"Merry Christmas everyone! I bring you another chapter of Guardian Of The Jedi, this one will tell us what attracted Evelyn to Rey and of course the problem they face now also the return of an old character please enjoy :)
Chapter 22: Complications
Evelyn slowly woke up to the smell of burning sand, the heat on her skin and as she opened her eyes all she saw was in a tent covering her from the burning sun. She grunted as she slowly sat up and her head felt like it was split open, she noticed some of her clothes were removed all except for her vest and tight black bottoms and saw the clothes taken from her was placed neatly on a tray not far from her.
"What happened?...where am I?" Evelyn whispered to herself as she slowly got up still feeling lightheaded. She looked to the tray where her coat vest, long sleeve shirt and boots were placed and there next to them was her lightsaber.
Realisation hit her when she noticed she was alone and worry hit her when she noticed none of her friends were around, she reached out for her lightsaber and pulled it to her as she rushed to the exit and ignited it as she jumped out of the tent only for the burning sun to blind her vision for a few moments and she raised her hand blocking the light. After a few seconds her eyes adapted to the bright light and with her lightsaber still ignited she looked to the distance and saw the one thing that calmed her.
In the distance was The Tempest which was in pretty bad shape and two of the ship's left thrusters were destroyed but she sighed in relief when she saw Finn, Poe and Jaylah working on repairs and they didnt seem to notice her.
Knowing they were safe for the time being Evelyn went back into the tent and collected her boots and placed her lightsaber on her belt, she left her shirt and coat where they were as the heat was too intense and soon she left the tent and began walking towards The Tempest but she wondered how the hell they escaped from Ranza Ren.
As she drew closer to The Tempest Finn who was collecting tools from a container caught her in the corner of his eyes and his own eyes widened seeing her awake.
"Evie!" Finn called to her as he ran to her and the others who were working away heard Finn's voice and then turned to see Finn quickly rush up to Evelyn and the two quickly embraced.
"You Ok? You gave us a scare" Finn said as he held on to her.
The two let go of each other and looked at each other "Finn, what happened? How did we end up here?".
Finn looked back at The Tempest and then back to Evelyn. "We were saved, by a few Resistance fighters".
Evelyn frowned "Fighters? Did Leia decide to send us help?".
Finn shook his head. "No, we were just in the right place at the right time. They saved us from Ranza Ren and her ship, when they attempted another attack our fighters came out of nowhere and provided cover. The squadron's leader ordered us to follow her through lightspeed."
"So where are we?" Evelyn asked.
Finn looked out to the endless desert. "I honestly dont know, but at least we are safe for now".
Evelyn then looked to the ship and then started walking to it with Finn following. "Whats the damage of the ship? Can we continue on?".
"Its more complicated, the Hyperdrive leaked in that last jump away from Ranza Ren" Finn explained.
"So what are you guys trying to do?" Evelyn asked as they kept walking with Finn next to her.
Finn pointed to the two thrusters they had left on the right wing of the ship. "We are gonna move the two thrusters right in the middle between the back wings. Jaylah got into the same situation a decade ago and she did this in order to leave the planet".
Evelyn slowly stopped then turned to Finn "So where exactly are we?"
Finn sighed "We dont know, our systems failed as we escaped. We used what power we had left to be able to land safely".
"So I guess we are stranded here" Evelyn then looked to the ship again and soon the two walked towards the ship again.
Poe who was welding a plate back together on top of the ship stopped working and jumped down to the hot sand and jogged to Evelyn.
"How you doing Little Wing?" Poe asked a little worried.
Evelyn waved her hand as she looked at the ship "Dont worry about me, how's the ship?".
Poe looked up to the ship with them as he removed his gloves. "Lucky enough the engines inside the ships are intact but our biggest problems are the thrusters, with only two left we are trying to move them right in the middle of the back wings. Hopefully it will work.
"It will work, if it worked for my ship its gonna work for yours" Jaylah argued as she shouted up from the ship as she rewired circuits on one of the thrusters.
Evelyn then frowned as one of her crew was missing and she turned to Finn and Poe "Where's Javik?".
"Its ok he's scouting ahead just incase if any trouble, he not long radioed back and he said there's a small town, only thing is its fucking miles away". Poe explained.
"He says its free of any First Order contact, people there keep to themselves but he did say there's good business there, ship business" Finn added.
