The Star Child (CH 1) (Patreon)

A/N: This story is rated M for mature content not suitable for children.

All characters engaging in sexual or mature relationships are eighteen years or older.

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Chapter 1: Singularity

The crystalline spires of Christophsis didn't just reflect light; they hummed with it. To anyone else, the sound was a faint, melodic vibration under the soles of their boots. To Ahsoka Tano, it was a distraction she couldn't afford.

She crouched on a jagged outcropping of blue glass, her gray cloak snapping in the high-altitude wind. Below her lay the Imperial Excavation Site 9. It was a scar on the planet’s surface, a jagged trench guarded by heavy repeating blasters and the dull white armor of Stormtroopers. They weren't mining for crystals to power the city.

"Fulcrum to Ghost," she whispered into her comlink, her voice barely a breath. "I’m at the perimeter. The security is tighter than the reports suggested. They’ve got a full battalion down there."

Static crackled in her ear. "Copy that, Fulcrum. Be careful. If the rumors about Vader’s interest are true, you’re walking into a hornets' nest."

Ahsoka didn't respond. She felt the truth of it in the pit of her stomach. The Force was screaming here, but it wasn't the usual dark shroud that accompanied the Empire. It was a high-pitched, vibrating tension, like a string pulled so tight it was seconds away from snapping and taking the whole world with it.

She dropped from the ledge.

She didn't use her lightsabers yet. She moved like a shadow through the scaffolding, taking out the perimeter guards with precise, silent strikes. Two troopers fell before they could even look up from their scanners. She dragged them into the darkness of a supply crate and kept moving.

As she descended deeper into the trench, the air grew thick with ozone. The temperature rose. By the time she reached the blast doors of the primary vault, her skin was slick with sweat. The metal of the doors was glowing a dull, cherry red, melting from the inside out.

There was no one guarding the door. They were all dead.

A dozen Stormtroopers were scattered across the floor. Their armor wasn't scorched by blasters or sliced by blades. It looked like it had been eroded, the plastic and plastoid pitted and dissolved as if they’d been left in an acidic ocean for a century.

Ahsoka ignited her lightsabers. The twin white blades hissed into existence, casting a steady glow against the shimmering walls. She stepped through the slag of the melted door.

The room was a massive sphere of reinforced durasteel, but the center was occupied by a containment field that was failing. Lightning-like arcs of pure white energy lashed out, striking the walls and leaving behind nothing but smooth, empty craters.

Inside the field sat a boy.

He looked no older than eighteen, with wild, golden hair that seemed to be catching the light even in the shadows. He was dressed in a tattered orange jumpsuit that looked like it belonged to another world entirely. His eyes were open, but they were a milky, clouded white. He didn't look at her. He didn't look at anything.

"He's not a weapon," Ahsoka whispered, the realization hitting her like a physical blow. "He’s a kid."

The boy’s head turned toward her. He didn't see her face, her montrals, or her lightsabers. He saw the ripple of her soul in the static.

"You're blue," he said. His voice was raspy, like he hadn't used it in years. "Blue and steady. Like a deep lake."

"My name is Ahsoka," she said, stepping closer. The heat was becoming unbearable. "I’m here to get you out of here."

"The shadows were loud," the boy muttered, his brow furrowing. He reached out a hand, and the containment field shattered. The feedback wave sent Ahsoka skidding back, her boots sparking against the floor. "They kept trying to poke at the light. I had to make them stop, My Name is Naruto by the way."

"The troopers?" Ahsoka asked, glancing at the remains outside.

"The gray shapes," he corrected. He stood up, his movements fluid but uncertain. He stumbled, and Ahsoka was there in an instant, catching him by the arm.

She expected him to be cold, or perhaps burning hot. Instead, he felt warm. There was a weight to his presence in the Force that she had only ever felt around Master Yoda or Anakin, but this was different. It wasn't a mastery of the Force; it was the Force itself, raw and unrefined, pouring out of him like water from a broken dam.

"I can't see the floor," he whispered, his sightless eyes scanning the room. "I only see you. And the rot coming down the hallway."

Ahsoka felt it too. A cold, oily presence. The Seventh Sister was here.

"We have to move," Ahsoka said, her voice hardening. "Can you run?"

