Chapter Thirteen
Everything around me felt suffocating. The eeriness only increased as I approached the seated figure in the distance. A Force aura surrounded the figure. Peripherally I noticed a few fresh Mandalorian corpses littered near the figure. I was curious about what happened and who the figure might be. As I got closer I could see the wounds on the Mandalorians. All of them had charred holes and cuts through their standard issue heavy armor.
At that moment I was certain the figure was a Jedi, but was it the Jedi? Slowly I walked over to where the Jedi sat. As I walked past the corpses the grass rustled. The next moment the Jedi jumped into standing position. Carth was about to speak when the Jedi reached out her palm, freezing him in place with a Force field. I turned to T3, but he was also frozen in place. Carth was moving his eyes around so I knew he was aware of the situation. The Jedi was a young woman and an alien. She looked almost human but her ears were sharper. Her eyes, bright gold with thin diamond shaped pupils and her hair in braids tied back in a ponytail. I couldn't pinpoint her species, but my train of thought was broken as she angrily spoke with a unique accent.
"You are trespassing on my Groove! A Jedi? Finally the Council sent someone. Well guess what? I won't let you kill me without a fight. No! I have embraced the power of the Dark side, and I will stop you!"
I wanted to say something, to tell her that she was confused, that I wasn't here to kill her, but she pulled out her violet lightsaber. At the last moment I dodged having my left arm sliced off as I pulled out my own lightsaber. The next instant, blue light met violet then again, faster and faster. I could barely keep up with her. She had an insane speed, but I knew that I would die if I hesitated for even a moment. What now? Was this kill or be killed? No, I didn't want that. I dodged her next blow then channeled as much Force energy as I could muster.
The eeriness around me grew. I felt the power I was channeling drain as quickly as I could grasp it. With all my will, I flung a Force blast at the Jedi, managing to slam her against the grass. She still held her lightsaber in a tight grip. Before she could make another move, I pressed my boot against her wrist. I was careful not to break it, but put enough pressure for her to weaken her grip. Without hesitation I channeled Force into my left hand, pulling her lightsaber up into the air and into my grasp. I towered over her with both lightsabers lit up brightly.
At that moment I could easily end her life. Gazing into her eyes I saw that she was ready for me to kill her. The eerie feeling was still there. I had to force myself to extinguish the lightsabers and place them in my belt holsters. She gave a look of surprise, not sure what to make of my actions. In a nervous tone she said.
"Why haven't you killed me? I killed my Master Quatra in anger and embraced the Dark side. I deserve death!"
I carefully moved my boot away from her wrist, releasing her as I stepped back. Looking to Carth and T3 I noticed they were still in stasis. I reached my hand out to the Jedi as I said.
"Come on you don't deserve death and I didn't come here to kill you in the first place. Actually I came here to bring you back."
Hesitating at first, she took my hand and I pulled her to her feet. I continued.
"So tell me your name."
She let go of my hand.
"Juhani … my name is Juhani. I'm useless. I thought I became powerful when I embraced the Dark side but then you defeated me so easily. I… I really am useless. The Jedi Order won't accept me back!"
I shook my head.
"No, that's not true and you know it! Juhani, you are a beautiful young woman with much talent. You weren't weak when we fought … just blinded by the Dark side!"
She gave a look of disbelief.
"You, Master Jedi, call me beautiful? You call me talented? That's a lie. I am useless and I killed my Master in a fit of anger so I cannot be forgiven…"
"I'm not lying. You are clearly a talented Jedi. I would have probably lost if you were thinking clearly. I can see that you are hurting! During that battle you didn't truly want to kill me … you gave me an opening so I could kill you instead."
She looked surprised.
"You noticed that? I guess I am lucky that the Council sent someone as kind as you. Most Jedi would have done things differently –not taken any chances."
Scratching my head, I replied.
"I'm glad I could help. Now let's go back to the Enclave … don't want them to think we've all killed each other, right?"
She nodded, but as she raised her palm to unfreeze Carth and T3, timidly she asked.
"Do you really think I'm beautiful?"
I nodded.
"Yeah, though I don't suppose it was appropriate of me to say. I only got my lightsaber a day ago."
As Carth and T3 were again able to move, Juhani turned to me.
"I appreciate it regardless of its appropriateness. And I don't believe you."
"Huh?"
"You are too old to be a Jedi Apprentice, and you fought like someone who has experience with a lightsaber."
I chuckled.
"Well I killed a good number of Kath hounds on the way, so you could say I have experience. Really though, I'm not lying about any of this … I'm an unusual case. I was made a Jedi because of my strong affinity for the Force."
Carth added in.
"It's true. I can vouch for Lena. Before we arrived here on Dantooine, she was a Republic soldier like me. Well not as experienced, but still."
