"Whatever you think is good." Jayme replied. Then realizing she said from and not for. This made her blush. Gara went to make her drink after seeing her blush and Jayme turned to watch the dance floor. A song ended and a new one began and the dancers left the floor as others rushed to the floor to dance. It was perfect she saw no excessive traits in any of their actions very normal and the crowd was just as she would expect in any human club. She jumped as Gara returned and pressed her body next to hers.
"Here a perfect drink for a perfection such as yourself." she said. Jayme blushed again as she took the drink and felt that Gara was naked even if she couldn't see it exactly but she sure could feel it.
"Sorry I don't go that way." Jayme said as Gara ran her hand over her stomach.
"Hmm, that's too bad, but how do you know if you never tried it." she countered and whispered in her ear. Jayme got really red and what she told her made her doubt herself and she looked at Gara to tell her to back off. Gara kissed her on the nose preventing her from speaking and went back behind the bar. She took a long sip of her drink and loved it instantly.
"Girl don't let Gara bother you she is all purr and well I was going to say no action, but now I see all head tails." Another Twilek said. Jayme knew it was a Emily model but not which one. "I think she marked you good even got your legs." Jayme looked at herself and where ever Gara had touch she had left a trail that glowed in the lights. Many of the trails lead to places she didn't remember her touching. This made her blush again. "I know what your thinking and forget it. It doesn't come off unless you take a shower and the door doesn't open for another few hours."
"So I have to show everyone I let her feel me up?" Jayme asked.
"That's right she got me good last week and every night since. So far I have kept my distance." Emily replied. "Names Paniel, what's yours?" Jayme thought for a second this was a masked ball so saying her name didn't feel right. She took the proffered hand.
"I'm Siara." Jayme told her middle name. "Pleasure to meet you."
"You want to dance or try your luck at the tables." Paniel asked.
"In a bit I want to finish my..." Jayme was going to say drink and she saw it was empty. She shrugged and set it down. "Let's dance, I kinda like this song." She felt good and to her this was her day so she was going to let her hair fly and she would find Aric later. She could feel that he was here, but the feeling was elusive. The last four weeks had been a series of hard work and sly tests, and even on a night like this she couldn't get it out of her head that he planned to add a test or two. She didn't mind right now she was having fun and over flowing with energy. She danced by Paniel and a few males joined them and the game was on. She teased them enticed them and moved away. Paniel was more direct but her moves subtle and just as elusive. Jayme knew this was something she missed as they retired from the floor and got new drinks. She missed her girlfriend and she found one in Paniel, and opened up to her and they discussed her feelings problems and Paniel did the same. As the night went on she was feeling a lot better. Paniel was the best friend she thought she left behind on Earth and she was happy. She never thought she could become friends with any of her biot crew and especially not an Emily sure they were wonderful masseuses, but she never felt the need to talk more then what was necessary, but as the night wore on she was searching even harder for Aric. His presence was everywhere but nowhere at the same time.
"Paniel, I have to find someone." Jayme said.
"Look around Siara there are half a dozen males just waiting for you." Paniel replied.
"No, a certain someone and all these masks and costumes have hidden him well, but I know he is here." Jayme stated.
"Okay but come back to me if any of them get to frisky. I know this crowd better then you." Paniel warned.
"I'll be fine. They can't be any worse then some of the males I met on Earth." Jayme replied but took her warning to heart. All it would take is a kiss from one of them and she would be at their mercy. Though the pheromone effect was still missing or too low for her to notice. Gara passed her on the way to the tables and her heart jumped as she felt her head tails brush her in too close for comfort places. Jayme moaned in frustration and then blanked her face as Gara took that as a positive sign. Jayme returned to her focus of finding Aric his presence felt stronger here and as she strolled among the table she felt it spike and knew this was the table he had to be at. There were eight beings at the table and none of them looked like him. The one with the largest winnings was a Devaronian, next was an Arkanian by his white eyes, hair and three fingered hands, after that there was a Gotal and a Bothan, next were two humans and she couldn't tell which model they were so perfect was their changes. The last two one was a Zabrak and the other was a Chiss with his red eyes and blue skin. He had the lowest pile, but from her vantage point he was going to win this had at least as he locked his cards. If she was right the fool's array was just like a royal flush, unbeatable. The Chiss was unconcerned about the hand he knew he had won but he was playing the players expertly and only the Devaronian was wise enough not to fall for his ploys. Jayme was torn one of them was Aric and she couldn't figure it out either he was disguised as the Devaronian or the Chiss. Either he was the big winner or the one who hung on by impossible odds.
