Chapter Ten: Barriers
"So…" Alaanis muttered, staring at the four masters in front of her. "What do we have to talk about now?"
"Bastila has told us of your time on Taris," the short master told her. "First, I would like to introduce ourselves. I am Master Vandar. This-" he pointed to the Twi'lek, "is Master Zhar, this-" he then turned his three fingered hand towards the white human, "is Master Vrook, and lastly our Chronicler of this Academy," he gestured towards the black human, "Is Master Dorak."
"Nice to meet you all," Alaanis said uncertainly, bowing her head slightly. Master Vrook sneered at her slightly. Bastila was smiling lightly, standing in the background.
"Padawan Bastila, you already know, so there is no need to introduce her," Vandar continued. "Back to business, Bastila has informed us that you seem to be able to wield the Force. She says that you two have formed a force bond. And she also says that you shared a dream."
Alaanis did a double take. The first two she was aware of and she remembered dreaming a strange dream the previous night, but that Bastila had shared it was something Alaanis did not expect! "What?" she exclaimed, surprised at this news. "How would she know if we shared a dream anyways?"
"I felt you in the dream through the force," Bastila explained simply, as though it was obvious.
":She tells us you dreamed of Revan and Malak:" Zhar declared. Alaanis stared at the Twi'lek for a minute.
"Revan and Malak?" Alaanis questioned. "We dreamed of them? Wait… how is Bastila even in my dreams anyways?"
"Through the force bond," Vandar said.
"But why did we dream of Revan and Malak?" Alaanis asked confusedly. This was mind-boggling information that was hard for the small woman to comprehend. It was just a bit more than she had expected. Okay, a lot more than she had expected.
"Perhaps because we desired to," Bastila shrugged.
"But I don't really desire to be Revan normally," Alaanis rolled her eyes. Vrook's scowl deepened considerably at this announcement. Bastila's smile dripped off her face for a split second. Alaanis ignored this. Jedi just don't get sarcasm.
"What do you mean?" Master Dorak asked curiously. "You dreamed through Revan's eyes?"
"I guess," Alaanis thought for a moment. "Yeah, I guess I did." She stared around the room for a moment, looking into the eyes of each of the masters and Bastila's. "But that's not why I've come here is it?"
"No…" Dorak started. "We also wanted to speak to you about your adventures on Taris. Bastila explained that you showed quite a potential in the force."
"She said I might be force-sensitive," Alaanis suggested. The masters all turned towards Bastila who nodded her head in agreement. The masters looked back towards Alaanis. She shrugged at the stares she was receiving. Vandar was looking at her with consideration, Vrook was wearing a hard look, and Zhar and Dorak both looked thoughtful.
"We will discuss this matter more thoroughly in private," Vandar declared. "We will send Bastila to find you in a few hours to tell you what we have decided."
"Decided about what?" Alaanis asked curiously.
"If we will train you," Vandar said simply. Vrook looked outraged.
"'If'?" he questioned the short master. "She is too old! She's a fully-grown adult! And how do we know she's loyal? And not just to the Republic and the Jedi, but to the light side!" Vrook spared a quick glare for Alaanis before turning his hard gaze back on Vandar.
Master Vandar simply whisked away Vrook's objections. "We will discuss this more privately Vrook." And with that, Alaanis was ushered out of the room and found herself back in the hangar after some wandering. She was wandering aimlessly around and eventually sat down on a bench. She didn't even notice Carth sitting next to her.
"Alaanis?" he asked her concernedly. "What did the jedi want to talk to you about?"
"I have no idea." Alaanis continued staring at the ground, unsure of what was going on. Why did Vrook dislike her so greatly? Why would she, a simple Deralian scout, be a jedi, the peacekeepers of the galaxy? She didn't feel like she was up for it.
Carth and Alaanis sat on the bench in silence for about ten minutes before anybody else left the Ebon Hawk and spotted them. It was Canderous.
"What's going on?" he asked in his typical gruff voice. Carth shrugged, and Alaanis stayed stationary. Canderous shook his head lightly and walked into the enclave. Alaanis barely noticed, but Carth felt bad for any of the jedi that would encounter the Mandalorian.
"I think I'm going to get some sleep," Alaanis declared after another fifteen minutes.
"Wait," Carth objected. Alaanis turned towards him, halfway between sitting down and standing up. "What did the council talk to you about?"
"I'm not really sure," Alaanis told him truthfully. Carth didn't believe her.