Evelyn then looked up to the ship once more checking it over and she sighed knowing they didnt have a choice so she turned back to Finn and Poe. "May as well check it out, Poe I want you to stay here with Jaylah and try and do what you can while me and Finn head into town".
"Its gonna take you hours to get there" Poe reminded.
"We have no choice, do what you can" Evelyn then looked to Finn. "Get what you need, we go in the next ten minutes".
Finn nodded and he walked with Evelyn into The Tempest as Poe resumed working on the ship with Jaylah. Evelyn walked through the halls of The Tempest and towards her private quarters and her doors slid open revealing the quarters which she hardly used. For the first time she took it all in and noticed it was too big for one person, if anything she wished the one person she wanted with her was here.
Evelyn knew the dangers Rey would face, she also knew the anger Rey had for her but she couldn't just abandon her to this fate. Taking a deep breath she walked to the centre of the room and closed her eyes and just breathed very slowly maintaining focus.
Still flying through hyperspace and in the Millennium Falcon's living quarters Rey was sitting at the table with her arms resting on it and she was looking down at her broken lightsaber still trying to figure out how to fix it, she tried for hours but still couldn't find the piece needed for it and as she looked down at the saber she felt a familier presence.
Rey knew who it was and her heart started beating fast as she looked at her saber. "Now is not the time to talk..".
"Tell me why?, why would you risk putting yourself in danger?" Evelyn's voice hit Rey's ears and after a few seconds Rey slowly turned her head and saw Evelyn standing right in the middle of the living quarters just looking at her. Despite Rey's anger for her deep down she missed her but what Evelyn did was an act of betrayal for Rey.
"You cant just expect me to just let those around me suffer, I'm doing this to protect them." Rey then turned her head back to her saber.
"By going to the Sith home world, not knowing what could be there. Why didnt you trust my judgement? We could have found a safe way to approach this but this stunt you pulled have left alot of unknowns" Evelyn was annoyed with her.
"Trust? huh thats funny coming from you" Rey then looked back at Evelyn. "Like you dived into my mind while I was there in that bed in medical?".
Evelyn frowned. "I needed to know something, but the question is are you gonna tell me yourself?".
Rey quickly got up and marched to her "Tell you what? that the woman I loved betrayed me?".
"I know the answer Rey, but are you gonna tell me or just hide it like you tried to do with the vision?" Evelyn calmly spoke.
Rey sighed in frustration and turned away from her. "They were my problems to solve, not yours".
"And all I wanted to do was help my girlfriend, but yet she didn't trust me enough" Evelyn slowly crossed her arms. "Do you have any idea how hard it was for me not to worry?".
Rey then slowly walked to the table not looking at Evelyn and she placed her hands on it and leaned forward closing her eyes. "Rey, what happened on the island."
Anger filled in Rey. "Its none of your business, its in the past?".
"Trying to kill your father because he hid the truth of Ben from you, I was angry when I found out too Rey but trying to kill Luke because of it? That is something I have a problem with, they raised me and they were like family to me" Evelyn stated.
Rey then snapped around in anger "But they are not your family!".
Evelyn slowly unfolded her arms and just looked at Rey and she saw realisation hit Rey at what she just said.
Rey closed her eyes and slowly sat down at the table and rubbed her forehead. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that".
"No you shouldn't have" Evelyn took a deep breath keeping control and soon she approached Rey at the table and slowly sat on the opposite side of the table and just looked at her.
"Rey, I'm sorry for invading your mind but I needed to know the truth. Would you have told me the truth if I just asked? Be honest" Evelyn spoke very calmly.
Rey slowly brought her hand from her forehead and let it fall to the table and she just looked at her broken saber. "No, I wouldn't have".
"Tell me why? Why wouldn't you tell me?" Evelyn questioned.
Rey took a deep breath then looked at Evelyn. "It would have been a sign of weakness, most of all...I was afraid of losing you to the truth".
"The truth hurts Rey, but lies hurt more. I admit I shouldn't have done what I did, but I needed to know because deep down you would have just denied it. Am I right?" Evelyn looked into Rey's eyes.
Rey just looked into Evelyn's eyes and she slowly nodded finally agreeing with her.
