A New Life

by Wolfepup

100 years before TPM, another lost Padawan deals with the death of his Master...more stories to come

All the usual disclaimers, blah blah. But, all of the characters besides Yoda are from the dusty corners of my own mind, please don't use them, I have…other plans in store for them in upcoming stories. ;)

Historian's Note: This story takes place roughly 100 years before Phantom Menace

Rating: PG

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Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.

Prologue

The young Human rested her hand on her round stomach. The life within her kicked impatiently at its confinement. She laughed softly. "Patience, my little one. In a few weeks you will breathe the air of this world. But not too soon, not yet."

The door to her small cabin tore off its hinges, the light reflected in insane eyes framed by yellow fur. Without a word, a blaster was raised.

The screams of a dying woman tore the world apart.

A New Life

Stars streamed past the small silver transport ship, its sleek shape cutting through the timeless solar winds. Tari stood at a view port, a corridor curving away from him on both sides. He was a handsome young man, with dark hair to match the dark Jedi robes. Intelligent slightly slanted gray eyes stared out from his angular face.

Mar-Dhn strolled over to join the young Jedi. He was older, his dark hair graying at the temples.

Without looking at Tari, he stated, "You are restless. You sense it, too."

"The future is uncertain, Master. But I feel something..." Tari's brow furrowed, "Not good. I am confused."

"Don't be." Mar-Dhn traced an invisible pattern on the view port's surface. "Something is out there, hunting. Not hunting just us, but anything, it is unfocused. I fear that it might be unavoidable."

Tari took a deep breath, steadying himself with the Force, letting it flow through him. The fear and apprehension subsided. Mar-Dhn nodded. "We must be ready, Tari. I have talked to Carrol to change our course to pass closer to a habitable moon. Our erstwhile captain preferred to stay clear of that system," a mischievous glint lit up the older Jedi's eyes, "But, after some Jedi wisdom and the unending urging of that Calamarian scientist aboard, Carrol agreed, if we would both leave him alone."

In spite of his growing uncertainty, Tari laughed. A huge planet, with a gravity so immense that it crushed anything that landed on its rocky surface, separated itself from the stars. Orbiting that world was a small green gem, a fragment of a long-ago collision. Both Jedi feared that they would have to land on its forest-covered surface. While the core of that planet was dense enough to produce a comfortable level of gravity, the lack of a proper crust resulted in the small moon being pitted with crater-like sinkholes and immense caverns. Although the small world looked as if it was routinely struck by passing space debris, its larger custodian pulled all possible meteorites into itself. Not to crash-land on such a world was a test of a pilot's skill.

But to take off, to escape the gravity wells of both interstellar bodies, was another matter entirely.

They gazed out into the depths of space. Each of them sensed something was about to happen, something they couldn't avoid. Tari furrowed his eyebrows, trying to discern the conflict that lay ahead. His sense of the future was limited, but he could feel the undercurrent of excitement from the crew and passengers. The living Force reached deep into space, into another ship. He couldn't discern its exact location, but he could sense it was out there, hunting.

Both Jedi stiffened as a warning from the Force echoed throughout their bodies. Lightsabers leapt into hands, but didn't come to life, not yet. The Force rippled as something large and menacing pushed its way towards the small transport ship. The floorboards vibrated softly as the already active shields slammed up to full power. The Force around them hummed with the energy of hundreds of excited souls. But the Jedi remained calm.

The ship shuddered violently as something hit, and the whump whump of return fire echoed through oddly vacant corridors. The lightsabers sprang to life, Mar-Dhn's yellow to Tari's brilliant white. But the Jedi remained calm.

The pirates fired back, and the transport's guns fell silent. The ship lurched as the pirate's ship grasped onto its docking ports. Pirates, their armor ill-maintained and stained with an unknown variety of bodily fluids, poured into the sleek silver ship. Tari and Mar-Dhn stood ready, but the Jedi remained calm.

There was little they could do but to save their own lives and wait for the ship to follow on its predetermined course. Headstrong computers fought for control from tenacious pirates, but it was too late. They were already caught in the gravitational pull of the large planet. The pirate ship's increased mass drug the transport closer to the rocky surface, threatening to crush them all.

Mar-Dhn stepped behind Tari, reaching out with the Force. The simple mechanisms for the docking ports revealed themselves, and he pushed. One of the pirate ships rotated gracefully away and down from the transport's flanks.

A blast of wind tore down the curved corridor, knocking both Jedi off their feet. The distant slam of the pressure doors sounded, and the wind ceased its howling. Dead pirates, unlucky crew, and passengers drifted to the surface of the large planet. Almost too slow and graceful to be real. They vanished into the distance before any touched the rocks below.

Tari was able to stand, but Mar-Dhn had fallen into a pirate, and the intruder's weapon protruded from the Jedi Master's shoulder. He stood guard over his Master, the Force flowing through him, guiding his lightsaber.

Several pirates that survived the blast, stood and stared at the pair. A large one, with his deep purple hair tied tightly behind his head, growled something in their language and attacked. The corridor prevented too many from attacking all at once, but it was all the young Padawan could do to hold them off.

The ship lurched violently, thrusters firing. Inertia and gravity fought for control of the little ship. Three pirates stood panting, holding onto the corridor wall for support as their own larger and more massive vessel lost that battle and became yet another fiery crater below. They looked up the bloodstained Tari, their thin yellow eyes filled with rage. "For the Intruder!!" they yelled, pressing forth their attack.

Block, thrust. Swing to the left, jump. Thrust again, thrust behind. Tari stood, dizzy with pain and exhaustion over three more dead pirates. He knelt next to his Master, placing his hands on each side of the wound, exerting the full force of his will into healing it. The Force resisted him, refused to come. He couldn't reach it. A breathing exercise taught to all Jedi did not slow the pounding of his heart in his ears. He could feel the incredibly strong bond they shared weakening, thinning as Mar-Dhn's life flowed onto the deck.

Mar-Dhn's heart beat in cadence with his own, but what were once deep, strong pulses shuddered, weaker as blood seeped from his wound. Death was a natural thing, he had been taught. Mar-Dhn had come to accept his own death, and with faith in his eyes, he reached out to his Padawan. "Tari," he whispered, and the young Jedi leaned forward. "Be true to my teaching, and do not go to the Dark Side. May to Force be forever with you." The connection between Master and Padawan weakened, then broke as the older Jedi sighed peacefully.

A jumble of images cascaded in Tari's head, most of all a strange sense of peace and acceptance. The massive weight of the planet drew them closer, and Tari braced himself, arching over his Master's lifeless body, his lightsaber clenched tightly in his hand. Deep inside of his soul, he refused his Master was dead. But he knew, he knew the man who had drug the hesitant initiate into manhood had become one with the Force. Silent sobs shook his shoulders, and a great emptiness opened in his soul.

The transport ship shuddered violently as it fought the gravity. Pirates and crew alike ceased their fight for dominance of a doomed ship and held on. Bulkheads, bunks, corridor walls and floors, each other. Former enemies now had a common foe. The ship fell silent, only emitting strangled moans of tortured supports. Tari could feel the ship bending and losing its shape. Even as the engines fought to keep the ship on course, whining under the strain, the ship was silent. Only the soft breathing of a hundred lifeforms and the beating of their hearts echoed in the corridors.

The planet loomed closer. The gravity on its surface was so immense as to smooth out its craters. The surface passed faster and faster under them, and one could almost hear the rush of the solar winds outside. Nobody was able to see the small green gem just over the giant's horizon. Everybody felt the transport ship arc gracefully over the planet's surface. The ship shuddered violently, the shields failing, the engines spent. Windows cracked, bulkheads buckled. The winds rushed down empty corridors, pushing dead pirates against holes in the hull. The wind pulled the exhausted Jedi from his Master, and Tari lay flat against the opposite wall, his Master sliding away, the dead pirates laying over him like a death shroud.

The green gem screamed into view, a savior out of the depths of space. Tari could feel the fear of the beings on the little ship. The acceptance of their deaths, the regret of a life not lived better.

The dense atmosphere of the moon raced up to meet them. The winds no longer screaming down the corridors. The hull became superheated, the wall under Tari's hands threatened to burn him. Thick clouds slammed into the transport ship, the vibrations tearing it apart. The front section, with Tari and his Master, knifed straight down, towards a lush forest. The aft section changed course, angling to face a circular ocean.

Tari jumped out to his Master, activating his lightsaber, and thrust it into the floor. With one hand, he held onto his weapon and savior, with the other he held to his Master. The ship fragment shook as it connected with the trees. He could feel each tree snap off lower and lower as the ship blazed a trail of destruction to the surface. The young Jedi was not conscious when the ship struck, burrowing its nose into the ground.

The ebb and flow of life and the currents of the Force surrounded the young Jedi. Tari inhaled deeply, concentrating on soothing his jumbled nerves. He couldn't let his emotions control him. All over his body, small wars raged between healing and infection, and a slight fever had already made itself known to him.

Three days ago, he and his Master had been traveling the spaceways to Coruscant when Pirates had ambushed them. Tari was one of the lucky ones. He knew others had survived the crash, but no matter how hard he had tried, his Master was not one of them. A tear edged its way down his hot cheek, and the Padawan Jedi fought to keep his emotions under control. Death is a natural process; it was not like a Jedi to mourn. The fear of being stranded alone, wounded, on a hostile planet was overpowering his ability to control himself. Despite the pain of his wounds, he pulled his legs to his chest to try and stop his shaking.

