The sky turned pink with the coming of the sun, slowly brightening as
a new day began at the Jedi Academy. The early morning rays found Mya in
her usual rooftop position, meditating about the coming day.
A casual observer would see no difference between her and the Mya of three months previous. The only sign of change was the small smile present on her face as the young Jedi sat on the stone roof.
Mya slowly expanded her sphere of awareness as she concentrated, observing with her mind the presences of the Jedi in the sub-temple below her, most of whom were still asleep.
Mya's smile grew as she shifted the focus of her mind to the menagerie, where a few students kept pets. It only took her a moment to pinpoint the lone individual among the many animals. The single Jedi stood in a small glass aviary home to several brightly colored birds, which squawked and chirped as he held a plastic dish of nectar in both hands. Mya could feel the happiness of her soul mate and lover, Orion as he laughed and watched the birds flock to him.
After a few minutes the nectar was gone along with most of the birds. Orion watched the last one flutter back to one of the several branch-like perches along the walls, and then slowly returned to the main entrance to the menagerie.
Orion suddenly stopped, and Mya knew he had sensed her. She felt him smile, and then he suddenly vanished, invisible to her mental perception. By the time she realized what had happened, it was too late. The Jedi jumped up, grinning as she tried to escape, but she felt a wall of Force energy encircle her and prevent her from moving.
Still grinning, she turned around and came face-to-face with Orion, who shared her glowing smile. Without saying a word, he freed her from his gentle Force grip and pulled her into a loving embrace, both of their mouths too occupied to say anything, and both of their hearts and souls too full of love to feel anything else.
***********
As the pair walked through the main temple hand in hand, Orion glanced at a bulletin just inside the main door where upcoming events were posted. He nudged Mya with his elbow.
"Hey, look at that."
Mya followed Orion's pointing finger to a recent post on the bulletin, which stated that there would be a seminar on lightsaber combat that afternoon, given by none other than Master Vondo-baas himself. Mya frowned.
"That's odd, Master Vondo has never held a seminar before. I wonder why he would now."
Her partner shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe he thinks we need the practice."
"Well, we'll find out won't we?"
"Sure, but what will be do until then?"
Mya only smiled mischievously in reply. Playfully tugging his arm, she pulled him away from the bulletin towards her room.
************
Two hours later, Mya woke up to find Orion sitting on a chair next to her bed, deep in meditation. Smiling, she leaned over and gave him a tender kiss. He opened his eyes and gazed at her in response.
"How did you sleep?"
"Fine, although you could do a lot more to deepen that sleep."
Orion only grinned and shook his head in response. "I've sworn an oath to the Master to not do anything stupid until we're both older, you know that."
Mya mockingly pouted at this. Her soul mate merely shook his head in response and glanced at the wall chrono.
"We still have another half hour until Master Vondo's lesson begins. Any ideas?"
As an answer, her lightsaber detached itself from the wall and floated to her open hand. Orion pulled his cream-colored Jedi tunic on and checked his own weapon. He tossed his companion her own tunic, and then respectfully turned away as she got dressed.
A light kiss on his neck signaled her readiness. The two Jedi students left the room, hand-in-hand.
Twenty minutes and fifteen remotes later, Mya and Orion switched off their weapons and shut down the training system. Although they had been working nonstop, thanks to the energies of the Force they were only slightly short of breath.
Orion did several stretches, and Mya did a few back flips to keep the blood flowing. Fully rested, the Jedi set off to the main training room of the central temple.
***********
Master Vondo rarely taught, and when he did it was with a small group of Padawans. For him to hold a lesson open to the upper half of the school, six years of students, was unheard of.
When Mya and Orion reached the designated chamber, they found it close to full already. Looking around, Mya saw a few of her friends sitting together, and she pulled Orion towards them.
"Hey. Have you guys missed me much?" Inquired Mya as she sat down next to the two girls that she had befriended three years ago.
"Yeah right, Mya. We've heard the rumors about you two," Replied the closer one, Junaria. A tall, twi'lek Jedi student with blue skin, her parents had sent her to the Academy when they learned of her force aptitude. She was very laid-back, and no one had ever seen her draw her lightsaber in anger.
"I'm surprised you even heard about this seminar, what with all the time you spend in Orion's arms," added the other student, a Zabrak named Leana. Leana was a mechanical wiz, and as such she was always tinkering with some new gizmo or device whenever someone saw her.
