Chapter 7: Loss and Change
In the skies above Tatooine, an escape pod jettisoned from the captured Rebel cruiser. Unbeknownest to the two droids in the pod, their arrival on Tatooine would set in motion the events to put right the wrongs wrecked on their galaxy.
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Prince Kade Halan-Tagla, Shaiey's father, was dead. Shaiey and Raphen could not believe it. Nobody could.
"Raphen, I'm so sorry." sent Firewind, the Windicorn who had been the one that Kade had ridden. "I know that he was your son. I grieve with you and your granddaughter."
"I know that you will, and thank you, Firewind. How is Xana taking this?" Raphen asked.
"Xana was there when Kade became one with the Force. She held him in her arms as he left. Xana will grieve silently in her heart for the rest of her life." Firewind answered.
"Will my mother be okay?" Shaiey asked, trying to brush her tears away. Tears that would not stop flowing.
"Xana will never be okay in the way you would want, Shaiey, but she will continue to do her duty." Raphen stated.
Shaiey looked at her master with a questioning look.
"Xana and Kade were Force Bonded to each other. What that means is that they were connected in the Force, and seemed to be almost one person. Now that Kade is gone into the Force, Xana will long to be with him. However, she must stay here and do her duty, as she will be Queen eventually." Raphen continued, explaining.
"Do not worry, World's Hope, you will not lose her anytime soon." Firewind told the girl. "I need to be getting back to Sky Castle. Shaiey, you will be needed when you make full Warrior." The Windicorn took to the sky, heading up into the higher ranges of the surrounding peaks.
Selleene appeared out from some nearby undergrowth, a moment later.
"Shaiey, I grieve for your loss. I will let you mourn in peace. Call me if you need me." Selleene told her young rider.
"Do not go just yet, Selleene." Raphen told the young Windicorn. Selleene tipped her horn in acknowledgement. Raphen turned to look at his pupil. "Shaiey, I think you should go spend a couple of days at the Sky Castle with Xana. Keep Selleene with you while you are there. She will help Firewind with his grief."
"What about you, Master Raphen?" Shaiey asked the older man. "I will be alright. Alara will be here with me." Raphen told his apprentice. "And yes child, I am your grandfather."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Shaiey cried out.
"As your master, I am not allowed to acknowledge blood ties to you. It is one of the rules of ours, when it comes to training a Taegan Warrior." Raphen explained.
"Why?"
"It allows the teacher and the student to be objective in the lessons being studied." Raphen continued.
"Oh. I guess that I should be packing now." Shaiey replied, then headed back into the cave where her tent was located. A few moments later, Shaiey came out with a rucksack in tow.
"I'm ready to go Selleene." Shaiey stated. "Bye, Master Raphen, I'll see you in three days." Shaiey gave her teacher a hug, that Raphen gladly returned.
"When you come back, it will be time for your Hahtehch." He told the girl.
"So soon? I can't be ready. I've just turned fifteen not too long ago." Shaiey stated, in a rising pitch.
"Do not worry. Nobody goes through Hahtehch before they are ready. You, Shaiey, are ready now. So, go while it is still light. Your mother needs you." Raphen reassured his student. "Tell Xana that I grieve with her."
Shaiey went over, and climbed up onto Selleene's broad back. The girl crouched between the powerful wings, then linked in with the Windicorn as she had been taught. The pair openned themselves to the Force, using it to take to the sky in flight. In a matter of minutes, they were gone, heading along the same direction as Firewind did earlier.
After a journey of thirty minutes, the pair arrived at the Sky Castle. Selleene spotted a clearing where a couple of camo-netted X-Wings rested. She sent a message to Shaiey, asking if that would be a good area to land. Shaiey agreed. The pair landed.
A young man was waiting for Shaiey as she and Selleene landed. He had brown hair, and green eyes, that looked amused. Shaiey liked what she saw. "Hello your Highness." The man said, as he made his way over to the newcomers.
"Hello." Shaiey replied, jumping down from between Selleene's wings. "I'm Shaiey."
"Yes, I know. Your mother told me that you would be here today. I'm Kev Lappen. I'm your mother's aide." Kev explained.
"Nice to meet you, Kev. This is Selleene, of the Windicorns. She allows me to ride her." Shaiey told the aide.
Selleene tipped her horn in Kev's direction. She gave a pointed look towards the edge of the nearby forest where several Windicorns could be seen. She then headed towards them.
Kev lead Shaiey over to a huge pavillion where a group of people were gathered. Several of them parted, revealing Princess Xana Tagla sitting in their midsts. It was obvious to her daughter that Xana had been crying. But then, it was the same for the mother. She could tell that her daughter had been crying.
