Forty-Nine
([{I}]) ([{I}])
The walk to the Ferroan village had been a long one, over five standard hours, and filled with enough visual stimulus to leave the already awed Jedi in a state of stunned reverence when they finally emerged from the tampasi.
Everywhere they had looked it was as though Zonama was made up of millions upon millions of tiny universes all working in perfect harmony. The trunks of the near-sentient boras supported dozens of species of plants and fungi, which in turn provided homes and food for brightly colored insects. These iridescent insects fluttered around through the brilliant array of colored flowers and leaves, helping to spread the pollen or carry tiny seeds to a distant location. Some of the insect became a meal for the tiny lizard and arachnid-like creatures that prowled the upper boughs of the tampasi, each doing their own part in the individual eco-system that formed around each of the boras. These smaller creatures were in turn devoured by birds or larger animals, who made their nests in the higher branches, or in the ground within tangled systems of roots. Once these larger creatures passed on, their bodies provided food for the smallest of the life forms, completing the cycle of life.
This symbiotic harmony wasn't confined to just the 'wilderness.' During the trip to the village, the Jedi had seen the kybo, sentient airships piloted by Ferroans to harvest fruit from the upper reaches of the towering boras. Like a Yuuzhan Vong ship, the pilots of these kybo formed a bond to it. Unlike the Yuuzhan Vong, the bond was reciprocal, with both sides taking care of the other.
'Night' had come and gone, the shadow of the gas giant Mobus blocking out all light and allowing a whole new wave of life to shine forth. Greens, purples, and oranges lit up the forest floor all around the Jedi as creatures emerged from their daytime-hideaways and illuminated the living world with their stunning array of bioluminescence. The soft light they emitted was enough to allow the Jedi to see where they were going and was yet example of how Zonama continued to amaze and stun them.
The entire planet was teeming with life, filling the senses of the Jedi to the brim. The Force, and all of its wonders, pulsating through every cell in their bodies, permeating the air and flooding through every grain of dirt beneath their feet. Every one of their senses was on overload.
The shrill calls of translucent, long-feathered birds joined with the echoing cries of the six-legged, long-tongued, insect-eating creatures prowling through the fat leaves, and a myriad of other creatures; the natural cadence of a world in harmony sounded from all around them.
Brightly colored insects, flowers, and creatures, all went about their business, ignoring the passing of the Jedi and their guide. The shapes and sizes of the life forms within the tampasi were varied and many, present everywhere one looked. It was visual proof of the magnificence of the diverse world around them.
They could smell the rich scents of the massive flowers hanging down from twisting vines, the pleasant smell of sweet fruits being wafted by the gentle breeze. The earthy odor of a forest rich with life assailed their noses with every step they took.
The feel of the soil, the pulsating rhythm of life around them. The taste of the jungle air, humid and warm. It was as though they had been enfolded into the very fabric of life that was Zonama Sekot. It was very tempting to just grow roots and sink them down into the soil to become one with the planet. Nowhere else in the galaxy was everything in such perfect harmony. Nowhere else in the galaxy did the Force reverberate so strongly through each and every living thing around them.
And we're asking the Ferroans, we're asking Sekot, to give up this balance, Anakin thought sadly, holding out a finger and marveling at the emerald green butterfly that had landed on it. The Jedi had arrived at the village several hours ago and received a fairly frosty welcome from the occupants. It was clear that the Ferroans were not at all keen about leaving their cozy little corner of the galaxy. While Luke, Mara, and Vergere continued talks with Sekot, Jaina, Jacen, and himself had been allowed to explore the immediate area around the village. It was how Anakin found himself reclined against a large rock in the middle of an open field of flowers.
"Whatcha doing?" a young Ferroan girl's voice startled Anakin from his thoughts.
Anakin glanced about and saw one of the blue-skinned Ferroan's staring at him with wide-eyed innocence through reeds of grass taller than herself.
"Just thinking," Anakin said with a smile. "How about you?"
"Just watchin'," she said, her black-gold eyes almost sparkling in the light of the sun. "Are you really a Jedi? The older ones tell stories about them all the time."
"You could say so," Anakin shrugged.
"And you have two lightsabers?"
"Huh?" Anakin glanced at where she was pointing and realized that he had left his red-bladed one clipped to his belt, right behind his lambent saber.
"I guess I do."
"What color are they?" She asked, taking several, cautious steps closer to him.
"Do you want to see?"
"Oh no," the girl shook her head. "They're dangerous!"
"That's true," Anakin said. "But Jedi don't need lightsabers to be dangerous."
The girl nodded in agreement. "Anakin killed a Blood Carver without one."
Anakin Solo blinked. "Huh?"
"Anakin," the girl said. "He killed a Blood Carver and he didn't need a lightsaber."
"When was this?" Anakin said slowly.
"When he came with his Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi to see the ships," the girl said. "At least that's what the stories told by the older people say. They say that you're also Anakin. Can you kill without a lightsaber too?"
"If I had to protect someone," Anakin nodded. Though he wasn't as surprised that his grandfather and Obi-Wan had come to the planet, after all, Ahsoka had told him this when he had met her, he was a little surprised that Anakin Skywalker had killed someone without a lightsaber. Going by the image of the young boy Sekot had taken the form of, his grandfather couldn't have been older than thirteen when he had done so. "Was Anakin protecting someone when he killed that Blood Carver?"
"Uh huh, the Magister, when she was a little girl," the young Ferroan's head bobbed as she referred to the spiritual leader of the Ferroan people and their primary 'medium' through which the Ferroans communicated with Sekot.
"Oh, then it's…" Anakin trailed off as he felt something wrong with his surroundings. He quickly glanced back to the little girl. "What's your name?"
"Tescia."
"Okay, Tescia. It's going to be very important that you listen to what I say," Anakin said slowly, as to not alarm her. "Can you please come here and stand up on this rock? Bad people are coming and I don't want you to get hurt."
Though she looked at him suspiciously, she nodded once and clambered up onto the rock Anakin had been leaning against.
Seconds ticked by.
Anakin loosened his red lightsaber.
"Do-ro'ik vong pratte!"
The red blade flashed through the air and sliced apart a lunging warrior in mid-air. Another warrior burst out of the tall grass, grabbing Anakin's saber arm and forcing the weapon from the Jedi's hand. Anakin head-butted the warrior, then kicked him away. With a flourish, he activated his purple lightsaber, and impaled the warrior when the Yuuzhan Vong tried to charge again.
Two more warriors erupted out of the surrounding grass, one of them hurling an amphistaff. Anakin deflected the flying weapon and whirled around to avoid the slashing attack of the second warrior. His purple saber flashed once more, and the second warrior fell to the ground without a head.
