Making
4th day, expansion day, standard year 29435
An old woman called Kezi works in the crehe. She's so nice. She gives out sweets, and she's kind to everyone, and she always listens. Inbetween feeding and changing and cleaning, me and Tahl talked to her.
"You're lucky to have such a friend who'd come up here to help you work," she said to Tahl, and ruffled my hair. "Most Padawans avoid the crehe like it's a prison."
"It's not so bad up here," Tahl answered. It was
sort of...dark and cramped and perhaps a little messy. But it wasn't bad,
she was right. It reminded me of a room in my parent's house. My dad's
workroom, I think it was.
Kezi picked up a baby girl and placed her on her lap. "I don't train with a lightsabre anymore." she said thoughtfully. "This dark little room is my home. Sometimes I wonder about these babies, and their homes."
"Me too," Tahl said. It suddenly struck me that despite her quick temper and ability to fight, she'd be good working in the crehe.
"Take this little one," Kezi said, indicating the baby in her arms. "Poor thing. Her parents were murdered....and they wanted her dead too."
Probably my favourite thing about Kezi is her love of stories. She once told me she thinks of people as walking stories. She can take someone's boring life and make it into a tale people would pay to hear. She knows the story of almost everyone in the Temple, I sometimes think.
"Didn't like anyone different, the people of her planet," Kezi intoned in her storytelling voice. "Scared to death of her 'demon powers', they set out to murder her. Murder a tiny baby...in the name of what they called goodness! Horrible. This child doesn't have a first name...to protect her, her parents, the Moonshadows, didn't give her one. And she would be dead by now, if it weren't for Savus and Muven."
My ears pricked up. "Savus and Muven?"
She looked surprised. "Oh yes,that was how he died, didn't you know? Saving the life of this little one. So it was Savus who got her out of there and to safety. The poor thing. He's convinced his Master's death was his fault. He thinks if he'd fought better,run faster,been better-he'd still be alive."
A lump rose in my throat, and Tahl noticed. So she asked quickly "How do you know,Kezi?"
"Savus told me, of course. That young man's been
down here twenty-four hours a day since it happened,pouring his heart out.
Says I'm the only one who'll listen. Muven and
I went through training together." She looked sad for the first time. "He's
drowning in his grief, is Savus."
Savus and Kezi,friends. I'd have never thought it. Savus was always so nasty...and Kezi was always so kind. But then again, when it comes down to it, I don't really know either of them.
But poor Savus. I want to find him and talk to him. He might not listen, but I want to try.
It'll have to wait till tomorrow,though. Although actually, it's nearly morning....
*****
1st day, 4th month, standard year 24935
It's night time. Way past the time I should be in bed. But things have happened, things that need to be written down.
If I can write them down.
It was early in the morning. Me and Tahl were
practising katas in the gym. And all of a sudden there was just general
panic. Not knowing what was going on, we ran out into the corridor...and
straight into our Masters, who had come to find us.
"To the crehe. Hurry." my Master said frantically,
and I suddenly felt very scared indeed. My legs started moving of their
own accord.
"Men with weapons...." he panted as we ran. "Looking
for the girl."
He didn't need to tell me which girl. I ran.
We all ran. We reached the crehe, and Master suddenly swung and decapitated
someone attempting to sneak up on him. Suddenly blaster bolts were everywhere,
and as I moved to deflect them I saw Savus, with the baby girl in his arms,
sneaking away...almost unnoticed. A blaster bolt shot towards him,
and Vione deflected it just in time. Then suddenly, all the fire
was directed at Savus. All sorts of different coloured blaster bolts. Red,
orange, green, purple...like a twisted rainbow. I managed to center myself
and moved to protect Savus. "Savus!" Vione hissed. "Give the girl to Thea.
Thea, get her out of here." Thea nodded, and in something that seemed effortless
but probably wasn't, the sobbing baby was handed to Thea and she, with
her blue lightsabre in hand, moved backwards through the crowd, heading
for the window at the back of the room. We were protecting them, and we
were trying so hard but there were more and more of the men by the second.
They were coming in by the windows.
The windows!
Tahl's good with a lightsabre, but I think she was panicking about her Master. Or something. Either way, a blaster bolt grazed her, and she fell to the ground.
"TAHL!" I yelled. I couldn't hear myself above all the noise, but I think Master Thea heard me.
The next bit happened so incredibly fast.
(...I just had to put the pen down. It's now about half an hour later.)
Someone leapt through the window Thea was heading for and they started shooting. At Thea and at the baby. Thea deflected most of the bolts in less than then a second, and....
...and then Savus was just on the ground. No noise for all of a millisecond. Then it started again. Tahl was up, and protecting herself, but I gave most of my energy to protecting her...and then suddenly the last man fell to the floor. And that was it. And me and Tahl and everyone were silent for another second, and then me and Tahl started pushing past people, running to Savus...
...who'd just died for the little girl. And she
was crying. And Thea and Vione bent over Savus, while everyone else stepped
away to give him space. Thea handed the baby to Tahl and I stood there,
looking at Savus, who I was supposed to dislike so much. But this was not
the same Savus. This was Savus Benig, Jedi Padawan. I looked at him, and
decided I wanted him to live more then I'd ever wanted anything else.
And then he said something, and he didn't sound
like he was about to die,but he was,and that made it worse.
"Hey," he said, nodding to Tahl. "look after
her,okay? All of you, look after her." He glanced at the baby girl,then
around at all of us. It looked like it took some effort. Then his gaze
stopped at me. "Tell Kezi..."
But I never got to know.
****