Cassie's Tale

- Epilogue -

Cassie was half expecting it. It was typical, utterly predictable, despite orders to the contrary. So she moved very carefully, cautiously. Which meant she was only shocked, when her fingers came close to the worn wiring, instead of being electrocuted as she had been once before. Wrenching her hand out of the compartment with a muffled curse she shook it, trying to clear the numbness, and glared along the Spiral Dancer's spine.

"Damn it, Ace! I told you to power down Drive Two completely! Not to standby, completely!"

The droid, perched at the far end of the main hull replacing the control wiring on Drive One, spun his head in place to blink at her, responding with a series of beeps and a rude noise. Cassie glared, debated throwing something at it, then sighed. "Self control," she muttered.

Control or not, she wasn't about to trust the astromech to shut down power now. So she hauled herself to her feet, and walked the length of her fighter's spine. She whacked Ace on the way by, a glancing blow with the palm of her hand, and dropped lightly to the rail around the cockpit. There she stopped, and stared out over the landing field for a moment.

It was one of Coruscant's largest, and not the one she and Hanjin had initially arrived at. After the altercation at the bar, she had left Ace to move the fighter to a port more convenient to the Academy, in case she needed serious firepower. Here, the field was sprawling, but tightly so, covering a vast acreage with a hodgepodge of terminals, towers, landing bays and rail-lines. Ace, pare-programmed with her own preferences for landing spots, had found as open a stretch of ground as possible, which still left her less than ten meters from her nearest neighbor, and no more than twelve from the furthest. Both were starfighters, fortunately, smaller than her own, but it was still closer than she normally preferred.

Now, she could see a speeder moving below Coruscant's bewildering traffic pattern, swinging back and forth over the port. Focusing on the Force, she could sense someone looking, and figured they were looking for her. It was a stretch, at this range, but she managed a sending giving the berth number next to her own.

The speeder approached, settling, and swung around as the pilot looked for a large enough space to land. Cassie watched carefully, then grinned and relaxed as she recognized Tenar's face at the controls. She walked further down the rail, to the nose of her fighter, then dropped to sit on it, as Tenar settled the speeder in front of the fighter. He climbed out, taking his own sweet time, and she could not help chuckling at the sight of him in formal Jedi robes.

"Hey there, Jedi," Cassie called out as he started towards her, "What can I do for you?"

"And a good morning to you, Jedi," he replied, causing her to blink. He had always been slow to refer to her by that title. "I understand you are preparing to leave for the Outer Rim again, yes?"

"Of course," she answered easily, "pirates won't catch themselves, someone's gotta go looking for them."

"You realize, whatever pirates you capture will simply be replaced by more? A region that large, that thinly populated, it's as inevitable as sunrise."

"Yeah, I know," Cassie said, "but it's what I do, and each time I catch a pirate, that's one pirate attack that doesn't happen. Sure, he'll be replaced, but I'll catch that one to, or another. By your argument, we may as well all go sit on mountain-tops and contemplate our navels. We don't, 'cause we're Jedi, Tenar, Jedi Knights. You know, protect the weak, uphold justice, use our powers for good and the light, right?"

He smiled, "I know, Cassie, I know. Just thought I'd make sure you know."

She grimaced at him, "Stop testing me, damn it. I'm getting bored with it, already."

"You will always be tested by other Jedi, Cassie, just as you will always test other Jedi yourself. It is part of how we remain Jedi, and how we learn to be better Jedi." He shrugged, settling his robes, "But, I did not come out here to test you." One hand appeared out of his voluminous robes, "I came to give you this."

She hesitated, then jumped to the pavement and took the small object he was offering. She twirled the small cylinder in her hand for a moment, then pressed the stud at one end. The crystal in that tip flashed, and a holo-matrix appeared. It was a simple one, mono-chromatic green with a distinct waver, but the face it displayed was quite obviously hers. The list of data next to it was also hers, and for a moment she was ready to throw it back at Tenar and demand the source-record be wiped. Then she reached the bottom of the short list of identifying statistics, and all she could do was stare at those four simple words.

Rank: Jedi Knight, Guardian.

"It's a standard Ident Rod, most Jedi carry them. It's proof, to the Republic and anyone else who cares, that you're a Jedi. Each one is hard-coded, next to impossible to crack, so they can't be counterfeited. Much more trustworthy than the ident-cards most outlying systems rely on."

Cassie looked up at him, still struggling with her surprise. "This is from the Order?"

Tenar smiled, "Yes, Cassie, it's from the Order. As far as we are concerned, you are a Jedi, a member of the Order. You're entrance was by an uncommon route, but in the old days it wasn't so uncommon for a traveling Master to take on an apprentice as master Lorus did with you. Master Yorun, my master, was sufficiently impressed with your actions at Firrenze to support my decision to offer you membership. The council agreed, after suitable testimony yesterday."

The shock started to wear off, and Cassie's cunning mind began working again. She glared at Tenar in sudden suspicion, "I'm not tying myself down to the Order, Tenar. I'm not turning into one of those effete snobs who play king-maker and ignore the real people out there."

He chuckled, "No one expects you to. Despite your opinion, most Jedi are not tied to the Order very tightly. We go where we want, do what we want, and in the process improve ourselves and the galaxy. Yes, when the Council asks a particular Jedi to do something, the Jedi in question is expected to do it, but such missions are usually quick affairs. Also, the Council is unlikely to give a Guardian, such as yourself, a roll requiring political subtlety and willingness to compromise. Although, the more missions you undertake for the Council, the more willing they are to part with funds to support your own operations. Running a starfighter in the Rim is expensive, yes?"

