Chapter 49

As Luke and I went around town that day, we exchanged some personal history as well as certain points of view on the Force and our mutual teacher, Yoda. Luke told me he recognized what remained of the pre-fab modules that were dropped here for the original base. Most of them were now shops or general storage for various inhabitants of the little town I called home now. Some others were now single family dwellings like the one my family and I lived in.

Before too long, we came to the empty building that had held Gai-jin and her crew. The damages had since been repaired but there had been no new occupants. There had been a few visitations by prospective tenants but all of them had rejected the building as unsuitable. While the building was structurally sound, each prospective tenant had spoken of some kind of uneasiness whenever they entered the building.

Without going into great detail, the building agent told them of the brief criminal enterprise that had tried to use it as a base of operations and that I had cleaned it out and driven them off-world. Even so, the building had been vacant since that time; I had had no reason to go back. That was the reason I missed the lingering presence of the Dark Side until that day with Luke Skywalker at my side.

We entered the main room where the echo was strongest and not surprisingly it was the central room that I had confronted Gai-jin in, the one where I had nearly killed her in cold blood. I described to Luke that day in as much detail as I could recall. He listened until I had told my tale and then said: "Judging from what you have told me about this Gai-jin and the fact she was Force sensitive, I think that she may have inadvertently triggered a Dark Side reaction. As you know, the Dark Side can be pervasive and in some way, accompanies Jedi wherever we go."

He continued: "It would seem that this mirror you opened drove out whatever Dark Side influence was present when made to look at itself. Evil can't survive a dose of truth and this mirror technique you mentioned sounds like just such a thing. You said that this Gai-jin seemed to be an opposite of what she was after she recovered? Could you teach it?"

I thought about it a moment and said: "I could describe to you my thought process at the time and what I wanted to accomplish, but whether it would work for you or not, I simply can't say, and yes, she was opposite of herself. Before, she wanted to seduce me into her bed and when that failed she tried to kill me hand to hand. When that failed she threatened my wife and son and that was when I almost killed her. After she woke up, she asked to see me up in Selkar's station and there she confessed her love for me. I could sense in the Force that her emotion was genuine but there was nothing to be done about it."

Luke listened then said: "Very interesting turn of events, to be certain. From what I can detect, what's left of the Dark Side here is more an echo than a focal point. It's very much like the place on Endor where I cremated my Father's remains. To this day, nothing will grow in that spot. All things considered, it might be best to remove this building and put a new one over it or a small park of some kind. Since life creates the Force, only life can truly cleanse this place."

As we left the building, I was hesitant to ask what I did but Luke, being the far more powerful Jedi of us picked up on my indecision and said: "Something troubles you my friend?" I said: "Sort of. I was wondering if when you leave, you'll take my son with you and complete his training. I think my wife and I have taken it as far as we can. I want him to have a true teacher, not someone who pretty much blundered into it."

Luke laughed softly and said: "How do you think I got the job? I'll ask him if he wants to go or not. From what I've seen so far, you and your wife have done a really wonderful job instructing him. I see in him what my niece and nephew might be in the not too distant future, Jedi who have been listening to the Force from their first moments of life instead of coming to it late in life as you and I did. I was also wondering if you might consider teaching Teras Kasi to any of my new students. The martial arts are no stranger to me or many of my students but a martial art that derives all of its technique from the Force is a rare and wonderful thing. I would like to see it survive past our allotted lifespans."

I said: "Let me think on it okay?" Again Luke could sense my indecision and said: "Take as much time as you need Ronin but if you can put it into words, can you tell me why you're unsure?" I said: "For me at least, being a teacher carries a tremendous burden. Teaching them the basic techniques isn't so hard but it's what they do with those basic techniques after that. My first teacher in the martial arts, I don't know if he was Force sensitive or not, told me once that if he were to ever hear of any of his students actively abusing what he taught them, he would find them and stop their abuse, one way or another."

