Disclaimer! Again!
Ok, I'm not gonna post disclaimers on all the chapters, but here's a 'lil one. We don't own Star Wars, but we do own ourselves. Or maybe Big Brother does, I dunno. Anyway, if anyone is reading this and intends to flame, here's a message for you:
I know we're not doing everything right! Believe me, I KNOW! And you telling me in some high n mighty rude manner isn't going to make me listen, and that's just sad for you. Maybe you should re-examine your own work before flaming stories other people have worked very hard to write, punkass.
By the way, that was just a warning, I haven't actually gotten flamed yet, but ya know, better safe than sorry.
Chapter III: It's Not All Good on Yavin 4
Mary was waking up from a deep sleep when Katie's voice came over the intercom, "We're coming on Yavin, you'd better get down here!"
Mary ran through the ship to the cockpit, still groggy and rubbed her palm on her forehead, "Ugh, I just had the strangest dream, can't remember it for crap though."
"I swear," Katie said laughing, "Your heavy sleeping's going to get us killed."
"Yeah, yeah. So," Mary was working the controls, preparing for the return to normal space, "Who out of all the people you talked about will be there?"
"Tionne definitely, but I'm not sure about anyone else, maybe Mara."
"You'll tell me when you see them, right?"
"Yeah, I'll try."
The control panel beeped, signaling the return to normal space. Mary leaned over and adjusted the controls slightly, "So, I know a little about Yavin. This is where we get our lightsabers, right?"
Katie nodded, "Yeah, it should be."
Mary smirked, "Perfect." This is where the fun begins. She gently began guiding the ship through the atmosphere of the nearby planet. "After we get past the atmosphere, I land in front of the Great Temple, right?"
"Sure, I thought I already told you."
"Of course, how could I forget!" Mary huffed softly.
"Sorry, jeez," Katie replied, putting less emphasis on the second word.
They soared low over a heavily-forested planet, with the occasional lake or mountain pass dotting the landscape. They quickly approached a distant structure, resembling a large Aztec temple. The Great Temple of the Massassi reared up before their eyes, the home of the new Jedi Academy. As they landed, they were surprised to notice a small crowd of people dressed in Jedi robes, waiting for them.
"You ready?" Katie looked to her friend.
"Always!" Mary quipped, "Let's go!"
Katie shot her friend a quick contemplative glance, What is with the mood swings? She's been like this ever since the Temple…
As they walked off the shuttle, a woman with silver hair and mother of pearl eyes walked up to meet them, also dressed in Jedi robes. Behind her, walked a young, black-haired man in the same attire, save for a black cape instead of robes. He looked to be about eighteen or nineteen and had the look of someone much older who is constantly ready to defend those around him to the death. All in all, the effect was mildly unsettling.
Katie stepped up to meet them, "Tionne, it's a pleasure to finally meet you." She did a little bow that Mary copied.
"Who's the guy next to her? His cape is awesome!" Mary semi-whispered to her friend.
"That's Kyp Durron, one of Luke's first candidates and the one I told you about."
(A/N: Jedi Academy Trilogy by Kevin J. Anderson. In that book, Kyp went to the Dark Side for a little and 'killed' Luke Skywalker, but it's all good now!)
"OH! That means he's the cool one who went to the Da–"
"Yes!" Katie rolled her eyes as she expertly cut off her friend. "That reminds me," she turned her gaze to the young man, "Why are you on Yavin Four? I thought you left a long time ago."
"I did." His voice sounded tired and saddened.
"What do you mean by that!" Mary questioned loudly.
Kyp sighed, "I've been gone a few years when I received an emergency message from Tionne. She told me to return to the Academy right away, that something horrible had happened, and, for security reasons, she wanted to tell me in person. When I finally got here, a few weeks after receiving the message, Tionne told me that Master Skywalker was missing. He had left about a month or two before and had not made any visits or communicated at all with the Academy."
"He never does this!" Tionne said, worry prominent in her voice, "Master Skywalker didn't even tell us where he was going, or how long he would be gone. We all woke up one day and could not find him. Artoo was still here, but when we went to the hangar, we found not his X-Wing missing, but a transport shuttle. I contacted all of his first candidates, but only Kyp could make it."