After this Chiss won that hand he went on and one the next three out five. Growing his pile of winning to third. The Zabrak retired and after three more hands the Gotal and then the Bothan retired. It took another fifteen hands before the Arkanian bombed outclassed by a sudden change of the cards which turned the Chiss hand from zero to positive 23 winning the hand and the Arkanian's last few chips. This is when the pressure really increased and the up and down luck of the Chiss was driving the Devaronian to make mistakes. Jayme was positive that the Chiss was Aric but suddenly his presence flitted across the room and she was not sure any more. Her interest in the game faded and she moved through the cantina on her search for Aric. She was about to give up many times and finally did and sat down next to a Twilek male with Paniel seeing how far down his throat she could get her tongue to go. At least that is what it looked like. Gara brushed by and winked as she headed for the dance floor. This made Jayme blush again, but riveted her eyes on Gara. The music stopped as she began to speak.
"Greetings guests the night is soon over, but we have yet to do two things one is the unmasking and the other is to recognize that there is a birthday girl in the crowd." Gara announced. "You all saw her as I marked her for this night and I hope you all kept your hands off cause she is mine." Their was mixed cheers and moans. "So without further interruptions will Siara come forward." A spotlight centered on Jayme and she got up and reluctantly walked on the dance floor. She walked by the Gamorian and he grunted.
"I knew you were trouble. Watch yourself birthday girl." he warned. She got a strong feeling that maybe Aric was hiding inside the Gamorian costume, but she shuddered at the thought.
"There she is I heard you are now twenty one and able to legally drink alcohol on Earth your home planet. So how does it feel to be legal?" Gara asked and her question carried more then one meaning which caused her to blush again and realize that she was drunk.
"Good, an almost perfect night for it too." Jayme replied.
"Awe, I know I can make it perfect for you, honey. Just let me and you won't be sorry." Gara teased. "But that is for later. As an honor you get to call the unmasking."
"Okay any special words I need to use?" Jayme asked and Gara shock her pretty head no. "Okay then unmask yourselves." The lights came up to full and masks and costumes opened up revealing the many biots. It seamed to start from the back and flowed to the center. Jayme's attention was drawn to the Gamorian as he needed help to unmask and to her shock it was Gara under the suit. She looked from one to the other and couldn't tell if Gara was Gara or the Gamorian Gara was Gara. She turned back to Gara and figured she was not Gara and her body started to shimmer and her jaw dropped as Aric's smiling face appeared and then the rest of his body covered in a skin suit of light absorbing material.
"I think she is completely surprised, ladies and Gentile beings, that she forgot her own mask." Aric stated and Jayme snapped out of her surprise and lowered her mask. With a large smile she hugged Aric and they kissed passionately. The crowded cheered and laughter broke out and then they sang a birthday song as a cake came out. Surrounded by little presents. She looked at the cake and saw that her name was on it and there was a little heart in the a. She cut the cake and with Aric's and Gara's help they passed out the pieces until only the J and the a remained. Gara got the y piece and moved off. Aric put the two pieces on plated and another removed the empty platter so he could set them down again.
"Captain Jayme Siara Stone happy birthday and may you celebrate hundreds more." Aric said. "This is your piece." He indicated the a.
"No that has always been yours I can't." she protested.
"I insist this time it is for you but that little heart is stubborn." he said with a twinkle of amusement in his eyes. He was right and the heart jumped of her piece and landed on his as she picked up her piece and noticed something more and fished out another surprise. A crystal purple in color with a hint of green. Revealed in the light it glowed and she knew it was hers and that it was a lightsaber crystal.
"How? When? I am not ready for this." Jayme asked and protested.
"The cave my fake father talked about he showed me and I went there and found two that I liked and one that felt like you did. I took that one also and when I brought it near you the next day I knew it was yours, but you were so resistant at the time to being a jedi that I didn't feel a good time to give it to you." Aric explained. "But now you are ready and that is just one of the gifts that will build your first lightsaber. Many of the other gifts here are the parts you will need. The rest are gifts for you and will be either useful or decorative."
"This is perfect and thank you all for the masked party of mystery. It really has been special and I cannot thank you enough for your acceptance of me as your captain, for your willingness to train someone as clumsy as me to fight, and to the few that have become as a friend. I can't ask for a better crew or group of people." Jayme said as she looked upon them with the truth of her words she no longer saw them as biots but humans each unique in their own way. "Thank you." The crowd cheered again and the doors opened and they started to file out.
"Shall we?" Aric said offering his arm. She took it and they joined the others.