A few deep breaths later, he succeeded. Night creatures chirped down to the young Jedi, small queries in an otherwise silent forest. No creature had sung that first night after the crash. Tari wondered if any sung now, in the valley a few miles away. The miasma of death had to be overwhelming. All he took from the crash site was a few supplies and the memories of his Master's freshly dug grave, marked by a yellow lightsaber.

A memory drifted to him on the winds of time, distant and echoing softly. Mar-Dhn had taken Tari's lightsaber, he had sensed his Padawan's shame in its odd white blade. He had examined it, carefully, accepting it as a fine weapon and tool. Several years later, Mar-Dhn's lightsaber was lost in a battle. Tari remembered the first day he saw his Master's new blade.

He had held up the new lightsaber, its yellow blade casting the room in a soft glow. Mar-Dhn smiled, pointing to the blade. "Go on, Tari. Try it. It's a fine weapon."

His Master had accepted the strange yellow blade without hesitation, using it differentiate himself from the other Jedi Knights. He had become proud of it, proud of his attempt to create something different, something unique. Something that stood out and drew out the shy Padawan in his own subtle way.

The fear was becoming harder to control. He tried to concentrate on his home, the peaceful corridors of the Jedi Academy, the fountains, even Yoda's wrinkled face. The Force danced under his mind, becoming weaker or stronger as his fear came and went. The pain of his wounds vied for his attention. Tari accepted the pain, drew it into himself, acknowledged it. He asked his body to heal itself, to fight the fever. Deep within the wounds of his own body, he found freedom from his fears.

Day came swift and hot. Sunlight cascaded through trees so tall they seemed to hold the clouds in place in the sky. The light was tinted green with life everywhere the young Jedi looked. Small birds and animals flew, skittered, climbed and scampered to whatever hiding place they had chosen.

Tari stood carefully, testing each limb before placing all of his weight on it. The food he had taken from the crash was almost gone, soon he will have to search for whatever was edible. A wave of dizziness came over him and he placed a hand on a nearby tree for support. The fever was becoming worse. He calmed himself, trying to feel the flow of the Force. The tree beneath his fingers, the roots reaching out into the cool, soft earth. He drew it into himself, becoming one with the Force, letting it guide him. A vision, a clear, pure stream flashed into his mind. The Force pulled him towards it, urging him, insisting. It was not his destiny to die on this lonely world.

He stumbled over fallen trees and thick roots. By midday the heat was too much, and he had to stop to rest in the shade of an ancient, rotted stump. The Force still pulled him in the direction of the stream, trying to push his batter body, but the food to fuel that body was spoiled or eaten. Tari shook, but not with fear. Exhaustion, loss of blood, and the fever were winning their battle for the young Jedi's life.

How he could use his Master's strength at his side. His throat tightened at the loss, and he hung his head, staring at the moss on the forest floor. A tear drifted down his cheek and splattered into the soft green carpet. He had to regain control of himself, the Force was pushing him. Tari had to fight, had to force himself to continue when all he wanted to do was sit in the shadow of the stump and follow his Master. But that was not the Jedi way.

A few deep breaths, and the dizziness and accompanying roaring in his ears abated somewhat. Tari stumbled towards the stream, the Force guiding him. Feet became less sure, legs less able to hold his weight. Each time Tari fell to the thick forest floor, it became harder to stand back up. He had to fight, he had to survive.

The world had narrowed to the fever's roaring and the insistence of the Force to reach the stream. At last, his battered body stumbled out of the brush and onto a wide, moss-covered streambank. A small pool was carved out of the rocks next to the stream. He fell into it, the shock of the sudden cold against the heat of his skin snapping him out of his pain. The cold water wrapped itself around his body, stealing the breath from his lungs. Tari had a new threat, pull himself from the water or drown. An outstretched hand was rewarded by a fistful of tree roots. He pulled his head and shoulders onto the bank, leaving most of his body in the water.

Blackness flowed over him.

The corridor curved away from him into infinity. Mar-Dhn's voice echoed down to him, the halls empty and devoid of any evidence of ever having been occupied. Dust motes floated in the still air. His legs pumped under him, dust rising in his footsteps, but he never moved from where he was standing.

His Master ran towards him, blood streaming from his shoulder. Tari reached out to him. Rough hands grabbed his feet and shoulders, holding his fast. Pirates emerged from the walls, their faces distorted. One pirate with one huge red eye, stretched its claws out to entrap Tari's arm.

Mar-Dhn howled, his body vanishing in a yellow haze. A lightsaber flashed through the pirates, cutting Tari free.

"May the Force be forever with you," it said to him in his Master's soft voice.

The dream repeated itself throughout the night. The fever ebbed, but the wounds throbbed in time to his heartbeat. He shivered, pulling himself from the chilling pool. Tari undressed, rinsing his clothes out as best he could and tending his wounds. The rest of his day was spent meditating on the odd calm of his Master's death, the healing of his wounds, of the strange emptiness in his soul.

Tari drank deeply from the cool water. Two days had passed since he found the pool. Three days have passed since he had eaten. With a thought, he pushed his hunger aside, and limped downstream. Maybe it led to a cabin, or a larger river where he could construct a raft to float to one of the small cities that were known to dot this isolated world. Twice he had heard pirates bashing through the dense foliage, and twice he had redirected their thoughts and search elsewhere.

Half a day later, the midday sun burning down on his bare back, his robe since shredded for the dark bandages that covered his body, Tari stood at the head of a rapids. The water churned violently white. Despair coursed through his body. He couldn't let himself become overwhelmed, he will survive. He steeled his jaw and the Force responded, guiding his feet to the rocks that were safe to walk on.

It was growing dark when he heard her voice, a far distant cry. The Force guided him through the rapidly approaching night. The trees closed over his head, the forest floor soft under his feet. This part of the forest had been cleared out, no bushes or fallen trees blocked his path. He vaulted over a low stone wall.

One pirate was holding down a teenaged girl, not much older than the Jedi. Another pirate was circling her, taunting her in a language Tari did not understand. She was defenseless.

They both looked startled as the bright white light of a lightsaber flashed into being. The girl screamed, Tari could taste her fear in his mouth. The pacing pirate pulled out his blaster, firing several rounds at Tari's head. The lightsaber flashed up to block each bolt, deflecting some deep into the forest, and others back at the pirate. It was his own blaster bolt that killed the pirate. The second pirate threw the girl at the young Jedi, who transferred his lightsaber to one hand and caught her with his other.

The pirate launched himself forward, a dagger reflecting the harsh light of the lightsaber. The pirate never saw Tari gracefully swing himself and the girl out of his way. He never saw the lightsaber slice the dagger in half, nor did he feel the deep, searing hiss of the same lightsaber deep within his own body.

Tari grunted, letting the girl fall limply to the ground, too weak to hold her. He wedged the lightsaber into a crack in the old rock wall and limped over to the girl.

"How dare you drop me on the ground!" she yelled. Tari looked at her in confusion. "Are you deaf?" She held her hand out to him, and Tari unsteadily helped her to her feet, almost dropping her back to the ground. After dusting herself off, she continued, looking at him from head to toe. "I am the daughter of the most important man on this planet and I get rescued by a woodsman reject with a stolen lightsaber!"

Tari fought down the anger and confusion. "It's not stolen, I made it. I'm a Jedi."

She crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Jedi," she said. Tari nodded, resting on the wall, the light from the short day gone from under the trees, the sky still a pale violet. The harsh white light of the lightsaber giving everything in around them and oddly two-dimensional look.

She looked over him, scanning the dark bandages, the uncovered bruises, exposed ribs, and the saddened hunch of his shoulders. "Come with me," she commanded. With the sureness of complete knowledge of this part of the forest, she stomped off into the dark. Tari's sense of the Force was all that prevented him from losing track of her in the gloom.

A modest structure, part rock and part wood emerged in a small clearing. Smoke rose lazily from a chimney to the side of the building. She beckoned him inside.

Tari ducked to walk through the low doorway, only to exhale in surprise as what appeared to be modest dwelling revealed itself to be quite spacious. The floor was sunken several feet, and ramps leading off to unlit corners of the large room hinted at the structure's true size. An older man, his dark hair graying at the temples and neatly trimmed beard looked up in surprise as the girl and her savior entered the room. "Father, I would like you to meet the man who saved my life."

The young Jedi walked forward, limping slightly. He could sense the gratitude emanating from the man as he rose from his lush chair. "My name is Karatan, this my daughter, Al-Saha."

Tari nodded to each in turn. "I am Tari."

"He's a Jedi Knight," Al-Saha boasted. "He would be a great help to us, Father."

Before Tari could protest, Karatan raised a hand and Al-Saha fell silent. The older man walked up to the Padawan Jedi, staring down at the youth with soft gray eyes. Tari could see the fire reflected in their depths as he returned the man's intense gaze. Tari's stomach growled loudly, and Karatan laughed.

"Jedi Knight or not, nothing more is going to happen until he gets fed and cleaned up." A sharp whistle and a small droid scooted into the room. "Make our new friend here something to eat and show him where he can clean up." Tari felt great respect for this man. He seemed to wield his authority with soft words and respect for those who carried out his requests. To say this man ordered anyone to do anything would imply that he was a lesser leader. He carried himself as a man who expected great respect, and gave great respect in kind.

