Arya sat on a bench. Usually she preferred the ground – or the floor if anything like ground was not available – but this time she sat on a bench to remind herself that she was supposed to go soon.
The Padawan closed her eyes and forgot the environment around her. She paid attention only to her feelings. Whatever she had picked up from the Force's current at the dojo when her Master's shield had been smashed by Master Chaa, it was old, something which had been somewhere deep within for years, maybe even decades.
There was something in those feelings that made her feel aghast, something that tore at her own spirit. She wanted to just release them to the Force, get rid of them so that she would not have to think of them anymore. She did not want to deal with them; they were not her feelings, after all.
And release them she did. The feelings faded away into the current she had been a part of for longer than she could remember – for her whole life.
Someone sat next to her and inquired if the Padawan minded them. Arya returned a negative answer and let the Jedi – a Master, it seemed – meditate with her.
There is no emotion, there is peace.
Arya did not prefer the version of the Jedi Code mantra she had recited two years ago to pass the first of her Initiate trials. She preferred the shorter version, not for its shortness but because of the difference between it and the longer version.
Something like "There is no emotion, there is peace" just did not feel right because even the oldest, most experienced and wisest Jedi Masters still felt emotions – or at least Arya thought that they still did.c
Time was flying as she let her emotions fade at the wake of calmness or at least the lack of feeling anything. She needed to get going to find artisan Zakfe now.
Arya opened her eyes and turned to bow to the Jedi next to her, but as soon as she turned, she recognized the yellow Zabrak. "Master Zakfe! I was actually going to look for you."
"I thought so as soon as I heard that you had been chosen as a Padawan," Master Zakfe responded with a smile on her face. "I believe it is about time you make your own lightsaber."
"It is," Arya responded and gave a thought for telling the artisan about the lightsaber parts. "Actually... there is one thing about that..."
"What is it?" Master Zakfe asked, curious.
"I kinda have already gotten some lightsaber parts," Arya told. "It's complicated."
"Now is it?" Master Zakfe asked. "Maybe we can see about it at the workspace?" She gave a look at the Padawan's clothing. "I take it that you don't carry them with you right now."
The corners of Arya's mouth twitched. "That's true, Master Zakfe."
"Go fetch those parts then and meet me at the workspace." The Jedi artisan stood up, Arya following her.
"Yes, right away, Master," the girl said and bowed. Then she turned to rush to her quarters to get the parts of the lightsaber which had belonged to Findio Acheta.
About five minutes later
"What do you know about these parts?" Master Zakfe asked as she inspected the metal parts and the crystals. The three crystals seemed capable of Force sensitivity, but whatever attunement they had ever had, it had been negated.
"Quite little," Arya told. "They seem to date some centuries back."
"Have you discussed these parts with your Master?" Master Zakfe asked, looking right into the Padawan's eyes.
"Yes, I have," Arya answered evenly, undeterred.
"What did he say? Is there any information about the previous owner of this now-dismantled lightsaber?"
"As far as we found out, a VeledosJedi named Findio Acheta owned this lightsaber before," Arya told. "That's all we know."
"Really?" Master Zakfe asked.
Arya nodded. "Really."
"I see," Master Zakfe said and inspected the parts. She had only heard about VeledosJedi – a VeledosJedi artisan named Ifrea Jeir was her idol. However, the Veledosians had disappeared a very long time ago, only to have Arya appear as their representative in this era. Some of the lightsaber parts were old indeed, some even slightly damaged. Many of them should be replaced, although the design could reconstructed anyway if necessary.
Master Zakfe took the crystals and inspected them meticulously one at a time. All of them required polishing, but otherwise they were perfectly usable.
"Have you told the Council about finding these parts? How did you find these anyway?" she asked the Padawan.
"Only you and my Master know about these. I got them from some odd... forms about two years ago. I really can't explain it," Arya confessed.
"If you are to use these parts, I recommend you to replace all the components both for the sake of improved functionality and the better condition. The same goes for most of the metallic parts, too, since they have suffered," Master Zakfe told. "The crystals require polishing and attuning to the Force, but otherwise they are perfectly usable if you wish to use them."
