To Rise From The Darkness

by Khalthar

She had always been a Sith, but now, her life would take a course that she NEVER would have believed possible! Now that she has witnessed the elimination of everyone in the Academy, what is a Sith student to do when she ends up in the hands of her ancient enemies, the Jedi? OC/ Leia. Not Slash!

7. Chapter 7

SW 7

Jedi Master and Council member Kyle Katarn took his seat at the table in the council chamber. He knew that there was only one reason that this unscheduled meeting had been called on such a short notice. That reason was Talon. His first encounter with the girl had been during a spur of the moment saber training class the previous morning, when a tiny slip of a girl had put the fear of death into him with nothing more than superior skill and a training saber. He knew that he was entirely to blame for the results. The failure was entirely his, and he was not going to turn away from it, or make any excuses. He knew that he should have asked a few more questions before jumping into the thick of things, and this would serve as a valuable lesson for the future. His most serious regret about the whole thing was that someone else had to suffer for his mistake. It was a mistake that he would not make again.

He'd had a second encounter with the girl last night after she'd gone through a session of saber practice and displayed a host of saber skills the likes of which Kyle had never heard of, forget about having actually seen. He'd had at least something of a conversation with her afterwards, and what he'd learned in it had not been pleasant.

Now he was about to take part in a meeting to decide whether or not this girl; who'd been trained by a faction of Sith that no one had even known about; would be accepted for training as a Jedi. Kyle knew that it wasn't going to be an easy decision for some, and a very touchy issue for others, but he was going to put forth every effort to ensure that this was one Sith who wouldn't end up trying to take over the galaxy.

Kyle waited in silence as the other council members entered and took their seats. It didn't take long for Kenth Hamner to take his. The acting Grand Master looked grim and dour as he sipped at the cup of caf he'd brought with him. Soon all of the Council members had taken their seats, and Kyle noted that several had brought their own cups of caf with them, indicating that they thought this might be a fairly long discussion.

"This isn't a typical meeting, and I don't think a lot of useless banter is going to help matters any, so I'll get right to the point. We have a Sith fighter craft parked out on the landing pad, and the pilot, who has been confirmed as a Sith, is here at this academy." Master Hamner began.

At the mention of the title of Sith, several of the council members began casting surreptitious glances around the table trying to figure out if anyone else knew of this. There had been varied reactions to that little piece of news, ranging from raised eyebrows to expressions of curiosity.

"I'd like to see a show of hands from those who know anything about this Sith, and what possible threat she might pose to this order. Then we'll hear from each of them, and discuss that information. Afterwards, we can bring in Jedi Solo to hear and discuss what information she has on this matter, since she's apparently the one who made initial contact and brought the Sith here. After that, we'll hopefully have enough information to make an informed decision as to what to do about this Sith." Hamner continued.

As he looked around the table Master Hamner noted that only three hands were raised in acknowledgement. "Okay then, Let's start at my left and work to the right. Master Katarn, it looks like you're up first."

"I can't say that I know a whole lot about her. One thing I know for certain is that her saber skills can easily out match anyone in this room." Kyle received several disbelieving looks at this. "I can also tell you that she's terrified of what the future might hold for her. She was taught a lot of Sith propaganda and I know that she was taught some disinformation as well. She's been raised on nothing but emergency rations, and wasn't always allowed to keep those that were actually given to her. She's been tortured repeatedly and relentlessly by those above her; she's terrified of us, meaning Jedi, and she's got this... Thing that she does where she goes off somewhere in the Force, and it feels exactly like she's just died when she does it. Trust me! It's really disturbing." Kyle finished.

"This one agreez! She does not have much to add except that the youngling has been given reason to fear us, and that the youngling has been denied the sanctity of her own mind. This one wishez to add that she is willing to help with the youngling if she is allowed to stay." Master Sebatyne joined in.

"Wait just a minute here! Are we talking about a child? And one that's been mind raped at that?" Master Ramis interrupted angrily.

"Unfortunately, the answer to both of your questions is yes. Talon is thirteen standard years old according to her cellular development. From what I've personally witnessed, she has not only been constantly subjected to forced mental invasions, but actually experienced being brutally raped repeatedly through the use of those invasions." The healer was forced to stop by comments of outrage made by a few of those present, while others were able to hold their silence.

"The only thing good that I can say about her condition is that she was never actually physically raped. Although she has certainly suffered enough of that during mental invasions that she is now terrified of it. Her state of malnutrition is advanced enough that I had to give her both mineral injections as well as a series of fairly strong metabolic enhancers to speed up her absorption of the minerals that she's lacking. Her state of malnutrition has been prolonged enough that it has also retarded her physical development. Although she would normally have entered puberty by this stage of her life, that hasn't happened because of near constant starvation and malnutrition. So, she's thirteen years of age, but she has yet to actually enter puberty or begin her first fertility cycle. That is part of what the metabolic enhancers are for. Those enhancers will also speed up her digestion, and some minor levels of hormones may help boost her growth rate to counter her small stature. Her bones are extremely brittle from a total lack of exposure to natural sunlight and are easily broken as evidenced by yesterday's mishap resulting in a compound fracture to both bones of her lower left leg. Once she is allowed to resume normal physical activity, she'll still have to be monitored, because she has adapted to a much colder environment. She maintains a standard core temperature of one hundred and eight point nine degrees. In a cold environment like Korriban, that's not a problem, but here, with our temperature ranges, it could easily prove fatal. As serious as her physical condition is, I am currently more concerned about her emotional state of mind. Talon seems to be terrified of everyone she meets, and I'm certain that there is a valid cause for that fear, but I haven't had any real chance to talk with her about it. I did notice one thing about her that was odd. She is somehow able to use her strength in the Force to augment the strength of another. She used the technique with me during my second session of Force healing on her leg. I apologize for the fact that as of yet, I can only relay information on her medical condition, but for now I will say that she is in no condition to be considered a threat at this time." Master Cilghal said as concisely as she could.

Seeing that the Mon Cal was finished Master Octa Ramis spoke up. "Am I the only one here that would like more information on this Sith before we try to reach any type of a decision? Has anyone asked her what she wants? Talking to her would have to reveal something at least, even if it's nothing more than pure hatred."

"As much as I'm the one who usually disagrees with everything, I'm going to have to put that aside until I've got more to go on. Just because she's a Sith, doesn't mean she can't be turned." Master Durron added.

Master Hamner nodded his head in agreement. "Very well. Master Katarn, would you mind asking Jedi Solo to join us?"

Upon his return to the chambers, Master Katarn was seen to step aside to allow Leia to precede him into the room. Although the man's manner was friendly, Leia wasn't too sure if she was being shown courtesy and politeness by being allowed to go first or if she was being led to the proverbial executioner. She knew that she was more than a little nervous, after all, a young girl's fate was entirely hinged on what was about to take place, and anything she might say would have a definite effect on any decision that was made.

Leia noted that they were using the informal meeting room, which was standard across the galaxy, rather than the formal Council room made to replicate the Council chamber of the original Jedi Council. To her, this was a good sign, it meant that she would be able and allowed to argue her position as she felt best rather than simply receive her instructions and have them expected to be carried out.

When Master Hamner gestured for her to take one of the empty seats between Masters Durron and Ramis, she took the one next to Kyp.

"Let me fill you in on what's taken place. We've heard from Master's Katarn, Cilghal, and Sebatyne regarding what they know about Talon, I believe her name is. So, why don't you tell us what you know about her, since you think she needs to become a part of this order." Master Hamner instructed in a much friendlier manner than Leia had expected.

Leia nodded her head and took a deep breath before she began. "I guess I need to give you some background information on the Sith who trained her, so I'll start there, and then move on to what I know about her background, and then my observations on her."

"That sounds fair enough." Master Hamner said reasonably.

"This faction of Sith traces almost right back to Palpatine himself. Darth Tyranus, whom we know was also Count Dooku, took an apprentice that he kept secret from Palpatine. This apprentice took the title of Darth Magus. What his original identity was, I don't know. I do know that Tyranus provided the funding for the project, and allowed Magus to see it through. They gathered up many Force sensitives at a young age, and used the Force to wipe away their memory of who they'd been. He trained the first group into Sith Masters, well those that survived anyway. His journal speaks of killing some of them with Force lightning while punishing them. He seems to have taken a lot of sick pleasure in tormenting his students. To the point that near the end, he may have been more concerned with tormenting them than training them. I've read his own account of how he would torture some of his students in his effort to perfect his Force lightning techniques so that he could subject someone to it for hours without killing them! The constant food shortage was just one of his many methods of causing misery for his students. He took up the practice of raping the minds of his students, and after discovering that it left them bereft of any mental defenses, all of the students were subjected to it. Females were constantly and repeatedly forced to experience what it would feel like to be forcibly bred by a Kel Dor, although I won't mention what he did to the males."