"Leave us. All of you." Xana ordered. "Kev, take Shaiey's bag to my tent. She'll stay with me."
The people all took off in different directions. Kev grabbed up Shaiey's bag, and disappeared. Shaiey made her way over to her mother, and knelt in respect, offering her lazerdagger to her, pommel first. As she looked at Xana, she thought that her mother looked older than Queen Sheela.
"Your Highness, I grieve for and with you. As does Master Rahpen, Alara, and Selleene." Shaiey gave the tradition phrase.
"Thank you. Please, daughter, you do not have to kneel to me in respect. I am your mother, not your Queen." Xana pulled Shaiey to her feet, and embraced her in a hug.
"As you wish, then." Shaiey agreed. Xana cried on Shaiey's shoulder for a bit. A few minutes later, the tears stopped.
"You look so much like your father. I long to be with him." Xana softly stated. She released Shaiey from her arms. Shaiey settled onto an empty stool near Xana's chair.
"When you have your tests to prove that you are a full Warrior, I will need you to return here. Master Raphen too, for that matter. We need all the fighters that we can get." Xana informed the girl.
Shaiey watched the various people that passed by the pavillion. "There is a huge offworlder population here." Shaiey stated to her mother.
"Yes there is. We have people here who would be killed anywhere else. Taega is a refuge for them." Xana explained. "And not all of them here are offworlders. Some are Taegans."
"Is Kev?"
"Not completely. His family is House of Braun on his mother's side." Xana replied.
"Interesting. What's the rest of his lineage like?" was Shaiey's next question.
"Well, my father was Corellian. Why are you asking?" Kev asked, as he walked up.
"You're Force sensitive." Shaiey replied. "So I was wondering."
"And that is why I'm here." Kev answered. "I'm being hid from the Empire."
"I can understand why. The Brauns had many a Taegan Warrior in their ancestry." Shaiey recalled.
"Kev, why don't you show Shaiey around the base, and introduce her to everyone." Xana decided. "She will need to know her way around the base."
"Okay. I'll see you later." Kev agreed. "Come on Your Highness."
Kev showed Shaiey around the base, pointing out where the sole X-Wing squadron was kept, the mess, and her assigned tent. He also showed her where Quartermaster was, and where the feed for the Windicorns was kept.
"Well, there is quite a bit more, such as the 'War Room', and the Med Center. However, I'm getting hungry, and you should be too." Kev told Shaiey.
"Yeah, I am. Will you show me those places later?" Shaiey asked Kev as they made their way back to the mess.
"Sure thing. You're a Warrior, aren't you?" Kev decided to find out if she was.
"Not quite. I'm fully trained, but I haven't had my Hahtehch yet." Shaiey answered. "When I go back to my base camp, Master Raphen will perform, if that is how it works, that on, for, with, to, me."
They arrived and got something to eat. Shaiey watched most of the troops that moved in and out of the area.
"I have heard of the Hahtehch. I'm not sure what it is myself. My mother had a brother that was killed during the Jedi Purge, who was a Warrior. That's part of the reason why my mother had me smuggled here. She figured that it would be the safest place for me." Kev stated.
"Good idea. However, Master Raphen will train no others after me. I'm the last to be trained in the ways of a Taegan Warrior." Shaiey replied.
Kev nodded in understanding. They finished eating, and returned to the pavillion where Shaiey first brought. Xana turned to look at them. She then focused on her youngest daughter. She watched as Kev introduced the girl to the officers of their small band.
She is ready, Xana thought to herself, it's early but Shaiey is able to do it. I just hope that she has the strength to go up against and defeat Lady Diava.
"Shaiey, when you return here, after you finish your training, you will be accorded the rank of Lieutenent." Xana informed Shaiey, knowing that what she had said earlier had not penetrated right off. However, Shaiey caught it this time around.
"WHAT!...You can't mean that a girl of fifteen is to go to war? I'm too young!" Shaiey protested. "You really can't mean it?"
"Yes, I do. And they concur. Besides, there are boys and girls younger than you here, pulling combat duty. And they aren't trained in the ways of the Force, either." Xana added.
"Isn't it considered a bad risk to place me in combat so soon? Being a Force-user is not a good thing these days. Unless you happen to be a Dark Jedi." Shaiey continued her protest.
"And that is exactly why you must. Emperor Palpatine has sent one of his apprentices here. Lady Diava is her name. She is a Dark Jedi." Xana knew that bit of knowledge would end Shaiey's protest in a lightsecond. She also knew that it was Shaiey's grief making the protest.
"This Diava person, she's the one that killed Daddy?" Shaiey asked a moment later.