Arya realized that up to that point she had never thought of using the crystals herself. She had always thought that she would go to Ilum like the rest of her fellow Padawans – including Gomorrah, who had initially gotten a green crystal there, although he had changed it for a yellow one a year later.
Arya had to confess to herself that imagining herself with a green or blue blade had never felt right, not even before acquiring the scroll. However, did these three crystals speak to her? Did she want a gray lightsaber?
Master Zakfe waited for her reply, understanding what the Padawan's silence was about. Due to the circumstances of how she had become a Padawan, it was kind of understandable that the girl had come partly ill-prepared.
Arya connected herself to the flow of the Force, hoping that it would tell her whether or not she should pick these crystals or not. She could feel the answer coming.
It was yes, pick a gray crystal.
"The Force wants me to use one of these," Arya declared.
"What about the two others?" Master Zakfe asked. "Do you sense what should happen to them?"
"I… I don't know," Arya told. "I feel that they should be safeguarded, used for something else, perhaps someone else's lightsaber or some other item."
"Then I will leave the two other crystals to you. The Force will reveal its will regarding them to you in time," Master Zakfe noted.
"Thank you," Arya said.
Now that the crystal matter was settled, Master Zakfe led Arya to pick some parts for her lightsaber. Arya remembered the lessons about lightsabers and crafting them well, so she remembered the required parts by heart. In addition to that, back when she had not doubted becoming a Padawan she had daydreamed about this moment often, imagining what she would pick and what kind of a lightsaber she would make.
The only thing that has been missing in that image was the actual appearance of the lightsaber; it was normal that Padawans designed their lightsabers to look like their Master's lightsaber as a mark of respect. Arya wanted to belong to the mainstream in that.
Arya knew what Jedova's lightsaber looked like. She remembered it clearly from seven years ago when Jedova had told her about his life and the galaxy beyond the village of Lianoros tribe. This weapon, a lightsaber, is a Jedi's life. One must not lose it, the Jedi Master had told her. She had kept those words in her mind as she had learned to handle the weapon.
Choosing the parts which made up the appearance of her lightsaber was difficult. She pondered for a long while, letting the Force be her guide as she carefully picked pieces with an image forming in her mind as she progressed. Master Zakfe monitored her silently, waiting as the girl made her choices. She was taking more time than most of the Padawans, the artisan noted to herself. It was now clear that Arya had come without any actual plan for her lightsaber.
Anyone else than a Jedi would have thought that the girl was picking things randomly, but Zakfe could feel how the Force was at work with the girl. There was a logic in the moves she made, a certain order in which she picked up components. As a Jedi artisan, Zakfe had learned to recognize such patterns as she had instructed Padawans and Initiates at crafting lightsabers.
After some time, Arya had the puzzle which was to be her lightsaber completed in her mind. Master Zakfe noticed that Arya took a look at the old lightsaber parts and picked something up along with one of the crystals.
"Are you ready now?" Master Zakfe asked the girl, who nodded as an answer. There was something different in her eyes; they seemed slightly clouded.
Master Zakfe realized that along with seemingly improvising her plan for her lightsaber Arya had sunk to a light trance.
"Then follow me so that you can polish the crystal," the artisan used a slightly more commanding voice, now receiving an unclear mutter as an answer. That mutter sounded enough like the answer she expected, so she walked to one of the corners of the spacious workspace, trusting that the Veledosian Padawan followed her.
She did not manage to provoke any more verbal answers from the girl as she told her what to do. The nods were the only indicator that the girl was listening in her trance.
With an inward sigh, Master Zakfe let Arya work on the crystal. In the beginning, the girl was careful, testing her focus and skills. Her eyes became clearer and for a moment Master Zakfe thought that she had either woken up or was waking up from that trance. Yet once the young Padawan got used to the task and got the idea of what to do, she fell back to that trance.
Maybe her Master has already taught her something about trances? the artisan pondered.