Karatan motioned for Tari to follow him down a ramp, and a deep wooden door came into view on their left. "This will be your room for the duration of your stay. The restroom where you can clean up is just down the hall, third door to your left. There will be clean clothes, warm food, and a droid to help you." Karatan looked closer at Tari's back as the young Jedi stuck his head into the room. In a commanding tone, one that good leaders used only when their commands were not to be disobeyed, Karatan commanded, "After you clean up, my daughter will tend your wounds. She has a vast knowledge of healing herbs."

Tari could sense Al-Saha's elation at her assigned duty. He wasn't sure of he could trust her, but his tired, hungry, beaten body demanded rest and treatment.

After his shower, a soft, warm robe was laid out for him. It had to of belonged to Karatan, since it was much too large for the slender Jedi. Al-Saha was waiting from him as he exited the bathing room. He could sense a certain devious edge to her as she preceded him to his quarters. She stopped at the door, clearing her throat, a pair of shorts in her outstretched hand. "Put this on and yell for me."

Tari, too tired and hungry to argue, nodded, closing the door behind him. The room had a small window, high on one wall. The walls themselves were white, bordered with small paintings of green plants and mountains. The slate floor was covered with a deep green rug and the bedding matched. He felt like he was standing among the distant treetops of this world. Slowly he pulled the on soft gray shorts, the odd sense of dominance and triumph emanating from the girl outside the door. He inhaled the aroma from the food placed on the room's light wooden desk.

He reached out to it, but stiff muscles screamed in protest. Wearily, he opened the door and Al-Saha burst in, carrying a large tray covered with assorted sizes and colors of bottles. "What took you so--" she stopped in midsentence as she took in the devastation over the Jedi's body. He had removed the bandages, and she saw his wounds in full for the first time.

The sense of triumph from her faded and was replaced by a serious businesslike manner. She pulled the chair out from the desk. "Sit here and eat while I work on some of your wounds. Be mindful, some of these salves don't smell very good."

He was surprised. Al-Saha had come across to him as a person who set aside the lively hood of other people to achieve a greater good for herself. He decided that it would be best to let the healer in her come forward and work her skills on his wounds.

Tari eased himself into the hard chair next to the desk. The scent of the food, some sort of rich stew and thick bread, caused his impoverished stomach to growl loudly. The bread was fresh and warm, a perfect complement to the strange spicy meat of the stew. Al-Saha plunked her tray next to his meal. She selected a smallish deep red jar, setting it down after scrutinizing a burn from the crash on shoulder. Tari wasn't sure he appreciated such attention. Al-Saha seemed to be looking him over like one does a prize farm animal. He could feel her intense gaze, and the stirrings of a small amount of Force deep within her. It most likely wasn't strong enough to provide her with anything more than a slight bit of intuition.

The salve from a larger blue jar soothed the burn, but its scent overwhelmed the delicious aroma of the food. If Tari wasn't as hungry as he was, he doubted that he would have been able to finish his meal.

Soon, Al-Saha had him laying on his stomach on the bed, her tough fingers rubbing various ointments into his back. At first, her administrations were uncomfortable, almost painful, but the soothing effect of the salves, her massaging fingers, and his own fatigue conspired against him. He no longer had to concentrate of the Force to ask it to heal his wounds, and the cramping of an empty stomach had been appeased. The soft warmth of the bed called to him.

Al-Saha left disgusted, the Jedi snoring softly on the bed. She had spent the better part of her night tending him. In a way, she was amazed he was alive at all. Most of his cuts were deep, and all showed signs of a fever. Infection had started to set in on a few of the larger gashes. Carefully, she placed each jar into its proper location within a cabinet built specially for them and the ingredients to make them. The Jedi could have been hers. He was weak, vulnerable. But something in her told her that this was not the right time. That he was the wrong person for her goals. She flopped down on her bed, glaring up at the ceiling. Three generations ago her family had set off to find a remote, safe world to live and escape persecution. They had found it on this small moon, far from anywhere. She growled, deep in her throat. She had to get off this rock. And that Jedi was the key.

She rolled over, one hand under her chin. How would she turn the Jedi to her needs. He was young, older than herself, but she looked and acted old for her age. But still too young to use her body, maybe she could use her innocence. Could she lie to the Jedi and convince him of her hardships here? Doubtful. What if she poisoned his food, told him was allergic to something here, or contracted a sickness from his wounds? That might work.

Al-Saha strolled over to her cabinet, pursuing its contents.

The clothes laid out for Tari were too large for him. He gazed at himself in the mirror, pant cuffs and sleeves rolled up. It looked like a little kid was looking back at him, the impressionable little initiate that Mar-Dhn had chosen from the other Jedi students at the Temple. Little Tari, in his excitement and confusion, had left his bag with his clothes in it in his room. He had to wear Mar-Dhn's castoffs for an entire week. Tari had been hard on himself then, but Mar-Dhn's compassion and stories about mistakes happening, helped to relax the new Padawan. He couldn't help but laugh at the rumpled image in the mirror. His Master, all regal and confident, strolling barefoot into the Senate, his shoes having been stolen by a misunderstanding droid. Tari learned he had to make the best of a situation, not matter what he forgot to bring with himself.

But in the end, he had failed his Master. Mar-Dhn lay dead in a valley, with Tari alive and well. It shouldn't be that way. Tari was not the experienced one, he lacked the skill, the wisdom necessary to successfully complete his mission. He should've tried harder, should've applied himself more to his studies.

The mirror was cool as he leaned his forehead against it, his eyes closed to the somewhat comical reflection of himself. He had to take control of himself. Emotions ran unabated throughout his body. Tari concentrated on the firm coolness of the mirror, of the whispers of the Force in the awakening forest outside. He calmed himself, pushing aside the torrent of emotions. His Master was dead, but the young Jedi was still alive.

Breakfast in the Karatan household was a simple affair. Some kind of odd egg spread over bread leftover from the previous day looked up at Tari as he seated himself at the table. Al-Saha gazed at him from over her cup of fruit juice.

"Have any trouble finding your way here, Tari?" asked Karatan, his fork half raised to his mouth. "Sometimes this place can be quite the maze." He grinned, gray eyes flashing.

"No, the droid you left me was quite helpful."

"Good. How do you feel?"

"Your daughter would make an excellent doctor."

Al-Saha beamed with pleasure. Something didn't feel quite right. Tari thoughtfully ate his breakfast, his own cup of fruit juice untouched. The girl seemed to be wishing him to drink it, urging him with her eyes. Every time he reached for his plate, or a drink of water laced with mint, her eyes flew from the cup of juice to Tari. He didn't trust her, nor did he trust the seemly innocent juice. The Force warned him, and now he could see the anger welling in her.

Tari finished his meal, the fruit juice untouched, and plead weariness. He went to his room to exercise, to relax his still stiff body and his mind. His wounds were healing nicely, and he was grateful for the salves Al-Saha had used last night. His mind became quiet, and he focused inward, to the remainder of his wounds and the conflict of Al-Saha.

The girl was well-loved by her father. Karatan came across to the young Jedi as a just and kind man, thrust into whatever position of power his daughter had said he possessed against his will. He chuckled softly, the older man reminding him of most of the Jedi he had ever known. Very few had wanted the power and responsibility of their lot on life, but all were willing to accept and live by its rules.

Tari could trust Karatan, but Al-Saha was another matter. In her, he saw greed, and it made him intensely uncomfortable that most of that greed was directed at him. He guessed that they both had one thing in common, they both wanted to leave this planet. Tari wished to leave to resume his original mission, and then to return to the Jedi Temple. He didn't know what else would happen to him, would Master Yoda choose another Master for him, or would he announce Tari's training finished early? He was far too old to return as an initiate.

The young Jedi reached out with his senses, trying to feel what the future had in store for himself and Al-Saha. Somewhere, far ahead of them both, he felt that they would meet again, but the future was hazy. He shook his head. He wouldn't learn anything this way. His strength never did lay in his sense of the coming Force.

He sensed Al-Saha approaching his door long before she knocked. "Come in." Tari stood to greet her, his lightsaber resting comfortably on his hip.

She stalked in, shutting the door behind her. "You will help me get off this forsaken rock," she hissed, her anger flooding the room. Tari narrowed his eyes, taking a step back. He rose the Force around his mind to block her anger from him.

"I refuse to be trapped here anymore," she continued. "And if my father won't help me, you will." The girl, now apparently the most dangerous being on the small moon, walked up to him and pointed a finger into his chest. "And if you don't help me, I will take this entire mudball with me."

She spun suddenly on one heel, stomping out of the room. So very young, and so very full of anger and fear. He was afraid of not being able to leave the small moon, but if he was trapped here, he would accept it and make the best of it. Al-Saha seemed to have a different idea in mind. If she couldn't control it, she didn't want anything to do with it. Tari didn't know how she could control anything on this world, but he knew she could. Like with the juice. Tari decided to inform Karatan.

The older man was sitting in his chair by the fire. "Did she do it to you, too?" he asked.

Tari stopped suddenly. "How do you know that? She just left my room."

"She does it to everybody, demands to be taken off this 'forsaken mudball' as she likes to calls it." Karatan turned to look at Tari. "Little does she know that it wouldn't take her long to wish she was back. She never seems to know what she wants."

Tari sat opposite him, the chair enveloping him in its softness. He tried to push aside his confusion and worry. "I sense a great resolve in her, a great hate. I think that if she is going to do something it will be soon, and it will be disastrous."