"To this day, I believe he would have. Even if it meant losing everything he had worked for all his life, I still believe he would have. I feel the same way. I know it sounds like some kind of revenge paradigm, but I don't believe that it is. I know that sooner or later, a student will come to you, and if I agree to teach, come to me, take what we teach them, and then make the conscious choice to turn to the Dark Side. I would feel obligated to stop them, one way or another. Even at the cost of everything I've worked for. I know that Jedi are not supposed to seek justice quite so ruthlessly. To do so, we would become what we set out to stop but it is how I feel."

Luke was silent for several minutes as we continued our tour of the town. When he spoke, the pain in his voice was audible. "In a way, I think I know what you're saying but we must trust in the Force and that these people, when they come to us, and I know they will, will either see the error of their ways or be destroyed by the very power they seek. It will not be for us to decide that they are any less capable of free will. We can only provide them with that path; they have to choose to travel upon it."

It was my turn to think silently to myself. When my decision was made, I said: "You're right Luke. Very well, I will teach Teras Kasi to those who wish to learn, but all I ask is that they come to me, here, on New Hope." I saw the curious expression on Luke's face at my condition. Before he could ask, I said: "There is a saying on my homeworld, 'never keep all your eggs in one basket'. I think that was one major flaw of the Jedi of the Republic, all of their eggs, in this case all of their Padawans and most of the Knights and Masters were concentrated on Coruscant."

"If they had been spread out into several Jedi Temples across the galaxy, it would have been that much harder for the Emperor to eliminate them. In fact, it is entirely possible that one or two may very well have survived to the present day, with all of their databases intact, and that would have made the teaching of new Jedi, and the emergence of a new Jedi Order much, much easier."

Luke smiled at my insight and said: "I can see that making you a Jedi Master is one of the best things for the new Jedi Order and that we will have many interesting conversations in the future." I felt a sudden flash of embarrassment at the praise and said: "Stop. I'm just one man, and though I am Jedi, I am very much human and can only flow with the dictates of my heart and the guidance of the Force. I'm not really anyone special." Luke smiled again and said: "You've just proven my point and so, I rest my case."

Sensing that I had just been subtly manipulated, I shut up, and then began to laugh. A moment later, Luke joined me in the humor of the moment and our tour of the town was completed with the arrival back at the Constabulary office. I invited Luke to stay with me for the day if he wanted and then to dinner at my house with my family that night. He accepted on both counts and that day remains one of my favorite days to look back upon.

Chapter 50

I called ahead to tell Gabrielle of our dinner guest and she wasn't surprised in the least. That night, after dinner was done and cleared away, we sat down in the living room to discuss with Ryu his choices. At first he was unsure, he was almost thirteen at the time, but decided to accompany Luke for the next stage in his Jedi training.

At our insistence, Luke stayed in what had been Dieter's room but had since been converted to a guest bedroom. That night as Gabrielle and I readied for bed, Gabrielle couldn't restrain herself any longer. I had caught occasional flashes of something over our bond but it was too fleeting to grasp a hold of and figure out. She said: "How's it feel to be a Jedi Master now?"

Her offhanded tone of voice caught me unprepared as I answered with: "Not any different than when I was just a Knight but . . . wait a minute, I haven't said anything to you about it and I know Luke couldn't have told you since he's been with me all day. Care to fill me in Milady?"

She started to giggle fiercely and then calmed down as she said: "Who do you think asked him to come here in the first place?" For a moment, I was truly disappointed in my wife but before I could say anything she said: "Ronin, my dearest Knight, it's just like when we were still in the Rebellion during the war. You seek no recognition for yourself even when you have truly earned it, and you always, always have looked out for the welfare of others before yourself."

"While these are truly laudable traits on your part and I love you all the more for them, you sometimes need to be told that it's okay to be rewarded. Over the last few years, I've sensed in you a depth of understanding in the Force that I might never achieve. When you meditate now, the waves of peace that roll off of you are palpable throughout the whole house and even a good distance down the street in every direction, I know, I've experimented."

