Ch. 14
Coruscant; three days later
When Tal's eyes opened for the first time after he was put under the anesthetics, the first thing he saw a blue light, and it blinded him for a couple of seconds until his eyes adjusted, and then the light faded away, and was replaced by the bright lights of a hospital bedroom. Tal sat up and looked around the room and saw that his master was in the room as well, watching Tal carefully.
"How do you feel, Tal?" Mace asked, and Tal got out of bed and walked around for a couple of minutes, getting used to the feeling of the armor, which was much lighter than the original armor he wore.
"Strange, I wasn't expecting the armor was going to be this light. I thought you said it was made out of reinforced durasteel." Tal said.
"It was originally, but a mysterious donor donated Mandalorian Iron to the facility for your armor." Mace said, and Tal smiled, knowing that Kal was the donor, and thankful that Kal donated the armor.
"Well, I have to find out who it was and send him a thank you card." Tal said, the two Jedi left the hospital and went back to the Jedi Temple.
"Tal, I have some bad news that you're not going to like; you're going to have to stay at the Jedi Temple until you are fully healed; both physically, and mentally." Mace said, as they took a speeder to the Temple, and Tal was in shock.
"What! But master! I'm needed on the front lines to help the troops! You can't leave me at the Temple just because I have to wear this armor!" Tal said.
"Tal, you're not going to fight as long as you're recovering. When you recovered, you can rejoin me in the war." Mace said, and Tal didn't get any happier, he just sat quietly until they reached the Temple, where Jedi Master Yoda and Master Rancisis were waiting for them.
"Young Tal, much to discuss with you, we have." Yoda said, and the padawan looked at the Grand Master curiously.
"Indeed. Young Tal, what do you know of your lineage?" Master Rancisis asked, and Tal thought about it for a minute.
"I know I'm a direct descendant of the Republic hero, Canderous Ordo. But that's it." Tal said.
"That may be, but much more, your bloodline has." Yoda said, and that made Tal really confused.
"What are you talking about, Master Yoda?" Tal asked.
"Master Yoda, if I may, I thought we agreed to wait longer until Tal was informed of his bloodline." Mace said.
"Yes, we did, but recent events have pushed us into doing this." Master Rancisis said.
"With respect, my masters, can you please tell me what you're talking about?" Tal asked.
"Tal, your bloodline is more than Mandalorian blood, and it's not a coincidence that you are Force Sensitive. You have a Jedi bloodline as well, and a very important bloodline at that; you are a descendant of Jedi Master Bastila Shan, the Jedi that helped Revan and the Republic destroy the Star Forge and Darth Malak." Mace said, and Tal wasn't sure what to say; he had read about Bastila Shan as a youngling, how she was one of the youngest Jedi to master the technique Battle Meditation.
"What…does this mean for me?" Tal asked.
"By being part of the Shan bloodline, you have inherited the ability to use Battle Meditation." Mace said, and Tal was still in shock at the discovery that he was part of the famous Shan bloodline.
"I always thought me being Force Sensitive was just a freak accident or stroke of luck." Tal said.
"You should know there is no such thing as luck, Tal, only the Force." Rancisis said, and Tal nodded.
"How is it that I'm Force Sensitive though? Neither of my parents were Jedi." Tal asked.
"That's true, but they were Force Sensitive, none the less; your Mandalorian Clan has long held at least one Force Sensitive member of your family, hiding them from the Jedi so they wouldn't become part of the Order. It was the will of the Force that you were found by the Jedi and brought to the Temple." Mace said, but Tal didn't see it that way.
"You mean my parents being murdered?" Tal asked.
"Tal, I realize that you are upset over the death of your parents, but you must focus on the information we are giving you now." Mace said, and Tal nodded and the Jedi walked into the Temple.
Padme's apartment
Ahsoka woke up feeling sick to her stomach; she grabbed a trash bin and vomited in it, the toll of her pregnancy taking effect. Padme then walked in, and gave Ahsoka a glass of water.
"Thank you." Ahsoka said, and Padme just smiled and Anakin walked into the apartment.
"Ahsoka, I found the perfect place for you to hide during your pregnancy; Dantooine." Anakin said, getting right to the point.
"Oh yeah Master, I'm perfectly fine; vomiting my guts out, can't get any sleep. So yeah, don't bother ask your padawan how she's doing!" Ahsoka said bitterly and sarcastically, and Anakin just rolled his eyes. "Anyway, why Dantooine?" Ahsoka asked.
"All you'll be doing is just helping house refugees who lost their homes during the attacks. And winter will arrive on the planet when you start to show, so you'll have to wear very heavy clothes." Anakin explained.
"And when I go into labor?" Ahsoka asked, and Padme stood.
"You'll be brought back here, to my apart, when you're in your eighth month, and you can give birth in secret." Padme said, and Ahsoka smiled.
"Thank you, both of you." Ahsoka said, and she vomited again.
"Now Ahsoka, I won't be able to help you take care of your child when you give birth to it…" Padme said, but Ahsoka interrupted her.
"Her…" Ahsoka said, indicating that her baby was a girl.
"…her, so you'll have to make a choice about what to do with her." Padme said, and Ahsoka stood up, and picked up her wrist communicator, and put in a special frequency.
"Mom…I need to talk to you…you remember when you asked me if you'll be having grandchildren soon?"
