Chapter Eleven
"Suggestion, may I make?" Yoda piped up.
Every one turned surprised to hear Yoda had come in unannounced. Master Poof acknowledged his. "Yes, Yoda, what is your suggestion?"
"Another obligation, Master Moth has. Allow to finish training, can he? Then sprout, they can produce." Yoda asked.
"So you want Master Moth to remain a Jedi. Finish your training then retire to Verrell and fulfill his marital obligations." Master Loren tried to clarify Yoda's mangled basic.
"Yes." Yoda said nodding his head vigorously.
"Master Moth, do you have anything to say about Yoda's suggestion?" Master Poof asked.
Moth and Taryn looked at each other, then Moth said. "I think that will work."
"So you are going to continue to train Yoda and when he is trained you will 'retire' to Verrell and fulfill your marital obligations. Until then you will continue to carry out your assigned missions." The members looked at each other and nodded. "So it has been decided. Also there is to be a memorandum included in all assignments to Verrell; DO NOT TO FEED THE WOMEN."
Taryn and Moth walked out after they had been dismissed and both were still in shock. "So are we still married now or what?" Taryn asked.
"By the customs of Verrell we are married. We just agreed to wait until Yoda has been knighted to produce a child." Moth explained.
"And you get to remain a Jedi?" Taryn asked.
"Yes, at least until Yoda's trained, I think." Moth said and then realized he had been granted what few if any Jedi had ever been allowed to do. The both sighed in relief and laughed, then hushed each other and walked quickly toward the apartment sections.
Moth stopped at the door of Nyla's apartment and asked. "Are you ready for this?"
"After the last meeting this has to be a piece of cake." Taryn sighed still recovering from the shock of being allowed to remain married.
Moth rang the chime and Juri answered the door. They entered to find Yoda was already there. "How did you get here before us?" Moth asked.
"Short cut, I took. Thought you would want to be alone, I did." Yoda said.
"Is it true you are going to be allowed to remain a Jedi and stay married?" Nyla asked shocked.
"It's true, we just have to wait until Yoda is trained to start a family." Moth said still reeling from the shock.
"Well, Mrs. Moth let me tell you about your husband." Nyla said catching Taryn by the arm.
"Nyla!"
oOo
Yoda spent the night at Nyla's while they were on Coruscant so the newly weds could have time to themselves. "Mush!" He huffed shuddering. Moth showed his wife around Coruscant taking her shopping to the arboretum and the museums.
As they came out of the Opera, several HNN reporters approached them. "Is it true the Jedi Council has reversed its position on Jedi not marrying?" "Are you going to live in the Temple as husband and wife?" "Are the Jedi trying to start a race of super Jedi?"
Moth and Taryn were shocked at the wave of interest and type of questions. Moth tried to shield Taryn, who was not accustomed to crowds or such a variety of species. He felt compelled to answer their questions. "No, there has not been a change in the policy on Jedi marriage. This was an unusual condition. We are leaving Coruscant later tonight. No. The Jedi are not trying to make a super race of Jedi. She has no Force capabilities. I have to go, excuse us please." They made their way back to the Temple and were met by several members of the Council.
"This is not what we intended in our ruling. We intended for you to wait until Yoda was trained before you…a consummated the marriage. If you are going to a… well, do it on Verrell."
"We are leaving tonight and I will stay on Verrell until I receive my next assignment." Moth reassured them. 'That is if you ever assign me to another mission.'
Yoda decided he would accompany Nyla and Juri on a mission then meet up with Master Moth later. This was kind of disconcerting to Moth it had been years since he had been anywhere without a Padawan. Taryn's cooking was so much better than Yoda's, not to mention her company.
Moth and his wife arrived back on Verrell and went to visit with what was left of her family after the wave of illness that had gone through. They were as surprised that Taryn had married as the Jedi had been that Moth had. All were shocked to see a male healer and a Jedi at that. Moth tried to encourage the men to take up healing but it included too many women's duties, like cleaning and feeding people.
