Master and Apprentice didn't discuss the previous evening's happenings the next morning, and Metarie was glad. It was almost as if she could pretend it hadn't happened - that perhaps it had been a daydream she'd had while working so diligently on her saber. Plus, she had stayed up late, thinking about it all, and had some thoughts, ideas, she wanted to run past Master Skywalker, but she wasn't quite ready to do so yet.
The day passed with both women on automatic: lessons, meals, rest. After last meal, Metarie waited for the Master to go out-of-doors, but she did not. Rather, she sat in the same chair Metarie had found her in two years previously and stubbornly did not look towards the doorway.
Finally, the girl could take it no longer and asked why her Master did not go outside that evening.
The Master answered, "I had my time with Luke; indeed, we had longer than I ever expected when we married and even after his death, or so it seems. But the Force has told me that it is time to let him go."
Metarie frowned. "Did Grand Master Skywalker come to you in a vision?"
"No," Master Skywalker said, closing her eyes, "not for many years now. He came to me soon after his death, but I have not seen him in that form since then."
"Did he look like... that?" the girl asked, gesturing toward the doorway and possibly the shadow of the boy that lay beyond.
"No, he looked as he did when I agreed to marry him," the Master answered, her voice quiet. "I believe it is in the eye of the beholder to see what they wish with Force entities. He appeared to Ben as he looked when Ben was a young man."
Metarie recalled the holocube and thought of the Grand Master as a younger man. A beat passed before she asked, "Master, why are we just sitting here? History is right outside our door!"
The old Master smiled. "He may be history to you, but he is much more to me."
Metarie blushed, but did not back down. "I sat up last night thinking about it, Master. He's out there - young, still untouched by pain or misery or death. You could teach him, since Master Kenobi didn't see fit to begin his training until it was almost too late."
One of the Master's sparse, white eyebrows rose slightly. "And you think Master Kenobi was wrong in his handling of Luke's training?"
"Yes!" Metarie said, full of fervor. "We studied it in class. Grand Master Skywalker hadn't even heard of the Force until he was my age! Can you imagine? And he completed the task he was given, to bring down the Empire, but he struggled for many years afterwards. The Jedi were misguided for so long."
"You believe that I should go out and announce myself to Luke, bring him back here and teach him - change the past, and this future?"
"I... I do. Think of the lives you - we - could save! And the suffering, the misguidance, the students who fell to the dark side... the master who almost did, the Vong... all of it, you could change. You could fix it!"
Master Skywalker seemed to ponder this, nodding slowly. "And, all of that will make this galaxy a better place? A safer place?"
Metarie grinned. "Yes, I think so!"
"So, tell me, Metarie. Is this your will, or the will of the Force?" Master Skywalker asked, and smiled at her student's astonishment.
.
.
Early the next morning, Metarie lay behind her partition for longer than usual and thought about her Master's question, feeling stung anew each time she replayed the words in her mind. How could the Master believe that she wanted to do this to benefit herself?
She remembered her history lessons, all of those who had died, especially during the Vong Wars and afterwards. So much conflict, and so much trial. Was it wrong to wish to equip the man who would be at the center of so many of those events?
Metarie finally rose from bed, deciding to speak with the Master again. But when she came out from behind her partition, she realized she could still hear the older woman's deep breathing, rhythmic and even. These days were coming more often, as if the Master needed more rest than she ever had before. The girl got her own meal and continued to work on her saber, using the new wiring left on the table for her by Master Skywalker.
The Master awoke sometime after Metarie had eaten her second meal, though she seemed confused and restless. The girl was afraid, wondering if perhaps she should contact Urias or Ben Skywalker, but after a time, the Master's eyes brightened and she looked at Metarie with the usual fire and intelligence burning in her eyes. But still, Metarie did not bring up her thoughts on changing the future's past.
She made a thin soup for the Master, whose constitution wasn't near what it had been, and ate some of it herself, watching as Master Skywalker half-heartedly stirred her spoon around in her bowl. That day was a long one, as there were no lessons and little talk. Master Skywalker retired back behind her partition after claiming she'd had her fill of the soup, and Metarie sat, looking toward the doorway, wondering if she should go out and search for the boy... the man... gods, the legend that seemed to be haunting the land.