Another two warriors emerged to support the surviving one. Anakin effortlessly glided between their attacks and downed them one by one. Just when the battle appeared to be his victory, however, a startled cry rang out.
"Drop your lightsaber Jeedai, or I will kill the girl!" The last warrior of the group snarled.
Anakin spun around to see that the scarred warrior was holding a coufee to Trescia's neck. The golden-black eyes of the Ferroan girl were wide with terror as the warrior tightened his grip on her small form.
"Drop it!"
"Alright!" Anakin held out his arms to his side and let his lambent saber fall from his hands.
The warrior sneered victoriously and moved to finish off the girl with his coufee. "Foolish Jeed…"
The blade began to dig in, but the look of victory suddenly disappeared as the warrior found himself unable to breathe. The coufee tumbled out of his hand, and his grip on Tescia slackened. The warrior staggered, eyes bulging in agony. Flailing, he collapsed to his knees and gasped for air. Tescia was able to wiggle free, and promptly darted behind Anakin's legs for shelter.
Anakin, in the meantime, looked on dispassionately, using the Force to compress the air around the warrior with an ever-closing hand. Much like Tahiri had done to the shapers when she had been captured on Yavin 4, he was using the very air around the warrior to compact and crush the warrior's vital organs, deny the warrior's lungs the oxygen it so desperately needed. The warrior wheezed, gasped, capillaries in his eyes bursting, blood beginning to drip from his ruptured eardrums. And with a final closed fist, there was a popping noise, and the warrior collapsed like a limp puppet, all of his vital internal organs bursting at once from the intense pressure.
Slowly, Anakin unclenched his fist. "It's okay now," Anakin said to the girl hiding in his shadow. "He won't hurt you anymore."
Anakin summoned both of his lightsabers into his hands and turned around. It was then he saw his gob smacked audience. All of whom had rushed over upon feeling his initial conflict with the Yuuzhan Vong warriors.
Anakin glanced at Vergere, his siblings, aunt, and uncle. "Oh Sithspit."
([{II}]) ([{II}])
"A swearing contest?" Doran chuckled, watching Mereel Skirata host one of the many competitions occurring around the general area of the Kyrimorut.
"That wasn't exactly what I had in mind when I came up with the idea of a competition between clans," Sannah said with a giggle as Mandalorians from several different clans began reciting swear words first in Mando'a, then in the various languages they were familiar with.
The two young Jedi were seated at a large banquet table that had been brought out to accommodate the many hungry Mandalorians who had showed up for the first ever inter-clan physical and mental athletics competition. The name still had much to be desired, but at least the competition was an undeniable success.
There were nearly a dozen clans present, with representatives from other clans arriving as word of mouth spread. In addition to their usual competitiveness and clan-rivalries, the Mandalorians all seemed eager to prove their worth and get their minds off of the coming invasion.
Needless to say, Sannah's idea had been fully embraced by all who arrived. The puzzles and various competitions had been put together by Etain Skirata, Mereel, and Sannah, with help from the rest of Clan Skirata. There were Mandalorians scaling the sheer cliff face Doran had looked over days before. Mandalorians shooting targets from moving speeders. Mandalorians wrestling in hand-to-hand combat. And then there were others who were programming droids to fight not only each other, but also to take on other Mandalorians. Mandalorians in deathtraps who had to slice their way into a variety of computers to escape. And Mandalorians on hunting expeditions with only a vibroblade and a loin cloth.
There were also other, non-military challenges for the civilian families who had come. Cooking competitions—which had Fi and Atin as two of the judges—races, swimming, and the like, were interspersed in the area around the Kyrimorut. The event had truly become a 'family' outing.
Doran's and Sannah's attentions were rooted on one spot in particular. In the ring for 'best duelist,' Dinua was successfully fending off three larger, bulkier Mandalorians as they sparred with quarterstaffs. Naturally, being Mandalorian quarterstaffs, shock-prods had been affixed to either end. Dinua's quarterstaff buzzed loudly as the tip of her staff made contact with the back of one of her opponents. Then buzzed again as it impacted with the mid-section of another. The third, trying to overwhelm her with his sheer size and power, had his head jerked back as Dinua jammed the quarterstaff directly into his chin. As other Mandalorians dragged the three unconscious Mandos to a pile of seven other stunned competitors, others glanced encouragingly at each other; neither wanting to be the next person to face Dinua, but not wanting to be seen backing down from her either.
"Ade," Sannah sighed, much to Doran's amusement. She looked to him. "You'll be okay if I go teach the Mando's how it's done?"
Doran let out a laugh. "Yeah. Go ahead."
Sannah left, and Jintar took her place. "Twenty credits Sannah won't last five minute with Dinua."
Doran raised an eyebrow and made a counter offer. "Fifty credits Sannah will win."
Jintar glanced back to the fighting ring. The mocha-skinned Melodie teen had shrugged off her outer robe, leaving her in a dark tank-top that exposed her midsection and a loose pair of pants. She picked up one of the discarded shock-staffs and tested its weight. Dinua seemed to welcome Sannah with a grin, twirling her shock-staff intimidatingly. Sannah wasn't fazed, though, and the two teens squared off as other Mandalorians came to watch. "You're on."
The action was every bit as fast, if not faster, than when Dinua was facing the three Mandalorians. Even without using the Force, Sannah was a blur. The clacks and hisses of their shock-staffs meeting were rapid-fire in their pace. The few Mandalorians who had been joking about Sannah's participation fell silent, their jaws dropping. Even after going through her ten opponents, Dinua hadn't broken a sweat. Now, however, her rich brown eyes were sharp with concentration as she countered, then defended against Sannah's accurately aimed strikes.
"Is it too late to take back that bet?" Jintar whistled.
"Go ahead," Doran said absently, likewise shocked at the display. He had yet to see Sannah in action beyond the training lessons they had been giving to Clan Skirata and the neighboring clans. He had known Dinua would be an excellent teacher for Sannah. What he hadn't realized was just how excellent a teacher the Mandalorian teen would be.
The silence in the clearing spread, interrupted only by the vigorous clacking and hissing of the shock-staffs. A growing audience was forming as Sannah surpassed the time mark her three predecessors had set. There was one solid clack of the staffs, and both broke in two at the exact same time. Rather than stop and get new staffs, Sannah and Dinua continued their match, alternating their fighting styles to accommodate their dual staves.
Overhand.
Underhand.
Side-swipe.
Upwards slash.
Dinua and Sannah were practically mirror images of each other. A sheen of sweat had built on their foreheads and their faces were masks of concentration. Sannah managed to knock one half of Dinua's staff out of the Mandalorian teen's hand, but then lost half of her own staff to a spinning kick. They glanced at their remaining halves, smirked at each other, and then discarded them.