A couple of months later Moth got the call he had begin to wonder if would come and he left to meet Nyla and Yoda on Istavan, it was on the way to Byren. Yoda was glad to be back with Moth, two months on a ship with two girls had started to get to him. 'Giggling and hair care, how ever get work done?'
The Council had been consulted about a set of twins on Byren that had Force capabilities and the local citizens were unnerved by then so their parents asked the Council to take and train them. The planet's population was unaccustomed to having Force sensitive inhabitants and the twins floated their toys back and forth was too much for them. Moth was glad to be on a mission that didn't have a death toll report as part of the paperwork. He suspected the Council was showing him what he was about to get himself into. He looked forward to the time with the children; it would be good practice for when he had his own children.
On arriving at Byren Moth and Yoda went to the address as instructed. The parents were waiting nervously for their arrival, the parents asked Master Moth. "How do the children usually deal with their parent sending them away?"
"I was one of the children sent to the Temple to live when I was very young. I was always told that it was an act of love on my parent part to send me to the Temple. The children are raised in clans, groups of other children with the same abilities as they have. They are nurtured by Masters who know what they are going through because they went through it themselves. Often on planets where the local population are not Force sensitive the children are ostracized that can't be good for them or the family. I can assure you they will grow up to be the kind of men you would want them to be. May I see them now?"
The father walked over and opened the door, in popped two red headed freckled face boys. This is Jae and Tae, or Tae and Jae, we haven't been sure for over a year now. They have defied all efforts to tell them apart. Their green eyes immediately saw Yoda and they bounced over to him. "Ya a kid, huh?" They said in unison.
"Padawan, I am. Be one too, you will. Learn from Jedi Masters, use the Force for good, you will. To Temple to learn, Master Moth take you. Other kids use the Force like you." Yoda explained.
"Your little student seems to be well adjusted to the Jedi life. He needs to work on his grammar though." The Mother bemused.
"Ca' we go wif 'em, Peese Mam an' Da?" They both said in unison.
"Yes, sons you may go and I want you to grow up to be big strong men and use the … a Force to do good things. I want you to remember we love you." She told them as she smothered the wiggling boys with hugs and kisses. "Now go get your things."
Moth and the Father had finished the paperwork and were ready for the Father to say goodbye. He hugged the boys and said. "Remember we love you. Always be good. Mind Master Moth."
" 'es, Da. We be dood." They said in unison as usual.
Moth picked up the bags and Yoda took the boys by the hands and they headed back to the ship. The father watched them leave but the mother went into her room and cried. He boys just skipped along singing a little nonsense song only they understood.
Yoda showed the boys to their room and brought them something to eat even though it was evident their mother had stuffed them before they left, leaving it on the table for later. They explored every aspect of the room and enjoyed the game of going to the Temple to be with other kids. They had not realized it was permanent. Yoda told them stories about a mythical planet, where people and plants lived in unison. A planet where everyone knew how to use the Force, even the little ones like them. The planet was covered with bridges that looked like lace from afar. No one there was ever mean or harmed their neighbor. He told them of beautiful silver and gold fish in the water that would come and swim with you.
Moth listened to the stories from the other room and wondered if it was his home planet. If it was he knew why Yoda was so protective of his home.
Yoda covered the sleeping boys and walked out closing the door quietly behind him. He realized Moth had heard the stories but knew he trusted him with the truth.
"Problem, going to have with boys." Yoda told his Master. "Do everything in unison. Never been separated, have they. Order likes to separate young ones from family, not happy will they be." Yoda warned Moth.
"The Masters in charge of the little ones knows how to handle them. It won't be a problem." Moth confidently told his Padawan.
"See, we will. Time tell all." Yoda said knowingly.
"Yoda, just how much do you foresee?" Moth asked realizing he had seen the outcome of the boys.
"New rule for boys, there will be. More than speak in unison do they. Many headaches give Council, they will." Yoda informed Moth.
