Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for the characters I make up…but we all know that…

Destiny of Shadows

Chapter Three- Cat's Test

Cat walked into the bedroom and closed the door behind her. She sat on the bed and began to take off her shoes. "What did you want, Lance?"

"I don't want you to talk to him." Cat could sense his jealousy.

"Relax. We just ask each other general questions about our world."

"It's more than that."

Cat stood and threw off her tanktop, revealing her sports bra. "Oh really," she chuckled. "Why don't you enlighten me on what is really is."

"This is no laughing matter."

"I can see that by your anger."

"I see the way you look at each other."

"Oh God. We have only really looked at each other like two times." She was becoming annoyed. She started to unbraid her hair.

"You are not to talk to him again," he forcefully.

Cat stopped mid-braid. "Is that an order? Are you truly giving me an order?" She did not know if she should laugh or use her lightsaber.

"I don't want you near him."

"You bastard," Cat said with a quiet anger. "How dare you."

"You have a responsibility to me. One that I will not let you cross."

"I bow to man, not even you."

"You will."

"No, I will not." He slapped her with the back of his hand. Cat looked back at him with a passive expression, but a fire in her eyes. "I will let that pass because of what you have done for me in the past year. But you and I are finished. I want you out of this house by the time I get out of the shower. Plan to never come back. If you ever step foot in this house again I will not hesitate to kill you." Cat walked in the bathroom and locked the door behind her. She still sensed his anger and jealousy. It was overwhelming. Cat released her feelings into the Force and her mind instantly calmed. She got ready for a shower.

Cat walked down the stairs in a fresh pair of sweats and tank top, and her combed wet hair hung around her face. Jazz met her at the last step. "What happened?" she asked crushingly.

Cat shook her head. "We just had a disagreement."

Jazz reached to move aside the hair from her face but Cat stopped her. Jazz pushed her hand away and looked underneath her hair cover. There was a lingering red mark on her cheek. Jazz gasped. "Never would I have thought."

Cat covered her cheek again. "It doesn't matter anymore. He's gone."

"It's because of me, isn't it?" Anakin appeared at the doorway.

Cat shook her head. "No, it's because of him." Obi-Wan called them from the other room. Jazz went to the living room. Cat stopped in front of Anakin.

"I'm sorry he did that to you," he said lifting her hair for a better look. "It's my fault."

"Why?"

"Because I can't seem to keep my eyes off you."

"You have known me for less than a day."

"That doesn't matter," he whispered. He lifted her chin. He began to lower his head. Cat froze, expecting his lips to hers, but she instead found them on her bruised cheek. Cat let out a sigh of relief, and they walked into the living room.

"I think it's a good time to try and contact the Council." Cat nodded and led them down to her father's Control Center. Obi-Wan headed over to the main controls while Anakin's attention was on her father's ship. "You may look it over if you like?" she smiled at him. Without looking at her he walked aboard.

Cat stood next to Obi-Wan at the controls. I know R2 cannot send a signal from here to the Temple, but neither can this. It will take a while for them to retrieve it."

"My father told me it takes about two days, Earth Standard Time. Which, if I'm correct is one day your time."

"Well, we had better get going then."

As Obi-Wan was recording Cat went and joined Anakin aboard the ship. He was sitting in the cockpit in the pilot's chair looking over the controls. "She will need a little work before we try exiting the atmosphere," he said as she at in the first mate chair next to him. "I can do a few updates as well. I should look at the hyperdive; she may a little work as well." They walked back to the main hyperdrive engine. "Yeah, she needs a little fixing, but it won't take long."

Obi-Wan appeared in the doorway. "The message has been sent. How does it look, Anakin?"

"Not bad. Needs a little work, but it won't take long."

"Good. I have a feeling that the Council will want us back as soon as possible."

Jazz called Cat from outside the ship. Cat walked off the ramp and heard beeping at the controls. "They're here."

Cat walked over and took a look at the approaching vehicle that showed on the screen before her. "Great," she said instantly annoyed.

"Who is it?" Anakin asked.

"Police. Much like what Jedi are for the Republic, only they are fools that think they know everything," Cat answered.

"Why are they here?" Obi-Wan asked.

"There was probably a witness to your crash last night," Jazz offered and Cat nodded in response. Three men came out of the now parked car and began walking to the front door.

"Right. Jazz come with me, and you two stay here. If you are needed to help them leave, I will call you." They both nodded and the girls raced towards the front door. The knock began as they came out of the passageway. They walked down to the stairs and Cat opened the door, Jazz standing behind her.