Karatan nodded, his hands clasped before him. "She has been much more restless than ever. If you wish to leave now, I will understand, and I will provision you. I have a map the will lead you to the nearest town."

"What about Al-Saha? I can't leave you here alone with her."

"I am not alone," Karatan smiled. "Travelers come and go through here all the time, and Al-Saha can take care of herself quite well in the forest, if she chooses to follow you." He leaned back into the chair. "And I fully expect her to follow you, so be careful, my friend. And may the Force be with you."

"Thank you."

Karatan laughed, and Tari looked back at him in confusion. "No, thank you, young Jedi. I need some time away from her, and whether or not she follows you, she will leave me to my business for a few months."

Tari smiled, standing up. The older man motioned to a droid standing nearby. "He will take you to the supplies, take whatever you need." He looked Tari up and down, "Including extra clothes and a sewing kit. Don't accept anything from Al-Saha. I love her dearly, but I don't trust her. I hope your Jedi skills and your body are up to a bit of traveling." Tari nodded. "Good." The little droid scooted up to them. "RT20 will assist you."

"Thank you, again, Karatan. I will not forget you." Tari bowed deeply to the older man, and followed the droid out of the room.

The pack weighed heavily on his back. Preserved foodstuffs, a small water purifier, even a small first-aid kit, were stuffed carefully around some of Al-Saha's salves that Karatan had given him. Tari didn't completely trust the salves, but they were welcome anyway. The map, a small holoprojector, occupied his hip opposite his lightsaber.

Several times each day he heard a stomping in the bushes behind him. A quick reach with the Force and he knew Al-Saha was following him. Sometimes he had to wait for hours for her to become disgusted with him and stomp ahead. Tari had to be careful, though. If those two pirates had survived the crash, how many more were alive?

The calls of many animals filtered down to them from the trees far above. Tracks crossed the forest in random ways, and streams occasionally wove their way around trees and rocks. Tari smiled to himself as the Force guided his feet, but not Al-Saha's. As used to the forest as she was, she still couldn't stop from tripping over a vine-covered tree root, or sipping on a loose rock. Quite often the girl cursed as she fell into bushes, rocks, and the occasional stream.

She would make for a terrible hunter.

When the Force warned him of an approaching foe, Tari would sneak ahead, intentionally losing Al-Saha in the forest shadows. Silent Jedi footsteps, a small misdirection from the Force, or the unfortunate flash of a lightsaber, prevented any pirates from crossing their path. Tari would glide back to his original trail, being careful to follow his map and not become lost. Al-Saha was always waiting, not knowing the game the Jedi was playing. Mar-Dhn was always fond of telling Tari to stay aware of one's enemies, to know where they were and what they were doing.

Al-Saha was the perfect candidate, stomping through the bushes, doggedly following what the Jedi wanted her to follow. He had never met a more determined person. Al-Saha could be very dangerous indeed.

The trees parted in front of him as if they were cut down with a laser. The ground sloped away, cliff walls curving far off on either side. In the raised center of the sinkhole stood a small city, roads reaching out from it like tentacles. Soft, green fields surrounded the city and continued up terraced cliff faces. A trail zigzagged its way down into the sinkhole, mirroring the roads across from him. The giant pale yellow planet dominated the sky, its reflected light showering the entire region. Tari guessed that only the forest ever saw true night.

He trudged down the trail, his clothes long since dusty with his travels and his pack lighter. Farmers dotted the terraces, water from the forest streams cascading from level to level. Some waved a greeting, most ignored him. The trail itself was well-traveled, and one more set of feet along its length made little difference to the people of this region.

Tari enjoyed the soft, cool breeze blowing along the terraced cliffs. On occasion, he would pass a dwelling carved into the walls. Sometimes, a road emerged, and landspeeders screamed into or out of the tunnels.

The trail continued along a well-traveled road, pack animals loaded with goods for that day's market trudged next to sleek landspeeders and beat-up droids. Several farmers stopped to see if Tari would've liked to barter with them.

A few bottles of Al-Saha's wonderful salve, and the young Jedi walked happily down the road in clothes that fit and a pair of comfortable shoes. Young children, herding animals to market in the city, ran up to him, begging for candy. He gently turned down their requests, asking if they had seen a young woman behind him. Each time they laughed, asked if she was lost, and told him no.

The city itself was far too small to contain the bustle of its streets, and activity spilled out into the roads and fields. Pack animals snorted and people bartered for goods. Tari asked of where he might find the nearest space hanger, and a kindly farmer pointed it out to him.

The squat, brown structure looked like it could have come from any city, any size. It sat next to the typical bar full of off-duty pirates and smugglers.

Tari squeezed inside, keeping his small pack carefully in sight and lightsaber close at hand. He approached the long, low bar.

"What want?" hissed a sturdy little Antadian, his multicolored eyes glittering up at the young Jedi.

Tari played with a coin he'd received from Karatan between his fingers. The bartender looked from the coin to the Jedi, and when he looked back, the coin was gone. "Information on a transport to Coruscant."

The bartender nodded, Tari placed the coin on the counter and it and the bartender disappeared. The bar itself stank of too many bodies and too much alcohol. Aliens of every race were talking in every language. Some eyed the young Human dubiously, others with outright hunger or hate. The concentrated variety of emotions were almost overwhelming, and Tari fought to keep himself focused on his mission. To finish what he and Mar-Dhn were asked to do, or to return home like a coward. Or to throw Al-Saha off his tracks and make her think he was returning to Coruscant when he was traveling far from it.

A tall, burly Wookie plopped itself into the stool next to Tari, the odd woodsy scent of its fur a small reprieve from the stench of the bar. "Drinking alone?" it growled in its native tongue. Tari understood the language, but the question caught him off-guard.

Tari looked at it, closer. The fur was a light tan, with delicate red highlights, and its body, clad only in dense fur, was more slender than any of the Wookies he had met before. "I think so."

"Good, it has been a while since I have seen someone here who knew how to bathe." She grinned at her joke, bright white teeth showing against her dark lips. She held out a large furry hand, easily twice the size of Tari's own. "I am Lahala."

"Tari." The Wookie's hand enveloped Tari's. The bartender sauntered up to the bar.

"To Coruscant, no. To anywhere else, talk to Guant." A pudgy finger pointed out a mound of ooze resting half in a bucket of alcohol and half on the table top.

Tari nodded his head and pushed away from the bar. A large hand on his arm stopped him. "Guant charges too much and his ship smells bad. Come with me, I'll take you to Coruscant," she grinned. "For a price."

Tari rested his head on his hands. "What's the price?"

Lahala leaned closer, her breath musky but not unpleasant. "The last ship to come here crashed far from here. The location of the ship will get you to Coruscant. A good backscratch will get you anywhere else."

Tari blushed fiercely, and the bartender laughed. "I tell Guant he go fish for fools elsewhere! Young Human too big a fool for Guant!"

"I have a map, I'll show you the crash site outside." Lahala nodded, following Tari out of the bar.

He stood to the side of the building. Tari could see Al-Saha's shadow duck behind a wall. "Who is that?" Lahala growled.

"She could be trouble, but I don't know yet. I don't want her hurt, but I'd rather not have to deal with her."

Lahala nodded, understanding in her eyes. Tari showed her the map and explained the ship's breakup. "If it's in the ocean, it is gone." She looked at the map thoughtfully. "I wonder if any of the computers are still salvageable." The Wookie stood to her full height, patting Tari on the back, causing him to stagger. Loudly, she said, "Tari, it's a deal. This crashed ship for passage to Tatooine. But don't ask me why you want to go to that scorched rock." She turned on one foot. Tari tried to stop her, to correct her, but in a second he saw her wisdom. By announcing the wrong location, Al-Saha would be thrown off his trail. Maybe the Wookie was worth a good backscratch.

He smiled, running to keep up with her long stride.

Lahala's ship was small by any standard, but inside it was spacious and well laid-out. Every square centimeter had been utilized to one degree or another. Doors to storage compartments replaced deckplates under their feet. The ship's hold was empty, with some dust wafting in an errant breeze.

"Leaving this small moon is expensive, but I had to land here. I was running low on fuel." She surveyed the empty hold. "I hope you help me fill this thing with spare ship parts. And by what you told me, I hope you are ready to help defend this ship. I have a spare blaster or three that you could use."

"Thank you, but I have a weapon."

She looked at him, one eyebrow raised. "Really? That bartender, Kajhd, he can see a concealed weapon no matter how well its hidden."

Tari realized with a start that Lahala had no idea that he was a Jedi. Too late to keep it a secret. He held out his lightsaber. Lahala growled, her sudden anger washing over him. She snatched the weapon from his fingers. "How did you get a lightsaber, boy? Were there Jedi on that ship?"

He took a deep breath, reaching gently out with the Force to tug it out of her fingers. Her eyes opened wide with shock as the weapon flew into his hand.

"You are a Jedi!" Her eyes bore into him. "I have work for you, but now we need to get off this rock."

Tari wasn't sure he was comfortable with the way she looked at him. It reminded him of how Al-Saha would look at him, but just a little different. The Force warned him from Al-Saha, but not Lahala. He felt he could trust her.

She turned to leave the hold. "What kind of job?" he asked, jogging to keep up.