"How were you able to have your presence jump all over the room?" she asked.
"Well the answer is simple. The crystals need to be cut and the fragments carry a link to the jedi and I found that I could sense things where those fragments were. When Gara, I and a few others planned out this party and it turned into a masked ball. I then knew what I could use the fragments for. The Chiss and the Devaronian had one of my lightsabers and that is why you stayed so long at their table. When I as Gara gave them new drinks the last time I took back the blades. That drew you back to the bar and one by one a pulled the fragments and gave them to Gara. The rest is how you saw it."
"Very clever how long have you been planning this?" Jayme asked.
"Two weeks more or less." Aric replied and Jayme smiled and walked with him back to her quarters.
"I have had a wonderful night and I missed one thing. I never got to dance with you or share a drink, so you want the proverbial night cap?" she asked biting her lip. Aric smiled and she knew he accepted. They entered and soft music was already playing and a wine bottle sat in a chiller. She giggled as this was too much and Aric pored out the wine in the glasses.
"If this was wine from Earth it would be not a good idea to chill red wine but it is not and best served cold." he said as he handed her one of the glasses. She took a sip and the flavor spread across her tongue and tickled her nose. Aric took her in his arms and began to dance. They drank their wine and kissed as they danced. The wine exploded with each kiss as they shared. She felt now was the time and she let her dress fall to the floor as they danced and she found the opening to his suit and it fell away in sections. They moved slowly to her bed and made love and as he entered her, her mind joined with his and they shared everything. This was perfection this is what they both needed, wanted, desired. They were no longer two people but one as they made love. Her love for him grew beyond any reason people had, stronger then the die or kill for you love to a type of love that few feel, a type that would last forever even if one went on to the next world and the other remained. Neither one would allow the other to be used against them, it was a love that gave them the understanding that if it came to it, they would kill the other to save them. There were those risks and they accepted them fully, knowing their love was the strongest kind. If any had been watching they would have been blinded by the love they shared and emitted. Then it was over and they laid silently in each others arms until sleep took them both.
The next day was like any other except that Aric moved in to her quarters and helped start to build her lightsaber. He also began to spar with her using Tai Chi and she learned and adapted her style instantly to it. They shared more than just the completion of their love they were now force bonded. She built her lightsaber in two days and it felt a part of her and they continued their slow fighting dance as he taught her the basic moves of sword play. After six days they were on the bridge waiting to enter the Corellian System.
"Five seconds to reversion into real space. Two. One. Mark." Adam reported.
"Sensors and shields active. All fighters report good launches and are taking up their positions." Fia reported. "Sensors indication a large mass reading from the Centerpoint Station. We will not be able to get closer using the hyperdrive."
"Contact Corellia and ask if they have the parts we are short of, if not we will exit the field and bypass after getting a star chart update." Jayme ordered. "No sense staying in a system for weeks when they have nothing for us."
"Welcome to Corellia, Perseverance. We are sending new coordinates to you. Glorious dropped by and gave us a list and you can find a few needed items there." a man said. "The admiral didn't think you would make it I am glad you did. You've been lucky so far and I hope it stays with ya."
"Thank you Corellia control. We received your directions. We will be leaving a data package behind. My crew figured out a way to stop the droids and get things moving again. Along with some very different programing. Good to see that the Holonet still works here." Jayme replied and bowed to the man.
"No problem we had a warning and shut all ours down in time. We managed to reprogram them after that, but are droids and ships are useless out side the system." he stated. "Good luck."
"And may the Force be with you." Jayme added.
"The Force bah! The Force died when the jedi vanished." the man sadly stated. Jayme stood up.
"The jedi will return you wait and see." she replied and ignited her lightsaber. "Your talking with two jedi right now."
"Well isn't that something." he said smiling and impressed. The ship docked with the small station and took on the supplies waiting for them. Aric joined the loading crew intent to help them out and saw a ship in the hanger by the back it looked like a YT1300, but when he got to the side he was shocked. It was the ship he designed from pictures of other ships. He couldn't believe his eyes.
"Oh I got to have this." he said.
"You do don't you well that bucket of bolts has been here longer then you have been alive." an old man came up to him. "That ship has three droid brains in it and it was one of the fastest ships around. Two quad laser cannons, proton missile tubes twin turbo lasers and shields that could stand toe to toe with a Corellian Corvette. Yup one fast piece of junk. Doesn't move now two cores are enemy of the third but the third controls the engines and weapons. You can have it if you can move it. Was my ship here is the key card take it for a drive." He started laughing a mad cackle and walked away. Aric smiled even if it would never fly again he would have it. It was wrong to covet the ship, but the engineer in him couldn't let it go. He concentrated and the ship rose a foot and then slammed down. The old man's laughter died and he turned around as Aric moved it again closer to the main docking hatch. "Your a jedi?"
