Note: story is being reposted doing to a some kind of problem with FFnet. I wasn't able to update it.

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Well, as I've already said, this is my final "Star Wars" story. I've moved on to a new fandom and I'm now interested in writing about another honourable man with a tragic life. The fandom is NCIS, the character is L.J. Gibbs, and I'm writing there as Gunnery Sergeant. I would love if some of you, faithful readers that added me to your author alerts, would like to take a look to my new works. If you are interested in NCIS too, of course. :)

The story you are about to read is one of my favourite works ever. This is why I kept it for last. As the Romans said, dulcis in fundo (the best at the end). I hope you will enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.

The Jedi In Asajj Ventress' Life

By Lincoln Six Echo

A/N: this story, while being very AU, is based the account the comics give of Asajj Ventress, of her past, and of her strange relationship with Obi-Wan. I only twisted some things here and there.

For those not familiar with Asajj Ventress' past, according to the canon, she was born on Rattatak, a planet constantly at war. Her warlord parents were killed when she was still very young by other warlords. Then, one day a Jedi knight named Ky Narec crashed on Rattatak. He found Asajj, discovered her Force ability and began training her. They fought side by side and managed to pacify half of Rattatak. Alas, the other half was not pleased by it, and Narec was killed, before he could complete Asajj's training. Asajj's vented her pain and rage over Narec's killers, but also on the Jedi, that she thought had abandoned her master.

Part One

The wind blew on the mountainous expanses of Rattatak, and the air, filtering between caves and gorges, created a noise that sounded like a wail—or so fourteen-year-old Asajj Ventress thought as she sat by her parents' graves.

The Rattataki girl hugged her knees, pressing her face against them as she valiantly fought the tears that threatened to spring from her yes.

She had been taught from early infancy to be strong, to not show weakness, but it was difficult to be strong when you were left alone in a world perpetually at war. As for showing weakness, there was no one near to witness her tears, only the two mounds of rocks that covered her parents' remains.

Asajj sniffled, losing her control, and broke into agonized sobs.

"I miss you, Mother and Father," she babbled between her tears. "I miss your love and guidance. How could I ever follow your steps and become a warrior you could be proud of without your example? How will I ever be able to gather the Southern Hemisphere tribes in only one army as you planned to do? How?"

Asajj brushed her eyes and looked toward the reddish landscape surrounding her, trying to find answers to her questions, answers her parents could no longer give her.

It was then that she saw something cross the sky at high speed, coming in her direction.

Without losing time, Asajj stood and ran to seek shelter in one of the many caverns of the area. Once she felt safe, she returned to look at the sky and at the strange object moving toward her.

Has Osika Kirske or one of the other warlords created a new weapon? Asajj thought fearfully, as the flying object came closer and bigger. A new type of cannon?

The flying object's trajectory ended when it impacted to the ground in the clearing near her parents' graves, but no explosion followed.

Perplexed, her curiosity warring with caution, Asajj emerged from her hiding placed and knelt behind a rock, staring at the strange thing. It was way too big to be a missile; it looked more like one of their tanks, but it had…wings? Was it a flying machine?

Asajj almost jumped when a hatch slid open and a head appeared.

A man – or at least she thought it was a man – looked around, using his arms to push his whole body out of his craft. He jumped down to the ground, landing on his knees, scanning the area. His tense body posture hinted he was fully alert and ready to spring at the first sign of danger—which was not late to come.

Blaster rifles and mid-range cannons unleashed a rain of fire on the stranger, the attack coming from a nearby hill.

Asajj raised her binoculars and looked up. Yes, it was Kirske's army, shooting from their new stronghold.

Her gaze returned to the site where the stranger had landed, fully expecting him to see him dead under her enemies' fire, and her eyes opened wide in surprise.

Far from being dead, the stranger was standing tall in the middle of the clearing and was using a weapon Asajj had never seen before to deflect the blasters bolts. It looked like a sword—and the stranger handled it like one—but the blade was not made by metal. It was made of…light?

