Thanks again for the review Love. Fiction. 2020 and Guest! Guest, I can promise you a happy ending but I can't promise your heart won't be broken along the way.
Disclaimer: I own nothing!
Amaya, Tai, Hennix, and Voe started studying the fortress they were supposed to infiltrate after dinner that night and didn't stop until late into the night. Ben, having been removed from the mission, didn't join in, leaving Amaya with the difficult task of having to explain to the other padawans what was going on. She left out all mention of Snoke, vaguely stating something about his mother being overprotective and Master Luke being upset at his behavior today. To Amaya's great annoyance, Voe had kept pressing her for details until Amaya had finally snapped at her that she should go ask Master Luke if she wanted to know so badly.
After that, Amaya found it hard to concentrate on the task at hand. She was still getting used to the change that afternoon's breakthrough had brought on her. She was more open to the Force now; it was like she'd opened some kind of floodgate and now she was experiencing and sensing things she had been deaf and blind to before. She could feel the Force signatures of every individual in the building more acutely now, without even trying. They were just there, in the background of her mind, all the time. She could also sense her fellow padawans thoughts without even concentrating on them in particular. She could feel when they looked at her and almost hear when they thought about her.
And she could feel Ben, walking around the Senate like a caged animal, the Darkness around him ebbing and flowing. She could feel Luke and Leia's worry, their fear tasting bitter in her mouth. And she could feel the way the whole universe itself seemed to pulse, the balance tilting precariously from side to side, causing ripple effects across the world as it did so. It was like the world was perched on the edge of a knife and all it would take was one gentle nudge to knock it over.
But not yet, the Force seemed to whisper wordlessly to her. Soon, but not yet.
When they finally put away the maps and holograms to go to bed, Amaya found herself unable to sleep. She could still feel Ben, awake in his room, and she couldn't seem to shut him out. No matter how hard she tried, her mind wandered back to his Force signature, unwilling to let it go. She couldn't seem to forget the way it had felt to kiss him by the river. How right it had felt. She wasn't supposed to be attached, but she was, and she didn't even think she wanted to fight it anymore.
Amaya froze as she felt a familiar presence invade her mind. The coldness of the Dark wrapped around her like a blanket of ice and Amaya shivered involuntarily.
He will leave you, my girl. Snoke whispered in her ear from across the galaxy. It is written in the stars. You can feel it, I know you can. Luke and Leia...they can feel it too. It scares them. The only question is...will you follow him into the Dark?
Amaya closed her eyes, feeling her anger at Snoke flow inside her. She could use it. She could use the Dark without being captive to it. She could use both sides if she kept them in balance within her. As long as she maintained the balance she would be fine. I will never give up the Light if that's what you mean. Amaya whispered back, reaching out through the Force. She focused on Snoke's Force signature, expanding her mind beyond the walls of the Senate, beyond the capital city of Hosnian Prime, beyond the confines of the planet, and then the star system. For the second time that day, entire star systems passed before her eyes until the face she had been looking for came into view in her mind's eye. It was a sallow, yellow, and twisted face - sickly and ill looking. She looked into the eyes of the man she hated more than anyone else in the galaxy and saw them widen in surprise.
I can feel the Light inside you. She said, relishing in the anger her words caused. Just as I can feel the Dark in Luke. There is nothing more arrogant and foolish than thinking you can cut yourself off from a part of the Force. I'll never fall to the Dark Side because there are no sides. There's only balance.
Opening her eyes, Amaya cut the connection to Snoke and felt it snap like a broken chord. The suddenness of it left her dizzy and shocked, but not as much as it had earlier that day, and Amaya found herself recovering faster this time. The Force hummed around her, the temperature having returned to normal, and she put up a mental blockade, the way Ben had taught her, in case Snoke tried to invade her mind again. This time, instead of having to work to keep the blockade in place, Amaya found that once she put it up, it stayed where it was without impeding her access to the rest of the Force. She could still feel everyone else around her with crystal clarity, but Snoke was gone.
Climbing out of bed, Amaya walked to the door, her hand shaking on the doorknob as she quietly stepped out into the hall. Still shaky from her great mental exertion, she walked to Ben's room, Snoke's voice haunting her memories. She knocked on his door, a kind of desperation running through her veins. He will leave you...you can feel it. He will leave...