Lahala remained silent, climbing up a ladder to the ship's second level. She stop at a cramped room. Sadness filled her eyes. The Force tried to warn him, but his body wasn't yet fast enough to dodge her furry hand as she shoved him into the room. "I'm sorry, but if anyone finds out you are Jedi, they will try to steal you." The door hissed shut, and Tari was alone. He reached out with the Force, he could feel the lock, and he could sense the resolve in the Wookie. He lay back against the wall.

Escape from the primitive ship would be easy, but he had a savior, captor?, that the Force trusted. And a close-at hand way to leave the small moon and Al-Saha behind. The bulkhead shuddered and they were airborne.

Endless forest blanketed the ground beneath them. Lahala had released him from his quarters just after takeoff. Soon, a wide circular ocean glinted far to their right, the large planet hovering over it like an absurd mirror image come to life. Just beyond a small rise in the hills, miles of devastated forest came into view.

Lahala whistled softly, the cause of the swath of destruction ending half-buried deep in a valley wall. "How fast were you going?" She whispered.

"We had just slingshot around the gravity well of the giant planet."

She nodded silently. "Then let's get this over with quick."

The small cargo ship touched gracefully down just behind the wrecked transport. Skeletons of pirates and crew alike dotted the ground, but new growth was already snaking its way up the sides of the wreckage.

Tari knelt in front of a small mound, wishing he had done more to save his Master. Despair overcame him. A large, soft hand held onto his shoulder. "I don't know much about Jedi. But I know very much about what it is like to lose someone. To hold it in, to think you failed, is a living death. You couldn't save the person anymore than I could, Tari." She grabbed his shoulder and held him to her ample chest, furry arms enveloping the young Jedi in a warm embrace. No words were said as he vented his long-held emotions into her fur. She held the shaking youth close, but her eyes were alert, scanning the forest for scavengers, no matter how many legs carried them.

After a few moments, Tari ceased his shaking. He couldn't stop his Master's death. It wasn't his fault. It never was, and it never will be.

Lahala growled. "We must be fast. Night is approaching."

There was little to be salvaged from the wrecked transport. Lahala grunted in dissatisfaction as she surveyed the small pile of repairable droids, clothes, computers and odd bits of ship that littered the hold. "Better than nothing, I suppose. Looks like it will take all this and a backscratch to get you off this rock."

Tari laughed. He enjoyed her good humor. A bond of friendship was growing fast between them, and where a relationship of a different sort had been brewing a new comfort had formed. In each other's presence they had found an equal.

The small ship screamed past the giant planet, its engines howling as they fought to free themselves from its gravity. Tari held onto his seat, behind and to the side of Lahala on the small bridge. With a final groan, the ship roared out of the gravity well and into hyperspace.

A few hours later, Lahala found him in his quarters, meditating. Rarely did he meditate to the depth he was now. She leaned against the doorframe, seeing his bare chest rise and fall painfully slowly. His skin was still marked by his ordeal in the ship. A new respect for the general toughness of a Jedi filled Lahala. Even though most of the wounds were nearly healed, just the amount would have killed the majority of beings she knew. Not to mention the fever that had to have accompanied them.

Tari sent his mind out, seeking answers, to go to Coruscant, or to complete his mission. The Force flowed all around him, he could feel it press along the sides of the ship, it gathered around vibrant, thriving worlds. Soon, his world narrowed to his one question. The future opened up in front of him.

The children of Al-Saha danced across his mind's eye through lush grassy fields dotted with small red flowers. The beating of Lahala's fierce heart. Yoda's wrinkled face.

Uncertain, the future is. Always changing. Be mindful of where you are, mindful of where you are going.

Master Yoda, what am I to do? Do I go back to Coruscant, or do I complete the mission Mar-Dhn and I were sent on?

Yoda lowered his head, eyes closed. Regrettable it is that Mar-Dhn is dead. Your heart, what does it tell you?

It is difficult, Master. My heart tells me nothing.

Yoda's mental chuckle passed between them. Then the Force will guide you, yes it will!

Tari opened his eyes, confusion evident in his face.

"How long have you been standing there?" he raised on arm to wipe at some sweat on his forehead.

"Not long," Lahala pushed herself away from the doorframe. "You have seen much." She motioned towards the still-healing cuts and scratches along his torso.

The young Jedi gazed out of his view port, the mottled sky of hyperspace cruising by. "We were ambushed by pirates. The crash was not a pleasant one."

"So I gathered from what was left of that ship."

Tari stood, pulling on his tunic. "All of us lost much when that ship crashed. My Master and I were on a mission to Deneer 5. We think that some farmers were poisoning each other's crops."

"Not much of a mission."

"One would think that, but these were the seed crops for twenty different worlds."

Lahala let out a low whistle. "I see the problem. I know where that planet is, and I can take you there." She seemed thoughtful.

"What is it?" Tari walked closer to her, tightening the belt to his tunic. Bare toes splayed against the floor.

"My sister has been missing for several years. I have been wandering the galaxy, but I have never found her."

"What is her name?"

"Walanna."

Without hesitation, Tari said, "I will help you look for her. But the people of Deneer 5 need me." His Jedi duty, to protect the defenseless and serve the greater good, pulled him towards the blue world, and his original mission.

Lahala nodded. "Of course. I have not looked for her on that planet." She pointed a furry paw at the Jedi. "While you solve some farmer's problem, I will look for my sister."

"Sounds like a plan," Tari agreed.

The peaceful surface of Deneer 5 rolled under the small cargo ship. Fluffy white clouds danced across its surface. Tari could sense the Force here, strong, vibrant. He reached out a hand and placed it on the console in front of him. Where the Force should have been bright and pure throughout this planet of life, there were dark blotches. The essence of evil permeated the world. His brow furrowed in worry.

Lahala looked over at him. "What is wrong?"

"This planet. Where there should be life, there is death."

The Wookie grimly held onto the controls. "Tell me where to land."

"There was a trading port that was expecting us, Mos Aldan, just past the ocean on the southern hemisphere."

The atmosphere raced up to greet them, its firmness slowing the ship in its approach to Mos Aldan. Tall, graceful spires speared out of the plains surrounding the spaceport. Lahala angled her ship to the outside of these spires.

A voice crackled over the comm system. "State destination."

"Mos Aldan."

"Landing authorized at hanger 18."

"What about hanger 5?" Tari asked.

"That hanger is reserved."

Tari turned to Lahala after she acknowledged the landing procedures and switched off the comm. "Good, they're still expecting the delegation."

The ship turned gracefully and settled into the hanger that was just large enough for the small ship. Lahala locked her vessel down. "Why didn't you tell them who you were?"

"With them not expecting just me, or a Wookie, they will be caught off-guard. I will be able to research this mission easier without any walls thrown up in my way."

"You're getting wiser already!" Lahala patted him hard on the back, and Tari staggered forward, grabbing onto the wall for support.

The small city on the distant moon was nothing compared to the bustle and barely controlled chaos of Mos Aldan. Brightly colored buildings arced high overhead. Tari steeled his jaw. Lahala rested a hand on his shoulder. "Good luck to you, Jedi." She then stomped off into the crowd, the people parting before her like a multi-colored wave.

Tari did not have it so easy. What little coin he had bought him transport to the edge of town, near the massive farms that covered the planet from one horizon to the next.

He whistled softly as a gentle breeze made the tall grass-like crop wave like a giant green ocean. Tari trudged down the road before him, heading for a squat, light green structure. He began to think that everything on this world was in shades of green.

The sign above the door marked it as the Farmer's co-op Headquarters and Bar. Tari shrugged, pushing the door open. Two doors presented themselves, the one to the left dark and well-worn with use, the floor leading to it stained with what looked to be generations of mud. The door to his right, however, was light and clean, the floor free of mud. Farmer's co-op was etched into its surface.

Tari pushed the clean door to his right open. A small office was just inside, a slender green alien with light blue fur sat typing on a computer behind it. "State your business," she stated matter-of-factly.

The back of his hand seemed to be much more interesting than the small office or its colorful occupant. Tari investigated the odd wrinkles from where his fingers joined his hand. "Just here to look over a few financial interests."

The alien woman tapped a few keys, "Who do you represent?"

"A member of the Senate who would like to keep his dealings at a rather discreet level."

She nodded. Such requests appeared to be painfully common. "I will call a small transport for you to take you of a tour of our facilities. Do you have any special needs you want us to accommodate?"

"Bottles for soil and water samples."

For the first time since Tari entered the building, she looked at him. "Huh, I'll see what I can do." She stood up and strolled into a back room, muttering all the way about unprepared fools. Tari guessed that she didn't mind doing her job, as long as she didn't have to work to complete her duties. A few minutes later, she returned with two boxes, one blue, the other brown. "Soil and water samples are permitted," she droned, "But plant samples are strictly forbidden."

"Understood."

"All samples are to be inspected by myself or my assistant before leaving the fields for the day."

"Understood."

She held out a small datapad. "Sign here."

Tari held out his hand, etching his name into the pad's surface. The alien inspected the pad. "Wait outside. Bolo will be here shortly."

The air of this world was fresh and clear. Tari inhaled it deeply. Within a few minutes, a cloud of green-tinted dust billowed in the far distance. Bolo arrived in a beat-up reddish landspeeder, his passenger holding to its chest a brown box.

Bolo, a squat humanoid with mottled stripes covering his exposed arms, growled at his passenger. "Out, I's busy. Go now."