"Miss Cavaliere?" one of them asked.

"Yes," Cat answered calmly.

"There was a strange occurrence last night. We have several witnesses say they saw a plane going down last night, but none witnessed the crash. Did you see anything of this sort?"

"Nothing but a few falling stars."

"And you Miss?" they looked towards.

"No. I saw nothing like that."

"Have you seen any fire rising from the woods?'

"No. I can't say I have."

"I know this is your land, but do you mind if we had a look around and see if we find anything?"

Cat waved her fingers of one hand at them. "You do not need to search my land."

"We do not need to search her land," one answered.

"There was never any plane crash."

"There was never any plane crash," another repeated.

"You will stop your investigation and return home."

"We are stopping our investigation and returning home."

"Sorry to have interrupted you Miss Cavaliere."

They repeated her last line and drove away. Cat and Jazz let out a breath when they disappeared. "I love it when you do that," Jazz said. Cat chuckled and they walked back into her bedroom.

Two days later Cat was helping Anakin work on the ship when a message arrived from the Council. Cat heard a beeping from the main controls. She walked over and opened the message. A man appeared wearing Jedi robes. "Who is that?" Cat asked Anakin.

"Mace Windu. He is a Master in the Jedi Council."

The message commenced. "Master Kenobi. You are to test Catalina Cavaliere's abilities in the force and report back to us as soon as possible. We will be waiting for your response." The figure disappeared.

Cat pet out a breath she did not know she was holding. "Well, why don't we get started?"

Over the next day Obi-Wan asked Cat to show him the lower level of Force abilities. Cat and Anakin could not wait until Obi-Wan asked her about her lightsaber abilities.

"How long have you trained with a lightsaber?"

"Well, I have only had a lightsaber for two years, but I have been training with a sword, which is like a lightsaber since I was very young."

"Okay. How much ability do you think you have?"

"Father told me before he died that I was almost as good as any Jedi. But that was a year ago."

"Do you think you can take on a fully trained Jedi?"

"I think I could give him a run for his money. Yes I do." Cat replied confidently. Anakin stood off to the side, smiling. "Master, why don't one of us test her?" he asked calmly.

"I am not sure that is a good idea, Padawan. She may get hurt."

"But Master, how are we ever going to know if we don't spar her ourselves?"

"We are not going to spar with her, Anakin. I don't want to be responsible for an injury to any of us," he said, ending the conversation.

"I have a sparring program that I practice with. That is how I have got better over that last year." Obi-wan agreed to watch her.

Cat sparred for them. "Well, I guess you are good enough," Obi-Wan judged.

Cat thumbed off her lightsaber. "I told you I could probably handle you."

"Well, your probably right."

Jazz started to walk up the stairs. "Is anyone hungry? I feel like tortellini."

"Sure," Obi-Wan gladly followed her, but he stopped at the foot of the stairs. "Cat, we only have a few more things to do. I will probably be able to report back to the Council by tomorrow afternoon.

"I'll be up in a minute and help you." Cat grimaced as she looked at the burn on her shoulder from fighting the program. She grabbed the first aid kit and took out the stuff she needed.

"Here, let me help you," Anakin said taking the stuff from her hands. Cat sat on the table as Anakin addressed her burn. She hissed when he cleaned it, then she started laughing. "What?"

"Another scar to my collection."

"Scar? I see no scars."

He wrapped it and showed her other arm. "I have a few other burn marks. This elbow, and the top of my hand." She lifted up the back of her shirt. "Another here across my back, and then one from my hip to the middle of my thigh." She pushed down the top of her sweats to show the top of the scar.

"Nice. I have a few burn too from my lightsaber classes when I was younger." He lifted his shirt showing a scar across the stomach. "This one in my first class. I thought I was good without ever fighting with a lightsaber before." Cat chuckled. Anakin lifted one of his sweat legs, showing another on the back of his calf. He showed her his shoulder. "This is a blaster hole from Obi-Wan and I first mission."

"I have some of those too." She lifted her leg and showed a few puncture scars on the inside of her leg. "I was horrible at covering my low left side when I started training to stop blaster shots."

"This one," he pulled down his shirt to show the back of his shoulder. "This is a real lightsaber. It hurt too. And I have another on my thigh, but that one is hard to show." Anakin smiled.

She smiled at him as well. "This one," he moved the strap of her tank top. "This is a bullet. It's from gun, which is like a blaster, but the shots are metal and usually they stay in your skin until you pull it out. But this one went through and came out the other side. Come take a look." He looked from the front of her shoulder to the back.

