Bastila:
Dantooine, it seemed like a lifetime since I last set foot on her surface, though in truth it had only been a few months. As soon as I felt the slight rumbling halt as the Ebon Hawk left hyperdrive, I desperately wanted to get out of the ship.
I left the main room and headed directly towards the cockpit. Carth and Rian were seated side by side. Rian looked up, in one hand was a mug of caffa. With her free hand she pressed a finger against her lips.
"Shhh." With her eyes, she directed my gaze over to Carth crumpled face down on a control panel.
"Is he?"
"Uh huh." she whispered. "The idiot completely exhausted himself."
"I see." I murmured. "Are you the one piloting the Ebon Hawk, then?"
Rian grinned sheepishly. I felt a knot tighten in my stomach.
"I think Canderous knows how to pilot this thing." she replied.
I could feel a pulse at my temples. If I didn't take a few evenly spaced breaths soon I would have a full blown migraine. "I'll do it." I muttered.
I reached over Carth's head for the control panel. The soldier stirred and immediately jolted upright.
"Easy there, pal." Rian said. "We're just trying to direct the ship into Dantooine's atmosphere."
"Atmosphere?" Carth sounded dazed. "I told you not to let me fall asleep."
"And I told you that you needed sleep." Rian replied.
"Could you please just allow me to make sure the Ebon Hawk is at the correct angle to fly through the atmosphere?" I interrupted.
Rian leaned back into the autopilot's chair. Carth caught a yawn with the palm of his hand and quickly began to turn random knobs on the panel.
"Carth, you don't have to do all the work." I interjected. "I know how to pilot ships as well."
"I'm sure you do." He didn't look at me as he recalibrated the ship's angle of descent. "But I'm already in the pilot's seat so I'll handle it."
A fierce stab of anger emanated from Rian but she kept silent. I realized that was probably the reason as to why I felt so uncomfortable around her. The woman was a maelstrom of unrestrained emotions. With the way rage, greed, lust and amusement churned about her, it was wonder at times how Rian could maintain a straight face.
It disturbed me to no end, but at the same time she was too powerful. I couldn't simply shut her thoughts out like I normally could with others. Perhaps the council would have a suggestion with how to handle the situation. Or even better, maybe they would reassign me far from the violet eyed woman.
From the Ebon Hawk's viewport, Dantooine slowly evolved from a blue-green ball to a rolling landscape of grassy fields. Dust was blasted into the air as the ship landed in the docking bay to the Jedi enclave. I was finally home.
"Bastila, I was wondering something." Carth snatched the caffa mug from Rian's hands and began to sip it. "How did the Vulkars manage to capture a famous Jedi like you? Were you knocked out when your escape pod crashed?"
Rian scowled and reached for her caffa. Carth playfully swatted her hand away. She glowered, but I could sense that she got some sort of enjoyment out of the exchange. Disturbing.
"No, I was conscious." I explained. "But my Force powers were exhausted from using my Battle Meditation in the battle for the Endar Spire. Without my help, you might never have gotten off the ship alive."
Rian rolled her eyes.
"Fair enough." Carth nodded. "But I've seen you Jedi in action, there's no way those thugs would have stood a chance against your lightsaber."
"My lightsaber was misplaced." I replied.
It was a beautiful piece of work too. I had spent more than an hour perfecting the crystal's calibration so that the yellow beam of light would be as attractive as it was deadly. I was sure it had been destroyed when the Sith bombed Taris.
"I couldn't find it after the crash." I sighed. "I looked everywhere in that pod. The Vulkars came and overwhelmed me even as I was searching for my weapon."
"Wait a minute, let me get this straight. You lost your lightsaber." Carth smirked. "I mean, isn't that a violation of some kind of Jedi code or something?"
Rian seemed to be getting as much pleasure from my embarrassment as Carth. "Maybe losing lightsabers is a side-effect of her Battle Meditation." she suggested.
Heat burned in my ears. "This is no laughing matter!" I snapped. "During the crash my lightsaber must have, it must have fallen from my belt and rolled under my seat! The Vulkars probably found it there when they searched the wreckage."
"The Vulkars must not have searched very hard." Carth's dark eyes were filled with mirth.
"What are you talking about?" I demanded.
Carth looked over at Rian. She frowned, but he faced her with a hard look. She groaned and began to dig through her back pocket. I saw the glint of my metal lightsaber hilt as she held it, albeit while sulking, in front of me.
I tore it immediately from her fingertips. "When did you find this?"
"I scavenged your pod wreckage with Zaalbar a while back." Rian shrugged. "I figured I'd hang on to it until you needed it."
"I needed it Taris!" I wouldn't yell. I was above that. There is no emotion; there is peace.
"Why did you need it?" Rian hissed. "I was the one who had to face off against the Sith governor, not you."
Carth laughed. I silenced his immature giggling with a glare.
"Hey, hey, hey," he said. "I'm sorry. It's just funny to think of a legendary Jedi losing her lightsaber. Take my advice, this is one detail you might want to keep out of the history texts."
Rian stifled a chuckle with the back of her hand. I took a deep breath.
"I hardly consider myself a legend, Carth." I reprimanded. "Though I will consider your advice when I relate these events to the Jedi council. There is no need for them to know every detail of what transpired."
