-The mission she and her new master had been sent on was a simple one. At least- that's what it was supposed to be. They were tasked with guarding the leaders of a planet known as Salvara from the sudden violent attacks made by a new group of terrorists.-
-It had all been a lie…-
Standing beside her master Liera bowed her head politely when the lord they were tasked with guarding walked past them and onto the shuttle. The man was named Hektor Bonivigh and he ruled the south-western sector of the planet. From the moment she met him she knew she disliked him immensely. His spirit was a riot of colors she could only describe as dingy and hard to look at.
"Master?" The elder man turned to look down at her and she felt his attention through their newly made bond. On his end he remained partially closed off, distant. But Liera had always created strong bonds, whether she wanted to or not. She could feel his mild annoyance with her and had to fight not to duck her head in defeat.
"Yes, Padawan?" She bit her tongue to hold back a flinch of discomfort.
It never sounded the same when Master Tolwyn said it. There was no pride or affection in his voice, no warmth at all.
"I was wondering if there was more information on the planet we're going to? Any recent reports about the state of things? Lord Bonivigh briefly mentioned that there was a sickness going around recently." If she knew more about the illness she could help protect them and the lord.
"Salvara is a very private planet, they do not often seek help outside their own system. Perhaps you might speak with the lord's aides? I'm certain they will have information."
She smiled and bowed her head. "Yes, Master. I'll wait until they have a free moment to speak with them. I wouldn't want to disturb them during their duties." There was a mild feeling of acknowledgment and something faint that may have been acceptance before the man turned and walked away.
Liera sighed to herself and tried not to let his almost cold demeanor get to her. Their bond and relationship as teacher and student was still new and her grief from losing everyone she had known was still quite strong. Even if she had accepted that everyone returns to the great river of the force eventually that didn't mean she missed everyone she had lost any less.
Standing alone in the hall of the diplomatic ship she had the sudden strong urge to call Jango and talk with him about all this. He was a good listener and even if it took him a while to find the words he always knew what to say to help cheer her up. But… she knew she couldn't. Her master had made her promise that she wouldn't comm 'the Mandalorians' until after their duty was complete. Just in case it jeopardized the mission.
Liera bowed to Master Tolwyn's greater experience and kept her special comm unit carefully hidden in a pouch on her belt.
-She'd been an idiot. She could see that her new Master had flaws… but she'd been so focused on trying to be a good Jedi she had ignored her instincts.-
Liera didn't learn anything from the lord's aides during the journey. They were all very closed lipped and after her initial questioning she had decided not to bring the topic up again. They were all so scared but she had no idea why. Was it the sickness? Did they have some kind of superstition about such things?
She didn't have enough information. So she put it on the back burner for the time being and performed her duties as instructed. She spent the rest of her time meditating and trying to lift the metal orbs she had been given to practice her telekinesis on.
-She knew something was wrong immediately. Her senses crawled and the air felt stifled with fear.-
The night they arrived they were invited to a banquet being held in Lord Bonivigh's honor. Liera sat next to her master, although she could feel the displeasure from their hosts as she did so.
"I insist that my padawan remain with me for the time being. She is a student in my care." Her shoulders relaxed and she sent along her gratitude. She wasn't the most diplomatic of Jedi and didn't want to cause a scene if she was parted from her new master.
"A young woman should not be sitting this far up the table." One of the nobles stated with disdain. "She should be with the other ladies, as is proper."
"We are Jedi first, before we are anything else. Please treat my padawan as you would any other Jedi." Master Tolwyn's words silenced any other arguments but Liera knew that the nobles were not pleased.
-They had wanted to separate them from the very beginning. All for the sake of their own sense of propriety… their prejudice and pride.-
Later then they meditated alone Liera agreed to sit with the young ladies at any further meals. "Maybe I can get information about current events from them." After all- teenage girls loved to gossip. Especially when there was someone younger around they could take under their wing.
"A good idea, padawan. While you're at it keep an eye on the servants. There have already been threats from inside the manor aimed at the lord and the other nobles."
-Of course the threats had come from inside the manor. In hindsight it was all so clear now.-
The young ladies were more than welcoming of her when she sat at their table for the next meal. They had all manner of questions about the Jedi and in return for answering she was given snippets of information in return.
"You practice medicine? At your age?" Lady Sylthea asked with wide eyes.
