"Arya Greywing, you are a disgrace to the name of the Jedi Order!"
Arya barely restrained her one remaining eye from rolling. That line would have hurt a lot more if Master Jafon didn't drop it every single time Arya was reprimanded by the Council. (Which was all too often.)
Still, as dramatic and senile as the old man was, he was a Jedi Master, a title worthy of her reverence. The thought kept her fists from clenching and reminded her to stay open to his criticism.
"Your actions are more befitting of a sith than a Jedi, young one," Master Leru agreed. "What have you to say for yourself? Your interpretation of orders has been beyond loose. And your treatment of the Padawan, ghoulish."
"She's a terrible influence. No Padawan should be allowed within six planets of her," Jafon grumbled, crossing his arms like a grumpy child.
Out of respect for the sanctity of the Council, Arya tempered her frustration as she addressed them. "Members of the Council, if I may remind you, I am a Jedi Knight. I have the education, experience, and aptitude to hold that title." Pleadingly, she stepped forward. "I acted on all of the above on Dantooine, and my instincts saved the lives of three innocent people. Isn't the protection of the innocent what the Jedi stand for? I don't understand why I'm being scolded like this."
"Because you failed to complete your intended mission in favor of chasing after an unrelated affair," Master Vidar reminded her. "Because your negligence resulted in the serious injury of another Jedi Knight and his Padawan. Because you-in the presence of a Padawan, no less-tortured a civilian-"
"She was conspiring with a terrorist!" Arya interjected incredulously. Immediately, the atmosphere of the room darkened, prompting her to hang her head in shame. Fantastic. So much for not disrespecting members of the Council.
"You interrogated a civilian using methods that oppose our moral code," Vidar finished.
"I used skills at my disposal to save lives!"
"And you also verbally abused the Padawan."
"Oh, please," she grunted. "You make it sound like I struck a child. She's nineteen years old, Master Vidar, and she deserved every word of it."
Seemingly at a loss for words in the wake of her blatant lack of remorse, the Council collectively fell into a disapproving silence. Before long, it was stirred by a heavy, tired sigh.
"Greywing," started Grand Master Skywalker reluctantly, rubbing the bridge of his nose. So she was giving him a headache already-that must have been record speed. "I'd like to have a word with you alone. The Council is dismissed."
"The Council has not come to a decision regarding young Greywing's actions!" protested Leru, aghast at the announcement.
"Or her punishment!" Vidar concurred.
Luke raised a hand. "I will take those decisions upon myself, counselors. Thank you for your concern."
Despite the palpable irritation of the Council, no further objections were raised; the words of the Grand Master were absolute, especially considering that he also held the title of Master of the Council. Arya couldn't help the relief that swept over her as the Jedi Masters begrudgingly filed out of the circular room, leaving her with one of the only Masters who might actually listen to her.
"Arya, you can't keep bending the rules like this," he lectured, crossing his arms. "They aren't suggestions; each one has a purpose in maintaining harmony. Do I need to remind you of the value of harmony?"
"What was I supposed to do!?" Arya exclaimed, ignoring his question. "Turn the other way and let that poor woman and her children be murdered!?"
Fortunately, the Grand Master took her outburst in stride. While Jedi Masters tended to be sticklers for propriety, Luke had always cared more about clear communication, which is probably why he could tolerate Arya so well. "What you were supposed to do was to carry out your mission and obey your orders to stay away from that quadrant."
"I acted according to my moral compass in defiance of orders that were issued before a crisis arose!" she insisted. "What would you have done, Master Luke? You can't honestly tell me you wouldn't have saved them!"
"What I wouldn't have done is ravage the mind of a civilian pilot!" Glancing at the door, he lowered his voice to an irate hiss. "Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to channel the dark side of the force? The Council would condemn you if they had any idea how often you tempt fate, especially considering what happened to your Master."
She froze at the comment, immediately eliciting an unspoken apology to dance in his eyes. As insensitive as his words were, he was right; old horrors are slow to fade, and impressions made during tragedy tend to last. It was likely half of why the Masters were always so critical of her.
However, this was no time to dwell on painful memories. "I did what was necessary," she shot back. "I always do. And even after all this time, I give you no reason to doubt my strength against the dark."
His jaw clenched, but he made no denial.
"It's true, isn't it?" she persisted. "Have I ever acted on anything other than rational logic and a desire to perpetuate goodness and life?"
"No," he replied firmly, "but you fail to see that your own perspective is limited. There may be-no, there are always-unseen forces in play. We are at war, Arya. If you don't start trusting that your superiors are more competent at making strategic decisions after months of planning than you are on a whim, people will die. And no amount of your good intentions will resurrect them."
She opened her mouth, but he wasn't finished.
"And another thing! Reaching a pure end by evil means is not true to the path of light. Channeling the dark side is against the very core of our teachings as Jedi! You tell yourself you're strong enough to handle it, but it takes a toll on you that you may not even realize. No one is immune to its manipulation, its seduction. You wouldn't even notice it until you were standing over the bodies of a thousand innocents-if at all."
This time, she didn't hold back the eye-rolling. "Please, Master Luke. I'm aware of the warnings. Everyone is. But you know that my morals guide me even more strictly than the code of the Jedi does. Can you really see me blindly falling into a path of violence?"
"You choked a woman within an inch of her life."
She stomped her foot on the polished metal floor. "I saved a family of three!"
Letting out a frustrated groan, he started pinching the bridge of his nose again. His rapidly decreasing mood may have caused a twinge of guilt in Arya, but it wasn't enough for her to back down. He was starting to realize that.
"Alright. Let's talk about the way you treated Rey."
