Chapter 11
Aspyre felt a very light zephyr caressing her face. She felt as the warm current traveled through her face and ended up pushing her tiny hairs away from her forehead. It was a steady flow and she found herself enjoying it very much. She felt something warm and very comfortable next her and she snuggled against it. With tremendous effort, she lifted her left hand, grabbed whatever was next to her and pulled it closer to her. She felt the warmth move slightly away from her and she frowned, discontented at the change. She forced herself against it again and felt something poking her nose softly. After a few more pokes she grew curious and she decided to open her left eye to examine her surroundings. She saw a bright brown circle with a black dot looking back at her. She closed it and opened her right eye to try to make sense to the object in front of her. She saw another brown circle staring back at her. She opened both of her eyes and saw Bastila's face, less than a two centimeters away from her face, her index finger touching the tip of her nose. She smiled at her and Aspyre blushed when she realized she had pressed herself against Bastila's body and. She loosened her grip and backed her face a few more centimeters to spare Bastila her foul morning breath.
"Good morning" Bastila told her.
"Morning" she mumbled back. "What time is it?"
"Four in the morning" Bastila told her with a smile on her face. "We've been sleeping for about sixteen hours."
Aspyre tried to get up but felt really comfortable where she was and closed her eyes again. She started to drift back to sleep again but then she heard a tiny voice on the inside of her head.
"Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. How can you still be tired? We've been all but hibernating here." Bastila's voice rang in her head.
She groaned and opened her eyes again. Bastila looked at her, much like a mother would look at a stubborn child. She giggled at the motherly look on Bastila's face and got up slowly. Bastila was on her feet in an instant and walked to the fresher. Aspyre went to the main room and saw Canderous thrown on the table, snoring like a rancor, a very attractive rancor that is. She smiled at the sight and used the Force to lift him. Focusing with all her might, she carried him to the men's quarters and saw that Carth was already on his bed and she placed Canderous on the bunk on top. She covered him with the sheets and went to the main room, where she saw Bastila fixing them some breakfast and she helped her.
Aspyre swiftly ate and went to the fresher. She very quickly showered and wore her new white Jedi robes. She went over to Bastila, kissed her cheek and left the Hawk. Her face reddened as she thought, did I just kiss Bastila goodbye? She wondered for a second what it meant. She really, really liked Bastila, which was good now that they were linked, but did she only liked her? She thought for a second on their conversations the past few weeks, she had gotten to know Bastila pretty well, better than anybody else at the enclave actually. Bastila told her about how she was scouted at an early age and her mother had been only too happy to send her away, taking her away from her loving father. She had felt a large amount of emotions coming from her, specially anger and resentment, but also a small amount of love and confusion. She hadn't pried anymore, but she knew that should she ask, Bastila wouldn't say no, not to her. She kept thinking and soon found herself in the center of the enclave. She turned right and headed straight for the library.
It was barely four thirty when she reached the library, she still had a good three hours to review and get ready for her tests. She briskly walked through it and Force pulled all the datapads and scrolls she needed and went to a table. She set them down in perfect order and lifted the first one with her mind, crossing her arms. She made it hover exactly in front of her face and began reading, concentrating only on the text in front of her and ignoring all the other distractions around her.
After a few more hours she checked the time and saw it was eight in the morning, she looked out the window and saw the sun was already high on the sky. She sighed and lifted all the datapads and placed them in the correct order as she walked out the library. She thanked the librarian, who gave her an indifferent look, obviously still resented at her lifting the shelves in order to test her strength. She walked towards the training room and saw that somebody had already fixed the mattresses and placed the gear back in place. She entered and saw that master Zhar was standing at the end of the room. She walked to him, smiled and bowed.
"I heard what you did yesterday. Such a shame that I was not there to presence it, although Master Dorak's description was rather detailed" he told her with a smile on his face.
She blushed and smiled at him.
"I think I can do it again Master, if you would like to see" she told him with a shy voice, only slightly remembering what she had done yesterday.