"Yes and I got it to move." Aric said with a bit of pride. "When we finished loading can you kill the gravity in this bay?"
"Sure, sure, anything." the old man said and laughed again this time one that was filled with a bit of hope. "If you do get her flying again watch the thrusters they are a bit touchy." Aric waved as the man walked away mumbling to himself. He looked at the ship and then disappeared through a hatch. As promised the gravity released and Aric lifted the ship easily from the cockpit and guided it to the main hanger bay, and set it down.
"I want a droid team in there to down load the conversion programs into the ships systems. Start with the engines and weapon droid core first, it resisted some how, and if you find out how, maybe we will have a better reversion program out of it." Aric told the bay foreman. "Once the three droids are peaceable again fix her up."
"Aric what is that tin can doing on my ship?" Jayme complained as she walked up. Aric smiled and she smiled back but still looked concerned.
"I thought it was time I got a ship of my own, and this is the perfect ship. I have a design just like and with a bit of work and paint it will be as good as new. Meet the Hawke's Nest."
"Um honey it says Dawn's Horizon on the side, but then again it does look like it has seen its last horizon." she teased him.
"Hey this ship is fast once it is running again that is." Aric stated. "And then it can be our little get away cruiser."
"That is if you can get it to fly." Jayme said sceptically. They got out of the techs way and headed back to the bridge. Two hours later they continued their journey on the way to Coruscant. Seven more weeks and this part of the journey would be over. Jayme and Aric continued to train together more and more as her skills rose not just in martial arts but in lightsaber combat as well. Aric worked on the Hawke's Nest and flew it for the first time three weeks later, and Jayme guided him in the flying then he let her take over and he knew he had a lot to learn as she put the ship to it maximum and a bit over. The controls were not just touchy but down right suicidal. Aric planned that was the next thing to fix among the other hundred or so things still wrong. The droid core that had resisted did have a simpler firewall then they had come up with and with a few tweaks they added it to the data cores. By the end of the seven weeks the ship was flying without fault and even at maximum it didn't stress out the systems they had improved upon. Jayme was at a level similar to what Aric knew when he first turned on a lightsaber, but she was a match with the blade a more instinctual fighter then he was.
They were on the bridge again and maybe for the last time. Coruscant was not just the capital of the Republic but also the main headquarters of the Navy as well. They reverted to normal space and followed the Navy's guidance buoys.
"Perseverance please change course to the following route." Coruscant control ordered.
"Coruscant control this is the Perseverance. Why do you want to place us among civilian traffic?" Jayme replied.
"Perseverance you are not clear for use of the military lanes. They are reserved for the navy." control answered.
"Control this is the Republic Cruiser Perseverance, this ship is a navy vessel." Jayme replied with aggravation in her tone.
"I have no records that your vessel is a navy ship. Head to the stated course or you will be boarded and imprisoned." control threatened.
"Control you can't be serious?" Jayme complained. "This vessel is a navy vessel I know are codes are out of date but you have to have some record. I don't think you want to start an incident in these crowded space lanes. Get naval Command on the horn cause the first ship that get too close will get a taste of what the Perseverance's turbo laser batteries can do."
"Did you say turbo lasers?" control asked. "You got to be bluffing no ship has turbo lasers anymore. They don't work without a droid core controlling most of the systems."
"Control this ship has been in the unknown regions for twenty two years do you really think I am bluffing?" Jayme sternly replied.
"Perseverance this is the Glorious. You can calm down we just arrived and it looks like we have to bail you out." Admiral Carty stated.
"Thank you admiral. I thought you were a head of us." Jayme replied.
"Ah well Captain Stone we are faster but our computers are slower so closer to the core you become faster." Carty answered.
"Perseverance my apologies continue on course. Admiral Carty verified your codes as valid." control stated.
"Thank you control, Perseverance out." Jayme ended the transmission. "Sensors report all traffic ahead."
"Lane is straight and clear of all traffic." Ann reported.
"Good prep for a mini jump I am tired of waiting. You may jump when ready. Let's make them jealous of what they used to be able to do." Jayme ordered. Aric smiled and though a bit risky he felt no warning from the Force. The jump happened and it was over before any effect appeared. Betty got an earful from Coruscant control followed by Navy control. She handle both with tact and refused to let either speak with the captain. The Perseverance was among the largest vessels in the system and she had a point to set with command and it was made to show that she maybe young and inexperienced but she was bold and stubborn also.
