Chapter 12
Greetings! Thank you so much for the reviews! A few items on the docket…
- I'm still looking for a beta reader if anyone or anyone you know is interested. I've finally been able to update more consistently, but it still might be a while before it gets to clockwork.
- CardiacCane: To answer a few questions, yes, I do plan on having Rhys and Dooku interact more – possibly in Episode II. Stay tuned!
- I've decided to do the remainder of time leading up to The Phantom Menace in a series of one-shots. Seeing as it would be nearly impossible to write the next twelve years of Rhys' life out, I thought it would be a bit easier to read this way. I plan for it to be some of the more important parts paired with the occasional bits of fluff.
That should be about it. Please PM me with questions/comments/story ideas. Love you all, my awesome readers! Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Star Wars. I keep wishing, but no dice.
In the two weeks following Sony-Da's attack, Obi-Wan was released from the Healer's Wing – much to his new Master's and Y'Chiryō's relief. Reeft had left with his Master on yet another mission, Aayla was training hard with her new Master, as was Obi-Wan now that he was fully healed. Siri, Garen, and Bant had classes that took up most of their time, so Rhys found herself meditating in her favorite spot in the Room of a Thousand Fountains.
The spot Rhys most often felt herself drawn to was a little hidden glade of Nubian trees by one of the smaller streams. The combination of the delicate leaves rustling in the breeze and the trickling water created a deeply soothing effect on the young padawan. The addition of fragrant herbs allowed Rhys to slip into peaceful meditation.
Rhys had been meditating for most of the afternoon when she felt someone approach her hidden sanctuary. Realizing that it was Obi-Wan she opened her eyes and lowered herself to the ground. Recently her meditations had resulted in her hovering a few inches above the ground, other small stones, leave, and twigs orbiting around her. When Rhys had asked Master Yoda about it, the ancient Master merely smiled and said that her focus was improving.
"Rhys!" Obi-Wan called as he made his way through the trees, "I thought I'd find you here between classes. Guess what?" Rhys cocked an eyebrow.
"You've finally decided that your one true love in life is flying, and you're running off to become an ace pilot?" She cracked drily. Obi-Wan scrunched up his face in disgust. Rhys smiled inwardly – her friend did not like flying.
"No. Force, no. Qui-Gon's taking me on a mission!" he exclaimed excitedly. Rhys congratulated him with a hug, ignoring the fleeting pulse of jealousy that she felt. Although she had been a padawan for nearly two years Master Yoda had yet to take her on a mission. She hadn't even been to Ilum to construct her first lightsaber – the twin blades she used now were a pair of low-powered training sabers.
"That's great, Obi!" she said, pulling out of the hug. Obi-Wan was beaming with happiness.
"Master Qui-Gon said to meet him at the main hangar in an hour – have you seen Bant and Garen? They're the only two I haven't told yet."
Rhys thought for a moment, then answered, "I'm not sure. You'd probably find Garen in the Training Room right now, and Bant might be swimming in the lake." Obi-Wan nodded, looking out in the direction of the lake.
"Thanks, Rhys," he said, exiting the grove of Nubian trees, "I'll message you as soon as I have time!"
"Bye!" she called out as she watched him leave. The yearning for adventure returned, followed by a sense of injustice. She tamped it down with a quick mental repetition of the Jedi Code used most often by younglings and Initiates:
Emotion, yet peace.
Ignorance, yet knowledge.
Passion, yet serenity.
Chaos, yet harmony.
Death, yet the Force.
Rhys took a deep breath. Her comm unit beeped, startling her from her thoughts. While initially fumbling with the comm, she answered it with her usual, "Talik."
"Padawan," Yoda's voice filtered through the comm, "Need to speak with you, I do. Meet in the Council Chambers, we will."
"Yes, Master," she replied, disconnecting the comm and walking out of the trees. She gave one last look at her hidden glade, then left the Room of a Thousand Fountains. She made her way to the Council Chambers, sitting in one of the chairs in front of the closed doors to wait for her Master. She waited for a few minutes, then stood respectfully when the doors opened and the Council members exited. Rhys gave a nod to each of them before turning to her Master, kneeling on his level when they were alone.
"Heard about Master Jinn's new mission, you did?" he asked her, leaning on his gimer stick. Rhys nodded, willing her face not to fall. Her Master noticed regardless. "Disappointed, you are," he stated bluntly, staring at his apprentice, "Not fair it is, you feel."
Rhys nodded ashamedly. Her Master had the uncanny ability to see right through her every emotion and thought. Granted, he was much more skilled at sensing her emotions through their shared Force-bond and had centuries of experience.
"Accompany a group of Initiates to Ilum, we will," Yoda said, jolting Rhys into reality. Her eyes bugged in shock.
"Really?!"
Yoda chuckled, "Leave in a week, we will. Prepare with the other Initiates, you will."
For Rhys, the following week flew by in a matter of moments. On more than one occasion, Master Yoda commented on her excitement and often sent her to meditate or train to calm herself.