"I walk down the street while you meditate and I'll even ignore the Force, for a time, and I still feel the peace that emanates from you. I knew that there was only one person in the whole galaxy who would confirm your status as a Master and that's why I contacted Luke myself. I hadn't planned on our son leaving with him but I feel it's the right thing for him to do now."

I stood there a moment and felt the truth in her words. Stepping over to her, I hugged her to me tightly and said in her ear: "I'm sorry for being so stubborn Milady. You're right." She returned the hug just as tightly and all felt right in the world that night.

Ryu left with Luke two days later and a month after that, my first official student a man by the name of Armis Rau, arrived and I began his instruction in Teras Kasi. Shortly after his arrival, confirmation came over the holonet of my status as a Jedi Master, bringing the total count to two, Luke Skywalker and myself. It felt very strange at first to be greeted as 'Master Jedi' whenever I was asked to help in something. Matter of fact, it always felt strange but I have come to believe it was an unconscious mental defense mechanism to prevent the onset of a bloated ego.

Perhaps eight months after Ryu's departure, I was in my office when an older man came to see me unannounced. His hair was shoulder length and grayish-white and he wore a full-face beard. That, and his rather plain, if well tailored pants, shirt and all weather cloak made it so that at first, I didn't recognize him but when I saw a familiar gleam in his eye, I began to wonder. His first words confirmed my belief when he said: "So then, tell me Master Jedi, what you would have me do?" I stood up and came around my desk with a smile on my face and my hand extended in greeting as I said: "General Naz! It's great to see you again sir!"

He smiled in return and said: "I'm retired now Master Jayks, so just call me Malory okay?" I smiled again and said: "Only if you call me Ronin." "Deal!" he said. I offered him a seat as I returned to mine. I said: "What brings you to New Hope, Malory?"

He accepted the seat and said: "Retirement. The New Republic finally let me go and I knew I wanted to come back here. Do tell though; is this your idea of maintaining a secret base?" This said as he opened his arms wide to encompass the whole town. I chuckled and said: "One of the little pieces of wisdom I picked up from my homeworld and was reinforced by the Rebellion. Sometimes the best place to hide something is in plain sight."

I guess he saw some kind of logic in my explanation as he didn't press for details. I said: "So tell me your side of things. What happened after you left for Sullust?" Malory sat back in the seat, took a breath and said: "When we got there, we recombined all of our elements into an armada. From there, the final details were decided and the attack initiated."

"It got kind of uncertain after we found out the Death Star was fully operational. We lost two capitol ships before we could regroup. From there we took the fight to the Imperials so that the Death Star couldn't fire on us without hitting its own defense fleet. Everything was incredibly tense so I wasn't able to get the details until after the station was destroyed, but our strike force on Endor had been captured as they tried to destroy the shield generator."

"That was turned around with the help of a pair of remarkably courageous droids and the help of the native people of Endor, a tribal race called the Ewoks. With their help, the shield generator was destroyed. One thing I did notice was at one point the entire Imperial Fleet seemed to lose its way in the fight, like some cohesive element had been dissolved. After checking into it, it turns out that was about when the Emperor died. The station was destroyed, the Imperials routed and we've been after the larger elements, the ones that declared themselves warlords, ever since with varying degrees of success and failure."

"Finally though, I've been allowed to retire. That was three months ago now, and I've been starhopping since then, my first chance to do so since before I entered into the Republic Officer Corps during the Clone Wars. It has been wonderful beyond words to see planets and peoples in their peace-time greatness, rather than the down and dirty desperation of warriors fighting for their lives, the lives of others and their freedom."

Malory continued with: "I've been from one side of this galaxy to the other and I've seen a lot of strange, yet wonderful, stuff. My travels are ended now. I want to live a regular life until it's time for me to make the last jump. Enough of me though. What have you been up to? I haven't been able to follow your adventures since I left with the rest of our forces here to go to Sullust. As soon as I saw the announcement over the holonet of your promotion to Jedi Master, I knew it was time to come back." I said: "Please come to dinner at my home tonight where Gabrielle and I can tell you whatever you want to know.