Ben opened the door, his face frowning in confusion at the sight of Amaya, barefoot, in her nightgown. Before he could say anything, Amaya stepped forward and kissed him, wrapping her arms around him so that he could never leave. If she held on tight enough, he couldn't leave. She wouldn't let him.
Ben stumbled backwards, closing the door with a wave of his hand before wrapping his arms around her in return.
Amaya woke up with the sun on her face and she smiled, remembering where she was. She rolled over, watching the sun light up Ben's sleeping face. She had never seen him sleep before and was wholly unprepared for how the sight of his sleeping face made her want to both cry and kiss him all over again. Of course, she did neither and instead lay there, watching the rise and fall of his chest and feeling the warmth of his body next to hers. His face looked so peaceful and the Force around him was balanced, a welcome change from the day before.
Unable to stop herself, Amaya reached out and brushed a strand of black hair off of Ben's face and he stirred, waking up. Amaya immediately regretted having touched him and lay back down next to him, not wanting the day to start. Ben mumbled something incoherent and rolled over to face her, his eyes slowly opening. He smiled when he saw her and wrapped an arm around her, drawing her in closer. Amaya hugged him back and they lay in silence for a moment, enjoying the peace and quiet.
"What time is it?" Ben said at last, reaching past Amaya to fumble for the clock.
Amaya turned to check the time. "Breakfast doesn't start for another thirty minutes." She said, turning back to face him. "We have time."
"How are you going to get back to your room unnoticed?" Ben asked, worry already starting to creep back into his voice.
"I'll be fine." Amaya reassured him, "You know...I never told you what happened."
"What happened?" Ben asked, immediately concerned.
"No, nothing bad." Amaya said quickly, propping herself up on her elbow. "I just had a breakthrough. It's like the Force has opened up for me. I can sense things I couldn't before. For example, I could probably tell you where everyone we know is in this building right now if I tried. I could probably tell you how they're feeling, whether they're awake or asleep, and if I really tried, I could probably tell you what they're thinking about."
Ben propped himself up too, looking at Amaya in shock. "How did this happen?" He asked.
"It was finding you yesterday that did it." Amaya said, with a shrug. "It's like something clicked. I was so desperate that I tried harder than I ever have and once I did it...it all made sense."
Ben made no reply, staring at her with a mixture of wonder and pride.
"I can block Snoke now too." Amaya added, immediately regretting the way Ben's face darkened as she said this. "Indefinitely. I can keep him out forever."
"Are you sure?" Ben asked, "I know you can block me, we've done it in practice but...are you sure about indefinitely?"
"I'm sure." Amaya said. "Ask Snoke." She added with a small smirk.
Ben lay back down, staring up at the ceiling on his back. Amaya lay down next to him, looking over at his worried face.
"This is good news." Amaya reminded him.
"I know." Ben replied but the look of worry never left his face.
Amaya frowned, wondering what he was thinking about and not willing to invade his privacy to find out. Instead, she rolled over to kiss him on the cheek. Ben smiled in surprise, his eyes focusing on her face. He kissed her on the lips, pulling her in closer.
A small farewell party escorted the Luke and the padawans out to the ship that would take them to Atterra Bravo. Leia, the other Senators that had briefed them on the mission, and Ben attended, wishing the party well on their mission.
Be careful. Ben told her silently as he hugged her goodbye. Please.
Don't worry. She replied, giving him a reassuring smile as she pulled back.
However, despite her attempt to reassure Ben, she felt her stomach flip with nervousness as she followed the others onto the ship. She settled into a backseat, watching in silence as Luke started the engine and Tai shoved the extra medical supplies, weapons, tracking beacons, and maps they had brought into an overhead compartment.
"Don't be nervous." Hennix said, settling into the seat next to her. "If all goes well, they won't even know we're there."
"It's what happens if all doesn't go well that worries me." Amaya replied.
"There's no point being afraid of something that might never even happen." Hennix said, and Amaya privately thought to herself that that was a very Jedi way of seeing things.
