Chapter Thirty-Six

32 BBY

~ Kya Ranor ~
As I sat there waiting for the Masters to forge their links to Master Jinn, a strange thought appeared to me. If, perchance, anyone wandered in during our meditation, we would look very strange indeed. A young woman sitting on the floor with a young man down on one knee beside her and thirteen older adults sitting on a circle around the two young people, all with their eyes closed yet clearly not asleep.

I felt Obi-Wan's smile as his affection floated across our bond. Your thoughts are very strange today, he mused. First completely strategic; then totally pessimistic; and now you're about to laugh about how funny we look like this.

I returned the affection smoothly with a bit of a mischievous tint.

Hormones, he declared quietly. I'm blaming all of this on hormones. He paused for a moment while I smirked. After all, that was your first time, wasn't it? His tone was softer now, and a tinge of concern hovered about it.

I hesitated. Finally, I decided to go on the offensive. Is this really the time to go talking about this? I challenged.

Yes. Are you okay? Now all I could sense from him was outright concern.

I groaned inwardly. If Obi-Wan kept this up, he'd end up a mindless worrying wreck. Obi-Wan Kenobi, will you just stop worrying already?!

I can't help it, he protested weakly. Girls are different, and they can be –

Fragile my butt! I snapped, sensing where he was going with that line. If something was wrong, you'd know about it already. In fact, you probably –

I am still blaming all of this on hormones.

Master Jinn cleared his throat abruptly, cutting neatly into our conversation.

In a way, maybe it was a good thing he had. This argument was getting rather heated, and a full out argument would create a dark tension that no Master would miss. And that would be rather obvious about the affection between us.

I opened my eyes to see Master Jinn nodding. "Everything's been prepared, apprentice. When you're ready?"

I closed my eyes again and reached out to the Force for strength. This was going to give me a lot of mental pain, besides the fact that it would be physically taxing as well. I would need as much energy as the Force could give me.

Then I exhaled, settled my mind, and reached out to the Force-meld that we had constructed.

~ Anakin Skywalker ~
I yelped when the training droid's laser zapped me and glared at the offending droid. Come on. On Tatooine, my Force-strengthened reflexes had seemed so much better. Now . . . Now it seemed like nothing I did was good enough.

I wish Kya was here. Or Master Qui-Gon. Or even Obi-Wan. Kya would help me, no doubt about it, but she was stuck in some sort of Jedi Council meeting with Master Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. She would be able to give me good advice. If Master Qui-Gon were here, he'd begin teaching me more Jedi techniques, as he had been for the last few days. He and Kya had reassured me that once Obi-Wan took the Trials and was Knighted, I would officially become Master Qui-Gon's apprentice and undergo real training, just like they all had when they were young.

And even though the relationship between Obi-Wan and me was still a bit rocky, it was more relaxed. Obi-Wan had confided in me that he was ready for Knighthood, and although he would miss Master Qui-Gon's presence, he said that he believed that I needed Master Qui-Gon more now and he was ready to give him up.

I startled out of these thoughts when I got zapped again. Cursing under my breath in fluent Huttese, I stomped a short distance away to rub my arm. An amused laugh from the doorway startled me, and I whirled around.

A young woman with blonde hair and blue eyes stood in the doorway. After I squinted for a moment, I realized she was a Jedi too. And a Padawan as well, if the braid on her shoulder was any indication.

"Who are you?" I asked politely.

The woman came closer. She had a confident stride that made her Jedi cloak billow out behind her, displaying her lightsaber on her belt. "I'm Siri Tachi, Master Gallia's apprentice. And you are?"

"I'm Anakin Skywalker."

Padawan Tachi nodded. "And your Master?"

I hesitated. After all, Master Qui-Gon really wasn't my Master yet, but what else could I say? "Well. . . It's kinda hard to say. Master Jinn says he'll take me as his Padawan as soon as Padawan Kenobi passes the Trials. So . . . he's not really my Master yet, but he acts like it."

"I see." She glanced over my head briefly. "I take it he hasn't really taught you how to fight these droids, has he?"

"No," I muttered. "Actually, he told me not to bother with them yet. But meditation is so boring! I can't do that all day!"

Padawan Tachi started laughing. "Oh, dear. I can see that Master Jinn is going to have his hands full with you. Here, let me help you."

