The Wrong Jedi

The Jedi Council is negotiating with Admiral Tarkin on what type of trial Padawan Ahsoka Tano should have. Tarkin wants the Galactic Senate to try her, but the Council wants to have a Jedi trial. They eventually agree to let Chancellor Palpatine decide. Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi begs the Council to represent Tano in the trial, saying that it is the Jedi's duty to stand beside their ownncil. The Council points out the strong circumstantial evidence against Tano, such as the crates of nano-droids she was found standing among. Accordingly, the Council decides to cast Tano from the Jedi Order, removing her status as Padawan and leaving her a civilian under the jurisdiction of the Senate. In a symbolic gesture, the Jedi remove her Padawan braid.
Tano and her master Anakin Skywalker eventually find out that she will indeed be put on trial. Skywalker asks Senator Padmé Amidala to represent Tano in the trial and she agrees. Meanwhile Skywalker decides to follow the lead Tano gave him by pursuing Asajj Ventress to interrogate her.
As Tano and Amidala prepare their defense for the trial, Tano reveals that she feels deeply betrayed and holds out no hope for justice, believing that Skywalker will not be able to find evidence where she herself failed. Simultaneously, Skywalker finds Ventress and begins to chase her through the city. After a short chase, involving a quick fight in which she uselessly attempts to defend herself with a pair of iron bars, he subdues her and Force chokes her into talking.
Ventress explains that she had no interest in killing Tano, simply planning to turn her over to the authorities. She then reminds Skywalker that (as she sees it) she and Tano have much in common--she believes her master abandoned her, and the entire Jedi Council abandoned Tano in belief of her guilt. As Tano's trial begins, Ventress tells Skywalker her side of the episode, explaining how she was knocked out by an unknown assailant who managed to sneak up behind her. When Skywalker remains skeptical, she points out that she does not have her lightsabers, and claims that the one who framed Tano probably still has them. As Skywalker declares that this leads him to a dead end, since Tano only spoke to Ventress, Ventress reveals that Tano contacted her friend Padawan Barriss Offee before the two former Jedi headed to the warehouse.
Skywalker returns to the Temple and comes to question Offee. At this point, Amidala is constructing a strong case for Tano, pointing out that the circumstances surrounding Letta Turmond's death strongly imply that Tano could not be the culprit. Tarkin responds by revealing Tano's meeting with Ventress and reminds the court that Tano was found, supposedly, in the possession of the nano-droids. Simultaneously, Skywalker, picking up Offee's lightsaber and toying with the hilt, asks Offee to confirm her contact with Tano. Offee does so, showing surprise that Skywalker believed Ventress' story. When she asks who it could be if not Ventress or Tano, he turns on the lightsaber and swings it at her. In response, the Mirialan summons Ventress' lightsabers to her hands, surprising Skywalker. They then engage in a fierce duel.
As Palpatine prepares to ask the jury to deliberate on their sentence, Skywalker and Offee carry their duel out toward the training grounds. In a hallway overlooking the grounds, Skywalker, now wielding his own lightsaber in conjunction with Offee's, condemns Offee for betraying Tano's trust. Responding, Offee spits out that she has found that trust is overrated, having come to see the Jedi as an order of violence. Eventually, their duel continues onto the training grounds. Finally, Skywalker overpowers Offee and Temple Guards arresting her.
Just as Chancellor Palpatine is about to report the conviction of Tano, Skywalker interrupts the proceedings, bringing in Offee, who confesses her crimes. She declares publicly her belief that the Jedi Order had lost its way and fallen to the control of the dark side, and that it is the Jedi as a body who should be on trial. Accordingly, the charges against Tano are dropped.
Although Tano is relieved, it is clear the whole ordeal has scarred her. The Council apologizes for their actions and ask Ahsoka to rejoin the Order, explaining that this was her great trial, making her a true Jedi. Skywalker makes the request personal, offering her the Padawan braid that he has kept through his faith in her innocence. To everyone's shock, though, she refuses and leaves. Skywalker follows her outside the Temple and asks her to reconsider, noting that the idea of leaving the Jedi Order is something he himself has struggled with. She replies that she knows, but states that this is something she must work through on her own. Skywalker watches his former Padawan as she leaves the Temple steps, with a tear sliding down her cheek as she disappears.
Category:Fan Fiction