Sofyen: You've made me blush, really. Thank you so much!
Beautiful-Dead-Girl and buffalo1fromSalem Thanks!
Tsebehtsiellivllams: Sorry, the story's already married to me ;)
Tombadgerlock: Glad you liked it despite being heavily AU :) I've only read four or five of the books, two of them from the New Jedi Order series, due to the fact that most of them haven't been released in Germany yet. Even if they were, I probably wouldn't read them, though… I really don't like them – fanfiction is my best friend :D
Zarz: Thank you! Ah, there's going to be a lot of explaining, but only in nice little bits. I'm nearly finished with the story (currently writing chapter thirty-something) and it's really difficult to weave in the pieces of information in a way that will result in one big, reasoned picture… it's quite a challenge, but I love it and I'm doing my best :)
Tom Robinson: Thanks!
The third month
Chapter Twelve: Many Meetings
Coruscant, Jedi-Temple, Whitesun Apartment
Slowly Corran sipped his caf and glanced at the chrono with mixed feelings. In two hours, he and Luke were to appear in front of the High Council, given that Luke was well enough.
"Apart from the fact that you should work less and sleep more, which you probably have been told already, you seem to be fine again", Fié Aent declared, his disapproval clearly showing. He was not thrilled to submit a patient who just yesterday had collapsed to the Council's interrogation.
Luke gently touched his arm. "I'm fine, Fié. Thank you."
The healer grunted an affirmation, though not completely convinced, nodded to Corran and vanished from the quarters that had been assigned to Luke.
"You're pale, Master."
"I'm fine, Corran, honestly." Luke leaned back in his armchair.
"Then I hope you'll manage to tell me everything you wanted to explain within the next hour", the Corellian interrupted the silence shortly after.
"I do think so." Luke remained silent, though.
"I've been wondering", Corran mumbled some time later, "about what's going to happen now. Will we stay here in the Temple? If so, how are we going to act? I mean… our views, our Code, differ quite strongly from the current ones in some aspects."
Luke started. "I'm not worried all too much about this and yes, I do think we should stay here in the Temple. Just act normally…" He hesitated. "On second thought, don't act your normal self."
"I don't plan to offend anyone too seriously", Corran replied slyly. He paused. "You know what I mean, Luke."
The other closed his eyes. "Yes, yes, that I do. But, Corran, I don't think anyone will notice that we're working based on a different Code. Keep silent, should someone ask you about it. We don't need a debate on principles", he instructed the Corellian, who in turn nodded and studied Luke.
"Master", he began, "Just in case you didn't notice – we've travelled through time. What, by the Force, are we going to do? Why do you think we should stay here in the Temple?", he asked, insistently demanding an explanation.
Again, there was a silence, which lasted so long it seemed to scream in his ears.
"We cannot change the future", the Master finally said. "History finds its way, no matter what we do."
"You cannot tell me we could do whatever we wanted without changing anything! What about telling them Sidious' identity? What about…"
"Of course this would change the future", Luke sharply interrupted. „For the better though? Can you foresee it, Corran? The sand of time flows like a river – down the riverbed it's always been flowing. If you tried to redirect it, you couldn't forecast the channel it would seek. If you tried to change anything, you'd have both Time and Force against you since they want to stay exactly the way they are." He stopped and took a deep breath. "The rise of the Empire may have been one of the greatest catastrophes in our history, Master Horn, but Sidious did fall and we are still alive. The Jedi are still alive. I think that, given the circumstances, it was the best we could have hoped for. I think we only could make it worse."
He held again and waited until he saw unwilling understanding in Corran's eyes. "I do think, though, that we're able to change something without endangering our future, Corran. Details that cannot change the major picture…"
°°°
Coruscant, Jedi-Temple, Council Chambers
With mixed feelings Yoda watched the reluctant visitors from the future entering the Council Chambers.
Corran Horn, the younger one, seemed to be in strict control, though thoughtful; Luke Whitesun still was quite pale and obviously exhausted, but he radiated the serenity of a Jedi who was completely in tune with the Force. Both acted respectfully but rather placidly. After exchanging some formalities, Mace Windu asked the question that secretly had occupied the Council for the last few hours.
„You mentioned Dark Jedi, Master Horn", he stated and waited for the Jedi-Master to nod before he continued. "Sith?"
"No", Corran immediately answered and then grew quiet. He glanced at Luke out of the corners of his eyes and only carried on after the other had nodded slightly. "There haven't been any Sith for nearly fifty years."
The Chamber was silent for one moment while all eyes rested on him.
"Then the prophecy has been fullfilled", Windu finally declared with a glance at Yoda, who studied Luke Whitesun thoughtfully.
Corran nodded again; worriedly he noticed that Luke had strengthened his mental shields slightly to intercept a wave of old pain. Nevertheless he added, "Anakin Skywalker defeated the last Sith Lord, the Master, and died of his injuries shortly after."
There was soft dismay on their faces, but subtle relief, too.