The truth, on the other hand, was that Hennix didn't have all the information. Snoke almost certainly knew of the mission because he'd almost certainly read it in Ben's mind. Luke and Leia had decided not to share this information with Hennix, Voe and Tai just as they'd hid Snoke's interest in Ben his entire life. Only Amaya knew what they were truly walking into. If it wasn't a trap they would find what Snoke wanted them to find...no more, no less.
Unless...
"I uh- have to go to the bathroom." Amaya said, standing up suddenly. She stumbled as the ship jumped to lightspeed but then regained her balance and quickly left the cockpit, nearly running down the hall to the bathroom. She closed the door behind her, locking it before sinking down onto the closed toilet seat. She steadied her breathing, calming herself down and getting used to the Force. Everything was moving so quickly, it was almost impossible to pick anything out.
Closing her eyes, Amaya focused outwards, expanding beyond the ship until the speed at which they were travelling seemed to slow, the distance they were covering seeming smaller. She pulled up the memory she had of her brother's Force Signature, probing the Force for any sign of it.
Write to me... Amaya thought, summoning the memory and letting the feeling guide her way through the galaxy. She forced her mind to focus on his masked face, his Force Signature becoming stronger in her mind. He was on a ship, travelling at light speed just like her. The galaxy swept past him like a blur but Amaya concentrated on his face, feeling his thoughts and emotions. Listening.
"Are you kidding me!?" Amaya heard a man cry, coming up behind another and whacking him over the head. "This is the second time you've cracked my lightsaber!"
"Hey back off!" The other cried, whirling around to push the other in the chest. "You're lucky I didn't leave you for dead back there."
"Children, children, don't fight." Amaya heard her brother say, pulling the two apart.
"Mind your own business princess." The first man sneered, "You want to be a peacemaker? Go join the Jedi."
"But then who would babysit you when I'm gone?" Ancai replied tauntingly. "Ren would dispose of you in an instant if I weren't there to cover your sorry ass."
"He's right, you know." A third man said, entering the room. Amaya could tell from the way the others fell silent that this man was their leader. "You mess up one more time and even Morava's charm won't get you off the hook."
The first man huffed loudly, grabbing his lightsaber and stomping out of the room. Ancai looked over at the leader, Ren, and shrugged.
"Not even a thank you." Ancai said, feigning hurt. "He better show better manners to our Jedi friends this afternoon."
"It's good that at least we know how to greet our guests." Ren agreed, putting a hand on Ancai's shoulder.
Amaya pulled back, her heart pounding in her chest and opened her eyes, gasping for air. She stood up on trembling legs, pushing open the door to the bathroom and stumbling back down the hall to the cockpit.
"Master Luke." Amaya breathed, unable to yell as she struggled to regain her breath. Luke turned around in his chair, his eyes widening when he saw her. "I need to speak with you. Right now."
"Tai, please take my place." Luke said, standing up and handing over control of the ship to Tai. He walked over to Amaya, pulling her back down the hallway.
Luke pulled her into a back room and closed the door, his face worried. "What is it? Is it about Ben? Did he-?"
"No, no." Amaya said, shaking her head, "No, I- I found out some information."
Luke frowned, "What information?"
"They know we're coming." She said, panic coursing through her veins even as she said it. She had never been in a real battle before and now she was expected to fight the Knights of Ren?
"The Knights of Ren will be at the fortress. They know about the mission." Amaya breathed, watching as Luke's face paled.
"How do you know?" Luke asked.
"I s-saw it." Amaya stuttered, blurting out the first lie that came to her mind. "It was a Force vision I think. I haven't had one before so I'm not sure."
"I had feared as much." Luke said, accepting her lie without question and running a hand over his face. "Snoke has had access all these years...access to so much information I thought was confidential. He's been allowed to grow and now..."
"It's possible to block him." Amaya said quickly, before catching herself. "I mean...it must be. Ben can still learn."
"Can is not the issue. It's a matter of whether or not he wants to." Luke said, a heavy sigh escaping his lips.
Amaya was silent for a moment before forcing herself to concentrate on the situation at hand. "So what do we do?" Amaya asked. "Abort the mission? Keep going? Change the plan?"
