((I lay no claim to the Star Wars world, just an enjoyment in the worlds that George Lucus created. This story follows the adventures of Skye Organa within the RPG.))
Chapter 5 Training & a DiscoveryFrom out of the sky, Tares' ship came to the surface and landed. Minutes later the two jedi were out onto the pad. A few meters away stood the Jedi's villa. It was a nice little place, good to train at.
Taking the bags, Tares made his way over to the front door, "I think this place should be perfect for training...."
Skye followed her Master inside. Looking around and taking in the beauty of their surrounds.
"This place is amazing Master..."
"I'm glad you think so. My father had alot of wealth, much that he spent on second, third, forth, and fifth homes all over the galaxy. When he died, he in trusted all his land to me, while my brother took over his company. This place is my favourite." Tares told her as he led the way inside.
Heading into the main living area, Tares sat down the bags and took in the familiar surroundings, "There is a spare bedroom down the hall. My father liked things big, so you should find the room to be alot bigger than anything the Vigilance offers...."
"I can easily see why Master" Skye answered as she slowly headed down the hall in the direction indicated. "It is very lovely here."
She entered the room, putting her bag down on the bed and took in her surrounds. "A lot bigger than the Vigilance by far Master... that was abit of an understatement..." she laughingly thought in his direction.
After getting set himself, Tares made his way back out to the main living room and began preparing a light lunch for the two. It felt good for him to be behind the counter again inside the kitchen. So much war lately had made him forget he had other hobbies besides fighting.
With in a half an hour, Tares was finished making the lunch. A hearty meal made up of sandwiches and soup marked the tray as he sat it down onto the table, All Jedi should grow up strong and healthy, he thought....
Leaving the food for a few minutes, Tares decided to try and help Darex out with an old friend. Thus, he sent a message out into space....
Placing her spare clothing in a draw and putting her bag away Skye contemplated the recent events. A lot had happened in such a short time. Her arrival on Hoth and the start of her training, then the Academy attacked. She'd come into contact with three sith lords and managed somehow to keep herself relatively unscathed and had first met the man who was to later become her master. Not to mention the rebel transport being blown up around her and Darex and then Ish pulling them out of the wreckage. Quite an ordeal before they had arrived safely at the Eternal Vigilance.
Thinking back to Hoth again, she remembered how one of the sith, Jareth, had gotten her with a force grip to the throat. 'Hmmm might be a good idea to ask Master Tares how I can get out of that for future reference I think. I don't want to be caught unaware next time... somehow I'm sure there will be a next time although I don't want to be right in that assumption." She thought to herself.
Skye wandered back into the living area and over to her master. "Can I help with anything?" she enquired.
After sending the message, Tares noticed his padawan walk in. Shaking his head he smiled, "Nothing to help with. Lunch is served."
Taking a seat at the table, hours of hunger took over the Jedi's body as he dived right into his food. In an attempt to control himself against the pull of hunger, Tares looked up to Skye, "So tell me, back on Hoth when you had your run with that sith. What happened?"
Guessing that her master had picked up on her thoughts through the bond, Skye looked up from her lunch, the scene playing over in her mind's eye.
She hadn't been all that close to where Aryian was fighting Jareth, not even close enough to see the face of her enemy, just close enough to feel the dark presence of the armored figure and to throw a force blast at him. The sith had ignored her to start with, allowing her to retreat to where she had thought she'd be safe and had continued after Aryian although what she had done had helped.
Looking downcast at her plate she spoke. "I guess the sith tracked me somehow by my fear Master. It was the first time I'd come up against the Sith and I was so unprepared for it. The darkness of those armored sith frightened me. He used the Force to grab me by the throat, choking me so I couldn't breathe. He only let go when Aryian attacked him again. While I recovered my breath I started to recite the jedi code, over and over and I gained strength from it. Then I saw Aryian's eyes... they went red Master. I tried to send him a message to remember the code and I think that it worked because I saw him calm down. I also heard the sith taunting him about vanquishing the darkside, that it had been his only strength. I had run then, back to the hanger. Keiran had gone after the sith then." She fell silent then, waiting on her master's response.
Tares nodded, "Interesting, well we can say this for sure, you survived. The force can be a very powerful and dangerous thing. Sadly no one can run from it since it is all over. Yet, those trained enough can hide from it. This is something I will teach you...."
"I would be glad if you would teach me that Master." She finished her lunch and collected the empty dishes, taking them over to the sink and cleaning up.
After that her Master showed her where the gym was so that she could train and left her to it while he went about some other business. She went through her exercises, using the new techniques she had been shown through the holocron. It took her longer than thought to go through them all and as she went through her cool down exercises late in the afternoon, she had what she thought was a daydream...
Music was playing and the bar was packed. Master Tares was across the room and it was Skye's job to make contact...she was dancing with anyone who asked her to, this should make it easy for their contact to approach. Earlier in the day, Tares had taken her to a hospital so that she could practice her healing techniques and she was happy with her progress.