A half an hour later they were docked with the station, and the two of them were waiting for the hatch to open. Jayme and Aric had on new uniforms very like jedi robes but with a military cut. Jayme wore her captains rank and other badges that identified her as the captain of the Perseverance, but also identified her as a jedi. Aric wore the same but his rank identified him as a jedi officer. He didn't want to wear the rank but Jayme had convinced him that he would need it, and no naval officer would counter his claim as they both wore lightsabers and that added to the assumed rank. The hatch opened and Jayme and Aric lead her escorts down the tube. Arriving at the other end they were stopped by a young sub commander with security tabs.
"By order of the chief of staff you are hereby relieved of command until a board of review can be assembled. Further you have violated naval regulations and preformed a hazardous mini jump into the system and threatened this system with aggressive actions." the officer declared. "You are hereby ordered to hand over your arms and submit to arrest."
"I am in command of the Perseverance until and only when the Jedi High Council releases the Perseverance from their service. Second both naval and civilian control failed to inform my command that mini jumps were now against regulation as they were common practice in the past. Ignorance is not an excuse but neither is silence." Jayme countered. "By failing to properly address me, I can by right have you arrested. Finally I am a Jedi and that puts you out of the equation. Now step aside, sub commander." Aric wasn't sure if he would, but he did and made an apology to her and she accepted. Aric was seeing a new side to her. Bold, brash and fully confident. All her research and studying of regulations and naval protocol was paying off. How long she could push was a matter yet to be decided. They were escorted to the base commander's office and they were not kept waiting long.
"Captain Stone you have a lot of guts. I'm Admiral Orzo Venoda commander of this base and commander of the 2nd home fleet. I served on a ship like the Perseverance and I am glad to see her return to Republic space. I just got finished reviewing the records of the Perseverance and I honor those orders but you have a problem. The Jedi Council has not left the temple since before the start of the Second Droid Revolution, and many believe they are gone. That also brings up the question on whether or not you can claim to be jedi." he explained. "So the Perseverance is yours for the time being, but not for very long. The military chiefs will make their decision soon and without any input required from you."
"Admiral, I fully understand that my time as the captain of the Perseverance is limited but no officer would take on the ship or her crew of biots. I was also told that a refit of the ship would cost many years and cost more then two similar sized ships. As far as us being jedi it is true and Aric Lorn's father was a jedi master and he was trained in a fashion by his father and Aric has trained me." Jayme replied. "Unless you are willing and you can find a crew willing to work with droids again. I think my command is secure. In the time it took to get here we have isolated the program structure that made the droids revolt and battled with four of their ships, destroyed two while the other two escaped. Not a single of their attacks were effective against the Perseverance."
"Well said, and I agree with you, but the chiefs of staff don't think that way." Venoda stated. "I suggest you start with the Jedi Temple if you can get through their shield and bring them back to the living then I think you will remain the youngest captain to ever serve in the Republic fleet. Come I would like to hear in detail of your journey and this Sol system you come from." His tone prevented any chance to refuse and the meal was exceptional as they both talked about their journey and about Earth, which took several hours. He then toured the ship and Gara Mano gave him a in depth briefing on the biots and what they were and were not. The biots still carried the same names but all had unique faces as it was decided it would make the average being nervous around so many twins. A few had chosen new names like Paniel but many were still deciding theirs. Naval Command issued their decision and Jayme remained in command but the ship would be locked down until a proper inspection could be made of the ship and the new anti droid programing. This was acceptable to Jayme and a relief as she was glad that she was still captain, but no longer wanted to fight to keep it other than the effect it would have on the crew. The next day Jayme and Aric were given clearance to land the Hawke's Nest near the silent jedi temple.
"Do you feel it?" Aric asked as they saw the temple for the first time. "The Force is weaker here."
"Yes, I wonder could they still be alive after all this time?" Jayme asked.
"Who knows. They could have all became one with the force or died from starvation or found a way to live in their prison. They might have had enough food bearing plants to grow crops, but that depends on their population and their supplies at the time." Aric theorized as they approached the temple on one of its bridges.
"We sure have gained a crowd. I think the admiral has a leak. Though we were not silent about being jedi." Jayme stated and waved to the cameras and to the slowly growing crowd behind them. They didn't cheer or shout to them. Aric felt a rising tension from them, and anger. Aric knew the questions they were asking why now why did the these jedi return, or where were they when billions were dying?