"Yes. And she will do everything in her power to stop us, and the Rebellion from completing our goals. Diava must be stopped." Xana looked at her daughter with a sad expression. Shaiey just nodded in agreement.
The next couple of days flew by with a swiftness that all but swamped poor Shaiey. The young Warrior found herself setting up a schedual that she would use when she returned. She was also shown more of the base, and met more of the troops. Then it was time for her to return to her grandfather to finish her training.
Shaiey arrived back to the camp where she had spent so many years of her life. Raphen was waiting for her.
"You will find what you need waiting for you. Selleene will let you know when it is time." Raphen informed his student.
Shaiey nodded in agreement, and headed into the cave where her tent was located. Shaiey decided to pack her few belongings up, getting them ready to take back to the Sky Castle. A few holos of her family, a stuffed baby wookie doll, and her few clothes. On the cot, she found her tohta, a braided gold white cord with a gold set sapphire dangling from it. Shaiey tied it around her waist.
"Shaiey, it's time." came Selleene's bell like mind voice.
"Thank you. I'll be right out." Shaiey answered. She tucked her dagger into the tohta, making sure that it was in place. She came out of the cave a moment later. Shaiey made her way over to a small cleared area, and knelt into position. She clasped her hand together, and rested them on her thighs. Her upper body was angled forward, with her head tipped slightly down. That was how Raphen found her. It was time to present her to Taega.
"Name yourself, and your reason." Raphen stated.
"I am Shaiey Alaine. I have been told that it is time for the Hahtehch for me." was Shaiey's reply.
"How long have you trained?"
"Nine years."
"Are you a rider, and whom?"
"I ride the gold-white Selleene."
"Name your primary house."
"The Royal House of Tagla."
"Name your secondary house."
"The Regal House of Halan."
"Name your filial ties and their ranks."
"My mother is the High Princess Xana Tagla, Taegan Warrior. My father was Prince Kade Halan-Tagla, Taegan Warrior."
"Are you of the Taegan Warrior line?" Raphen asked the last needed question.
"Yes, on both sides of my family." Shaiey answered, a note of pride in her voice.
The next instance caught Shaiey by suprise, when Raphen's activated lazerdagger came swinging down at her. She reacted instinctivly, throwing her right hand up. In it glowed the blue-green blade of another lit dagger. The next twenty minutes went by in a blur for Shaiey. All that she could remember was that she was fighting for her life.
She took a moment to pause, and then was running all out. Another attack on her came near the pond where she liked to swim. Raphen came out of nowhere, and before Shaiey knew it, Selleene was there, battling along side of her. Shaiey allowed her senses to expand out, and link in with her Windicorn partner. Daggers hummed and hissed for what seemed to be a rather long time. Then the daggers were shut off, and Raphen attacked, hand to hand. Shaiey fully opened to the Force, allowed it to guide her actions. Her movements were like a dancer's, graceful and elegant. However, as beautiful as they looked, her movements were deadly. Another twenty minutes went by, seeming like an eternity.
A moment later, Shaiey was back in her kneeling position, and she found herself back at the cave. Raphen had disappeared. A moment later, he came out of the cave. Raphen made his way over to where Shaiey kneeled. In his hands was a black cloth striped with color. He took it, and draped it over Shaiey's shoulders. Shaiey saw that it was an obehya, similar to one one that Raphen wore. Next, was draped a shimmering silver object that felt like cold metal when it was draped over her neck. Shaiey noted that this one was a T'sheth, the Warrior's sash. In the hands of a trained Warrior, it was as deadly a weapon as the lazerdagger. Shaiey knew exactly what to do next.
"I pledge my life to Taega, and to her ruling Queens. I also pledge my life unto the Force." Shaiey stated in the ancient litany.
"I commend thee a full Warrior of Taega." Raphen answered, finishing what she had started.
"Congratulations, Shaiey!" yelled the mind voices of Selleene and Alara in unison.
"Thank you both." Shaiey replied, as she stood up. She then turned to look at her former teacher. "Raphen, I must return to Sky Castle. My mother needs me. Our people are at war."
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Luke was sad that Biggs had left again. He hoped that his friend would have good luck in joining up with the Rebellion.
"Luke, I need you out here." His uncle shouted.
"Coming Uncle Owen." Luke replied, coming out of his reverie. He headed out of the house over to the Jawa Sandcrawler, where his uncle was.
"LUKE, OH LU-UKE!" called out his Aunt Beru. "Tell your uncle that if he buys a translator, make sure it speaks Bocce."
"It doesn't look like we have much of a choice, but I'll remind him anyway." Luke answered. Ten minutes later, Luke and the droids from the pod, Artoo Detoo and See Threepio were decending into the garage.