"Why can't you just explain it to me?" Carth asked a bit angrily. Alaanis slipped out of her distracted state and glared hard at Carth.
"I told you the truth Carth," Alaanis said icily. "They just analyzed me. Told me nothing I didn't already know. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get some sleep." And before giving Carth a chance to reply, she stood up and walked into the Ebon Hawk and fell asleep on her bunk.
XxXxX
"Ugh, I'm bored Z," Mission complained for the zillionth time. She threw her Pazaak deck onto the table. The cards fell out and slipped everywhere. She cursed as she picked them up.
":Patience Mission:" Zaalbar growled. As much as Mission was his best friend, she got bored very easily. Of course, he couldn't blame her. They'd been sitting in the Ebon Hawk common room for three hours playing Pazaak. It could drive even the Wookie mad.
Just that second, the sound of footsteps broke the boredom. Bastila walked into the common room, in brown robes instead of in the getup Mission was used to seeing her in. She had always thought Bastila's outfit was one you could find on Nar Shadaa in the red zone.
"Is Alaanis here?" Bastila asked the Twi'lek. Mission nodded. "She's sleeping." Bastila moved towards the starboard dormitory. But Mission stopped her. Running over to Bastila and standing in front of her, Mission finally noticed that Bastila wasn't actually very short. It must've just been that when Bastila and Canderous argued he towered over her, being as monstrously tall as he was. But compared to Mission, and Alaanis who was just slightly taller than Mission, Bastila was actually quite tall.
"How tall are you?" Mission questioned the jedi. Bastila stared at her for a second.
"I do not know," Bastila replied. "It's not important. Strength is in a jedi's abilities and skills, not their height."
"Do you ever use the force for fun?"
"No…"
"Aw, why not?"
"It's a misuse of such a thing! The force is not a toy; it's something much greater than that."
"Yeah, but still, why don't you ever use it for fun?" Bastila was beginning to get aggravated. Mission almost laughed right out. She needed to loosen up.
"Want a demonstration?" Bastila said. Mission grinned and nodded her head. Bastila closed her eyes and lifted her arms. Then she shot them back down and Mission felt herself flying back towards Zaalbar.
"BASTILA!" Mission screeched as the jedi continued down the hall to the starboard dormitory. The Twi'lek ended up on Zaalbar's lap. "Hi Big Z." She smiled up at the Wookie. Zaalbar just shook his head.
"I'm awake Bastila," Alaanis muttered as she rolled off of her bunk. "Mission's scream woke me up. Why was she yelling at you now?" Alaanis stood up and looked at the chestnut haired jedi standing in the doorframe.
"Nothing important," Bastila answered simply. "The council is waiting for you. Let's not keep them waiting, come on." She grabbed Alaanis' hand and pulled her out of the Ebon Hawk, passing by a disgruntled Mission complaining about being bored.
The two women arrived in the council's chamber within three minutes. Bastila stood to the side as Alaanis walked to be in front of the four masters. Vandar was smiling slightly, but Vrook was still wearing his same old scowl. Alaanis looked expectantly at the masters for something. Whatever it was that they had to tell her.
"We have decided after much deliberating that you will indeed be trained to be a jedi here at the enclave," Vandar told her. "Tomorrow will be your first day. You will train in the finesse and stylized fighting of the lightsaber. You will also learn to control the force and to center your emotions. You will meditate and study the history of the jedi. And Bastila will train beside you, to help you on your way."
Alaanis nodded her head in acceptance. She was a jedi? How strange a destiny she was facing. She had never expected such a thing to happen to her. But she'd take it.
"I would be honored to study the ways of the force," Alaanis smiled, glancing at Vrook for a split second. He was still scowling. She wondered if he ever smiled.
XxXxX
The next few weeks were a simple routine for Alaanis. She would wake up early, just after dawn, and leave the Ebon Hawk and meet in the training room with Master Zhar. There, she would meditate for two hours before breakfast. After breakfast, Bastila met Alaanis back in the training room for some sparring with simple swords. Alaanis hadn't gotten to use a lightsaber yet. Then, after lunch, Master Dorak would give Alaanis a new history book with a lesson to learn. Once finishing the book just before dinner, Alaanis met with all four masters and Bastila to discuss her progress.
Usually, the council acted amazed upon her quick progress. She had begun after the first week returning to practice the use of the force with Master Vandar and Bastila's help. After dinner, Alaanis returned to the Ebon Hawk to spend some time with the crew that spent their days hanging around the ship and sometimes wandering into the enclave or the courtyard.