Mya flushed at the comments. "Hey, I still make time for other things!"
The three girls continued to bicker about Mya falling heavily for a handsome stranger. Throughout all of this Orion merely sat in silence, listening to their conversation with half an ear, watching the small stage at the front of the large chamber and wondered what Master Vondo had to say about lightsabers that was so important.
The waiting crowd of students quieted as Master Vondo took the stage. Hands clasped behind his back, the Jedi Master began speaking.
"Many of you here have already constructed your lightsabers and have developed some skill with them. I am giving this seminar to demonstrate to you the weapons and techniques utilized by the Sith, also known as the Dark Jedi."
When he said this, the many students began whispering amongst themselves. Master Vondo motioned to the front row of seats, and a figure rose to join him onstage. This man was also a Jedi, calm and reserved. He wore a simple black tunic and trousers, and the silver hilt of a lightsaber hung at his waist.
"This is Master Ne'kral, a fellow Jedi of mine. He is an expert on Sith technology and force techniques. He will be my opponent in this demonstration."
With that, he faced the other Master, and they bowed. Both then assumed their respective fighting positions and ignited their lightsabers. Ne'kral struck first, jumping forward with his emerald blade held above his head, and aimed a swing at Vondo's neck. However, Vondo had already moved, bringing his silver bladed weapon up and pivoting to the left, letting Ne'kral's move sail past him.
Vondo then released a blast of force energy at his opponent's back, sending him even further away from him. Ne'kral's following move was unexpected. He halted his flight in midair and used the Force to propel himself, back first, towards Vondo. As he did this, a second green blade suddenly ignited from the other end of his weapon, and Ne'kral pointed this at the heart of his opponent.
Vondo then made everyone's jaw drop. He tossed his lightsaber to one side and caught the blade between his hands, bringing it to a dead stop. The students' could not believe what they were seeing. Vondo, completely unharmed by the blade, quickly jerked it out of Ne'kral's hands and tossed it away as well, switching it off as he did so.
Ne'kral's anger and humiliation was almost palpable. His left palm glowed as lightning flew from his outstretched hand towards Vondo. Vondo merely raised a hand in response and the lightning ricocheted off of his palm towards the ceiling, leaving a large black scorch mark.
The Academy Master then darted forward and struck a lightning blow to Ne'kral's ribs, causing him to crumple to the ground.
The entire fight had lasted less than thirty seconds. Every single student was on the edge of their seat, mouths open and eyes wide.
Vondo and Ne'kral stood and retrieved their lightsabers, then assumed their starting positions again. This went on for the next thirty minutes.
Finally the two Masters bowed shook hands and left the stage. This signaled that the seminar was over. As Orion, Mya, Leana, and Junaria walked out of the chamber, everyone was talking about what they had just seen.
Leana and Junaria went their separate ways at the main temple entrance, Leana to work on a new gizmo, and Junaria to the library to find a decent story and some sleep. This left Mya and Orion by themselves again. As they had spent the afternoon in Mya's room, the pair went to a training room in a neighboring sub-temple. When they got there, Orion reached for the console that controlled the remotes, but Mya stopped him.
"I want to fight you this time, not some remotes."
Orion blinked. "Are you sure?"
"Absolutely."
The two Jedi shed their cloaks and ignited their lightsabers. Mya started the duel. Swing, parry, stab, spin, jump, and throw, on and on. After an hour, both had begun to sweat. Mya moved to Orion and executed three lightning quick strikes at his head, all of which he blocked.
Orion then quickly cut upwards, knocking Mya's lightsaber away. He moved in, to level his blade at her throat and claim his victory.
.. only to stop and stare as the scene changed before his eyes. Many images flashed before his eyes. A tall woman, her throat slit, blood spilling onto her white robes. A pair of twin children and their father stepped into an air taxi and were incinerated by a timed mine planted under the backseat. Four people in a bar, having a drink, mercilessly cut down by several blaster shots. A wookie, dead, a noose running from its neck to the girder of an unfinished building.
Then Orion saw himself. This person differed greatly from the kind, enigmatic Jedi student many at the Academy knew. This young man's face seemed to be carved out of stone, his eyes green chips of ice, his lips tight together, unsmiling. This person was a mercenary, an assassin.
A killer.