"And how did it happen?"

"I was shopping for food in the closest store to here and when I was in there a man pointed a gun at the owner and wanted his money. I used the Force to slam him into the wall, but he shot me in the shoulder when he landed. But then I sent him across the room and he was finally knocked out."

Cat looked at him tenderly as he put her strap back into place. He traced his finger down her arm and he squeezed her hand before stepping back. They kept their eyes locked for another moment, and then Cat spoke. "I should go help Jazz." She walked to the stairs. "Are you coming?" Anakin smiled and followed her.

The next evening, after Obi-Wan sent the message of Cat's abilities to the Council they sat at the dining room table over dinner. "What is this?" Anakin asked.

"It's called pizza. Father showed Jazz and I some secrets about making it. Do you have anything like it back home?" Cat asked.

"No, nothing like it. But the sauce on it is somewhat familiar." Obi-wan said inspecting the bit he was chewing. "Cat? Did your father ever test or tell you your midi-chlorian count?"

Cat looked at him with a twisted face. "What is that?"

Anakin and Obi-Wan stopped moving, and stopped breathing. They stared at each other for a long moment and then Anakin spoke. "He never told you?"

Cat shook her head. "What is so important about them?"

Obi-Wan leaned in closer to her. "It is one of the first deciphering things to determine if a child is Force-sensitive enough to be considered for training." Cat was still confused. "Midi-chlorians are organisms in our body that give us the ability to use the Force. All Jedi have a higher count than others who are not Jedi. Though not all Force-sensitives are chosen for training, they still hold the ability, and those are usually the ones the Sith gather to train in the Dark Side."

"Father never told me about that. Maybe it just slipped his mind. He couldn't have told me absolutely everything."

"But this is something that is very important to the Jedi Life," Anakin explained. "If he never told you, it must be for a reason." Obi-Wan nodded his head in agreement.

Cat thought on their words for a moment. "So, if the Council tells you to bring me back, and you do, what happens after that?" Cat asked.

"Well," Obi-Wan jumped in before Anakin. "We go to see the Council so they can meet you, and they will either decide to complete your training or they won't."

"And if they won't?"

Obi-Wan and Anakin looked at each other for moment then Anakin spoke. "You have great abilities Cat. I can't see why they would not want to finish your training to be a Jedi. They had to have hid you and kept your birth a secret for a reason," he said reassuring her.

"I agree with Anakin," Obi-Wan said not looking from his plate. "The Council does not hide a child of a Jedi with a destiny in the Force for no reason. And your abilities are great."

When dinner was finished Jazz walked in the living room and saw Cat turning on the DVD player. "What you gonna watch?" She asked plopping onto the couch.

"I don't know," she said looking on the shelves that contained the movies. "What do you want to watch?"

"Watch what?" Anakin asked as he and Obi-Wan came down the stairs.

"A movie." Jazz said looking at the ceiling.

"What's a movie?" Obi-Wan asked shaking his head.

"You'll see." Cat said pulling out a movie case from the shelf. "How's Blade: Trinity?"

"Yeah, that's a good one," Jazz said excitedly.

"So what is a movie?" Anakin asked as Cat slipped the DVD into the player. She grabbed the controls and sat next to him.

"On this planet there is something called the entertainment business. A certain lucky few become workers in this field of work and make what we call films. Then through a mass production they put the film onto a little disc, which I slipped into the DVD player and then you see it play on the television, which is that thing." She said pointing to the big screen. R2 beeped when he looked at it. "No R2, it is not a droid. It is just a machine."

She turned on the TV and both Jedi jumped as people appeared on the screen. "It's okay," Jazz said chuckling. "They are not real."

Cat changed to channel and the DVD Menu came up, and she pressed play. "The movies are basically telling a story in living color. Some stories are true and others are not, most are not. This movie is about Vampires. Have you heard of them?"

Anakin answered quickly. "Yes, I have read about them before."

"You have?" Cat looking at him surprised.

"Yes. Their entire race was rounded up and brought here into exile. That was about…what…a century or two ago, Master?"

"Yeah, I think that's right."

"Oh, okay," Cat said shocked. "Well this is a story based on truth then, and is not really true." She thought about all the Vampire stories and myths for a moment as Ryan Reynolds voice broke her thoughts. "Oh, it's starting."