The only crewmember that seemed to outright refuse to talk to Alaanis was Carth. Ever since she had met with the council about four weeks ago, he hadn't spoken to her. He seemed to talk to everyone else in the crew except Alaanis. And Bastila. He even talked to Canderous, even though it was usually just to help fix up the Ebon Hawk.
Mission and Zaalbar found themselves consistently wandering around in the courtyard. Zaalbar said that the atmosphere of the planet reminded him a bit more of Kashyyyk. Except, he pointed out, for the lack of trees.
Canderous and Carth were usually tinkering with the ship, and Canderous with his weapons. It seemed like the two men had come to an agreement about something or other, and therefore they were finally on speaking terms.
Bastila didn't spend much time with the crew. Sometime she spoke with Mission, but the Twi'lek always seemed to try and provoke Bastila. Canderous and Bastila avoided each other like the plague, though occasionally they did end up in rather heated arguments.
Alaanis was personally enjoying her time on Dantooine. It was an enjoyable experience. She was learning the ways of the force, and growing closer to Bastila, Mission, Zaalbar and Canderous. The old war veteran had even let Alaanis in on some of his more proud victories. Mission talked of her brother a lot, and the two often swapped brother stories. Bastila was explaining to Alaanis all the possibilities of the force, and how great a gift yet heavy a burden it was. Alaanis did get a little sick of her lectures, but understood that Bastila just meant well.
But Carth was still refusing to talk to Alaanis. It was the beginning of their sixth week on Dantooine, and Alaanis was blindfolded and so was Bastila. It was about midday, almost time for lunch, but the two women were still sparring.
":Concentrate:" Master Zhar called out as Alaanis' footing slipped. She was usually confident in her footwork, but she was a little unfocused today. When she had left the Hawk that morning, Carth had given her one hell of a death glare.
Bastila got a lucky shot in Alaanis' leg, producing a small cut, nothing more. Today, the two were practicing gentleness in their actions, showing that power didn't control everything.
":Focus:" Zhar exclaimed as Alaanis tripped over her own feet. Damn! Stop thinking and start sparring! She scolded herself.
After another five minutes of unfocused sparring, Bastila and Alaanis were asked to take off their blindfolds. The blindfolds were used so that they could sense each other with the force instead of with their eyes. 'Sight can be deceiving' Master Zhar had explained.
"Not such a good run today," Master Vandar said, his small form coming out of the doorway. Obviously, he had been standing there for some time.
":You need to focus better Alaanis:" Master Zhar explained simply. ":Hopefully tomorrow you will be doing better.:" Alaanis and Bastila bowed their heads and left the room.
The rest of the week, Alaanis stopped thinking like a normal human being and started thinking like a jedi. She focused on nothing else besides her training. And it seemed to pay off. The last day of the week Master Zhar gave Alaanis and Bastila training sabers. They weren't lethal like normal lightsabers, but they were still in the same form as regular lightsabers.
On the final day of the week, Alaanis was summoned before the council once more. All four masters and Bastila were in the room again.
"Apprentice," Vandar called as Alaanis walked down the slope of the council chamber. Alaanis stopped walking and stood still, holding her hands behind her back slightly nervously. She wondered if they were going to chastise her for losing her focus earlier that week. It turned out otherwise.
"In the past six weeks you have achieved what others take years and years to learn," Vandar continued. "You have shown strength in your mind, body and abilities. Your force potential seems limitless, your techniques the epitome of perfection."
"But don't let your mind be filled with glory and power," Master Vrook spoke. "Those are thoughts that lead to the dark side. And jedi are followers of the light, dedicated to peace."
"Do you feel you are a follower of the light?" Master Dorak asked her. Alaanis looked around her at the masters. Vrook was actually no longer scowling, simply looking emotionless.
"Yes."
All the masters looked at her skeptically for half a second before resuming their former serene looks. Vandar had a small smile plastered onto his face. "Good."
Master Zhar stepped forward. ":Then we would be honored to welcome you fully into the jedi order.:" Alaanis grinned. She felt proud of her accomplishments, on how she could learn these things so easily.
"But before you are granted the title of Padawan, the lowest rank in the jedi order, you must learn and recite the jedi code for Master Zhar," Vrook explained. Alaanis bowed her heads to the masters and left the chamber, hearing behind her a call to return in the morning, bright and early to recite it.