She ignited her lightsaber as she walked over to the droids, and I stared in amazement at the violet blade. Obi-Wan and Kya both had blue blades, and Master Qui-Gon had green, and that Sith warrior had had red, but I'd never seen a violet blade before.

The droid beeped as it moved its focus on a target from me to her. A moment later, Padawan Tachi was weaving in and out, dodging as many bolts that had hit me while deflecting the rest. Her violet blade became a violet blur that seemed to be at once everywhere and nowhere. The Force flowed seamlessly around her as she effortlessly defended herself.

I found that I could barely keep up, even with the Force to aid me.

Suddenly there was a loud beep that startled me out of my dazed trance. Padawan Tachi deactivated her lightsaber and turned to me with a thoughtful smile. "I think I know why you have a problem, apprentice," she said. Walking over to the shelves, she rummaged around in them for a second before straightening again.

I raised an eyebrow in surprise when I realized that she was holding a black cloth in her hands. But before I could ask what she was doing, she had come up behind me and was tying the blindfold securely around my eyes.

"Ignite your lightsaber," she ordered, stepping away.

"I can't see! How am I supposed to defend myself if I can't even see so that I don't accidentally end up slicing myself apart with my own blade?" I protested.

She laughed. "This is the answer to your problem. At home, the Force seemed to come naturally to you, right? Easily and quickly – almost instinctual."

"Um . . . yeah." How does she know that?

"You see, you haven't yet learned how to the Force on purpose, like most of us have," Padawan Tachi explained briskly. "And it's all right – you're still only an Initiate. Your abilities lie in your instincts – when you aren't thinking. So don't think, and don't rely on your eyes or ears. Rely on what you have always relied on – the Force."

"How?"

"Well, that you'll have to figure out yourself," she said, her tone slightly apologetic. "But once you know how to touch the Force for an extended period of time outside using it for reflexes or the danger sense, it'll be easier for you to start using the Force on purpose for other things, like telekinesis and telepathy."

Reluctantly, I activated my practice blade. I made a mental note to ask Kya if what this lady said was true. Then I turned my attention to concentrating on the sound of the droid – and on the humming sound of my blade. I didn't feel like cutting my own leg off.

That whish – is it over there? No, it can't be. . . It was over here a second ago. . . Where's my blade? Is it at a proper angle to deflect a shot from here? Maybe – OUCH!

Despite my effort, I found myself failing miserably. Now I'm getting zapped even more than when my eyes were open. This hurts. I groaned as I got hit again.

"Stop thinking. Just let go, and trust in the Force," Padawan Tachi commanded.

I glared in her direction. She's laughing at me, isn't she? And why wouldn't she? She had so effortlessly deflected everything, and I couldn't even block one.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, clearing my thoughts. I remembered how Kya had warned me that anger was not an emotion Jedi indulged in. Suddenly, I felt a strange urge to turn just there and bring the blade up just here. I jumped when a shot connected with my blade. Elation filled me. I did it!

Remembering Padawan's Tachi's warning not to think, I cleared my elated thoughts away and allowed myself to feel the subtle nudges that I'd never noticed before. They told me to turn this way, and move that much, and shift over, and a million other things.

I abruptly realized that suddenly I could sense where everything was around me. It was the same thing I saw with my eyes open, I knew, but somehow . . . better. I could sense that droid there, and Padawan Tachi behind me, and the book lying on the floor there. I could smell the faint ozone smell as more shots connected with my blade. I could hear the subtle clicks as the droids sent off the shots. I could feel every flaw in the hilt I held, and could feel how to use it just so – so that I destroyed my enemies without sticking my neck out too far.

And everything seemed . . . connected. Like strange, glowing strings wove everything together, inside and outside, so that if, perhaps, I reached out and twitched one, something would move in response.

This is amazing, I thought. Is this what Jedi see?

When the session was done, I pulled off the blindfold to see Padawan Tachi's stunned expression. Her eyes were wide with amazement as she looked at me with newfound respect. "Wow," she managed to say. "You're a natural, Skywalker. I've never seen anyone get it that quickly."

I grinned and offered her a respectful bow. "Thank you very much for showing me how, Padawan Tachi," I murmured politely.

A slow smile crept across her face. "I have a feeling that we are going to get along very well, Skywalker. Well, now that you've mastered this, how about I show you how to move things with your mind?"

I blinked. "Really?" She nodded. "Show me, show me, show me!"

Yeah, I get the feeling I'll get along with you very well too.