His frazzled passenger nodded briskly, almost trampling Tari to get its samples inspected by the alien inside.

"Inside. We go," Bolo demanded, and Tari carefully wedged himself into the uncomfortable seat, the boxes held to his chest.

The battered landspeeder shuddered off to the fields, dust-filled wind getting into Tari's eyes and mouth. He sneezed often, much to the delight of his foul-smelling guide. They stopped at field after field, collecting several samples from each.

When the sun started to set in the sky, Tari had finished collecting the last of his carefully labeled samples from a distant field. "Many samples," Bolo growled. "Why?"

"My employer likes to be more than thorough," Tari sighed.

Bolo laughed, his rotund stomach quivering in his delight. "Poor fool!"

Tari sat back on his haunches after placing the final sample in one of his boxes. "Tell me about it." He swatted at a small biting insect.

The squat humanoid vaulted with surprising grace and ease into his landspeeder. "Must leave now, time to go home."

The ride back was no less pleasant than the ride out to the fields. Lahala was waiting for him at the office. She growled, "Someone tried to break into my ship."

Tari gulped at the emphasis she placed on tried. "I had to sign to get these samples, I hope they didn't trace my name to the missing delegation and then to your ship. Lahala nodded grimly. He hurried into the office and waited while the graceful alien inspected his samples for vegetation. She looked up at him, thanks written on her face. "For once, someone who can follow the rules. You are welcome to take samples here anytime."

She looked around quickly. "Be careful," she whispered.

Lahala pushed the door open, her massive frame silhouetted in the approaching gloom. With an urging look from the alien behind the desk, Tari gathered up his boxes and ducked under Lahala's furry arm. Bolo still waited outside, shivering in fear as the Wookie climbed into the battered landspeeder. With one huge paw, she lifted Tari and his boxes up and next to her. A low growl next to Bolo's ear sent the squat being into a minor panic. He pulled back hard and to the left on the landspeeder's controls.

The battered vehicle screamed in protest as he spun it around and away from the city. Before Tari could ask what had happened, several dark landspeeders separated themselves from the dense fields. Tari relaxed his mind, reaching out with the Force. They weren't chasing them out of hate, but malice, a kind of disconnected evil, tainted their spirits. He could taste it, these people had no morals. They meant to kill them, but not out of evil, it was a job to them. They had been hired.

He reached out with the Force. Working on landspeeders and other vehicles had fascinated Tari as a boy, and he used such knowledge against their pursuers. A small push here, a little pull here, and the lead landspeeder promptly buried its nose into the road surface.

One of the three remaining 'speeders peeled off onto a side road. Tari pulled hard on the second 'speeder's steering mechanism, fighting with its pilot for control. It was too dark now to see the vehicles, but the sickening wrenching of metal rending into metal signaled the end to two 'speeders. Only the one that had changed its course was left. Tari worried that it was heading them off from a side road, and he felt ahead of them with the Force.

His eyes opened in shock as he sensed the trap ahead. Without a word, he leapt into the driver's seat, pushing Bolo aside, and pulled the controls sharply to the left. The battered landspeeder roared as it tore off into a field.

Lahala yowled, "Are you crazy?"

"There was a trap!"

The Wookie easily picked up Bolo with one hand, and placed him in Tari's now vacant seat. "Where is a good place to hide?" she demanded.

A vision from the mind of the stammering alien flashed into Tari's head. He closed his eyes, letting the Force guide him. He could feel the animals running from his noisy approach, the endless swaying and movement of the grasses. Several small, unused roads opened before them.

Bolo stammered directions, but Tari paid him no heed. He could sense his pursuers, following the devastation of the field he had just left. For several hours, he let the Force guide him from back road to back road, crossing and recrossing his own path countless times. He abandoned the landspeeder, its energy almost spent, at the farthest edge on the fields.

He climbed out, holding onto the 'speeder for support. The concentrated effort of using the Force for so long had drained him somewhat. Lahala vaulted out of the 'speeder, pulling Tari's boxes out with her. Without a word, Bolo scampered into his seat and a cloud of dust enveloped Tari and Lahala.

He staggered as his support roared away from him. "You are tired," the Wookie growled.

"I'll be fine, but we need to hide."

Lahala looked up into the trees in front of them. "That forest reminds me of home." She knelt down. "Climb on and hold tight." Tari tucked the boxes into his tunic, an uncomfortable package with far too many sharp edges protruding from his back. He reached around Lahala's broad shoulders, and she vaulted into the trees.

She climbed with surprising speed and grace, racing up the tree as if she was walking down a hall. With only the softest of grunts, she pulled herself and Tari onto a wide, sturdy branch. One could almost see out over the great fields, and the glittering lights of Mos Aldan glowed from their center.

Lahala shook her head, carrying Tari and the samples deeper into the forest. They rested in a tangled old tree, Lahala draped over a branch, and Tari wedged carefully into the junction of four branches.

Tari groaned awake, his lightsaber an uncomfortable rod jammed into his hip. The bark grated against his skin. As the world came into focus, voices shouting incoherently in the distance drifted to his ears.

"Time to go," growled Lahala, perched on a branch above him.

He nodded, rubbing and stretching sore muscles as he clambered out of the tree. Lahala smiled, "And I thought you Jedi were supposed to be graceful."

"Only when we haven't spent a night crammed in a tree."

The voices became closer. Lahala jumped down from the tree, barely rustling a leaf as she settled onto the ground. A large paw reached up and plucked Tari from his perch like so much fruit.

All day they dodged the searchers. Not once did they look up into the trees as Lahala and Tari hid among the branches. He suspected that whomever was looking for them did not suspect a Wookie, or he large creature's kill and grace among the treetops.

Crossing the fields into the city was another matter. Night fell, clouds hanging fat and heavy over the horizon. Tari broke past the tree line first, his Jedi senses strained to their limit. He walked ahead blindly, the Force guiding him. He could sense now the odd, graying feel of the Force flowing from the fields. The crops were dying.

He stumbled, and Lahala caught him by the back of his tunic, just above the still-hidden boxes. "The fields are poisoned," he whispered. The Wookie grunted, setting him down on his feet.

"We must hurry," she growled.

The light green building of the Farmer's co-op Headquarters loomed into view. Parked behind some bushes to the side of the building was a small, gray landspeeder. Tari vaulted in, and Lahala joined him as he activated the engines and sped off towards the glittering light of the city. Fat raindrops fell infrequently at first, then faster and faster. Soon, a wall of water from the sky impaired their visibility. Tari took this as a good sign, if he had trouble seeing, then so should whatever pursuit they may have.

The rain poured in through the open canopy. The world around them had been reduced to nothing more than a few shades of gray and a flash of light as lighting arced from the sky. Thunder roared, announcing their soggy approach to the city.

Where it was once bustle and controlled chaos, the city was empty. A ghost, lit by its own lights and the strobe flash of the lighting, rose up to engulf them. Dark alleys angled off from the main streets.

The hanger where his delegation was supposed to land was a smoldering ruin, the faint flicker of still-burning fires glittering through the rain. Lahala pointed him to the hanger where her ship was docked. Tari nodded, reaching out with the Force. A few animals skittered among the ship's landing gear, but nothing sentient.

The small gray landspeeder sputtered to a stop a few meters from the ship. Tari and Lahala ran into the open hatch. The Wookie sprinted to the bridge, the entire ship shuddering with her heavy footfalls. Tari secured the hatch, reaching with the Force to sense pursuit. Instead, a vision of a lush green world, a deep blue sky and clear running rivers filled his mind. And a name.

He burst into the cockpit, the startup procedures almost complete. "We go to Benthal."

"Benthal?" Lahala looked at him closely. "There is nothing on Benthal!"

He shook his head. "It is the will of the Force. I used to take my vacations on Benthal, and its telling me to go back."

The Wookie grunted deep in her throat. "You better be right, Jedi. I would hate to die on a world other than my own."

The ship lurched, soaring gracefully into the storm.

Lahala stood, her hands on her hips and her ship to her back, surveying the flat, endless plains of Benthal. "Boring world, I don't see how you could stand it."

Tari laughed, arranging and inspecting his samples. He picked up on water sample, gazing into it thoughtfully. "I wonder who left that landspeeder we escaped in."

"Probably that alien you dealt with."

Tari looked up at her in surprise. "What makes you think that?"

"I saw her drive past the hanger in it, and I recognized her when I saw you talk to her."

He placed the water sample back into its box. "I see. I guess she wanted to help us because if the crops failed, she's out of a job."

Lahala grunted in agreement. "What will we find on this grass ball anyway, Jedi? My scans showed very few cities, and we landed far from all of them." She looked down at him, the young Jedi sitting in the grass. He closed his eyes, reaching out with the Force. He relaxed his body, his mind, and the Force responded. The spirit of his Master reached out to him, guided him. The Force flowed through Tari.

His eyes opened wide. "We wait."

"Hurry up and wait?" Lahala growled, turning on the Jedi. She pointed off to the horizon. "My sister is out there, dying and you want to wait!" She reached down, her anger flowing from her, the Wookie's breath hot in his face. "I agreed to give you transport if you helped me find my sister! I've seen nothing but grass, grass and more grass!" She pulled him up to her by the front of his tunic. "You are here to serve, Jedi!" She threw him roughly onto the ground, stomping into the ship.