"She's an incompetent nuisance and I addressed her as such. She shouldn't have been assigned to the mission-or to any mission for that matter. Especially one in which I have to deal with her."
"I assign her with you so she can learn from you!" Exasperated, he rubbed his eyes. "So you can both learn. There's so much potential for growth between the two of you, which you would see if you could manage to keep your teeth away from her throat for more than twenty seconds."
"Her master is the one responsible for training her. And honestly, he's doing a lackluster job."
"You know he's absent on a long assignment, Arya."
"So I'm the one who gets stuck with her!?"
It was Luke's turn to roll his eyes. "Did you listen to a word I just said?"
"She's insolent, she's haughty, she's volatile…" Arya's fists clenched at the mere thought of her. "She's filled with enough hatred to be a sith lord! Isn't this why there's a rule against taking anyone her age as a Padawan?"
His voice expanded to fill the entire room as his scolding eyes locked onto hers. "I was her age when I first began training as a Jedi. You would do well to remember that."
A shiver crept down her spine. Had the air grown colder? Mentally, she kicked herself for acting so out of turn. Master Luke may have been more understanding than the other Masters, but his authority still demanded deference.
"Rey shows incredible promise," he continued more softly, sensing her resignation. "She is strong in the force and zealous in the ways of the Jedi. She has much to learn, but I will not abandon hope on her, and I expect the same of you." The shadow of a wisened smile graced his lips. "Besides. If I kicked out every volatile, insolent member of the Order, then you wouldn't be standing here."
She scoffed.
"You should take your own advice and avoid judging her too harshly," he insisted, sitting back in his chair. "I know you find it difficult to get along with her, but that challenge is one that I'm expecting you to overcome."
I sighed. "Yes, Grand Master…"
"And as for the matter of your actions on Dantooine-"
Without warning, the door opened and a messenger burst into the room. "SIR! There's an emergency on the Bright Horizons!"
Arya quirked a brow at the sweaty, panting courier. His lack of poise and unfamiliar face indicated that he was new to this duty, although that wasn't necessarily strange; the inglorious duty of messenger was usually very quickly bestowed on the newest Padawans who were eligible for it.
What was unusual was the subject of his alarm. The Bright Horizons was a massive cruise ship owned by an independent, neutral company, completely unaffiliated with both the First Order and the New Republic. What business could the Jedi possibly have with a ship like that?
"An emergency?" Master Luke repeated uncertainly. "Come in at once, young one."
That was Arya's cue to leave. As curious as she was, she had no intention of listening to a mission intended only for the ears of the highest authority. "Grand Master," she acknowledged, bowing respectfully in farewell.
"No, wait," he commanded, gesturing for the messenger to come in and close the door. "I may need you to hear this."
Puzzled, she shot him an inquisitive glance before turning her attention to the younger Jedi. What kind of emergency news would have anything to do with her?
"We've lost contact with the Padawan on board, sir," he rasped, offering the Grand Master a datapad. "I'm sorry, sir. I'm a bit out of breath from running-"
"What do you mean you lost contact with her!?" Luke demanded, eyes growing wide as he snatched up the datapad.
"Her signal cut off completely, sir! Based on the last few moments of her transmission, they were able to assess that her headset was destroyed by..." He hesitated.
"By what? Out with it, boy!"
He winced. "By...Kylo Ren, sir."
Arya's jaw dropped. She waited for Luke to tell the courier that he must be mistaken, but instead, his features stoned with a grave resolve. "Understood, young one. Get to the bay as fast as you can and have them prepare a fighter with coordinates to the Horizons immediately."
"Yes sir!"
Arya's mind reeled as the messenger scurried away as quickly as he had come. What in the galaxywas a Padawan doing anywhere near the so-called hellhound of the First Order? And on the Bright Horizons, of all places?
"It's Rey," he clarified, rising from his seat with haste. "We'll have to settle the matter of Dantooine later. There's no time."
Arya stared at him in disbelief. "Rey!? You mean she's on a mission by herself? Fighting Kylo Ren!?"
"It was supposed to be a simple investigation!" he exclaimed, his eyes betraying the distress he was striving to temper. "I had no idea there was a dark knight aboard the Bright Horizons. Her orders were to investigate the potential presence of a few stormtroopers, and to do so discreetly, at was never supposed to be any kind of confrontation." Dismissively, he shook his head. "There's no time for this! What matters now is that you get out there and prevent her from being captured."
"Me?" Arya echoed, stunned as he pressed the datapad into her pale hands. "Aren't you going to send backup?"
"Only if necessary," he cautioned. "I don't know how much chaos Rey and Ren have already caused, but the less anyone notices, the better. This could very well jeopardize the Republic's relationship with Xerxes Corp-and they control a lot more than cruise ships."
"I-understood," Arya stuttered. "But-"
"The Horizons is docked right now, only a few minutes away via hyperspace," he urged, grabbing her by the arms. "Prepare yourself and get to the bay now." His murky blue eyes searched her silver ones. "If Rey falls into the hands of the First Order, the war is lost. Don't forget that."
His urgency propelled her through the temple as she prepared for the mission, making her move faster than she could think. As she strapped herself into the cockpit of her fighter, her mind was still struggling to process his words.
If Rey falls into the hands of the First Order, the war is lost.
Surely, that was an overstatement. Master Luke wasn't prone to acting on sentiment-as was quite against the code-but everyone knew he favored the Padawan for some reason Arya would never understand. The fall of one padawan, especially one so annoying, couldn't really change the tide of an entire war. That was simply unrealistic.
Wasn't it?
Even so, the Grand Master's orders were clear: find Rey and rescue her as quickly and as covertly as possible.
And maybe, Arya added to herself as the ship zipped through hyperspace on autopilot, bring back a very important prisoner.