Her contact came up to her, asking her to dance and using the correct identification code. She took possession of the data disk, slipping it into her pocket as they danced. That dance ended and another began with a different partner joining her on the dance floor. Skye made eye contact with her Master, giving him a pre-arranged signal. That was the cue for him to 'cut in' on the dance. She transferred the data disk to him before excusing herself and heading for the 'ladies room'.
Coming back out she is approached by another man. There is something familiar about him but she cannot place where she might know him from. He asks her to dance and they move out onto the dance floor. The music changes to a slow rhythmic tune and her partner moves closer to her, their bodies close but not quite touching. She is then aware that another had moved up close behind her and she gets the feeling that something just isn't quite right.
She tries to make contact with her Master who is back across the room, talking with some of the other Jedi, only with all the ysalamiri she isn't able to send him a signal. Somehow she manages to catch his eye, just as her 'dance partner' makes his move. He draws her to him in a close embrace and lowers his mouth to kiss her in one swift movement, effectively silencing any call for help she may make. Silently she screams in the direction of her Master... "Help!" She has a sudden flash of where she had seen this man before and knows that he is a Sith. The man behind her moves closer so that she is wedged tightly between the two of them and she feels something jabbed into her thigh. Blackness starts to take her and she hears them say that they have to get her out of there fast, before anyone realises what is happening...
As she refocused her eyes she thought of how vivid the daydream was, then thought again that it might not be just a daydream. She went in search of her Master then and related, in detail, what she had 'seen' and asking him what it could mean.
Taking a few moments to think about the words his padawan just stated, Tares thought back. It was an interesting dream to say the least. It would be careless of him to simply dismiss the dream as useless since it was clear, it was something more.
"Perhaps it is a message to you my padawan. Something from the force maybe. A vision of the future, or of someone else's future. What do you think?" He asked her.
"I don't know what to think Master... I've never had something come to me so clear before... and nothing like that. If it is something to do with the future, who would be wanting to contact us?
I get the impression that it wasn't a message for me though master, rather that I was to collect some information to give to you...or for you to pass on to someone else"
Tares raised an eyebrow, "Interesting observation. Well, what ever type of message it is, and regardless who it is for, one thing is for sure; the meaning of this vision is important. This isn't something to be ignored."
Taking a brief moment, Tares sent a comm to the temple, then headed back, "Perhaps more will be revealed in due time...."
She watched her Master as he went over to a comm panel to send off his message then return.
"Yes Master. What would you have me do now?" Skye quietly asked.
Skye had closed her eyes while she stood quietly next to her master when another feeling hit her. A feeling of something... no... of someone familiar to her. He was here, on Naboo. It was someone she felt she should know... but she didn't and it confused her. She stretched out with the Force to locate him and to try and identify him. She couldn't get over how familiar his presence was... and then it hit her.
She had forgotten it at the time but now she recalled the details of a conversation she had over heard... it was between her mother and an 'unknown' man on the comm link and she had been about 10 years old. She now put two and two together and came up with the correct answer. Her Mother had been speaking with her Father, only Skye hadn't known who it was at the time. They had been talking about a boy child... that's it... they were talking about her brother! She had a half brother! And he was here...he was on Naboo! Not knowing if he would 'hear' her or not, she sent out a silent call... aiming it in his direction on the hope that he might hear her... and that he might find her. "I am here brother... I'll be waiting for you..."
As her eyes refocused she met her Master's and told him what she had just felt, that she had a brother that was out there 'somewhere' and she had to find him.
Feeling out through the force, Tares could feel the connection between Skye and the being she thought was her brother, "Very interesting indeed. Perhaps we should meet...."
Skye looked in the direction she thought her brother was in... then back towards her master. Her hand going to her amethyst pendant as if in comfort.
"Could we master?"
She was trying to remember the details of the overheard conversation but couldn't recall much of it. Her mother had spoken in a hushed tone, not wanting her to hear if she happened to pass by. But she had heard some of it, enough to know that her mother was feeling hurt, betrayed and angry with this man for some reason that she couldn't fathom at the time. Now she knew it was because he'd had another family...
She stretched out again with the Force... "Where are you brother... ?"
"My master wishes me to find you using the force... We are coming..." Her brother responded.
She heard a reply through the Force and her eyes widened slightly as she looked up at Master Tares.
"They're coming Master... he just told me... and I can feel that he is getting closer..." She had a slight look of wonder on her face as she said this as she felt another familiar presence with him.
Before today she didn't realise that she had a brother and now she was about to meet him face to face and she was alittle bit nervous. Feeling her brother's approach she looked to Master Tares to see if they should go out to meet them.
Tares smiled, "Let us go meet them then."
With that he stepped outside and waited. He looked forward to the meeting....
She followed her master outside and looked in the direction that she felt they were coming from... and waited silently, with anticipation ... until the two finally came into view.
"Well, this is an interesting set of circumstances, isn't it?" Ben'a Solo said lightly.
Skye's hand went up to her amethyst pendant as she looked at her brother. He had the look of their father about him and she wondered if he knew Nichos Katarn better than she had. Oddly she notice he was wearing the clothing of a Sith and she felt an inner pain and turmoil radiating from him. She took a step closer, extending her hand towards him.
