The next week went much the same. They had avoided AnShin's community as it had been pretty clear that the man had wanted rid of them. Instead, they focussed their attention on other nearby parts of the country.
It was on their final trip to the hospital that Kaden started to feel like their mission was about to go somewhere; as nice as it was around here, he was bored and was looking forward to visiting the outcast region. He propped his leg up on the seat next to Drex. It had healed quite well over the past week thanks to the medications. "You know, I could pull it off myself and save us the trip," he commented as their transport pulled up at the hospital for what would be the final time, he hoped.
"Don't be silly," said Drex drily. "Come on." He helped Kaden out of the speeder.
Half an hour later, his apprentice was without a splint and asked to test his leg. "Careful," Drex told him. "Your muscles have weakened. Take it slowly."
A week ago, Kaden may very well have ignored the instruction to take it slowly. After the ass kicking he'd gotten for being frivolous with his safety, though, the boy wasn't yet willing to put a toe out of line. Thus, he did exactly as he was told. Tentatively, he placed his weight on the newly healed leg and took a step, then another. Drex was correct: even though it had only been a short time, his muscles felt weak. Still, he was able to walk properly and wasn't experiencing any pain. "It's okay. I probably couldn't run right now, but it won't take me long," he reported to both his master and the doctor assessing him, which J-7LI translated.
"Yes, we'll see about that," said Drex. "I have had experiences with such injuries; we will work on strengthening your muscles in the coming days. No running until I give you permission, please."
Fifteen minutes later, after some more instructions, they left the hospital. "We will be taken to the southern border region in a helicopter tomorrow morning," Drex told Kaden. "Let's have lunch somewhere in central Mashen. We hardly got to see the place. We can walk around for a while after lunch, have a workout later and pack."
"Alright," Kaden replied, not overly thrilled at the limitations, but nor did he mind all that much; Drex knew what he was doing.
A couple of hours later they had eaten lunch and were making their way through a somewhat busy shopping district in central Mashen. Kaden was taking it easy with his leg, but it really wasn't bothering him much. In fact, he was itching to get to their workout as he'd been stuck in that leg brace for far too long.
Their guide for today, Manishi, was none too happy with Drex's plans; Drex got the impression that their hosts would have much preferred them to stay at their comfortable quarters at the outskirts of the city because that way, they would not have attracted attention. As it was, people were discretely staring at them everywhere they went as if they were… well, aliens, which they in fact were. Drex could not see the stares, of course, but feel them. Obviously, most people were aware that off-worlders were visiting their country, but had never seen any of them face to face before. He had no clear idea why their guide had an issue with the Jedis' decision to expose themselves to the curious glances and stares; maybe it had to do with the general Ha'en-Shin tendency to avoid disquieting anyway by confronting them with things that were out of the ordinary? In any case, since they had not been forbidden from visiting the city centre, he intended to do just that, for as long as they liked.
Drex kept Kaden busy by asking him to tell him all about the shops they passed by and about the merchandise they offered. One place sold music on a strange type of disk; Drex decided to buy a number of disks and a device to play them. The shop owner told him that the covers contained booklets with explanations. Apparently, music was considered a serious, scholarly activity by the Ha'en-Shin. This suited Drex fine. He was going to ask J-7LI to translate the booklets for him.
While Drex was looking at the music, Kaden was in the gaming section. He couldn't read the writing but the picture on the front clued him in. Mostly, they were strategy games, non-violent and nothing at all like the sort available on Coruscant. He picked up one and turned it over in his hand. It would probably work in the player at their guest quarters but he wasn't sure they'd be there for much longer.
"Is there anything you're interested in, padawan?" Drex asked Kaden, sensing the boy's restlessness.
"No. Their games are so outdated I don't think they'll even play on my device," replied Kaden and put the game back on the shelf. "I'm keen to do that workout. I've been trapped in the splint for ages, after all," he told the man while taking his arm to help him out of the crowded shop.
"Alright, Padawan," Drex said, smiling at him. "Let's go back."
The rest of the day passed rather uneventfully: they had a long workout, packed their things, had dinner and took a walk to the lake.
The next morning, their meditation was interrupted by an awful noise. After a moment's confusion, Drex said: "That must be our helicopter. Have you ever seen one?" He thought it unlikely; it was technology that had been outdated for hundreds, if not thousands, of years on Coruscant.