Moth had suspected that his Padawan had a remarkable ability to see through the Force but now he realized it was more than he had expected. "When you have finished your training you are going to be a powerful Jedi." Moth said in awe of his Padawan.
"Told you that, I did. Not believe Yoda, did you." Yoda boasted.
"Yes, I thought you were over-confident, like others I under estimated your abilities. That is something you will be able to use to your advantage in the future. I pity the opponent that assumes your height defines you. He or she will rue the day." Moth inspired his Padawan.
oOo
Moth woke up the next morning to the sound of snickering and raised up to see two red headed boys sneaking into his room. He closed his eyes and played possum and was pounced on by the red wave of arms and legs. They were apparently ticklish though and squirmed and giggled until Moth said in a mock stern voice. "Out or I will get you again." Which was what they wanted.
Yoda appeared at the door and told them. "Breakfast ready, it is. Do his morning meditation, Master Moth will. Into the cookery with you. Made special pancakes and maple syrup just like Taryn, love them you will."
Moth knew how Yoda felt about the pancakes and was impressed at the length he was going to make the boys feel at ease. When Moth came out Yoda had made a stack of the pancakes for him and was getting the boys dress in their new Jedi youngling outfits. Moth showed them some of the first lessons to keep them occupied and could see why the father had said they were not sure which one was which. If one got a tear in his outfit the other tore his outfit. If you had one color for one and another color for the other, they swapped outfits form time to time during the day. It was extremely confusing and only Yoda was able to tell them apart and then only if he was with them most of the time.
Moth took some ink that wouldn't wash off and put one dot on Tae's hand and two dots on Jae's hand, or whom he assumed was Tae and Jae. The next morning he woke up and found two dots on both boys' hands. This is going to be confusing before it is over. Finally he asked "Yoda, do you know how this problem is going to be worked out."
"Allow them to work as one, you will." Yoda said but Moth wasn't ready to give up yet so he kept trying. Yoda only smiled when he tried something else. By the time they arrived at Coruscant Moth had resigned himself to the fact that they had won the fight then the Masters at the Temple took over the battle started over again and again the boys won. No matter where they put the boys to sleep they always woke up together. They finally decided to send one to an alternate training facility but the next day he had found his way back and was sleeping with his brother. Finally as Yoda had said they resigned themselves to the boys being together as one.
The Council decided that retrieving recruits was a good job for Moth and Yoda especially since the children took to Yoda and Moth was more fatherly than most of the Jedi which would work out to his benefit in the future. So for now they were hopping from one planet to another picking up children and bringing them back to Coruscant. Eventually much of the infirmary was converted to a class room and the council started stringing the missions together so that they would pick up several children before coming back to Coruscant. Yoda combed the library for holo recordings for the children and tools to teach them to spar. Moth soon child proof the ship out of necessity since it was almost impossible to keep a Force sensitive child out of anything. Moth for obvious reasons was the one to start teaching them basic; the only pupil he was not successful in teaching basic to was Yoda.
It had been a long time since Moth had been back to Verrell the Council was keeping him busy and as far as possible from Taryn. After an especially long mission and being sent back out as soon as they had settled the latest batch of children Moth decided to turned the ship over to Yoda and go to his room to rest while he could. A ship full of children was not a place of rest. "We have a few days to spare before we are due for our next pickup, I am going to my room to rest and meditate can you handle the ship for a while, Yoda?"
"Handle it, I will. Know place nearby to rest, call you when get there." Yoda said with a secretive smile on his face.
Moth woke up to the sensation of being on solid ground and realized the ship's engines were silent. He quickly freshened up and went out to ask Yoda where they had landed. He knew the grin on Yoda's face and knew he wouldn't get an answer before so hadn't bothered to try. Now he could smell fresh air circulating through the ship, flowers and grass and the distinct smell of a lake. As he got to the ramp and looked out he saw a swamp which didn't match his sense of smell. Then the fog faded and the landscape matched the smells, as Yoda saw him and called out. "Welcome to Dagobah!"
AN: Home from the hills…a…Space?