"I manage well enough. Jobs like this one, with Hanjin, pay very well."

"How is he, by the way?"

"He's a trouble-maker, licentious and far too cavalier about everything." Cassie smiled at the surprised look on his face, and continued, "Aside from that, he's a good kid, who should prove to be a good man, one of these days. Haven't talked to him since I left the Academy last night. My job was done once he was safe there, so I collected my fee from his father, and bugged out for here. He's got my comm-code, I've got his. If he needs a hand, I'll think about it, and vice versa."

Tenar nodded, whether in understanding, agreement, or acceptance Cassie couldn't tell. "Before you disappear into the Deep again, there are a few questions the Order has concerning Ren. Would you be willing to indulge me by answering them?"

"If I can," Cassie nodded, dropping to sit on the tarmac.

Heedless of his robes, Tenar did the same. "The first was posed to me by Master Yorun. How did you know Ren would go for Hanjin, and not the Headmaster. The Headmaster was the immediate cause of his anger and humiliation. Killing Hanjin at that point could only have resulted in his own death."

Cassie looked at him oddly for a moment, then leaned her head back to look at the sky, gathering her thoughts. "I didn't 'know'," she admitted after a moment, "but I've met his kind before. He was Force-sensitive, you sensed that much, right?" When he nodded, she continued, "There are more like him, out in the Rim. They're usually fighters, at least by the time I run into them, fighters becoming killers. They develop minor Force abilities, and learn by trial and error how to call on it." Tenar hissed slightly, and Cassie grimaced wryly in shared understanding, "Yeah, dangerous at best. Every one of them is a darksider. Makes sense – they're in battle a lot, their first use of the Force is usually in combat, and they're used to letting their emotions run wild. Thing is, they aren't berserkers, not really. They tend to be a bit of the opposite, you know? Crazy fierce and angry in battle, but focused on the objective, almost obsessive. Ren was there to kill Hanjin, nothing more. Killing the Headmaster wouldn't have done much for him except get him killed, the same for going after me. But Hanjin – Ren had been anticipating his death for days, at least, and that was his last chance to finish that hunt."

"I think I understand," Tenar replied, "Ren was focused on his target to the exclusion of all else."

"And couldn't let that target get away."

"Agreed. Your explanation also answered several other questions, such as where Ren received his Force training."

"He probably didn't," Cassie told him. "He just made it up as he went along, probably started on it years ago. Although, I have come across rumors of groups of these guys, or individuals trying to teach what they've learned. Usually they kill each other off, or attract the attention of you paladin-types."

"We 'paladin-types'," Tenar corrected.

Cassie blinked, then grinned at him, "Yeah, guess so."

"One last question then, Jedi."

"Shoot."

"Why didn't you kill him?"

Cassie shook her head, "you never stop, do you? I didn't kill him, because I missed. The combination of that leap, and calling both lightsabers, took almost everything I had left. I intended to kill him." She waved away his incipient advice, and continued, "I had to, to keep my ward safe. I've seen men that focused keep coming after getting both legs shot off. I've seen someone who should have been dead keep herself moving long enough to stuff a grenade into a gun-pit. Someone as focused, as driven and angry as Ren was then, they aren't going to stop for an injury, Tenar. Maybe that's not how the Council would like me to think, but it's what I've seen, and it fits with the Code. If I have to choose between an innocent... relative innocent and a darksider with murder on his mind, I'll kill the darksider every time."

"Actually, I understand exactly what you're saying. So do most Jedi. There are a few, those who adhere to an entirely pacifistic interpretation of the Code, who would not, but... the Code applies to the Jedi, the rest of the galaxy has never demonstrated a willingness to follow it. I would, however, recommend caution. Master Yorun asked me to extend his advice, and I would add my own support to what he says – you still do not have complete control of your temper, Jedi. Not a criticism, just something to work on."

Cassie grunted, "That, I know. It was worse, after Master Lorus died, but I'm still working on it."

"We'll see how you're doing next time you're on Coruscant. Or the next time we run into each other on the Rim."

"You're heading back out, too?"

"Of course. Master Yorun wants to know more about those like Ren, and the Rim seems to be the best bet as to where to find them. Since you've encountered them before, apparently, that presumption appears to be correct. So, I'll do some preliminary research out here and then head out."

"Heh, you get into trouble, leave me out of it. I hate dealing with those guys."

"Sure thing," he said, chuckling, "'course, same thing goes for you and those pirates you're always dragging around. I've no interest being hijacked again."

"Neither do I. You've got my comm-code, obviously."

"And mine is encoded on your ID, as are those of several other Jedi I know, who I think will work well with you." He grinned almost sheepishly, "most of them are younger, like us, and like you prefer not to be on Coruscant."

"Thanks. Look, I've got to get that stupid droid back to work," Cassie said, standing up, "it'll take me a couple of days to get back to the Rim from here."

Tenar rose, stepping back slightly, "I understand. Duty calls, and justice waits for no one." He bowed slightly, "Safe travels, Jedi Lorus, May the Force be with you."

She smiled, remembering the last time she had heard those words, "And with you, Jedi Ressal."