Master Zhar was silent for a moment and he handed her his orange lightsaber. She grabbed it and turned it on. She gingerly moved her hand and taking a deep breath; she focused on her hands and created a very concentrated energy shield around them. She then focused even harder and created a vacuum around her hands. She closed her eyes and tentatively grabbed the lightsaber by the blade, she felt as the energy from the lightsaber was transferred to her and she kept grabbing and absorbing huge amounts of energy. She opened her eyes and saw Zhar looking at her hands, a very surprised look on his face. She let it go and shut it down, handing it back to him. He took it and stared at her with new eyes. She was silent for a moment and she felt her face turn even redder. She shifted uncomfortably under his gaze and after a few moments he finally spoke.
"Very impressive, Apprentice. A rather ancient technique you are using, I had only seen it once before on a holocron in Coruscant. Where did you read about it?" he inquired.
"I, uh. I didn't read about it sir. I hadn't planned to do it, it just… happened" she finished lamely.
Zhar looked at her and raised his eyebrows. But said nothing further. Aspyre told him she was ready to begin her tests to become a Padawan. He nodded at her and he told her they would begin by reciting the Jedi code and by checking if she truly understood it.
"There is no emotion…" he said.
"There is only passion" she thought involuntarily.
"There is peace" she responded, quieting the strange voice in the back of her head asking why she had said that, where she had read about it. There would be time for questions later.
"There is no ignorance…"
"There is knowledge."
"There is no passion…"
"There is serenity."
"There is no chaos…"
"There is harmony."
"There is no death…"
"There is the Force" she finished.
Zhar nodded cheerfully at her and began to ponder his next question.
"Your father recently died at the hands of a robber. You encounter that same robber a few hours later, wounded and begging for you aide, do you help him? Why or why not?"
Aspyre thought for a moment. She imagined the scenario and the memory of her father's accident came flooding back to her. If she ever found out that somebody had been behind that, well she wouldn't know what she would do. She blinked back stray tears from the sad memory and focused on the question.
"I would heal him and make sure he was safe from any danger. Then I would take him to the planet's authorities and have him jailed for his crime. It is not fair for anyone to receive a violent death, and one death is enough, there is nothing to be gained be adding a second one." she responded finally.
Zhar nodded at her.
"Good, you saw the bigger picture and did not allow your emotions to rule you. That is precisely the Jedi way" he told her with a smile. "Now, go speak with master Dorak and he will get you ready for your second trial."
Aspyre nodded at him and turned around. She walked briskly towards the council chamber and saw master Dorak and master Vaandar speaking with each other. She approached them and waited patiently for them to finish. She waited while master Dorak laughed merrily at something that master Vaandar had said. She clasped her hands together and began twirling her thumbs. She rolled them forward, she rolled them backwards, and she even pounded them together for a full minute. She looked up and saw the two masters still speaking. She grabbed her hair and started playing with it, slapping the tips, twirling it with her finger and slowly passing her fingertips through it. After a few more minutes she was growing exasperated and sat down on the floor in front of them. They paid her no attention and were seemly absorbed in their own world. She looked back at the training room and saw master Zhar looking at her. A small something clicked in her head. Patience, she thought. They're trying to get me to lose my temper and become exasperated. She smiled at their game and decided that she would not lose at it. She crossed her legs and began meditating, keeping a close eye on what the pair was saying. She began to close herself to the world outside and in turn, she opened herself. She began to take notice of her inner world, her micro universe, where she ruled, where she was queen and pawn, servant and monarch. She opened the bond between her and Bastila and began talking to her.
"Bastila?"
"I'm here, what are you doing?"
"Master Dorak and master Vaandar are pleasantly chatting and I'm supposed to talk to master Dorak, but I think that they are doing it in purpose. Probably to teach me the value of patience or something."
"Mmm. And how are you holding up so far?"
"Well, I waited for a half an hour before deciding I should meditate and simply wait for them to tire. If I have to, I will stay here until one of us dies, and master Vaandar has a good 700 years ahead of me" she thought with a smile on her face.
Bastila's response was exactly what she had expected from her.
"It is very rude to speak like that of our masters, Aspyre!"
"Oh relax Bastila, you know I'm just joking with you right?"