***********
Mya's blood ran cold as Orion suddenly dropped his lightsaber and fell to his knees, holding his head and screaming.
A casual observer would see no difference between her and the Mya of three months previous. The only sign of change was the small smile present on her face as the young Jedi sat on the stone roof.
Mya slowly expanded her sphere of awareness as she concentrated, observing with her mind the presences of the Jedi in the sub-temple below her, most of whom were still asleep.
Mya's smile grew as she shifted the focus of her mind to the menagerie, where a few students kept pets. It only took her a moment to pinpoint the lone individual among the many animals. The single Jedi stood in a small glass aviary home to several brightly colored birds, which squawked and chirped as he held a plastic dish of nectar in both hands. Mya could feel the happiness of her soul mate and lover, Orion as he laughed and watched the birds flock to him.
After a few minutes the nectar was gone along with most of the birds. Orion watched the last one flutter back to one of the several branch-like perches along the walls, and then slowly returned to the main entrance to the menagerie.
Orion suddenly stopped, and Mya knew he had sensed her. She felt him smile, and then he suddenly vanished, invisible to her mental perception. By the time she realized what had happened, it was too late. The Jedi jumped up, grinning as she tried to escape, but she felt a wall of Force energy encircle her and prevent her from moving.
Still grinning, she turned around and came face-to-face with Orion, who shared her glowing smile. Without saying a word, he freed her from his gentle Force grip and pulled her into a loving embrace, both of their mouths too occupied to say anything, and both of their hearts and souls too full of love to feel anything else.
***********
As the pair walked through the main temple hand in hand, Orion glanced at a bulletin just inside the main door where upcoming events were posted. He nudged Mya with his elbow.
"Hey, look at that."
Mya followed Orion's pointing finger to a recent post on the bulletin, which stated that there would be a seminar on lightsaber combat that afternoon, given by none other than Master Vondo-baas himself. Mya frowned.
"That's odd, Master Vondo has never held a seminar before. I wonder why he would now."
Her partner shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe he thinks we need the practice."
"Well, we'll find out won't we?"
"Sure, but what will be do until then?"
Mya only smiled mischievously in reply. Playfully tugging his arm, she pulled him away from the bulletin towards her room.
************
Two hours later, Mya woke up to find Orion sitting on a chair next to her bed, deep in meditation. Smiling, she leaned over and gave him a tender kiss. He opened his eyes and gazed at her in response.
"How did you sleep?"
"Fine, although you could do a lot more to deepen that sleep."
Orion only grinned and shook his head in response. "I've sworn an oath to the Master to not do anything stupid until we're both older, you know that."
Mya mockingly pouted at this. Her soul mate merely shook his head in response and glanced at the wall chrono.
"We still have another half hour until Master Vondo's lesson begins. Any ideas?"
As an answer, her lightsaber detached itself from the wall and floated to her open hand. Orion pulled his cream-colored Jedi tunic on and checked his own weapon. He tossed his companion her own tunic, and then respectfully turned away as she got dressed.
A light kiss on his neck signaled her readiness. The two Jedi students left the room, hand-in-hand.
Twenty minutes and fifteen remotes later, Mya and Orion switched off their weapons and shut down the training system. Although they had been working nonstop, thanks to the energies of the Force they were only slightly short of breath.
Orion did several stretches, and Mya did a few back flips to keep the blood flowing. Fully rested, the Jedi set off to the main training room of the central temple.
***********
Master Vondo rarely taught, and when he did it was with a small group of Padawans. For him to hold a lesson open to the upper half of the school, six years of students, was unheard of.
When Mya and Orion reached the designated chamber, they found it close to full already. Looking around, Mya saw a few of her friends sitting together, and she pulled Orion towards them.
"Hey. Have you guys missed me much?" Inquired Mya as she sat down next to the two girls that she had befriended three years ago.
"Yeah right, Mya. We've heard the rumors about you two," Replied the closer one, Junaria. A tall, twi'lek Jedi student with blue skin, her parents had sent her to the Academy when they learned of her force aptitude. She was very laid-back, and no one had ever seen her draw her lightsaber in anger.
"I'm surprised you even heard about this seminar, what with all the time you spend in Orion's arms," added the other student, a Zabrak named Leana. Leana was a mechanical wiz, and as such she was always tinkering with some new gizmo or device whenever someone saw her.