"No. Never," replied Kaden, getting to his feet and trying to catch a glimpse of the thing through the window.
Given that they were both already dressed, Kade stopped by his room on the way out and picked up his gear. He then followed Drex outside where the strange contraption was waiting for them. He eyed it curiously. "It's got a cross propeller thing on top of the cockpit. You wouldn't think it would fly…" he told his master and nodded as their pilot came to greet them.
"Master Jedi," the pilot greeted, not speaking to Kaden. By now, the boy was used to this as it was considered impolite to speak to children without permission from their parent or guardian.
Drex bowed to the pilot in return. Two of the delegates who had greeted them at the time of their arrival approached.
"The helicopter will transfer you to the border of the civilized Ha'en-Shin state where outcasts are usually abandoned into their self-chosen exile," said Manishi, a middle-aged grey-striped female. "You will not be able to communicate with the Ha'en-Shin once you are there; all emissions are blocked. Once a week, a helicopter lands in order to provide the outcasts with their basic needs and to trade some of their products. You will need to wait for this helicopter in order to be able to return. We still strongly advise you not to undertake this journey; but if you insist, you need to leave now."
Drex smiled. "I thank you for your concern," he said solemnly. "And yes, we do insist. Thank you for your hospitality. I hope to meet you back here later." He beckoned Kaden and J-7LI over and led the way to the helicopter which was more than cramped; they would have to carry their bags on their knees.
The journey to the outcast region was going to be a bit of a long one. Apparently it took four hours to reach the southern area using this means of transport. Not for the first time, Kaden missed their speeders and shuttles. "If this thing flew any slower, we could get out and run faster," he told Drex. He didn't need to keep his voice down as they had headsets to communicate with their pilot that didn't engage unless you pushed and held a button on the side. It was bumpy, noisy and altogether slow!
Generally, this world was still rather backward with respect to planetary means of transport. For short and medium distances, the Ha'en-Shin had a type of speeder which used hovercraft technology and relied on roads. They also had long-distance speeders, but those needed starting and landing strips. Apparently, there were no roads to the border region and nobody had built a landing strip either in an obvious attempt to discourage contact. Thus, the helicopter was the only way.
Finally, after what seemed like an endless and (to Drex) torturously noisy flight, the helicopter touched down on a grassy hill at the fringe of a forest and the rotor stilled. There was a moment's silence; then, a group of beings emerged from the woods. Unlike the Ha'en-Shin they had met so far, they were entirely naked except for their fur.
The pilot threw open the door and beckoned for Drex and Kaden to get out. He seemed eager to make a getaway.
Drex took his bag and climbed out cautiously. At his sight, the approaching group collectively screamed and ran away.
"Well, that went well," said Drex drily when Kaden jumped out beside him. "Come on, let's move away a little so the pilot can take off. He's eager to leave. And then, let's sit down for a while and wait. Maybe that way, these people will realise we are harmless and curiosity will win out."
Kaden suppressed a groan. It was bad enough that they didn't speak the language. In hindsight he should have anticipated that reaction – they were aliens after all – but he hadn't. "Yeah, fantastic," he commented dryly as the last of the group scurried away, leaving the two Jedi standing in the middle of what quite possibly could be nowhere. "Okay. So, what if they don't get curious and don't come back, should we go find them and hope their village doesn't decide we're edible?" He was half joking, but there was a hint of caution to his tone. He sat down next to Drex, put his elbows on his knees and huffed. At least his leg wasn't busted up anymore. That was one thing.
"Patience, padawan," said Drex calmly as J-7LI came to stand beside them.
The boy sighed. If he never heard that word again it would be too soon.
Neither of them bothered trying to speak for a while, because at this point the helicopter took off and the noise was infernal. Kaden felt sorry for his blind master as he knew the man's other senses were heightened and this would be downright deafening to him.
When the noise had died down and the helicopter was nothing more than a speck in the sky, Drex said: "Presumably, these people are not entirely without contact to the Ha'en-Shin or other societies. Some are only sent here as adults; they have an education and technical knowledge. It is fairly likely that someone has heard of the Ha'en-Shin's contacts with the Republic or even of our arrival. Moreover, I could sense fear, but no hostility or aggression in the people who fled. I think we should simply wait for them to sort things out and approach us. At least, the sun is shining. So far, we have no reason to rush things."