"Come on they don't seam to like us very much." Aric said and they increased their pace to the shield. They felt a strong compulsion to leave and go into hiding, but they resisted as their goals conflicted with the shield and once near it they both knew the shield was created and reinforced by the Force.
"This is strong. I don't know what power it would take to knock it down but I believe not even a nuke could penetrate the shield and if it did it would destroy the temple." Jayme said as Aric felt the shield. He activated his lightsaber and struck it and bounced back but when he pushed it through it showed no resistance. Jayme tried with hers and showed the same effect. Aric tried to touch it but it threw his hand back but didn't harm him.
"A puzzle to solve indeed." Aric stated.
"Try to force it open maybe we can open a hole using the Force?" Jayme questioned.
"This shield is like a lightsaber we could cut the Force part of the shield but so long as they have power we still can't go through." Aric theorized.
"Okay then two blades at once?" Jayme suggested. She activated her blade and so did Aric. A line appeared connecting the two blades and Aric tried his second blade and a triangle opening formed. They smiled at each other and made the hole larger and jumped through.
"Holonet news here I just witnessed the two possible jedi have breached the shield to the temple they have breached the shield. It is still unknown where they come from or what they plan to do?" The reporter explained. "But with not seeing a single jedi for fifteen years it remains to be seen. Many questions have been asked as to why the jedi vanished and many blame them for not seeing the droid revolt and stopping..."
"I lost contact with the ship." Jayme reported.
"That is to be expected." Aric replied as he worked on opening the door. "Wish we could have brought a droid with us. It is going to take time to open this door." Jayme walked up to the door and waved. She jumped back as it suddenly opened. Aric then felt dumb that he didn't try that first as he went straight to the control panel.
"After you." Jayme offered amused by what he felt. He swatted her behind as he walked into the corridor filled with plants. A few strikes and they could walk through unhindered. They saw no one as they walked down this long straight corridor, but the fruit on the plants was a sign that someone lived here. The second thing they felt the force even stronger here then outside. The hall ended in the room of a thousand fountains. "Stunningly beautiful and sad." They paused taking in the view and feeling renewed strength. Here was peace and it lifted them up. They heard laughter from children and they both followed the sound. Reaching the far end of the room they spotted six children about ten years of age and both thought that odd. The children saw them and after a quick discussion the oldest boy approached them. Aric and Jayme smiled at the boy and squatted down as he got close.
"You are strangers, yet I feel the force in you. Have you come from the outside?" the boy asked.
"Yes, we have come a long way to speak with the Jedi Council. Could you take us to them?" Jayme asked as she smiled at the boy.
"You should not have come. No one is allowed to leave the temple." the boy answered.
"We entered and we can leave the same way." Aric stated, but the boy still looked skeptical.
"Run along children I will deal with the strangers." A young female ordered and the children scattered. "I would have been her sooner but lifts have been unpredictable and I didn't want to be delayed by getting stuck. I am Padawan Urela the masters have been expecting you."
"I am Jedi Adept Aric Lorn and this is Jedi Adept Jayme Stone." Aric replied to her greeting and bowed just like she did.
"Pleasure to meet you if you will follow me." she turned and walked away. They followed her and were lost within minutes. Not because she was deliberately taking a circular route, but that was how the temple was built. Every hall they traveled and every room they crossed was filled with plant life. Some sections with fruit and some without. They passed other jedi from young to a few that were older. None of them stopped the three, but they paused to let them by or to watch them pass. Aric got the feeling that maybe all of them were younglings or padawans. They had yet to see anyone their age or older, but without adults where did the children come from?
"We will take the lift here to the council chamber. It is the only dependable lift remaining." Urela informed them as she hit the call button and the door opened. She walked in first and Aric followed Jayme in. The ride up was not as quick as it could have been, but was smooth and the doors opened quickly once they arrived. "Down the hall is the council chambers. From here you may go along. They walked out and saw no plants in the hall except for the occasional pot. Aric felt Jayme's nervousness and he was nervous also he had taken time to look up the information on the members of the jedi council and most had been masters for years. Aric took Jayme's hand and they walked together down the hall to the chamber and looked at each other before entering. This was not a small room like in the movies but a large room more like the video games, but Aric felt their power as they all stared at them. Aric automatically started counting cards in his head and that made a few raise their eyebrows or the equivalent. When they reached the center they stopped and waited. Aric looked from one to the other. They all looked at peace and calm. Time had not been too easy on some or they were just very old.