At this point Leia had to pause because of angry outbursts by those who were listening. During the impromptu break, Leia took the opportunity to make a subtle signal to the server droid to bring her a cup of caf. Pulling out the flask of Corellian Brandy, she made no excuse for adding a shot of liquor to her caf. She placed the bottle on the table and sipped at her cup before she spoke again.

"You might want to help yourselves to some of that, because the rest of this is going to be rough." Leia told them bluntly.

"This gets worse?" Master Hamner asked in a tone that clearly said he didn't believe that it could.

"Oh yes. Much worse. Darth Magus didn't even teach any of his students how to use the refreshers, or environmental controls either. They froze constantly, and he thought that it was highly amusing to deny any of them clothing until they had earned their place as a Sith. Later he began to divide them in to two groups. Those who had successfully defended themselves from his mental attacks would learn to mentally control or 'wield' those who couldn't. The 'fighters' as the failures were called were trained in just a few areas. Saber skills, telekinetics, Force athletics, Force strengthening, and Force augmentation. Anything and everything else to do with the Force was left completely out of their education. These 'Fighters' as they were called were basically intended to be cannon fodder. Any females among the Fighters who happened to be strong in the Force were actually raped until pregnant in order to create the next generation of Sith. He did mention neutering or castrating male Fighters, and he stated that he would not allow them to breed. Essentially it was only the Masters and 'Wielders' who held any privileges or authority. The Fighters on the other hand were subjected to torment from everyone else. Darth Magus taught them a version of history that was not only rife with lies, but filled with the tyranny and sadism of the Jedi order. As cruelly as she was treated by the Sith, Talon has been taught and led to believe that we are far worse. The bad part is that he had come to hate her specifically. There are several entries that speak of her, and Darth Magus refers to Talon as a failure, and one that was only valuable for her saber skills. He even stated that it might be fun to see her reaction to actually being raped before she was killed. I don't know why exactly, because I only skimmed through the journal, but this Magus truly hated Talon. Magus procured several hundred tons of beskar to create special training weapons that weighed a full one thousand kilograms each. "

"How the stang can someone even use a weapon like that?" Master Durron interrupted angrily.

"Apparently quite effectively. Talon has used those weapons to master all seven forms of lightsaber combat known to us and even pioneer an eighth form called Whirlus. It's a Jar Kai version of the saberstaff technique where she wields a double bladed lightsaber in each hand. Those training weapons are also what saved her life."

"Okay why don't you fill us in on this 'tragedy' you mentioned to me yesterday. How can we be absolutely sure that there aren't more Sith out there?" Master Hamner suggested.

"Talon's remarkable saber skills are the results of training almost constantly; four hours per session, three sessions per day for several years now." Leia began once more after taking a deep breath.

Jedi Master Corran Horn interrupted with a low whistle. "With that kind of practice time under her belt, it's no wonder she's so skilled."

"Exactly. But those skills were put to their ultimate test when enough tarentatek charged up out of the lower caverns to slaughter four thousand Sith. A fair number of them may well have had combat skills similar to those possessed by Talon. Talon witnessed the death of Darth Magus herself."

"According to the records, tarentatek are almost completely immune to both the Force and most energy weapons. So how did Talon manage to survive?" Master Tionne Solusar asked with interest.

"Well there is a big difference between a lightsaber and a full ton of beskar being slammed upside your head." Leia replied with a rueful snicker.

There were several snorts of amusement along with a couple of chuckles at that response.

"I encountered Talon when her fighter dropped out of hyperspace in front of The Alderaan after her ship ran out of fuel. The ship was brought in by tractor beam and I met it in the shuttle bay. Talon was inside and unconscious. She was wearing nothing but a belt to hold the lightsabers that she'd scavenged and some rags from some kind of clothing tied around her feet. She was completely covered in the toxic gore of the tarentatek that she'd killed in her escape. I found a claw from one of the creatures wedged in a tear on the hull and had to use the Force to pry it out. DNA mapping showed me what it was from. So I decided to try to examine Talon's memories." Leia explained in a flat factual tone.

She paused to take another sip of her spiked caf and a deep breath before she continued.

"I know that I'm not fully trained in such techniques, but I wanted to find out just what kind of threat she represented. The moment I saw her slumped in that cockpit, I'd sent a mental message to my brother, and asked him to bring some back up just in case. I found myself wandering through Talon's mind far too easily. With my small amount of training in that area, it should have been much tougher even with her unconscious. Darth Magus knew exactly what he was doing when he set out to strip her of all mental defenses, because that's exactly what he did. But believe it or not, that actually helped save her life, because it also means that there's nothing to interfere with her connection to the Force."

"Wait a minute! What do you mean by 'nothing to interfere'? Explain please." Master Hamner interjected.

"Talon was raised on nothing but emergency rations, so she's never been exposed to tableware before, so I was instructing her in the use of dining etiquette last night. Afterwards we were just sitting there and I knew that if I tried to actively probe her that she'd immediately tense up and get scared. So I tried to use a method that I'd seen her employ. I let down my guards, all of my own defenses, and just let the Force flow into me bringing whatever it had to offer. I found that when there aren't any guarded thoughts or barriers that have been ingrained into us through training, in the way, that you can achieve a much stronger connection to the Force. She has no defenses; no way to hide her thoughts or emotions; no way to stop the Force from flowing in to her mind, and it gives her a much stronger connection to the Force than you can imagine. It's interesting in that while her strength in the Force isn't very strong at all, her connection to the Force may well be as strong as Luke's, or possibly even stronger, because there isn't anything to impede it. I was able to duplicate it to a small extent, but nowhere near as effectively as she can." Leia answered before sipping at her caf again.

"While I was in her mind on board The Alderaan, I witnessed her escape from Korriban from beginning to end. Exhausted, terrified, and alone against an army of creatures that had already killed everyone she'd ever known, she made a move of sheer desperation and gave herself up entirely to the Force. She held nothing back, and the Force prevailed where any of us and I'm sure all of us would have not only failed, but died. Her first reaction to finding out that I was a Jedi was an attempt to flee to safety. I hate to say this, but as much as she was traumatized by what happened, it was actually for the best, because Darth Magus was planning to kill her as soon as he felt he couldn't learn any more from her." Leia finished sadly.

"She knew." It was spoken softly, almost a whisper, but everyone in the room clearly heard Kyle Katarn utter those words in sadness.

"What?" Leia demanded instantly.

Master Katarn sighed heavily. "She knew he was planning to kill her. I won't say who it was, but it seems that someone gave her too much caf last night before sending her to bed. She couldn't sleep so she headed to the training arena for a workout. I was in the observation booth reviewing the security vids from yesterday morning when she started a little practice session using remotes at a fairly low power. She put herself through more than forty five minutes of the most intense round of saber drills I've ever seen anyone go through. She was even holding off at least a couple dozen remotes with Ataru. Between witnessing that display of skill, and watching the security vid in slow motion, I know for a fact that she could have killed me with that training saber yesterday if that had been her intention. But that's beside my point. She was using a pair of metal rods which I'm guessing are the training weapons that she brought with her from Korriban, when Knight Skywalker walked in on her. I couldn't hear exactly what was said but apparently they agreed to a sparring match."

"After I specifically gave instructions that she's not even to practice her skills in any way! Is she trying to end up in a bacta tank? A mere slip and fall could potentially crush her cranial structure and kill her!" Master Cilghal interrupted vehemently.

"I know, I know. That's almost the same thing I said to her." Kyle said holding up his hand to ward off the healer's temper. "Anyway, I got down there as fast as I could, but I was too late. Ben had already figured something was up when he couldn't get through her defense and she didn't cut him to pieces with that red saber she was using. Anyway, I figured it might be a good chance to talk to her a bit, maybe get to know her a little better, find out some info, that kind of thing. I asked Ben to come along to help, thinking that his skills at questioning might be of use. I'd asked her why she'd disobeyed your instructions, and she told us that she was trying to get tired so she could sleep. Between Ben and I, we finally figured out that she'd had too much caf. She'd never had it before, and six cups of it was a bit more than she could handle."