The quiet and the walls finally began to close in on her, and Metarie grabbed her cloak and quickly headed out the door, toward the vaporator where the "ghost" of the Grand Master had appeared.
When she arrived, it was still bright out, with both suns making their descent but still giving off plenty of light. Master Skywalker had said that it would sometimes be weeks before she saw him again, and that frustrated the girl who was so full of ideas that she was ready to act upon.
She descended the rock and set out toward the vaporator, standing tall on the landscape, its base partially buried with golden sand. Metarie stood next to the ancient machine and felt small, wondering how she could get the Tatooine farm boy back to this machine. That was the key - getting him there. Once that happened, the girl was sure it would all fall into place, her plan to have Master Skywalker teach the future Grand Master.
She stared at the machine, contemplating a dead vaporator that a ghost from the past still tended to as if it were in perfect working condition. She looked again to the base of the machine and the sand that covered it.
Sand. The machine apparently worked properly in the past, so if sand were to get inside, it would have to be repaired. And that would mean that Luke Skywalker would come to look at it.
With determination, Metarie called upon the Force, bringing up a veritable sandstorm, and directing it to the machine.
.
.
"You seem eager for something today, Metarie," Master Skywalker said, smiling fully, as if in jest. "And Urias is not due for another three weeks."
The apprentice laughed weakly at her Master's quip, but began to feel uneasy about her actions the previous day. "No, Master, I suppose I'm just ready to be done with my lightsaber."
"And off on dangerous missions, no doubt," Master Skywalker nodded her head, completely sure in her statement.
"Well..." Metarie paused, "maybe. I wouldn't mind flying around the galaxy a bit. I have never really been many places."
"I think you'll get a chance to go many, many places in your future," the Master said, smiling her half-smile this time. "But for now, we are still here, rooted in our present. Let us continue on with yesterday's lesson."
And so the day went, same as many others, and Metarie was relieved when Master Skywalker once again did not go out-of-doors after last meal, but rather went behind her partition and immediately fell asleep. Barely waiting to ascertain that the Master was indeed asleep, she raced from the house, and made for the lookout point, from which she would be able to see if the Grand Master's younger self would arrive.
Nervous excitement broke out across her skin and the walk seemed to take no time at all. The vaporator was alone when she finally looked out upon it and she was disappointed for a moment, before realizing that she needed patience and calm, especially if she were to succeed with the task at hand.
She meditated, but saw no visions relating to her undertaking and finally had to stop, as she couldn't seem to focus enough with the excitement still choking her. She thought, instead, of what to tell the young Grand Master. How to tell him about his huge destiny and what was to come. How to tell him about the power that he could possibly weld.
Power.
Metarie felt jolted as Master Skywalker's lessons seemed to tumble about in her brain, just simply from the mere thought of that one word.
Power.
The Master had said that with power there must come guidance, a balance of all things. Was this both power and guidance?
Or was this her will? Not, then, the will of the Force, but the will of a young girl, trained yet still naïve, intelligent but not yet wise.
Who was she to decide the fate of the galaxy? Why should she be allowed to change things, against the will of the Force?
But, a small voice whispered in her mind, why would you even see the past, if the Force did not want you to change it?
Metarie's thoughts stumbled for only a moment before she said aloud, "It does not matter. I have had the guidance to understand that though there is power to be had, that does not mean that I should use it."
"I think, Metarie, that a statement like that is what is going to make you a wonderful Jedi Knight."
Metarie startled when she heard her Master's tired yet clear voice behind her. The elder had obviously followed her, though she'd had no idea.
The girl's eyes grew misty with the compliment, and she smiled hesitantly at her Master. In that moment, Metarie suddenly recalled the lesson of the veil. She had been so proud of herself that first day, for splitting her concentration to keep the veil from blowing into her face, while she used the Force for other trivial tasks in the speeder on her way to the Master's home. She had never suspected that, in fact, her Master had already begun to teach her, even without her knowledge.
Together, the two women turned to walk back home, neither one looking down or backwards, both content to leave things as they were, and as they should be.
.
.