"I know you are my brother, I can see how you resemble our Father... but I don't know your name or anything about you..." Her voice trailed off as she looked him over again. Taking a deep breath she added, "I guess we should introduce ourselves... I'm Skye..."
'Wow, this doesn't happen every day... oops, gotta speak...'
Nahstaa took his sisters hand, and said "I'm Nahstaa." His words were simple, but his face was split by a huge grin, and he pulled his sister to him in a hug.
One thing he had noticed about her was that she was somewhat older than him... Whispering in her ear, with his eyes closed, he asked, "Did you know our father well???" He said this sweetly, feeling totally at peace with his sister in his arms.
Skye was somewhat surprised when Nahstaa embraced her, but it felt oddly natural and she found herself hugging her brother back.
"Did you know our father well???"
She was silent for a moment before answering.
"No, I haven't seen him since I was about five... although he used to call on the comm link occasionally... but I didn't know he was my father until just recently. I was always told that he was just a family friend."
She paused again, then continued softly.
"The only thing I have to remember him by is this pendant..."
Moving apart from his sister just a little, Nahstaa looked at her pendant...
Slowly he reached into his shirt, and pulled out a pendant that was the perfect match...
"No, I haven't seen him since I was about five... although he used to call on the comm link occasionally... but I didn't know he was my father until just recently. I was always told that he was just a family friend."
'Ohh no, she doesn't know... I'm just going to have to tell her straight up...' Nahstaa thought.
"I haven't seen our father for years now, and before my little... incident with the sith, I got word of him... He... is no longer with us..."
As he said this, he pulled his sister close once again, supporting her. As he did this, he tried to comfort her by sending her feelings of love and warmth to her through the bond that was forming between them....
Skye smiled as she saw Nahstaa's matching pendant. Their father had made sure that they would have something to identify each other with. Noticing Nahstaa's face become serious at her reply regarding their father and he broke the news of his death to her.
She felt her breath catch in her throat as she choked back a sob. She hadn't known her father ... hadn't seen him for years and now she knew she would never get that chance. She let herself feel the grief, a picture of him forming in her mind as she had last seen him and she let her tears flow... not holding them in, feeling that if she released them her emotions could be controlled and the grief to be let go.
As she opened herself up to the force she could feel a bond forming between herself and her brother. It was different from the one she had with her Master and she tried to analyze the differences. She felt her siblings love and she returned it. Composing herself, she pulled away from her brother, feeling a smile replace the tears as she looked on him.
Turning back to Master Tares and Jedi Knight Ben'a she asked "So what happens now?"
Dhan-Jaroe Kenobi walked over to where the others were:
"Tares, I noticed your presences arriving here shortly after I did, I wasn't followed, now was I?"
Tares smiled to DJK, "No we didn't follow you. My villa is here, which my padawan and I came to train at. Instead though, we discovered a few new friends. If you haven't met my company, this is Skye, Ben'a, and a new friend of mine, Nahstaa."
He looked around, "I guess now the only thing to do is invite you all in. Wouldn't want to get sunburned from all this love...."
"We've met before," Ben'a says to Tares with a smile. "Skye, I've known since Hoth, and Master Kenobi, I first met not that far from here on Naboo. It was the Force that drew me to meet Nahstaa on Coruscant." He turned to Skye and Nahstaa, then, to answer their question.
"You ask what will happen next, and with good reason. I can sense the joy that the two of you feel at being reunited after so long, and I am glad that I could help with this. But the question you pose is one that you yourselves, and no one else, can answer. The path that lies before you has, and always will, depend on the choices you make. Now I must ask the both of you: what do you choose for yourselves?"
Master Kenobi spoke to Master Tares, "So, Tares, you had a bumpy past with the jedi as I did. So, how did you become a member of the council? We used to be stationed together, remember?"
Once everyone was inside, Tares served refreshments to everyone while considering DJK's question. Finally sitting down, he smiled to the Knight, "I do remember being stationed together. I also remember my 'bumpy' past wasn't as bumpy as yours. I became a member of the Council by following the Code, no other special tricks but going with the flow. I understand that you recently came back to the order for a meeting with the council, I regret that matters didn't free up for us to visit sooner...."
Skye stood beside her brother listening to both Master's Kenobi and Tares and then as her brother answered Ben'a. "I... cannot speak for my sister, but if it were totally up to me, I would train under you, but stay near her. I do not wish to leave her any time soon, as we have only just met..." After saying this, Nahstaa realised he was still in his sith clothing. "Ahh, Could i possibly get some different clothes, and maybe a fire??? These clothes aren't the... nicest of things to wear..."
Ben'a answered her brother, "Master Tares should have something for you, Nahstaa. Ask him, and he'll direct you, I'm sure. As for that fire, that shouldn't be a problem. Oh, and we'll be staying on Naboo for as long as I can foresee, so there's no need to worry about having to depart. Once you're ready, go and get acquainted with Skye."