"Who..." Cilghal began when she was cut off by Leia.

"That would be my fault. I'm sorry. I knew that I was probably going to be up most of the night and that I'd need the caf to stay alert while pouring over that thrice blasted journal. I didn't even think of what effect it might have on Talon." Leia apologized.

"You'll have to be very careful with what you do give her. Those metabolic enhancers will ensure that her body processes everything at a highly accelerated rate. Things like stimulants or intoxicants will hit her harder and faster than normal." Cilghal warned.

Kyle cleared his throat and rubbed a hand across his beard. "Well that explains some of it. I gave her a half cup of fermented juma juice to counter all the caffeine in her system. But I also gave her a couple of sandwiches and three glasses of Bantha milk to soak it up." Kyle added the last hastily to fend off the half lidded glare that Cilghal had directed at him.

"Anyway when that stuff hit her she started, well... rambling is the only word that fits. So Ben and I asked her a few questions, and she gave us an earful. Among other things she talked about, she told us how she started learning the double staff technique." Kyle explained.

"Yes I read about that, it was in an effort to humiliate her." Leia commented.

"Exactly! She knew that as well, but she went on to explain how she knew that while she was a 'valuable resource' as she called it, she also knew that Darth Magus hated her and was going to kill her as soon as he'd learned everything he could from her. That was why she had to keep pushing herself to stay better than he was. She knew that her life depended on her skills being better than his." Kyle explained sadly.

"Such is not the type of life any youngling should have! This one thinks she should be accepted for Jedi training. She is sure that such training will bring the youngling into the light." Saba suggested firmly.

"The question I want answered is; can she be brought to the light?" Kenth asked of no one in particular. "I think we should talk to Talon herself, and see if we can get a solid answer to that question."

"This one agreez. Once questioned, she is sure that you will see the potential in the youngling." Saba said ruffling her scales.

"Before you do that there are some more things you'll need to keep in mind. When you speak to her, always begin with her name. We'll need to reinforce to her that it is her name. Among the Sith, only those who had attained a rank as a 'wielder' were allowed to have a name. 'The Talon of the Sith' was a title sometimes given to her by her fellow students, and one of the Masters. Giving that to her as a name further demonstrates that we are not like what she was taught. She does have a measure of curiosity and eagerness to learn, but she's timid about it. Ignorance was just another excuse for punishment, and a question showed that ignorance. Above all try to avoid any display of anger when you talk to her. She's terrified of us because of what she's been taught and right now, her fear completely dominates her mind. Most of what made her a failure among the Sith was an apparent inability to hate or even become angered. Eye contact was considered to be a challenge to authority and power so don't be surprised if she doesn't look at you. That's all I can think of at the moment. I just hope that you're willing to give her the chance she deserves." Leia said candidly as she stood up to leave.

"Just where do you think you're going? You haven't been dismissed, nor have you been asked to leave. You brought this girl to us, Leia; therefore you will be the one to sponsor her application. You will be held accountable for both her and her actions. It has been suggested that if we are to accept this Sith for training to become a Jedi, then you should be the person responsible for her training regimen. Is that understood?" Master Hamner's tone was full of amusement but firm none the less.

Leia gaped at the acting Grand Master in stark disbelief. "You're promoting me to Master?" she asked in a near whisper.

"If Talon is accepted, then yes. I see no reason to burden another Master with the load of potential problems that Talon would represent as a student. As you said yourself during our confrontation yesterday, you're the one who's most familiar with her case, her history, and her mental state; therefore, you would be the best choice for the position. Besides, this will be a good exercise for you." Master Hamner answered with a sly grin.

Leia sat down heavily in her chair. She'd anticipated the possibility of being ordered to work with the girl as an assistant to whichever Master the girl was assigned to, but the possibility of being promoted to the rank of Master had never entered her mind. While the possibility came as a shock, it also came as quite a relief as well. This promotion would mean that Talon would be taking her primary instructions from someone who understood her to some extent.

Leia nodded slowly as she took another sip of her spiked caf, while fervently hoping that there wouldn't be too many more shocks before she had a chance to sleep some of it off.

"Master Katarn, if you wouldn't mind bringing Talon to this meeting, I'd greatly appreciate it. I'm starting to look forward to meeting her, because this sounds like it going to be one very interesting discussion." Master Hamner asked politely.

"I think I can manage that." Kyle answered before turning to Leia. "Mind telling me where she might be?"

"She should still be in the cafeteria with Han." Leia answered softly still in a slight state of shock.

Kyle turned to the door and as soon as it slid open, the panicked cries of several students were heard.

Talon was sipping at her third glass of blue milk when Leia excused herself and left the table to join the Jedi Master she'd talked with the night before. Talon wasn't really thinking about it as she watched the Jedi enter another room. As soon as that happened Talon felt an immediate difference in the Force. Leia's presence had just vanished from the Force!

Unknown to most, the Council chamber had been treated with oils obtained from a reptile called the ysalamir. Able to generate a bubble of neutral Force energy, the ysalamir was able to conceal its presence in the Force and deflect any attacks originating from within the Force. Oils that were naturally produced were collected and concentrated without harming the reptile, and that oil retained some of the neutral Force energy that had been generated by the reptilian creature. This was done to ensure that no student, or snooping Knight for that matter, would be able to use the Force to eavesdrop on the proceedings taking place inside.

Talon knew none of this. What she did know was that she could still see the Jedi through the still open door, but she couldn't sense the Jedi in the Force. Even though she'd been ordered to stay at the table, Talon was ready to jump up and try to follow Leia when Han spoke up.

"Unh uh, kid. She just said to stay here until she came and got you. Weren't you listening? I'm pretty sure she meant it." Han warned.

"She... she's gone! I can't feel her in the Force." Talon exclaimed worriedly.

"What are you babbling about? She just went in that room over there. Besides, I don't do that Force stuff. I can't feel it, can't sense it, or however you want to put it, okay? So you telling me that you can't feel her in the Force doesn't tell me anything." Han replied a tad more irritably than he intended.

Talon gaped at the man in pure stunned shock. She'd never heard of anyone who was unable to sense the Force. No one had ever told her that such a thing was possible. Not knowing what made Force sensitivity possible, Talon didn't know or understand why he couldn't sense the Force. There were many questions that Talon wanted to ask about this, but she wasn't sure if she would be allowed to. Although Leia had instructed her to ask about anything she didn't understand, that was Leia, and this man was different.

Deciding that she could ask Leia about it later, Talon turned her attention back to her food. She had no idea where such food came from, and while it was very different from what she was used to, there was also plenty of it. She wasn't sure why these Jedi were willing to provide as much food as she wanted, but she was not going to question them about it.

When Talon finally finished her breakfast, she sat at the table sipping caf and wondering what was going to happen today. She knew that one of the Masters had threatened to send her away, and she didn't want that. She knew Leia had told her that if she did have to leave, then she could go with her. What was more than a little puzzling to her was that this was the Jedi academy, and Leia was a Jedi, so this was where she belonged wasn't it? If she wasn't allowed to stay, did that mean that Leia would have to leave in order for her to stay with the Jedi?

Talon shook her head as these unwelcome thoughts went slowly through her mind. She was sure that whatever answers she might come up with would make little difference in what would happen to her. She knew that these Jedi would decide what they wanted to do with her, and that she was just as helpless against them as she had been against her Sith Masters. She had never been one to ponder her future or her fate, because she preferred to live in those all too brief periods when she wasn't being punished or tormented. Experience had shown her that any future she might look forward to would only hold more of each.

Talon was startled out of her thoughts by the loud beeping of Han's comlink. She watched in silence as the man fiddled with the device, before he scowled. Because he was so close to her, Talon could easily sense the man's irritation over something as he stood up.

"Look kid, if Leia gets back before I do, tell her I had to go over the specs for the hyperdrive with Lando. In the mean time, you wait here, just like Leia said. She should be out of there soon anyway." Han told the girl before he left to send Lando a message.

Talon nodded her head and watched the man leave. She thought about trying to signal the droid over in the way that she'd seen the other do, but she hadn't been given permission to do that. With nothing else to do, Talon yielded to the tempting pull of the Force.