Evelyn leaned forward and gently took Rey's hand and she saw Rey close her eyes and let out a breath feeling her hand in hers as she gripped on to Evelyn's hand.
"Rey, come back. Don't go to Moraband...please, you know your not ready" Evelyn whispered and Rey snapped her eyes open then gently pulled her hand away.
"I aint gonna let those I care about suffer any longer, I'm going there" Rey firmly stated.
"Rey, if you go there you will be vulnerable to the Dark Side. Dont go" Evelyn asked in a firm tone and Rey sighed and got up and slowly walked to the middle of the room and Evelyn just watched her.
"I'm not gonna let weakness consume me" Rey simply stated.
"Following a friend's advice is not weakness" Evelyn argued as she got up from her seat.
The two fell silent and soon Rey turned her head to her said. "I'm going to Moraband, with without you".
Evelyn took a few steps forward. "Rey I made mistakes, maybe you feel it as betrayal but I will not stand by and allow you to throw yourself into danger, not at this scale".
Rey slowly turned and anger was in her eyes "Its not your decision to make". All of a sudden everything went white and Evelyn fell to her knees and she was back in her private quarters after the Force Connection cut off.
Evelyn was light headed as she struggled to her feet after absolute focus and after a few moments her strength returned and all she did was look to the distance. "Damn it Rey...".
Minutes had past and Evelyn finally got herself sorted with her new gear, she put on a brown top and a clock which covered the upper part of her body and it also had a hood which she could use to cover her face in case of sandstorms, happy with what she had she turned and force pulled Han Solo's blaster from the nearby desk and caught it in her hand and quickly placed it in her holster. But before she left her quarters she decided it would be best to leave her lightsaber behind as it would be too dangerous to be seen as a Jedi and with First Order spies around she just didnt want to risk them finding her so quickly, after placing her saber on her be she was ready to travel to the town.
Evelyn walked through the halls to the exit of the ship and she soon bumped into C3PO and R2 who were by a nearby console but soon C3PO turned and jolted as he saw her. "Evelyn I am so happy to see you are back with us".
Evelyn smiled as she approached the droid "Thanks 3PO, what are you guys doing?".
C3PO turned back to R2 who was plugged into the terminal "R2 is reconfiguring systems, he hopes to be able to re-route non critical power to improve both barriers and speed of the Tempest, so far its been difficult with our current situation".
Evelyn nodded "Do what you can, me and Finn are heading to the closest town maybe we can get some help".
"Good luck Evelyn, I'm sure it will be a simple trip" C3PO supported and Evelyn smiled and tapped the droid's shoulder as she walked past them and soon she came to the ramp and saw Finn at the bottom waiting for her.
"You ready?" Finn questioned as he himself had a clock which covered the upper part of his body and he had his hood up ready to begin the journey. Evelyn simply nodded as she came down the ramp and soon they stood side by side only to hear the sound of a familier fighter as they looked to the sky.
"Do you hear that?" Finn questioned as the two rushed out into the open and Jaylah with Poe looked to the sky as the heard the sound of a fighter.
"Thats an X-Wing" Evelyn stated as she continued to look to the sky with Finn and all of a sudden a white X-Wing came flying over there heads and flew into the distance before making a turn back to them and all they heard of Poe cheering seeing a friendly ship come into view.
Evelyn and Finn rushed to the side of The Tempest as they saw the X-Wing circle around and back to them and they could only wonder who the pilot was.
They watched as the X-Wing drew closer and soon they watched it slow down and extend its landing pads, the X-Wing slowly began to hover and lower on to the sands of the planet a few meters away from The Tempest and soon its engines shut off, the group watched on as they saw the cockpit of the X-Wing open.
Inside the cockpit was a Resistance fighter in the orange flight suit and Resistance Helmet, they watched as the pilot climbed out of X-Wing and down the ladder and finally on to the hot sand. Evelyn slowly stepped forward wondering who the pilot was, they watched the pilot take a few steps before stopping while looking at them.
The Pilot smiled and then removed her helmet and they saw a woman with black hair which hanged free from the helmet and Evelyn's eyes widened as it was one of her oldest friends, the very pilot that flew beside her over the sky of Starkiller Base.
"Hello Little Wing" Jessika Pava smiled at Evelyn.
Evelyn was at a loss for words and without thinking she ran as fasts as she could and so did Jessika and they two met half way and embraced each other tightly.
