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SW Origins: The Room of a Thousand Fountains

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Star Wars Origins
The Room of a Thousand Fountains

Jedi Youngling Ahsoka Tano
5 years old

The sun had barely risen as the class of Younglings walked silently through the halls of the Jedi Temple. Normally, a few would chatter or behave a little unruly, but Jedi Grand Master Yoda was escorting them. He was going to teach them another lesson about the Force. They were a young class, most of which only slightly taller than the ancient Jedi, but they already had a fairly strong knowledge of which Jedi Masters they needed to behave in front of. There was no Jedi authority above Yoda. While kind, patient, and nurturing, no one wanted to get under Yoda's disciplinary radar. It was he who would eventually decide when they were ready to split into smaller classes for training after all. If there was anything every single Jedi Youngling wanted, it was to become a Jedi Padawan Learner as quickly as possible.

Though early, many Jedi were already awake and heading for various parts of the Temple. It seemed to be almost a part of the Jedi Code to be an early bird. It was that unwritten rule that Jedi Youngling Ahsoka Tano despised. The small, orange-skinned togruta couldn't stop yawning as she struggled to keep up with her class. It didn't help matters that she was the last Youngling to get in line. Walking the halls of the Jedi Temple with no one behind her was almost an invitation to move slower. Listening to the 'master of masters' talk about patience would be a swift defeat for her fight against falling back asleep. They already did the headcount back at the Jedi Academy assembly room. So, Ahsoka was already technically attending. The idea of her not being missed in a group of thirty Jedi Younglings crept into little Ahsoka's mind.

The spark of mischief began to compel her. As the long, single file of students was wrapping around a corner, Ahsoka deviated from the back of the line and turned around. Ignoring the excitement of playing hooky and threat of being caught waking her up to an alerted state, Ahsoka began making her way back to the Youngling dormitory. The reward of sleeping in was worth any punishment in her mind. The young togruta girl tried to make herself as discrete and unnoticed as possible, clinging to shadows between the towering windows naturally lighting the halls of the temple. She was going to make it! With only one more hallway between Ahsoka and her bed, the little girl turned the next corner with a gleeful spring in her step, but was immediately frozen in fear when her sky blue eyes spotted Jedi Master Mace Windu.

The current head of the Jedi Academy Disciplinary Committee and member of the Jedi Council, Mace Windu was just leaving the Youngling Dormitory with his own class of pupils. Ahsoka had precious seconds to make herself scarce. His eyes were focused on one of his students at the moment, but he'd spot her quickly since she didn't have a class around that she was accompanying. In a mad dash for anything out of sight, Ahsoka backtracked around a corner and bolted for the first door she could see. Mace heard the door swish open, but didn't catch the sight of anyone. Ahsoka made it through unseen.

Unfortunately, Ahsoka couldn't stop as quickly as she started and was very surprised to find stairs on the other side of her escape route door. She tumbled down a few steps before catching a grip on the railing lining the wall. Ahsoka steadied herself and fought back a few tears as she examined a few new bumps and bruises. Her plan was to hide until Master Windu had passed, but the stairwell sparked her curiosity. The Jedi Temple was full of elevators. Why were there stairs anywhere? Ahsoka thought she was on the ground floor of the temple, but the stairwell was leading downward through what seemed like several floors. Allowing her curiosity to get the best of her, the five year old Youngling started walking down the stairs wondering where they led.

It was a rather dark stairwell. Only a few soft amber lights glowed dimly from the walls as the stairs spiraled downward further and further. Ahsoka's imagination was starting to get the better of her as she thought about what might be hidden so far below the Jedi Temple, but her thoughts were interrupted as she came to the base of the steps. There wasn't any corridor or large room. All that stood at the base of the stairs was a large stone door. It was unusual for Ahsoka to see since most doors in the Jedi Temple were made of metal and opened automatically. There was no button to open the door and it appeared to be made out of solid rock.

The little girl pushed and kicked the stone door, but it wouldn't budge. Getting frustrated, Ahsoka backed up onto a step and launched a full-force kick at the door only to feel the entire shock of the impact recoil through her body. She fell with an ungraceful thud and began to softly cry at the pain and frustration. Hearing the echoes of her cries in the hollow stairwell, Ahsoka remembered how she always boasted about being tough in front of her peers and quickly recovered even though no one was around to see her. She nearly gave up and headed back up the stairs, but then she noticed the Jedi insignia engraved on the stone door. That meant that only Jedi were permitted to enter.

The epiphany struck in that moment and Ahsoka tried another tactic for opening the stubborn door. She walked right up to it and raised her hands. Ahsoka's eyes closed and her brow furled as she focused all of her energy and concentration into the Force. After what felt like a very long moment of nothing happening, the door began to shake. Her eyes popped open in excitement to see her progress. Concentration interrupted, the door immediately stopped rumbling and returned to stillness. The Jedi Youngling pouted a bit and gave herself a small lecture about focus. Then, with double the determination, she raised her hands again.

