(note: this is a story meant to fill in between the prologue and epilogue of "Bastila's Lament", please read that first. Otherwise, this fanfic probably won't make much sense:)
Teia sits slouched against the wall of his home outside, not terribly mindful of his watchman duties. The night is dark, with sparse stars dotting the open sky. The young man occasionally picks at his hair, wondering out loud to himself, among other things, to pass the time:
"Who does she think she is, coming out of nowhere to lecture us like school kids?
In a sarcastic tone, Teia elaborates in mock imitation of the woman's voice: "No that's not right Teia, no Teia don't do that, good grief, Teia, don't you know what a power coupling is? One of these days I ought to tell her what the whole village thinks of her. That'll shut her up, if only for a few minutes."
"Yes miss Bastila, why of course I'll take the night shift in case those imaginary mandalorian raiders show up again. Don't worry, I won't need to rest or anything, so long as I have your silent approval! I mean why let a droid to do his job when you can get a living person to do it?"
Teia sneers, wishing suddenly for an emergency to occur: "Well you have my word, that if anything happens, I'll come right away to your underground dome to wake you up right away!"
Having run out of immediate complaints, Teia quietly dozes off, his head slipping closer and closer to the stone wall.
A shooting star falls slowly from the night sky. It burns brighter and brighter, until finally the small settlement of Dantooine's former enclave is lit with a glow as bright as the sun for a few flashing moments. A series of distant beeps and clicks echo from its descent, though only discernable by those listening for it.
The glow wakes Teia, who catches himself just as his head is about to hit the hard rock.
"Whoa…what in Dantooine's name-" The young man stares into the night sky for a few minutes, mesmerized by the sight of a star falling from the sky.
"I better take this to the village elder. That shooting star could be the sign I need to start my trials and finally get off this mud ball of a planet."
Teia hesitates as he remembers the promise he made to Bastila as night watchman.
"Should I tell her? Mandalorians technically could have crash landed. But my sign of action! I've got to take this to the elder."
Teia stops himself, wavering for a moment: "Alright fine Bastila, but only because I want to ruin your night!"
The young man takes off into the dark night, a mischievous smirk on his face.
Bastila sits in a meditation pose, her eyes closed in thought and contemplation. Her brown hair shines against the small flame candle sitting on a nearby table. She is in her remote home near the former enclave of the Jedi, a small dwelling enclosed by a domed ceiling. Around her are her sparse belongings; her tan robe atop a worn table, a Spartan bed made of straw. Her old lightsaber sits on the table, a relic of past glory and betrayal.
"Bastila! Something's happened! I came quickly as I could! I saw-"
Bastila's eyes open and stare calmly into the distance. Without turning her head, she speaks:
"Young Teia. Good evening. First of all, please use the correct title when addressing your elders. I know you are unfamiliar with pleasantries, but you are not unfamiliar to manners, I take it?"
An impatient expression appears on Teia's face as he rolls his eyes slightly: "Yes Miss Bastila, good evening to you as well. I saw a shooting star just now! So bright it woke me u-I mean it was, uh loud and bright! I noticed right away as I was standing guard."
Bastila takes note of Teia's slip, for a moment amused at his careless youth. Then she turns to him and asks, "Was it just a shooting star? Or perhaps a ship that burned up in the atmosphere?
"That I can't tell. I couldn't manage to use my scope in time to view it properly. But I just wanted to let you know, as per my duties," Teia speaks quickly, hoping to leave soon and get a good night's sleep.
"Do you know where it was headed?"
"Ah B-Miss Bastila, it's a bit hard to chase a falling star. I'm not sure where-"
"Don't play coy, Teia. What kind of star is bright and loud?" Bastila rhetorically asks. Teia, ever the absent minded loud mouth, tries to answer: "The kind that will get the elders to-"
"The kind made of machinery sending distress beacons, that's what kind. Come outside and show me the direction it was headed, young man," Bastila says curtly as she rises up from the ground.
Teia sighs and prepares for a long night as he follows Bastila's lead.
"See? Just a heap of junk. I mean it could've been here since…"
Bastila refuses to respond to Teia's boorish excuse to return to bed. She looks upon the smoldering wreckage that landed less than an hour ago, brow slightly furrowed in thought, a frown curving her lips.
"Somebody found the survivor before us. Hm. Perhaps they were expecting him," Bastila reasons, staring at the empty cockpit of the crumpled star fighter.
"Maybe he escaped and is currently seeking medical treatment," Teia offers a dose of dry wit.
"Look at the drag marks in the dirt. He was clearly unconscious," Bastila impatiently replies with a small hint of worry in her voice.
Teia quietly admits this overlooked evidence to himself as he crouches down to his knees and examines, against the burning embers of the wreckage, two sets of prints made by a pair of legs dragged away from the smashed glass of the cockpit.
"Hey, wait! We can follow these tracks! Bastila! We can-" Teia stands abruptly and turns to see Bastila already walking fast toward the direction of the tracks away from the crashed fighter, several feet ahead of him.
Teia catches up to Bastila, who leans on one leg looking into the distance, darkness all around her.
"The marks stop here. But…" Bastila pauses to give young Teia a chance to investigate the marks himself.
"But…we should still care about the unfortunate soul who probably needs urgent medical attention?"
Bastila stares at Teia with a blank expression. Then, "Which is why we need to follow the tracks made by the sand crawler that carried him and his rescuers away. Look here, just a distance from the leg tracks."
Bastila gestures at another set of tracks, this time made by large tires.
"Aw but it's…so dark! How can we even see anything beyond this ship?" Teia whines even as he follows Bastila down the set of tracks.
"Will this help?" The flash and hum of a sword made of light suddenly commands all of Teia's attention. The blue aurora surrounds Bastila as the tip of her blade extends slowly toward her face, bathing their surroundings with a supernatural glow that spreads far beyond the mere cylindrical handle of the lightsaber.
"Whoa…" Teia's senses are filled with a force far greater than himself. "I have never seen a flashlight like that."
"Young Teia. You have much to learn about the world," Bastila speaks with the authority of an experienced warrior and the hint of a smile as she lectures the surprised young man before her. "And now you must decide."
"Decide? What choice is there?" Teia speaks with a serious tone for the first time.
"Will you follow me? You may go back if you wish. I sense great evil present." Bastila turns to the tracks with her lightsaber in hand, standing upright like an oak. "There is no rest for the wicked, nor for those in its pursuit."
Teia looks into the eyes of a seasoned warrior and for the first time, affords her proper respect: "No choice to be made. I can't let you wander off on your own. We'll be safer together."
In the darkness, the only visible illumination coming from the hue of a sword made of light, Teia glimpses the rare smile of Bastila Shan, the mysterious visitor to his remote village, a stranger no more.