o:o:o
Phaelon was sitting cross-legged in the center of the meditation circle, using the Force to bounce a ball at a corner across the room. She hadn't had a lot of time to think on her mastery since Kyp had told her it was Omas who didn't want her to have it, but now she was thinking. She would have liked to say it didn't matter to her, but secretly it did – she had been one of the first students, and all her compatriots were Masters by now. Grow up, she rebuked herself. You're sounding like a little kid.
Through her meditation, she could feel the approach of a young student long before she heard the chime on the door. "Come," she said, opening her eyes, but keeping the ball bouncing.
A little Rodian, one of the newest and youngest students, stepped hesitantly into the room, eyeing the ball with wonder. "Jedi Lei, Master Skywalker wants to see you in the Council's chamber," he said, finding his voice.
"Did he say what about?" she asked, getting to her feet and letting the ball roll away.
He shook his head and gestured for her to follow.
Wondering why Master Skywalker wanted to talk to her, unless he wanted to send her to Duro instead of Kyp, Phaelon headed towards the Council's chamber.
She paused outside the elaborately carved door. By the muffled voices and the jumbled Force-signatures, the whole Council was in there. Stop it, she told herself. There is absolutely no reason for you to be nervous… despite the fact you've never been called in front of all of them before.
The door slid open and the little Rodian led the way in. "Jedi Lei," he said with a short bow before disappearing and letting the door slide shut. Seated around the round table were Luke and Mara, Corran, Kyp, Cilghal, Kam Solusar and Tionne, Kenth Hamner, Kyle Katarn, and Saba Sabatyne.
"Masters," she said with a short bow. Although she knew each of them, together they seemed to make her nervous.
Luke smiled at her. "Jedi Lei, we promise we won't keep you long. As you are well aware, the Council has passed over your promotion for mastery several times, and it is our opinion that we've done so for far too long. If you actions before and during the recent war were not enough, your actions on Kiffu certainly were. Our apologies for the lack of ceremony, but we felt certain you wouldn't mind... It is our privilege to confirm on you the rank of Jedi Master."
It took a minute for what Luke had just said to register. Meanwhile, the other Masters came forward to give her a hug and offer her congratulations.
She walked out a few minutes later with Kyp. "But I thought – ?" she asked.
"Omas?" – He shrugged. – "Let's just say he's going to get used to being disappointed, I think."
o:o:o
Almost a week after her promotion, Corran appeared at her door while she was meditating by levitating everything in the room, including a MSE-6 droid bobbing close to the ceiling that continued to squeal in terror. "There're some people here that want to see you," he said mysteriously.
"Who?" she asked.
He merely shrugged and led the way down the hall. She sighed and followed. It was very irritating not getting her questions answered.
She stopped dead when she reached the entrance hall. Standing there, dressed in properly elaborate attire was a collection of perhaps a dozen Kiffar Guardians. In their midst was her sister, Ilyra, and her parents.
"Master Lei," said the most elderly of the Guardians, stepping forward and offering her a short bow. "We've come here to pay our respects to the only living Jedi Master of the Kiffar people."
Another Guardian, this one with the pale yellow stripe of Clan Vos running under his eyes, stepped forward and handed her what looked like a very old lightsaber.
"This is the weapon of the last Kiffar Jedi Master," he explained. "A General in the Clone Wars, Master Quinlan Vos was killed in the Jedi purges that followed the rise of the Emperor. No one is sure what happened to his family. His weapon found its way back to his clan, and now we present it to you. May it serve you as well as it did its former owner."
Phaelon took it gingerly in her hands. The pale green blade hissed to life as she thumbed it in on and saluted them with it. "I thank you for this treasure." The blade disappeared as she turned it off and bowed to them.
The short ceremony over, the Guardians bowed to her and shook her hand. Last, but not least, her family approached.
It appeared that her mother had been crying. She hugged her daughter tightly, unable to speak. Her father, on the other hand, wrapped her in a bone-crushing hug and said, "You've made us proud."
When they withdrew, Ilyra approached, smiling enigmatically.
"How did you – ?" she asked.
Her sister smirked. "Your friend, Master Horn, accidentally let it slip when he called to thank us for assisting in the rescue of his daughter."
Phaelon turned and let her eyes seek out Corran. "I did not," he retorted innocently, but his face flushed and he withdrew further into the corner.
Turning back to her sister and the Guardians, she hugged her little sister tight. "Thank you."
She tried to convince the Guardians to stay a while and avail themselves of the Jedi's hospitality, but they insisted that they needed to return to Kiffar.
"Who knows what might happen with us gone," joked Ilyra as they prepared to leave. "It's like leaving young children home without a babysitter."
They laughed and embraced one last time. Then Ilyra walked up the ramp of their shuttle, whose engines were already warming.
o:o:o