She snickered at the thought of Bastila sitting in her bed, frowning at her and trying really hard to send a frown through their bond. Her cute, petite laugh reached the ears of the masters in front of her and they both turned around to face her. She felt them turn and opened her eyes. She saw both masters looking down at her, well Dorak was looking down at her, Vaandar was looking straight at her, and she immediately blushed and smiled nervously at them.
"I hope I'm not interrupting Masters, but master Zhar send me to speak with you, master Dorak" she informed them. Dorak raised an eyebrow and motioned her to stand up.
"You should have told be me sooner Padawan, waiting patiently for things to happen on their own will not always get you were you want to be" he told her. She felt her face blush and she mentally scolded herself, leave it to her to grab a lesson and turn it completely around.
"Yes, master" she muttered.
"Now, master Zhar send you for your second trial, did he not?"
Aspyre nodded at him and he pulled out a case from his pocket and opened it. A bright light shone on his face and he picked up the contents. A blue gemstone, a green one and a yellow crystal were on his hand. Aspyre looked at the blue one and saw her own eyes reflected on it. She stared at it for a long time, entranced by it and did not even listen to whatever it was that Dorak was telling her.
"-class you belong" he finished with a smile, noting her absent look but kindly ignoring it.
She returned to reality and nodded at him, hoping that was enough.
"Very well, first question. You encounter a woman and her child being assaulted by a group of thieves, how do you handle the situation?"
Aspyre thought for a moment on what to say and pictured the scenario.
"I place the assailants on stasis. I check the woman and her child to see if they are fine, then I try to get them to see the error of their ways and take them to the nearest Republic outpost for their sentence should they not promise me to mend their ways."
"Mmm, very well. You travel to a foreign planet and find out that there are hidden Sith in the planet, what do you do?"
"Easy" she responded with a smirk "I make my presence known to them and set a trap by walking straight into one and forcing them to reveal themselves. Then I fight and disarm them and take them to a Jedi temple for purification. If one is not nearby I will tend to them myself."
Dorak was silent for a moment and looked at her, as if trying to see what was going on inside of her.
"You are sent on a diplomatic mission in a hostile planet ruled by a dictator. He tries to kill you during the meetings but you manage to escape. You now have a choice, you take him hostage and force him to surrender his rule and step down, or you can try to speak reason into him, although it is quite possible he will attempt to kill you again should you do so."
"Everybody deserves a second chance, and nobody deserves a violent death, no matter their crime. I would try to speak with him again. But in an isolated room, where we would be alone and there would be no interruptions. Should he refuse to step down or right his wrongs then I would be forced to act to defend the interests of the people, but only if he refuses to listen to reason."
Dorak smiled at her and thought for a moment. He grabbed a crystal from his hand and wrapped his fist around it. He placed his hand over Aspyre's hand and held it there for a few seconds.
"You seem most fit to be a Jedi consular, always seeking to solve problems the peaceful way, but stepping into action when it is needed" he informed her. He opened his fist and the green crystal dropped into Aspyre's hand. She looked at it and did her best to not appear disappointed. Apparently she failed because Dorak took the crystal away from her just as quickly. "But you don't seem to be thrilled about it."
"It's just… I really like the blue crystal, Master" she confessed, blushing.
Dorak smiled at her and shook his head. He grabbed the blue crystal and handed it to her. She looked at him in surprise, but took it nonetheless. He nodded at her and she closed her fist around it and was about to turn around, but stopped and hugged him. He chuckled and patted her in the back, ignoring the fact that it was extremely unorthodox.
"Thank you master" she said with a smile. She turned around and this time she did skip over to master Zhar, her beautiful blue crystal glowing in her hand. She stopped in front of him and showed him her crystal. He nodded with a smile on his face and motioned her to the workbench. He informed her she would have to build her own lightsaber and showed her all the necessary components. She examined them and saw that with the components at hand she would be unable to create a double bladed one, which is what she wanted. She asked Zhar if there were more parts, but he shook his head, so she returned to her work and began to place the pieces together.