"By the way," Mary began, "We have names, and I thought you might wanna know them before you tell us more confidential Jedi-ish secrets."
"Oh, we know who you are already," Tionne smiled, "You're Mary, and you're Katie."
"How did you… ?" Mary began.
Katie cut her off, "You must've received Leia's transmission."
"Well, we got half of it at least, the transmitter cut out mid-transmission, and it's still fried. We got your names and why you're here, but we didn't expect you so soon," Kyp stated.
Mary smiled enthusiastically, "But we're here now, and that means we get to join the Academy and get lightsabers, right?"
Kyp returned the smile slightly, "Yes, you will get lightsabers soon enough. We're going have to give you a crash course since you have to leave on your search quickly."
"YAY CRASH COURSES!" the girls yelled in unison and high-fived.
-----
Back on Coruscant, Leia walked up to the podium, "I call this session of the New Republic Senate to order. As you all know, Naboo recently became a member of the New Republic. We would like to welcome Senator Pelarmus. I believe you had something you wished to address to the Senate?"
"I do, Leia, thank you." He stood up, taller than most of the other Senators, bright blue eyes staring out at the crowd. He brushed his short, blonde hair out of his eyes before he started to speak.
"Fellow Senators, as you all know, attacks from the Imperials have been on the rise, our forces are stretched thin. There are too few Jedi to aid, and most of our main squadrons are out on missions. Therefore, I suggest, that we instate a larger scale army of the New Republic. To achieve this higher-level army, I believe that perhaps something, like a draft, should be issued to all systems." He looked apologetically at Leia on the podium, "We have been spared attacks on Naboo, and we are pained to see other systems suffer. I only say what our voters wish, to end this conflict as soon as possible."
He sat down to thunderous applause.
-----
"Ugh… crash courses…" Mary mumbled as she plopped onto her cot, having slept maybe twelve hours over the last three weeks.
"Well, why don't you try using that Jedi technique for fatigue they taught us?"
"Oh yeah, well, I forgot about that in my TIRED state!" Mary smiled while trying to adjust herself to find a more comfortable position; she couldn't find one.
"Ugh…" Katie put her hand to her head, "Did you feel that?"
Mary sat up, "Feel what, kid?"
"Never mind. And please refrain from calling me kid."
"Alrighty then…KID!"
"Oh God, no stopping you now."
"That's right," Mary smirked, "so you know what clothing you're going to pick out?" Mary was making a cloak fly over to her so she didn't have to get up.
"You're being lazy again."
"You would too, with only twelve hours of sleep in three weeks."
"Point taken." Katie grabbed some clothing and started to walk out, "I think I may have found something. You?"
Mary grabbed a small pile with her new found Force powers, "Yup."
"Right then, just a minute." Katie went into the bathroom of their small-shared quarters. She came out quickly sporting boots, tunic, pants and cloak; all in a resounding shade of black.
Mary laughed, "You look just like Luke from Episode six."
"Really," she caught Mary's eye, "I didn't do it on purpose, I swear!"
"Uh huh, suuuuuure," Mary said fixing her tunic.
"You look a lot like Obi-Wan." Katie stated, looking over her friend's cream-colored tunic.
"Eh, almost." Mary replied, snagging the gray cloak from before and tossing it around her shoulders casually, "My cloak's not brown. I don't like that color so much."
At that moment, Tionne popped her silvery head in their door, "You ready?"
The girls nodded, picking up their bags of scavenged electrical parts they had gathered the day before.
Tionne walked ahead briskly, "Making your own lightsaber is what determines whether or not you shall be counted among the Jedi Knights. You may return after a week or when your lightsabers are finished. When you return with your lightsabers, we will determine if they are adequate and if you shall be counted among the Jedi Knights."
They exited from the main temple entrance, "Here are your supplies," she handed them a bag of food and water each, "and we hope to be seeing you sooner that a week." She smiled softly, "Good luck." With that, she closed the Temple doors behind her.
"Well, that's a fine kettle of fish." Mary stated flatly.
Katie raised an eyebrow, "What?"
"Never mind. Which way do we go?"
Katie scanned the area quickly, "This way… I think."
Mary shrugged and followed, discreetly making sure the crystal she had retrieved from the Jedi Temple had remained safely in place in her new utility belt.