Luke sighed once more, falling silent for a moment. "All we need is evidence." He mused. "A holographic image. A photograph. Anything."
Amaya waited, unsure what he was getting at.
"We can't retreat now. If we planned another mission Snoke would just find out about it too. If anything, us knowing what's ahead is giving us the best shot we're likely to have at getting into the fortress."
"What do we tell the others?" Amaya asked.
"The truth of course." Luke said, giving her a strange look. "Or do you not think they also deserve to know what they're up against?"
Amaya shook her head quickly, "That's not what I meant. Of course, we tell them."
"Then let's go break the news." Luke said, opening the door, and gesturing for Amaya to leave first.
Amaya walked back down the hallway, numb with fear. Voe met her at the door, grabbing her arm before she had even entered the cockpit again.
"What's going on?" She asked anxiously.
"I had a Force vision." She said, glancing back at Luke. "The Knights of Ren are meeting us at the fortress. They know we're coming."
"They what!?" Voe cried. "How? That's not possible...unless there's a spy or-"
"We will look into how it happened later." Luke said, retaking his spot in the pilot's seat. "Right now we need to focus on the parts of this mission we can control."
"So we're still going?" Voe asked, her face paling. "We're basically walking into a trap-"
"It's not a trap if we know what to expect." Luke replied rather sharply and Amaya exchanged a worried look with Tai.
"But if they know we're coming then we're going to have to rethink our entire strategy." Hennix said, "They'll have all their weak points covered."
"We won't be entering the fortress anymore." Luke said, causing all four padawans to stare at him in shock.
"What?" Amaya asked, now just as confused as the others.
Luke looked at her, his face serious. "All we need is evidence." He repeated for the second time. "You've just proven we don't need to enter the fortress to obtain it."
Amaya frowned in confusion. "How do we get it?"
"We capture a Knight of Ren."
The voices of her friends and Master faded into the background as Amaya stared out the window of the ship, her eyes gazing unseeingly on the fortress that loomed up in front of them. They had landed their ship miles from the fortress in a shaded grove of trees from where they hoped to be able to catch sight of the Knights of Ren's ship when it arrived.
And Amaya knew it hadn't arrived yet. Ancai's Force Signature wasn't on this planet. She was certain of it. She would know when they landed if she just kept herself properly attuned to the Force.
Although he hadn't said anything, Amaya was pretty sure Luke could also tell the Knights hadn't arrived. He had likely had even run-ins with them to recognize the particular way they changed the feel of the Force, making things just a bit colder than before.
Her suspicions were confirmed when she felt a change in the Force and looked over at Luke, meeting his eyes in understanding.
"They're here." Luke said, breaking eye contact with Amaya. "Time to go."
Amaya felt her heart skip a beat as she rose from her seat to follow the others out of the ship. A quiet hush fell over the group as they descended into the forest and began picking their way through the brush to the cave they knew was a secret entrance to the fortress. Amaya reached out through the Force, feeling the lifeforms around her. There were guards in the tunnel but not enough to be a serious threat - just as they had hoped.
Breaking through the brush, the Jedi didn't even try to be quiet, hoping the guards would see them. Before long it worked and Amaya heard a guard begin shooting frantically. They lit their lightsabers, using them to slash through the rest of the bush as the guards began calling for reinforcements.
Gunfire rang out, bullets grazing past Amaya as she ducked behind a tree. She could scarcely block each bullet with her lightsaber when there were so many all at once. She wasn't experienced enough. Shaking her head to clear it, Amaya looked out from behind the tree, focusing all her attention on the gun of one of the guards. Narrowing her eyes, she clenched her fist, watching from afar as the gun shriveled up like a tube of used toothpaste. Alarmed, the guard dropped the gun, running back inside the cave. Eyeing the next guard, Amaya repeated the same procedure, continuing until five guards had been rendered weaponless. Feeling triumphant, Amaya emerged from behind the tree only to see a crowd of guards appear dressed in white armor that covered their entire bodies and even their heads.
