A Jedi Padawan and a Young Assassin (Tag: Shane Coretin)

She hadn’t run in a long time. Well, weeks, anyway, so it had been a long time.

Ahsoka stepped up to the running machine and began to move in sync with the turning belt. Ohhh, this is niiiice… She closed her eyes and remained perfectly in-pace, feeling calmer than she had since she’d arrived here.

Oh, it's um, that...young lady with the lightsaber. Shane smacked himself mentally as he stepped into the exercise room, wearing shorts and a tank top, and made absolutely sure that there were no other females around. There was, in fact, no one else there, and Shane wasn't quite sure how he felt about that as he stepped over to his favorite weight-lifting station and began prepping the bar and tapping his hands.

Eyes still closed, Ahsoka smiled, sensing a young presence with a fine edge to it. “Hi, Shane,” she called, not breaking her pace.

Craters! Not only had she spoken to him, she remembered his name! Well if that didn't make things difficult... "Hi." he managed flatly, dusting off the extra powder off the bar, and then postioning himself underneath it.

Her smile widened as her eyes remained closed. “It’s Ahsoka,” she said, her voice tinged with amusement. The amusement faded, though, when she asked, “How’ve you been holding up?”

Shane was sure he was blushing, and that embaressed him even further, causing him to blush more. "Um, sorry, I'm just not good with names unless...well I'm just not." He had been meaning to say unless it's the name of a target, but thought that might not go over so well. And he falled to see the amusement that Ahsoka saw in the situation.

Refocusing on the bar that seemed to hang above his head, Shane almost didn't hear Ahsoka's question. "Um...'bout as well as could be expected, I guess." He started pumping out lifts in a smooth, steady manner. "Yourself?"

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Shane was sure he was blushing, and that embarrassed him even further, causing him to blush more. "Um, sorry, I'm just not good with names unless...well I'm just not."

“Some people aren’t,” Ahsoka said easily. She sensed a bit more there, but let it go.

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"Um...'bout as well as could be expected, I guess." He started pumping out lifts in a smooth, steady manner. "Yourself?"

She opened her eyes and glanced back at him, still keeping pace. “Oh, hating just about every minute of it,” she admitted candidly. “Which I’ve got to work on. Hate isn’t exactly something encouraged where I come from.”

She stopped the machine and, in one fluid motion, flipped over it to land cat-like on the floor before rising smoothly to her feet. “Master Obi-Wan would tell me to release my hate to the Force and let it calm me. Unfortunately, he’s got some twenty years on me for practice.” She ran up to the bars and leapt up to grab one, hanging from it and swinging. After ten swift chin-ups, she swung her body up and around the bar like a trapeze artist.

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“Some people aren’t,” Ahsoka said easily. She sensed a bit more there, but let it go.

And I just happen to be in that group. He was glad that Ahsoka had let the subject go for the moment, but his transperancy was all to evident in his mind.

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She opened her eyes and glanced back at him, still keeping pace. “Oh, hating just about every minute of it,” she admitted candidly. “Which I’ve got to work on. Hate isn’t exactly something encouraged where I come from.”

Shane wasn't going to pretend for a moment that he had any clue what Ahsoka was talking about, but it sounded interesting for sure. "Why don't they let you hate? And who's...Obi-Wan?" He paused for a moment to ask his questions, and then continued on, his training regieme being one that focused more on endruance than speed.

Ahsoka pulled herself up onto the bar, then swung down so that she was upside-down hanging from her knees, looking for all the galaxy like an overgrown hawkbat. “Hmm, how do I answer that? About hate, I mean.” How would Master Yoda explain it to someone who doesn’t even know about the Force?

“Well, I, um… oh stars, call it for what it is. I’m very powerful, Shane,” she said frankly. “There are a lot of things that I can do that not many people can. There’s a good side and a bad side to that power, and a lot of people have been corrupted by the bad side. That’s how a war started back in my home galaxy in the first place. Allowing myself to be afraid, to get angry, to hate… that’s opening me up to the dark side of my power. And that’s a really bad place to be. So…” she swung around so that she was hanging from her hands once more, “I’ve got to get rid of that emotion.” A trace of lightness entered her voice. “All for a good cause.”

She idly swung back and forth. “Obi-Wan Kenobi… he’s a Jedi Knight. That’s what I’m training to be—I’m just an apprentice right now. Master Obi-Wan’s not my mentor, though—my mentor’s just a few years older than me. Anakin Skywalker.” She smiled softly. “He’s really great. Irritating, sometimes, but great. Kinda like a big brother.”

Her smile faded, and she stopped swinging. “I miss him,” she said quietly. “Him and Artoo and Master Obi-Wan and Captain Rex and all the troops.” She took a deep, shuddering breath and let go, dropping to the floor.

Shane listened quietly as Ahsoka explained why she couldn't hate, Obi-Wan and her apprenticeship to someone called Anakin Skywalker. He wondered if the memories of home saddened her, and the sound of her landing on the floor confirmed that they did.