Ben'a turned to Tares and Dhan-Jaroe, his face set. He had done a lot of studying and soul-searching during his time with the Order, and there were several things on his mind that he desired to make known. If only to a few who would listen. Drawing up his courage, he spoke in frank terms, his voice and face a determined mask. However, he kept his feelings open to the two before him.
"I'm sorry if this seems impetuous or headstrong, Masters, but I feel this must be said. The 'flow', as you define it, Master Tares, does not rest with those in the Council, but in the Force. Jedi should not strive for rank, for we were not meant to serve rank, but to serve the Force, and to carry out its will. I feel that to organize like we have, though it can serve a purpose, can be taken to an extreme that will draw us into the mundane. This is what undermined the Old Jedi Order, under the Old Republic
"As it happens, I do believe that the Council is indeed mired in the mundane. When I waited outside of the Council chambers aboard the Eternal Vigilance with Master Kenobi, I felt what went on there, though not the specifics. The Council is rife with indecision; it is not intended, I am sure, but the fact remains that it is there, and it is undermining what we are as an order. One of them in particular seemed to be downright lost, and another was more focused on their own agenda then what was best for the Order."
Ben'a paused then, remembering the tumult that he had felt in the Force in the lead up to the battle at Hoth. It pained him to think about it...he had died there...
"In the time before the battle at Hoth, I and several of the other Knights at the temple felt a dark disturbance. But none of the Masters were around to help us interporate those feelings, or to take steps to ensure we were prepared for what happened. We need to consolidate, we need to organize, but more importantly, we need to focus on getting more in tune with the Force, and getting everyone trained to their maximum potential."
Through the force, Tares twisted the switch to the fireplace before the ground. With in a second a wide golden flame erupted out from behind the glass plate.
With a smile, the Jedi began to think about extra clothing, "If I remember correctly, my brother's room still has some clothing left over. He never liked to wear new things, plus I think they should fit you. Let me go check."
After a few minutes, Tares was back with a suitable attire, "I know the Sith never have been ones for comfort in their clothing. You can use these if you wish."
Setting the cloths down on the table, Tares once again took a seat and picked up his drink.
"Thankyou" Nahstaa spoke the word simply, but the feeling he put into it showed he was not only thanking Tares for the clothes, but for understanding and for taking him into his home. Quietly he moved into another room, and got changed into a comfortable robe. It was well worn, and well maintained. Most importantly, it was warm and comfortable.
Tares gave careful consideration to the words Ben'a gave:
"You bring up some wise points young one, some of which I agree with. However I can't totally agree with you since my long experience has taught me a few virtues that we do not share. I will agree that the current status of the order isn't a desired one, and that a few council members aren't the best suited for the order."
"Most of the council is partly responsible for the survival of the Jedi, of course along with the heroic efforts of all the Jedi. What you may see as indecision is merely debate. It is what happens when different ideas are brought. We wouldn't be a true council if this was otherwise. Good choices take time to make, no matter what the situation. Effective actions in situations which are dangerous are merely based on instinct. Instinct which is born from good choices. In simple terms, all that you have learned as a Jedi which enables you to fight in dangerous missions, and act with logic when there is little time to think has been born from good choices. Which was born from debate."
"The Jedi at this point are organized. As a whole, we are strong and unified. We have problems yes, but nothing comparable to what I have witnessed. What the Jedi need to do is expand their presence into the galaxy and no longer fear creatures like the Sith...."
Ben'a listened with an open mind to what Master Tares was saying. The elder Jedi was right, of course. Ben'a had not been with the Order that long, not nearly as long as Tares. And he had seen the fall; compared to that, the Hoth battle had been a minor skirmish...
When he spoke, Ben'a's voice was calm and collected.
"Forgive me my impatience, Master Tares. I understand what you mean. I suppose that, since I am still relatively new to the Order, I have not seen the truly dark times, and I am glad of that.
"However, you say that instinct comes from good choices. But I don't quite see it that way. Good choices come from instinct, but not wholly so; instinct, combined with one's experiences, judgement, and skill, are what form our choices. It is only afterwards that we can see if those choices we made were good or bad. I made some bad choices on Hoth during the battle, but I feel that I am somewhat wiser for them..
"I learned that, sometimes, one needs to stand and fight, whatever the odds."
Ben'a sat at a table and took a long pull from his drink. It somehow felt good to be exchanging ideas with a Master such as Tares. He hoped that, someday, he would come to possess the wisdom to make a difference in the course of the universe. But he could wait; whatever would happen, whatever his destiny might be, would come of its own accord.
"And I've learned something else today. Our choices are not always permanent; if one is strong enough, they can reverse a wrong turn down a path one determines to be incorrect."
"If staying with the order is following the code, then I have broken it. The order needs more jedi like Tinova and myself. You do nothing but sit around and re-locate every time you get attacked." Master Kenobi voiced his strongly worded opinion.
Ben'a's answer to Dhan-Jaroe Kenobi was short and to the point.
"I asked you this once before -- what, exactly, do you mean by a 'Jedi more like you'?"