Dinua walked back to her pack and pulled out a vibroblade, and Sannah retrieved the blade Boba Fett had given her. In a flash, both were back in action, their blades humming as they swept through the air. By the time the match was over, with both vibroblades humming at the necks of the opponents, all the other competitions in the area had been abandoned.
Breathing heavily, Dinua offered Sannah a brief smirk. "Not bad, for a Jetii."
"Not so bad yourself," Sannah remarked. "Looks like we gained an audience."
Dinua glanced about the dozens of Mandalorians staring at them. "Looks like we did."
"Ladies and gentlemen, I think we can agree that these two ladies win the award for duelist," Mereel announced dryly, earning a round of laughter.
Sannah and Dinua grinned and waved good-naturedly as they received cheers and curses from those amazed by their abilities. As a reward for their accomplishments, wreaths of metal trinkets—designed by the children of the different clans participating—were set atop their heads. Crowned and satisfied, both young women made their way back to the dining table, as the other competitions resumed.
"Good fight?" Jintar said as Dinua dropped into the empty space next to him.
"Have fun?" Doran asked Sannah, as the Melodie teen filled the space on his opposite side and took a drink out of the cup he was holding.
"Definitely," both teenage girls smirked. "Care to go up against us?"
"We're not suicidal," Jintar shook his head and glanced at his cup. "Or drunk enough, yet."
"This competition is definitely turning out to be a huge success," Doran motioned to where Mandalorian children were flying and battling paper kites while their parents either looked on or participated in competitions of their own. "It's great that they can all get a breather before the Vong come."
"How about you, Doran?" Dinua said. "You enjoying your breather too?"
Knowing what she was really asking, Doran smiled faintly. "Yeah. It's been ages since I've just been able to sit back and truly relax."
Sannah leaned into him empathetically, and he drew on the strength she was lending him. His mind flashed back to that night after Dinua had found him outside the Kyrimorut. Though it was nearly a week ago, it was still fresh on his mind.
"There you are!"
"Hey Fish-Girl." He looks up from the cot he had just sunk back into.
"Doran…" She pauses, seeing his eyes reddened from crying and his hunched-over posture. She doesn't need the Force to see that he is suffering. "Are you okay?"
"No," he emits a weak laugh. "Not nearly."
He could feel her apprehension. It was understandable. Out of all the years they had known each other, this is the first time she was seeing him in such a state. He squeezes his eyes shut, mentally cursing. This isn't how he wants to start off the conversation.
The cot shifts as Sannah sits down next to him. He can feel one of her cool hands slip into his hot and sweat-slickened one. She doesn't say anything. Just sits there holding his hand and keeping their Force bond wide open. It takes all his effort not to break down again. Force, he's so pathetic.
"Ouch!" Doran jerks when Sannah lightly thumps his arm. "What was that for?"
Sannah's yellow eyes darken. "You're not pathetic."
"Warriors aren't supposed to cry. They're supposed to take any pain and suck it up," Doran says hoarsely, looking away from her lest she see the fresh tears forming. Despite the reassurance he had received from Dinua, all the doubts and uncertainties had returned as his childhood best friend stared him down. Even more so, because where Dinua was a Mandalorian and he had been determined to at least save some face in front of her, Sannah had been with him much longer. "Real warriors aren't supposed to have mental breakdowns even when they're safe, among allies, and know that there is no danger. We're supposed to be…strong. Supposed to have backbone."
"Well, you're definitely not a jellyfish," Sannah says lightly, leaning into him and suffusing the area around him with her Force presence. "You're not a Mando either, so drop the 'warriors are supposed to' dung. Even if you were, and had that 'warriors are tough' fodder drilled into your head, you would also know that it's no shame to ask your friends help. That it's one thing to be strong against your own personal demons, but it takes another type of strength entirely to admit that you can't fight them anymore by yourself."
Silence ticks by, with Doran finally letting the tears fall from his eyes, his body shuddering as he fights back a sob.
"I'm scared," Doran whispers, keeping his eyes squeezed closed, trying to disappear into Sannah's comforting Force embrace. Physically, he tries to remain as stone-like as possible. But it's for naught. He begins to shake as the leering faces of the Yuuzhan Vong shapers once again appear in his mind. His breathing becomes ragged, and his hands ball up into fists. "Every time I close my eyes, I see them. I hear them. Remember every moment of pain."
Doran, in his state of distress, was oblivious to the maelstrom of Force energy being whipped about by his anxiety. Objects rattle and float in the air. The walls bow outwards, and the door begins to crumple in on itself. Unfazed, Sannah wraps both her arms around his bare torso, hugging him tightly. "Come back to me, Adventure Boy. You're here, safe. No one can hurt you. I won't let anyone hurt you. The shapers are gone. It's over."
The litany of whispered reassurances continues, dueling with the Yuuzhan Vong hisses replaying in his mind. Sannah keeps her arms securely around him; the feel of her comforting presence overriding the sensations from his tormented memory. Doran finally lets out a strangled sound as he forces his eyes open. The whispers in Yuuzhan Vong, the faces, the pain, all evaporate. He vaguely hears the chair and desk in his quarters fall back to the ground, choosing instead to focus on the soothing gaze of his childhood best friend. She offers him a weak smile. "Hey there."
"Hey," Doran mutters, looking down at his feet as he desperately tries to control his breathing.
Sannah gently reaches up to angle his gaze back to her face. "I'm going to be at your side the entire way, Adventure Boy. We're going to get through this together."
Doran exhales again, shifting so that he could recline in his cot. Sannah's Force presence continued to surround him in a protective shield, the younger teen still hugging him reassuringly. "Yeah."
Sannah tucks herself against his side and he delves fully into the Force-bond, using it to selfishly share the truckloads of nightmares and memories that had been eating away at him. Sannah stiffens at first, but then nuzzles him. "Feel better?"
"A little."
"Get some sleep then," Sannah whispers. "I'll stop those bad dreams from coming."
Doran feels the exhaustion of his emotional outburst get to him. Almost fearfully, he allows his eyes to flutter shut once more. Before they did, he can see the outline of his mother, Jintar, and Dinua, standing in the now crumpled doorway of his quarters. He tries to give them the best reassuring smile he could muster, but sleep claims him before he could tell if it worked or not.
True to her word, Sannah had stayed awake all night, warding any of the negative memories and emotions away to ensure that he had the first real sleep since he had awoken from his trance.
Doran draped an arm around his Melodie girlfriend and she smiled gently. She had rarely been far from his side since that night, and he owed her much. As if reading his mind, she tilted her head up and gave him a brief kiss.