The girls made their way through dense jungle undergrowth, with only a few minor problems, including one instance of something that might have been alive at one point grabbing Mary's ponytail.
Ripping her hair from the offending tree, Mary growled slightly, "This would be a lot easier with lightsabers… I still don't understand this whole crystal thingy."
"Well, it's not really that complicated. You did look at the schematics I gave you, right?"
"I did, but they made a total of no sense, even with the pictures."
Katie sighed, "Alright, let me put it in English for you. A lightsaber consists of four main components. The casing, which makes the hilt, and that can be made of just about anything. Luke's was a speeder handle. There's also the power cell, which allows you to have a lightsaber. You already have one of those. Then there's a power crystal. The power crystal converts the energy from the power cell into something that can be used to make the blade. Then there's the focusing crystal. That focuses the power into a single blade, and also determines the color of the blade. You can have more than one focusing crystal, and that can change width and length, but one is much simpler."
Mary blinked, "You've really read up on this, haven't you?"
"Yeah, just in case we ever ended up having to make one."
"That's one thing we never learned in Girl Scouts."
Katie smiled, "That's why I dropped it in first grade." She took a few steps forward, "Hey, I think we're here." Approaching a cave they had just spotted through some heavy leaves, Katie activated a glow rod and stepped inside. Mary quickly followed.
"It's beautiful!" Mary said, a hint of awe in her voice. Through the jagged opening the light reflected off many prismatic surfaces, the many-faceted faces off the crystals they had been searching for. While the crystals appeared clear and of no distinct color, the light that reflected off them radiated all the colors of the rainbow, and then some. "So," Mary said looking around in awe, "which ones are the power crystals?"
"Any of the larger ones. They are usually white; they look like or are quartz." Katie walked off to another part of the cave leaving Mary to fend for herself.
Mary walked around for awhile, examining different crystals and coming to a realization. The crystal I found looks different from all of these. It should work the same though…right? Mary examined her crystal. It was dark and smoky but possibly the most beautiful crystal she had ever seen. I don't care; I'm using this one. Mary grabbed a good-sized white power crystal and sat down to start assembling the parts of her soon to be weapon partner.
-----
Katie walked around, in awe herself of all the different colors, hues, and shades. In her hand she was already holding a good-sized power crystal, while looking for her focusing crystal. They say the lightsaber determines the Jedi… well, at least their character. If I pick one that's liable to turn green, Mary will accuse me of copying Luke again… it's not my fault green's my favorite color!
Katie continued to walk. Her searched appeared to be in vain, she hadn't found a single crystal that seemed to call out to her. When she turned the corner, she saw a small glint reflected from her glow rod on the dust in the ground. She leaned down and moved some of the dust away to find what appeared to be a white crystal, but it had to be a different hue. "Alright, you're mine. Best go find Mary now."
-----
Mary sat in the dust on the floor of the cave, trying to figure out how to best fit her power crystal into the handle she had made from the barrel of a small fighter cannon. As she finally slipped it into place, Katie came walking around the corner, carrying her bag of parts and two crystals. Finding Mary already well into the making of her lightsaber, Katie was a little surprised, "Sheesh, you found your crystal quick."
Mary shrugged as she capped off the end of the gun barrel with a random piece from the same ship, carefully welding it in place, "I guess." I only found it a couple days ago.
Katie plopped on the ground to begin constructing her own weapon when Mary slipped her focusing crystal into the open end and capped it off in the same way, but not before attaching a power switch on the side.
Mary smiled and moved to flip the switch when Katie held out her hand, "Sorry, but it's tradition. We have to wait 'til we get back to the others."
Mary looked longingly at her completed saber before settling back on the floor. "Well, hurry up with yours then," she said, biting into some dry bread she pulled from her pack. "What did you pick for your handle anyway? Mine's a barrel from a cannon."
Katie began placing her crystal in her tube, "Well, mine's part of a control stick, probably from the same fighter you got yours from. I think there was only one whole fighter in that junkyard." She gently slipped the other crystal in the tube and quickly welded both ends shut. "Well, that was quick!"
Mary stood up eagerly, "Can we go back now!"