Ben' paused for another moment before continuing.
"Master Kenobi, for what its worth, I can understand the impatience that you have with some in the Order. But Tares is right -- we do ourselves a disservice with whatever battles of ego we engage in. And from what Tares said of the past, we're doing well right now. But I do think we can do better. If we put our heads together, and come up with some sort of plan of action, there should be no reason why we can't prompt an improvement of the Order overall.
"And while I understand your feelings, I also feel that they can be a hindrance. Anger and frustration without purpose is of the dark side, so tell me...does your anger and frustration with the Order have a purpose?"
"The only reason the order is doing well is because the Hutts and the sith aren't attacking them."
"The order needs jedi that are willing to attack its enemies instead of waiting for your extinction." Master Kenobi announced.
Somehow, what Dhan-Jaroe was proposing did not surprise Ben'a. From knowing him, this was almost expected...but there was one serious problem.
"Master Kenobi, I do agree that we need to strike back at our enemies...but there is something that must be addressed beforehand. When I was on Manaan, I could sense a desire among some of the Jedi there to strike back at the Sith and the Empire. I myself felt a small desire for revenge upon the Hutts that betrayed us on Hoth. This leads me to the problems at hand: half of our number are either untrained, or unbound to masters and unable to engage in offensive action with their current levels of training. We must train them, but we must also be careful how we do so. Master Keiran showed me the skills of a Jedi, but he was not able to show me the true nature of the Dark side. If we are too hasty in training our hopefuls and apprentices in combat and other martial skills, we may lose some of them to the very forces we hope to destroy.
"And there is another problem. If we go into this fight half-hearted; sending only the most powerful, we run the risk of dividing our numbers. If our powerful Masters are slain, the Sith can come for the rest of us, and they will destroy us with absurd ease. If we fight, it must be all or nothing. And from what I was able to sense on Manaan, there are some who may already be gearing up for the fight, though the rest of us are not ready."
Ben'a looked over to where Skye and Nahstaa sat talking. He thought for a moment about what might happen if both fell to the dark side...the lure was powerful, even to people as committed to the light as the five in this villa:
"My apprentice climbed from the depths of the Sith's clutches of his own free will...and I will not let him be dragged back down the dark path."
Tares nodded, "Ben'a once again presents a wise statement DJK, one in which I totally agree with. Above that, if I may present my personal opinion I have little faith in as you said, 'people like you'. I won't deny that the Order thus far has been on the defensive, but it isn't due to the fact that no one wishes to bring the war to the Sith. It's the sad reality, like Ben'a pointed out, that many of our numbers are poorly trained or aren't ready to face such dangers."
The Jedi looked to his padawan for a moment, then took a sip of his drink, "Would you risk the lives of those who can't properly fight just to prove the point that the order needs people like you? If you don't know, I have no belief in light or dark, good or evil. To me everything just is, which means unlike some Jedi who believe the true way of the Jedi isn't to attack, isn't something I share. Yet I do believe everything has it's place in reality, and plain out attacking our enemy in our the order's state doesn't have its place. To have more people like you wouldn't do much more for the Order than what you feel is being done now, instead many more would die out of the lack of training. If you are to debate this matter, then lets get the facts straight:
The Jedi aren't attacking the enemy not because the council likes to wait around. We aren't attacking because we aren't prepared to. The members of the order know very well what must be done, and which actions have their places along the path we take...."
Moving back out into the main room, Nahstaa threw his old garments into the fire, and went to sit with his sister. Sitting close to her he asked,
"I... I really would like to get to know you much better. Would you like to go for a walk, and we can have a chat as we walk?"
Skye sat down quietly sipping at her drink while the Masters discussed matters and her brother got changed out of the Sith clothing. She found it interesting listening to the discussion taking place about whether or not they were prepared to attack their enemies or not and found herself silently agreeing with her masters views on the matter, although Ben'a had brought up some good points also. She had found she recognized DJK from Hoth when she had gone looking for Darex. They had been about to take on another of the Sith, if she recalled correctly, that had also been when she had been otherwise occupied by another of that order- Neo - and it was also when she had first met Master Tares.
When Nahstaa came back into the room she watched as he took great satisfaction at watching them burn in the flames. She rose to her feet then, taking her glass over to the sink, cleaning and putting it away before returning over to where her brother was waiting. With a nod to the masters she headed outside with Nahstaa. Her curiosity about one matter foremost in her mind and knew it would be something that needed to be aired between them soon.
"I know this may be hard for you but... how did you become involved with the sith?"
Nahstaa took a deep breath, and started talking:
"When I was very little, our father discovered I had the use of the force. He started to train me in it, not in the way of physical skills and such, but in simple things such as reading the emotions of others, and knowing what sort of person someone was. When my mother found out about this, she was happy, but she seemed to have some sense of foreboding, and told my father that she didn't want me learning now, that I should wait until another master could take me on."