The scene around them was one of merriment, happiness. Families were conversing. Children were playing, their laughter filling the air. Food, pleasant smelling aromas, wafting from giant fire pits. It was as if there wasn't a care in the world. As if the threat of an eminent Yuuzhan Vong invasion didn't exist.
Doran's eyes fluttered close as he once again synced himself into the life currents of the planet. The vibrant pulses of plant, animal, and Mando'ade alike coming together in harmony. And in another week, that harmony would be disrupted. The Yuuzhan Vong would come. In another two weeks. All of what he saw in front of him would cease to exist.
"Doran, you're floating the food dishes," Jintar drawled.
Doran's concentration broke, and Jintar let out a squawk as one of the levitating dishes spilled out over his head.
"Alright, that does it. Infirm or not, you can still fire a blaster," Jintar said, brushing the food off. "The girls can obviously kick our butts in close combat. But I know I'm still better than you at taking down targets."
With a supportive nudge from Sannah, Doran grinned. "Fine, but don't go whining if I end up ahead of you."
"Says the number three ranked Mando'ade of our class," Jintar retorted.
Doran rolled his eyes, but walked with Jintar over to the targets. As the crowds cheered around them, Doran checked the charge on his blaster and took aim. Maybe for now he could forget about the Vong. They were still a week away after all.
([{III}]) ([{III}])
Tahiri was lounging in the tiny mess area aboard the No Luck Required, waiting for the ship to get underway once more. The downside of heading to Mandalore was that it was fairly deep in Yuuzhan Vong territory. This meant dovin basal mines along every single hyperspace route to slow their progress. It also meant the occasional coralskipper squadron lying in wait along with the mines. Fortunately, the combined firepower of the Jade Shadow, Pulsar Skate, Millennium Falcon, No Luck Required, and the various science and supply ships accompanying them, was more than enough to ward off these attacks. Unfortunately, repeatedly being yanked out of hyperspace played havoc on the ships' hyperdrives and stabilizers, and time was needed to readjust their settings.
"Just got a message from the Falcon," Uldir Lochett said brightly, entering the room. "We should be on our way in another hour."
"Hello to you too," Tahiri chirped.
"Hello," Uldir rolled his eyes, bending down to open a refrigerator unit. "There was also another message from the Pulsar Skate. Master Horn is blaming you and Anakin for the latest adventures the other apprentices have just gotten in to."
"Other apprentices?"
"Valin and Jysella's friends. Apparently Seff, Barv, Natua, and Yaqeel somehow managed to coerce Master Tresina Lobi and a pair of freelance mercs, Remis and Qorl, to check out the long-range communication's center at Esfandia. They got word from the Ryn network that the Yuuzhan Vong were making a run for it and decided to go out there and do something about it."
"What happened?" Tahiri gasped.
"They're fortunate the Imperials were nearby to help out," Uldir said with a disbelieving shake of his head. "With the help of the Imperials, some Freed Ones within the attacking fleet, and some good old fashion luck, they managed to turn back the Yuuzhan Vong attack, foil a bomb plot by a Yuuzhan Vong infiltrator, and successfully protect the main communication hub that connections the Unknown Regions, Wild Space, and the rest of the galaxy."
Tahiri blinked at Uldir with wide eyes. "Oh."
"I'm no expert on Jedi stuff, but I think the next generation of Jedi is definitely giving the previous one more than a few gray hairs," Uldir laughed, emerging from the refrigerating unit and opening a drink can.
"Wait, did you say Remis and Qorl?" Tahiri said, her mind falling back on Uldir's story.
"Yup, or at least that's what that Valin Horn kid reported. Why?"
"Those two are the reason Anakin and I got out of Yavin Four when the Yuuzhan Vong captured me," Tahiri said with a faint laugh of disbelief. "Wow, I can't believe they're still partnered up and running around in the galaxy."
"Speaking of partners," Uldir took a seat on a flimsy plastic deck chair. His expression turned serious and he held Tahiri's gaze gratefully. "I just want to thank you for what you're doing with Klin-Fa. I knew she was hurting and I had been going crazy trying to find some way to help her. She's very independent and probably thought I wouldn't sense her turmoil if she blocked me out. But since she's started those Vongsense lessons with you though, she's slowly been letting me in. Thank you."
"I didn't do much," Tahiri said modestly. "I just wanted to help a friend."
"Well, just keep on doing it, please," Uldir smiled, leaning back in his chair and looking at Tahiri in amazement. "Force, you're definitely not that nine-year old tag-along that I remember."
"And you're not obsessed with finding adventure and running all over the galaxy anymore," Tahiri grinned.
"I don't have to find adventure, it finds me," Uldir shook his head ruefully. "And the poor crew of this ship wonders why we're eternally broke. Any stipends we get go right back into our repair budget."
"The glorious life of a rescue pilot," Tahiri giggled.
"Beats flying a one-man fighter against impossible odds. And rescuing people feels a whole lot better than killing people."
"Boss Boy, Other Human," Leaft announced his presence.
"Grumpy Dug," Tahiri inclined her head in response.
Leaft seemed surprised at Tahiri's retort, then grinned wickedly. "Pushy human, I'll have you know that I've personally piloted one of those Vong ships. After what it did with my head, I have a right to be grumpy."
"You piloted a ship?" Tahiri was taken aback.
"It was simple," the Dug's chest puffed up and he buffed his nails on his tunic. "I thought about moving it one way, it obeyed."
"Must have been one of the coralskippers," Tahiri said with a nod. "They're designed so that even idiots can fly them."
Uldir hid his laughter as Leaft deflated faster than a popped balloon.
"Well I used the coralskipper and caused its mothership to crash, saving everyone on this ship," Leaft scowled, walking forward on his upper limbs to glare at Tahiri. "That's after I outsmarted the Vong commander and bested him in hand-to-hand combat with one broken arm."
"Which Domain?" Tahiri continued to play along, looking unimpressed. She had already heard the entire story from Klin-Fa. "Because if it was one of those minor ones like Qat or Qalu, they were always better trackers than they were fighters. Beating them up is as easy as buying broken droids from Jawas."
Now it was Leaft's turn to be surprised. He scowled at Tahiri for a long minute, before breaking out into a laugh and wagging a finger at her. "You're not bad for one of Boss Boy's people. Unlike that other Jedi, always making kissy-faces with him."
Tahiri glanced back at Uldir, who was shaking with mirth. "You're pretty funny, for a Dug."
"She'll do, Boss," Leaft nodded to Uldir. The Dug went to the food stores, pulled out some type of dried amphibian, and bit its head off as he left the room.
"Congratulations," Uldir finally managed to laugh. "You've officially won over the crew member responsible for the life support systems and other vital electronics onboard this ship."
"Who controls the guns and weapons?" Tahiri said, half in jest.
"Vook."
"The Duros?"