"It has been a long time since a jedi has returned to this temple, Master Lorn. Truly a long time. We thought you had perished on your mission and yet you return to us, but I sense there is a difference in you and your padawan is strong in the force." Master Vronik, a species that reminded Aric of Yoda but he was a bit larger and gray instead of green. And he had dark thick black hair.
"Master Vronik it is a pleasure to be here but though I carry the Lorn name I am not Jorus but his son Aric. My father was absorbed by the one called Darth Gorith and that is one of the reasons we have come." Aric corrected him. The master laughed, but the others saw not his amusement.
"I stand corrected. Your strength in the force and what I see is just like your father's signature, and that is not unheard of in blood relatives. Rare in children to match the parent. There is something you are not telling us." Master Vronik replied.
"My father failed in his mission to stop Darth Gorith and he escaped the Sol system in my father's ship. He left a memory of knowledge I would need and it has taught me much of how to be a jedi. That is what you feel of him in me." Aric explained.
"Ah a memory node, yes a skill some jedi possess. A holocron can extract it and place it to rest. You must learn the skill to do so or it will harm you over time." A Cerean Master replied. "That you learned the force from it has never been heard possible. Your father must of placed much of his knowledge in the memory. Tell us how long has this memory been inside of your mind?"
"Since I was five years old, about seventeen years." Aric answered.
"Then now I know why I brought this with me today." the master floated a holocron in front of him. Aric felt drawn to it and took it through the force and pulled it closer to him. "The process is simple to learn and it will draw out the memory node and settle in the holocron. Your knowledge of the force shall remain intact. You simply must concentrate on the memory and let it go. A hard thing it might be for you, but a greater understanding of your father you will gain."
Aric nodded to them and looked to Jayme and she smiled and her face showed hopeful. He looked at the cube and searched for the node and he found it. He knew it contain much more then he ever expected, but it was ready for this and it showed him how not just to let the memories go but how to charge a holocron himself. He didn't know he had started the process until the knowledge pored out from him. The knowledge he had already learned flowed out first and then the knowledge of how he fought the droids so long ago was revealed and it was his father that had fought, and not him. That is why he had little memory of fighting them himself. The memories turned into a blur as skills and abilities he was not yet ready to learn or understand pored out. It pained him to lose so much that he didn't know of his father, but his father's presence calmed him and made him understand it was for the best. A feeling of peace and happiness filled him as the process ended. Though he felt he had lost a part of himself he gained the knowledge that this part of his father was free.
"It is done." the master stated as the holocron floated back to him. "This will give us a full picture of what happened with your father's mission and to him. In time we will allow you to study it and gain what knowledge you need from him, but much you already know. Tell us of the Perseverance and her special crew. Are they alive to you or are they as dead as any droid?"
"If I may masters, I am the captain of the Perseverance as my father was. I saw them as human way before I truly felt them with the force, and now that I have seen a holocron I can tell you that they are similar in function. They are machines, but with a organic system that serves as a vessel. They contain the memories of the host they were copied from but not the host. Each are unique with the same starting point. You can feel them in the force and they appear different from a human, but as I said they are as human as any. Each has their own desires and feelings. One among them is the host. A scientist that died during the transfer process. For a long time she had no memory of it. With our help she has excepted her new life and freed from the pain of transfer. She is a Twilek and in her I feel her the same as I did from the few other Twilek I have felt. In her I feel her soul." Jayme finished her explanation and it shocked some of the masters and others just nodded. They were silent for a few minutes as her words sunk in.
"It is good that I feel from you that the knowledge to do so has been lost." Master Vronik said. "No one should be forced in another body to continue living as a machine. The fact it took a jedi to heal the damage that was caused to complete the process speaks much about the dangers. I believe a master would not of made the same choice he would have saw that she was trapped here and would have released her to the force. I would like to meet her and see the effect myself and to know if I am right in my thoughts. Tell us what else brought you to the temple. I feel it bothers you greatly."
"Why have you locked yourselves away when the galaxy needed you more. The droids revolted and the Republic is in pieces. Billions died did you not feel it. Even now they continue to fight and suffer. I felt it on this planet. The jedi were a symbol of hope and you took it all away when you locked yourself in this temple. Are you so dead to the world that you forgot the living?" Aric replied and felt anger and it was an effort to calm himself. "When we came in here the crowd that gathered was not hopeful but angry as I am now."