The first place Talon went was to the room that she'd seen her Master enter. She was able to get no closer than a meter from the door before something blocked her path. She slid along the edge of the unknown and unseen barrier, traveling through a sizable portion of the academy, and even outside of it for some distance. She'd tried getting in from above as well as beneath, but had no luck in any of her attempts to enter. Finding herself back at the door that Leia had gone through, Talon gave up and decided to go somewhere else.

Within seconds, Talon was swirling through the massive planet wide cityscape of Corruscant. Air cars and speeders were everywhere, traveling at a breakneck pace. Gleaming spires, and huge landing pads were everywhere, the people and beings that she saw were sometimes so far below her that they looked even smaller than a rock mite. Never in any of her countless journeys through the Force had she seen anything like this.

As she moved lower into the city, Talon could once again feel the countless minds around her impinging on her own. Not wanting to face or experience such a thing while in the embrace and safety of the Force, she quickly fled to much higher altitudes, eventually leaving the atmosphere behind her.

As she circled the planet from what would be considered a very low orbit, she saw this world's sun flash through the spires of the city, the atmosphere and the very edge of the planet itself as she passed into the twilight belt. The strange stark and surreal beauty of the sight before her would have taken her breath away had she still occupied her physical form. Thousands upon millions of glowing points of light were scattered across the surface of the world below, creating a myriad vista of countless patterns that enraptured her mind. Slowly moving points of light were seen to move through the darkness below, and suddenly Talon found herself inside a ship that was heading to the surface from somewhere above her.

Without even thinking about it, she moved herself outside of the vessel, to once more behold the beauty of the world she was now living on. This world was nothing like Korriban. Here, there was so much to see, so much to experience, so many beings living on the world below that the sheer number of minds was nearly overwhelming to her.

Talon mentally compared the two worlds she'd experienced in person. The dull flat monotone color of Korriban, dark and lonesome on the night side, but swirling with menacing storms filled with raging winds and stinging sands on the day side. Such was the world of the Sith.

Never ending pervasive cold, darkness, misery, hunger, and pain on one world. Light that was full of life, clothing to keep her comfortable, and food to fill her stomach on the other. Talon looked down at what she now considered to be the world of the Jedi, and for the first time in her life, she wondered what it would have been like to have always lived here instead of on Korriban.

Sensing something wrong near her body, she returned instantly. She regained awareness of her surroundings to realize that the server droid was trying to pull her not quite empty cup from her hand. Talon let go of the cup with a near silent sound of distress, and watched sorrowfully as the droid placed the cup on the tray it was carrying. Her eyes widened in disbelief as the droid then placed a fresh cup of hot caf down near her hand while beeping and squawking at her incessantly, before it turned and trundled off.

Talon looked from the cup to the droid and back again, not believing what had just happened. Her brows furrowed in concentration as she tried in vain to understand the place she now found herself in. She slid the cup closer to her and wrapped her hands around it, allowing the heat to saturate her hands and fingers.

She'd been about to allow herself to start drifting in the Force again when she looked up as a woman approached the entry to the cafeteria looking in her direction. The woman was wearing soft grey clothing that was trimmed in white, with dark colored hair. She came straight to the table that Talon was sitting at and stopped.

"Is there someplace that you're supposed to be?" she asked.

Talon glanced up at the woman and nodded her head before looking back down at her caf.

"And where exactly is that place, may I ask?" she said.

Talon swallowed hard, both Leia and Han had told her to wait for them here, and she didn't want to give either of them reason to punish her, so she decided to try to relay her instructions.

"Master Leia told me to wait here and not leave." she answered softly.

"Jedi Organa Solo, while highly respected in the order, is not a Master, and isn't to be addressed as such until that rank is earned. Although your show of respect for her and her position is appreciated, it is also misplaced. She is to follow the instructions of a Master at this academy just like anyone else who hasn't attained such rank, which I might add, includes you. Now since I haven't seen you before, I will assume that you are new to this academy, therefore you can join my classes until such time as you have been assigned a regular schedule. You may address me as Master Kirana Ti." She stated in a tone that was well accustomed to teaching students.

Talon nodded her head and slid out of her chair. There was no way that she wanted to receive the kind of punishment that would result from pitting one Master against another.

Master Kirana Ti watched the girl as she left the table where she'd been apparently daydreaming. She was quick to note the brace on the girl's left leg, and wondered if Cilghal had been made aware of it.

"Now, may I ask your name?"

"I'm called Talon." She answered apprehensively.

"Alright, Talon. Does Master Cilghal know about the injury to your leg?" she asked.

Master Kirana Ti frowned slightly when Talon only nodded her head in answer. "Very well then, I'll assume that Master Cilghal has placed you on restricted physical activities because of your condition. Since I'm sure that such is the case, you may sit and observe a saber training class. I urge you to pay close attention during this class because your life may one day rely on the saber skills that you develop."

Talon followed the Jedi through the main hall and into a different training room than the one she'd visited the day before. Taking one of the seats that the Jedi indicated, Talon began watching silently. She was pretty sure that she would be punished for not waiting where she'd been told to, but she wouldn't be participating in any of the drills or even using a lightsaber, so she hoped that whatever punishment she received wouldn't be too painful.

Instead of pairing off the way they had the day before, these students were setting up for practicing against a remote. Most of them were about her height, although several of the students in this class were almost a decimeter shorter than Talon herself. Talon watched in silent interest as the Jedi programmed each remote to a specific skill level and activated it. One by one the students received an activated remote that hovered almost silently in front of them.

Master Kirana Ti wasn't sure that Talon was paying attention to what was being taught to the class until she saw the girl stand up. Fixing this new student with a stern look, she watched as the girl simply removed her cloak and sat back down. From where she was standing, she could now see the hilts of both a single and a double bladed lightsaber attached to the left side of the girl's belt. Making a mental note to inquire about that later, she returned her attention to her class.

At a nod from the Jedi, the students had activated their lightsabers and dropped into a very basic Shii Cho stance. Each of them faced forward with shoulders squared and their feet at roughly shoulder width for balance. Instead of circling the students to seek out a weakness in the defense that was presented to them, the remotes remained stationary in front of the practitioner. Talon could quickly see that this was a very basic class, and far below her skill level, but she still paid rapt attention none the less.

Talon was so intent on what was going on in front of her that for the time being, she was pretty well able to ignore the constant distractions caused by various thoughts and emotions carried by the Force, and the incessant aches and pains left over from both her last session of punishment and her injured leg. Her softly glowing golden eyes flicked back and forth trying to watch everything at once, noticing a well executed block here, a balanced stance there, a proper grip by another, or a correct position by that one.

She could easily see what each one needed to work on as she watched them. In spite of possible appearances, Talon was not only paying attention, but was also silently encouraging each one that caught her eye. She nodded to herself as she watched a young Nautolan female perform a well executed parry. She wasn't the only one to notice a boy's tendency to turn towards the remote while trying to deflect the low power stun bolts, and the Jedi Master instructing the class was there quickly to show him through both demonstration and softly spoken words the proper way to face the remote.

Talon had now seen two separate Jedi instructing a class in their saber skills. Both had vastly different ways of teaching those who were trying to learn. She realized that while this method was very similar to the way in which she'd been taught, there was still a vast difference in that the Jedi was correcting any mistakes without using painful Force lightning as a deterrent to repeating the mistake.

Jedi Master Kirana Ti was focusing primarily on those students who were actively participating in the class, but she hadn't forgotten about Talon in the least. She had clearly sensed the girl's fear and apprehension in that first moment of meeting her, but neither of those feelings were unusual in young students who'd left their families to learn the ways of the Force. The occasional glance aimed at the girl sitting quietly showed that the girl was paying attention to everything she could. The Dathomir native noticed this with approval. She knew that her skills with both the saber and the Force had served her well many times during the Vong war and she fully intended to pass those skills on to other Jedi.

She turned away from the dark haired youth who'd developed the bad habit of trying to turn to face the remote when a cry of alarm rang out from one of the smaller students. Kirana Ti snapped her head around to see what the problem was, and saw the boy slumping to the floor after dropping his training saber. His remote was zipping around in high speed circles and every time it passed another remote, a yellow indicator would flash signaling that a new program had been accepted.

"Sabers down!" She called out to the students, some of whom were now ducking away from their own remotes which were starting to act strangely. "Everyone clear the room. Come on, quickly now." She instructed in a loud and firm but calm tone while never taking her eyes off of the young boy who was not moving.