Jedi Temple, Coruscant
After the Jedi Masters explained to Tal that he'll be taught how to use Battle Meditation, he waited in the Room of a Thousand Fountains and began meditating, letting his mind settle and become at peace, when he sensed a familiar presence, Tal opened his eyes and saw the Cathar youngling from three days ago, trying to carry several holo-books, but struggling to keep her balance and prevent the texts from falling. Hoping to get another chance to talk to the child, Tal stood up, walked over, and picked up a few books that fell from the Cathar's pile. When the Cathar looked at Tal, it was obvious that the girl knew it was Tal, because she looked at him disgustedly.
"What do you want?" The girl asked, and Tal just smiled.
"I saw you were struggling, and I wanted to help you." Tal said sincerely, offering the girl one her books, and the girl just snatched it.
"I don't need your help!" The girl said, and she tried to place the book back onto her stack of books, but the pile collapsed, but before the books could hit the ground, Tal used the Force to levitate them and stack back into a pile, easier for the girl to carry.
"Right." Tal said, smirking behind his helmet, and the Cathar just huffed, and took the books again. "Let me ask you something real quick, little one; if I was such a bad guy, do you really think I'd be part of the Jedi Order?" Tal asked, and the girl remained quiet, but her attitude towards him didn't change. "You're part of the Juhani subspecies, aren't you?" Tal asked, but the Cathar remained quiet. "Will you at least tell me you're name?"
"Giani! We're going to be late for lightsaber training! A youngling yelled, and the Cathar turned around and saw a couple of her friends.
"Very well." Giani said, and the Cathar gave Tal one final dirty look before running off towards the youngling training room.
"Giani, a very prominent youngling; she is strong with the Force, and fast learner. Though I fear that her arrogance and temper will be her downfall." Master Rancisis said, as he made his way to Tal.
"A fear that most Jedi have for their students. Those attributes will most likely pass as she matures, just as long as she is taught properly." Tal said, and he and the Jedi Master went back into the meditation room. The two sat on the ground, and Rancisis lifted a dozen rocks and sat them around Tal.
"Now, young Ordo, to learn Battle Meditation, one must have unbreakable concentration. Tal, I want you to enter a meditative stance, and keep these rocks levitated until I say you can release them. Tal nodded and began meditating, and he lifted the small rocks with ease.
"This isn't so bad." Tal said.
"Do not get arrogant Tal; I will now put several images in your mind, things that can cause you to lose your concentration and drop the rocks, if you allow them to." Rancisis said, and Tal continued meditating, but suddenly, he could hear screaming clones and shouting orders, making him feel like he was in the middle of a battle, and his troops were being slaughtered. Tal tried to tell himself it was just an illusion, but it wasn't long until the stones hit the floor.
"I tried to tell myself it was an illusion…" Tal said.
"Even that can make you lose your concentration Tal; you're focus must be completely on the stones." Rancisis explained, and Tal tried meditating again, and he was able to keep the rocks in the air for a few minutes, but the images distracted him and he dropped the rocks again, and he was getting more and more frustrated.
"I'm a padawan! I should be able to lift stones!" Tal exclaimed.
"You cannot expect to complete this training on the first day. Have patience." Rancisis said, and Tal nodded and began meditating again.
Dantooine
When Ahsoka arrived at Dantooine, she put her hand on her stomach and immediately felt at peace; there was no battles, no death, no stress, nothing to disturb her.
"Are you alright Snips?" Anakin asked.
"Yeah, it's just peaceful. I hope it remains like this as she grows." Ahsoka said quietly, and she walked over to the large shelter and went to her room and lay down the bed and began rubbing her stomach. "Well little one, I hope you like this place; because you're stuck with me for nine months." Ahsoka said, and she closed her eyes and went to sleep.
Jedi Temple, Coruscant; two months later
When Master Rancisis made his was into the Room of a Thousand Fountains, he found Tal, standing up on his fists, lifting several stones and placing them on top of each other and moving them in circles around him. Rancisis just stayed at the doorway and watched the padawan meditate.
"Very good. You have made much progress over the past two months, young Ordo." Rancisis said, but Tal was too focused on his meditation to answer, when suddenly, Tal started to feel hot, like he was in an oven, and the room looked like it was filling with smoke. Tal still tried to meditate, but an unfamiliar voice filled his ears.
"Find me…find me…find me…" The voice said, and the room disappeared, Tal found himself floating in blackness, surrounded by fire, and the voice getting louder and louder. "Find me…find me…find me…FIND ME!" The ringing in Tal's ears broke his concentration and the rocks around him fell, and Tal did as well. Though he wasn't hurt, he felt hot and cold at the same time, and the voice was in his head, repeating its message, and it continued for what seemed like hours, yet it went away in just seconds.
"Tal, are you alright?" Master Rancisis asked, helping Tal stand up.
"Yes master Rancisis…but if it's alright with you, I would like to get some rest." Tal requested, and the Jedi Master nodded.
"Of course, but would you like to talk about what you saw?" Rancisis asked, but Tal shook his head walked past the master.
"No…no thank you…I've just been working too hard, I just need some rest." Tal said, and he left the meditation room and went back to his room to rest, wondering why the Force forbade him from having just one normal day.
A/N: For those who are wondering; yes, Tal is a descendant of the very same Bastila Shan that is in Knight of the Old Republic, the one that helped Revan destroy Malak and the Star Forge