"He believed in me, as he always did, and kept on training me. Slowly but surely, my mother convinced herself that she had given birth to a monster, a sith... Eventually her mind cracked, and she tried to drown me, throwing me into the town's river. Some primal instinct in me used my skills in the force, and I managed to save myself..." As he spoke of the river, he could feel the same old dream creeping up on him, and he knew what was about to happen... he looked at his sister, sorry for what he was about to put her through, and collapsed, totally broken down, ragged sobs escaping him as he huddled into a ball, trying to escape the perils of his own mind...
Skye listened to her brothers tale with compassion. When he broke down she knelt beside him, her arms around him to comfort him. Through the tentative bond that was forming between them she sent loving, soothing thoughts full of support for him.
"It's alright, let it all go..."
She couldn't imagine what his mother had put him through, apart from not having her father with them, she had had a happy childhood. Sure she had gotten rebellious from time to time, but that soon passed and she had formed a respectful relationship with her mother after that. After his sobbing had resided she found herself telling her brother of her childhood, her mischievous escapades where she had gotten herself into a lot of trouble and found herself then asking what their father had been like.
As his sister held him, he found him self holding her as well, still shaking. The sound of her voice soothed him, and he slowly calmed down, Feeling the warmth of her love flow into him... That was all he wanted, to be warm again, to be totally free of the cold. That was what had made him turn. With the sith everything felt so cold, but he thought that if he fought harder, and became stronger he would feel satisfied... He had realised that that path led to total emptiness early enough to come to the light and be warm, and he was glad. He could still feel the cold at the edge of his consciousness, but it was bearable now, and he could control it, most of the time...
Nahstaa let his thoughts flow through the bond between his sister and himself, not hearing her words, only the love they held... He showed her exactly why he had left the sith, he showed her his dream, and he showed her how much her love meant to him... For the first time since his mother had pushed him into that stream, he felt totally warm, safe in his sisters arms...
Taking in all the information her brother told her, she got up to her feet and gently pulled him up with her. Putting her arm around his waist she led him back to the villa and into where the others were still discussing plans.
"We'll have plenty of time to catch up I'm sure." She told him as they headed back. "But for now I feel we must return to the others. I haven't been in training long. I've not long become Master Tares' padawan."
As they walked back, Nahstaa kept his sister close.
"Just do me one favour. Stay close. I don't want that to happen again."
Skye answered her brother with by squeezing her arm around him tighter, she would be there for him whenever he needed her. Both padawan's then rejoined their Masters. Skye moving over to Master Tares to see what they should be doing next, finding the heated debate was still going on.
"What about Hou-Jo? He's a mighty jedi on the council, I'm sure he could train another apprentice that'll turn to the darkside, just like Impede and Obi-Two." Master Kenobi stated.
Ben'a answered him calmly but with equal strength behind his words.
"I think all three of us know that Master Poleb isn't the best Jedi, Master Kenobi. However, who do you think you are to judge him like this? Who are any of us to say he's not the best? Do we judge a Jedi's worth by the apprentices they train? Do we judge them by their skills with the lightsaber, or the Force? And what of our judgements, once passed?"But you have a point -- particularly in relation to the incident on Hoth when Hou-Jo proclaimed himself a Master, and the leader of the Order. Though I am loathe to say it, I cannot help but see, and sense, some of his arrogance in you, Master Kenobi. And that, quite frankly, disturbs me." Ben'a turned to Tares once more before continuing.
"Master Vortex, I do believe it is a good idea for us to spend time with our own apprentices. If you will excuse me..."
Ben'a rose from his seat, and gave a short bow to Tares and Dhan-Jaroe, before taking his leave of the table. By this time, Skye and Nahstaa had returned, and Ben'a walked over to them, offering a warm smile.
"It is time to train, Nahstaa," he said simply. "It is time to light that inner fire of yours; a fire of peace and justice...of the Force."
"If I have any arrogance its because I used to be a bounty hunter. What is Poleb's excuse? He claims the rank of Master when he detested my rightful ascension to that rank." DJK announced.
Hearing DJK's last comment, Nahstaa truly felt the need to speak.
"I truly know almost nothing of the jedi, but if you use your past as an excuse, how can you ever progress? You just keep on wishing you were better, and doing nothing about it, except for wishing for it... I apologise if I have overstepped myself, but if I want to go anywhere in life, I will never ever use my past as an excuse..."
DJK turned his attention towards Nahstaa, "I have more problems than you'll ever know. I've lost alot and I still try to do the best I can. When you've gone through something heart wrenching you can point out my errors. Well I suppose you are superior to me, being a member of the order and all. But I can use whatever I want for an excuse: especially for 'arrogance' as Ben'a put it. I have the arrogance of Hou-Jo's fingertip."
"I consider myself in no way superior to you, or anyone here. But i too have had great losses. I'm not here to fight, or to make a massive show of my past, i just want to learn. I just feel that no matter what happens, life MUST continue." Nahstaa responded.
Tares stepped in, "The fact is, we all have suffered someway or an other. We all have lost a part of what we are that made us human. In this way we are all connected."