XxXxX
It was a long night for Alaanis, memorizing the jedi code, understanding it, and finding wisdom in it. After that, she fell asleep, dreaming of the old dream of Revan and Malak. She had had the dream twice since it first came upon her. Now it didn't seem to want to leave her.
In the morning, Alaanis woke at dawn and left Bastila, who was still asleep, to come when she awoke. She arrived in the training room where Master Zhar was meditating.
":Welcome apprentice:" Master Zhar greeted her, standing up and looking at the young woman. Alaanis bowed to the master and he gave her a slight smile. ":Have you learned the jedi code:"
"Yes master," Alaanis replied. "There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is the Force."
":Do you understand the jedi code:" Zhar asked her. She bowed her head lightly and responded with a 'yes master'. ":We jedi do not kill our prisoners, nor kill at all when death can be avoided. When war can be avoided, we avoid it and work with peace.:"
"And jedi control their emotions, not allowing them to overtake our actions and reactions," Alaanis commented. Zhar gave her a small smile.
":You have done well apprentice:" he told her respectfully. ":The next step in becoming a jedi is a jedi's class and lightsaber. For more information on the jedi classes, Master Dorak is here to explain.:" The green Twi'lek turned and stepped to the side while Master Dorak walked into the training room. Alaanis bowed to the master.
"There are three classes of jedi," Master Dorak began. "The first is the jedi guardian. Jedi guardians focus on combat and lightsaber skills, becoming a bit less adept in the force. Usually slightly more aggressive, jedi guardians are less often sent on diplomatic missions unless danger is sensed. The next class of jedi is the jedi sentential. The jedi sentential balances their study of the force and their study of the lightsaber. They are quick-witted and often able to ferret out deceit easily. The third and final class of jedi is the jedi consular. The jedi consular focuses on their connection to the force and seeks to meditate on subjects, always asking why and how.
"Which, apprentice, do you believe yourself to be?" Dorak concluded. Alaanis thought for a moment. The jedi guardian and jedi sentential were both more like her. The jedi consular seemed a bit too deeply immersed in the force to be someone like Alaanis.
"The jedi sentential," Alaanis decided after a moment on pondering. Dorak looked like he agreed.
"You always struck me as such," Dorak concurred. "The color of the sentenial's lightsaber is yellow. Green is of the consular and blue is of the guardian. Since you have chosen to be a sentential here is a yellow crystal. I must leave you, but Master Zhar will instruct you on how to build a lightsaber."
Alaanis held the glowing crystal Master Dorak had given her in her left hand and stared at it. It was quite beautiful. "Aren't there three crystals in a lightsaber?" she asked Zhar. Dorak had already left the chamber.
":There can be three crystals in a lightsaber apprentice:" Master Zhar told her. ":But you can have a lightsaber with a single crystal as well. It's not uncommon.:"
The rest of the day was taken up with Alaanis' construction of her own lightsaber. Master Zhar helped her at first, but left her to her own devices after an hour or so. It wasn't very difficult for Alaanis to do, but the building took a lot of patience. Therefore, it took away most of the day.
The Dantooine sun was setting by the time Alaanis was holding her finished lightsaber in front of her. It was an illuminating pale yellow color, lighter than the more goldenrod-like color Bastila's double bladed lightsaber took on.
":You have done well apprentice:" Zhar complimented Alaanis' handiwork as she swung her lightsaber, enjoying the musical hum as she jerked it around. For some reason, though she had never handled a real lightsaber before in her life, Alaanis felt like it was the only weapon meant for her.
"Thank you master," Alaanis bowed her head in gratitude at the master's praise. Zhar requested that she return the next morning for her third and final trial.
Alaanis began her walk back to the Ebon Hawk before almost walking directly into Bastila.
"I'm sorry!" Bastila told her as she almost tripped over Alaanis who had fallen onto the ground. "I shouldn't be so distracted." Bastila's face showed lines of red anger that had faded away.
"Have you been arguing with Canderous again?" Alaanis asked her, standing up and brushing a bit of the ground's dirt off of her.
Bastila reddened slightly. "Is it that obvious?" Alaanis nodded. The younger jedi sighed. "That Mandalorian just infuriates me! If he is an example of the everyday Mandalorian, then I almost don't blame Revan and Malak for killing them off!" Bastila cut herself off and mentally smacked herself. "I should not speak like that."
"Hey, you're human," Alaanis shrugged. "Just because you're a jedi doesn't mean you never feel emotions like anger. It's controlling those emotions that make you a jedi."
