As soon as the rumbling subsided a little, Barris decided to approach the wreckage. Not a sound came from it, the stones lay dead and heavy, only grey dust swirled above them. It was almost impossible to survive, crushed by them, no, even more likely, simply impossible, without the word "almost." Barris understood this, but for some reason she couldn't believe what was happening, perhaps because for the first time in her entire life in the Order, she had seen the death of a comrade with her own eyes, even if he was unloved and not very good to her, or perhaps because by the age of thirteen she had learned to sense the life of living beings well in the Force. And then there were the Togrut children, huddling fearfully against her, tugging at Offee's dress and screaming every minute:
"They're still alive! Let's go and see!
Barris wanted it to be so herself, but the weight of the stones and their large pile slowly but surely dashed that hope. And she still had to tell Magister Plo that his student, whom he loved like a daughter, was most likely dead. Telling the children to stay a few metres away, Barris decided to check her assumptions for herself and cautiously approached the ruins of the cave. She then lowered herself into a meditative position near them, pressed her back against the hot stones, pushed the excitement out of her mind, and tried to concentrate. Five minutes later, in the thick darkness before her closed eyes, Offee could see two small light yellow dots, indicating the presence of life, although very weak and almost extinct. Then, when she looked more closely, she could even hear muffled moans and feel a stinging pain throughout her body. There was no longer any doubt. Ahsoka and the boy were alive, still alive... Barris stood up and, leaning slightly over the rubble, tried to use the Force to lift one of the stones, the largest and heaviest. She did not succeed at first. With great effort, it rose and hung in the air for a second before falling a little further away. She lifted another one in the same way. Then another. And somewhere around the fifth stone, Barris noticed that she was being helped. The stones seemed to start rising and falling on their own. Not very actively yet, though. Offee was delighted, because it meant that she was right and the two were alive, and Barris had managed without the help of the Masters. But that wasn't quite true, if you knew what was happening under the rubble at that moment. When the cave ceiling began to collapse, Asoka and the boy she had instinctively pulled close to her were thrown straight under the rocks. Togruta waved her free hand to push at least some of the debris aside and noticed that the boy had done the same, causing both of them to fly away, towards a small niche large enough to accommodate two teenagers. That was where the unfortunate pair landed, covered in lime and broken stones. However, the fact that they were at least partially covered saved their lives and, to some extent, their health. The collapse roared loudly, and the children had to huddle close together to hear what they were saying.
"Don't be afraid, as soon as it gets quieter, I'll send a signal to my teacher, he'll help us," said Asoka, coughing up another mouthful of lime, still holding the boy.
"I'm sorry, it's my fault," he whispered to her, trying to turn around. "When I got into a fight with Etienne, I accidentally waved my arms and the stones started to shake. It happens to me sometimes. Rarely, but it happens. My mum says it's a rare gift, but so far it's only caused me problems."
Asoka suddenly understood what he was talking about. Something painfully familiar came to the girl's mind, and already knowing the answer, she asked:
"When did it start? And why does this gift cause you problems?
"You see, my mum and I live in a poor village where everyone is strong, and not only am I a human being, but I'm also clumsy. I'm always waving my arms around and dropping things. Everyone scolds me. Only my mum protects me," the boy sighed sadly and looked around.
"You know, not everyone thinks that way. Some people believe that this gift is not a curse, but a great honour," Asoka tried to cheer up her friend.
"Are you talking about the Jedi Order?" asked the boy, his eyes suddenly lighting up. "My mum told me about them. My dad was the brother of one of them, and they both died heroically defending a peaceful planet from an invasion of marauders."
"Wait," Asoka stopped him, remembering something. "Wasn't your uncle's name Edgard?
"Yes, that's right, and my dad was Erion. It's a tradition in my family, all the men are named with the letter E," the boy explained eagerly. "My name is also E. My mum named me Anakin.
"Really? I never thought I'd meet a descendant of the great Skywalker," Asoka was very happy to meet a relative of the legend. "Your uncle's portrait hangs in our Temple, in the Gallery of Honoured Jedi.
"Are you a Jedi too?" asked Anakin, finally managing to stand up straight. "I didn't think they would remember us."
"Not exactly," replied Ahsoka, glad that the collapse had ended and she could try to contact her mentor. "I'm still just a student, but in a few years, if I'm lucky, I'll become a Knight.
"I'd like to join you, but my mum would probably be against it. She'd be all alone without my dad," said Anakin regretfully, and Ahsoka noticed that the rocks were starting to move and realised why. An interesting idea immediately came to her mind, allowing her to test how truthful her companion was when he said he was sensitive to the Force.
"Look, they're coming to rescue us, let's help them," she suggested immediately. "Let's try to lift some of the rocks so they can see us better."
Anakin proved to be quick-witted and gladly accepted the offer. Until now, his gift had only caused him problems, but now he had an opportunity to prove to himself and others that things could be different. He and Asoka had already managed to unhook themselves and were now sitting on the edge of the niche, trying to move the rocks.
"Stretch your arm out in front of you and try to imagine that an invisible rope is coming out of it, with which you are picking up the stone, and with each movement of your hand, it will move. Concentrate and focus all your thoughts on the position of your hand," Tano explained, backing up her words with action. She spoke and at the same time moved the first of the stones.