He turned to DJK, "Maybe Hou-Jo is a poor excuse for a Jedi. Or perhaps he is the greatest Jedi to ever live. Either way, who cares right now? This galaxy itself has so many more problems than ones like him. Going over and over about his faults won't save any more lives today as it has yesterday."
He took a breath then continued, "You may feel like an outcast, or somehow betrayed by the Order that I proudly stand by and protect. But to let the divisions that merely appear in your mind divide you from people who aren't all that different than yourself..... well that's just sad. You know very well that it isn't the order itself that defines the individual. Perhaps instead of judging members of the Council, and very ethics and operations of the Order itself, you would try walking the path with us for once. If not, then I guess there are always other options. I know the Children of Silence are back up, maybe they could give you the action you seem to seek "
"Nahstaa is right, Master Kenobi. We can all see this, so why can you not? However, like Master Vortex said, this is not the issue." Ben'a added. He turned about on his heel, then, and guided Nahstaa outside to the beautiful visage of the Naboo sunset.
Skye was more than ready to continue her training and looked to see what DJK would do... if he would join them or go his separate way, he did the latter.
"So what are we going to do now Master?" Skye asked respectfully.
Tares smiled to Skye, "I feel like some force defence is needed. I have the perfect mental game we can play in order to develop the skills you have requested. Meet me outside in the garden."
With that Tares went to dress in some comfortable robes, then headed out to his personal garden. Large full grown trees surrounded the perimeter of the circular garden. From the trees, large fields of local flowers grew, creating an array of different spring colours. Finally in the centre was a traditional rock garden, freshly raked by Tares hours ago. The rock garden had two flat padded rocks in it, perfect for sitting down and just relaxing.
Sitting down on one of the rocks, he calmed himself down and awaited for his apprentice....
Skye nodded to her master and headed outside to wait. She wandered around the gardens, taking in the scenery and inhaling the fragrances of the flowers. It was very peaceful and tranquil.
Noticing Master Tares come out she wandered over to where he was in the rock garden...
Tares smiled as he motioned for his padawan to take a seat, "I once learned of a technique that may help you in your desire to protect yourself from force attacks. The technique itself is easy to enter, however to control it is something different."
"Yes Master." She answered as she sat beside him where he had indicated.
He began to draw up the force around him, "In defence, there are virtually to ways to protect against an attack. You can go either directly against it, providing a counter-force to the attack, like you see in blocks in saber combat. However, a true master of defence evades the attack before it ever comes to you. This is what we will learn...."Skye sat by her master, listening carefully and taking all the information in. She definitely didn't want to be caught unaware by a force attack again and was ready to learn whatever techniques she could to counteract or evade them.
"I want you to attack me through the force. Mentally of course, but just invision the form of attack heading towards my presence in the force." Tares said, preparing himself....
Skye gave some thought to her Master's instructions and began to gather the Force to her. She had not given much thought to attacking with the Force mentally, having only wanted to know how to protect herself from the physical aspects but thinking about it now, she knew that to really understand how to defend, one must know how to attack with it in all manner of ways.
Slowly she envisioned a mental image of a needle and sent the tendril of thought towards her master. Maybe with something as fine as a needle she might be able to penetrate the defenses her Master would have put in place. She imaged the needle circling his aura ... looking for a weakness to where she might be able to insert it, watching the colours of his aura shift with an amazing clarity and then she found it... a very small opening ... slowly she inserted her needle...
The needle made it past Tares' "defences", and simply slipped through the empty force space that the Jedi once was located in.
Physically, the jedi was still there, however through the force.... his presence was no longer as large as it once was, "You will have to try better than that...."
"Hmmm well that did a lot of good didn't it – NOT!" Skye thought to herself, "What to try next though...I'm still trying to use my eyesight...I shouldn't, I should trust the Force more than I have been..."
Skye closed her eyes and tapped further into the Force, seeing her Master's presence firstly as a blur, then becoming more clearer as she concentrated further. She took note that he had 'shrunken' his force presence in comparison to his physical size... that was why her 'needle' hadn't been of any effect.
"Cat and mouse Master..." Skye laughed to herself, a smile openly crossing her face. She then imaged herself as the cat, her master... the mouse and began to 'stalk her prey', moving the image to a position that she could 'pounce' from.
Unfortunately, the single mouse grew to an army of mice. Each one continued to grow smaller and to multiply.
With in moments there were thousands of tiny mice, only one being Tares, "Now you have to find a needle in a hay stack...." his amused voice came into her mind.
Skye could hear her master's laughter in her ears as the mice multiplied infront of her. She 'swatted' at a couple of them with her 'paw' only to see them vanish and be replaced yet again by more.
'Hmmm which one is he?'
She was surrounded by mice and began to look carefully at each one. That proved no help as they were all identical in size, shape and colour.
'Master created a bond between us, I wonder if I can use that to find him?'
Carefully she concentrated, narrowing down the field of mice, concentrating on finding her master amongst them. She stretched out with the force, trying to locate which direction he was in, slowly she turned around 'testing' each of the mice in turn and narrowing them down to the right of her.