Some younger Padawans, recently-chosen too, arrived at the workspace and Master Zakfe went farther away from Arya to instruct them.
"Why is that girl there working on a crystal alone?" asked a female Duros.
"She came here earlier to work on her own lightsaber. Her crystal needs polishing before it can be used at its best," Master Zakfe explained.
"Isn't that Arya Deinden? The Veledosian from Boma clan?" asked a male Zabrak.
"Yes. She, just like you, was recently chosen by a Jedi Master. Don't disturb her," Master Zakfe answered, looking at Arya inspecting it before returning to polishing it. "She is doing an extremely precise task. One mistake can ruin the crystal."
The new Padawans looked at the concentrating girl. She was either oblivious of their presence or just ignored them. No one could tell which it was as her back faced them.
After instructing the Padawans, Master Zakfe let them work in the cacophony of different tools and walked to Arya, who was finishing her crystal.
"Is everything all right?" she asked the girl. The answer was a mumble which sounded a lot like "yeah". The artisan noticed a small fault the girl could not fix with her limited skills. "Now why don't you let me finish that one?" Master Zakfe asked, carefully putting her hands on Arya's, taking the tools and the crystal without receiving resistance.
The girl blinked a lot once left without a task. Master Zakfe believed that she had now broken the trance as she fixed the scratch which had gone unnoticed by Arya. After taking a quick but precise look on the crystal she deemed it ready.
"Now you can join other Padawans and put the parts together," she told the girl who smiled as a response. The trance seemed to have developed a tight root and it was not going to leave yet.
The girl nodded again, not saying a word. She just started walked to the other part of the workspace and got back to work.
The other Padawans asked for help and left one by one as they finished their hilts. They all would travel to Ilum to get a lightsaber crystal later. Yet even after all of them had left, Arya stayed and worked silently.
"Should you take a break?" Master Zakfe suggested. Arya did not respond, just continued to work.
"Arya, did you hear me?" Master Zakfe slightly raised the volume of her voice. A slow nod came as an answer.
"Do you want to keep working?" A nod again. "Do you need help?" No response. "Does your lack of answer mean 'no'?" A nod. "(Sigh) All right."
Two hours later
Jedova looked at the chrono. It was already 2100 but he had not seen Arya anywhere. The girl had not even been seen at the dining hall around dinner. Due to an old instinct left by the time of Degu's apprenticeship, he thought that the girl might have gone outside to... well, maybe not hunt for criminals to arrest them, but something.
However, the girl's Force signature suggested something else, so Jedova navigated through the Jedi Temple's corridors to where it was: artisan Zakfe's workspace.
A sudden strike of nostalgia hit him. It had been very long since he had been there last time and even longer since he had crafted his own lightsaber as a Padawan there. He knocked lightly and artisan Zakfe let him in.
"Your Padawan has been working on her lightsaber for hours," she told with a low volume. Jedova glanced past her to see the girl attaching something onto the hilt.
"She has been in a trance for most of the time," Master Zakfe continued, still keeping her voice down.
"A trance?" Jedova's eyebrows shot up; he had not expected that.
"Are you surprised by that?"
"Yes, I am."
"She does not communicate much. In addition to that, she has refused to take a break. I have a feeling she won't leave until she is ready."
"So she hasn't even gone to eat dinner?"
"No. I have been here all the time to monitor her."
"May I take over so that you can take a break?"
"As long as you promise to come and get me if a problem occurs."
"I promise that."
"Thank you."
The relieved Master Zakfe left and Jedova walked closer to the girl, taking a look at the hilt-in-progress. Knowing his own lightsaber, Jedova could spot similarities between the incomplete hilt and his lightsaber. The gray crystals lay on the table, one of them glowing faintly. Its Force sensitivity had been awakened, it seemed.
Arya kept on working. Jedova tried to get a connection to her, but she did not answer. She only would nod if her answer was positive. Jedova sat down and meditated while keeping an eye on his apprentice. However, the day had been long and he had not slept enough last night, so he started to nod off, noticing that Arya could see it; there was a slight change in the position of the girl's eyebrows but she did not say anything. She was fixated on her work, seemingly ignoring the sleepy man.
