I'm so sorry for my lateness! I'm continuing this story right now! See! I'm writing it!
Chapter Nine: Focus
Revan woke up the next day, a white sheet wrapped tightly around her, feeling warmer than usual. She leaned her body weight into the human behind her, who already had his arms lazily around her. He was still asleep, Revan could tell, because his breathing was heavy and steady.
Ohh, man, I have to get up and Carth's still asleep. If he wakes up and finds me gone he'll think I left again….
Do what you need to do, child. He will understand. I guarantee it.
Well…. Okay.
Revan lifted Carth's arms and slid out from under them. Sighing, she quickly dressed in her fresh, clean robesand brushed her hair. She then deftly tied her hair into a high ponytail; and attached her lightsabers to her belt on her robes.
Alright, I'm headed out. I'll leave him a note that says I'll meet him in the Enclave for lunch.
No, child. Do not worry about it. He will be fine. Go now.
Shrugging, Revan gave Carth one last kiss on the cheek before leaving his home.
Revan came up to the Hawk as soon as she could, running up the ramp.
"Masa!" She called. "Time to get up!" She was greeted with a loud moan from Kreia's old room. Revan walked into the dorm, finding a sleepy Masa rubbing her eyes.
"What time is it?" She asked.
"Early enough that the suns aren't even up. Now come on. We've got work to do." Revan pulled Masa out of the bed and rummaged through the spare locker for some proper clothes.
"I do have clothes for the day, you know," Masa said.
"Yes, but one: they're filthy, and two: those aren't good clothes for what we're doing today."
It was true, Masa found out. Her light green khakis and dull-yellow tunic top were not nearly the type of clothes for what Revan was going to have them do.
"Where are we going?" Masa asked, following Revan through the rocky terrain of the central part of Coruscant. She shifted uncomfortably inside her new Jedi robes which Revan had let her borrow. The brown texture wasn't scratchy; Masa just wasn't used to the fabric. She scratched her back wearily.
"We're staying right here for a few hours." Revan said. "I've got to teach you how to fight."
"But didn't I already prove I'm really good at fighting?" Masa said, pulling out her vibrosword.
"Now that you are good at, but I meant another type of fighting." Revan closed her eyes. A golden boulder next to Masa lifted into the air easily and moved three yards before falling. "That's what I'm talking about."
Masa's face lit up.
"You're going to teach me Force?" She asked. "But I'm too old, aren't I?"
"Trust me on this: you're a natural." Revan winked. "Now, I want you to close your eyes and focus on moving: this." Revan held her lightsaber in her flat hand.
"You're starting me on something like that?" Masa asked again.
"You're not so much of a natural that you can move boulders with just closing your eyes. Most Masters can't even do that." Revan informed. "So don't get a big head."
"Alright…." Masa closed her eyes.
"Remember the look of this lightsaber, remember the texture, and remember the sound. Now think about it floating into the air." Revan instructed. Masa struggled with her eyes closed as the lightsaber in Revan's hand vibrated back and forth. "Good, just a little more…."
The lightsaber went crazy. It unsheathed itself and sent itself flying into the air. Revan held her hand up to control it. It floated back into her hand.
"Oops!" Masa blushed darkly, avoiding eye contact. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to—"
"It's okay. You did better than I did my first try." Revan complimented.
"Really?" Masa brightened. Revan nodded.
Yes, as I recall it, half of the Enclave lost its roof.
It wasn't that bad, was it?
You weren't the one who got the lecture about "Teaching children things before they're ready."
Yeah, well what do they know?
My thoughts exactly, dear one.
"Okay, try it again. This time, try to see the saber in your mind as you…."
-----
"Almost got it…." Revan encouraged. Masa let out her breath and opened her eyes. The five-pound rock in front of the child fell onto the ground again. "That's great!" Masa sighed in exasperation.
"I couldn't keep it in the air. I didn't keep focus." She pouted, crossing her arms.
"You're just beginning, Masa. You can't expect to learn it all in one day," Revan said, sitting down beside her friend. "Just calm the storm of your mind for a moment. You'll be able to achieve it." Masa shrugged, looking away.
"Sadly, dear Masa, our time is up. I have a date with an Admiral, and you look so beat up I could push you over by sneezing." It was true; Masa was really tired. All the work with the Force took a lot out of her. Revan began walking back to the Hawk.