She felt the force directing her to three mice... slowly she observed the three, stretching her senses and concentrating on the bond Master Vortex had created between them. A slow smile crossed her features as she found him... the mouse on the left.
Thus the hunter became the hunted. The mouse on the left merely disappeared as the cat was drawn in by the false bond.
In an instant, the true form of Tares, a microscopic organism now inside the cat, began its wrath. In a rumble of torment, the ending result was..... a stomach ache, "Poor kitty...." his voice again laughed in her mind.
"Oh Master!!"
Skye groaned as she curled up into a tiny ball of fur. She was trying, but she knew she hadn't a chance against her Master. She hadn't the experience to draw on like he did, plus it was his game after all.
She concentrated on removing the object of torment. She regurgitated a hairball – and the microscopic organism with it, then removed the image of the cat. Skye opened her eyes and looked up at her master.
Tares smiled as the "fun" ended, "Very good, you lasted longer than most that I have seen. Tell me, how is it that I attacked you when I was on the defensive?"
Skye gave it some thought... she really wasn't sure of how he did, she was hoping that he might elaborate on it though so she could know.
"Maybe because I was looking at the bigger picture and not looking for the finer details Master. I left myself open while trying to attack, instead of keeping myself on the defensive also." She answered him.
"Sometimes you need to see the bigger picture before you can focus and begin to look for the finer details. However in this case, you are right in saying that through your attack, you let your defences down. I call it offensive through defence. Let me show you."
Standing up, Tares slowly moved into a defensive emotion, "Please attack me physically now, I'm sure you remember your martial arts training...."
Getting to her feet also, Skye took up a wary stance while she decided on how to attack her Master. She noticed that Nahstaa was now sitting next to her, not far from his own master who looked to be asleep. She had been so involved with her lesson with Master Tares she hadn't kept herself open to knowing who was around her. Another thing she would have to keep in mind for future reference. She gave her brother a quick smile before turning her full attention back to her Master.
She moved offensively against him, always keeping her senses open for any kind of attack against herself, having learnt from that mistake. She warily closed the gap moving to strike him whilst keeping herself centrally balanced.Before the move was completed, they are all startled by Ben'a as he yelled out "Arbra!" Skye stopped in her tracks turning to look at Ben'a, watching as he fainted and turned back to her Master who was looking at Ben'a also.
"What just happened to him?"
She quickly moved to his side to check his vital signs, noticing that he was physically alright, Nahstaa looking on very concerned. She looked up to Tares to see what they should do now.
Two hours later, after getting Ben'a inside Tares' villa and into a bed, the remaining Jedi waited in the main living room. From the hallway walked in Ben'a, looking better.
"You gave us a scare young one. Are you sure you should be up and about like this?" Tares asked....
"I am well enough, Master Tares, to tell you what you need to know." Ben'a's voice was completely serious; he was determined to tell Tares everything.
"Arbra is a planet formerly used by the Rebellion, but the Sith have somehow found it. A Sith by the name of Ahriman has given me information of a vital sort -- the Dark Lord of the Sith is possessed by an ancient evil; and that evil has plans for a unique and powerful feature of Arbra. We must go there to disrupt and halt their plans...or the Galaxy is in grave danger. We must not be caught...but we must also not hold back. I strongly suggest we enlist the Rebellion to help us in this."
Ben'a sat back onto the floor, waiting for Tares' answer.
Tares listened to Ben'a's words, then carefully weighed all the options, "I suggest we think about this carefully before we start taking action. In the past, a "unique and powerful feature" would have pulled in any power craving Sith around. Why would this "Ahriman" be any different?"
Ben'a mulled over Tares' questions. They were perfectly reasonable, of course...to not ask these questions would be foolhardy.
"This Ahriman seems different, somehow; I sensed no deception on his part. Also, if he were in this for the power, he would not have provided me with everything there is to know about the planet, for the concern of the Jedi as well. The Hoojib there are in danger as well...and I believe they could be an ally, if we help them. I believe, though I'm not sure, that what possesses the Dark Lord is tied into the dark crystals under the surface."
Ben'a paused for a moment before continuing.
"I suppose I'm not making much sense, am I? Perhaps we should inform the Council of what we have learned...and the Rebels as well. Their fleet could be crucial if we choose to stop this threat..."
"One thing at a time, we first must inform the council. Once we decide which action to take, then we can notify the rebellion." Tares answered before he began to prepare for the trip back....
"Agreed, Master Tares. When shall we leave?"
Skye had sat quietly listening and observing Tares and Ben'a.
She was concerned at how pale Ben'a still looked when he had reappeared and had been comforting her brother who looked just as worried as she.
Listening to what was being said about the Sith and Arbra was very concerning indeed and she wondered what her Master would decide to do next. Hearing that they planned to return to speak with Council she caught her master's eye.
Getting a signal from her Master, she headed down to her room, collecting and packing her possessions back into her bag and preparing to leave. She tidied up the room, getting it back into the same order as she had originally found it and went back to the living room to await further instructions.
After everyone was ready, the four jedi boarded their respective ships and headed off for the Jedi HQ.