"Yup," Uldir nodded. "But try to be a bit more careful around him. He lost his entire family when Duro fell to the Yuuzhan Vong. The only time I've seen him anywhere close to satisfied is when we're vaping them."
Tahiri grimaced. "Don't worry, I've met plenty of people like that."
"So you plan to better this ship's crew one person at a time?" Uldir said with a grin.
"You know me, I…"
"Boss Boy, get up here!" Vega's terse voice was filled with alarm.
Tahiri and Uldir quickly scrambled to the cockpit.
"What's going on?"
"Yuuzhan Vong frigates, three of them, just jumped in system."
"Status on the hyperdrives?"
"Ours is still down. Vook and Leaft were on it."
"This is the Falcon. All ships stand down. Those are Freed Yuuzhan Vong vessels," Leia announced. "Tahiri, you're on."
Tahiri nodded at Vega. "Hail the lead frigate."
"Channel open."
"This is Tahiri Kwaad, avatar of Yun-Shuno hailing the commander of the Freed Yuuzhan Vong frigate."
"One-Who-Was-Shaped, I am Czalpak. The Supreme Leader heard that you were in need of soldiers and shapers for your mission. I bring both."
Tahiri grinned. Czalpak was one of the original Freed Ones she and Anakin had trained on Borleias. He and Shaeri also happened to be courting each other. Though it was a very long range relationship as he was normally stationed at Kuat and Shaeri was wherever Tahiri's adventures took her. Fortunately, Shaeri just happened to be on the Falcon. "Glad you can join us, Czalpak Cha. Your help is definitely appreciated."
([{IV}]) ([{IV}])
After Anakin and the others had returned to the village, it became clear that the little girl had actually been Sekot in disguise. The Yuuzhan Vong warriors had been survivors of a ship that had been shot down, and had been deliberately herded by the planet towards Anakin to test his reaction. Though Anakin had passed the planet's test, needless to say, the rest of his family wasn't so enthusiastic as to how he had passed the test.
"Sekot didn't see anything wrong with your grandfather killing with the Force either," Mara pointed out from her position at the dining table in the small house they had been loaned.
"That's because there wasn't," Anakin said. "Anakin Skywalker killed in self-defense."
"I know you might have views to the contrary, Anakin, but killing with the Force is crossing a line that can't be uncrossed," Mara scowled. "There won't ever be a reason where killing with the Force is a good thing."
"And not only yourself, but think about Sekot," Luke added, concern creasing his forehead. "The planet already believes that it's acceptable to kill with the Force. Saw fit to see if you would do the same. Just what type of lesson do you think Sekot will learn from you now that you've repeated Anakin Skywalker's actions?"
"What other choice did I have at the time?" Anakin said incredulously. "That warrior was going to slit Tescia's throat regardless of what I did. Should I have tried to talk him down? Invite him for dinner? I had to make a choice, and I'd make the same choice over and over again."
"That's what worries me the most," Luke spoke up sharply. "Once Tescia was free, you didn't have to continue your attack. At that moment, the warrior was disarmed and helpless. You could have taken him prisoner at that point, but you didn't. You didn't just kill him, you executed him."
"And should I have left him to Sekot or the Ferroan's then?" Anakin raised an eyebrow. "What do you think they would have done? Sekot was obviously saving those Yuuzhan Vong for that conflict, and it was clear from the space battle that Sekot wanted them dead."
"Which is why this trip is making me rethink our initial plan," Luke said sternly. "What if, in trying to end the war, we create a greater evil?"
"Greater evil?" Jacen raised an eyebrow.
"Sekot is still relatively young and naïve when it comes to the Force," Luke said. "The incident with Anakin proves that. What will become of Sekot if we introduce a war-like species to it after all these years of Sekot knowing only the Ferroans? What if Sekot decides that killing with the Force is an acceptable act and falls to the dark side after being influenced by the actions of the Yuuzhan Vong?"
"Who are you to dictate what it might or might not do?" Vergere huffed, surprisingly coming to Anakin's aid. "Sekot is a mind far greater than our own. A creature more complex than we have ever seen. It's presence in the Force is incomprehensible to our limited minds. Sekot is capable of using the Force in ways we can only imagine. What gives us the right to judge Sekot? To limit its growth and experience to things only we wish it to learn?"
"And if Sekot should fall to the dark side?" Mara challenged. "If we continue to recklessly allow the sort of conclusions it has made regarding Anakin Skywalker to influence its judgment? You said it yourself. Sekot exists in the Force in a far greater way. I can't even fathom the damage a dark side planet can inflict."
"So you would force Sekot to your antiquated line of thinking?" Vergere tilted her head. "You would feed Sekot the same drivel you have been teaching your knights and apprentices. The previous Jedi Order fell because of their short-sightedness and close-mindedness. I can already see that this order will meet the same fate, for the same reasons."
"We're not forcing anything onto Sekot," Luke said with a mild raise of his eyebrow. "And I'm sure Sekot is more than wise enough to consider the consequences of using the Force for darker purposes. What we are worried about is that Sekot seems to believe that the actions of the two Anakins is acceptable and beyond reproach. Sekot is an immensely powerful and unique being, but who will call it out when it makes a mistake, when it begins to go astray?"
"In both cases, the Anakin involved saved another," Vergere pointed out, not answering Luke. "In both cases, using a lightsaber was out of the question and one would have died if the Anakin didn't do as they did. Would it have been so different if they used the Force to throw the Blood Carver or warrior off a cliff?"
"But neither of them did," Mara said. "Instead, they used the Force to inflict deliberate harm on their target. The Force allows one to incapacitate one's target. Both Anakins could have done that. Instead, they chose to kill. If you had met Luke's father when he was older, you wouldn't be so quick to defend him."
"So it doesn't matter if Anakin Skywalker or myself chose to do something out of good, it's the methods we chose that have you concerned?" Anakin interjected.
"You tell me, Anakin," Mara gazed at her nephew. "We know that we taught you better than to think killing is a means to an end. That was your grandfather's way. And his shadow lingers still over the galaxy, even as we wage war against the Yuuzhan Vong. It won't be worth winning the war only to be consumed by the shadow once more. We have morals, rules, for a reason: to ensure that the Force remains balanced."
"A balanced Force means one that is equally seeped in both light and dark," Anakin noted calmly. "How can the Force remain balanced if the rules the Jedi go by completely ignore one side of it?"