Kaden mulled over what Drex had told him. He agreed that he did not sense hostility, at least, not yet… "I'm not keen on just sitting here. Can't we look around or something?" he asked, but did not get up.
"Padawan, they're watching us," said Drex patiently. "They're trying to find out whether we're a threat. By just sitting here and signalling that we're ready to meet them, but not trying to enforce a contact, we project to them that we're not a threat. While we are waiting, tell me all about our surroundings."
Apparently, they were sitting on the slope of a grassy hillock; the landing pad, a rather derelict patch of concrete, was on top. The hills must have been cleared of trees long ago to create a broad strip of grassy land, at least twenty miles wide. There was a guarded fence at the Ha'en-Shin end of that stretch of land. There were also signs of frequent fires, presumably to keep the area clear. About fifty meters from where they were sitting, the woods started to stretch out endlessly, reaching up to the mountains on the horizon. A few thin columns of smoke indicated human activity, possibly cooking, but there might as well be smithies or even factories – they had no way of knowing. The weather was too warm to require heating, in any case.
Drex could sense activity in the woods. There was a gathering nearby from which people were coming and leaving. He also sensed something through the Force; not a disturbance, but a slight vibration that indicated at least one Force-sensitive person was active in some way. It wasn't much, though, most likely no more than an attempt to assess his and Kaden's intentions.
Finally, after about twenty minutes, a small group of beings emerged from the woods and approached cautiously. Drex could sense that the group comprised an elderly male and a middle-aged female, both of whom felt very strong and assertive, probably some kind of leaders. Then there was a rather old person whose sex, curiously, was unclear; maybe the Ha'en-Shin, like most species that had two sexes, sometimes produced transgender individuals and made those outcasts? Then, there were two young and strong males who, interestingly, were carrying some kind of weapon. He asked Kaden about that and Kaden told him they looked like blasters. According to the Ha'en-Shin, the outcasts were not supposed to have weapons, at least not industrially produced weapons, so either they were smuggling, or they had some kind of industrial production, or they traded with others than the Ha'en-Shin.
The most interesting member of the group was a young woman who was clearly very strong in the Force. It was her who had been probing them through the Force, and she continued to do so. Drex gently and deliberately lowered his shields, openly showing her his Force signature. She performed the mental equivalent of shrinking back in surprise, but calmed down immediately, clearly sensing that he posed no threat. She also seemed to tell the others as much.
Kaden sensed when Drex lowered his shields and gave him a curious sideways glance. Otherwise, he remained silent and waited for instructions. Both Jedi continued to stay where they were as the group approached. Kaden did his best to quietly pass on as much detail about the outcasts' physical appearance as he could without spooking them, mainly noting that they seemed to all carry the same marking. He went on to describe this marking as a circle about the size of a fist with a cross struck through the middle. Upon closer inspection he noticed that no hair grew on the mark which told him that it was, in fact, a brand. A scar like that could only be made with something very hot, he knew. The weapons looked as if they were home-made to him and he wasn't sure if they were just for show or actually functioned. Perhaps they would find out if they got to know these people better.
Frustrated with all the waiting and pussy-footing around, Kaden got to his feet, greeted the two leaders in their native language, then bowed. He had picked up a few phrases that did not need to be translated by J-7LI. Surprise, surprise! Neither leader deemed to speak to Kaden! This momentarily grated. Then again, he had gotten used to this over the week and simply sucked it up. Instead, they continued to inch forward towards the two aliens, their gazes flitting from one Jedi to the other. "He's blind," Kaden told them through J-7LI. He hoped that this would make Drex revered here also, as they could use an advantage. Kaden was trying to project the small feeling of guilt at having taken matters into his own hands; the boy knew he was meant to follow his master's led. This time it seemed to have paid off.
Drex did not agree with that assessment. He was distinctly unhappy with Kaden's rash behavior. It could create considerable confusion as to their respective roles. He rose slowly and unhurriedly as the two leaders approached and bowed slightly in greeting. Using the same Ha'en-Shin phrase of greeting that Kaden had used, he then turned towards the young, Force-sensitive woman.
"You have been made an outcast because you have special abilities, haven't you?" he said gently, and J-7LI translated.