"I do. I've been studying for four years now. I'm no surgeon, but I do know a lot about first aid and force healing." The young ladies grew nervous suddenly, glancing towards the head of the table where their fathers and Master Tolwyn were speaking in hushed tones.
"What do you know about… illness?" Lady Enise asked, hiding her lips behind her delicate drinking glass.
"Enise!" Lady Kuini hissed under her breath, glancing at the servants standing nearby with carefully blank faces.
"I know a lot about it." Liera said calmly, keeping her voice low. "I've helped other Jedi on planets that were plagued with illness." She waited a moment, making sure that the nobles weren't paying them any attention before speaking again. "Is there an illness going around? If there is anything I can do to help I will do all I can. After all; I am a Jedi."
The young ladies dithered for a moment before Lady Enise spoke up again.
"There is an illness on this planet, and it is affecting both the populace and our livestock. But the nobles… you need only look at the nearest village to see all that is happening here." The young woman bit her tongue, gently shaking her head.
Liera knew she'd get nothing else from her. Or the others.
Turning to Lady Kuini she complimented the lovely shade of her hair accessory and the topic quickly changed to the most recent trends in fashion.
-It was obvious they were afraid, and they had every reason to be.-
Liera left the next day on a 'scouting mission' for her Master. It was false, of course, but what the nobles didn't know couldn't hurt them.
She traveled to the nearby village and what she found there made her stomach churn.
The livestock wasn't just ill, they were dead. So were the fields.
Half of the village was sick, a third of those were just well enough to continue taking care of others who were ill.
Liera spent an entire afternoon aiding the villagers and using the force to heal their sick doctors.
She was heralded as a hero, although she told them it was only her duty as a Jedi.
"The nobles took everything when people started to fall ill." The village headman told her, anger and grief warring within him. "All of the healthy livestock and the last of the good produce from the field. We were struck with this plague and a famine all at once." The man went quiet. "I lost my two sons and my wife to this illness. Now my people starve while the nobles gorge themselves in their sheltered houses."
-Liera had always been a shield for the downtrodden, the hurt, the sick. This time was no different.-
"Master this is wrong!" Although they had only been together for two months Liera thought she and her master had come to respect each other as teacher and student. That the man would listen to her concerns. "We should be helping the villagers and taking the nobles into custody!"
The treatment of the people by the nobles was absolutely barbaric to her, and the force agreed.
-But her concerns fell on deaf ears.-
"We have our mission, padawan. Handed down to us by the Council on behalf of the Senate. Do not let your emotions rule you." Liera wanted to yell but she kept herself calm and released her frustration into the force. No good would come of her panicking or lashing out.
"I can't stand by and do nothing while innocent people die." She stated calmly, feeling the force as it warmed around her.
This felt right.
"We have our orders." Came the stubborn reply.
"Is that all the Jedi are now? Orders?" Her eyes bore into him but all she felt down the bond was a solid wall of immovable conviction. "I'm going to the village, master."
The man let out a sigh. "No, you are not. You will stay in this room until I deem you acceptably contrite for your behavior. I took you on because you are in need of discipline. I can see now that you are unruly, ruled by emotion rather than calm logic. You have little self control and speaking with those Mandalorians has only clouded your mind further." The man stood and stared down at her.
His disappointment cut deeper than it should have.
"If you leave this room you will suffer the consequences. Do not test me, padawan." And with that he was gone.
Off to speak with the nobles and guard the lord.
-Maybe if she'd listened… if she had stayed… Master Tolwyn would still be alive.-
She closed off their bond as much as possible that day, choosing to meditate on the force.
By the time night came around her master's side of the bond went cold, his focus squarely elsewhere.
Liera snuck out of her room, down the hall, and out through a balcony. To someone with the force who loved Ataru as much as she did the five story drop to the ground was nothing.
She made her way to the village and was welcomed with open arms.
-They warn you every step of the way, how it feels to have a bond suddenly break. But it can never truly prepare you.-
It happened suddenly. One minute the bond with her master is still there and the next- there is a feeling like a white hot poker in her chest as a piece of her soul is torn open and left bleeding. She gasped and fell to the ground, crumpling like wet paper.
Four hours later the army arrived. They demanded that the 'terrorist leaders' show themselves or else they would attack.
They barely escape with their lives.