Aspyre did not know for how long she had worked, her legs were sore and her finger tips were red from rubbing and twisting and forcing pieces together. She had figured a way around her dilemma. Using the knife she was supplied she carved another opening right under the main lens emitter and added another lens emitter opposite of it. She forced another hole open and placed another activation switch in her light saber. She kept working and after a while she finished inserting her crystal and closed it shut. She turned to Zhar and looked at him gingerly. She pressed the ignition button and a bright flash of blue filled the room. She watched it for a few more seconds and she saw Zhar nodding in approval. She then grinned and pressed the second button and another flash of light appeared from the other end. Zhar had clearly not expected that and she saw a look of surprise on his face. Her smile widened and she handed it to him. He took it, never taking his eyes off her. He ignited both ends and swung it a few times, testing it.
"Very, very impressive Padawan Venar" he told her with a proud smile on his face. "A rather creative solution to you predicament."
Aspyre reddened and thanked him. He handed it back to her and she hooked it to her belt. She bowed to him and waited for him to tell her what her next test was. He sighed and his smiled vanished, returning to his serious demeanor.
"The threat of the Dark Side is ever present, you must be always vigilant and prevent it's tendrils to ever reach you. Even here the Dark Side is present, a taint has appeared on Dantooine. It has corrupted the Kath Hounds in the area and they have become much more violent than usual. For your third trial, you must find the source of this darkness and eliminate it."
Aspyre wondered for a few second why he was been so vague, surely there was more than just tell her to go fetch the Dark Side taint. She stared at him, a confused look on her face. He stared back at her, silently telling her he was done. She waited a few more minutes to see if perhaps the silence would bother him, but if it did, he did not show it. She sighed, conceding defeat, bowed to him and left. She started to walk out of the enclave and passed though the main garden, she saw Bastila speaking with another Padawan and she patiently waited for them to finish. The Padawan started to leave but caught her gaze, instead of simply snorting at her and turning around he looked at her with awe on his eyes and scurried away, probably to his training. She approached Bastila and started telling her how her tests had gone.
"Can you come with me?" she asked her, hoping she would say yes. It would be much easier finding the taint if Bastila was with her. To her dismay, Bastila shook her head.
"I'm sorry Aspyre, but this is your test and nobody from the Jedi order is allowed to help you with it" she informed the distraught girl. She turned her head and made sure that there was nobody around, and after a few seconds she focused on their bond and finished her statement "but not all of our companions and members of the Order, are they?"
Aspyre's face light up and she smiled at her. She thanked her and began running towards the Ebon Hawk but bumped headfirst into something rock-solid when she turned the first corner, she fell down and looked up at whatever unyielding pillar of stone was in front of her, seriously, six weeks in the enclave and she still didn't remember the layout. She saw the pillar in front of her and a smile crept on her face when she recognized Davik's purple armor. She stood up in a flash and a familiar face turned to see her, more than a little annoyed.
"Damn it, watch where you're going kid! You're gonna bump into Malak one day and he's not gonna be as pleasant as I am" Canderous growled at her.
She smiled and giggled at his comment, which only served to infuriate him even more.
"Hey, I'm supposed to go and find some Dark Side taint in the planet, which probably mean that I'm go run into some Kath Hounds, do you want to tag along? She asked him biting her lower lip and with a big grin on her face.
Canderous' face light up and she immediately knew he was game.
"What are we waiting for?"
She smiled and moved her head towards the exit. They headed out together and she soon felt a thought creeping into her.
"Attachments Aspyre!" Bastila scolded her.
She mentally nodded sarcastically and looked at Canderous, imagining all sorts of steamy scenarios with him and forcefully sending them into Bastila's head. After a few seconds of images filling both their brains, Bastila scolded her and shut off her end of the bond. Aspyre laughed out loud and kept walking. She saw the huge plains of Dantooine in front of them, just outside the enclave and she felt a very eerie sense of déjà vu.
They were about to leave when a man approached them.
"You're a Jedi right?" he asked her hastily.
She was slightly taken aback but she quickly recovered.
"I'm still in training sir, but if I pass my current test then I will become a Jedi" she told him with a bright smile. The man threw her a venomous look and she her smile faded.