The stone door rumbled louder and louder, but she didn't look. She was going to open this door! Her resolution proved fruitful as the door began to rise. Ahsoka could see through her closed eyelids that light was starting to beam into the stairwell from the other side. When she thought the door was open all the way, she peeked one eye open. The door was barely high enough for her to walk under. Ahsoka's gaze quickly began observing what she could see on the other side of the door, but it cost her some focus. The door began to lower. Seizing her opportunity, Ahsoka leapt forward and rolled under the door as quickly as she could. The large stone door slammed down right behind her, but she was in.

The concern of getting out of the room was a fleeting thought as Ahsoka Tano took in her new surroundings. Though in the sublevels of the Jedi Temple, it appeared as though she had stepped outside! There wasn't a ceiling. There was a beautiful amber sky matching that of a clear sunrise. The room was hardly a room by description. She looked out and saw a forest littered with streams, waterfalls and walking paths. The air was warm and moist like her home planet of Shili. Beautiful plants were beginning to bloom all around the young togruta as she slowly began to explore the underground oasis. Ahsoka didn't care what sort of illusion or technology was offering such an environment. She just couldn't be happier to be where she was. She climbed and quickly found her way to the highest point in the entire room. At a steep hilltop in the center of the room with a sizeable waterfall cascading down from it, Ahsoka examined her new paradise.

It was then that the excitement finally wore off. The environment relaxed her with the warm atmosphere and the sounds of the waterfall. Ahsoka finally remembered why she was skipping class. She was going to go back to sleep. Safe on the other side of an aggravatingly heavy stone door, Ahsoka curled up on a patch of grass at the top of the hill. A lone tree offered her some shade from the increasingly bright 'sky' and she fell into a peaceful sleep.

Many hours passed as Ahsoka Tano slept in her own little sanctuary. She finally awoke, however, to the sound of a familiar 'thud.' Her eyes popped open and Ahsoka jumped behind a rock before peering down from her hilltop. She partially spotted the large stone door through some trees as it came to rest once again and the figure of someone who had just entered. At first, Ahsoka thought it might have been Mace Windu or Ki-Adi-Mundi searching for her, but the silhouette of the figure suggested otherwise. With two tall horns, a feminine figure, and long, layered robes, the newcomer to the room was undoubtedly Jedi Master Shaak Ti.

Ahsoka had briefly seen the togruta Jedi Master here and there, but had never formally met her. Master Ti didn't appear to be searching for anyone. She elegantly made her way down one of the many winding paths through the forested room as if she knew exactly where she was going with significant familiarity. Curiosity driving her further, Ahsoka left the security of her hilltop and began following the Jedi Master. Ahsoka maintained a safe distance as she followed Shaak Ti down one path and then another and another. There were plenty of benches and springs to relax, but Shaak didn't seem to be even taking in the scenery. She had a specific destination.

Finally, once following the togruta Jedi Master had become very boring, Ahsoka saw Master Ti reach her destination. It was a small garden in a clearing surrounded by trees with one, lonely tree stump off to one side. Ahsoka remained hidden behind a tree as Shaak observed the garden with an analytic demeanor. Once she was done looking it over, Shaak walked over to a tree near the tree stump and took off her long, formal Jedi robes. Ahsoka instinctively looked away in embarrassment, but quickly noticed that the Jedi Master was still wearing a thin, loose but form-fitting Jedi tunic and pants under her robes not too unsimilar to the pale brown youngling tunic Ahsoka was wearing. Shaak Ti hung her long robes on a tree branch as if it was a regular and practiced motion and then sat down on the tree stump to take off her boots.

After placing her boots under the tree where her robes were hanging, she then stood up, turned back to the stump and used the Force to take the top of it off. The stump popped open to reveal a small storage compartment. Ahsoka gasped in surprise, but quickly muffled her breathing with her hands over her mouth. A thin smile crept across Shaak's face, but the Jedi Master pretended not to hear anything. She reached into the tree stump and pulled out a few small gardening tools. Spade and shears in hand, Shaak walked into the garden and knelt down near the middle. Ahsoka was incredibly disappointed. After all of her 'expert' spying and stealth, the Jedi Master was pulling weeds and gardening? The young togruta girl sighed in disappointment, but remained behind her tree. Perhaps something interesting would happen eventually.

The artificial sky of the room was mimicking the afternoon sun. After about an hour of tedious gardening, Shaak Ti had enough fun tormenting an extremely bored Youngling Ahsoka Tano. Without stopping her trimming and pruning, Shaak Ti spoke loud enough for Ahsoka to hear. "Are you going to keep hiding until I leave?" Ahsoka didn't respond. She wasn't sure if Shaak was talking to her or someone else that may have entered. There was also the growing fear of being in trouble. Ahsoka was skipping all of her lessons for the day after all and Master Ti was in good enough standing to become a member of the Jedi Council. "How about I promise that you aren't in any trouble? I promise that I will speak nothing of your presence here." Shaak looked up and to her left in the exact direction that Ahsoka was hiding in with a comforting smile that worked well to soften her more intense togrutan features.