-She was out of her depth and drowning. Unable to see the ocean floor in the midst of the raging storm.-
She tried to call the Temple but her comm wasn't designed for long range communication. Master Tolwyn had kept the official comm for the mission with him on his belt. Even when the calls did manage to finally connect- no one answered.
Pulling out the second comm she kept on her at all times she took a deep breath and hit the call button.
She had been calm so far, acting as a defender and a medic as best she could while they all escaped from the army. But the moment she saw Shiona and Cole's faces her calm broke.
"Sh-Shiona…"
"Lie'ika! What happened?"
Liera let out a small sob. "Master Tolwyn is dead and no one at the Temple is responding to my calls. I don't think they're getting through at all!" A sudden flare of emotion and movement behind her startled her and she whirled around, her other hand going to her lightsaber.
"Our scouts spotted some of the soldiers. They've spread out and are searching separately." It was Yhom, the son of one of the rebel leaders.
"I'll be there in a moment. Get the children and the worst of the wounded out first. I'll follow with the rear guard." The man nodded and hurried to do as she said.
"Ad'ika, what the hell have you gotten yourself into?" Cole asked her, voice gentle and calm.
"A mission gone wrong, and it's all my f-fault." If only she'd listened to Master Tolwyn, been a better padawan, maybe then… "I need help." She admitted, looking down at her boots.
"We're coming ad'ika. Stay strong, we'll be there soon." She smiled in relief.
"I've sent the coordinates and set up the beacon you gave me. We'll be on the move, trying to keep ahead of the local army." She looked behind her again when someone yelled. "I have to go, there are innocent people here who need my protection." She looked at the two of them and smiled. "It's good to see you getting along." She teased gently.
"We have a lot to talk about when we see you in person, ad'ika, stay safe until then. Manda watch over you." Liera nodded in understanding and cut the comm.
She had innocent lives to protect. But she had faith in the force and faith in her friends.
-Not everything had been lost. And she was never alone as long as she had the Force.-
Eight hours of hiding from the army and Liera is running on fumes. She had never been particularly strong or durable but her control over the living force allowed her to go a little longer before an inevitable collapse. She could feel the force exhaustion nipping at her heels and worried what would happen when she finally succumbed to unconsciousness.
The sound of ships overhead scared the rebels. But to Liera it was the sound of hope.
It took some quick explanations but the rebels had come to trust her at her word. So when she told them that the Mandalorians were there to help- they believed her.
Seeing Jaster in action was a sight to behold. He wore command like a favored cloak and walked like a man with confidence in his own skills. He spoke with conviction and trusted his comrades to watch his back.
The moment they saw her both Cole and Shiona ran to her, gathering her up between them and hugging the daylights out of her.
"Ad'ika! Are you alright? Whose blood is that?" She smiled weakly in the face of Shiona's questions as Cole pulled out a diagnostic scanner and quickly checked her health.
"I'm probably going to pass out soon." Her hands were trembling, so was the rest of her. "Please." She begged, voice hoarse. "Please help these people."
Jaster stood behind Cole and Shiona, helmet off and kind eyes watching them. "We'll help you, jet'ika. But we do this my way." He stated firmly.
She smiled. "Of course, Alor."
-She should have asked what that meant. Although she didn't regret what Jaster had done, it had been out of her hands at that point, she did regret the loss of life.-
By the time she woke up from her force exhausted sleep there had been a regime change on Salvara and they were well on their way back to Mandalore.
She didn't get the whole story but apparently the majority of the army defected. The force that had been chasing them was made up of those who were fanatically loyal to the nobles. Jaster and his warriors had rallied all the rebels and helped to trounce the loyalists, with help from the army defectors.
-She had slept for almost three days, had worried about five years off of Cole's life.-
Waking up to Jango sleeping next to her in a chair, his fingers entwined with hers, she relaxed into the warmth of his steadfast spirit. The boy stirred and blinked bleary amber eyes at her before snapping awake.
"Lie'ika! I-we were worried about you!" She squeezed his fingers in response.
"I'm so glad you're here." She said quietly, still feeling drained.
Getting out of his chair he let go of her hand and climbed onto the bed next to her. Carefully he put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side, face flushed slightly in embarrassment. It was a comforting gesture and she leaned into him with a tired sigh.
"What happened while I was asleep?" She inquired.