Luke felt his gut twist painful as the shadow he had seen in his visions, the one wrapped around Anakin, grew all the stronger as the conversation went on. Ethereal shadowy hands reached out to crush Anakin in its grasp. Then, just as suddenly, the shadow vanished. Luke blinked once more to clear his vision. Then, realizing others were looking at him, replied to Anakin's question. "We don't ignore the dark side of the Force. As Palpatine and Vader taught us, we have to be ever vigilant for it. All of us here are aware that the natural state of the galaxy is one of darkness. By adhering to the Jedi Code, to the practices of the countless Jedi that came before us, we hold back that darkness just enough for hope and life to exist. The moment the Jedi begin to see the darkness as a more tempting state of existence, they cease being Jedi and then the balance is upset."
"Uncle, is this about Sekot, or about me?" Anakin said. "Sekot isn't a Jedi, isn't a Sith. By your definition, I'm not a Jedi either. Nor am I a Sith. Rules and regulations don't fit everyone. I never thought I'd say this, but Vergere is right about one aspect of each successive Jedi Order. They all share the flaw of marginalizing any Jedi whose view of the Force differs from that of the mainstream concepts. Dark, light, there is no fine line between the two. To know one, you must know the other. The reason why the Sith have been continuously so successful with overthrowing successive Jedi Orders is because they know all about the 'light' side of the Force. They know how we will respond. Know how we think. Why? Because the Jedi are all forced to adhere to one set of standards. Well, to truly know the Sith, one has to know the dark side of the Force as well. Master Durron, Katarn, Solusar, even you, Aunt Mara, are all aware of what a dark Jedi can do because at one time or another you were that dark Jedi. Was the balance in the Force upset when you all left the dark Jedi and became light?"
"There's a difference between knowing the harm it could cause and walking away, and knowing the harm but still using the dark side anyway," Mara said tersely. "In your case, it's even more foolhardy because you are well aware of the risks."
The conversation was halted when the particles that made up Sekot's form breezed in through the doorway and took on the image of the Ferroan Magister. "Foolhardy, or brave?" Sekot said lightly. "Anakin Solo knows the risks, so he knows when he has reached his limits. He is willing to explore all aspects of the Force for the betterment of your people as a whole. Something that should be commended?"
"His actions are just a partial reason for why we're so worried," Mara said.
"Oh?" Sekot blinked owlishly. "I heard much of your debate. You fear that I will grow accustom to killing with the Force? That I will delight in my power over others and use it for ill?"
"Yes," Mara said simply.
"It is true that there is much of the Force I do not know. Why, for one, has it allowed me to gain consciousness? How is it that I have yet to meet another planet such as myself? With a thought I can control the weather, coax thousands of years of life from the seeds of the boras in a matter of months. I can even control the hyperdrives, devices not native to this planet, and alter the core's magnetic field to withstand flight through hyperspace. Yet how I do all this is a mystery," Sekot said, taking a seat opposite Anakin at the dining table. "What was I created for? Why do I exist? When we compare views, how does the Force seem in your eyes compared to my own? I have many questions and very few answers. The Ferroans do their best to accommodate me. The Magister's father was one of my teachers when I first gained consciousness. Despite his good-intentions, I know now that his view of the life flows that Jedi call the Force, was somewhat flawed."
"How did he view the Force?" Jacen spoke up, curious. He could tell that none of the Ferroans were Force aware, yet, when growing up on a planet such as Zonama Sekot, it was hard not to notice the powers of the Force at work.
Sekot smiled. "For one, what you call the Force, he called the Potentium. And he viewed the Potentium in almost the same way as your brother views the Force. That within every individual is the potential for good and evil. That the actions of these individuals are what either upholds the Potentium's light, or twists it into darkness."
"An entire fraction of Jedi in my time thought as he did," Vergere noted with a tilt of her head.
This got the attention of the others in the room. "What happened to them?" Mara asked.
"They were all expelled, of course," Vergere said with a glib shrug of her shoulder and a dismissive wave. "The council of my time decreed that Jedi were supposed to use the Force, the Potentium, to protect others. Not to explore the limits of what one can and cannot do with it. There were even whispers that the idea of Potentium was a ploy used by the Sith to tempt Jedi to the dark side."
"Great," Mara said sarcastically, she glanced to her nephew. "Even the older Jedi thought the Potentium was a bad idea. As if you learning it from a declared Sith wasn't bad enough."
"But you said that this view is somewhat flawed," Luke astutely pointed out to Sekot, before another argument could break out. "Can you explain why?"
"The belief of Potentium requires evil to be non-existent, replaced by a potential darkness that exists only with intent. That one can avoid the dark side by remaining completely moral. But as the Jedi have shown, true evil does exist. As for the requirement that the Force exists in all living things, the Far Outsiders have proved that there are things that stand outside of the Force. Then again, no theory is perfect, and I have formed many of my own."
"And what would they be?" Luke asked with genuine interest.
"Perhaps, I could discuss them with you at a later time," Sekot inclined her head in agreement. "I merely came here to voice my understanding of the situation. Regardless of what Anakin Skywalker became later in his life, I still have fond memories of him when he visited as a child. From the definition of a Jedi as said by the Jedi Council during Vergere's time, a Jedi uses the Force to protect others. Both he and his grandson used their abilities to protect another and have thus fulfilled that aspect of being a Jedi. Neither killed out of hate or anger, and both had only the best intentions in mind.
It is easy to criticize their means after the fact, but the fact remains that both of the Anakins protected their charge and the aggressors in both cases can no longer hurt another. It all simply comes down to trust. Do you trust Anakin Solo to make the right decisions, especially if the fate of this galaxy hangs in the balance? Do you trust me to continue to act as a guardian of the Force, and safeguard the Ferroans and Far Outsiders? Please think on this. The hour is late and I am sure that some sleep will help soothe frayed nerves. I look forward to our conversations about the Force tomorrow."
With that, Sekot dissipated into particles once more, carried out of the house by a faint breeze.
([{V}]) ([{V}])
"Okay, got it. Thanks Lochett," Tyria nodded. She deactivated her personal comlink and glanced back to the others around the table. In the background, the sound of the second day of competition filtered into the briefing room of the Kyrimorut. "One of my allies managed to wrestle up some help. The Millennium Falcon is leading several privately owned vessels and three Freed Yuuzhan Vong vessels to support Manda'yaim. Please don't shoot these Yuuzhan Vong down. They, and a joint Alliance-Imperial taskforce, will arrive two days before the planned attack. Oh, and don't shoot the Falcon down either. I think the bounty on Han Solo's expired anyways."
"The Falcon?"
"Yes, Mand'alor," Tyria did her best to not laugh at the obvious surprise in Boba's voice.
"I hunted him for the better part of two years, got him frozen in carbonite, shot at him countless times, used him for target practice for the militia I was training, and he still wants to come to my aid?" Boba said in complete disbelief. "There has to be something wrong with him."
"He could just like you, you know," Tyria said, her smile twitching at the corners of her mouth. "I mean, after all that experience together, some type of bond must have formed."