"What happened to the Apprentice?", Shaak Ti asked, clearly interested.
"Master Whitesun had already taken care of him at that time", Corran replied with a satisfaction Luke could not quite share.
"Nearly fifty years ago? You must have been very young back then, Master Whitesun", the female Jedi-Master observed with a frown.
"Indeed", Luke answered and sent Corran a warning glare. His facial features had hardened nearly invisibly, but Shaak Ti noticed and did not ask further, although she seemed curious in a very reserved way.
"Hmm." Yoda straightened up a little, his gaze still appraisingly on Luke Whitesun. "An idea you have, why happen this time-travel did?"
Luke did not answer immediately. "No", he then replied with finality. "Not yet."
/You don't think this might be connected to the attacks? Or to our beloved riddle?/ Corran enquired, a little surprised.
/To our riddle – perhaps. To the attacks – no, at least not directly/ one very sure answer came back.
"Hmm. Dangerous, this is. Not lightly, we should take this situation", Yoda changed the subject.
"You expected Yoda to say something like this, didn't you, Luke?", Corran later asked when they walked through the ante-room to return to their quarters.
The other nodded thankfully when the Corellian supportingly gripped his arm and lead him into the lift. "Yes, I'm not surprised and I agree with him completely."
"I'll have to think about it again", Corran mused and keyed in their floor. "But probably it's really better for us to stay here in the Temple. If we have to look out for the slightest shifting in the Force we won't be able to survive out there for more than five minutes. Not that I hope to stay long."
"We'll have to stay as long as the Force wills it. I assume we'll return once we've found the reason for our journey."
"Makes sense", Corran agreed. He leaned against the back wall of the lift. "I'll escort you back to your apartment; you should rest for a few hours, Luke. I'll wake you when it's dinner time."
°°°
Coruscant, Jedi-Temple, Meditation Garden
Later that evening, Luke wandered through the emptying hallways of the Temple. Corran had departed a few minutes ago, wanting to take a look at the main hangar to get familiar with the old ships – "Just in case" – after the two had discussed some minor details and made several decisions concerning their stay in this time.
Meanwhile, Luke wanted to get a general overview of the Temple; he already had been to the Archives and the Training Gyms. Now, he stepped out of an archway into a small garden that was used for meditation and was located right next to the crèche where the littlest of the future Jedi-Knights lived. He had never liked the idea of toddlers being brought to the Temple, and being confronted directly with this concept did not change his view on things in the slightest. Luke always insisted on only permitting children aged ten, eleven or older; younger ones were only taken in if they were orphans or not wanted by their parents. But here…
He sighed softly, took a deep breath, let himself sink deeply into the Force and searched for serenity, for peace. It was difficult since worry hung above the Temple like a darkening veil, the menace of the Sith was omnipresent. It hurt, hurt terribly to know who the Lord of the Sith was and what would happen but not being able to change anything.
Suddenly he grinned with the unmistakable feeling that this journey only had been possible because he knew this, because he knew history could not be changed. It did not get any easier knowing this, though. But then, nobody had claimed it would.
He pushed this thoughts aside quickly.
A soft, nearly inaudible sob broke through the silence of the young night. Luke cocked his head and raised an eyebrow.
"Beautiful night, isn't it?", he murmured and let himself sink down onto the ground next to a small figure. Two big, pearlescent eyes watched him suspiciously through a veil of white-blond hair; one little head reluctantly nodded. "The sky is very clear tonight… one can see more stars than usual", Luke added. He held out his hand to the little girl, perhaps four or five years old. "You don't know me, do you? I'm Luke."
Big eyes looked at the hand, wandered up the arm towards the friendly face of the old Jedi-Master.
"Siljia", the child softly whispered its own name.
"Are you cold?", he asked and carefully took hold of one trembling white hand. "Why aren't you sleeping?" Cautiously he sent peace and warmth into the child's frightened mind.
The girl shook her head frantically. "No, don't want to sleep." Her voice was high and shrill, at the same time soft, as if Siljia feared to be heard. Luke silently waited, long minutes, and finally sent a gentle prompt into her subconscious, all the while uneasily thinking he already might know why she could not sleep.
"I don't want to dream. The Temple's burning…", the girl finally whispered.
Inwardly Luke sighed, having prayed in secret for his hunch to be wrong. Just for one moment he was tempted to tell her that dreams sometimes were just that – dreams. In this case it would have been a blatant lie, though, since those clearly were visions, visions no child should have to deal with.
"Did you tell anyone?"
"Don't believe me…" Siljia was shaken by another sob.
Luke frowned heavily while pulling the girl into his arms and trying to calm her down. He could not imagine Master Yoda ignoring a vision like that, especially since his old Master was a seer himself. On the other hand… probably the Master did not even know about it, probably the Jedi-Knights who supervised the crèche thought them to be nightmares.