I attached my lightsaber to my belt. The three of us in the cockpit stared at one another in an uncomfortable silence. Carth finally cleared his throat.
"Now that we're on Dantooine, I'm going to try and get hold of the Republic." he said. He quickly excused himself and left for the main room.
That left me alone with her. I closed my eyes and counted to ten. When I opened my eyes I realized that Rian was gazing at me intently. I tried to smile.
"I must go speak with the council." I informed her. "I need their advice on recent developments. After I have met with them I will meet you outside the ship."
I turned away from her quickly. That slightly amused look that she projected while her innermost emotions said otherwise made me want to gnash my teeth. I hurried from the cockpit and exited the Ebon Hawk as quickly as possible.
At the mouth to the Jedi enclave I was met by the Twi'lek knight, Deesra. I bowed and let him guide into the inner chambers of the enclave. Deesra was always able to calm me. Quiet and polite, the green skinned Jedi even had the decency to keep his lekku still in the presence of non-Twi'leks.
I kept my eyes focused on the back of Deesra's head. The last thing that I needed at the moment was to glance at a fellow Padawan in the eyes. Ever since I manifested a talent for Battle Meditation I would catch the occasional glint of either resentment or zealous admiration in my peers. I couldn't stop them from ostracizing me, but I didn't have to pay attention to it.
Once inside the council hall, Deesra bowed and excused himself. I noted that Master Vandar, Master Vrook, Master Zhar and Master Dorak were accounted for. I hadn't thought that my arrival would have been important enough for the entire Jedi council of Dantooine to gather.
"Welcome back, Padawan." Master Zhar greeted.
I bowed.
"Your trials as of late must have been upsetting to say the least." Master Vandar offered a lukewarm smile. "We are relieved to see that you have returned to us unharmed."
Masters Dorak and Vrook were silent for the moment. I was embarrassed to admit that I was pleased that Master Vrook had chosen not to speak. The hard line across his face that was his mouth always seemed to frown even when the older man was meditating. Nothing that he ever said was genuinely nice if he could help it.
Master Dorak on the other hand was the only truly amiable one. His dark eyes glittered with a restrained smile. Why wouldn't he say anything?
"We are very interested in hearing about your escape from both the Endar Spire and Taris." Master Zhar said.
"Where should I begin?" I asked quietly.
"At the beginning." Master Zhar urged. "We will direct you further if anything should arise."
I took a deep breath and began. I told them of the arrangements on the Endar Spire, of the Sith attack and the frantic plunge into Taris' atmosphere. I mentioned that I was captured by the Black Vulkars, but I heeded Carth's advice and avoided the details.
The four masters stood silently and would nod their heads occasionally. As soon as I mentioned her, however, their calm seemed to dissipate.
"Why did you not say earlier that you have Rian Vega with you?" Master Vrook demanded.
Master Vandar's pointy green ears twitched. He placed a hand on Master Vrook's arm. "Peace, Vrook." Master Vandar commanded. "We told the Padawan to start at the beginning and she did."
"This is indeed an important turn of events." Master Zhar murmured. The Lethan Twi'lek's lekku shifted.
"Why did you not bring her into the enclave along with yourself?" Master Dorak asked.
"Because Rian Vega is not a Jedi." Master Vrook answered sharply. "You are too hasty, Dorak."
"We should not trouble Bastila with this discussion." Master Vandar gently interrupted. "Tell us, Padawan, how is Rian Vega faring?"
I answered as best I could. The masters proceeded to drain me of every granule of knowledge I had on the other woman. Yes, she helped me escape from the Black Vulkars. Yes, she formatted a successful plan to escape Taris. No, she didn't appear to be a threat as far as I could see. I still didn't have to rest easy in her company.
I was almost afraid to tell them of the reoccurring dream. The first time it surfaced was the night after I was free of Brejik's grasp. I knew what it had been all too clearly. It was an image of the Jedi strike force that I had been a part of to capture the Dark Lord Revan. I didn't think too much on it at first, I had just escaped from a traumatic experience so having a nightmare was understandable. But it wasn't from my perspective.
By chance I awoke from the nightmare one night to see Rian still dreaming. She was thrashing and mumbling things. With the Force sensitivity that she had, she must have been projecting her own nightmare into my head. I was horrified. There was no reason for Rian to have those images in her mind.
The masters listened to this intently. The creases in Master Vrook's leathery skin seemed to deepen. Master Dorak had a wide-eyed look of amazement on his face, while Master Zhar simply nodded. Master Vandar glanced at his peers before he turned to face me.
"Rian Vega could prove to be an immeasurable asset to our cause." he said. "We would like to meet with her."
"You wish to speak with her?" I kept a tight lid on my growing agitation.
"Please fetch your friend, Padawan." Master Zhar affirmed.
"Of course." I muttered. I bowed quickly and left.
What were the masters thinking? It didn't matter how much of a potential asset Rian Vega could be, she also had the ability to become an equally impressive drawback.
I suppose it didn't matter. Whatever they planned to do with Rian, I was certain that I would be elsewhere. My Battle Meditation was too important for me to become a babysitter for a repugnant woman.