"Its so good to see you again" Evelyn buried her head in Jessika's shoulders and Jessika planted a kiss in Evelyn's blonde hair, everyone else looked on happy that the two friends were reunited.
The two pulled away and Jessika placed her hands on Evelyn's cheeks and in response Evelyn gently placed her hand's on her friend's wrists as their foreheads gently connected.
"I contacted Leia and found out what happened, we will get to her" Jessika whispered.
"I know we will" Evelyn whispered in confidence and soon the two pulled back happy to see each other.
"Evelyn, is Lindsey?" Jessika asked a little worried but Evelyn gave a nod as she continued to smile. "She's fine Jess, she's at Last Horizon".
Jessika sighed in relief then looked at the crew looking on at them. "Great to see you all made it then".
Evelyn directed Jessika towards the ship and she explained the situation that one of the crew was in a nearby town and the current status of the ship. They knew they couldn't leave in this state but hopefully the repairs would be quick.
After a few moments Jessika was caught up on the entire situation and she turned to Evelyn. "I'll come with you and Finn, you gonna need someone to watch your backs".
Evelyn chuckled "Just like the old days" She then pointed to the Tempest ramp. "Head inside to crews quarters, there should be some casuel clothes there".
Jessika nodded and tapped Evelyn's shoulder as she past her, Evelyn and Finn looked to the distance to the city which was gonna take hours to get there but they had no choice they had to go if they were gonna leave this planet.
Hours had past and Evelyn, Finn and Jessika finally made it into the city and they saw it wasnt an impressive place, among the people they past they could tell this was a haven for bounty hunters, criminals and the worst of the worst. Despite this setback they knew the chances of First Order connections here were low because when they entered the main gate into the city they saw First Order helmets on spikes.
This city had a clear message and was made for criminals and people who didnt agree with the life under the First Order.
Evelyn, Finn and Jessika had their hoods up and their faces covered as they made their way through the markets of the city, but they knew some people were looking at them as they past but they paid them no mind which was beneficial for the three.
"Where is Javik again?" Evelyn looked to Finn as they walked and Finn pulled out a tracker and looked down at the device. "He should be at the other end of this market in that shop dealing ship parts".
"What are the chances half this stuff is stolen?, these stands have alot of expensive stuff" Jessika questioned as she looked around.
"Dont worry about it, all that matters are the ship parts we need" Evelyn stated as she focused to her front while Finn kept and eye on the tracker in his hand.
The markets were mostly packed and people were walking shoulder to shoulder, mixes of races of all shapes and sizes occupied the market and it was hard to see if there were any spies or anyone hunting the three, the quicker they got out the better.
The trio slowly made their way through the market and around a corner and all of a sudden they saw Javik get thrown out of a window sending him crashing to the ground and the three went on alert as they saw a Dug jumping out the window right on to Javik.
"Hey!" Evelyn rushed forward and kicked the Dug right off Javik sending it into a nearby wall and it grunted in pain followed by a growl, Jessika and Finn placed their hands on their blasters in their holster and the Dug lucky enough saw the warning.
"He's one of ours, now unless you have a good reason get out of here" Evelyn warned but the Dug spoke in its native tongue and was very angry.
Evelyn frowned and looked back at Javik who was slowly getting up "Javik did you pickpocket this guy?".
Javik dusted himself off and looked at Evelyn who was waiting for an answer "Hey we had a card game, I won the prize and he pickpocketed it off me so I stole it back".
The Dug marched forward but Evelyn quickly stepped between him and Javik as he ranted on.
"He I didn't cheat it was fair and square" Javik argued as he pointed at him.
Evelyn sighed and looked at her friend "Javik just give it to him".
Javik frowned. "What? Come on I won it".
Evelyn didnt say anything as she put her hand out waiting for Javik and after a few moments he sighed and reached into his pocket and took at a locket which had a silver stone in the middle of it, he handed it to Evelyn and she tossed it to the dug and he quickly caught it and spoke to Javik in an angry tone before heading back into the building.
"Well that's five thousand credits I aint getting back" Javik sighed and Evelyn frowned at him with wide eyes. "You bid five thousand credits on a damn game?".
"It was my credits from my jobs, chill" Javik said as he had his hands up.