Even T3 nodded at Carth's statement.
Juhani placed her palm against her forehead and I noticed there were some bruises on her wrist from before. She caught my gaze.
"You are amazing …Lena?"
"Yeah that's my name, although Master Jedi sounds kind of cool."
She continued.
"I have never met anyone like you before… I will return to the Council immediately and let them choose my fate. Maybe there is a chance they will let me continue serving in the Jedi Order –however small that chance may be."
As she was about to sprint off in the direction of the Enclave, I said.
"Hold on. You are unarmed and injured and we're headed back anyway, so we'll escort you."
I walked toward Juhani and saw her give a nod of agreement. The first half of the way was uneventful and relaxing. I loved how the wind felt against my skin. However the peace was quickly broken when I saw a large group of Mandalorians shooting locals near two Speeders. I pulled out both lightsabers, throwing Juhani's back to her. Before we had time to ambush them, the Mandalorians had already killed everyone and were preparing to take the Speeders. Carth fired a few rounds to stop them from escaping. As their attention and blaster fire fell to him, Carth hid behind a Speeder as Juhani and I snuck up from behind. In seconds the battle was over. With a few quick lightsaber thrusts the Mandalorians fell without being aware of exactly what happened. I checked the dead locals for IDs. Having found an ID on one of them, I took it with me to present to the Council.
Tired of walking in silence, Carth said.
"So, Lena, you were telling me about your past and the amnesia. I think it would be good for your memory, so what do you say? Tell me more about why you became a Republic soldier."
Juhani looked like she was as interested in my past as Carth. I sighed then began.
"If you want to know that badly I'll tell you. Deralia wasn't eventful. I kept hearing how the Sith were becoming stronger by the day, and how they were conquering defenseless planets. Some planets they didn't even bother to conquer, instead they just drained all the resources until those planets weren't hospitable to life. I wanted to defend Deralia so I joined the Republic to fight the Sith."
I paused to enjoy the serenity of the grass swaying in the wind then resumed.
"Before then I was an interpreter. I helped with diplomacy at the local government office by translating for the alien diplomats. It was a good job, but a boring one. And as I said earlier, there weren't that many people –certainly no available beautiful women around my age."
Carth stopped walking when he heard the last part and I noticed Juhani had a slight blush. Clearing his throat, Carth asked.
"Let me get this straight, you joined the Republic in hopes of meeting beautiful women?"
"That's half of it. If you were actually listening you'd know I joined to defend my planet and others like it against the Sith."
"Well, Lena, while beautiful women can be a questionable motivation, you did meet some. I mean there are Mission, Bastila, Shaleena, and now Juhani."
I glared at him then looked pleadingly at Juhani.
"Ignore him. He's making me and my motivations sound all wrong. I'm trying to defeat Darth Malak and his Sith. Personal interests aren't more important than that … ugh, not that I'm interested in Shaleena, Mission, or Bas…"
Juhani's blush was more intense as she interrupted me.
"I can understand. In a way I loved Quatra. Getting too attached can lead away from the Light. I shouldn't have but she, I thought she was also interested. Just I wish things would have ended differently. Her words were cruel… I'm sorry I didn't mean to go off on a tangent."
I shook my head.
"It's alright. I don't have much experience in actually dealing with women, but yeah –I think I understand now why you felt like the Dark side was the only thing left for you. Trust me Juhani, You still have a future. I'll wait for you when you speak to the Council about what happened. Have confidence in yourself Juhani! "
Before long we were inside the Jedi Academy. Carth and I sat down near the fountain after Juhani left to speak with the Council. I wasn't worried, because I remembered the Councilors mentioning something about the Jedi wounding her Master, and no killing. From everything I heard I was almost certain the whole fiasco with Juhani was one giant test. It was a test for her and a test for me. But in the end I was the one with the burden. I was what determined whether she passed or failed. It wasn't fair; it was another reason why I didn't trust the Jedi. Of course they were my allies as opposed to the Sith, but a lot of their core beliefs didn't fit and some of their methods seemed hypocritical. Having saved Juhani and completed my third trial, I was a Jedi myself. But my intention as a Jedi was to stop Malak. Apart from that, I didn't intend to devote myself to the life and philosophy of the Jedi Code. Bastila's adherence was more than enough for the both of us.
Out of boredom I kept channeling my lightsaber on and off. Carth stood up, turning toward the path leading to the docking area. He said.
"I guess I'll go back to the ship. If you need me again call me. I'll be resting for a while."
"Hold on. I want to know your plans. Will you be returning to the Republic fleet?"
As he walked away he said.
"You won't get rid of me that easily gorgeous. For the time being I'll be sticking around."
The door slid closed behind him. I muttered.
"That's just wonderful."