About two-thirds through the movie Cat absentmindedly leaned against the warm body next to her. Anakin looked down to her, laying her head on his shoulder. He was shocked for a moment, but then wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She snuggled to him and he knew she was asleep after a while. When what he imagined was the end of the movie he looked over to where Obi-Wan sat and saw he was sleeping as well, the same with Jazz. He looked down at the woman who lay against him. "Cat," he whispered. When she didn't stir Anakin moved her slightly before standing. Then he picked her up in his arms and took her up stairs to her bed. He covered her with the blankets and went back down stairs to wake the others so he could also get some rest.

Since the first morning, Anakin and Cat ran to the spot they first talked and back, everyday. Anakin taught her about the parts of the ship and how to fix them, and she helped him all she could. They learned about each other's lives and Anakin shared battle stories. She especially loved the story on how he came to be in the Jedi's hands. Cat sat watching him work in a sleeveless shirt, enthralled with his story. "We were going through the last lap when my left engine started to smoke and leak fuel."

"Oh no, what did you do?" she asked worried.

"Well, I had to transfer fuel from the other engine to equalize the power. By the time I did that Sebulba was a little ways ahead of me. I finally got neck to neck with him at the last stretch. He started to bump into me again, and our pods got stuck together." Cat gasped. Anakin smiled at her enthusiasm. "We were like that for a few hundred feet until I sped forward, pulling apart one engine from the other of his pod racer. He crashed and I sped into the finish." As he told the end he was using his hands to animate his victory.

"And what happened next?"

"Well, Qui-Gon got the parts he needed. Before the race, he made another bet with my owner concerning my freedom. If I won, I would be set free. So he came by, and told us. I left my mother. She told me to be brave and don't look back, so I didn't. And on our way back to the ship the Sith reappeared for the first time in a long time. We went back to Corasunt and I was tested at the Council. At first they did not approve of my training. Qui-Gon argued to make me his Padawan, and that Obi-Wan was ready for the trails, but they still refused."

Cat cut him off. "So why are you here then?"

"Patience, patience. I have not come to the need yet. So, we came back to Naboo and fought against the Trade Federation. Qui-Gon told me to hide, so I hid in the cockpit of a Nubian Fighter. There were some droids they could not get passed so I started the fighter and shot them, but it was on auto-pilot, taking me out of the atmosphere to the attack on the Droid Army Control Ship. I lost power inside their main hanger and somehow managed to blow up their main reactor, destroying the ship, and the droid army who were fighting the native Gunguns as a diversion to help the Queen capture the Viceroy of the Trade Federation to discuss a new treaty and stop the blockade of Naboo."

"And what of Darth Maul?"

"Well, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon faced him. Master never told me specifics, but Qui-Gon fell." Cat went somber as Anakin's tone turned to distress. "Obi-Wan killed Darth Maul and the Council gave him the rank of Jedi Knight. And after a debate between Obi-Wan and Master Yoda, the Council gave consent to my training."

Cat looked him over. She could sense his sadness in speaking of Qui-Gon. "It pains you to talk of him?" He nodded painfully. "I'm sorry."

They were interrupted by a beeping outside. They walked over to the controls. "It is a message," she said looking at Anakin.

"You should get Obi-Wan."

Cat nodded and ran upstairs. Obi-Wan started the message. Master Windu appeared on the screen once more. "Master Kenobi. We have meditated on your findings and a conclusion. You are to bring Miss Cavaliere before us where we will decide her fate. According to your report she not too far from becoming a Jedi Knight, but a decision must be made in person. Come as soon as you can." And the figure disappeared.

Cat had a broad smile on her face. Without warning, Cat burst into laughs and screams of victory. She threw her arms around Obi-Wan and then around Anakin. They were alittle shocked, but they returned the affection. "Well, I guess I had better get packing. And there is something else I have to take care of before we leave."

"Is tomorrow night okay with you?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Sure. Oh, Anakin! Do you think the ship will be ready?"

"Yeah, I will have it done."

"Good. I have to go tell Jazz." Cat walked up the stairs.

Anakin watched her leave. "Be careful, Anakin."

"Master?"

"You are close to her already," he stated.

"We have a lot in common, Master. I think we will be the same kind of Jedi."

"Be careful none the less. A close relationship like that can lead down a dangerous and deadly path. That is why attachment is forbidden."

"I know, Master. But don't you wonder if that should be changed?"

"Why is that, Padawan?"

"I think that close friendships and attachments could make us better Jedi. We have a reason to fight and protect. It will give us more strength against enemies."

"You may be right, Anakin. But on the other hand, it also gives a weakness, and a reason to fear and hate. That is why the Order forbids it."

Sorry these chapters are not perfectly edited…I have been working on them for a while and just wanted to get them posted…the rest will be edited.