Evelyn sighed and looked past him "Finn, Jess scout out the town and let me know if there is anything suspicious. We dont want anyone following us".
Finn nodded "Sure, you be careful". He rushed off and Jessika followed him around the corner leaving Evelyn and Javik alone.
"Javik you need to get over your gambling addiction" Evelyn stated.
"Hey most of the time I'm always winning" Javik argued.
"When you mean by winning does that include being chucked out the window?" Evelyn joked.
Javik sighed and walked past her "Lets take you to the ship dealer".
"If I knew you were gonna be this serious I would have chucked you out windows a long time ago" Evelyn mocked as she walked with him.
After a few moments of walking the two finally made it to the ship deal and the two entered through the doors with Evelyn pulling her hood back and uncovering her face as she looked at the business.
The place looked pretty impressive for a ship dealer ship as the place had its own bar and food stand for people who were waiting for their ship purcheses, either way they finally made it to the place they needed to be.
"Pretty impressive huh? Take a drink and eat while you wait for your order to arrive" Javik smirked as he looked at the place.
"Only if you have time but we dont" Evelyn responded as she walked down the small steps with Javik and the two walked past the food and bar stands and walked right to the far end of the store where the ship dealer was working, the dealer was a human who looked like he had been through so many battles and they noticed he had a robot arm as his left arm was possible taken from injury or disease.
The dealer saw the two approached and he stood up and smiled. "What can I do for you? looking for a new ship I got a lovely cruiser brand new just arrived yesterday, Its one hundred thousand credits but seeing your new faces I will give it to you for ninty nine thousand credits".
Javik rolled his eyes at the dealers stupid offer but Evelyn smiled and shook her head "No thank you, I just need parts" She then pulled out a device containing information. "We need the items stored on this key, hopefully you can help us with that".
The dealer hummed and took the device and quickly ran through the list while scratching his chin. "I should have some of these, it may take me a while to find them as I fired most of my staff. Can you give me an hour?".
Evelyn's smile slowly dropped but managed to maintain a small smile "Sure we can wait".
The dealer smiled and turned and headed through a gate where there was piles and piles of equipment some new and some old and both Evelyn and Javik knew this was gonna be a long wait.
"Come on, lets get a drink while we wait" Javik offered.
Evelyn sighed "Havnt got a choice".
The two decided to head near the local bar and the two ordered a drink each and the two just waited for the order but as soon as they started drinking a trouble maker came up and leaned next to Evelyn who he took interest in but Evelyn didnt even pay him any attention, while Javik on the other hand frowned at the man.
"Hey sweetheart looking for a fun night?" The trouble maker asked.
Evelyn didnt even react as she slowly waved her hand "You dont want to have fun with me".
"I dont want to have fun with you" The troublemaker leaned away from Evelyn.
Javik's eyebrows raised as he watched her wave her hand again. "You should go home and rethink your life".
"I should go home and rethink my life" The troublemaker then turned and walked to the exit not saying another word and Evelyn went back to finish her drink.
"Think I can learn that?" Javik joked and Evelyn smirked as she placed her glass down and looked at him. "I can imagine what you would do with that kind of power".
"Hey come one, it would be a good way to clear my debts and win my games" Javik chuckled and Evelyn shook her head still smiling "Among other things".
Javik huffed amused as he looked at his drink and the two fell into a comfortable silence for a few moments.
"Can I ask you something Evelyn" Javik looked to his friend and she looked at him waiting for the question. "What do you think of Jaylah?".
Evelyn tilted her head still trying to understand "In what way?".
Javik shrugged his shoulders "I dont know, in general like what do you think of her on and off the battlefield".
Evelyn thought for a moment as she looked down at her drink and soon she looked back at him. "I don't I mean she's a great fighter, still trying to figure her out off the battlefield. Sure its a surprise she is also a mother in her line of work".
"Yeah.." Javik simply stated as he looked to the distance and Evelyn looked at him and her mind clicked and her eyes widened as she realised. "Javik...have you fallen for her?".
Javik snapped his head to her and his cheeks went red "What? no..of course not I mean sure I think she's amazing but not like that".
Evelyn squinted her eyes as she looked at him with a smirk "I don't know, I just realised you are around her alot".
Javik sighed in frustration "Look its not like that, I'm still trying to figure her out also..you know I want to make sure she's trustworthy".