" You're certainly sounding more like a jedi everyday," Bastila said beaming. "I am glad for you. How did your trials go?"
"They went well," Alaanis answered. The two women were walking side by side slowly around the tree in the center of the enclave. It was a large ever-blossoming tree, very beautiful. Many jedi in the enclave found themselves meditating by the tree. "Are you a jedi sentential Bastila?"
"Yes I am," Bastila replied. "Which jedi class did you choose to be a part of?"
"I am a jedi sentential as well," Alaanis smiled and drew her lightsaber. Bastila looked frightened for a split second at the yellow glow in the darkening night, but then smiled back and drew her own double-bladed lightsaber. The two sparred in the room and eventually made their way to the hangar, dueling through the halls as both knew they shouldn't have. But they were caught in the dance of battle, not being able to focus on the silence around them.
The battle ended a long while later. Both were panting but still smiling at each other. Though at first the two women didn't like each other, they had formed a strange bond through their fellow force-sensitivity. And it wasn't just the force bond. They were friends.
Alaanis did agree with what Carth had said all those weeks ago, she did have strange friends. But she didn't find anything wrong with that.
XxXxX
By midday the next day, Alaanis was heading towards the enclave's courtyard, her head spinning. Her third trial was to rid the grove of the dark taint. But Master Zhar wasn't being informative enough for Alaanis to really understand. She was allowed to take two companions with her. Alaanis was surprised when Master Zhar included that, but Carth and Mission were following her nonetheless.
Alaanis had been beyond surprised when Carth said that he wanted to come with Alaanis. Considering the way he hadn't spoken to her in over a month told her that he wasn't happy. Maybe he would finally explain why.
":I am on a mission:"
Alaanis turned her head at the voice of a Rodian calling. She, Carth and Mission had just crossed a small bridge over a stream from the enclave to the courtyard. There were a few land speeders parked just at the edge of the bridge. Alaanis presumed the visitors came to the enclave with their problems, asking the jedi for help. She had seen the council in conference with a multitude of people.
One had been a farmer. His name was Jon and his daughter was killed by Mandalorians. They also burned his home to the ground. The council allowed him to stay at the enclave but refused his request to deal with the Mandalorians.
Canderous heard news of this and growled about the man being too weak his protect his own daughter. Alaanis wished she could've helped the man. But if the council wouldn't help them, they surely wouldn't allow Alaanis to.
She had to stay focused on the task at hand. "What is your mission?" she asked the Rodian skeptically. He was wearing a yellow jumpsuit that almost matched the slightly more green color of his skin. In his land speeder he was standing in front of were boxes and boxes of what looked like supplies.
"You're selling something aren't ya?" Mission chuckled. The Rodian looked scandalized.
":That's my mission:" he called. ":My name is Adum Larp. These grounds are dangerous; is it so horrible a thing to supply innocent civilians with weapons and armor:"
"Do you have any maps of the area?" Alaanis asked him. The Rodian nodded his head. "How much?"
":Only five credits:" Adum told her. ":I have bundles, and they're useful, so why not sell 'em cheap:"
"That's generous of you," Alaanis said, pulling out a credit chip and tossing it to the Rodian. "Most merchants would hoard all their supplies and sell them expensively, no matter how much they had of a single product."
":It's a stereotype ma'am:" Adum shook his head and pocketed the chip. ":We merchants are looked upon so harshly. We're not all horrible.:" Adum handed Alaanis the map. ":Do you need anything else? I have some very nice armor for sale.:"
"That'll be it Adum," Alaanis smiled at him. "Thanks for the map. Good luck in your mission."
":And you in whatever yours is.:" Alaanis, Carth and Mission walked off. Mission a little reluctantly because she was very interested in some of the weapons Adum had for sale.
"If I had a few more credits I would've bought myself a couple choice grenades…" Mission groaned.
"We have enough grenades for now Mission," Alaanis told her. She looked down at the map. It was in a small datapad. "I hate carrying around so many datapads," she grumbled. She pulled out her journal and plugged the smaller datapad into it, downloading the information. "There." She stuffed the small datapad back in her over-sized bag and tucked the journal into her inner pocket. That was the beauty of jedi robes; they had about a hundred pockets hidden in the inner layers of the light robes.
Following the map out of the courtyard and onto what were the grounds of some rich farming family called the Matales, Carth, Mission and Alaanis walked in silence. Mission seemed to be absorbing the beauty of a planet that wasn't Taris. Carth seemed to still be brooding. Alaanis was still staring intently at the map.