Jedova saw only darkness around himself – actually, only darkness and a blurry specter in a robe now that he looked around more. It held a lightsaber – or more like lightclub – far bigger than any he had seen or even heard of. It was extremely weirdly ornated. The yellow glow hurt Jedova's eyes in the darkness, but even worse was the neon blue edge of the blade. It felt like a murder to his eyes, yet he could not turn his head and look away anymore. He could not even close his eyes to block most of the light away.
"You have initiated the countdown, Chomeja. Yet it's late already. It should've happened a good while ago to avoid any damage. You, who are ready to face the future, prepare for the consequences of being the only one to take this path when those who were in time to do that did not do it," the specter told with an odd voice. It was a bass much lower than Jedova's own, yet it was higher than that of the opera singer Lisien. It sounded male, but still there was something that could have made Jedova say that it was a voice of a female person. Nevertheless, he could not decide what that voice was as the specter raised its saber and slashed it at him. Neon blue surrounding blight yellow came at him.
Gasping, Jedova sat up faster than he had in a long time, hearing some of his joints crackle. He tried to catch his breath as the lightsaber blade's colors lingered in his eyes. Then he realized that he was sweaty and that Arya was next to him, silent yet worried.
It had been a dream. Just a dream.
Jedova closed his eyes and carefully evened his breathing. Heartbeat by heartbeat, his body calmed down.
"Are you ok, Master?" Arya's voice asked, her voice quiet. Jedova opened his eyes and turned to look at the girl.
"Yes. I just had a... vivid dream, that's all," he told. He still had to blink to get the yellow and neon blue away. Arya just looked at him, waiting for him to say something.
"Is your lightsaber ready?" Jedova asked.
"Apart from attuning and placing the crystal," Arya told. "Too tired for it now."
"You have been working for long. Master Zakfe said that you worked in a trance," Jedova noted. Arya frowned.
"Don't you remember it?" Jedova asked.
"I have kinda blurry memories of what I've been doing. As if I had been partly unconscious or something," Arya told, scratching the back of her head.
The door opened and the two Jedi looked at it. Master Zakfe poked her head inside.
"Finally finished the hilt, Padawan Deinden?" the Zabrak asked.
"Yes, Master Zakfe," Arya answered.
"Excellent. Your Master can instruct you to the end of the process tomorrow or whenever you choose to finish your lightsaber," Master Zakfe told and eyed the two Jedi. "You should go to sleep now."
"Indeed," Jedova agreed and stood up, Arya following suit with a yawn. "Now don't even dare to fall asleep on the way, Padawan."
"Yeees, Master," Arya yawned. At the door, she bowed to the artisan and walked outside alongside her Master.
"Shall we start tomorrow at the same time as today?" Jedova suggested, an amused smile on his face.
"Master, please, no," Arya groaned.
Jedova chuckled. "Oh course not, Padawan. 0800 should be a normal time, right?"
"Suuuuuuuuure." Arya could not help yawning. Her ability to think was slowly going down and she felt like she did not have the will to object.
Jedova wanted to wrap his arm around the girl's shoulders to make sure that she stayed with him, but he was positive that keeping Arya that close would only result in the Padawan falling asleep. He did not want to carry her to their quarters.
In the end, as they were both going to their own rooms, Arya did not even get her door closed when she ultimately dozed off on her feet. Jedova only heard the thump as Arya's body hit the floor. He turned back to see what had happened.
"Well all right," he muttered, walked through the common room, lifted his apprentice and carefully placed her on her sleep couch. "You better make sure this won't happen again soon, Padawan."
A quiet grumble came out of the girl's throat, as if she had at least tried to answer him. Jedova sighed. "Good night, Arya."
With those words, he left the room and closed the door behind him. It was time to sleep now for them both.
/Star Wars (c) Lucasfilm, any characters you cannot find on Wookieepedia, Veledos, Veledosians and their language (c) Me/
