Chapter Nine

I gave a start as I awoke. There wasn't anyone else in the other bunks. Wiping the sweat off my brow, I stood up. Even with the sleep I felt fatigued. All I could think about was the dream and the artifact Revan uncovered. Something was telling me that there's more to this, that the artifact was in fact real, that the dream wasn't just a dream. On the way out of the sleeping quarters I bumped into Carth who seemed concerned.

"Lena are you okay? You look pale like you saw a ghost or something. Just now I saw Bastila and she had that same look as you do now. Is everything okay?"

"No Carth. I had a dream about Revan and Malak in some ruins. Do you call that okay?"

"Not exactly what I'd want to dream about but hey what can I say, we all have our preferences. Only, mine involve pretty girls and a lot of other things you don't want to know about ... that's if it's not a nightmare, but I guess your dream would qualify more as a nightmare."

I nodded then asked.

"Do you think I should see the Council about it?"

"Yeah I don't see why not. If it involves Dark Lords I'm sure the Jedi Council will want to know about it. Good luck with them! I overheard yesterday and that wasn't exactly pleasant. If they were deciding my fate I wouldn't be too happy about that."

"Neither am I."

I parted with Carth then made my way into the Council chamber. Bastila was already there along with all the Council members, in what looked like a heated discussion. She pleaded.

"You know this is best for us. Let her join as a Jedi as it might be our only hope in defeating Malak. You know we can't just let her go off!"

Everyone paused as I walked in, their attention solely on me. Zhar cleared his throat.

"Why are you here, Lena Rouen?"

"I had a dream last night. It was vivid; they were in some ancient ruins, but before the ruins I saw them walk through tall grasses…"

"I see, and who were they?"

"The Dark Lords … Revan and Malak. They found an artifact."

Everyone in the Council gave an affirming nod to Bastila. Zhar spoke.

"As we suspected; Bastila had much the same dream, or more accurately, vision."

"How is that even possible … we are two separate people, two separate minds…?"

The Councilors glanced at one another. Bastila answered me as she met my gaze.

"We are connected through the Force. You were inside my dream and I was in yours. I felt your presence. I don't understand it but this isn't the first time, that's why I decided to consult the Council this morning. Apparently the Councilors believe that our shared dreams are visions."

Next Dorak spoke.

"That is correct, Bastila. You two indeed share a connection through the Force and are joined to each other."

He addressed me directly.

"Bastila told us she's had these dreams for a while now. She's had this connection to you ever since … ever since Taris."

It seemed almost as if he was meaning to say something else but changed his mind midsentence. I realized something didn't fit.

"Hold on a second –Bastila, you shared those dreams with me on Taris, the ones with you fighting the Sith in them?"

She looked guilty.

"Yes I had those dreams. After all, they were my memories! My memories that you saw… I didn't see a reason to tell you that I experienced those dreams at the same time as you."

All this back and forth talk wasn't getting us anywhere. I spoke to the Council.

"Is there a reason we are sharing these memories and visions in our dreams? What's the cause?"

There was a long silence and lots of glances being shared between the Council members. I had a feeling they were using Jedi telepathy to decide how to frame their answer. Since I first met the Council I felt weariness harbored toward me. Vrook in particular acted as if I had wronged him. Bastila didn't appear to be partaking in the Council's wordless conversation. Her head was down and I couldn't see her expression. Vandar broke the silence.

"The Force works in mysterious ways. We do not know the exact cause of your becoming joined with Bastila; however it might have something to do with the Sith attack on the Endar Spire. We do believe there is a reason for your visions."

The tiny alien wiggled his pointy ears.

"We believe you and Bastila have the key to stopping Malak and the Sith."

I was sure I misheard him.

"Did I hear you right?"

Vrook spoke up.

"The ruins here on Dantooine fit the description you and Bastila gave from the vision you shared. The first step to stopping the Sith threat is for both of you to investigate those ruins. By seeing what the Dark Lords saw before they turned to the Dark side, you two can perhaps uncover something that will give us an advantage against the Sith. It will be the first step in stopping Malak!"

I didn't like how these damn Jedi were telling me what to do. In retrospect I was regretting signing up for the Endar Spire mission. True, I met a lot of interesting people on the way but I also nearly died too many times to count. While I was thinking things over Zhar continued where Vrook left off.

"Before we can let you visit the ruins, we must train you in the ways of a Jedi."

I was surprised by the Council's quick decision.

"Hold on there. Just last night you were damn hesitant about the idea of me becoming a Jedi. This doesn't add up ... what made you change your mind?"

Zhar replied.

"Bastila told us about the dreams on Taris when you first arrived here. We weren't certain of the significance of those dreams until you had the vision depicting Revan and Malak."

"Fair enough, but who says I am willing to become a Jedi. Let's say I chose to go back to serving the Republic."

Zhar shook his head.

"Before now your affinity to the Force lay dormant and the Sith couldn't sense it. After your shared visions with Bastila and the events on Taris, your Force sensitivity has become that of a Jedi. With the Force comes great responsibility. You could try going back to your normal life but the Sith will find you and you won't be ready ... will always be looking over your shoulder. Defeating the Sith is the only way to save yourself! Become a Jedi for yourself and the Republic!"

I closed my eyes. The whole experience felt overwhelming. Here I stood with a colossus of responsibility being dumped on my shoulders, although Bastila's shoulders would be sharing the same weight.

Vandar wiggled his pointy ears as he said.

"The ruins here on Dantooine are a place of corruption strong in the Dark side. Perhaps that is where Revan and Malak initially became corrupted. This is the reason you must learn the Jedi ways. You must learn to resist the corruption of the Dark side."

My Sith sword was hanging in its sheath at my side. I pulled it out which instantly got a reaction from Councilors. All of them shifted into defensive positions clearly expecting me to attack them. I slammed the sword hard against the ground in the direction of the Councilors. All of them had questioning looks on their faces, even Bastila was wide eyed. I spoke to the Council.

"Speaking of corruption, this sword would be a Dark artifact I found on Taris. I didn't realize it then, but with these visions and talk of Dark side corruption I realize that using such a weapon contributes to corrupting me, isn't that right?"

Vrook spoke indignantly.

"I thought you had gone mad! It gives me hope that you recognized a source of corruption without strenuous conditioning from the best of Jedi Masters."

I winced.

"Before recognizing the corruption, I used the sword to end quite a few lives. The more I used it to kill the more I wanted to kill ... it created a bloodlust within me. I was looking forward to more kills back on Taris. It's thanks to my friend Mission that I gave extra notice to those corrupting effects on me."

I saw a look of unease on Bastila's face as she glanced from me to the sword and back. I took a step toward the Council then continued.

"I hate what happened to Taris and joining the Jedi will take me a step closer to righting that wrong. I am not doing this for vengeance. Instead I'm doing this for myself and the Republic. I want to personally end Malak for thinking he can just take that many lives, for wanting to kill Bastila for attacking the Republic, and most importantly, for thinking he can just get away with it! I accept. Train me to be a Jedi!"

Zhar bowed his head to me.

"I am glad you accepted, and even more so glad that you have strong motivations; as I'm sure you know, you'll need them. Starting tomorrow you will begin training with Bastila. It is important the two of you train together to develop your bond and understanding of one another. Taking down Malak required the two of you fighting side by side."

I never expected to become so tied to Bastila. She wasn't just an annoying entitled Jedi brat to me anymore; instead she had become literally my other half. She felt me in her dreams and I felt her in mine, and I could feel her mood a bit too well at times. With time and training the bond would strengthen...