Realizing her first trick wouldn't work against such a large army, Amaya withdrew behind a boulder, watching as her fellow padawans courageously fought on, blocking every bullet that came their way and flawlessly cutting down guards as they went. She needed to find a way to make herself useful. Amaya closed her eyes, reaching out through the Force to the guards. She latched on to the first she could make out and slipped inside his mind.
You will shoot your fellow soldiers. You will not harm the Jedi. She whispered in his mind, feeling a ripple of shock run through his body.
Who are you? He asked, in his moment of confusion being cut down by Voe.
Amaya moved on to the next soldier. You will shoot your fellow soldiers. You will not harm the Jedi. She tried again.
This time, the guard's mind relaxed, becoming foggy and he repeated her command back to her. I will shoot my fellow soldiers. I will not harm the Jedi.
Amaya looked up to see the guard turn his gun on another white suited soldier and fire, sending the soldier flying backwards. Before the others caught on, he began shooting others, causing massive confusion until he was finally shot by one of the other soldiers.
Amaya grinned, crouching back down behind the boulder to repeat the exercise. This time, she whispered the command in the minds of multiple soldiers, watching as they began to turn on each other, the group beginning to destroy itself as loyalties dissolved into chaos.
Feeling a familiar sensation in the Force, Amaya froze, realizing she had completely forgotten to track the Knights of Ren.
"I never took you for a coward." Ancai sneered, "But here you are...hiding behind a boulder while your friends do all the dirty work."
Igniting her lightsaber, Amaya spun around to face her brother, anger and indignation coursing through her veins.
"I just took out that entire squad without even lifting a finger." Amaya snarled, as they began to circle one another.
Ancai glanced over at the guards who were still fighting one another as Voe, Tai, Hennix, and Luke turned their attention to the other Knights of Ren. "Jedi mind tricks don't work from a distance." Ancai said.
Yes they do. Amaya replied silently. And if I were you, I would show some of those manners you were bragging about earlier.
Ancai frowned in confusion for a moment before realization dawned on him and he stared at her with a mixture of shock and fear.
Is this really how you treat your guests? Amaya continued, replaying the words he had exchanged with Ren on the ship. I expected more from you princess.
"You knew." Ancai breathed, his shock turning to anger. "You knew we were coming. You were listening to our conversations...you pried into my mind!?"
Amaya nodded and Ancai lunged, his red lightsaber coming close to hitting Amaya's shoulder. Amaya blocked the move, striking back furiously.
"How?" Ancai demanded, increasing the speed of his attacks. Amaya just barely managed to keep up, finding herself more and more on the defensive than the offensive.
"Snoke can do it. Why can't I?" Amaya snapped back.
"You're inexperienced." Ancai snarled back. "You fight like a child and you've been training for even less time than one."
"Is it too far fetched to believe I may have a natural talent for it?" Amaya snapped.
Ancai rolled his eyes, choosing to strike instead of respond.
Amaya blocked his attack. "You never wrote to me." She said.
Ancai snorted, "You wouldn't have liked what I had to say." He said, his advances pushing her backwards; deeper into the forest.
"Why did you run away that day on Alfazine?" Amaya asked, her anger at him mounting the longer she was around him. "Didn't want me to see you cry?" She asked mockingly.
At this, Amaya felt Ancai's temper flare and his lightsaber clashed against hers hard, sending her stumbling backwards. As she struggled to regain her footing, Ancai reached out his hand and Amaya watched in horror as her lightsaber flew out of her hand and into his outstretched palm.
"You shouldn't have come on this mission little sister." Ancai said, advancing slowly with both lightsabers lit. Amaya stepped backwards, her mind racing. "You weren't ready for battle yet."
Amaya took another step backwards as Ancai advanced steadily, his cold face confident and predatory. Would he really kill her? His own sister? Fury and betrayal coursing through her veins, Amaya stopped backing up, glaring at him as she raised a hand tightening an imaginary grip around his neck. Ancai froze, beginning to choke before lunging forward, attempting to attack her before he dropped the lightsabers, falling to the ground as he struggled to breathe. Letting go of her hold on his throat, Amaya quickly summoned both lightsabers to her own hands and pointed them down at her brother. Before he could recover enough to do more than glare at her, Amaya waved her hand over his face, knocking him unconscious.