"How long are you people gonna sit in your enclave meditating and discussing? While you are comfortably living in there, we're torn to shreds by the Kath Hounds and Mandalorian raiders!" he protested to her. She gasped and the man continued. "My daughter… my daughter, she was killed by those savages! Please, help me avenge her and I will reward you, please just make sure those animals pay!" Aspyre looked at the man, unsure of what to say, she turned to Canderous, half expecting him to be aiming his rifle at the man but to her surprise he was impassively looking at him.
"You should have protected her better. And you call yourself her father" he told the shocked man.
"And what am I supposed to do against a dozen Mandalorians and Duros? There was nothing I could do. She… They came for our crops, and she refused. They killed her in cold blood! I ask of you, Master Jedi, please aid me! Find those Mandalorian beasts and put them down!"
"They are not Mandalorian! Stop calling them that! They are deserters! They disgrace the name of my beloved Mandalore! If by chance we happen to find them, then we will kill them, but don't get your hopes up" he told him with more than a little irritation in his voice.
The man looked in shock at Canderous, surprised to find he was a Mandalorian, but after a few seconds he nodded at him and Canderous grabbed Aspyre by the arm and led her away from there. She tried to speak but she sensed that Canderous was not in a conversational mood at the present moment and simply kept quiet, waiting for him to cool down. After a few more feet he released her arm and stopped walking, looking at the ground.
"Canderous are you ok?" she asked him, placing a hand on his shoulder. He shook his head and raised his gaze to the afternoon sky. He saw a flying creature above them, so huge it didn't even seem to notice the events going on under it.
"Those bastards" he spoke grimly "are the reason that people think of us as bloodthirsty savages that kill for pleasure. Because of those bastards" he spat out the word "people think that we are nothing but murderers, rapists and violent brutes. They know nothing of the Mandalorian code of honor. They know nothing of our ways and yet, because of them; we have suffered humiliation we may never be able to shake off our shoulders."
Aspyre was silent, taking a moment to process what she had just heard. She understood the pain that Canderous must be feeling. Honor was just as important, if not even more important, to Mandalorians as if was to Wookies, and Wookies were insufferably honorable to begin with. She pulled at his shoulder and forced him to face her; she took a step towards the surprised Mandalorian and hugged him tightly, resting her head on his chest.
"I know you are nothing of that sort, our friends know that you are so much more than just a warrior. You are not a bloodthirsty savage, you might be a warrior yes, but you are also a teacher, a storyteller, a planner, and a wordsmith too. I know how hard this must be for you, but I promise you, I will do all I can to change what people think of Mandalorians. I think we already started with that man. Ten minutes ago he used to think that the Mandalorians were nothing but murderous scum, but when he asked for help he found an honorable one, a brave one, and I think he will forever remember you, and your clan, Clan Ordo, for that" she reassured him. Canderous was silent and they stayed like that for a few minutes. He placed his hand on her back and rubbed it softly twice, which had to be his equivalent for "Thank you so much, I really appreciate what you have said and I cherish you wanting to cheer me up."
"We should go" he told her firmly. She separated herself from him and they both started walking down the plains.
00
Carth had just finished re-assembling his blasters. He had added a shiny new scope and an enhanced power cell he found on Canderous' stash. Bastila had left the Hawk a few hours ago to do something Jedi-y; Mission was taken a shower, having just woken up from her late morning nap. She said she wanted to be fresh for her early afternoon snooze. Zaalbar had been watching the Jedi train and had just returned to eat and Canderous had left since the morning and nobody had seen him. He was bored. What was he supposed to do? Aspyre had her Jedi training and apparently they could not leave until she was done with it. He had already helped a lot of people and had taken all the jobs they had offered him. Finding a missing droid, clearing a path through the Kath Hounds, helping a Jedi resolve some murder investigation and looking out after Mission. Talk all she might but the Twi'lek was still a child, she got into all sorts of trouble and it was usually Carth's or Zaalbar's responsibility to get her out of them. He sighed and went back to him room, might as well go to sleep and enjoy the peace for as long as it lasted, after the left Dantooine it would be a while until he had another chance to be bored like this.
