Chapter 122: CH-122:)
Shaak Ti observed Aayla for several long moments before she nodded slowly. "We must always be careful when viewing the future. Understanding what it portends is always harder."
Her voice dropped a little bit. "Some of the older and more sensitive members of the Order have contended it's not the Dark Side of the Force that has been blocking our visions but the Force itself."
She shook her head waving off Aayla's surprised look. "Nothing to be concerned about, something I've just heard more than once."
Shaak Ti glanced up at the door. "I myself wish to meditate soon while in close proximity to him. I wish to see if my sight clears as much as yours and Ahsoka's has. I would also like to speak to Harry some more, if you don't mind. Get a bit more of a feel for him."
"He's hardly mine to give permission about speaking to," Aayla glanced down and suddenly arrowed her eyes, with an involuntary growl escaping her throat, "I also need to get him to change me back from pink."
With a goal in mind she turned and headed outside with a determined stride, while Shaak Ti followed her formerly blue friend at a far more sedate pace.
She sat crossed legged in an empty and very small storage compartment. She took a slow indrawn breath. The first one she had taken in over an hour. She was deep in a meditative state, and while her eyes were closed, it made her no less aware of her surroundings. They didn't bother with life support to help conserve energy. Not like droids needed it anyway.
Without the Force, she would have suffocated from lack of oxygen two days ago, yet with its powers, she could easily sit here twice as long and be in no danger.
There was nothing to see in the little storage area. Even with enhanced senses provided by the Force, the compartment was pitch black. All her other senses were in tune with the environment and all the little disturbances that accompanied it, and she was completely aware of everything that happened around her.
She could feel the thrum of the ship beneath the deck plates as it traveled through hyperspace. The engines, were slightly overstrained, and was either due to needing an overhaul, or the lack of care and caution by those in charge of the ship. The ship had a distinct oscillation that her ears had quickly learned to ignore. Occasionally she could hear the rattle as the hard movement of feet hit the plates outside of her hiding place. Her senses regularly picked up the whir of servomotors as droids moved about the ship proceeding about their tasks. The droids that passed were oblivious to all that wasn't relevant to their current directives. She had little worry of being discovered as she had chosen this out of the way location of the ship deliberately. She knew the schedules of the ship's inhabitants, and knew they rarely deviated from their routines.
Her eyes closed, as there was no reason to not continue her meditations and preparations for battle. Her quarry drew closer every moment the smuggler's ship traversed the endless expanse of hyperspace, and she was determined not to fail this time.
Her skills and abilities in the Force had improved in the months she had spent in isolation, no matter how dismissive he might have been of her potential the last time they had interacted.
None of his tricks would allow him to escape her. His arrogance would be his undoing.
The two women ventured outside and were more than a little surprised to find Harry and Ahsoka laying on the ground on their stomachs. They were facing each other with about a meter of space separating them. In between them was a small pile of stones.
Harry had his hands clenched in fist and one was resting on top of the other, while he was resting his chin on them. His focus was on Ahsoka and he was watching her intently. Ahsoka was pointing her wand at the pile of stones with a look of focus and concentration on her face.
The two Jedi Masters both stopped several yards from the group though they were close enough that they could make out what was being said. Aayla was surprised that Shaak Ti merely observed, only shooting Aayla a curious look before focusing back on the pair and wasn't asking why Ahsoka was pointing a stick at some rocks.
Harry seemed to be ignoring their presence entirely, "Okay, now that you've got what you want to change the rock into firmly in your mind. Apply the magic to make the change."
Ahsoka nodded a little bit and jabbed her wand slightly forward and nothing happened. She looked up at Harry with a slightly disappointed look on her face.
Harry shook his head, and his tone was reassuring, "No, you're thinking about the steps in the process. Don't. You've been taught to let the 'Force' guide you. This isn't like that. You can't be so passive. Focus on what you want to happen and then guide magic to do it. The wand will help you."
Harry was going to let her try it this way for a few times before he started encouraging her to use incantations to help her concentration. He just didn't want to because incantations were more of a handicap than anything. And he thought Ahsoka might be able to manage without them.
Ahsoka listened intently to Harry's instruction and nodded and then took a breath, gathering her concentration before waving her wand at the rock again. This time she felt the Force move through the wand.
There was a brief hesitation and a small shimmer and then one of the rocks, the one Ahsoka was pointing her wand at and focusing her attention on so intently, quivered and then slowly morphed into a small rodent, closely resembling a mouse. The mouse made a squeaking sound as it seemed to take in its surroundings.
Ahsoka squealed in pleasure. "It worked."
"Huh," Harry responded eloquently after a moment's pause.
He looked far more than a little surprised, though he reached out and snagged the mouse before it could scamper too far away. He stared at the mouse, looking at it with an impartial eye, turning it around in his hands. It still had a coloring like the rock. It's body was slightly harder than other rodents he was familiar with. He also noted that though they weren't easily visible, he could feel that just beneath the fur patches portions of the body were still stone and not flesh.
Ahsoka looked more than a little bit hurt at his surprised reaction, and it showed on her face. "Did you not think I could do it?"
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