"And once you find her trustworthy?" Evelyn's smirk never left her face and Javik just down his drink and planted his glass on the bar. "Just drink up Evelyn".
Evelyn rolled her eyes still smiling as she resumed her drink, she wasn't stupid as just by the look on Javik's face he was indeed in love with Jaylah but she couldnt help but wonder what would happen if he told jaylah that, she didnt know if it would be frightening or hilarious.
"Speaking of relationships have you and Rey done to deed yet?" Javik spoke out of no where and Evelyn chocked on her drink coughing her lungs up which caught the attention of the bar man but she waved him off.
Evelyn collected her breath and looked at Javik with a surprised look. "Bit personal aint it?".
"Come on Evelyn own up, you two were all over each other before she took off" Javik simply asked hoping for an answer.
"Javik, she's nineteen and she hasn't had 'that' experience yet so she's still cautious about it and I don't want to ruin it for her" Evelyn defended.
"Wow that's some control, not being disrespectful Evelyn seriously. Just the amount of times we have seen you holding hands and sucking the other's lips off, it just seemed to suggest you two were at the next level. But what attracted you to her? I mean we had our own fun and then you fell for another woman, what pulled you to her" Javik calmly spoke.
Evelyn looked at Javik for a few moments and soon she looked down at her hands resting on the counter and she saw her hands were splintered and worn, after a few seconds she revealed everything.
"Rey...she seemed innocent, pure, when I met her for the first time I didnt see it until we got to Takkadona. Her eyes were mysterious like you wanted to know what lay in them but were a little afraid at the same time." Evelyn then looked up in front of her as Javik listened on.
"Everytime I looked at her smile, her hair, her skin...her strength it just felt a force was pulling me to her. I admired her determination and the heart she carried, when she held me in her arms on Starkiller Base I never felt so safe, so peaceful...so loved" Evelyn then looked to Javik and their eyes met.
"At that moment I knew I loved her, I wanted to tell her in that moment but fate drew us apart, took us to opposite sides of the galaxy. Her mission to find Luke Skywalker, my mission to find Coruscant...on that mission I was afraid I would never see her again, I held her close to my heart on that mission."
Evelyn then looked back down at her hands and rubbed them over. "When we reunited the pain in my heart faded, despite the suffering we all endured just holding her tightly seemed to make me stronger...it was that night we finally revealed we loved each other...accepted each other. Its strange but...half of me belongs to her".
"All that you just said, what you feel about her I am really surprised you too didn't just give in to each other." Javik calmly spoke.
"Like I said Javik, she has never done it before and she wants to build her confidence. That is something I wont betray" Evelyn stated abit annoyed.
A smile formed on Javik's face as he looked at Evelyn. "I respect that, look I know I dig at you every now and then but deep down I really like your sense of kindness. Maybe if there was more of you things wouldn't be so bad in the galaxy".
Evelyn chuckled "Trying to charm me?".
"No, I'm just happy Rey found someone like you. She's a lucky girl" Javik spoke with such much truth it hit Evelyn right in her heart, her smile dropped but her eyes showed appreciation and she slowly leaned in and kissed Javik on his cheek and pulled back smiling at him.
"Any woman will be lucky to have you too, even if you are stubborn". Evelyn joked.
Javik chuckled "Me stubborn? Nah".
The two laughed and soon Evelyn's radio went off and she quickly took it off her belt and responded. "Yes?".
"Evie, its Jessika we need you to come see something its important".
"Ok on my way" Evelyn turned off the radio and turned to Javik. "Listen pay for what ever items that dealer can find on that list, once that's done head straight for The Tempest less time we spend here the better".
Javik nodded "You got it". Evelyn smiled and tapped his shoulder as she past him then she pulled up her hood and covered her face as she went back out into the burning sun and towards Finn and Jessika's location.
She just prayed it wasn't bad news, the situation was already complicated enough.
"Rey is actually going against Evelyn's advice and has cut her off, Jessika Pava has returned and is now on the journey and Evelyn and Javik have a moment to speak of love lol. Anyway Ranza Ren and her fellow knights will be in the next chapter and of course the next chapter will have Rey dealing with her emotions. We will be back after New Year and will resume the story. Its a long time I know but it gives me time to write our more chapters and deliver them quicker. MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!