Talon wasn't sure what had happened, because she'd been watching someone else when the remote started behaving crazily, but when the Jedi told everyone to leave she saw the remotes begin to target anyone that moved whether they had an active saber or not. When the remotes had fired a third shot at the unmoving boy on the floor, Talon didn't stop to think about what she was doing, she acted.

A proper combination of Force speed and a powerful Force jump instantly carried Talon ten meters across the room and over the heads of several of the panicking students to land next to the downed boy. She planted one foot on either side of him, straddling his body, and immediately adopted the Jar Kai version of Soresu. With a single hilt lightsaber in each hand, she began fending off the shots that were now being aimed both at her and the boy still on the floor. Talon didn't need to be told that the power levels of the shots had been changed to the maximum setting because the shots were now being deflected off the blades of her sabers.

Kirana Ti thanked the Force that these students had been carefully drilled in how to act in an emergency. As soon as she had delivered her instructions, the students had acted to follow them. Within seconds most of the students were safely out of the room, with only two exceptions. Looking back to see what had happened to one of the youngest students in the class, Jedi Master Kirana Ti got one of the largest shocks of her life to see a pair of red lightsabers being used to defend him. Something told her that these were true Sith weapons and not just an arrogant Jedi student choosing a red lightsaber. She didn't stop to question or stare as those red blades flashed out to meet each and every shot that was fired from the remotes that were now gathering to concentrate on the remaining targets left in the room.

Knowing that there was nothing she could do to help Talon at that moment, the Jedi Master continued to evacuate the training room. Once the rest of the students were in the clear she could return to help with defense. Even as she was trying to get everyone clear, the remotes had been following their new program and continued their assault on anything that moved. More then a few of the class members had been hit and were crying from the pain of their still smoking wounds. Whatever had gone wrong, she knew that these remotes could now kill anyone who was hit too many times.

Kirana concentrated and sent a wave of calm energy through the Force to help her control some of the students who were beginning to panic. "Stay calm, everyone. As long as you remain out here, you'll be fine." she said as they finally left the room.

"But Kaldin's still in there!" One of them cried out in a panicked voice.

"I know, but there is someone in there protecting him, so you must put your trust in the Force." Kirana replied knowing that she couldn't tend to her students and perform a rescue attempt at the same time. She hated being forced to abandon two of her students in such a manner, but she knew that she was needed to deal with this much larger group first. She spotted Han Solo wandering towards them with a puzzled expression and called out to him.

"Master Solo, the remotes have malfunctioned, and I need to get back inside to help the others! Can you care for these younglings?" She asked loudly knowing that the small lie of calling the man a Master would help him maintain some control over the group.

Han pulled his customized blaster pistol from its holster and rushed forward. "I've got a better idea! You handle the kids, while I get in some target practice!"

Han followed Kirana as she stepped to the door with a heavy heart, fully expecting to see both students being repeatedly hit by circling remotes, but the scene that met her eyes was one that filled her with relief.

Talon was entirely focused on the battle she was fighting. Never before had she had to defend someone else and she was finding that it required a different type of thinking and a different strategy. With nearly a score of remotes circling around her and the unmoving boy beneath her, she stood her ground and refused to move except to deflect the shots straight up in the air. She was so focused on her efforts that she didn't even realize that the room had been cleared, and she didn't want anyone else to get hit by a stray blaster bolt.

Arms, wrists, and sabers were moving in a smooth flowing motion as a perfect extension of both her will and her skill as she deflected each and every single shot aimed either at her or the still form below. The Force was flowing strongly through her as she allowed herself to feel where the next shot would be, and she made sure that one of her blades was there to greet it.

Kirana stared at the girl who was no taller than any of the other students that she'd had in her class just a few moments earlier. She knew that none of them would have been able to last this long against so many remotes even if they were operating at minimal power, but the display of skill taking place on the far side of the room was unthinkable for someone so young. The Jedi could see that the girl's face held no expression at all as she inhaled through her nose and exhaled from her mouth. Each hand working independently of the other to form an impenetrable defensive shield around both her and the other student lying all too motionless between her feet.

The Sith weapons in the girl's hands were intercepting every blaster shot aimed at the boy with an angry clash of conflicting energy. The two blades were weaving through the air to form a pair of blinding red blurs that were almost hypnotically graceful in their high speed dance against death. Kirana could tell with only a few seconds of observation that it might as well be a Master standing over the boy protecting him, and was instantly glad that she had rounded up this stray student. She felt someone trying to push past her waist and looked down to see the young female Nautolan trying to check on her friend.

"He's being well protected, now go stay with the others so we can deal with this, okay." She instructed as calmly as she could manage.

Han heard the Jedi tell the kid to go back and join the others as he made his way to the door. Stepping past her into the room he saw Talon putting up a good fight against a large group of remotes that were swarming around her. He watched as the little droids kept circling at high speed as they searched for a weakness in Talon's defense that they could exploit. Taking aim at one of those farther away from the girl, he fired.

Talon nearly jumped as a remote a few meters in front of her exploded in a shower of glowing molten sparks. She knew that she hadn't caused it, because she been meticulously careful in deflecting the shots straight up. A quick glance around showed her that not only was the room now clear, but that the man she'd met earlier was preparing to shoot another of the remotes.

Han knew with one look that the situation was critical. That kid lying under Talon's feet wasn't moving at all, and he knew that Luke wouldn't have any problems against that many remotes, but he was sure that a kid like Talon wouldn't be able to hold out for long.

"You're doing great kid! Just don't let up. I'll have these things taken out in just a minute." He called out to her to let her know that help had arrived even as he shot a second remote out of the air.

It was fortunate that Talon never faltered in her efforts at that point because she was forced to block one of the still glowing bits of debris that resulted from the destruction of the second remote. She knew that she couldn't protect herself and the boy from both the shots from the remotes and the debris from their demise for long. Deciding that a change of tactics was in order, she switched to a Jar Kai version of Ataru. It was time to finish this fight and fast.

The battle hardened Jedi Master Kirana Ti stared in dumbfounded disbelief as Talon became a fast moving blur after switching forms. She easily recognized the high speed and highly aggressive combat form of Ataru, and felt her blood run cold thinking that Talon had abandoned her defense of the unconscious Kaldin. Her fear was soon proven baseless as three remotes came flying out of the swarm in quick succession to slam into a wall after having been struck by one of the girl's attacks. Using the Force to speed up her own visual acuity, she saw that Talon was using the butt of her lightsabers to knock the remotes out of the fight while still deflecting all of the shots aimed at Kaldin. She reached out and placed a hand on Han's shoulder to stop his efforts.

"No more. Let her handle this. At this point you'll only distract her." She told him quietly without taking her eyes off the action in front of her.

Han let out an angry breath and nodded as he reluctantly holstered his blaster pistol. He had to give the kid credit where it was due; she was putting up the kind of fight that he'd rarely seen his wife or brother in law deliver. As he watched, he slowly came to realize that anyone who would fight that hard to protect someone else wasn't, no couldn't be as far gone as the title of Sith implied. He was about to comment on the remotes when one of those that had been knocked from the fray swerved back to rejoin the battle.

"They're not supposed to do that! They're supposed to shut down after they've been hit!" Kirana exclaimed in angry disbelief after seeing the remote disregard the standard safety measure. She now realized that something would have to be done to help the girl in her battle, but what?

Talon saw that one remote return to resume the fight, and knew that it had to be the cause of the problem. Having trained against remotes more times than she could count, she knew how they were supposed to act and react to certain situations, and this one had somehow ignored or bypassed the standard shutdown feature. She'd been about to strike another remote when she was surprised by movement from the boy she was trying to protect. Faster than she could watch without taking her eyes off the enemies around her the boy's body slid wildly across the floor towards the Jedi waiting to receive him.

Kirana looked the boy over even as Han picked him up to carry him out of the room. He'd been hit about three or four times that she could see, but should make a full recovery. The angry red knot on the side of his head told why he remained unconscious. Turning her attention back to Talon, she saw that she had succeeded in what she'd hoped to accomplish. With only herself to defend, Talon was now a whirling dervish who was taking the fight to the remotes with a ferocity that very few Jedi Masters could deliver. One, two, and once even three at a time were knocked from the fight as Talon even kicked one of them while striking two others.