"I'm sorry. ...I didn't...mean to, uh...bother you." Shane spoke between breaths as he finished his last few lifts and then placed the weighted bar in it's rack above his head, and sat up to face Ahsoka. "I'm not sure that I entirely understand how you feel, my up-bringing being...more or less of my own doing." He smiled slightly. "I guess in your world I'd be somewhere in the middle, closer to what you call the "dark side" for sure."

It felt strange having a regular conversation with someone. Especially a peron that he didn't know hardly at all. He never spoke this much with Warp, or with anyone else for that matter. "I haven't called a place "home" for quite some time you know."

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"I'm sorry. ...I didn't...mean to, uh...bother you."

“Hey, it’s not your fault or anything,” Ahsoka shrugged, looking up from her place on the floor.

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"I'm not sure that I entirely understand how you feel, my up-bringing being...more or less of my own doing." He smiled slightly. "I guess in your world I'd be somewhere in the middle, closer to what you call the ‘dark side’ for sure."

Ahsoka frowned slightly as she traced mindless patterns on the floor. That was so sad, to be so young and on-your-own and closer to the Dark than the Light. “I’m sorry,” she murmured.

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"I haven't called a place ‘home’ for quite some time you know."

And no matter how much Jedi roamed, they could always come home to the Temple. “I’m sorry to hear that,” she said candidly. She took another deep breath. “I’ve been on the move a lot for the past three years, but I’ve always had the Jedi Temple to come home to. I can’t imagine not having a home.”

The small amount of emotion that had gathered in Shane's face disappeared suddenly. "Don't be sorry for me, Ahsoka." The manner in which he spoke made the words sound more like and order than a request, but his voice was calm. "The fact that I really have no home has also come of my own choosing."

Ahsoka flinched back, her eyes quickly hardening. “Fine. Whatever. It’s your life.” She stood, spun on her heel, ran, and sprung off the floor in a series of flips.

Shane sighed mentally. I didn't mean it that way. He stood, untaped his hands and moved toward one of the punching bags. Ask all you like. It's the answers that make it hard. Staring at the bag reminded Shane of the hours upon hours upon days that he had spend in the same room, training under Warp's critical eye. His favorite move was still a left side spin kick, followed by a right-handed upper cut. It never failed to get the bag moving in the past, and nothing was different now as Shane attacked the bag. This was one the faster parts of his training, and it thrilled him to see how long he could keep his pace.

Ahsoka stopped flipping and watched Shane, unable to help being impressed by his skill. “That’s pretty good,” she murmured. “Ever do real hand-to-hand combat?”

Shane smiled to himself as he stopped abruptly, catching the bag in order to keep it from swing."Only a little. I'm at the very end of my training, and have only four or five real missions under my belt." In a spur-of-the-moment flash of humor, he half-hid himself behind the motionless bag and asked, "And you?" As if it weren't obvious.

“Usually blade-to-blade, but yeah, I’ve done some hand-to-hand,” Ahsoka nodded, grinning. “But, pfff, I don’t know how many missions I’ve been on. I mean, I’ve just come from a galactic civil war several years running, and I’ve been on the front line for most of that time.”

"And you survived." Shane noted with admiration in his voice. "You must be at least a decent fighter if you've made it this far." He winced slightly as soon as he finished his sentence, hoping it came across the way he meant it to.

Ahsoka’s grin turned feral, not because of any malice on her part but simply because of her alien features. “Yeah. Had some really close calls, but I’ve faced off just about every single star warrior the Separatists have.” She laughed. “Frankly, it is a wonder I’m still alive, let alone in one piece.”

It was difficult for Shane to not be impressed by someone was younger than him, at the same time, far older. "I'm afraid my idea of a close call is having someone point a charged blaster into the shadows of a particular alley." He smiled ruefully. "No one's actually had the chance to shoot at me yet."

Ahsoka smiled. “Trust me, you’re not missing out on anything.” Especially since you don’t have the Force to block those shots. “I think one of my closest calls was almost being spaced.” She shivered. “Anakin just barely managed to pull us to safety.”

"My mentor, and my boss, would beg to differ with you there," Shane sighed, showing some doubt in his own features. "What's, being spaced?" It almost sounded funny, and would've been if it weren't for their line of conversation.

Ahsoka blinked. “You don’t—I guess there’s a different term for it where you’re from. When you space something, that means you jet it out of the ship—for the bad guys, it’s a way to get rid of enemies.”

She cocked her head curiously. “Who’s your mentor?”

"Oh, that. Yeah, we calling being jetisined, or just dead." Okay, now it was funny, and Shane let out a light-hearted chuckle the thought. "My mentor?" The happy smile became a shadowy grin. "Warp Darkmatter...you met him didn't you?"

Ahsoka smirked at Shane’s quip and shook her head. “Yeah, I met Warp—when I first got here. He’s, mmm…” She smiled. “He’s not the kind of guy Anakin or Obi-Wan would want me to hang around. But,” she exhaled explosively, “Anakin and Obi-Wan aren’t here, are they? I gotta be a big girl on my own.” She rubbed at her left arm, feeling a little chill there.