-----
Kyp Durron stood in a large room in the Temple, training a small group of young apprentices with flying remotes and lightsabers, similar to Luke's first Jedi training on board the Millennium Falcon, so many years ago.
"Reach out with your feelings. Try not to use your eyes, they can deceive you; don't trust them. That was always one of Master Skywalker's favorite sayings."
As he was about to reprimand a young boy for peaking under his blast shield helmet, Tionne ran into the room, "They've finished! Katie and Mary are walking to the Temple entrance!"
Kyp was shocked, "Already? That must be the quickest anyone's finished their sabers, and two of them together…" He turned to his students with a smile, "Class is over for today. Why don't you come with me to the entrance to greet our two newest graduates?"
-----
Katie and Mary stood, nervously standing in the front of the main audience chamber. "Jeez, we don't even know if these work yet!" Katie whispered.
"No kidding," Mary said, glancing at the welded tube she hoped would become a lightsaber.
Kyp and Tionne grimaced, "We are glad to see you have finished your final trial so quickly," Tionne began, "But we are also saddened. Master Skywalker would normally preside over this occasion."
Kyp continued, "We will pass you on; but do not be upset by the circumstances, we are not the least of the Jedi. Katie, why don't you go first?"
"Um… ok," Katie said, stepping forward to where the two elder Jedi were standing.
Tionne smiled, "Activate your lightsaber."
Katie nodded, tripping the switch quickly before she could change her mind. With a quick snap-hiss a steady beam of colored light issued from the hilt, and the blade glowed a bright…
"I think it's green," said Katie, shrugging.
"It's blue!" Mary said from behind.
Kyp smiled, "That's a very pretty turquoise blade. I don't think I've ever seen one like that before. Well done, Jedi Knight. Mary, if you would please step forward and activate your lightsaber."
Mary took a deep breath and stepped next to Katie, closing her eyes and flipping the switch. After hearing the successful snap-hiss, Mary opened her eyes. There, before her, her lightsaber glowed a terrible shade of crimson.
"…" Mary couldn't say anything for a moment, then, "DAMN IT!" was heard loud and clear throughout the audience chamber, scaring some of the younger students into covering their ears.
Tionne was shocked, and Kyp went so far as to back up a few steps. Katie just stared.
Tionne looked to Kyp anxiously, "That's not possible! All the dark crystals were removed to Exar Kun's Temple! You oversaw that yourself!"
"I did," Kyp replied, "And Master Skywalker said all the old dark crystals were stored in the Old Jedi Temple, which is nothing but ruins now."
Mary coughed, "Um… maybe you missed one?"
"It is possible," Kyp stated, "I didn't want to mess with it any more than I had to, I might have missed a few."
Katie, meanwhile, was a whirlwind of thoughts. Jedi Temple! That's where Mary started going crazy! She was hiding something! She found a dark crystal! Shooting her friend an icy glare, Katie slipped off the stage and stalked out of the room.
Mary saw the daggers her friend sent her visually and sighed. What have I done? She forced a weak smile at Kyp, who rubbed his temples slowly.
"You are congratulated, Jedi Knight, but you must be wary. Dark crystals are not to be taken lightly. This does not bode well for your future. Be careful." He turned to the audience of shocked apprentices, "You are dismissed!" His tone was like ice. He turned back to Mary, "I am sorry my error has put a shadow your quest."
"Kyp, really, it's not your fault." Mary stated, although she knew she couldn't explain the whole circumstances of the crystal, although Katie had already guessed. Hanging her head, she slowly made her way back to the room she shared with Katie, ready to feel the wrath waiting for her.
-----
"WHAT IN HELL DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING!"
Mary sunk her head at her friend's anger. It was deserved, and she did not try to fight it. "I knew I should have told you, but I was angry at the time and–"
Katie had begun pacing their small room, "Did you ever once consider that might be the crystal affecting your mind!"
"No… I thought that maybe I was just pissed off at you, or is that not allowed!" Mary had begun getting angry again; she couldn't stop it, but she didn't care anymore. Katie's not being fair!
"Mary, you still should have told me," Katie said, beginning to gain control of her voice, "I could've told you it was a dark crystal from the beginning, not to mention where they came from! Those crystals are also called Exar Stones, named for the first Sith Lord that forged the crystals from the blood of his innocent victims. I can't believe that you would–"
"You're overreacting!" Mary said, finally giving up all pretense that she deserved her friend's disappointment, "Maybe I just wanted to find something out for myself for once! I don't need you leading me by the hand throughout the WHOLE DAMN GALAXY!"