The boy looked down at his hands. They were glowing, the skin turning slightly translucent. "I can move. But if I run, the light gets louder. I don't want to break the ship."

"Just focus on me," she told him. "Keep your eyes on the 'blue lake.' We’re leaving."

They burst out of the vault just as the Inquisitor rounded the corner. The Seventh Sister was a lean, predatory figure in black armor, her circular lightsaber hilt already spinning. Behind her, a dozen Purge Troopers leveled their rifles.

"Fulcrum," the Inquisitor hissed, her voice distorted by her helmet. "The Emperor said you couldn't resist purring your nose where it does not belong. He’ll be pleased to have both of you."

"Step aside," Ahsoka warned, her sabers humming.

"Kill the Jedi," the Seventh Sister commanded. "Capture the boy. Do not damage the asset."

The hallway erupted in red blaster fire. Ahsoka moved like a blur, her white blades spinning in a defensive web that sent every bolt back into the troopers' chests. She was a master of Form V, but she was fighting for two now. She stayed half a step in front of the boy, shielding him from the onslaught.

Naruto didn't flinch. He stood in the middle of the chaos, his head tilted. To him, the blaster bolts weren't red light; they were angry, buzzing insects. The Inquisitor was a jagged, black void that bled darkness into the air.

"You’re hurting the air," Naruto said.

The Seventh Sister laughed, a dry, metallic sound. She leapt forward, her twin red blades spinning like a saw blade. Ahsoka parried, the impact sending sparks flying into the boy's face.

"Naruto, get back!" Ahsoka yelled.

But he didn't. He reached out, his hand moving with a speed that defied the physical world. He didn't grab the Inquisitor's arm. He simply slapped the air in front of her.

A shockwave of pure, white brilliance exploded from his palm. It wasn't a Force push. It was a physical displacement of reality. The air in the hallway was turned into a vacuum for a split second before rushing back in a thunderclap that shattered every crystal in the walls.

The Seventh Sister was thrown backward through two reinforced bulkheads, her armor cracking like glass. The Purge Troopers were simply gone, reduced to fine dust that coated the floor.

Silence fell over the corridor, save for the sound of falling glass.

Naruto staggered, his breath coming in ragged gasps. The white glow in his skin dimmed, and he leaned heavily against the wall. "Too loud," he coughed. "I told you. It’s too loud."

Ahsoka stared at the destruction. She had seen Master Windu crush droids with a thought, and she had seen Anakin collapse ceilings, but she had never seen someone simply erase a threat.

"Come on," she said, her voice shaking slightly as she sheathed her sabers. She grabbed his hand, not to steady him, but to guide him. "The ship is this way."

They raced through the crumbling facility. The Empire was in full retreat now, the soldiers more terrified of the "White Hole" than they were of their commanders. They reached the landing pad where a stolen Imperial shuttle sat idling, its engines whining.

Ahsoka shoved Naruto into the passenger seat and vaulted into the pilot’s chair. She didn't wait for clearance. She slammed the throttles forward, and the shuttle screamed into the atmosphere.

TIE fighters swarmed them like angry wasps. The ship rocked as green laser fire clipped the shields.

"Hang on!" Ahsoka shouted, weaving through the crystalline spires of the capital city.

Naruto sat perfectly still in the co-pilot’s seat. He wasn't looking at the consoles. He was looking through the cockpit glass, his clouded eyes fixed on the sky.

"There are so many," he whispered. "Stars. They all have voices."

"I need you to focus, Naruto," Ahsoka said, her hands flying over the controls. "I need to hit the jump point, but they’ve got a tractor beam lock on us from the Star Destroyer above."

She could feel it, the relentless pull of the Executor-class vessel hanging in low orbit. The shuttle’s engines groaned under the strain. They were being dragged upward, right into the belly of the beast.

"The big shadow?" Naruto asked.

"Yes. The big shadow."

Naruto stood up and walked toward the front of the cockpit. He pressed his palms against the transparisteel. Ahsoka went to stop him, but the Force felt like it was thickening around him, turning the air into something heavy and sweet.

"I don't like shadows," Naruto said.