Tari stood, rubbing his hip where'd he'd fallen. "I've saved your life without you ever saving mine," she growled from behind him. "I could've found the coordinates of that ship without your help, and I could've left that small rock whenever I wanted to."

He turned to face her, and she held a length of rope in her hands. "I refuse to wait any longer to find my sister!"

Tari spun around and ran, the Force guiding his feet. Lahala howled, a nearby rock held ready in her massive hand. The Force warned him of the projectile, and he dodged, again and again. He was warned of her chasing him, her anger burning deep within her chest. He ran faster and faster, but her anger vaulted her forward.

Lahala surged ahead, her long legs and rising adrenaline pushing her faster and faster. She jumped, one massive paw wrapping itself around his ankle. Tari tried to kick her away, but she held on, roughly wrapping the rope around his legs, then pinning his arms to the side.

Tari felt no fear, but he did want to be let go. He tried to let the Force carry the command to her, but she was too angry, too impatient. Bound up like a caterpillar, Lahala threw Tari over her shoulder and trudged towards her ship.

Another Jedi, many miles away from Lahala's ship, felt the disturbance in the Force caused by her anger. He stood, testing the Force, feeling it. He reached out and felt the taint in the samples. Quickly, he alerted his companion, and together they sped off towards Lahala's ship.

They arrived shortly after she had taken off. Tari could sense their arrival, at their confusion of a departing ship and poisoned samples. He cleared his mind, resting his head on the cool of the hold floor, knowing that he had completed his mission, to a certain degree. The Senate will discover the poison in the samples.

But Lahala's anger still burned fiercely. He knew she meant him no harm, her anger was directed at no one. He tested his bonds, but she had tied the knots far too tight, and his arms were rapidly falling asleep. He relaxed his body, letting the Force carry the blood to his limbs.

The Wookie must of thought that the farming planet of Deneer 5 was a stepping stone to her sister, Walanna. Tari had told her that he had a mission to complete. But he guessed that Lahala had waited for him to carry it out, as long as she never waited. Her need for motion was incredible. She must have never rested in her search.

The door to the hold slammed open, and a hand pulled Tari roughly to his feet. Lahala's anger still smoldered in her chest. "Search for her, Jedi. Use the Force to find her."

He shook his head. "It doesn't work that way. We need to be patient," he said softly, looking up at her eyes, letting the Force emphasize his need for patience to her. The strength of her mind was amazing. Her eyes narrowed.

"I have been patient enough with you, Jedi. I have waited for you on Deneer 5, then that sorry grass ball we just left. I will wait no more. Find her."

The unspoken threat hung heavy in the air. "I will need a computer terminal, and whatever data you have on the search for your sister. And I need my hands."

Lahala nodded, dropping Tari to the floor. She leaned over him, searching through his robes. She pulled out his lightsaber and waved it in front of his face. "You'll have your computer, and your hands. No lightsaber." She activated the lightsaber and sliced through the bindings on his wrists, stalking out of the hold. The slamming of the door echoed throughout the chamber.

Tari sat on the floor, his legs and feet still bound, rubbing his wrists. She had not missed his bindings, but perhaps hit them too well. Tari accepted the pain from his new burns, relaxing and letting the Force flow over them in an attempt to speed the healing.

The pain ebbed, and the fierce red marks of the burns began to fade. Lahala returned, a portable computer terminal in one hand and a pile of computer disks in the other. She set both in front of Tari, turned and left, growling only, "Contact me when you find her." Tari sighed, setting up the small computer and slotting what appeared to be the first of many disks.

Several hours later, Lahala returned. Tari still sat in front of the computer, the light from the screen flashing off his face and the burns still healing on his arms. She held a tray of food. He looked up at her, impassively.

"I acted out of haste," she began, shame evident in her voice. "I shouldn't have treated you the way I did." She set the tray next to him on the floor, wincing as she looked at his arms. "I've heard you Jedi say that anger is the path to the Dark Side. I am sorry I hurt you."

Tari nodded. "I will heal." He leaned back from the computer, a pile of disks behind him. "I have found a pattern to your sister's sightings."

Hope flared bright in Lahala's eyes. Tari continued, pointing at the screen, "You know that she was discovered before she was born to be Force sensitive." Lahala nodded. "Because of some transportation and political glitches, she was taken to the Temple for training shortly after she turned five. I had been at the Temple for three, maybe four years when she arrived. We were fairly close in age, but she was always older that I was. I think I've met her on a few occasions. She was never very good at controlling her anger, and Yoda removed her from the temple a few years after she arrived. I doubt she has forgiven him or any other Jedi since." He tapped a series of red dots and green dots overlaying each other on the screen.

"These red dots was where potential Jedi were found dead, most still in their mother's wombs. The green dots are sightings of your sister."

Lahala roared in outrage. "It can't be true, those were only rumors!!"

"It might not be," Tari continued. "But we can't rule out the possibility."

The Wookie's temper took hold of her body, Tari sensed the blow coming long before it landed. He tried to dodge, ducking his head. He was lucky, a blow that could've killed him, knocked him unconscious instead.

Tari sat next to the small computer, the rope that bound his feet and legs coiled neatly beside him. The healing power of the Force had carried away most of his headache, but a dull, distant throbbing remained. Lahala was dangerous, the temper she possessed barely held in check. He sighed, resting his hands on his knees. The longer she suppressed her temper, the worse it became.

He knew her sister, an unusually small specimen of a Wookie. The name had not been familiar to him, but the more he studied the disks, the more the hazy memories of an early youth wafted to the present. Walanna let her temper control her, even used it to power her thrusts against other initiates in the temple. Tari was glad he was far too young to fight Walanna when she was there, he was lucky to only be taunted by her. She could sense the weakness of every student and Master who walked through the temple doors. His own indecision and lack of self-confidence caused him much trouble when Walanna was around.

He sensed no such malice in her sister. Lahala could be a very gentle and caring person, but that impressive temper stood in her way. It was controlling her. Tari could sense that she refused to acknowledge the presence of such a temper, that she was afraid of it. He didn't blame her for her fear of such violent mood swings.

The floor was cool under him as he laid back, eyes gazing at the ceiling. Many Jedi initiates failed to become knights, and Walanna was removed from the temple after she had been there only a few years. Tari hoped, deep within himself, that Walanna had nothing to do with the deaths of the unborn Jedi, but he doubted it. He held his hope in check, that until Walanna proved herself evil, she was not. The possibility still existed, and until he met Walanna again, he would not discount her willingness to kill the helpless and innocent.

Tari was not outraged at her crimes, an odd sense of calm was over him. The person, Walanna or not, that killed the unborn Jedi needed to be brought to justice, but it was not his place to judge. To track down the killer, to bring them in front of the Senate for a trial, that was his place. And if that person was Walanna, he hoped that Lahala didn't kill her herself, or him trying to stop him from bringing her to justice.

But if Walanna were killed, Tari, for one, would not mourn her passing.

Lahala, however, seemed outraged at the fact that her sister could be possibly connected to the deaths of the infant Jedi. For the time being, he felt it wise to not mention the murders to Lahala, or their connection to her sister.

He rolled over, gazing at the dots littering the computer screen, his head rested on his arm. His free arm tapped the screen. Walanna, or whoever the murderer was, traveled the space lanes radiating out from Coruscant. Each planet, each date of each murder, was farther and farther from the seat of the Senate and Jedi Council.

The next most likely planet for a murder to happen was the desert world of Tatooine.

Lahala stalked into the room. "You said there was a pattern," she growled. "Where to next?"

"Tatooine."

The Wookie threw her head back and laughed. "That rock!? Nothing grows there but Hutts!"

Tari shrugged. "Go where you will."

Lahala looked surprised, her laughing stopped immediately. "What, no Force to tell me where to take you?"

The young Jedi looked up at her from the floor, pointing to the screen, populated with only green dots, "Walanna has been sighted farther and father from Coruscant ever since you started to look for her. Tatooine is the next planet in line."

Lahala seemed to sober somewhat. "Than we go to that scorched rock." Her eyes narrowed at Tari. "She is innocent of the murders, Jedi." She turned, stomping out of the hold, slamming the door behind her.

The twin suns of Tatooine blazed down on the small ship as it settled into its hanger in Mos Espa. Tari was prepared for the blast of noise from races that represented every planet known to have life, but he was not prepared for the wall of heat that slammed into him when the door opened.

He staggered back, his arm raised up to protect him from the searing heat. Lahala laughed, strolling forward, the heat not seeming to bother her at all. "How can you be comfortable in this heat?" he asked.

"My home world is a jungle, remember?"

Tari groaned, following her, trying to stay in her immense shadow as much as possible.

A brisk wind blew sand into his face, and he heard the laughter of the natives teasing him. "Offworlder, Icefoot," and other insults floated his way through the sand and dust.

He lowered his arm, steeling himself against the vagrant winds. He had since grown long used to taunts, and they were forgotten shortly after they drifted to his ears. The glint of his lightsaber, tucked under Lahala's blaster, greeted his new resolve. He looked up at her back, she still seemed to respect his Jedi skills, or she wouldn't have brought his lightsaber. Or she could use any weapon she could come across on this hostile world. Including his.

He pulled the hood on his robe over his eyes. Lahala roughly grabbed his arm and drug him forward. The taunts changed, their tone either pitiful or resentful. "New slave," echoed throughout the street in front of the hanger.