Seeing that the boy was now safely away from the danger, Talon had no further reason to remain stationary or hold off an all out assault on her attackers. She began hitting them hard and fast, using the Force to enhance her speed so that she outpaced her assailants. She knew that she'd hit the source of the problem at least three times, but it kept coming back after refusing to shut down. She would have ignored that one in favor of another, but every one of them looked exactly the same, and she couldn't afford the effort it would take to keep track of that one remote out of all the others.

Then, almost as suddenly as it had begun, the deadly crisis was over. Talon had had to slam that final remote into the wall hard enough to crack the casing before it stopped. It hadn't even hit the floor when she placed her sabers back in their place on her belt. A brief wave of Force power summoned the damaged remote to her hand and she turned around to give it to the instructor.

Talon froze in pure horror as she looked towards the doorway. Master Kirana Ti was there as were Han, Leia, Cilghal, and several other Jedi that she didn't recognize. All of them were watching her. Talon swallowed hard and walked forward to meet her fate.

No one spoke a word as the girl walked slowly towards them after having dispatched the last remote. Her head bowed towards the floor, one would have thought that she was the one who'd been utterly beaten as she approached.

When Talon reached the waiting Jedi, she held out her hand holding the defective droid. "I... I think this is the one that started it. It... it wouldn't shut down properly. I tried not to damage it." She told them softly trying to explain.

Kenth reached out and took the now harmless source of the problem and looked at it with a frown. The casing had a fair sized crack on one side along with a slight dent in the opposing side. He could tell that a lot of power had been placed into that final strike against it.

"We'll get one of the technicians to look at it later. Right now we'd like to talk to you in the Council chambers." He said without any giving clue as to what he felt or was thinking about the incident.

Talon nodded her head and prepared to follow the Jedi when someone tugged gently at her arm. She turned to see the young Nautolan that she'd been watching when the whole thing began.

"I brought your cloak for you, and I want to thank you for protecting Kaldin like that. I know he's not very good yet, but he only just got here and he tries really hard." She told Talon as she handed over the forgotten cloak, she might have intended to say more but broke off when Cilghal placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Your friend will be fine after a while. Luckily he was only hit in the legs and knocked his head when he fell." Cilghal told her before looking over some of the other students.

Talon nodded her head to the young student and donned her cloak before stealing a quick glance at Cilghal and Leia. She knew she'd disobeyed both of them by what she'd done, not just once, but twice now, and she was sure that she'd be hurting for a long time before her punishment was over.

Every Master present could easily detect the fear, and tension in the girl who'd just fought valiantly to save a young boy she didn't even know. A lot of doubts were settled in that moment, but some still remained, and it was hoped by more than a few, that those remaining doubts would be put to rest after talking with the girl who looked as if she were about to attend her own execution.

Talon followed the Jedi into the room where she'd seen Leia enter earlier. She was instantly aware of something vastly different once she was inside. As she paused to think about it, Talon came to realize that the countless minds that she'd been constantly sensing were no longer there; they had finally gone silent, and she breathed a sigh of relief at the sudden escape from the oppressing confusion. Looking around her, she noticed that everyone had taken their seats and were waiting on her. She saw Leia indicate the chair next to her on the far side of the table and went over to sit down. She climbed into the chair and looked at the table, waiting.

Kenth took a few moments to study the subject of this meeting. As he watched her in total silence, he could sense a proverbial air of doom hovering about her as if she expected to be killed at any moment. The levels of fear, tension, and more than a little guilt that the girl was broadcasting through the Force were strong enough to be more than a little annoying and it grated heavily on his nerves.

Master Hamner drew in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Once he was sure that he was in a calm state of mind, he turned his attention to the source of both his irritation and this unusual meeting. Part of what irritated him so much was that he couldn't get the image of this tiny girl fighting furiously to protect someone she didn't know out of his mind. Granted it was the kind of thing that a Jedi was expected to do, and if he were to be truly honest with himself, was the absolute last thing he would have expected from a Sith. Kirana had filled him in with a brief report of what had happened before Talon had even finished dispatching the malfunctioning remotes.

From what the Master instructing the class had told him in hushed hurried whispers, Kenth knew that Talon couldn't have stopped to think about any of the possible consequences before she'd acted, there hadn't been time. She had acted just as any of the Jedi in this room would have, and had done so just as fast. Kenth knew just as well as anyone else that the cumulative effects of repeated stun shots could be fatal, which was why there was more than one safety feature installed on their remotes.

The acting Grand Master was still pondering the whole mess when Cilghal finally entered several minutes later. The Mon Cal healer calmly took her seat, and looked over at Kenth.

"Well, I have some good news to report. A total of seven of the students each took one hit by the remotes, and Kaldin took a total of three, with the most serious of them being to the side of his head. He's now awake and still a little out of it, but he'll make a full recovery in a day or two. If he'd taken another shot to his head it could have caused severe neurological damage, and might even have killed him. All of them are a little shaken by what happened, and some are more than a little frightened by the incident, but they should be fine with time." Cilghal said in a very relieved tone.

"That is good news!" Kyp spoke up.

"Yes it is. Now, may I suggest that we get back to the reason we're here so we can conclude this meeting and continue on to our regular duties." Kenth added.

"Talon, why did you attend a saber training class when not only have I told you not to do anything like that, but you had also been instructed to wait in the cafeteria?" Cilghal asked immediately.

Talon swallowed hard in spite of the fact that her mouth had just gone completely dry. She knew that there was no way out of this without catching punishment from these Masters or retribution from that other one. These Masters wanted an answer, and she knew she wasn't able to lie to them.

"I tried to obey. I even told her that Maser Leia told me to wait there for her, but she said that Leia wasn't a Master, that she had to follow a Master's instructions like everyone else, and that I had to do what she said." She whispered morosely.

"Fair enough, and that is true to an extent. So why did you find it necessary to protect that boy in spite of the fact that with your condition, those remotes could have killed you?" Kenth asked curiously.

"I knew there weren't enough of them to hit me." Talon answered honestly with a slight shake of her head.

Kenth Hamner's eyebrows shot upwards as he glanced around to see the reactions of the others. All but two were just as surprised as he was, and those two were both grinning slightly, although, Kyle's expression was closer to a smug smirk if Kenth were to be honest about it.

"Still, why did you protect him after being told not to do anything like that?" Kenth pressed her determined to find out if he could get one answer that would satisfy his doubts about the girl.

Talon's mind raced as she tried desperately to think of an answer that would be acceptable to them, but without knowing more about these Jedi, it wasn't easy. Finally she decided to give them the same answer that she might have presented to Darth Magus.

"He isn't a waste of resources, because he can learn to be better." She replied in a near whisper.

Everyone in the room felt the disturbance in the Force that signaled Talon's attempt at deception. It wasn't an actual lie, but it wasn't the entire truth either, and all of them knew it.

"That's not the real reason, is it? Don't you dare try to lie to us!" Kyp pressed her suddenly as he slammed a fist down on the table.

Talon jumped at the outburst. Her hands were shaking in her lap and her jaw trembled as she realized that she'd have to tell them the real reason she'd protected the boy. Talon knew that this was the final blow. She knew this answer would make her failure as a Sith complete, and she'd be either exiled or executed. She closed her eyes and prepared for the worst.

"I didn't want him to die." She said in a quavering voice.

The air in the room was thick and heavy with the fear and guilt that was emanating from Talon, as Leia waited to see what would happen next. She knew the Council had just been given at least one answer they needed for them to accept Talon into the order, now she only needed to find out if it was enough.

Leia reached out her right hand to place it on Talon's shoulder in a gesture of support. As soon as she started the move Talon flinched in fear, and everyone felt the tension in girl rise even further.

"You need to relax and calm down Talon. We're only trying to find out some more about you." Leia told her softly.

Talon heard, but didn't believe the words that had just been spoken to her. She knew that what she'd done would have been seen as a severe sign of weakness on Korriban, and now there was nothing she could do to hide it.

"Why did you not want him to die, Talon? Explain that to us." Master Tionne Solusar asked her softly.

A slow solitary tear began sliding silently down Talon's cheek as she sat there waiting for their judgment. She didn't answer the Jedi's question because she didn't know herself why she had done it, and she was sure that admitting to ignorance in this situation would only make things worse. She didn't have the slightest idea as to why these Jedi were asking her questions. Why couldn't they just punish her and be done with it the way the Sith always had?

