
"Congratulations, Commander."
When the congratulations finally died down, I continued.
"All right, Ahsoka," I said, handing her the knife. "Go ahead and cut the cake. Christen—pour it already."
I didn't have to repeat myself twice, and soon the pink liquid was in our shot glasses—the first item uncannily similar to the ones back on Earth.
"Sir, may I ask something?" Lichtendal looked at me curiously. "How do you know about Atoan traditions?"
"Hm?" I raised an eyebrow, surprised.
"In our culture, there's an almost identical ritual," the first lieutenant explained. "Though we usually bake a special pie for it." he added, glancing at my homemade creation.
What's his problem? It's a masterpiece!
"Oh, I must've heard about it somewhere," I deflected, raising my glass. "Well then—to the birthday girl!"
Ahsoka had just finished cutting the cake and now looked at me expectantly.
"What about me?" she demanded.
"Uh… it's a little early for you," I stammered, caught off guard by her insistence.
"That's not fair! I'm already fourteen!"
"We're only ten," Blam remarked, and I couldn't tell whether he was siding with her or me—or just teasing.
"Well, we're eleven," Lucky chimed in, "but that's still kinda too young."
"So why aren't you drinking yourselves?" I asked.
The clones sniffed their drinks, then silently downed them. We, too, knocked back our shots, watching their reactions while chasing the alcohol with cake.
"Sir, I feel kind of strange," Blam reported after a moment. "My fingertips are tingling…"
Well, there they go—getting initiated into the culture. Looking at Ahsoka, I hesitated. The girl looked offended. Oh well. She'll try this nasty stuff once and never again. Besides, she's been through a lot.
"All right. In honor of the holiday," I said, lifting the bottle and pouring her just a few drops. "But only in honor of the holiday."
Under our watchful eyes, Ahsoka cautiously picked up the glass and sniffed it. With a funny little sneeze, she looked at it uncertainly, but then gave her lekku a decisive shake and… downed the contents. And, of course, she didn't swallow right away.
First, she froze. Then her eyes widened to almost comical proportions. Then… then she turned green, then yellow, then green again… like a living traffic light. With visible effort she finally swallowed, jerked her hand, grabbed the jug of juice beside Sumeragi, and drained it in an instant— half a liter at least. It didn't help. But that didn't help, and the Togruta seized the last untouched piece of cake and began devouring it with ferocity.
Meanwhile, we were helpless with laughter. Grace laughed the hardest, clutching her stomach. Ahsoka's expression was simply priceless.
"Ugh! What a disgusting mess! How do you even drink this stuff?!" Ahsoka mumbled plaintively, her mouth full.
But when she saw us practically rolling on the floor, she started laughing too.
"Don't worry, Ahsoka," Grace said with a wink at the disgruntled Togruta. "It's definitely too early for you. Besides, we've got some good gifts as well…"
All in all, the celebration was a success.
***
When I finally reached my cabin, I decided to spend the remaining time reading. Fortunately, I still hadn't finished going through the materials Rinaun had given me—and there was plenty of fascinating stuff in them…
So, I settled comfortably at the table—on the way I'd stopped by the same storeroom and "liberated" a couple of containers of juice, plus something to munch on, of course.Having wolfed down the first… well, something like a gingerbread cookie, or close enough, I leaned back in my chair. Bliss!
Wait. High? Did they slip some drugs into these cookies or what?! Suddenly, it was no longer a joke. After a quick mental check, I realized that some of these emotions weren't mine. They belonged to Ahsoka. What's going on with her?
However, her emotional spike subsided soon. Turning off the water and grabbing a towel, I returned to my cabin.
So my little girl has grown up. And so quickly. She's already fourteen. I remembered our first meeting in the Temple—what she had been like then, and what she was now.
Damn. I feel… like a happy, slightly unhinged father who picked up a cooing bundle from the maternity ward and suddenly discovered that his child has already graduated.
Though, why "like"? She's more than a daughter to me. I bear a far greater responsibility: for her life, for her destiny. And… I don't want to let her down.
No.
Not like that.
I simply cannot allow myself—to let her down.