"Jedi Sarkin-Tainer, are you trying to convince me to shoot him out of the sky? I've been known to do pro bono work, you know."
"It was just a thought," Tyria said lightly. She tapped her holopad several times. "But on a more serious note, you'll have five Imperial Star Destroyers, two more from General Garm Bel Iblis' task force, a Nebulon B and a variety of support ships at your disposal shortly. They're bringing with them several shipfulls of mines and other things that will help give the Yuuzhan Vong a bad day. I was thinking that after they lay their payloads, we could have them hide just outside the system, and wait for the Yuuzhan Vong to begin landing their troops before we jump them in."
"I agree," Verde Vizsla's hologram shimmered as the young Death Watch leader nodded while she looked over the data Tyria had sent. "You're bringing just enough ships to cause trouble, but not enough to win the battle outright. If it will help coordinate our attacks, I can have my own ships, with skeleton crews, join up with this taskforce."
"That might be the best use of your ships. But if you do so, the Mandalorian moons will have little air support until our people can get there. The Kyr'tsad will take heavy losses."
"We're ready to do our part. You just make sure the ships get here before we're all wiped out. I'll go make the preparations now." Verde's hologram faded out.
"With regards to evacuation of Manda'yaim and its moons, most major city centers have been emptied. Fortunately, we won't be losing hundreds of thousands of lives if one of them gets hit. Unfortunately, if the Vongese are coming to raze the planet, the populations we evacuated won't be safe, even in the countryside," reported an official from the government. "We understand the necessity to preserve the mountain and underground tunnels for the Protectors. But I also don't like it. If the rest of the population is killed off, what's the point of calling them 'Protectors'? They will have protected nothing and hid while everyone else died."
"Would you rather leave the civilians to fight the Yuuzhan Vong when the invaders land their ground forces?" Boba replied mildly. "People can be replaced. If we lose the planet, however, we will have no right to call ourselves Mandalorians. This is war. People will die. People have to be sacrificed for the greater good. Jedi Sarkin-Tainer, do you disagree?"
Tyria's lips thinned, but she shook her head. "No, you're right, Mand'alor. However, as I said earlier, there will be seven Star Destroyers and a Nebulon B arriving a few days before the attack. Though there is no guarantee that these ships will survive the coming engagement, we can evacuate the children onto them to give them a better chance of survival. The ships under Verde Vizsla's control can do the same for Manda'yaim's moons. I figure that we can save at least a few tens of thousands of civilians this way. It may not be much, but it's better than none."
Boba Fett nodded his agreement to the plan.
"I'll begin preparations for the evacuation of the children then," the government official said.
"Only the children, minister," Boba reminded. "I don't want to hear that any of our government or more influential clan members bribed their way onto one of the ships in place of a Mandalorian child."
"Yes, Mand'alor." The official inclined his head briefly, and this stepped away out of his holo-emitter's range.
Several other logistical items were taken care of, but after Tyria's report, the briefing was largely finished. When the last of the holograms flickered out, Tyria let out a low breath.
"Impressive."
Tyria looked up to see the older Jedi, Scout, standing in the door way. "Thanks. Believe it or not, this isn't the first defensive I've had to help prepare."
"You seemed a bit too good at it," Scout said with a smile, taking a seat at the empty conference table. "Have you given any thought about my offer from the last time you were here?"
"To allow Doran to stay and train with you, Bardan, and Kina Ha to learn the old ways?" Tyria tilted her head.
"Yes."
"Is now really the best time to discuss this?"
"I figured we'd both be too busy running around in the coming days," Scout said. "Of course, Kina Ha, Bardan, and I would be more than happy to help train Sannah as well. Our knowledge won't be much use to us once we rejoin the Force, and the more who learn, the better."
Tyria bit her lower lip. It's not that she didn't want Doran to learn 'lost' aspects of the Force, but she had scarcely been away from his side since his birth. There was no denying that Doran was growing to be a strong Jedi and kind-hearted young man, but it wasn't like Tyria wanted him to grow up so quickly. He was a huge part of her heart and she would miss his presence fiercely. It had been hard enough to let him go for the year he had gone to train with the Mandalorians. A second parting wasn't something she looked forward to. Then again, she had to let him go someday.
Tyria sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I guess this is one of the reasons why Jedi were separated from their parents at a young age."
"Among others," Scout said sympathetically. "Of course, this is all contingent on all of us surviving the coming attack."
"We'll make it through," Tyria said certainly, thinking of the future they all had waiting for them. "I'll consent to Doran and Sannah's training on one condition."
"Go on."
"Doran and I have met quite a few older Jedi who frowned upon romantic relationships; especially if it was between two Jedi…"
Scout held up a hand. "Doran and Sannah will be allowed to continue to have their relationship. I'm sure they'll even be encouraged on more than one occasion. You've probably noticed that Bardan, Kina Ha, and myself are hardly the norm when it comes to older Jedi."
Tyria laughed. "That I have. I just wanted to be clear about where I stood with them. I'm kind of fond of Sannah and I think she and Doran make a great team."
"I think so as well." Scout smiled.
"Alright, it's a deal then. Provided they agree to it, when this mess with Manda'yaim is over, I'll leave the two of them in your care."
"This is as much for our benefit as it is for theirs," Scout answered, standing and clasping Tyria's offered forearm. "Teachers, after all, always have something to learn from their students. And after talking to Sannah and watching your son, I think they can teach us quite a lot as well. Are you sure you do not wish to stay and learn with them?"
Tyria smiled and shook her head. "I'm honored and all. But this era is already passing to Doran and Sannah's generation. I'll remain a distraction if I stick around."
"I'll make sure they make regularly scheduled comm-chats," Scout said brightly.
"Thanks," Tyria chuckled.
"If Doran and Sannah are representative of the rest of their generation. I think the Jedi Order has a bright future ahead of it."
([{VI}]) ([{VI}])
"What's wrong?"
Anakin opened a single eye to see a young Ferroan girl crouched down in front of him.
"Sekot?"
"Uh huh," the girl nodded. "Can't you sleep? You've been awake for ages now."
"I've been thinking about what Aunt Mara and Uncle Luke were saying," Anakin muttered.
"I have too," the Ferroan girl said in a hushed voice of amazement.
"Are they right?" Anakin said. "Are they right to say that we shouldn't listen to anything the Sith have to teach us because anything the Sith say are just tricks to get us to fall to the dark side? I mean, Brisha opened my eyes to a whole other side of the Force. Taught me things about myself that I could have never learned through the teachings of Uncle Luke and the other Masters. How is that knowledge wrong?"
"They are right about one thing, I think," the girl climbed up into the bora and took a seat on the branch he was sitting on. "You didn't have to kill that Far Outsider. The other Anakin only killed because it was the only option left to him. You had options."
