The Past Never Stays Buried
Prologue -Leaving Home
By Princess Raye Fire
Master Juud approached his apprentices in silence. He had just been notified that the Code has been changed. The Council has decreed that for every Master there will be only one apprentice. For him this is a problem, he has four.
He stood in the court yards entrance and watched his four students duel.
The first is a 19-year-old Bothan known only as Jon. He had copper colored fur with three black slashes over his left eye that looked like animal scratches.
The second is a 17-year old Twi'lek. He's a younger version of the Master, with blue hued skin and red eyes. They call him Kin'nal meaning Force Wolf in the Twi'lek language.
The next two are odd cases.
The older, Kix Shi, is to turn 20 next month. For a human she is striking, he supposed. She had red hued black hair, round red eyes, high cheekbones, and a body build that other humans called 'power-packed'.
They said this because she had the strength of a 7-foot tall Trogian warrior in a 5' 2" frame. Trogians are a feline race with the amazing properties of all hunting races. Strength, speed, endurance, and hunter's senses.
Kix is a Human/Trogian half-breed with the best properties of both species. You wouldn't even know she was anything but human unless you saw her when she was angry, upset, or confused. That's when she 'goes catty', with the severity of her feelings the more of her Trogian side shows. It is a truly odd case.
The other, Ai Brooks, Is also a cat-humanoid but the 18-year-old's traits are more obvious. She has blue hued silver hair and blue cat-slit-eyes. Her features are smaller, gentler, with her 4' 9" stature she would appear elfin except for the fact that her fingers were more like claws than hands. Add to that her tendency to use them on any one that called her cute and the rest is self-explanatory.
He watched as Jon brought his dark blue blade that met Kix's silver/black. Kin'nal swiped at Ai's feet with a purple blade. Ai tucked her body around her silver/white blade and leapt as she avoided Kin'nal's move, skillfully.
His students had indeed come much closer to the rank of Knight in their time with him. All but one of them could probably face the trials with out worry.
He had been planning for Kix to face the trials this year, Jon the next, and Ai the year after that. But this would not be so. It was now totally up to their new Masters and he was saddened.
* * * *
Kix took note of her Master's presence. Something in the old Twi'lek's posture told her it was bad news. The tiredness in his eyes said it had something to do with the Council.
They had probably made that foolish decision about one Master/one apprentice. Dumb. Just because one Master couldn't handle more then one apprentice didn't mean they all had that problem.
And what was the purpose of training future generations to train a threat that they were doing everything to extinguish. It almost made her wish something big would happen, just to show the fools in the tower how stupidly disconnected they had become.
Master Juud stepped away from the shadows. He had undoubtedly guessed what she had been thinking because he began with a warning.
* * * *
"My Padawans. Remember when you fight to give you body over to the Force. Let it flow. With you, in you, feel it around you."
"The Force is your ally and if you trust it, it will protect and guide your way, all your days."
"Remember the Code. 'There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no death, there is the Force.' "
"My Padawans. You are like children to me. And I ask you to remember. There is on harm in love, but jealousies must not ensue, and never hate. That is MY warning to you as I tell you this. The Council has passed the alteration to the Code. I will be sending the older three of you away, for you are further in your training. Kix and Ai, you will be going to a place called Yavin 4. It is being explored for settlements; people with your senses will be needed there. Jon, you'll be going to Corellia to a Master named Halcyon. You must leave by the end of the day. I apologize for this sudden ejection, I will miss you all."
He turned and left.
* * * *
Kix had changed into what she called comfortable.
Tight black hide pants that lace up on the sides, she left it open enough so that where the laces didn't cover there were square inch diamonds. Over that she had a white muscle shirt that accented her muscular arms and chest nicely. On her hands she had finger-less gloves, they used to be her favorite gloves period, but then her hands went animal while she was wearing them and the style grew on her.
Over that she wore a red knit-Duster and knee-high black hide boots. She knew exactly why the historians were staring at her and she had to admit, she didn't mind.
Besides her Trogian-ness she had another trait that set her apart from all the other apprentices she knew. She liked piercings. She had nine in each ear, three in her right eyebrow, one in her tongue, and one in her nose, on the left side. She didn't, necessarily, wear them all at the same time, but it gave her something to do.
She carried all her life's possessions in the medium sized duffel bag on her left shoulder. Add on top of it that taking up over 7/8 of the bag were trousers, tunics, Lightsaber repair kits and replacement items. The only thing that were her's were the earrings for her piercings, the hand-picked replacement jewels for her Lightsaber, her id's and credits, and that all still in one bag. A very sad fact.
At least she had one possession she couldn't fold and slip in a bag, her ship. The Feline Strike. The Strike is a Corellian YT-1300 Light Freighter. She's modified and altered the ship as the funds and parts have fallen into her lap. The only things that remain from the 1300 Master Juud had presented her with were the Frame and Hyper-drive. Even though the Frame has sense been reinforced -so that she could add laser cannon turrets- and the Hyper-drive/nav-system updated.
As she walked up the boarding ramp she was pleased to note her passengers were coming with their own bags shouldered and heads held high. They would be leaving Fondor, the place the have each called home from their 10th years, in thirty minutes. From Fondor they were to drop Jon at Corellia -in his new Master's care-, stop over on Coruscant -to re-supply-, and the on to the gas giant Yavin or rather the4th forest moon known as Yavin 4.
If the others were saddened after the final good-byes and May-the-Force-be-with-you's, no one showed it. Then again there is no sadness to a Jedi.
But for some reason, this task held a sense of foreboding…
They would not reach their destination…
Of this she was sure.
* * * *
As Luke walked through the temple he couldn't help but wonder why Tionne had asked him to meet her in the old Base's control room.
When he walked in her saw her leaning over a unit that had been abandoned before the forest moon had been used as a Rebel Base.
"Master Skywalker. I want you to see this." She stepped back and he took note of the grease covering her hands and face. She reached to what looked like a control panel and hit a button.
A holo of a younger Master Yoda came to life in front of him.
"Master Niax, you have not seen the two Padawan-learners sent to you they have been?"
They couldn't see Master Niax but they heard him. "No, Master Yoda. They have not shown, is there a problem?"
"Yes, I fear. They left Master Juud. Left Padawan Jon with Master Halcyon. But have showed, not. There is an oddity in the Force, on the path. Stranded they might be."
"They might not have left Corellia yet. You know how the King enjoys the Jedi presence. They might be at the Palace."
"No. He said they left his Palace 3 days ago. Be here they should." The message cut out.
Tionne looked at her Master. "Do you understand, Master? There were two Padawans, unaccounted for. They, or their bodies, are out there. Most likely with notes on all the training they have gone through."
Luke smiled.