~ Siri Tachi ~
The sound of footsteps called me out of meditation. Rising, I peered down the path to see someone walking slowly across the grounds. She was dressed in Jedi robes, and I could feel a hidden aura about her, as if she concealed both great power and great secrets.

Then I recognized her as the Jedi apprentice who'd been standing next to Obi-Wan when I had walked out of my briefing.

I remembered how I'd thought of her as odd, presuming to have the authority to order the Council around. And the flash of surprise coupled with pained recognization I'd sensed from her before her shields had rammed down around her mind was unusual too, seeing as I really couldn't remember ever meeting her, even though I had gone though every single memory I could call up.

I decided to find out who she was . . . now.

"Excuse me?" I called, striding over to her. "Excuse me!"

She stopped and turned, giving me a better look. She had long brown hair that fell well past her shoulders and dark blue eyes that flickered with deep emotions. Her Padawan braid was mostly unadorned, which surprised me. She seemed old enough to have achieved and wear most of the markers senior Padawans wore.

Well, at least I thought she looked old enough. She looked young, about my age, but at the same time seemed older. It was like her body was merely her physical age, whereas her eyes showed her true age. . . She was so strange.

Now I'm definitely sure that I've never met her before. . . I would remember someone so strange, so unique. So why did I sense a flash of recognization from her earlier?

"Ah. Siri Tachi," she said, smiling warmly. But her smile was a bit distracted, as if something was already on her mind and was bugging her.

Oh. So she knows me. Now how in blazes did she get to know me without me knowing her? I decided to use a diplomatic tact. "You have the advantage over me. You know my name, but I do not know yours."

She laughed, and I sensed her full attention turn to our conversation. "Nice try. I know that trick. But in any case, my name is Kya Ranor."

I looked up sharply when I heard the last name. I know that name. "Ranor? From the Ranor line on Alderaan?"

Kya blinked, and surprise emanated from her. Finally. I was starting to think she couldn't feel surprise. "Well, yes – but how did you know that?" she asked, astonishment plain in her tone.

I stepped closer, not believing the fact that I was talking of a Jedi with this last name. "My Master and I were sent to investigate what was dubbed the Ranor incident by the request of the Alderaanian Senator two years ago," I told her. "There was a strange crash that no one seemed to understand, and they hoped we could solve it. I didn't know that there was Jedi from that family."

"You wouldn't," she said matter-of-factly; apparently she had recovered from her surprise. "I'm the first ever in that family born with the ability to touch the Force."

A thought occurred to me. "If you're part of that family, why didn't they send you and your Master to investigate?" I asked. "Wouldn't you have wanted to pay your last respects to your parents?"

Kya shifted uneasily. "The Council wanted to send an impartial team," she said finally. "I don't think I count as impartial."

"I'm sorry," I said, realizing my mistake a bit too late. Well, my Master always said I was a bit too impulsive for diplomacy. I cast about for another question to break the awkward silence. "Were you assigned to Naboo recently?"

"No. I chose to accompany Master Jinn and Obi-Wan here when they were ordered back with Queen Amidala."

I frowned at her words. "You chose? Who's your master?" I asked suspiciously. Even I didn't get to pick and chose my missions, and my Master was on the Jedi Council.

"He's on assignment on Utapau," she answered quickly – too quickly. "He decided to leave me behind because the mission was rather . . . dangerous."

My frown deepened. "But you're a senior Padawan! Surely you would be more a help than a burden! What kind of Master would – "

"The kind of Master who values the safety of his Padawan," Kya said flatly. The Force coiled around her as tension filled the air. "My Master made his choice. And the Council agreed with him. Ego has no place in a Jedi's heart. I have no doubt that he can deal with this issue. He too sits on the Council, Padawan Tachi."

The way she spoke my name sent a chill down my spine. The tone is so cold I'm surprised the words don't freeze up in the air.

She inclined her head shortly. "Good night." Then she strode off, her cloak billowing behind her.

I stared after her. Why had she reacted so strongly to the mention of her Master? And who is her Master, anyway?

I pondered the question for a moment. It wasn't Masters Yoda or Windu. Or Masters Ki-Adi-Mundi or Billaba. I knew all of them, and none of them currently had a Padawan. Or, for that matter, were on assignment on Utapau.

Where in blazes is this Utapau anyway? I should ask my Master to see which Master is on assignment there.

I'll find out who you are, Kya Ranor, I swore. I will find out.