"I can't argue with a planet," Anakin said faintly. "I guess you're all right about that. It's just, when I get into that mindset, it's so hard to stop myself. The knowledge that all of the Force is completely open to me, that I could do what I wish with it because I no longer have any limitations, it's scary sometimes. But at the same time, it's a necessity. I wouldn't have been able to use Vongsense if I just confined myself to Jedi teachings. I wouldn't have been able to save Alema and Tahiri on Kalee if I hadn't used the lessons Brisha taught me. I think Alema told me once that if something in the galaxy needed a dark touch and not a light one, I should be prepared to go down that road for the good of the galaxy."
"For the good of the galaxy, or for you?" Sekot swung her legs back and forth over the side of the branch, seemingly fascinated by the glowing insects and plants on the forest floor.
"For the galaxy, of course," Anakin sighed. "It's not like I want all the attention and everything. But if I have this power, I might as well use it to make a difference."
Sekot glanced at him out of the corner of one of her golden and black eyes. "Power does not make one great."
"Don't the Ferroans see you as some type of god? An embodiment of their Potentium?" Anakin pointed out.
Sekot changed forms, now resembling the Ferroan magister. "Those who do, do not know any better. Those who know me, however, know that I am far removed from any sort of god." Her form shifted to the younger Anakin Skywalker. "In fact, I'm a lot like you. I was created by the Force. That much I know. I can do any and everything I wish with this body of mine. I could make it rain, snow, bring the oceans higher, bring low the mountains. If the Ferroans displease me, droughts, earthquakes, floods, all sorts of natural disasters, are within my ability. But I can also accelerate the growth of the trees, cause the flowers to bloom, the trees to give their fruit, create burrows for the weaker life forms. I can tilt my axis so that the sun does not become too harsh, even jump to hyperspace to safeguard those on this planet. I have the ability to both protect and destroy with a single thought. And like you, there are very few people who can stop me if I make a decision one way or another. Like you, I desire to learn more about the Force and my purpose in this galaxy."
"Why do you choose to protect the Ferroans?"
Sekot returned to the form of the Ferroan girl. "Why do you feel guilt over killing the Far Outsider? He was a bad man. He was going to hurt me."
Anakin stared up into the starry sky. "I don't feel guilty about killing him, not really. I feel guilty that my own abilities got the better of me. Brisha taught me that I must maintain complete control over my emotions when I use the darker side of me to fuel my attacks. This is the second time that I lost that control."
"So is your inability to safely use your 'darker side' of you because of your own failings, or because of your teacher's teachings?"
"Both? I don't know," Anakin shrugged. "Like I said earlier, Uncle Luke and Aunt Mara might have been right about Brisha. Maybe I shouldn't take any of her lessons to heart. Should just forget about everything she's taught me."
"Are those lessons so easily unlearned that you could say it and make it so?"
Anakin glanced at the doppelganger of Vergere. "No. And that's another problem. Even if I wanted to forget the lessons Brisha taught me, I couldn't. From a certain point of view, her arguments about the Force being one are true. And the fact that the Jedi always seem to fall to the Sith, and not to some other threat, is proof that there is a flaw in the teachings of the Jedi. A flaw the Sith continuously exploit. Then again, if I diverge from the teaching of the countless of generations of Jedi, will I still be a Jedi?"
"Jedi, Sith, Force, Potentium, all titles and names created by another," the Vergere look-alike said, ruffling her feathers. "Are you a Jedi because others call you one, or because you know you are one? As a living planet, I am in a classification of my own. I have no benefit of a teacher I can turn to when I get overwhelmed by what I can sense in the Force. I have to rely on conversations with different visitors who spout all sorts of titles and indoctrinated beliefs at me. Very few appear to be independent in thought. They were told one thing from birth and that was how they viewed the world around them. I have as many questions about the life energy you call the Force as you. I have resigned myself to never getting answers to many of them. Like me, the others are worried about you becoming a Sith, going dark, being seduced by the 'dark side' as I heard one say."
"I know," Anakin ran a hand through his hair. "But they shouldn't have to worry."
"If you are not a Jedi, and not a Sith, what are you?" the Vergere body-double said with a very Vergere tilt of her head.
"I'm Anakin."
"And as someone who sees the Force differently than the others, will you let them tell you that the sky is green when it is actually blue? That the water is orange instead of black?"
"You're the second person to tell me that the Force is only what I make of it," Anakin remarked.
"And the other?"
"Brisha Syo, my Sith teacher."
After a brief period of silence, Sekot spoke again. "I misspoke earlier, when I said that the belief of Potentium was flawed. It is not so much flawed as it is incomplete. As are the beliefs of the Jedi, the Sith, and every other doctrine I have heard. In every case, the views of those practitioners were said to be the only 'correct' view of the life energies of this galaxy. That all others had to be wrong, didn't go far enough, or was a 'corruption' of the truth. Compared to the vastness of the Force, what do they know? Rodents on the tampasi floor will look at a bora's roots and declare it one thing, while the birds nesting in its branches will call it another. Even humans and Ferroan, who see the bora's full form, see it differently than the insects that live beneath its bark. I perceive a bora much differently than all the others, and as powerful as I am, still cannot see it as they do. The Force may be one, and it may be what you make of it, but when you confine yourself to a single interpretation, you blind and deafen yourselves to others. How can you claim to know the Force, when I, a life form on a scale far greater than any I have encountered, do not even understand it myself? Why do you think I continue to ask questions to the Jedi, Ferroans, and other visitors? Perhaps, on the scale from which they view the Force, they are seeing something I am not. Your Brisha Syo, and your aunt and uncle, both have opposing views of the Force. As does your brother, as does Vergere. Create your own understanding of the Force and do not parrot others. Yet take into consideration the perceptions of others, and do not discard their theories outright. You have the potential to shape this galaxy for the better, or for the worse, Anakin Solo. Only time, and your own philosophies, will determine which."
([{Chapter End}])
A\N: Would it worry anyone if I said that things still get worse for Anakin? Yes? Well, fortunately, things don't =). Things start to stabilize over the next two story arcs and Anakin begins his fade from the public eye...with Jacen eventually taking his place. The attack on Mandalore begins this weekend, split up between two chapters. I thought of making you all wait until next Wednesday for its conclusion, but I figured that'd just be mean. So, you'll finish Force Heretic Book 3 this Sunday and begin with the interlude on Wednesday.
The Final Prophecy arc is almost wholly original story, kind of in the same vein as my Tatooine arc, and will take you all up to chapter 59. Expect the new Jedi of the NJO to play an ever increasing role as the survivors of Myrkr transform into mentors in many ways.
As always, review if you so desire.