"The Jetiise have been trying to call for the last two days." He admitted sourly. "Buir found your teacher's comm and answered them." There was a brief feeling of satisfaction around him. "Buir told them he'd call them back once he was finished cleaning up the mess." Liera winced and looked down at her lap.
Jango's eyes narrowed.
"This isn't your fault." He said quietly. "Sometimes jobs just go sideways."
She didn't respond. Couldn't quite bring herself to argue.
Jango let out a small growl of frustration that startled her into looking up. His face was close to hers now, eyes piercing. "It wasn't your fault." He said, more firmly this time. "Thinking about what ifs doesn't bring people back." She swallowed hard at the flash of old pain. "Lie'ika… I'm just glad you're okay." He admitted quietly as he leaned closer. She blinked in surprise when his forehead gently pressed against hers.
It was a multi-layered gesture, she'd learned, and it was only reserved for those someone trusted. Close friends or family and married or romantic partners.
Closing her eyes she leaned into his gratitude, his joy at seeing her alive and well, and let the tears fall.
-She should have known that there would be consequences. She'd gone behind her new master's back and now he was dead.-
When Cole deemed her well enough he brought her to Jaster's office. She fidgeted and bit her bottom lip as the man watched her quietly for a moment. "I'm happy to see you well, Lie'ika." He motioned toward the chair across from him and she sat down.
"Thank you, Alor." The words almost got stuck in her throat. "For coming to my rescue, for… everything." She hoped that her stilted words conveyed her gratitude, even if it was only a fraction of what she felt.
"You're one of us, Lie'ika. Not only because I owe you a life-debt, but because you are mandokarla. Cole and Shiona consider you their ad, and any buire worth their armor would move mountains for their ade." She felt heat color her cheeks as she ducked her head, pleased in a way she couldn't explain that two people she respected so much considered her family.
"I'm glad to see them so happy." She admitted easily. "I hope I can attend their wedding but I'm not sure what the Council will say…"
"Speaking of the Jetiise, they've been wanting to speak with you. I told them you were recovering and that I would call as soon as you were feeling better." He eyed her critically. "Cole said you were feeling better?"
"I still get tired easily, but I'm almost better. I channeled too much of the force, which can make you sick if you go too far." She was lucky that she knew how to put herself into a healing trance it had stopped the worst of her symptoms from developing. "I'm okay to talk with the Council now."
"If you're sure, jet'ika. But I insist on being here for the discussion."
She bowed to his authority on the matter.
-She never thought that her old life and her new one would clash so terribly.-
After Jaster called and they were connected to the Council she quickly bowed to the Masters before her.
The questioning went on for two hours, with Jaster stepping in to fill in what information she didn't know. The picture it painted wasn't a good one and the Council looked torn. But as she admitted to disobeying her new master and going to the village to heal the sick a few of the masters became agitated.
"If you had listened to your master and remained where you were Master Tolwyn might still be alive." It was so close to her own guilt ridden thoughts that she couldn't help but to flinch at the words.
"The force was practically crying with pain, Masters, I had to do something!" One of them scoffed.
"A convenient excuse, is it not?" There was some agreement from the others, though she was happy to note that the wookie and the female councilor of Yoda's species both looked worried. "You were given a direct order on a mission and you willfully disobeyed. Now one of our best is dead and our standing with the Senate is in jeopardy."
"Enough, Master Drycssal." She turned her attention to the Master of the Order, whose expression was carefully blank. "Once you return to the Temple you will be reassigned to the Halls of Healing. You will be stationed there for the foreseeable future."
Liera stared at them for a long moment, taking in their conflicted expressions. Not one of them had truly disagreed with Master Drycssal, though Master Rubrikal had stopped his tirade short.
It all came back to the Senate and that revelation made her stomach clench as her instincts screamed that this was wrong.
This was not the Order she had known. Not the people she loved.
Her heart beat in her chest like a fluttering bird as she lifted her chin stubbornly. "No."
A tense silence filled the comm room for what felt like an eternity before one of the masters finally spoke.
"I beg your pardon, Padawan?"
"If the Jedi are so beholden to the Senate that they won't even consider compassion over success then I don't want to be a part of this Order anymore." There were shocked looks on the faces of the council members and she could feel Jaster's surprise behind her. "Consider this my resignation." She took a deep breath and bowed deeply. "May the force be with you, Masters."
Before she could lose her nerve she turned and ran out of the room, refusing to look back.