It was while she was staring at this map that she didn't notice the group of Mandalorians and Duros about fifty meters away.
"Uh… Alaanis?" Mission whispered as she poked her.
"What?" Alaanis asked, lifting her head up. Then with a feeling of dread she realized what. One large Mandalorian in full combat uniform was holding a settler up by his collar. Two Mandalorians were pointing blaster rifles at the settler and two Duros were searching through a smoking land speeder that Alaanis could only assume was the settler's.
"What do we have here?" the bigger Mandalorian chuckled, throwing down the settler. The settler's head hit the side of the land speeder and Alaanis didn't need to hear the loud crack to know he had died.
"Why are you attacking the settlers?" Alaanis demanded, unsheathing her one vibrosword while holding her right hand menacingly next to her lightsaber.
The Mandalorians laughed. "Why do you think?" One exclaimed. "For the supplies, power, fear, honor and satisfaction." The larger Mandalorian pulled out a large sword while the other two manned their blaster rifles. The Duros pulled out small shock sticks and the five ran at Alaanis, Carth and Mission.
Simultaneously the three activated their energy shields and Alaanis powered up her lightsaber. Slicing through the chest of one Duros, his scream landed in her left ear, loud and piercing. She shuddered for a second, remembering that she was murdering people.
It's self-defense! One voice in her mind told her.
It's still murder, another answered.
They didn't listen to reason; I had no choice.
And she swung her lightsaber again and again against the large Mandalorian. His footwork was very advanced. Carth had easily taken out the other Duros and one of the Mandalorians and now he was trying his best not to hit Mission while she swung her vibroswords at the third Mandalorian's blaster rifle.
Finally the rifle snapped in half and Mission chopped off one arm. Getting in a good shot Carth hit him right in the forehead. Alaanis finally was able to knock the Mandalorian into the speeder and stabbed him with her lightsaber.
"Well, less blood to worry about now with this thing eh Carth?" Alaanis joked, remembering how he told her that her vibroswords were too bloody. He didn't even look her way.
"I bet they have awesome gear!" Mission exclaimed, digging straight into the bags of the Mandalorians. She did come up with a few grenades that she had wanted and a very fierce Mandalorian blaster pistol that she claimed immediately.
"Come on," Carth finally said, the first thing Alaanis had heard him say in days, except for when he said he wanted to come with her and Mission. "We should get this thing done."
"Okay Carth," Alaanis said lightly. She looked down at the body of the dead settler. Why wouldn't the jedi want to get rid of these savage beasts? It was obvious reason wouldn't work. She'd have to bring it up with Bastila later.
The three reached the edge of the Matale grounds easily, past the large estate Alaanis had to admire for its beautiful architecture. And the gardens it had were also breath-taking. If Alaanis hadn't been busy, she'd have surely stopped just to get a whiff of the flowers planted there.
It was in the grove that Alaanis, Carth and Mission were first ambushed by the kath hounds. There seemed to be an endless supply of these ferocious beasts. Alaanis was surprised at the ferocity of their attacks. Kath hounds were usually demure unless provoked. And all they had done was come within twenty meters of the animals.
After walking for a bit longer, and decapitating a loose kath hound that got a nasty swipe at Mission's leg before it was killed, Alaanis felt a surge of darkness coming from the west. It was the dark taint.
"This way," Alaanis told her companions, pointing towards her left. "I can feel it." She swore she heard Carth mutter something like 'jedi mumbo-jumbo' when she said that. Mission was deathly quiet. Her leg was bleeding lightly, but she had refused to have a bandage over it. She only let Alaanis inject a kolto pack and then leave it alone.
There were a few pillars as they walked further to the west. About four of them, but only two were still standing the way they should have. One had collapsed completely and the fourth was leaning against a cliff. There were stones sitting on the ground and a few corpses lying around the stone platforms. Upon one stone was a young woman, no older than Bastila. It was a Cathar, and Alaanis could feel the darkness radiating from her. But it wasn't absolute. It seemed more like a shadow.
From this Cathar, whoever she was, Alaanis felt grief, guilt and regret. And anger at herself. She walked closer to the woman, and was only a few meters away before the Cathar opened her eyes.
"How dare you come to my grove!" she shrieked. "This is my grove; my place of darkness. But now that you have come… you will die!"
