Visions
Part IX: Visions
Night had fallen and Ahsoka was standing alone in the center of Fardi’s gardens. All around her, the once beautiful plants were slowly dying. It was subtle, unnoticeable, if you didn’t look closely. But Ahsoka could sense the Living Force slowly leaving them. She bent over a flowering bush and extended a hand towards the delicate petals covering it, but before she could touch it, a woman’s scream pierced the night. Ahsoka immediately straightened up. She couldn’t tell where the sound was coming from. Another one filled the air, even more distressed this time. She was beginning to panic, desperately looking for the source of the scream. And when a third shriek reached her ears, Ahsoka woke up.
She sat down on her mattress and turned on the light. She had made the same dream again. For a little more than a month now, she had been dreaming about the scream in Fardi’s gardens. The dream was too persistent to be ignored but, she couldn’t make sense of it. Not so long ago, she would have gone to Master Yoda for guidance, in the hope that he could help her interpret the vision but now… She had to figure it out by herself. She glanced at the small clock beside her mattress; it was already 0500. In less than an hour she would have to leave for work which meant that getting back to sleep would be useless. The best she could do was to meditate in order to find the answers she was looking for. She tried to calm down and reach to the Force, but it didn’t do much; the memory of the voice kept haunting her until dawn.
When she finally left her small house, the sky was still beautifully orange, but Thabeska was already beginning to come back to life. Shops were starting to open their gates and workers were washing the sand off their speeders before heading for their job. Ahsoka took the direction of Fardi’s shipyard where she had been working since her employment. She was mainly doing small repairs, but once in a while, Bija’an would come in person, asking for some modifications on a ship. Make the engines more powerful or add a secret trunk under the floor; nothing Anakin had not taught her. Ahsoka wasn’t naive though. She knew those ships were used for smuggling, but she didn’t ask questions. It was a luxury she couldn’t afford.
Fardi’s shipyard was located on the edge of town, halfway between the city and a big desert plain. Although the view wasn’t extraordinary, it provided Ahsoka some kind of peace and helped her focus on her work. She wrapped her scarf around her face to protect herself from the sand flying around and put on a pair of goggles before sliding under a first ship to begin her day.
It was almost noon when the Fardi girls showed up at the shipyard. They had developed the habit to visit her everyday in the morning and usually stayed with her as long as they could. Ahsoka looked at the chrono at her wrist; they were late.
“Good morning girls,” Ahsoka said, without taking her eyes off the engine she was fixing. “Somebody has been sleeping in, I see.”
“Not really,” one of them replied. “Chenna,” Ahsoka remembered. “But we’ve wasted time trying to make Hedala leave the house. She’s been crying since we woke up and…”
Ahsoka emerged from under the ship and put her goggles on her forehead. That was unusual. Hedala had taken a special interest in Ahsoka since day one, and the young Togruta was certain only something serious would prevent the girl to come and see her. Besides, despite being the youngest girl of the clan, Hedala was surprisingly mature for her age. Ahsoka had never seen her cry. There was definitively something wrong going on.
“What happened? Why didn’t she want to leave the house?”
“She said she had a bad dream,” Chenna answered. “She said something about someone screaming or something like that. Scared her real good.”
A chill ran down Ahsoka’s spine. A dream about someone screaming? That couldn’t be a coincidence.
“Where is she, now?” She asked the girls, trying to hide her concern.
“At home.”
“Alone?”
“No, Makala was still there when we left the house.”
Ahsoka had to think fast.
“Alright, I want you to wait here. I’ll tell the keeper to call your nannies.”
“But…”
“And don’t follow me!”
“Why? What’s happening?”
“Nothing,” Ahsoka lied. “I have work to do elsewhere.”
“And we can’t come with you?”
“No, I’m sorry.”
They let out a few disappointed sighs, but Ahsoka was too worried about Hedala to feel bad. She quickly left the shipyard, notifying the keeper about the girls on the way.
When she arrived at Fardi’s house, the place was unusually quiet. Many families were living there but it seemed like everybody had gone out that morning. She headed straight to the gardens; certain it would be the place where she would find Hedala. And sure enough, the little girl was there, sitting on the ground at the exact same spot where Ahsoka had stood during her dream.
“Hedala!” She ran to the child and knelt in front of her. “Are you okay?”
The girl looked terrified.
“I don’t want to hear her cry again…”
Her? Ahsoka looked around. They were alone. She called upon the Force to scan their surroundings. She couldn’t detect the presence of anyone else in the gardens.
“Come, Hedala. We’ll go somewhere else and you’ll be able to tell me about your dream.”