She shrank back a little, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. She said something that J-7LI translated as "And what would you know about it?"
"My apprentice and I," said Drex, putting his hand on Kaden's shoulder, "have the same abilities. Only where we come from, they are considered a talent; a skill to be developed. We have an institution where children with this skill are trained from a young age and learn to use their potential for good. We are currently exploring your world in order to find out more about the way in which people with these skills are treated in various countries; they might have something to teach us, or alternatively, we might be able to help by offering to train gifted children on our home world. When we stayed with the Ha'en-Shin, we found out that they sentence children who cannot suppress their abilities to become outcasts. That is why we came here. We want to meet you, and others like you, and learn about you."
The outcasts all listened with rapt attention. "You mean... on your world, I would not have been made an outcast?" the young woman asked, quite shocked.
"No," said Drex. "On our world, or rather, on all worlds that belong to our Republic, you would have received an offer to be trained at a very early age. That would have required you to leave your family, but you would not be shunned by others; on the contrary, you would be held in esteem."
The young woman was strong in the Force, stronger than most in AnShin's small community; it was a small wonder that she had not managed to contain her skills.
She looked at Drex and Kaden for a moment indecisively. Then she started talking to the leaders of the group.
"She tells them that she wants to hear more," J-7LI translated. "She is sure that you pose no threat and mean no harm. She asks them to take you to their settlement as guests. The man now asks her how she knows you are not spies. She says she is certain. Besides, she says, they don't have to show you everything. The old being says... he... or she is not sure whether this is a good idea. The young woman says she knows how important it would be for her and the others to learn."
The female leader cut the debate short by raising a hand. She said something that everybody seemed to accept instantly.
"You may join them in their town," J-7LI said. "You will be their guests. However, your freedom of movement will be restricted until they are sure of your intentions. The two young men will act as your guards. You will also surrender your weapons. Do you agree to these rules?"
Drex considered this for a moment. Then he detached his lightsaber from his belt and held it out to the young Force-sensitive woman. "These are the only weapons we possess," he said. "They are of no use to anyone but us. As a token of goodwill, we will surrender them to you; but only if you promise that you will feel personally responsible for them and that you will not abandon them nor give them to anyone else. And we will want to have them returned to us after twenty-four hours. These weapons are a part of us, and they are important to us." It was a bold move, he knew; but what he sensed from the young woman inspired him to trust her. She felt sincere, kind-hearted and responsible to him. Besides, it was not as if he could not think of numerous ways to retrieve their weapons in cases of emergency.
Despite wanting to do just the opposite, Kaden remained silent as J-7LI translated the conversation for them; he had sensed across their bond the mild irritation his behaviour had caused in Drex and was now making more of an effort to be patient and wait. However, when Drex nudged him, indicating that he should hand over his saber as well, the boy balked. "Are you sure about this?" he questioned the man both with his expression and across their bond, even as his hand went to the hilt of his weapon and detached it. Kaden wasn't sure if this was the right thing to do. The outcasts were armed, after all. Then again, even so he was pretty sure he and Drex could take them on, should they decide to suddenly become hostile. All this and more went through his mind, dragging his hesitation out.
This time, there was nothing mild about the disapproval that Drex projected across their bond. "Now," he said in a low voice that had a distinct edge about it. It was a tone of voice that clearly told Kaden he was treading on thin ice.
The boy did not flinch, at least not outwardly, because outwardly he was too busy surrendering his lightsaber as instructed. He knew better than to question his master's instructions but his weapon had been a matter of constant contention between himself and Drex. He watched on, a sour expression on his face as the female leader took his lightsaber, passing Drex's to the Force sensitive woman whose name J-7LI had translated as Amare.
"Ka'chatan," Amare exclaimed, almost dropping Drex's saber.
"She states that the weapon is very powerful," J-7LI translated.
A few moments later, she was handed Kaden's. Her reaction to his weapon was not as animated. She told the outcasts that there was something about these weapons that made them special, and J-7LI translated as much to both Jedi.
It was on the tip of Kaden's tongue to ask if they could have them back, but before he could open his mouth to do so, Drex closed it again by sending his thoughts on that course of action across their bond. They corresponded to the look on his face. "Fine," Kade retorted across their bond. He said nothing else but simply crossed his arms and waited for more instructions.