Before Alaanis could expect anything, the Cathar jumped up and sent a stasis field onto Carth and Mission along with a force wave. Mission was knocked back into a small cliff. Alaanis hoped she was alright. Carth landed in the grass a few meters back. He'd be fine.
But Alaanis didn't have time to worry; the Cathar had ignited a blue lightsaber and pounced at her. Anger fueled her attacks. Alaanis fought back with serenity, remembering the jedi code she had learned only weeks ago.
The fighting was intense, but Alaanis realized the woman's weakness quickly. She was on offense, and was leaving herself open to a simple trick. As the Cathar jumped up and pulled down her lightsaber where Alaanis had been standing, she rolled below her raised legs and used her vibroswords to cut into the Cathar's back.
She screamed. She fell to the ground and dropped her lightsaber. Alaanis leaned down and picked it up, turning it off. She switched her own off. She tossed the Cathar's lightsaber back to its pain-ridden owner.
"Why aren't you killing me?" the Cathar asked helplessly, leaned forward on all fours, her clothes turned bloody red, especially on her back where Alaanis had cut her.
"Nobody deserves death," Alaanis told her. "I was sent to remove the dark taint," she continued. "But that doesn't mean I have to kill you."
"Well, you cannot redeem me."
"What is your name?" Alaanis bent down on her knees so that she was face to face with the Cathar.
"Juhani," she responded. "And I have fallen to the dark side."
"Why?" Alaanis asked curiously. She placed her lightsaber back into her belt and grabbed the Cathar's hand to help her stand up. Uneasily, Juhani did so.
"I have slain my master." She avoided Alaanis' eyes, ashamed of the truth.
"Are you sure?" Juhani shook her head.
"I might as well have though," she answered. "I let my anger control me. I am not worthy of being a jedi. Kill me, you have defeated me."
"No," Alaanis said, grabbing Juhani's chin, forcing her to look in Alaanis' eyes. "Go back to the temple. The jedi will not kill you. They will forgive you. But only if you show them you have learned the error of your ways. I don't think you've truly fallen. You were simply scared. Ask for forgiveness Juhani, it will be granted."
"If I show them that I am not consumed by anger…?" Juhani looked hopeful.
"…They will forgive you," Alaanis finished. She smiled at the Cathar and handed her a medpac. "Here, heal yourself and go back to the enclave." Juhani nodded. She was gone in a flash. Alaanis suspected she had used her force powers to make her move quicker.
Behind her, Alaanis could hear Carth picking himself up off the grass.
"Are you okay?' Alaanis asked concerned. Carth nodded grumpily and avoided eye contact. He began to walk away. "Carth!" she called. He turned around to face her.
"What do you want Pi?" he asked her coldly.
"Why won't you speak to me?" she gazed pleadingly at him. She was sick of him not talking to her. She hadn't done anything to offend him… had she? And why did she care so much if Carth was speaking to her or not?
"I'm talking to you right now," Carth said as if it was the most obvious thing ever.
"I mean outside of right now, you're different than you were on Taris," she pointed out.
"Maybe because you weren't one of those Jedi back on Taris," Carth mumbled.
"So that's it," Alaanis groaned, sitting herself down on a stone platform. "You don't talk to me anymore because I happen to be a jedi. You've got some major issues Carth Onasi."
"You can't blame me," Carth glared at her.
"Yes I can!" Alaanis shouted. She stood up and walked over to him. "The reason you don't trust anybody is because of you, not anyone else. Just because you were betrayed by one man doesn't mean the galaxy has betrayed you! It's not a 'let's betray Carth' conspiracy!"
"How do you know?" Carth yelled back angrily.
"Force, you are paranoid!" Alaanis moaned. She sighed exasperatedly. "Yes, the jedi are cryptic. Yes, the jedi are strange. Yes, the jedi think differently. But no, the jedi aren't planning on betraying you! I'm not a traitor Carth!"
Carth stood flabbergasted. He couldn't reply. His anger evaporated and reason kicked in. "I'm sorry Alaanis, it's just who I am." He sat down on the grass. She sat down next to him and placed her hand on his arm.
"You don't have to be like that though," she said quietly. "Paranoia isn't very becoming."
"Again, I'm sorry," he repeated. Carth shook his head lightly. "Just ever since Revan and Malak betrayed the Republic, I think everyone's got a few trust issues with jedi."
"Hey Carth…" Alaanis said after a moment of silence. Something just occurred to her. "You said you had seen holograms of Revan right?"
"Uh… yeah?" he replied confounded as to why this was significant.
