Knight-Errantly Chapter Thirteen
Main Theme- Father & Son by Yusuf/Cat Stevens
Armitage sees nothing. Someone must've stolen his sight again. It should leave him gasping and crawling through the endless darkness like a broken cat. But in his hand, he feels the wispy tendrils of another hand. It's almost incorporeal considering how light the hand is, but there's that threat of solidarity. He hasn't felt this hand in years.
He tries to speak, but he finds himself unable to open his mouth. The panic bubbles to the surface and makes him kinetic. He kicks and meets with nothing. He punches with his free hand and still finds nothing. The hand pulls him down.
The darkness writhes and contorts into a familiar visage.
"Seek me on Kef Bir."
The hand lets go.
Armitage wakes in a cold sweat. He's trembling and goes through his deep breathing exercises to calm himself. After a minute, he's regained his composure, but the nightmare is still there. The hand, the face, and the message refuse to leave his mind. He wonders what it all means and if this nightmare was truly of his own. He knows that the face he saw was his father's.
"Seek me on Kef Bir."
"Where the pfassk is Kef Bir!?" He groans into his pillow.
Brendol Hux secretly hopes that Luke will reconsider. It's not like he hasn't been a substitute teacher before; he did that plenty of times before he became Commandant and afterwards, but the Empire and FO had strict guidelines that he could easily follow. However, the Jedi are quite different. Desolous once said that the Jedi only needed the Force to guide them, and the Code is just a self-help book. Too bad, Brendol is a Force-null without a single copy of The Jedi Path.
"Brendol, teach how you like." It was the only piece of advice Luke gave right before taking off for Nagi. Now, Brendol is faced with the Initiates and applying Luke's advice.
"Your Master didn't leave me with any set lesson plan, so I'm not sure where he left off in your lessons. However, I'm a Force-null, so I won't be terribly insightful when it comes to the Force. We'll start with introductions and what you want to learn. Any volunteers?"
Not a single hand goes up.
"We'll start with me. I'm Brendol Hux and I'm from the Unknown Regions. I want to learn how to teach you all."
He gets a volunteer now. The barefoot girl, who spent the night crying about a cartoon where little girls were turned into weapon, raises her hand.
"I'm Tahiri Veila and I'm from Tatooine. I want to learn how to use a blaster pistol!" This surprises Brendol since he thought the cartoon would've scared this child away from weapons, but there's a practicality to her request since everyone else in the galaxy uses blasters.
"I can do that. Now, who's next?" The next volunteer is a Mon Calamari in a tan tunic and pants. Her orange eyes are bright with purpose.
"I'm Cilghal and I'm from Mon Calamari. I want to learn how to heal."
"Anything specific?"
"Anything you can teach me."
"I know first aid and numerous types of stitches. Will that do?"
"Yes."
"Next." After Cilghal is a Barabel with red eyes.
"I'm Saba Sebatyne of Barab I. I want to learn how to enhance my senses."
"I can figure something out." He promises, and the next hand belongs to a girl with pearly white eyes and silver hair.
"I'm Tionne and I'm from Rinado. I would like to learn more about Ancient History, so I can write ballads!"
"I can help with both." Next is a Chadra-Fan with goldish hair all over her bat-like face and black eyes.
"I'm Tekli and I'm from Chad. I wish to learn more about healing too." She says shyly.
"I guess you and Cilghal can learn together now." The final hand is a tall girl with blonde hair and blue eyes.
"I'm Elke Vetter of Bastion. I wish to learn more katas."
"I do know some and I can teach you some sword forms too." He pauses and then continues. "Now, I have an idea what to teach you all. Do any of you have questions?"
"I do!" Tahiri pipes up. "When is Master Skywalker coming back?"
"It's a long way to Nagi, so I give him a week or two. If it's longer, I'm sure he'll let me know." Saba raises her hand next.
"What's your question?"
"Who are you going to teach first?"
"I'm not sure yet." He admits and then he has an epiphany. "For today, we'll be watching some holos."
"What kind of holos?"
"Ones about a marvelous universe."
Jacen Jade knows full well where his twin sister hides. She's a dull presence in the Force, but he can find her easily. She's on the shingled roof of the highest tower; she loves high places and watching people from such places. It allows her to look down on those who always looked down on her.
"Who is the message for?" Zev asks with concern adding more lines to his face.
"It's obvious." He states vaguely. He will not give away her hiding place. If it were his mother, he would've told her without much hesitation because he swore that he wouldn't keep secrets from her unlike Luke.
"Okay, kid, you're not going to rat your sister out." He bristles at Han's use of kid. He knows that Han has called his father kid and he doesn't wish to inherit that from his father too.
"Reverse psychology? Did Salla teach you that?" Han shoots him a quizzical look, clearly never even heard of her name.
So, she doesn't exist here either. Or maybe she does and never teamed up with Han to repay her debt to the Hutts.
"Who was she?" Leia asks with gentle patience that she showed for good people.
"It doesn't matter." He responds softly and then looks away. He doesn't want to hide secrets from her either. In another universe, she was his mother.