"Look Talon, do you even want to be a Jedi?" Kyp demanded in exasperation.

Talon looked up at the Jedi Master for a mere instant as she nodded her head.

"Then why won't you answer our questions?" Kyp demanded again.

"Because I don't know what answers you want!" Talon cried out as she slid from her chair and huddled against the wall. "I don't know why I did it."

Leia could feel Talon's fear and desperation rising through the Force like an erupting volcano, and she turned to give Kyp a warning look to ease up on the girl.

"Then tell us why you want to be a Jedi!" Kyp demanded even louder now determined to get an answer out of the girl.

With the door on the far side of the room, Talon knew there was no way to get past all of these Jedi to flee, and even if she could, she wouldn't know where to go. With no other escape possible, Talon tried to escape through the Force. Various explosive comments of surprise and disbelief were made when the Jedi present felt Talon's attempt to flee to the one place where she'd always been safe.

But Talon wasn't safe. For some reason unknown to her, she had to struggle to hold her thoughts together, to maintain her mind and essence in the Force. It was as if there wasn't enough of the Force to draw on to hold herself together.

Nearly half of the Council members had risen from their seats in surprise to stare at the girl after sensing what had felt like her death.

"Tell me that's not disturbing!" Kyle muttered aloud.

The comment got nearly everyone's attention fast.

"Are you telling me she's done that before?" Kenth demanded in disbelief.

"Yeah, in fact, this is the third time that I know of." Kyle replied easily.

"Talon, I know you can hear me. We aren't going to hurt you or even punish you. I need you to return to your body, because these chambers are sealed with neutral Force energy, so you can't leave that way. If you want to leave, then you can say so, and there is nothing we can do to stop you. Now will you please rejoin the meeting?" Leia said directing her words to the room around her.

Talon did hear what Leia told her and she did return to her body, but not because Leia had asked her to. She'd returned because she was finding it almost impossible to hold her mind together in such a small portion of the Force. She was trapped, both physically and mentally in a room with a lot of irritated Jedi, and she was certain that they were angry at her.

As soon as she was back in her body, and she realized that she would have no choice but to feel whatever punishment might be delivered, Talon panicked. Scooting across the floor along the edge of the wall, she tried to get as far from them as she could. Knowing that it was a futile effort, but needing to try anyway, she soon found herself backed into a corner with nowhere else to go.

Eight Jedi Masters looked with both concern and surprise at the girl who acted as if they were ravenous beasts eager to rend her flesh before devouring her piecemeal. It was one thing to know that they were the subject of doubt and mistrust throughout most of the galaxy, but to see and more importantly feel the near mindless terror and panic that they were causing in someone that they were actually trying to help, really disturbed them.

The lone Jedi Knight in the room wasn't surprised by Talon's actions because she'd seen it before on board The Alderaan. Although she too was irritated; she wasn't irritated at Talon. She knew that Talon's fear was based in both lies and the painful experiences given to her by her Sith Masters, just as she knew that those fears would have to eventually be left behind. Leia was irritated at the Council members for not fully listening to her advice. She closed her eyes and took a moment to force herself into a calmer frame of mind before she approached the girl.

When Cilghal saw Leia try to compose herself, she stood to get a look at Talon for herself. The girl was backed into the corner of the room with her knees drawn up to her chest, arms covering her head defensively, her eyes closed tightly, and her respiration was fast, shallow, and irregular. It was obvious that the girl was in the midst of a full fledged panic attack, and the healer knew that it couldn't be allowed to continue; there were too many complications to Talon's health that could result from a prolonged state of intense stress. Stepping towards the girl, she began exuding a slight wave of calming energy through the Force. It wasn't strong enough to entirely dispel Talon's fear, but then it wasn't meant to be. Cilghal knew that Talon felt justified in her fear, she also felt that Talon was entitled to be afraid if she chose to be, but she wasn't going to allow that fear to jeopardize Talon's health. The fact that Cilghal also wanted to try reasoning with Talon also played a large part in the amount of fear that she dispelled.

Kneeling down next to Talon, Cilghal reached out to try comforting her and to gain her attention. She couldn't help but notice the girl flinch as soon as the move started, but didn't pay much attention to it, being distracted by a small burn mark on the girl's right forearm. With her hand on Talon's shoulder, she could feel the tremors caused by tension in the girl's body.

Even though her eyes were closed, Talon could feel the attention that was being focused on her. A lifetime of being the target for the aggression and hostility of others had ingrained an instinctive use of the Force to let her sense such things, and in her experience, having everyone's attention on her did not bode well. She knew for a certainty that she would be in pain within the next few moments and there was nothing she could do to get away from it. The thought of having to endure a punishment while trapped in her body frightened her, but then she felt most of her fear being dissipated with the Force, and knew that one of the Jedi was doing it.

Talon didn't understand why these Jedi wouldn't let her keep her fear. She knew that being afraid had kept her alive. Being afraid of her Masters had made her avoid them whenever possible, and being afraid of the Guardians had made her run instead of trying to fight the way that Darth Magus had. She knew her fears had saved her life more times than she could count, but these Jedi kept taking her fear away from her.

Cilghal looked over at Leia as the Knight knelt down next to Talon.

"Any ideas?" Cilghal asked hopefully.

"Oh, I think I might have one or two." Leia answered heavily.

"Talon, I need you to look at me for a minute." Leia instructed in a firm but gentle tone.

Talon heard the instruction and hesitantly moved her hands to the side so she could look at the woman kneeling to her left. "What did I do wrong?" She asked quietly in a plaintive quavering voice.

Leia could have grinned when she heard that question, because it showed that she had the girl's full attention, but she kept her composure while answering Talon.

"As far as I know Talon, you haven't done anything wrong. What we don't understand is why you're so afraid right now when there's nothing to be afraid of. Do you think we'd punish you when you haven't done anything? We're not. We can't!" Leia replied.

Talon's brow furrowed in concentration as she tried to understand what the Jedi had just said. It didn't make one bit of sense to her because these were Masters and she wasn't, so, they had the right to do whatever they wanted didn't they?

"I don't... I don't understand. What do you mean?" She asked in confusion.

"Cilghal, has Talon been accepted into the Order?" Leia asked the healer suddenly.

"No. That's what we're here to decide." Cilghal responded with a little confusion while wondering where Leia was going with this.

"Exactly. You see Talon, right now you aren't a part of this Order, so there are only two things these Masters can do. They can either accept you into the Order so you can learn to become a Jedi, or they can send you away. Until they accept you into this Order, they don't have the right to punish you. They don't have the right to tell you what to do. I don't even have that right Talon." Leia told her.

Talon started shaking her head not understanding any of it. "But..."

"Darth Magus didn't teach you about laws did he?" Leia said quickly cutting off whatever question Talon had been about to ask.

"You see Talon there are some kinds of rules called laws that everyone has to live by. Everyone, Jedi and Sith alike. Those laws state that you are a free person, able to make your own decisions, because those who did have the authority to decide for you are dead. The only way that can change, is if you decide that you want it to change. If you join this Order to learn to become a Jedi, then, and only then, would we have the authority or the right to punish you. If you do become a member of this Order, then you'll be assigned a Jedi Master who will be in charge of teaching and training you in the ways and rules of the Jedi. That Master will have the authority to punish you if you break our rules, just as any other Master will also have that authority. Do you understand now Talon?" Leia explained as thoroughly as she could.

"They won't hurt me?" Talon asked with confusion and disbelief vying for dominance in her features.

"They can't hurt you Talon. If they do, then they'll be punished by those who enforce the law. Now tell me; do you want to stay here, join the Order, and learn to become a Jedi?" Leia asked patiently.

"Yes." She answered in a near plea.

"Then tell me Talon, why do you want to become a Jedi?" Leia asked with a slight triumphant smile.

"Because... Because it's better here. There's lots of food to eat. No one tries to take the food away from me. I have clothes now. I get to be warm even when I'm sleeping. I'm allowed to have lightsabers. No one does things to me in my mind, and I... I have a name now..." Talon answered plaintively. "and no one is trying to kill me for being better than they are."

That last was not spoken aloud, but instead, was a mere thought in Talon's mind. A thought with so much emotion behind it that it was carried through the Force in such a way that everyone in the room heard it just as if it had been shouted.

