Chapter 11

Nura, Part I

"What if the darkness swallows me?"

"What do you mean, padawan?"

Yoda closed his eyes. He could not shake the vision from his mind. "I...I had another dream last night."

"Tell me."

Yoda stared out at the trees in the center of the Temple courtyards. "You've been very patient with me, Master. I thank you for this. You've told me how I might fight the Sith." Yoda leaned down and picked up a pebble from the garden path. He moved his thumb over the coarse surface, frowning.

As he usually did, Rimasiss placed his hands behind his back and waited. Yoda glanced up at his Master's patient face and felt a surge of calming energy between them. Yoda breathed it in.

Finally, he spoke of the nightmare. Darkness had swallowed everything. He had run as far and as hard as he could, but the darkness had gained on him. Before long, there was no light to be found anywhere. The absolute blackness had brought a cold with it so profound that Yoda's insides seemed to freeze in an instant. He had awoken on his cot shivering, alone, and feeling nothing but desolation.

Rimasiss nodded, as if he knew precisely what his padawan was describing. At length, the Jedi Master extended his palm and called Yoda's lightsaber to his hand.

The silence between them grew deeper as Rimasiss scrutinized the weapon, turning it over and examining it from every angle.

The sudden snap accompanying the eruption of green energy from the blade tore through the stillness between them, and the air was abruptly filled with a steady hum.

Rimasiss' gaze settled on Yoda.

"Why do the Jedi use lightsabers, Yoda?"

Yoda drew his brow tight in confusion and concentration. Master Rimasiss had a habit of asking questions to draw a greater truth to the surface. Yoda searched his feelings desperately to find that truth.

Only simple answers came to him, but he felt compelled to speak. "It is very useful in combat, Master. One can protect many from an assortment of weapons while also pressing an attack. I can only surmise that its versatility is why we use it."

Rimasiss chuckled. "Of course, there is some truth to that." He looked back to the glowing blade again and swung it high in a graceful arc. The hum of the weapon sang softly as it moved through the air. "Surely there are other tools at our disposal for this purpose, no? A Jedi does not need a lightsaber for these purposes with the Force as his ally, after all."

Yoda closed his eyes and listened to the gentle sound produced by his blade.

"It is a symbol?"

"Go on…."

Yoda opened his eyes and fixed his gaze on his Master's seemingly expectant eyes. "The lightsaber represents the essence of the Jedi's power—the connection to the light."

Rimasiss nodded. "In the darkest of dark Yoda, you must remember that the light is always there."

Yoda lowered his head. "But how do I call on it? How do I find the source?"

Rimasiss lowered the beam of energy so that it hummed only inches away from Yoda's face. "How does the blade find the source, padawan?"

Yoda stared at the particles dancing within the beam.

"From within?"

"Yes, padawan." Rimasiss deactivated the blade and handed the hilt to Yoda. "You are the source."

Yoda nodded.

He stared at the lightsaber as if seeing it for the first time.

"This is what it means to be Jedi."


Yoda stared at red beam of energy emanating from the back of his fallen friend, panting.

A distant scream grew louder by the moment, and he tore his gaze away to find the source.

Yoda's hand went to shield his eyes instinctively as a bright blue torrent of light poured from the center of the sound. Yoda shut his eyes tight, confusion wafting over him. There was something familiar about the light. Something he knew.

At once, the scream was gone. Only the steady rustle of leaves interrupted the sudden silence.

Carefully, Yoda opened his eyes.

His jaw clenched.

Standing over the fallen Jedi, a migru child sobbed quietly.

Yoda stepped toward them.

The boy knelt next to the Jedi, his hand resting tenderly on Qui-Lek's shoulder. Yoda stopped a meter away, his chest so tight he could hardly breathe.

The boy looked up at Yoda. The grief he had shown only moments before seemed to have fallen away. On his face, Yoda found nothing but…acceptance?

"Almost gone, he is, Master Yoda," the boy said matter-of-factly. "Say goodbye, you should."

Yoda shook his head and lowered his eyes.

"I know you," Yoda whispered.

"My name is Broga," the boy replied. "Told me once, you did, that many dangers a Jedi faced."

The memory struck Yoda hard, and his head spun.

"Expect, I did not, that from other Jedi, this danger could come."

Yoda's knees buckled suddenly. His palms landed hard against the soft earth.

"Meant to kill him…I did not." Yoda's throat grew tighter and he tried desperately to swallow.

The boy nodded. "But kill him, you did."

"Unforgivable, this is."

"No…." Qui-Lek's voice rose from behind his turned back and Yoda lifted his head, startled. In a moment, Yoda found himself in front of Qui-Lek. The Master of the Jedi Order's breaths were short and labored.

With apparent great effort, Qui-Lek looked up at Yoda and smiled. He coughed briefly before seeming to concentrate as he drew a deep breath. His eyes regained focus. His voice was clear and strong.

"There is no death; Only the Force."

Yoda started to reply but halted as his eyes widened in surprise.

Qui-Lek's light began to dissipate. With it, his body seemed to fade. Yoda glanced up at Broga, wondering if the boy was as surprised as he was. Broga caught Yoda's glance and smiled.

Silence.

Yoda tore his gaze away from the child and looked back at his fallen friend. The last sign of the great Jedi's form grew translucent and then disappeared altogether. For a brief moment, the instrument of his death hung in the air.

Then, a thud as it struck the ground and deactivated.

Silence.

Yoda nodded.

He stared at the lightsaber as if seeing it for the first time.


Kaine blinked several times, trying to make sense of what he had seen.

Without question, the Jedi had disappeared.

Yoda!

Kaine peered at the migru in the Force and watched in dismay as the Force surged and twisted about him. He had to move quickly.


Yoda stared at the space where the lightsaber had hung only moments before.

He lowered his gaze once again to the deactivated hilt on the forest floor. What had just happened? Qui-Lek had somehow joined with the Force without the Great Burning.

A shaft of sunlight slipped through the trees and glinted off the chrome metal.

There is no death; Only the Force.

Broga stood.

Yoda looked up at the migru child.

The boy smiled.

Cold.

"No…."

Broga glanced above Yoda's head, his eyes widening.

A firm, frigid hand grasped Yoda's shoulder. He closed his eyes.

"Go now, boy. Tell your family they have very little time."

Yoda looked up at Broga, who stared intently at him.

Yoda nodded.

Broga turned and ran into the woods.

"Come, Yoda. Our Master awaits our return."

Yoda stood.

Silently, Yoda moved toward the shuttle.

"Are you forgetting something, Yoda?"

Yoda paused, his ears drooping low as he turned toward the Sith Lord behind him. His throat felt dry, harsh. "Forgotten nothing, I have."

Kaine bent down and picked up the lightsaber. "I believe this is yours, is it not?"

Yoda stared at the weapon in Kaine's hand. Sunlight glinted off its surface with maddening complexity as the trees swayed in the wind. He glanced down at his belt.

A lightsaber hung loosely there.

His lightsaber.

Not one taken from a dead would-be Sith apprentice. The one he had built.

He turned towards the ship.

"Forgotten nothing, I have."