It’s especially handy when there’s a Clawdite saboteur planting utensils at an important diplomatic dinner, putting both her friend Senator Padmé Amidala and the future of the Republic in jeopardy.

The Clone Wars may be over, but the latest installment of the new Star Wars Forces of Destiny five-issue series from IDW Publishing proves that there are still plenty of adventures to be had in the prequel era. Throughout January, we’ll sit down with the rotating cast of talented creators behind the mini-series to get a behind-the-scenes look at each issue.

This week, we catch up with author Beth Revis and illustrator Valentina Pinto, who teamed up on Star Wars Forces of Destiny: Ahsoka & Padmé, a continuation of the Forces of Destiny short “The Imposter Inside.” With the issue hitting stores today, Revis and Pinto e-mailed from rural North Carolina and Rome respectively to talk to StarWars.com about teaming up for a little lightsaber sparring, characters that are so real they almost write themselves, and learning to let go because Star Wars belongs to everyone.

StarWars.com: The comic begins just before the animated short “The Imposter Inside,” with some lightsaber sparring between Ahsoka and Barriss Offee. As you were expanding on the short, what made you decide to reintroduce this particular Jedi Padawan into the mix?

Beth Revis: I’ve always loved Ahsoka’s arc in the Clone Wars cartoon, and in particular felt that her final interactions with Barriss were really crucial to her character. We see a bit of their friendship, but the focus of the story is obviously how that friendship ended. Barriss and Ahsoka both had very different but equally passionate ideas about what it meant to be a true Jedi. They forged a friendship in spite of those differing perspectives, but they both obviously found some sort of common ground. That’s what I found fascinating — their magnetic-like attraction and repelling of their principles.

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