Before Leia could say anything more Master Hamner spoke up after a heavy sigh. "Is there anyone here who can give a valid reason why Talon should not be accepted as a student?"

"Kyp? How about you?" Kenth asked after a moments pause during which, no one spoke.

"As much as I hate to admit it, this is where she needs to be. If nothing else, at least we'll be able to keep an eye on her. Besides, I'm not too thrilled with the idea of just turning her loose. Do you really want to think about what kind of work a Hutt would have her doing?" Kyp said after careful consideration.

"Those are excellent points Kyp. You really surprise me sometimes; I would have thought you would against this, but no matter." Kenth said before turning in his chair to look at the three individuals still in the corner. "Talon let me be the first one to welcome you to the Jedi Order. Leia, I'd also like to confirm your promotion to the rank of Jedi Master, and to congratulate you, on both the promotion, and the acceptance of your new apprentice. Talon, you are hereby assigned to be the apprentice of Master Solo here. She will begin teaching you the ways of our Order, and I suggest that you listen closely and study hard, because you have a lot of learning to do." Kenth finished with a smile.

Talon turned from Leia to gape at the acting Grand Master in stark disbelief. "You. You're letting me stay? But you said you were going to send me away, and I'd have to go to the wilds." She asked in a hoarse whisper.

Master Hamner's eyebrows shot up at that. "Well, I suppose it is a wild galaxy out there, but be that as it may; Master Katarn was right. Letting you stay or making you leave isn't my decision alone. I was way out of line yesterday. I was wrong in both what I said, and in my actions, and I apologize. In my defense, it's not easy to make decisions that can affect the lives of more than half the people in the galaxy. My respect for Master Skywalker's achievements has gone up exponentially since I've held this position. In fact, this little situation with you has been the easiest thing I've had to deal with in months. Now if there is nothing further, I move that we adjourn this meeting."

"Wait, please. I'd like to pose one request to the Council if I may." Leia spoke up quickly as she urged Talon to her feet.

"If it's not an urgent matter, then it will need to be submitted for review by the Council, so we'll be able to make an informed decision." Master Tionne Solusar stated firmly.

"It's about Talon. There's something I left out to use as a bargaining chip in case I needed it." Leia told her.

"And just what might that be? It's not like she has any great wealth that might be misused by the Order." Kenth asked.

"It's true that Talon doesn't have much by way of wealth, since she only has one hundred and sixty eight credits. What she does have in addition to an ancient Sith fighter which is perfectly functional I might add, and could be auctioned to a museum or antiquities collector; she also has a data pad that's been modified to read a rather large memory crystal. It contains a complete copy of the Jedi archives from before the Exar Kun War, and would therefore contain knowledge and techniques that we may not have anymore, that data pad also contains a map to some lost or possibly stolen holocrons. Talon already agreed to give us that information, before I ever brought her here, but I feel, and my request, is that she be compensated for that information." Leia said quickly to make her point as she and Talon resumed their seats.

Kyp started laughing loudly while shaking a finger at Leia. "I think you've been hanging around that husband of yours a little too long Leia, he's starting to be a bad influence on you. Planning a little blackmail against the Council were you?"

"Well, I wouldn't exactly say blackmail, but definitely extortion if it became necessary." She replied with a chuckle.

"Okay, now I'm curious to know exactly what she showed up with. Give us a complete inventory, if you don't mind." Kenth said with a rueful smile.

"At this time, Talon has to her name, one Sith fighter craft recently repaired after being slightly damaged by a tarentatek, one hundred and sixty eight credits, one pouch to hold those credits, one data pad containing a journal of one Darth Magus Sith Lord, one modified data pad containing archival copies of both the Jedi and Sith teachings, and a map to a possibly unreachable cache of Jedi holocrons, one data pad containing procurement, and population records of the Sith enclave where Talon was living, one Sith styled cloak, two single hilt Sith lightsabers, two double bladed Sith lightsabers, one set of clothing made from medical coverings that I gave her aboard The Alderaan, five sets of clothes that Master Cilghal had made for her so that she can survive our environmental settings, two belts equipped with refrigeration units to maintain her required temperature settings, one photo filtration unit so she can see in normal lighting that Cilghal had made, one pair of Jedi academy issue boots, one satchel case, one pair of foot coverings made from rags that she wore from Korriban that have been incinerated, and one rag belt of the same nature which met the same fate, and which I replaced with one of my own. Oh, I almost forgot. She has two rods of compressed beskar that weigh one thousand kilograms each, and a med kit containing Mandalorian combat stimulants which I've stored in my quarters. I suppose you could also count that tarentatek claw that I pried out of the hull of her ship. Other than that, all she has of her own are her skills and memories." Leia told him off the top of her head.

"Those holocrons you mentioned, is there any way to retrieve them? We could certainly use the wisdom and knowledge they contain." Tionne asked eagerly.

"Luke asked about that as well. From the memories I saw in Talon's mind, those holocrons are a few dozen kilometers underground hidden deep in caverns that are swarming with a hoard of tarentatek." Leia answered before turning to her new apprentice. "Talon just how far are they from the deepest area that you've been?"

"The Hall of Battle is eighteen kilometers from the surface. That's where I was when the Guardians started eating everyone. Five kilometers past the Hall of Battle are some of the tombs of the ancient Sith. They weren't the Great Lords who were to be honored for all ages, but they were still Sith Lords. Darth Magus always took us down to the lava caverns to send one of us to the wilds. He would always give them a lightsaber with some spare power cells, and then he would laugh about how it would only make their death take longer. He made us watch until the ones who were being sent away had crossed the lava caverns, and if they ever returned they were to be killed." Talon finished morosely.

"Am I understanding this right? Was that Kath spawn sending kids out to face tarentatek on their own?" Kyp asked angrily.

"Yes, he was. I think it was one of the cruelest punishments that he used. Tukata, shyrack, and Lairgek, are all known to be dangerous, but add in the tarentatek, and I doubt that any of the victims could survive for long. They'd have to be almost as exceptionally skilled as Talon here, and just as determined to live." Leia answered heavily.

"That would have been a terrifying way to go. It would have been kinder to..." Kyp was saying before he was interrupted by Kenth.

"Wait a minute! When I said that I was going to see that she left, she thought I meant that I was going to send her out to be killed, didn't she?" Kenth demanded hotly.

"Yes, Kenth, that's exactly what she thought. She even asked me about it. I had to get her to explain what it meant, and after she did, I promised her that I wouldn't let that happen, that she could live with me instead. I'll admit that I made a rash promise without even talking it over with Han first, but he's had the chance to meet her and judge for himself, and he agrees that she'd be better off with us than out on her own. It's a moot point now that she's been accepted as a student." Leia explained.

Kenth shook his head and looked over at Talon. "I'm sorry you thought that's what I meant. We don't do that kind of thing here; I'll admit that we sometimes send students away, but that's usually at their own request, and they always have someplace else to go. Now, how far are these lava caverns from the tombs, and how far are the holocrons from there?"

"The lava caverns are eleven kilometers past the tombs and from what I saw on the map, the holocrons are about a dozen kilometers further into the lower caverns, and that's where the Guardians live." Talon answered plainly.

Kyle gave a long soft whistle of awe. "An almost fifty klick hike through tarentatek infested caverns and tunnels? I don't think anyone is going to be reclaiming those holocrons anytime soon, not without an army at their back."

"Exactly, Talon may have killed more than a hundred of them during her escape, but that was an act of pure desperation, and she had an advantage in that she was using a pair of unorthodox weapons, which no one in the order has any experience with. I also find it unlikely that she killed them all, especially when some of them were trying to rip her ship apart to get to her when she took off." Leia agreed.

"Hmm. In that case, it seems like our business here is done. Motion to adjourn?" Kyle replied.

"I'll second that motion, since I'd like to speak with Master Solo about something after we adjourn." Cilghal said as she quickly spoke up.

"Any objections?" Kenth asked. "Then meeting adjourned."

"Master Solo? I'd like to speak with you as well as soon as you have the free time." Tionne called out.

"Talon, I'd like you to wait for us in the cafeteria, and this time if someone tries to order you to go somewhere with them; I want you to tell them that you are under strict instructions from Master Cilghal to stay put, and that if they have any problems with it, they can come consult me. Understand?" The healer instructed firmly.

Talon nodded her head slowly in answer but was too stunned by realization to move from her seat.