"Will we do this again soon?" Masa asked desperately. Revan grinned from ear-to-ear.
"I wouldn't have it any other way."
-----
"There you are!" Reese called. She stood at the mouth of the Hawk with her arms crossed. "You're late!"
"Wow. By two minutes." Revan drawled sarcastically. "We're terribly sorry; did we miss the staff meeting?"
"You never come to staff meeting."
"And now you know how."
Masa laughed. "I'll see you later, Revan." She ran up into the Hawk and disappeared. Reese walked down. The two embraced.
"Thanks," Revan said. She looked to the Jedi Enclave, which was right next to the Hawk. "I couldn't have done it without your help."
"It's nothing. Except come to the next staff meeting." Reese teased. Revan laughed.
"So," Revan went on. "Who in your crew know?"
"Last I remember: Visas, Bao Dur, Atton, the droids. Oh, and Mical remembers you before the war with—well, you know. I've spoken to them all about our situation and they've all sworn to keep it secret." Reese said. Revan sighed.
"Thank you so much." Revan said again. "Only Mission, Bastila and Jolee know from my side." Reese raised an eyebrow.
"Mission knows?"
"She was there when I found out." Revan explained. Reese nodded.
"Ah."
"Well, I've got a date. May the Force be with you." Revan bowed. Reese smirked.
"May the Force be incredibly with Masa." She said. Revan nodded in agreement.
-----
Masa sank down into the cold steel chair in the main hold. She sighed as her hair fell into her face. She brushed it back.
The child was bored. She'd had a blast with Revan that morning, but once the Ex-Sith Lord left, Masa couldn't find anything that looked very good to occupy herself with.
Groaning, Masa stood and walked around the ship lazily. She exited the main hold by the right door and hooked another right into the bright medical room.
The datapad on the table caught her attention. Those things were less then five pounds, weren't they? Smirking, the child sat up on the bed. She stared at the datapad intently, willing it to move.
At first Masa thought that it wasn't working. The datapad wouldn't move from its spot no matter how hard she looked at it. But then the 'pad began shaking, slowly lifting into the air. It spun around uncontrollably.
Focus…. Masa told herself. Keep it under control….
The spinning slowed as Masa set the datapad down again. She let out the breath the found she'd been holding and beamed. She'd almost had it.
Someone clapped.
Masa jumped, looking in front of her, shocked that someone was watching her. The man clapping was one she'd seen only briefly. His blonde hair hung down barely to his shoulders and his Jedi robes hung loosely on his shoulder. His blue eyes smiled along with his pale, pink lips as he applauded.
"Very good!" The man said. Masa raised an eyebrow. The man bowed abruptly, nodding his head in greeting. "I am called Disciple."
"You don't have a real name?" Masa asked, cocking her head.
"Well, my friends call me Mical…." The Disciple looked away, turning red. "I guess that would count as a 'real name.'" Masa smiled.
"Well, hello Mical. I'm Masa Tekka." She said, nodding her head in recognition. "It's nice to meet you."
"The pleasure's mine, if you please." Mical said back. Masa smirked.
"Well, if you want it," She joked. Mical chuckled.
"So, I watched you try to lift my datapad," He stated, pointing at the object in question.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't think anyone would mind." Masa apologized. She closed her eyes and looked away as her face reddened.
"No, no," Mical shook his head. Masa reinstated the eye-contact. "I was going to praise you. You've only been at it a few hours and you can already lift things."
"Yeah," Masa lay back against the wall. "I just wish I could control it better."
"I might be of some use." Mical suggested. Masa eyed him suspiciously, unnerving him and making him redden. "I mean—if you want me to. I certainly don't have to. In fact, forget I even—"
"Hey!" Masa waved a hand at him. He stopped his rambling. "I was going to say 'I'd appreciate the help.' I'd like to get a little bit ahead of Revan before our next lesson." She smiled. "I'd like to see the look on her face."
"Oh, of course!" Mical said, sitting next to her on the bed. "Let's start with the focusing skills."
"Alright." Masa said, sitting cross-legged and staring at him. "I just can't really find my center of focus on things."
"You know, I used to have the same problem." Mical related.
"Really?"
"Of course!" The nervous man chuckled sheepishly. "I felt as if I had to get that object floating, or the human flying backwards, or the lightning shooting or I would look a fool."