He closed his eyes. For a heartbeat, the shuttle didn't just accelerate; it vanished into a pocket of white light. To the TIE fighters outside, it looked as if the shuttle had turned into a ghost. The tractor beam passed right through them, unable to find purchase on a ship that was no longer entirely physical.

Then, with a sound like a choir hitting a high note, they were gone.

The transition to hyperspace was usually a relief, a quiet tunnel of blue light that signaled safety. But inside the shuttle, the silence was heavy.

Ahsoka leaned back in her seat, her heart hammering against her ribs. She looked over at Naruto. He had slumped back into the co-pilot’s chair, his head lolling to the side. He looked exhausted, but the translucency of his skin had faded back to a healthy, tan hue.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

He opened his eyes. "The blue lake is still there. That’s good."

"You... you saved us back there. Twice. I’ve never seen anything like what you did."

Naruto turned his head toward her. Even though he couldn't see her, she felt like he was looking right into her soul, stripping away the "Fulcrum" persona and seeing the scared Padawan she had once been.

"I’m not from here," he said simply. "I remember a forest. I remember a bridge. And then there was a white light, and then I was in a box for a long time. The men in the white armor... they kept trying to draw the light out of me. They wanted to put it in their cannons."

Ahsoka felt a surge of cold fury. The Empire was trying to harvest him. They didn't see a person; they saw a battery.

"They won't get near you again," she promised.

"Why?" Naruto asked. "You don't know me. I’m dangerous. I can feel the things I touch... I can feel how easy they are to break. I don't want to break anything else."

Ahsoka unbuckled her harness and moved to sit on the edge of the center console, closer to him. She didn't reach out to touch him, she sensed he needed space, but she let her presence in the Force radiate calm.

"I know what it’s like to have people be afraid of what you can do," she said softly. "I know what it’s like to be hunted for something you didn't choose to be. You’re not a weapon, Naruto. You’re a living being. And as long as I’m breathing, the Empire doesn't get to decide what you are."

Naruto was quiet for a long time. The only sound was the low thrum of the hyperdrive.

"You have scars," he said eventually. "Not on your skin. On your heart. You lost someone. Someone who felt like... like the sky."

Ahsoka flinched. The memory of Anakin, before the fall, flashed through her mind. "I did. A long time ago."

"I lost people too," Naruto whispered. "I can’t remember their faces anymore. Just the way they felt. There was a girl... she felt like cherry blossoms in the rain. And a man who felt like a thunderstorm."

He reached out, his hand hovering in the air between them. Ahsoka hesitated, then slowly closed the gap, letting his fingers brush against her palm.

He didn't need her to stay stable. He was as solid as a rock. But the moment their skin met, the "noise" in the ship seemed to settle. The vibrating tension in the air smoothed out. It wasn't a biological necessity; it was an emotional one.

"Your light is different," Naruto said, his voice dropping to a whisper. "It doesn't hurt to look at. It’s... quiet."

"We’re going to find a place where you can be quiet for a long time, Naruto," Ahsoka said. "I have friends. People who can help us."

"The shadows will follow," Naruto warned. "The one in the mask... the one who feels like a dead star. He’s looking for me."

Ahsoka felt a chill go down her spine. Vader. If Naruto could sense him from across the galaxy, then Vader could undoubtedly sense him. A "White Hole" in the Force would be impossible to hide for long.

"Let him come," Ahsoka said, though she didn't entirely believe her own bravado. "He’s fought Jedi before. He’s never fought someone like you."

Naruto tilted his head, a small, tired smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "I don't know any 'Jedi' stuff. I just know how to be me."

"That might be exactly what this galaxy needs," Ahsoka replied.

She stood up and went back to the pilot's seat, setting a new course. They couldn't go to the Rebel fleet, not yet. Naruto was too high a profile, and his power was too unpredictable. They needed somewhere remote. Somewhere where he could learn how to control his powers.

As she punched in the coordinates for a forgotten moon in the Outer Rim, she looked back at him. He had fallen asleep, his head resting against the cold metal of the chair. In the dim light of the cockpit, he didn't look like a god-like singularity or a galactic superweapon.

He just looked like a boy who had finally found a place to rest.

Chapter End

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A/N: I really hope you enjoy this story, and as always, I appreciate all your support. Talk to you later!