She would be making the trip to Ilum with the other ten-year-olds that had recently passed the Initiate Trials. She didn't know many of them well, but she had recognized several of them from her various classes around the Temple. The stigma of having Yoda as her Master had mostly faded by now, with more and more Initiates Rhys' age talking and training with her. When the day finally came, Rhys found herself alongside her Master, listening to him explain the process to the young Initiates in his gravelly voice.
Each Initiate would have to venture into the icy caves of Ilum to retrieve a crystal to power their lightsabers. Yoda warned that the caves would try to trick them, leading the occasional Initiate astray or to madness. If they returned with a crystal, they would be allowed to build their own lightsaber and join the ranks of Jedi Knights carrying the symbolic trademark of their order.
When they finally landed on Ilum, Rhys was beyond shocked at how cold the planet was as the icy wind swept across her skin. Coruscant was fairly warm, and Naboo was one of the more mild planets in the galaxy so she was nowhere used to the frigid air. The other Initiates were as equally shocked by the cold – having never been to another planet since they were brought to the Temple. Yoda simply smiled at the dumbstruck faces of the Initiates and his Padawan.
"Enter the caves, you will," he instructed, directing the children to the gaping cave mouth in front of them. When Rhys glanced back at him, he urged her on gently. "Go on, Padawan. Wait for you, I will."
Rhys steeled herself and entered the caves behind the other Initiates. She closed her eyes, opening herself to the will of the Force. She followed the flow of energy for several minutes, drawing away from the others. She entered a curiously bright cavern that seemed a little warmer than the rock surrounding it that shone brightly through a hole in the top.
Basking in the pure presence of the Force, Rhys sat down and began to meditate. She didn't know how long she had meditated for, but was roused when she felt the air around her revert back to icy cold. Opening her eyes, Rhys realized that the light coming in from the top of the cave was slowly fading, casting deep shadows across the stone walls.
"You must now realize that you cannot run from me," a chilling voice hissed. Rhys spun around to reveal the ghost that haunted her nightmares: Darth Lamia.
Her thickly braided hair was pulled tightly into a high ponytail, creating severe angles across her cheekbones and forehead. Swirling tattoos marked the skin below her eyes, bringing out the yellow of her eyes that blazed in anger. Her twin saber staffs weren't lit, but were strapped to her sides in thigh-sheaths. Rhys was surprised to see that she also had other hilts attached to her belt – obviously trophies taken from other Jedi. Her skintight pants and top revealed more tattoos on her arms and bared midriff.
"I can try," Rhys responded coolly, calling her lightsabers to her hands. Darth Lamia merely smirked evilly in reply. Rhys let out a fearsome war cry and charged the Sith.
"Yes, use your anger," the Sith taunted as the padawan flew at her, blades snapping to life, "It is our greatest weapon against the weak Jedi!" They fought furiously for several moments, Darth Lamia toying with her younger self. Without warning, she lashed out with a vicious kick, sending Rhys crashing into the cave wall. She held a red blade to the padawan's neck without remorse.
"The Jedi have taken everything from you!" Lamia spat, "We must fight against them and take our revenge! You have darkness inside of you – use it!"
Rhys could feel the darkness begin to eat at the corner of her heart, revealing all of the emotions she had suppressed over the years – anger, jealousy, arrogance, and a slew of others came right to the front of her mind. She could feel the urge to tap into those emotions, to use them against her foe.
"You are weak, like those pathetic Jedi, like the fool Yoda and Obi-Wan-"
"I AM NOT WEAK!" Rhys cried, pushing the Sith back. Her vision began to narrow, her only focus on the red blades of her opponent. Darth Lamia cackled wildly, an insane light flickering in her eyes.
"Good, now use that hate to strike me down, and you will become the most powerful Jedi there ever was!" Rhys stopped abruptly in her attack, clearing her mind of the fog that had begun to cloud it and realizing that she was inches away from the line separating Light and Dark.
"No…." she said, taking a deep breath and releasing her emotions, "I am a Jedi. This is not the Jedi way."
Lamia screeched in anger and swiped her lightsabers across Rhys' torso. The girl fell onto her knees in pain to wait for the final blow. It never came. Rhys looked up to see the light returning to the cavern, no one else in sight. She took a deep breath to steady herself and put her hands into the snow to steady herself. She was surprised to feel something hard underneath her palm.
Rhys brushed away the biting snow to reveal a pair of small, amethyst crystals underneath her fingers – the crystal she had been sent into the caves to find. She sat there a few moments longer, admiring the delicate crystals until she remembered the time. She followed her senses back through the caves, eventually making her way back up to the surface.
"Found your crystal, Padawan?" Master Yoda asked, standing with the other Initiates that had already returned. Rhys nodded, holding out the pair of purple gems out for his inspection. She also sent him a few images of her experience across their Master-Padawan bond. "Speak of this later, we will." Rhys nodded her assent and climbed up the ship's ramp with the others.