*The exciting conclusion! Awww yeah!*

AHSOKA TANO

Two years later…

Ahsoka Tano walked down her designated walkway. She didn’t look around, but she knew what she would see: white flowers woven into the vines and around tree limbs of Dagoba, and hanging in sweet smelling curtains from above.

Banners that the other padawans had made, featuring the symbolism of the Republic and of the Jedi, all of simple, colorful weave just brushed the mossy ground.

Her Jedi cloak, pulled low over her face, was poking her in the eyes, but she paid no attention to it, for it was all part of the ceremony. Gradually, she realized that she was walking under more of the banners, each held up by a padawan or youngling. Misha and Loli, the two newest and youngest of the group of fifty, stood proudly erect as she passed under their banners, and Lux, padawan silka beads in his brown hair, who held one as well, smiled warmly as she walked by.

Ahsoka calmed her beating heart as she left the last of the banners behind. She looked up to see a cave, its mouth almost perfectly round, its entrance covered by long, green vines. It was imbedded in the cliff face itself. She stopped and stood before the entryway for a moment. Then she went inside.

The padawans didn’t follow her, for this was a secret ritual that only Jedi Masters were allowed to witness. For a few moments she stumbled along in the darkness, trying to find her way around after the light from outside. Suddenly, a candle was lit.

In front of her stood Obi-Wan Kenobi, her current Master, holding the candle. He motioned for her to follow, then headed up stairs that had seemingly formed naturally in the rock. Above her, stalactites dripped in suspended animation towards the floor, and their stalagmite mates.

Finally, they reached a larger, more open cavern. On flat rock formations, more candles burned, filling the space with a dull, golden light, but not chasing away all of the shadows.

Up ahead, Masters Windu and Yoda stood in the center of the candles. Obi-Wan took his place on the other side of Yoda. He then spoke up. “Padawan Ahsoka Tano, you have completed all that I have been able to train you with flying colors. We are proud of the great Jedi that you have become.”

“No Trials made by the Jedi have you faced. But other trials in life you have passed. Of Courage, of Selflessness, of Wisdom, of Skill, of Flesh, of Perseverance, of Faith and of Spirit, they were. No more have we to teach you. On your own, find enlightenment, you will, if stay on this path, you do,” said Master Yoda, who, as always, wasn’t wearing a hood.

“Do you swear to be forever loyal to the Jedi Order, to democracy, to the remains of the Republic, and to those around you?” asked Mace Windu.

“I do,” she said, without hesitation, and got down on one knee. As one, the Jedi Masters pulled out their lightsabers and turned them on, holding them in front of their faces. Purple, green, and blue light bathed the chamber with an eerie quality.

Then each lightsaber flashed out with the signature whoom sound, and Windu and Kenobi pointed their lightsabers to the floor.

“You now end your life as Padawan Ahsoka Tano, and begin a new one as a Jedi Master,” continued Windu. The Masters raised their hands.

Yoda’s lightsaber tapped her lightly on each shoulder three times, then with a single slice, cut off her silka beads. In unison, with the sounds of many, many voices backing them, the three Jedi Masters spoke. “By the right of the Council, By the Will of the Force, We dub Thee Jedi, Knight of the Republic.”

Ahsoka looked up. For a moment, in a circle around the four Jedi, she saw infinite Jedi Masters. There were many that she had known, and many more that she didn’t, all with their hands and lightsabers raised. As those of the Council of the Jedi Long-Fallen disappeared, one figure remained. It was Anakin.

“I’m so proud of you, Ahsoka. You will be the wise and powerful Jedi that the New Jedi Order needs to lead it. You have my blessings,” he said. He too raised his hand, then disappeared.

I’m home, she thought. Truly home.