"Like this?" asked Anakin seriously, stretching out his hand and trying to wave it, causing the stone to fly off its spot and hit another, knocking a layer of lime off it.
"Almost," said the Togruta with satisfaction. "Just don't do it so abruptly. First, try not to throw the stone, but to move it."
Soon, things started to go smoothly, and the passage, though small, was cleared.
"Excellent, now let's try to get out. I'll go first, and you follow me," Asoka said to her companion. Standing on the stones as if on a ladder, she leaned out of the opening a minute later and then helped Anakin, who had hesitated in the middle. Outside, they had been waiting for a long time. Barris and the children rushed towards them and began to hug them, forgetting all the rules.
"I knew you were alive! I knew it!" Barris almost shouted, which was completely out of character for her, and the children were speechless. For the first time in their lives, they had witnessed something like this, and now they would have something to tell their parents. And they really needed some good news right now, because while they were sitting in a cold dungeon, guarded by a nasty pirate with a nose ring and greasy locks hanging down on both sides of his face. He glanced at his captives every minute, not forgetting to slap anyone who dared to cry or insult him or his masters. However, most of them held their ground more or less steadfastly, only Selina continued to sob, remembering her little son. After all, he was the only thing she had left, especially after the death of her husband and his brother, whom she had lost several years ago. They lived in a village on the outskirts of the city, or rather, in a poor village where no one disturbed the quiet life of their small family. As a young girl, Selina married a young farmer who had come to Shili to find work. He settled in the same village where Selina lived, and they fell in love. Soon, Enakin was born, who, to everyone's surprise, inherited his uncle's sensitivity to the Force, which he himself did not yet understand, but only noted with surprise that sometimes he could do more than his friends. Later, when he was severely scolded for knocking over the farm foreman's rubbish bin because he had shouted at Selina, she explained to him what a great gift he had. She told him that he should not be ashamed, but rather proud that the Great Force had marked him with its sign.
"Listen, son," Selina said to Anakin, "Your uncle, our father's brother, was a very good man, a guardian of peace and justice, a Jedi. If you want, you can become like him, but you will have to work hard and persevere so as not to disgrace the famous Skywalker name.
Anakin listened attentively to his mother and every evening asked her to tell him about the Order, just as other mothers tell their children fairy tales. With each subsequent story, the boy's conviction that he must follow this path grew stronger and stronger.
"If I had a mentor," he said one day, "I would want him to be like you or Dad, because there is no one better than you in the whole world.
Selina just sighed, imagining how many obstacles would stand in her son's way. After all, she knew better than anyone how difficult it was to be accepted into the Order. How many talented and capable young people had been rejected by the Council for showing the wrong mindset or a tendency towards the Dark Side? She wanted so much and sincerely believed that the day would come when her son would get what he dreamed of, and she would stay here and wait for him. But now all she had to wait for was his release from captivity, which was secured by two Masters of the Order who broke the lock on the dungeon.
"You are free, the pirates will not touch you anymore," said Master Undulli. "They won't be able to attack anyone for a long time, because it will be extremely difficult to do so from a detention cell.
"Where are our children? Did you find them?" asked several young women as soon as they were freed.
"Our students are working on it, but we haven't heard from them yet," replied Master Plo and began to contact Asoka, but before he could press the call button, he heard from the speaker:
"Master Plo! We're on our way!
"Asoka! Are you calling me or did I call you?" asked the Master, genuinely surprised, not understanding how this could have happened.
"I dialled your number, but you answered before the phone rang. We did it. We found the children. And soon you'll have a surprise," Asoka said mysteriously, and before the Master could guess, she pressed "Off." She often did this to keep the intrigue alive. However, she didn't have to wait long for a response to her mysterious words. Less than ten minutes later, a colourful crowd of children appeared from the field.
"Eni!" Selina cried, rushing towards them.
"Mum!" cried Anakin, falling into her arms.
A similar scene repeated itself with the other children and their parents. The masters rushed to the Padawans, and when they told them about the cave collapse, they immediately began to feel them and ask how they were feeling. Ahsoka felt fine, except for a few bruises and scratches, and she had hit her head once, leaving a rather noticeable bump on the back of her head.
"If it weren't for Anakin, Barris and I would have been there longer," she said, rubbing the bump.
"I see progress," the teacher noted immediately. "Before, you said 'Barris and I'.
"She just didn't know that sharks don't touch togruts, but, as it turns out, they love to feast on mirialans," Tano smiled slyly. "And I didn't know that I would find someone marked by the Force here and that I would now be defending his right to be in the Order, just as you once defended mine.
"Perhaps there will be no need to defend anything. What you have told us is worthy of consideration. Let's hurry to his mother so she knows that her son is a worthy heir to his family name," replied Master Plo, and they all went to Selina, who was still hugging her little boy. He was equally impressed by the meeting and couldn't wait to tell his mother everything. The meeting was significant for all four of them, but for one person it had a special meaning that would only grow stronger in the future, and the seeds planted that day would bear ambiguous fruit.
***
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