One of the young guards nudged the other one and said something. They both laughed.
"They said," J-7LI translated solemnly, " that your apprentice seems to be sulking. They seem to find that funny."
Sulking? He wasn't sulking! … Force, he was sulking. Cowed, Kaden blushed but said nothing more.
Drex did not find it all that funny, but he was going to talk to Kaden about that later. Right now, they were being led towards the forest. Between the trees, there were a few wooden houses. The male leader, Tershin, explained to them while they walked that this was just an outpost, staffed with a few guards who were exchanged regularly. Their job was to wait for new arrivals and to handle the weekly helicopter contacts. Amare and the two young men were going to escort the two Jedi to the city and send replacement guards back here.
"You have an actual city?" Drex asked in surprise.
The woman, whose name was Hae-Na-Koole, laughed. "The Ha'en-Shin take us for savages," she said. "But they have been sending their outcasts to this region for hundreds of years. We have build up something here. We have a city, we have cleared some land for farming, we trade with other countries. Even with countries that the Ha'en-Shin consider their enemies."
"If this system has been in existence for centuries," Drex said, "surely many of you must be descendants of former generations of outcasts?"
At this, the group fell silent. Finally Amare said something, very softly.
"She says they sterilize everyone they send here," J-7LI translated.
Even Drex took a second to digest this. "I'm very sorry to hear that," he finally said.
"Well, on the other hand," Hae-Na-Koole said a little bitterly, "they have no qualms about sending us children, even babies, when they don't fit in. Those of us who are interested in parenthood usually get to raise at least one child. Still, we would obviously much prefer to be allowed to have our own children."
At this point, they had arrived at a small clearing between the huts. There were a few motor vehicles, but also carts and carriages. A couple of young men were currently readying a carriage that was drawn by a couple of stocky animals somewhat resembling oxen.
"I'm sorry for the inconvenience," said Tershin, "but we are always short on power cells and only use motorized vehicles when we really need to. If you could oblige us by taking the carriage, we would be grateful. It will be a ride of about one and a half hours that way."
"That will be no trouble at all," replied Drex.
Five minutes later, Amare, Drex and Kaden were sitting in the back of the carriage, the canopy having been folded back to let in some light and fresh air. Their two guards were sitting on the front seat, steering, although the animals seemed to know their way well enough. The track they were following was broad and clear of trees and rocks, but not tarmacked.
Kaden had remained quiet as he piled into the … the… What the hell was that anyway? Sure, he had seen such transports pulled by bantha and other domesticated animals on off-world planets before, but he hadn't seen anything that looked exactly like this.
The carriage was a little cramped with the addition of J-7LI, but not uncomfortably so. He looked at Amare. It was clear to him that this being was very strong in the Force and he wondered for the first time in his young life how his own destiny could have been so different had he not been born in the republic. A hand went reflexively to the place where his lightsaber usually hung, and retracted at finding nothing there. Why they had to give up their weapon, he did not know but he felt empty without it, not that he wanted to telegraph this across their bond. Drex had told him many times before that there was a lot more to being a Jedi than his lightsaber. He understood that, too. It was just hard for him at times, and this mission was testing him.
He wasn't sure how long they had been traveling when he decided to break the silence. "Do you think they'll have anything edible, and if they do, do you think they'll give us any? Because I'm starving," Kaden whispered to Drex. He was always hungry so this was probably not going to come as a surprise to the man.
Drex raised his hand to J-7LI to stop her from translating. "I'm sure they have food that's edible for us," he replied quietly. "We'll see whether they offer us some after our arrival. If not, we can ask for it. For now, I can give you some energy bars. Do you still have water?" He had told Kaden to fill his flask before they had left, but that had, of course, been several hours ago.
"I do, but not much," Kaden answered, giving his flask a shake just to be sure that there was some left; after all, he had not exactly been conservative given that they were on such a blue, green planet. The energy bars would take the edge off his hunger and he accepted them gratefully.
"Not long now," Drex said softly. He could not see their surroundings, of course, but he sensed that things were changing. They were meeting the occasional rider and pedestrian now. The woods were less dense now and there were patches of land that had been cleared entirely. When asked, J-7LI told him that tracks were branching off the road and that they were coming past fields and gardens. It was clear that they were approaching the city. Drex was very interested in discovering what surprises it held for them.