Tiny Jawas moved aside as Lahala stomped forward, parting in front of the determined Wookie like water at the bow of a boat. Dewbacks groaned in the distance. Tari tried to keep up with the longer legs of Lahala, but she drug him more than he walked. Her strong fingers digging painfully into his arm.

Droids skittered all around them, sometimes getting under Lahala's large feet. She would grunt and kick the hapless machine aside. More often than not into the nearest wall.

She half pushed, half threw Tari in front of her into a bar. Species of all variations crammed into its dark depths. Tari coughed on the close rankness of it all. One growl, and Lahala had a pair of empty seats at a table occupied by a pair of disinterested dog-like aliens. One appeared to have passed out, the other was nursing its companion's drink, its own having long since been consumed.

Lahala parted the crowd and exchanged a few growls with the bartender. She nodded, and shoved her way next to Tari, a pair of greenish-yellow drinks in her hands. "The bartender says a small Wookie came in here a few days ago, he's heard rumors that she's still here." Hope flared in her voice, but her eyebrows lowered in worry. "He said she was mean, bullying her way among his customers. She kept asking about anyone who was pregnant in the area, but the bartender said he didn't know of any." Lahala took a deep drink from her glass. "Walanna, if this strange Wookie is her, might be looking for the murderer."

Tari doubted Lahala's sister's innocence, but said nothing, sipping gingerly from his glass. The odd drink burned its way violently to his stomach. He coughed. Lahala laughed, patting him roughly on the back.

After their drinks, Lahala having finished Tari's with no ill side effects, they left the bar. He half-walked, half trotted to keep up with her. All scorching day they walked the city, Lahala looking for any sign of her sister, questioning onlookers as they went past.

Word went out through the city, a determined Wookie and her small slave were looking for a smaller than normal Wookie with pale fur. The searching Wookie and her slave were stationed at hanger 12. And she made no pretense as to her power, or to her resolve to find her lost sister. The entire city was soon looking for Walanna, to rid itself of Lahala, if nothing else.

The next day, Lahala stalked the slave quarter, hapless Tari in tow. Looks of pity followed him as he was drug behind his large companion. He reached out with the Force, and Walanna's dark presence appeared before him. She was outside the city, directly in line with their current path.

Tari pulled up to Lahala as she finished interrogating another slave. "Lahala," he said. "I sense your sister. She is directly in front of us, outside of town."

Hope flared bright in Lahala's eyes. She growled for a landspeeder. She knew the locals wanted her gone, and true to her knowledge, an empty landspeeder materialized in front of her, a note to return it to her hanger when she was done, and try not to damage it too bad. The Wookie laughed, lifting Tari into the landspeeder and vaulting in beside him. She piloted the controls, and they sped out of Mos Espa. Tari thought he could hear the cheers of the townsfolk as they skimmed the dunes farther and farther from the city.

Tari directed Lahala with soft words as the subtle urgings of the Force drew him closer and closer to the dark smudge that was her sister. He was almost convinced that it was Walanna that killed the unborn Jedi, but to tell Lahala that might set her temper off. He wasn't afraid of her temper, Lahala was not an evil person. But Tari did not want to kill anyone, even someone who treated him badly, in self-defense or not. But losing his life at the hand of an enraged Wookie was not his idea of a good way to increase his life expectancy.

A flat sea of sand opened up before them, and like an island, an outcropping of black rock jutted up from its center. Perched atop this rock like some bird of prey was a castle-like structure. A road circled its way up the side of the outcropping. Tari could feel the Force pulling him to the castle.

"She's in there."

"I thought the Force didn't work that way," Lahala growled. Tari thought it wise not to tell her. He knew that the dark presence he was tracking was Walanna, but he secretly hoped it was not, that his companion was correct. But the Force showed him a vision of the small Wookie that used to taunt him. He felt that the dark presence was Walanna, and the closer they moved toward to the outcropping, the more and more sure he became.

Lahala piloted the landspeeder all the way to the massive iron doors of the castle. Her deep pounding of the door echoed throughout the mound. A small view port opened up, and a droid snickered at her. She grabbed the droid, pulling it closer to her.

With her face close to the now shaking droid, she growled soft and with much menace, "My sister, Walanna is inside. Take me to her or I will use you to pick the food out of between my teeth."

The droid stammered, and the massive doors opened with a groan. Lahala looked pleased at herself, strolling in as if she owned the entire planet. Tari could feel a sudden surprise, and the Force warned him of great evil, pure hate aimed at all that stood to bring it down. This was no ordinary emotion, it was the essence of fear, the distilled purity of unabated hate. Something was waiting for them, something that was not what it had started out to be.

Walanna stalked up to them, and Tari could see a large Hutt, cowering behind her in fear. To make a Hutt fear something only a fraction of its own size was only one of the outward signs of the evil within Walanna. Silence permeated the courtyard, no slaves ran about doing chores, no droids skittered about underfoot. Tari shuddered, and brought the Force up around himself.

"Walanna!" Lahala cried out in joy, holding her arms open to her sister.

The small Wookie glared, all life gone from her once vibrant eyes. Lahala stepped back, shocked at her sister's appearance. Where joy once filled the older Wookie, confusion took its place. Walanna's once beautiful fur was now matted and falling out. Scars covered her body where the patches of dark skin showed through. The stench of an unwashed body drifted to them on a vagrant breeze.

Tari broke free from Lahala and sprinted next to the Hutt.

The Hutt was shackled to the crumbling wall behind him. Tari whispered softly, "I will try to free you."

"Why?" the Hutt rasped back.

Walanna spun, one arm pointed at Tari. "A Jedi! How dare you bring a Jedi?!" The accusation slammed down on all the hopes Lahala might have had in saving her sister. The tall Wookie's mouth gaped open in surprise. Her sister did kill the unborn Jedi, she did have a sense to detect others who were Force-sensitive. Their parents had tried to send Walanna off to the Jedi Temple just after she was born. But the other Wookie's temper was always too great, and she had been returned to her family after only a couple of years. Each year, a Jedi would come to her home, to see if Walanna had controlled her temper, but each year they left. Soon, the Jedi stopped coming altogether. When Walanna was old enough, she set off on a mission of her own.

Lahala had not seen her since.

Walanna covered the few paces between her and Tari in three great strides. With one arm, she shoved the cowardly Hutt aside, and the with the other, she grabbed Tari roughly around his throat. He gasped, trying to pull her hands away from his neck. Blackness started to cloud the edge of his vision and the ocean started to roar in his ears. The trapped Hutt cowered in fear, holding his arms up to his chest.

Lahala accepted that her sister was not the person she had remembered. Her anger to the Jedi, her anger that should have always been directed at herself, had polluted her, twisted her. The tall Wookie realized that her sister had died many years ago. She drew her blaster, filling the body of her long-dead sister with holes.

The Hutt pulled the dead body of Walanna off of Tari, and the Jedi coughed as air once more rushed into his body. His throat was on fire. Lahala carefully adjusted the setting on her blaster and removed the shackles from the dumbfounded Hutt. She knelt next to Tari.

"I'm sorry to have doubted you, Tari. We now go to Coruscant. I'm taking you home." She looked up at the Hutt. "Make sure her body doesn't rise from the grave."

She pulled Tari gently to his feet. "After I take you home, I have much explaining to do to my own family."

All the way to the hanger, Lahala treated Tari with a deference that surprised the population of Mos Espa. They knew a battle had been fought at the old Hutt's castle, but details were few and far between. The landspeeder was parked carefully in front of the hanger, and Lahala lifted off, her cargo ship disappearing into the hot Tatooine sky.

Tari knelt before the Jedi council, his throat still sore and bruised from his near-strangulation. "Stand, Jedi Knight," Yoda said.

He stood, surprised. Yoda laughed, "Surprised, good! Controlled your anger, followed the Force you did." He pointed a small finger at Tari. "A Master you might make someday. Tell me, what did you find?"

Tari cleared his throat, "I suspect the soil and water sample I left were found to be tainted."

Jazor, a Jedi Master with a long, graceful neck, replied, "They were. But the crops were not yet tainted enough and we were able to stop them from dying. The organization that would have profited from the death of those crops will be punished."

Tari nodded. "I met Lahala, a Wookie, on the moon I crashed on. She was in search of her sister, Walanna. I suspect Walanna to be the same person that killed all the unborn Jedi."

Yoda nodded, "Your senses serve you well. A murderer, she was. It was good that you did not kill her, it was not for you to do."

Tari bowed his head.

"It is time for you to rest," Jazor said. "Many missions will await you, but not for some time."

Tari smiled, "Thank you, Masters."

He had arrived on Coruscant a Jedi Padawan without a Master. But the Force flowed true and strong in him. He accepted the trials he had faced, learned from them.

And he left to go to his new quarters in the Jedi Temple as a Jedi Knight.

Epilogue

Al-Saha strolled onto the floating landing platform on Coruscant and watched her transport ship drift away. She was a young woman, several years having passed since she had escaped the violent gravitational pull of her trapped world.

The life within her stirred. She smiled, placing her hand on her round stomach. She would have her revenge on the Jedi who abandoned her on that moon. Left her to the wiles of Guant and the other space trash that ferried her to this world.

She relaxed, letting what little Force she could handle settle her mind.

Seven years have passed since those few fateful days on that distant rock. Seven years for her hate of the Jedi with the white lightsaber to simmer into an obsession.

Tari was out there, somewhere. And she will find him.

Next installment…

Darkworld