"Do you know if you could show me?" she asked. "I've seen millions of holograms of Malak, but not many of Revan, without the heavy armor and mask. Why would someone not even affected by the force physically wear armor?"
"To hide her real identity I guess," Carth shrugged. Alaanis handed him her journal and he downloaded a hologram of Revan for her.
Alaanis stared at it. Revan was quite beautiful. "This was during the Mandalorian Wars," Carth commented. "I never saw her then, I had only seen Malak. Once. He was certainly intimidating but very impressive."
Revan was wielding two yellow lightsabers, wearing what looked like specially-made deep green robes. They matched the intensity of her determined green eyes while her long black hair flowed out in the wind of battle. It reminded Alaanis of her own natural hair. When she had joined the Republic she had it chopped off and dyed, just for the significance of change between the smuggler she was and the soldier she became.
"Impressive," Alaanis nodded her head in satisfaction of seeing the woman. Carth exited the hologram and handed the journal back to Alaanis.
Carth finally looked in Alaanis' eyes as he handed it to her. "I really do feel sorry for kind of building that barrier between us recently. I just…"
Alaanis shushed him by holding up a finger at his lips. "I understand. Just, try to lighten up won't you?" She shot him a quirky smile. She just realized how close they really were at the moment, their faces only about three inches apart. She saw his brown eyes stare into her own blue ones intently, searching for something. She stared back.
No… don't tell me I've fallen for Onasi over here! Alaanis scolded herself mentally.
Luckily enough for her, whatever would've happened next was interrupted with a rustle of two kath hounds approaching Carth and Alaanis. They stood up and Carth shot one and knocked it to the ground while Alaanis killed the other with her lightsaber. She smiled at Carth and then remembered Mission.
Deactivating her lightsaber, the jedi hurried over to Mission's still form. Alaanis felt for a pulse. Carth was right behind her. "She's alive," Alaanis told him. "Just unconscious. Can you carry her back to the enclave?"
Carth picked up the small Twi'lek with ease. "Sure." They smiled and headed back to he enclave.
But wait… I'm a jedi. Doesn't that forbid me from love? Alaanis was expected to feel relieved at this thought, but it just thoroughly depressed her as she trod a couple feet ahead of Carth, her lightsaber ready for battle of any kath hounds dared to approach them.
XxXxX
W000000T! Longest chapter YET! It hit sixteen pages! Anyways, I am really sorry it took me a while to get it out, but I have been so super busy lately (I shouldn't have even written this up today) because the end of the school year5 is just about here and with that has come dozens of projects and papers, and of course finals next week so I've been studying for those, as well as NYSSMA, which is if you don't live in New York or you just don't know, New York State School Music Association and it has a bunch of different people from all over in different 'festivals' perform songs (vocally or instrumentally, I do the music) as groups or individuals and I'm doing it this Friday on Level 4 (there's six levels) and I've been working on it really hard to live up to a perfect score I got two years ago (This is only my second time going) so yeah.
So, anyways, I'm done blabbering about my busy life. Anyways, I'm sorry of the Juhani thing didn't seem right in this chapter. I felt a hard time getting that conversation right. Oh and spelling errors? Sorry if there are any of those, I don't have time to proofread when I should be studying for finals. By the by THANK YOU for the reviews! I LOVE them. XD I shall now address them…
Resident roach code metallica – I'm glad you like the fighting… I always thought they were the most clashable in the game, so why not exploit that?
Rachil Fayrchild – I think the story would be boring if it was only in Alaanis' POV.
Wid's Daughter – Canderous is wrong? Well, I hope I get him right soon enough… I am having issues writing him, but his character wasn't completely expressed in the last chapter really. I hope I get him better in the future! Have any tips on how to write him?
Mucho thanks for the reviews guys! I hope I get some more on this chapter. ;) XD Anyways, I hope you Carthaholics enjoyed the little bit of Carth/Alaanis stuff I threw into this chapter. Heehee… have to leave a little tension in there. Anyways, expect the next chapter in at least a week (because this week is finals and I will have no time) so I hope this suffices for now! There should be around two more Dantooine chapters before I ship the crew off to Kashyyyk. I already wrote a bunch of the story breaks (which I love) and the Revelation as well as some other random scene (in my cell phone lol, I was really bored).
So until next chapter, REVIEW BECAUSE I LOVE REVIEWS, wish me luck in my finals and for NYSSMA (I'll need all the luck I can get) and have a spectacular end-of-spring-almost-summer!
5-29-05