Mya flushed at the comments. "Hey, I still make time for other things!"
The three girls continued to bicker about Mya falling heavily for a handsome stranger. Throughout all of this Orion merely sat in silence, listening to their conversation with half an ear, watching the small stage at the front of the large chamber and wondered what Master Vondo had to say about lightsabers that was so important.
The waiting crowd of students quieted as Master Vondo took the stage. Hands clasped behind his back, the Jedi Master began speaking.
"Many of you here have already constructed your lightsabers and have developed some skill with them. I am giving this seminar to demonstrate to you the weapons and techniques utilized by the Sith, also known as the Dark Jedi."
When he said this, the many students began whispering amongst themselves. Master Vondo motioned to the front row of seats, and a figure rose to join him onstage. This man was also a Jedi, calm and reserved. He wore a simple black tunic and trousers, and the silver hilt of a lightsaber hung at his waist.
"This is Master Ne'kral, a fellow Jedi of mine. He is an expert on Sith technology and force techniques. He will be my opponent in this demonstration."
With that, he faced the other Master, and they bowed. Both then assumed their respective fighting positions and ignited their lightsabers. Ne'kral struck first, jumping forward with his emerald blade held above his head, and aimed a swing at Vondo's neck. However, Vondo had already moved, bringing his silver bladed weapon up and pivoting to the left, letting Ne'kral's move sail past him.
Vondo then released a blast of force energy at his opponent's back, sending him even further away from him. Ne'kral's following move was unexpected. He halted his flight in midair and used the Force to propel himself, back first, towards Vondo. As he did this, a second green blade suddenly ignited from the other end of his weapon, and Ne'kral pointed this at the heart of his opponent.
Vondo then made everyone's jaw drop. He tossed his lightsaber to one side and caught the blade between his hands, bringing it to a dead stop. The students' could not believe what they were seeing. Vondo, completely unharmed by the blade, quickly jerked it out of Ne'kral's hands and tossed it away as well, switching it off as he did so.
Ne'kral's anger and humiliation was almost palpable. His left palm glowed as lightning flew from his outstretched hand towards Vondo. Vondo merely raised a hand in response and the lightning ricocheted off of his palm towards the ceiling, leaving a large black scorch mark.
The Academy Master then darted forward and struck a lightning blow to Ne'kral's ribs, causing him to crumple to the ground.
The entire fight had lasted less than thirty seconds. Every single student was on the edge of their seat, mouths open and eyes wide.
Vondo and Ne'kral stood and retrieved their lightsabers, then assumed their starting positions again. This went on for the next thirty minutes.
Finally the two Masters bowed shook hands and left the stage. This signaled that the seminar was over. As Orion, Mya, Leana, and Junaria walked out of the chamber, everyone was talking about what they had just seen.
Leana and Junaria went their separate ways at the main temple entrance, Leana to work on a new gizmo, and Junaria to the library to find a decent story and some sleep. This left Mya and Orion by themselves again. As they had spent the afternoon in Mya's room, the pair went to a training room in a neighboring sub-temple. When they got there, Orion reached for the console that controlled the remotes, but Mya stopped him.
"I want to fight you this time, not some remotes."
Orion blinked. "Are you sure?"
"Absolutely."
The two Jedi shed their cloaks and ignited their lightsabers. Mya started the duel. Swing, parry, stab, spin, jump, and throw, on and on. After an hour, both had begun to sweat. Mya moved to Orion and executed three lightning quick strikes at his head, all of which he blocked.
Orion then quickly cut upwards, knocking Mya's lightsaber away. He moved in, to level his blade at her throat and claim his victory.
.. only to stop and stare as the scene changed before his eyes. Many images flashed before his eyes. A tall woman, her throat slit, blood spilling onto her white robes. A pair of twin children and their father stepped into an air taxi and were incinerated by a timed mine planted under the backseat. Four people in a bar, having a drink, mercilessly cut down by several blaster shots. A wookie, dead, a noose running from its neck to the girder of an unfinished building.
Then Orion saw himself. This person differed greatly from the kind, enigmatic Jedi student many at the Academy knew. This young man's face seemed to be carved out of stone, his eyes green chips of ice, his lips tight together, unsmiling. This person was a mercenary, an assassin.
A killer.
***********
Mya's blood ran cold as Orion suddenly dropped his lightsaber and fell to his knees, holding his head and screaming.