Ariana Tano was the mother of Ahsoka Tano.
Biography[]
Single Mother[]
Ariana Tano was a young single mother who gave birth to Ahsoka Tano when she was only eighteen years old. The circumstances that caused Ariana to become pregnant are unknown and she never mentioned Ahsoka's father. It is unknown if she had actually planned to have children but she deeply loved Ahsoka from the moment she gave birth to her.
For three years, Ariana looked after her daughter on Shili. Plo Koon eventually arrived and asked Ariana to allow him to take Ahsoka to the Jedi Temple. Ariana was hesitant but decided that the Jedi could probably give Ahsoka a better life than she could and tearfully allowed Plo to take her daughter to Coruscant.
Ahsoka's return[]
At some point after Ahsoka was taken to Coruscant, Ariana became the healer of her village.
Ahsoka returned to Shili ten years later, during the Clone Wars with her Master, Jack Kalbone. Ariana quickly recognised Ahsoka and was overjoyed to see her. Ahsoka had vague memories of her mother and was pleased to see her too, despite the disapproval of her Master.
While Ahsoka and Kalbone led the Clones on a mission to defeat General Grievous, Ariana stayed in her village, which was attacked by an Akul. Ahsoka arrived in time to kill the beast becoming the youngest Togruta in history to have slain the creature. Ariana was relieved and proud beyond measure that Ahsoka had killed the Akul with only a few minor scratches. Her village insisted that Ahsoka and the Clones stay the night. Since Kalbone had died fighting General Grievous, Ahsoka was in charge and agreed to stay so that she could experience her culture for one night.
Ahsoka and the Clones left the next day and Ariana kissed her daughter on the forehead and warned her to be careful before she left.
Another Jedi arrives[]
You're a feisty one aren't you? I think I'm going to have some fun with you once I'm finished with that former Jedi.
—Cad Bane to Ariana while she struggles against him on Shili.
About a year later, Tom Norton arrived on Shili, closely followed by Cad Bane. Bane used his flamethrower to set fire to several of the huts in the village and murdered several Togruta, before Tom attacked him. Ariana was inside her house which was unfortunately one of the houses that Bane had ignited. Tom gained the advantage over Bane but was distracted by Ariana's screams for help and while freeing her from the burning building he was shot in the back by the Bounty Hunter.
Ariana furiously attacked Bane herself with her bare hands. The Bounty Hunter easily defeated her and wanted to rape her, but upon hearing Ariana get threatened, Tom, who was strongly reminded of Ahsoka due to the resemblance she had to her mother, somehow managed to Force Crush Bane's chest, even though he was dangerously close to death. The villagers ensured that Bane was sent to prison and Ariana acted as Tom's healer, looking after him until he recovered from his near-fatal wound.
Once the young former Jedi had recovered, he stayed for a few weeks and formed a bond with Ariana. However living with her reminded Tom of Ahsoka and made him feel sad since Ariana was not her daughter. He eventually decided to leave Shili and Ariana was sad to see him go.
Personality and traits[]
You're a lot like your daughter.
—Tom Norton
Ariana Tano had a very maternal personality and was a loving and caring mother to Ahsoka. Although she was only eighteen years old when she gave birth, Ariana was a very good parent, despite having little experience with children. She never spoke about Ahsoka's father so it is unknown if she had a happy or miserable relationship with him. However, whatever her relationship with Ahsoka's father had been like, Ariana was happy that he had given her a daughter and loved Ahsoka very deeply.
Ariana was sad and hesitant when Plo Koon arrived to take Ahsoka to the Jedi Temple. Not fully understanding the ways of Jedi, Ariana didn't know that they weren't supposed to form attachments and was therefore openly affectionate and happy when Ahsoka returned during the Clone Wars. Ariana also acted like a mother to Tom Norton during his few weeks on Shili and spent a lot of her time helping him recover from the serious injury inflicted on him by Cad Bane. Ariana's caring personality was the reason she was chosen to be the village healer and she was very dedicated to this job. She also felt very sorry for Tom when he told her about the death of Carmen Conrose and hugged him in an attempt to comfort him. Even though she had never even met Carmen, Ariana shed a few tears when she realised how much Tom missed her. This showed that she had deep empathy and understanding for the feelings of others.
Despite being a very motherly person, Ariana also had an aggressive side, although she only showed this trait when others were in danger. She was very protective of Ahsoka even being willing to fight a fully grown Akul with her bare hands in order to keep her safe. She also attacked Cad Bane after he seriously wounded Tom Norton, despite lack of combat training, feeling that she owed Tom a debt for rescuing her from her burning hut. Ariana was extremely selfless, a trait she passed on to her daughter, and was willing to risk her life to save others even if she didn't know them. Her selflessness was also shown when she gave her beloved daughter to the Jedi Order, hoping that they could give Ahsoka a better life than she could.
Like Ahsoka, Ariana was feisty and Cad Bane noted this trait when he defeated her on Shili. She was disgusted when she realised that Bane wanted to rape her but did not show any fear and continued to struggle ferociously even though she knew that Bane was a much stronger fighter than she was. Tom noted that Ariana was a lot like her daughter despite her lack of Force connection or combat training. However, unlike Ahsoka, Ariana did not like fighting and only got aggressive when others were in danger.
Although she was a very brave woman, Ariana did sometimes show fear. She was terrified when Ahsoka was pinned down by an Akul and had to be held back by two other Togruta's to stop her from leaping to her daughters aid. Ariana was also frightened when she was trapped in her burning hut and started panicking and screaming for help. However her fear was replaced by rage when Cad Bane shot her rescuer, Tom, in the back and she attacked him ferociously. Ariana also hated dirty tactics and even called Bane a coward since he had shot Tom while his back was turned.
Abilities[]
Although she lacked her daughters connection to the Force, Ariana did show that she had the potential to be a fierce warrior. She was able to briefly hold her own against Cad Bane in hand to hand combat but due to lack of training Bane defeated her relatively easily. She also showed amazing speed for someone who was not Force sensitive, by reaching Bane before the Bounty Hunter could shoot her and knocking his gun out of his hand. In addition to her speed, Ariana also had enough physical strength to knock out Bane with a single kick to the head while the Bounty Hunter was trying to recover from Tom's Force Crush.
Ariana was also shown to be skilled at healing, being the village healer, and saved Tom Norton's life after he was seriously injured by Bane. She had a considerable knowledge of humanoid bodies and although she had to improvise with Tom, due to him being Human, she realised that Bane had just barely missed any of Tom's vital organs (due to a warning Ariana had screamed just before Bane shot him) and was able to keep him alive and nurse him back to full strength.