Ahsoka poked her head out from behind her tree. In her fairly high-pitched and youthful voice, she spoke up. "Promise you won't tell on me?"

Shaak giggled a little at Ahsoka's innocence. "I promise. Come here child. You're Ahsoka, aren't you?" Ahsoka timidly walked forward into full view. She squinted in the bright light as she came out from under the shade of the tree and into the garden. "Master Plo Koon had told me of a young togruta girl he had found on Shili. I must say that I am quite pleased to meet you finally."

"You're not mad at me?" Ahsoka felt ashamed for hiding. In hindsight, she couldn't believe that she ever thought that she could hide from a Jedi Master.

Shaak smiled and held out her hand. "Not at all. In fact, I'm impressed that you managed to get past the door to get in here. Come. Would you like to help me with some gardening?"

Ahsoka stepped forward and took Shaak's hand. Master Ti motioned for the Youngling to sit down next to her. Ahsoka looked up at Shaak with a puzzled face. "If you don't mind my asking, what is this place?" Ahsoka asked.

"This is the Room of a Thousand Fountains. It is a haven and sanctuary for us Jedi." The red-skinned togruta Jedi Master answered.

"Sanctuary from what?" Ahsoka asked quickly. She was immediately intrigued and in full-throttle, five-year-old, rapid-fire question mode.

"From many things and nothing." Shaak answered. "Some Jedi come here just to meditate. Some come to escape the urban sprawl of Coruscant… and some come here to skip classes." She looked down at Ahsoka with a smirk.

Ahsoka hunched down and felt a little bit smaller for a moment, but only a moment. She quickly shot off another question. "What are you here for?"

"I come here regularly to tend to this garden." Shaak answered as she reached over and trimmed another vegetable plant.

"But…" Ahsoka was confused. "You're like me. We're togruta… We only eat meat. Can you grow meat?"

Shaak Ti laughed for a good long moment, but then regained her composure. "My goodness, no, you can't grow meat. You are right, though. I can't eat any of the fruits or vegetables in this garden.

"Then why do you work on it? Why grow any of these?" Ahsoka's curiosity was compounded with her glee of spending time with another togruta.

"You'll learn in time, if you attend your classes, that being a Jedi means living for others, not for yourself. True, I don't benefit from the harvest of this garden, but most of what we eat in the Jedi Temple is synthetic food. Sure, our artificial foods taste pleasant and provide us with the nutrients we need, but it can bring so much happiness to some when given the chance to eat fresh food." Shaak looked down at Ahsoka who still looked confused. "I do this for the other Jedi. It's one of the many ways that I can give back to the Order."

"So, you do all of this work for them? Don't you get anything out of it?" Ahsoka looked at a fresh fruit and tried to imagine it being tasty with no success.

"Well…" Shaak Ti thought for a moment. "Working in this garden teaches me patience which is essential to a Jedi's life. I also enjoy this room. It reminds me of my home planet. It feels like…"

"Home." Ahsoka finished the statement. "It's one of the few things I can remember."

"We do have stronger memories than most Jedi. It's important not to dwell on what you miss. Revel in the experience of living in the moment." Shaak put a guiding hand on Ahsoka's shoulder. Ahsoka smiled and took hold of one of the pruning shears. With a big grin, she proceeded to cut a plant in half. Biting her tongue, Shaak assertively stopped Ahsoka's potential mayhem. "Perhaps I should teach you how to help before you try and help with the garden."

Ahsoka, unaware of any harm she may have just caused, looked up at Shaak Ti. "I'd like that."
Ahsoka Tano is only five years old and is already developing a rebellious and headstrong personality. Deciding to skip a lesson on patience, our favorite togruta finds herself in a room most Younglings don't get to see until they are a bit older. Intended to be a calmer read, Ahsoka learns a lesson about the selflessness of the Jedi. I hope you like it. B-)

This started as one of my impulse writes. It was getting longer and more developed and I started having other ideas. So, I guess I'm starting a series of one-off stories. "Star Wars Origins" aims to tell the stories of various Star Wars characters as their younger selves before we knew them in the movies and television shows. Some of the stories are fairly simple like this one. Others will attempt to explain things like what achievement Barriss Offee's hand tattoos represent or Obi-Wan Kenobi's experiences on Mandalore when he first met Satine. I have several ideas for various origins stories like Cad Bane's first encounter with the Jedi and when/why Satine had a falling out with her sister, Bo Katan. Whether or not I'll write them all is another matter. Let me know what you think of this "Origins" series concept. Thanks for reading!
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