/If only they didn't./
Carrying Siljia safely in his arms, the Jedi-Master carefully stood up and wandered back into the interior of the Temple slowly. He did not get very far; soon steps sounded in front of him and a figure in a dark cloak turned a corner.
"Excuse me, have you… Siljia!"
"Quiet", Luke immediately replied, very softly. „She just fell asleep."
"I've searched for her everywhere, but her presence is so weak… come this way, please."
In silence they walked to one of the dormitories and laid Siljia down in her own bed. Luke felt the other's gaze on him as he pulled the covers over her and sent a bit of his own confidence to her one last time, but they did not say a word until they both were back in the corridor.
Then the figure pulled back its hood and emerged as a human Jedi-Master, surely a decade older than Luke himself. He was smiling. "I don't think we've been introduced yet", he softly commented.
"No. I'm Luke Whitesun", Luke introduced himself and inclined his head slightly.
"San-Kai", the older reciprocated the gesture. "I'm quite thankful you've found Siljia. The youths and I have been searching for her for some time, but she's very good at hiding."
San-Kai studied the man in front of him and felt something happening to him, something that had not occurred in quite some time: He grew nervous under the steady, piercing and very cool stare of Whitesun.
"Did you know she's had visions?"
"Visions? That's new to me", San-Kai replied, surprised.
Luke frowned slightly. "She seemed to be completely haggard because of this. She said no one believed her."
San-Kai snorted. "Those incompetent…", he begann but got a grip on himself almost immediately. "Pardon me, please. Patience is not always one of my virtues and certain people don't contribute in that regard."
His counterpart suddenly smiled. "Same applies to me."
He found himself grinning back involuntarily. The intense gaze had vanished, warmth spread in him instead and the nightly corridor suddenly seemed a bit less dark. He wondered if it was normal for human eyes to shine like this.
°°°
Coruscant, Jedi-Temple, Archives
‚Assumptions state that the Eternal Council is an equivalent to the High Council of the Jedi that exists on another plain of existence. Aforementioned can be reached by Jedi and similarly trained Force-sensitive beings after their physical death. It is not known which criteria are applied to select the Council Members. Information on afterlife and the Eternal Council is speculative at the best. Rare untimely crossings which are caused by the Will of the Force are the only sources.'
Luke closed the file and leaned back. After an extensive search he finally had found a file in the Archives of the Jedi-Temple that held information on the Last Home and Eternal Council. He had been surprised at how much had seeped through during the years, although leaps and similar occurences rarely connected both levels of existence. He did not know the reason why, but it worried him.
The complete silence was disrupted by the sound of cloth wandering over the ground shortly before the female Jedi-Master Shaak Ti appeared between the long, high shelves. She seemed a bit surprised to find someone here at an hour this late, but nodded to Luke in a means of greeting. While he rose and returned the gesture, he clearly felt another presence advancing.
"Luke!" Corran stepped out of a shadow and marched over to him. "Which part of 'Work less and sleep more' didn't you understand, Master?", he asked grumpingly, not really jesting.
"Corran…"
"Do I have to remind you of that incident when the Council decided to keep you in the infirmary by force? Aent surely wouldn't say no should I take that idea to him", the Corellian interrupted and shut of the terminal without taking a single look at the screen.
Shaak Ti seemed mildly put off and looked back and forth between them, consternated by the harsh tone. "I wasn't aware that you're in ill health."
"I'm not", Luke defended himself, chuckling. "But if Corran disagrees, I don't have much of a choice. Goodnight, Master Shaak Ti."
A few minutes later he slightly smiled to himself when he noticed Corran glancing at him from the side for the fifth time.
"I'm on the way to my quarters and I won't collapse the next few metres. What's the matter, Master Horn?", he asked, amused.
The Corellian was not the person to beat around the bush and he knew that Luke valued directness. "Did I anger you?"
"No. Why do you ask?"
Corran made an undefinable noise. "I didn't want to compromise you in front of Shaak Ti. I'm just worried."
The other shrugged slightly and smiled. "Don't think about it."
"I'm serious, Master."
"And I'm serious when I'm telling you that I don't mind, my friend. Not at all." Luke grinned broadly. "You know me."
The younger Jedi grimaced. "Indeed. I do remember a situation, though, when you were indignant over someone just thinking something wrong."
Luke shrugged. "That was something entirely different, Corran."
"Granted. It was stupid and very, very disrespectful towards you and Jacen." Corran gave a lop-sided grin. "My comment was just disrespectful, while still having a decent background."
Luke sighed. "Now you're teasing me."
"That's the proper punishment for having to baby-sit you."
Chapter Thirteen: Back to Work
As exciting as it may be – sometimes even two Jedi-Masters get bored. And there's work enough for everyone.
I'm sorry for the delay; for some reason I've started struggling with the finer aspects of the English language a bit… I hope I've found all the mistakes. Oh well.
Thank you for reading and reviews would be very much appreciated (i.e. cuddled and provided with cookies) since I'm a bit unmotivated at the moment.