Yes, Asajj could not find a better way to describe the wondrous blue blade the stranger was using with such efficiency.

As the attack continued, Asajj watched the stranger retreat and move toward the nearby mountain, obviously looking for shelter. He was slowly backing toward her position and it was then that Asajj Ventress made the decision destined to change her life forever: she decided to help the stranger.

The girl had no idea of who the man was, but Kirske was trying to kill him just like he had tried to kill her. She also knew that alone, without someone to protect her, she would not last long, but maybe, if she convinced the man to join her, then there could be hope. For both of them. Maybe the stranger was the answer to the questions she had asked to her parents' graves.

Making her mind up, Asajj stood up from her hiding place and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Quick! Come here, I know a place where you can hide!" She was not even sure the stranger would understand her words, but blessedly he did.

He ran in her direction so fast she barely saw him and stopped by her side.

"Follow me," she instructed, leading the way into one of the caves. It was very long, with passageways that ran along and across the entire mountain, allowing people to enter by one side and exit kilometres away in a completely different location.

They walked in silence for several minutes, until they reached the cavern her family had used for shelter before her parents had decided to move against Kirske.

There was food and water there, and blankets and weapons—everything they might need.

Asajj lit the glow rods scattered along the circular cavity and then returned to face her guest.

Now that she had the time to study him calmly, she noticed he was a young man. Even if he obviously belonged to a different tribe than Asajj's, she was sure he could not be older than twenty.

He had short brownish-red hair on his head, but no beard or moustache and his skin was pink, not as white as hers. He was also quite short, with no evident musculature, and had not Asajj just seen him fight, she would have been very disappointed for he didn't look at all like a warrior.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"My name is Ky Narec," he answered with a low, strongly accented voice. "And you are?"

"Asajj Ventress."

"Honoured to meet you, Asajj Ventress," Narec answered with a bow. "Thank you for offering me shelter."

"Who you are? Where have you come from? Who is your tribe?" Asajj clamped her lips shut to stop the flood of questions.

The young man smiled slightly. "I'm from Coruscant."

"Coruscant?" Asajj frowned. She had never heard that name. "Where is it?"

"It's in the Core; it's the capital of the Republic."

Core? Republic? Asajj had the impression she and the stranger spoke two different languages.

"What planet is this?" Narec asked.

"This is Rattatak…of course. What other planet could it be?" Asajj thought that maybe the stranger had hit his head while landing.

"Rattatak? Never heard of it, but then, there are so many inhabited planets in the Republic…"

"So many worlds? You mean…you mean that you come from a different planet?" Asajj almost stammered, eyes wide.

Narec smiled again. "Yes, Asajj. I come from a different planet: Coruscant, the one I mentioned before."

It would have been easy to believe Narec was just a madman inventing stories, but then how to explain his light sword, his flying machine and his look? No, Asajj felt the man was telling the truth. So she tried to digest what he had said, wondering what kind of worlds existed in the sky and if all of them were like Rattatak.

Her musing were interrupted by a slight noise. She turned toward Narec and saw his cheeks were flushed. She understood it was out of embarrassment as his stomach rumbled again.

The expression on his face made her smile for the first time in weeks.

"Come," Asajj said, tilting her head toward the cooking unit near the opposite wall. "I've food and you seem quite hungry."

"I'm hungry. I cannot remember the last time I had a real meal. My journey was supposed to last only eleven hours, thus I brought only a few rationbars with me. I couldn't imagine my navi-computer would malfunction and that, when I would drop out of hyperspace I would be in some uncharted territory. I've been trying to find my way home for the past ten days…"

Asajj nodded, although she had no idea of what hyperspace or a navi-computer were. She just knew the stranger was hungry and she was too.

"Come," she repeated. "Let's eat something and then you will tell me more about this "Republic" of yours…"