"Then I advice you to let go of your anger. This will be difficult to explain but our lack of action was necessary." Master Vronik explained. "Many jedi felt the growing warning and we sent many out to find the source of the troubles to come. As others gained insight a decision was made. A very difficult one to forsake the ones we have sworn to protect, but vital. All the masters saw a darkness coming and each felt that we could not stop it as we were. To do so would have destroyed us all. We prepared and made the temple self sufficient able to support many more then was here. We did send out some of the jedi to watch or the ones who had no opposite in our order. They were given one additional request to find a mate, and raise children or if they were unwilling to form such an attachment then to find a few pupils to teach. This has not been the first time we have allowed our order to grow in such a way, but the first time we did when we had many instead of a few. In such a controlled environment our students have grown in the force far faster then before. They lack experience in skills such as needed in negotiations, but have learned from the masters and knights here in the Temple what they can. It is not our time to return as they are not yet knights or padawans. In five years we will double our number and in ten quadruple the amount of knights. Then we can return to the universe and heal the damage that has been caused."
"So that is it. The Republic must wait ten more years as planet after planet dies fighting the droids when we have come and in the time it took to get here we already have a way to fight back and put droids back under the control of the sentient species that they were designed to assist." Aric replied. "Then continue to hide, but it would have been better if you had vanished or gone to Dantooine. At least there you could have had room for all the jedi and not in this prison you have created."
"There is an enclave on Dantooine and there the exiled jedi have gathered, and many of the former students that we trained but didn't advance to padawan status." one master answered and was silenced.
"That is not needed in this discussion." Master Vronik warned. "You have brought much to us. Your father's mission, the knowledge to fight the droids, and this we must study and discuss privately. Go now but do not leave as there is much that you still have to learn." Aric looked at each master in turn and felt concern. They were hiding something from them. Something that would make him understand the true threat why they felt they needed to hide where they were in plain site. Aric turned and walked out. While Jayme stayed for another reason. One Aric felt was private even if he knew the subject.
"Masters one thing has remained to be discussed. The fate of the Perseverance and her crew. Twenty three years ago the ship was assigned to the jedi order and has now returned to a universe that fears droids. One that I feel will not except them, but rather destroy them. Can I have your decision now on whether the Perseverance remains in the hands of the jedi order or shall it be returned to the Republic Navy?" Jayme requested.
"We have not reviewed Jorus Lorn's holocron. Rest assured that will be the first thing we do. His mission was important and the threat of Darth Gorith is linked to the Perseverance her crew was designed to hunt him. Why they were not used remains undiscovered at this time." Master Vronik replied. "I can tell you this, the Perseverance is no longer your ship and has left this system. We transmitted a series of orders and the crew followed them before you arrived in this chamber."
"Why? That action has certainly caused them to be listed as enemy." Jayme asked shocked.
"We are not completely isolated here a select few know the truth and helped in the departure. More we can not say." Master Vronik stated. Jayme stared at him then stormed out of the chamber. Aric saw her approach as he waited for the lift. "The nerve they sent my ship away with her captain. Let's leave here I don't feel comfortable." the lift arrived and they got on and it started its slow descent as the doors closed.
"We will but not without hearing their answer. I would also like to have my father's holocron." Aric replied. "I do wonder what caused them to act?"
"They said the biots were created to hunt Darth Gorith, so I assume that is what they will do. I just don't understand, how do they expect them to find Gorith without help from the Republic?" Jayme asked. Aric didn't know, but the masters believed they could. They met Padawan Urela as they reached the bottom.
"I am to be your guide until you learn your way around." Urela said as they came out. "I will show you your quarters and then show you to the cafeteria as I am hungry and I am sure you are as well." She started to walk with her and she continued. "From there I can show you the classrooms and exercise rooms. I know you will love it here."
"Love it here? Your tone implies that we are staying, and that is something I am not willing to accept." Aric replied. "You are right that we are growing hungry but after we eat I want to see the library first."
"Oh I thought the masters would tell you couldn't leave. I just assumed, but you are staying for a little while? I so much want to hear about what it is like on the outside. Not just what we have in the data files." Urela asked.
"We could tell you little as we only saw a few starports and flew directly here to the temple, but we can tell you about Earth the planet we come from and I doubt you have read about it." Jayme replied. She started telling her a general history of Earth and somethings Aric knew and others he didn't. Urela absorbed the information like a sponge.
"So here we are this will be your quarters Adept Lorn and across the hall is Adept Stone's quarters. It is rare to be given these quarters without passing the trials as they are assigned only to knights." Urela explained.
"We will use the same quarters as we are a couple. As far as the quarters are concerned we are not members of the order and Jayme is a Captain of the Republic Navy and my rank as a officer was not challenged." Aric replied.
"You can't, the council approves all pairings, but I