I have only one mother, and her name is Mara Jade. He repeats ad nauseum until he finds his center of gravity. All eyes are on him. Leia's eyes are like before, but they are missing her pure maternal—
SOMEONE'S READING MY MIND!
After Anakin's pronouncement to the Jedi Afterlife, he rushed back to his room to inform his wife on all that transpired. Now, Anakin has set up two holoprojectors to watch his newfound grandchildren. Jaina has Ben's comlink and is hailing Lando Calrissian, informing him of her existence and her relation to Luke Skywalker before moving onto Biggs. Anakin is certain that half the Rebellion will learn the shocking news by the end of the day. Meanwhile, Jacen looks like a cornered nexu kit with his wide, green eyes and pale face.
"Ani, he looks so scared." His angel comments.
"I wonder what he's seeing."
"He sees everyone staring at him. He hates this kind of attention."
"I meant if he's having a vision right now. He looks almost like me when I had those…nightmares about your death." That became a self-fulfilling prophecy because you couldn't calm down for one second and used your head! He chastises himself for the thousandth time since arriving here.
"I'm no Force-sensitive, so I'll defer to your wisdom, but I'd say he's feeling guilty."
"Why?"
"Because he's clearly uncomfortable with this. I don't think he wants Luke in their lives, but he loves his sister, so he's going along with it for her sake."
"Why wouldn't he want Luke in their lives? Oh, it's because he wasn't in their lives until now?"
"Perhaps, and I have a feeling the mother in question doesn't have any fond feelings for him."
"Mara Jade. I knew her as a dancer in Palpatine's court. I remember her being a real good dancer with red hair."
"Of course, you'd remember her hair color." She teases.
"And it passed onto Jacen!"
"Let's hope he's inherited Luke's forgiveness."
"I have a feeling he's more like me."
Ben feels himself be shoved onto the floor with the rest of his family. The alien children shout something in another language, making Jacen bolt out of the room. Ben gets up and runs after his wayward cousin. His cousin is fast and using the Force to increase his speed, but Ben has the Force and can keep up with him.
"Why are you going after him? He's not going to tell you where the girl is."
"I think he's like us."
"He did push all of us down with the Force."
"Not just that! I mean he's like us. Two souls trapped in one body."
"Really? His eyes didn't change colors."
"He has memories of another life."
"I thought he was just imagining too much. So, did he really incarcerate?"
"Reincarnate. I don't think he did because the memories don't feel natural. He's received them from the Force."
"This sounds more like visions. Didn't you used to have those?"
"I did until you ate me and became trapped in my body. I guess I should thank you for not having the Force tear me into two anymore."
"I want to be a dragon again."
"And you will be, patience."
They make it to the courtyard. The yellowing grass loses its grip on the dirt as the boys run through it. A coffin-shaped stone witnesses their scuffle. Jacen climbs up a wilting tree, but Ben pulls down to the hard earth with the Force. Jacen looks at him with such hostility.
"It was you! You read my mind!" The younger boy hisses.
"I didn't think you'd notice." Dead-Star shakes his nonexistent head at Ben's nonchalant answer.
"I may not have the illustrious Master Skywalker as my teacher, but my mother taught me the ways of the Force. Especially when someone's being nosy!" Those green eyes blaze into twin infernos.
"But she's not a Jedi?"
"Of course, she isn't!"
"Then, how did she learn about the Force?"
"I don't have to tell you."
"Is she a Sith?"
"How Jedi of you!" Jacen scoffs and then looks at him coldly. "There is a darkness to you, cousin."
"Your contempt for the Dark Side is very Jedi." Ben replies dryly. "I think the obelisk over there is responsible. Can't you feel the Dark Side from it?"
"It's a monolith." A voice comes from the stone.
"Who's there?" Jacen demands. The voice's figure emerges from behind the monolith. He's a Nagai with sharp cheeks and pale skin like his people, but he has black tattoos on his face that remind Ben of a skull. His eyes glow red, while his long, black hair nearly hides the stone-hilt of his lightsaber. He wears armor with red jewels that resemble a dozen eyes.
"Warlord Nihl!" Jacen does a short bow, while Ben follows suit to avoid an intergalactic incident.
"I was meditating when I heard you two arguing." His voice has a melancholic note to it.
"It's over now, sir." Ben assures.
"There's something off about him."
"Yes, he's definitely a Dark Sider."
"No, it's something about his armor. It doesn't have the Force."
"You are Ben Organa." Those red eyes drift to Jacen. "And you are Jacen Jade."
"Yes, sir." Jacen says.
"Where is Armitage Hux?"
"He got injured during a training exercise and is resting on the ship." Ben explains.
"A pity. I'll explain it to him at a later point then."
"Explain what?" Jacen inquires.
"The future."
Author's Comments- Here is the link:
Here is an image of Warlord Nihl who is also Darth Nihl in Legends/EU: a href=" . "Link/a
The Salla that Jacen alludes to is Salla Zend. In Legends/EU, she was Han's girlfriend before the start of the Originals, and after a near-death incident where Han nearly dies saving her, she proposed to him, but he refused, and they went their separate ways until Dark Empire.
Next chapter: Jacen and Ben hears of the future, Armitage goes over some star-charts, and Mara Jade enters the story.