The final weeks passed quickly and soon Metarie was the owner of a working lightsaber with a beautiful, jeweled blue blade. Her Master was quite impressed with the balance and weight of the handle, and teased that perhaps Metarie ought to leave the Jedi for a mechanic's apprenticeship.
Urias arrived to go with Metarie to the spaceport, Master Skywalker having secured a place for him at the Jedi Academy on Ossus. After giving his own farewell to the Master, he remained respectfully outside while the women said their good-byes.
Metarie hugged Master Skywalker and was only a little surprised when the woman squeezed her back tightly. Stepping back, she looked over the aged woman, who stood a half-a-head shorter than her, and who seemed pale and drawn.
"Are you sure that you'll be all right here on your own tonight? Your son and granddaughter will arrive tomorrow, I know. Urias and I could always sleep here..."
Master Skywalker shook her head. "I've been alone quite often in my life. I'm sure I can survive one night."
Metarie smiled at the older woman's nerve and tears began to sting in her eyes. "Thank you, Master, for all you've taught me. I truly feel that I have finally removed the veil you had me wear on my way here. I had no idea..."
Master Skywalker's own eyes looked a bit damp, and she said, "Metarie, I think you've earned the right to call me Mara. I will not tell you to remember your lessons, because I know that you will. You will serve the galaxy, the Jedi, and yourself well."
"Thank you... Mara," the former apprentice said, testing out the unfamiliar name on her tongue.
Urias stuck his head in and announced that they had to leave if they planned to catch their ship. Master Skywalker winked at the boy, who grinned back at her, and they all walked outside. Urias and Metarie took some time to load the speeder, and when Metarie looked up, her Master was gone. She frowned, looking around for her.
Urias grinned. "You know her. She's never been one for good-byes."
"Yeah..." Metarie said, distracted by undercurrents she felt in the Force.
Urias helped her up into the speeder, saying, "My lady."
Metarie cocked a teasing eyebrow. "So sure of that are we?"
"I don't think I'm the only one," Urias answered easily. "Master Skywalker is the reason I'm going back to the Academy with you. She seems to think we're a sure deal..." he trailed off and gave her a special smile, one that showed he, too, believed .
Reaching over, Metarie squeezed his hand, giving her own approval to his words.
Starting the engine, Urias jerked in his seat before reaching behind him in the speeder. "I almost forgot! She gave me something to give to you."
"She did?" Metarie asked, puzzled. "When?" She hadn't seen the Master give him anything when they had said their good-byes.
"Last month, on my supply run. Here." He thrust a small package at her.
Metarie pulled the covering from the package and laughed as she drew out the veil she'd worn on that day two years before when she had been so sure of herself and her powers in the Force.
Urias grinned. "If you'd known the thoughts I had that day..."
Metarie blushed, thinking of the mischief she'd felt in his thoughts, assuming he wanted to haggle with her.
"Look," he said quietly. "There's something more there."
Metarie wrinkled her brow, and gasped as she pulled Master Skywalker's holocube from the package. She activated it, watching the old images replay one by one again. In the end, there was a picture Master Skywalker - Mara - as Metarie now knew her, the infamous half-smile on her wizened face, white-streaked hair pulled back into a neat braid.
Urias smiled and admired the gift with her for a moment, before accelerating and taking off towards the spaceport.
They came upon the old, abandoned vaporator and Metarie looked up automatically and saw her Master standing against the brilliant blue sky. But it seemed, for a moment, that two figures stood there together, a man and a woman joined by hand. It seemed that her Master's hair was shining red, not white, but the dazzling light of the suns quickly overtook her vision and she could see no more, though a bright flash of metal caught her eye from the opposite corner.
Urias looked towards the metal glint as well, as they passed the old vaporator.
"Hey, who's that?" Urias asked, gesturing towards the speeder that approached the machine.
Metarie looked over at the boy, before turning back to Urias. "That... That's just some local boy," she said, feeling strongly the thin veil of past, present, and future in that place.
"Funny that I've never seen him before," he mused.
"People like him don't come around very often," Metarie said softly, taking one last glance back at the vaporator and the future head of the Jedi Order, before laying her hand on Urias's arm. "But it's time for us to move on."
They smiled at one another and sped off into the bright light, leaving the past as it should be, ready to create the future.