"Jedi can shoot lightning?" Masa asked, beaming with excitement. "That's awesome! I want to learn that!"
"Yes, well, it's not as easy as anyone would think." Mical finally calmed his racing heart onto a controllable beat and sighed a breath of relief. "You have to make your mind completely blank."
"Yes, but then there's my problem. I can't do that." Masa pouted. "Revan keeps telling me to 'calm the storm of my mind,' but I don't know what she means by that."
"Hmmm…." Mical rubbed his chin. "Have you asked her to explain it?" Masa shook her head.
"No; I didn't question her at all. I figured she knew what she was talking about, and I felt I should innately know, too." The girl shrugged.
"Well, there's the problem." Mical snapped his fingers. "Revan is a very philosophical person. She learned that saying from her first master and clung onto it."
"Yeah, I'm not very good with words." Masa shook her head slowly.
"Basically it means what I said before. It means to clear your mind of everything." Mical repeated.
"Yes but how do you do that?"
"Close your eyes." Mical ordered. Masa jerked.
"What?" She asked. "Close my eyes? What for?"
"Just close them."
Masa obeyed. She saw nothing but the blackness of her eyelids.
"Now, don't think about anything," Mical soothed his voice down, gently crooning and leaning forward as his voice softened. "Just listen to my voice. Do not hear the words; simply register to tone of my voice."
Masa's breathing set a rhythm, and her chest rose up and down, bobbing her shoulders slightly.
"Now," Mical's voice barely became a whisper. He leaned closer into her still. "Remember your objective. Raise the datapad straight up into the air. Remember what it felt like, what it said on it, what its bar code was. Do you remember?"
Masa nodded slowly, as if she was entranced by the form of meditation.
"Describe it to me. As you are, visualize it. Make the datapad float."
Masa liked her lips nervously.
"It is a small, 7.5X5.5 datapad. Its color is sort of a pale forest green." Masa described softly. Mical turned his head to the datapad, which was an inch off of the table and steadily rising. "The barcode on it was 7692-43865-9915. One of Revan's datapads, to be exact. It felt just like any other datapad, except for the fact that I was super cold."
The pale, forest green datapad was now two feet into the air, hovering slightly as if wondering what to do next.
"Now," Mical spoke again, in the same soft voice as before. "Slowly open your eyes."
Masa's eyes squeaked opened in a leisurely manner, and she instantly eyed the datapad floating in the air. She gasped in surprise, losing her focus and dropping the 'pad from the air. Mical held up a hand and steadied it down. Masa laughed.
"I did it!" She screeched. "I did it!" Without thinking, she hugged Mical tightly. He reddened suddenly, hugging her back sluggishly. "Thank you so much! I can't believe I did it!"
"You did admirably. I'm very proud of you," Mical praised.
Masa suddenly realized who she was hugging. Taken aback by herself, she pulled away and backed up. Her muscles tightened and her fists began sweating. She was fourteen; he had to be at least twenty! So why was she hugging him?
"I—uh.…" She pointed to the door. "I should go check on Reese before she passes out from anxiety because she can't find me."
"Yes, well, I shall see you later, Masa." Mical bowed his head respectfully and she left.
-----
Bao Dur sat at the Ebon Hawk helm, communicating with HK-47.
"I'm telling you, droid, right now," He threatened. "Give me that data or I'll strip you of your armor and send you patrolling down the Refugee Sector of Nar Shadaa."
Atton laughed from behind the Zabrak.
"That's how you get an assassin droid to talk." He chided.
"Acknowledgement: Very well, Zabrak. My orders were to give someone on the Ebon Hawk my findings, anyway. Here are the answers my master requested.
"Query: May I return to your planet now, Zabrak?"
Bao Dur sighed as the Hawk received the files.
"Yes, droid. Check your shuttle for trackers, bugs, anything, and then return." With that, Bao Dur turned off the screen.
"Better look at those files, Rand." Bao instructed, backing off. "I don't understand all that gizka scratch."
Chuckling again, Atton read through the data. His eyes grew the farther he got.
"This is where a normal human would gasp and say 'Oh, dear Force!'" He murmured. Bao Dur shook his head.
"Then pretend you're a normal human, Rand."
"Oh dear Force!"
The End!
Yay! I finished it! Please review! In the next chapter, they finally get off the planet! But where are they going, and will Carth agree to it?