“It was not a dream!” The little girl protested.
As soon the words escaped her mouth, a scream resounded in the gardens. The scream of Ahsoka’s dream. Hedala covered her ears with her hands.
“No, no, no…”
It took a moment for Ahsoka to understand that the little girl wasn’t the one screaming. “Makala!”
“Hedala, stay here!” She shouted before running towards the house.
She took the stairs two at a time, using the Force to run faster. Ahsoka finally reached Makala’s bedroom on the second floor and flung the door open. She was obviously interrupting something. Makala was pinned against the wall, crying. Against her was Bija’an, one hand around her throat and the other under her dress. Ahsoka didn’t hesitate. She crossed the room as fast as she could and threw herself against Bija’an, shoving him to the ground. Out of the corner of her eye, Ahsoka saw Makala gather her ripped dress against her naked breasts and collapse on the floor. The young Togruta knelt besides her.
“Are you okay?”
Makala didn’t answer, still in shock.
“You schutta,” Bija’an said, rubbing the back of his head. “I’ll have your…”
Ahsoka rose up and pressed her foot against his chest to keep him on the ground.
“You may want to withdraw the insult.”
He was about to answer when they suddenly heard noises coming from the street outside. Ahsoka recognized the voices of many Fardi girls and their nannies who were coming back to the house. She turned to Bija’an.
“I think you’re about to regret what you’ve just done.”
**********
Ahsoka briefly closed her eyes as Fardi broke a vase against the wall with a cry of rage.
“Do not touch him! I want to take care of him myself!”
“Yes, boss,” a guard replied before leaving the room with one of his colleagues.
Hedala squeezed Ahsoka’s hand. “Her father’s anger is scarring her,” the Togruta realised. She sent a wave of reassurance through the Force and Hedala relaxed a little bit, although not quickly enough for Ahsoka to be the only one to notice the girl’s fear. Fardi’s gaze met his daughter’s. With a sigh, he finally calmed down and crouched down in front of Hedala.
“It’s over, honey. Everything will be fine, okay?”
Hedala nodded.
“Come,” Fardi said, opening his arms.
Hedala released Ahsoka’s hand to hug her father. In his arms, she looked even smaller.
“Now, go with Karoma, would you? Ahsla and I have other things to talk about.”
“Come with me, Hedala,” the nanny said, extending an arm.
The girl grabbed her nanny’s outstretched hand and the two of them left the room. Except for two remaining guards, Ahsoka was now alone with Fardi.
“So… Tell me again how you found out,” the man asked.
“When the girls came in the shipyard this morning, they told me Hedala wasn’t feeling well. So, I came back to the house to check on her and…”
“Why didn’t you call someone?”
“I… I didn’t…” She had not anticipated the question.
“Forget it,” Fardi said. “It doesn’t matter. Go on.”
“So, huh… I found Hedala in the gardens; she was safe and sound. That’s when we heard someone screaming. I ran upstairs and I saw… Well… Bija’an was there with Makala and…” She wasn’t sure how to describe the scene to Makala’s father.
“I get the picture,” he said, closing his eyes.
Ahsoka saw his fists clench. Fardi remained silent for a moment before he spoke again.
“I have a new job for you. From now on, I want you to become my daughter’s shadow. You will follow her wherever she goes. And I want you to tell me about everyone she speaks to.”
“You… You want me to spy on her?”
“I want you to protect her,” he corrected her. “Become her friend if you must, but I don’t want her alone.”
Ahsoka looked down. She wasn’t sure how to feel about this new assignment.
“Look,” Fardi said. “When you first came into this room, you told me you were ready to do any job and that’s why I’m asking you do to today. Plus, something is telling me you can’t really have a normal job.”
Ahsoka tensed up.
“Don’t worry,” he reassured her. “You’ve never asked questions about our activities so I will return the favor. But I don’t think you’re in a position to refuse my request, am I wrong?”
She sighed. He was right.
“But why me? Any of your guards could do it.”
“I don’t trust any of my men with her anymore. Plus, you are the one who saved her, what’s more, out of the goodness of your heart. And I know you would do it again.”
“I’ll keep her safe,” Ahsoka finally said.
That, she could promise.
“Good.”
His tone indicated it was time for her to leave, but Ahsoka didn’t move, wondering whether or not she should tell him about Hedala’s dreams.
“Is there something else?”
After all, there was a possibility that Hedala had heard her sister with Bija’an before and, out of incomprehension, thought she was having a bad dream. But if that wasn’t the case, that would mean…
“No, sir. I’ll leave right now.”
That would mean the little girl was Force-sensitive.