"Now I think you're the one that's overreacting. You may not know, but a lightsaber is a perfect reflection of the wielder's character and alignment." Katie stated, calmly falling back into a chair.
Mary stood from the cot she had sat on and took Katie's place pacing the floor, trying to regain control, "But… that would mean… but it can't… I mean… I'm not…" she couldn't bring herself to say whatever it was she should say, but her mind was running wild with the possibilities.
"No, you're not. It's a fluke, it's gotta be." Katie replied, trying to bring her friend all the way down, "All that stuff about the reflection is just a legend, it may not even be true. I just want you to be careful."
Mary slowly sank to her cot, glancing at her lightsaber in her hand, "I'll try." She regretted the words as soon as she said them. Katie quickly looked up, a well-known mirth behind her eyes. Mary put up her hand, "Don't say it, I know. 'Do or do not, there is no try.' Yeah, yeah, but trying's a lot easier!"
Katie laughed, the solemn mood finally overcome. "So then, fellow Jedi, when do you want to leave?"
Mary glanced up, attempting a smile, "The sooner the better. I think Kyp gave me a death wish, so we'd better leave before it has time to take effect."
-----
Mary and Katie finally got Luke's X-Wing into their transport shuttle, fitting it in next to Mary's A-Wing. Kyp and Tionne had just exited the turbolift as the two girls were checking the fuel levels for their next flight.
Kyp smiled, "So, where are our two new Jedi off to now?"
Mary and Katie looked at each other, "Actually," Katie said looking to Mary, "We have no idea where to go."
"I want to go to Hoth!" Mary piped in.
"Anywhere but Hoth." Katie looked annoyed.
"Let's rock-paper-scissors for it."
"Do what?" Kyp looked seriously confused but the two girls were already at it.
"Paper!" Katie shouted.
"Hah, scissors cut paper. I win! Hoth it is!" Mary yelled, jumping up in an exuberant victory dance.
"Shit." Katie said flatly, looking at her hand as if it had betrayed her.
"Hoth it is then," Kyp smiled again, "You carry the hope of all the Jedi with you. Stay safe and return Luke to us."
As Kyp and Tionne turned to leave, Mary told Katie to get everything ready then quickly ran up to Kyp, stepping in front of him, forcing him to stop and pay attention to her, "Ya know, it really isn't your fault. Like, really really, not just I'm-trying-to-make-you-feel-better really. Really."
Kyp looked away, "I don't know what you're talking about."
Mary rolled her eyes, "Look, I know you've had a kinda… shady past, but you shouldn't blame yourself for the… uh… incident with my lightsaber's color being a certain bad color that is bad and evil and… yeah."
Kyp turned to look at her, "But the stone you found, I was supposed to get rid of them."
Mary raised her hand, "Look! I know what you did, and I bet you did it fine. Let me just tell you that the damn Exar Stone wasn't from the blasted cave, and that the details of said stone are between me and my copilot over there, so come off it!"
Kyp blinked for a moment, "I see. Well then, that changes some things, but you still must be careful carrying an Exar Stone with you on your journey. Maybe even more so because you didn't receive it honestly." With that, he turned, waved a final time at Katie, and followed Tionne out of the hangar bay.
Katie turned and glanced at her friend as Mary joined her in the cockpit, "What was that all about?"
"Nothing," Mary said, flipping some switches on the console.
Katie huffed, "Don't EVEN try keeping secrets from me again!"
"Fine," Mary said, "I was just explaining to Kyp how he shouldn't feel guilty about my deathsaber because he was all evil and crap."
"Mary! You shouldn't call your lightsaber that!"
"Eh, it fits, no?"
"No," Katie stated seriously as they received the all-clear to exit the hangar bay.
"Finally!" Mary said as she revved the engines and shot the ship out of the hangar into the empty space before them.
"Well, there's no speeders on Hoth." Katie said.
"That's okay!" Mary chirped, "I get a tauntaun!"
"Oh God…" Katie said as the ship sped away into hyperspace.