Rian:
That morning, the sun decided to rise early. I had tried to deny it and planted my face into a pillow, but the sun worked doggedly, maybe it was trying to steal attention away from its two moons. Coruscant's sun never toiled that hard. So, despite my insistence otherwise, rays of sunlight flitted through the quarter's numerous tiny transparisteel viewports and stabbed me in the eyes.
I groaned. In the night I had substituted my left arm for a pillow. Now, all it was capable of was flopping around uselessly as I tried to sit up in bed. Needles pricked through the numbness in my arm and I was reassured that I'd be able to reclaim it as my own eventually.
I didn't even want to think about the dream I had. It was creepy cloaked man part two. I don't think I had ever had that particular dream before, so in that sense, I guess I should have felt refreshed.
I heaved myself from the mattress, my left arm still soundly sleeping, and headed towards the main room. Mission and Carth were already awake and in a heated battle over the last breakfast pastry. I think Carth was losing, his roguish charm couldn't affect a fourteen year old the way it could a swooning housewife.
I slumped down in a chair next to Carth and joined them. "Caffa?" I croaked.
"This morning's getting stranger by the minute." Carth murmured. "First Bastila comes out looking like she saw a ghost and now you."
I shot Carth one of my darling morning looks and swiped his caffa mug. He didn't protest, the smile I had given him probably made him realize that I'd rather gnaw my own leg off than let go of the caffa. Mission took that as her chance to claim the final pastry.
"Well," Carth said as he gave a wistful glance to his caffa mug. "Bastila did mention that you should go to the council chambers before she left. It's no doubt urgent, so you shouldn't keep them waiting."
What was I doing sipping caffa? If Bastila expected me to chat with those crotchety old men, I should have been slugging brandy. I grimaced at the caffa before I rested my head on the table.
"I had a rough night." I muttered.
"Well, I can't say I blame you." Carth reached over and gave my arm a squeeze.
I looked at him slack-jawed and miserably exhausted. I flashed my teeth in a snarl reminiscent of a dying animal. A rabid, dying animal. Carth chuckled nervously and removed his hand from my arm. Mission giggled as she dripped jam over the table.
"I haven't exactly been sleeping well myself." Carth confessed. "Here I thought things would get better once we escaped Taris."
I poked at the glob of jam on the table. "Did Bastila say anything else?" I asked.
"No, she didn't." He plucked his caffa mug from my flimsy grasp.
I noticed that Carth's impeccably trimmed goatee didn't look quite as impeccable as it normally did.
"Bastila didn't seem well, as I recall." he noted. "And for that matter, neither do you. Are you alright?"
With a final glance towards the blob of jam, I stood up. "I had a rough night." I repeated. "Let's go."
"Can I come too?" Mission chimed in.
"I don't even want to go." I grunted. "Why would you?"
"I'm sure it's going to be boring, but at least I won't have to worry about the Jedi trying to kill me." the Twi'lek shrugged.
"I've made it clear to Canderous that he's not to lay a hand on you." I said flatly.
"It's not his hands I'm worried about." Mission grumbled. "It's his repeating blaster."
"I want you here so you can make sure that Zaalbar and Canderous stay separated." I said.
"Whatever." Mission groaned. "If you come back and find my flayed body, you know whose fault it is."
Carth and I stepped out of the Ebon Hawk. I greeted Dantooine's docking bay with a yawn.
"Maybe you can meet with them later." Carth suggested. "You look completely drained. A nap might do you some good."
"A nap?" A laugh rasped in my dry throat. "I just woke up."
"Yeah, but on Taris we'd get three extra hours to sleep than we do on Dantooine." Carth replied.
"You're kidding." This convoluted hero nonsense was going to give me a nervous twitch.
"Nope." Carth said. "Dantooine's only got twenty-five hours in its day. Taris had twenty-eight."
Damn planets and their damn orbits. It was bad enough that I had to feel lagged after leaving hyperdrive, but apparently the forces that be decided that instead of settling on a simple sucker punch to the gut they'd go all out with a sledgehammer to the gonads. The meeting with those Jedi goons had better be quick or I intended to curl up into a fetal position and start to writhe.
Fortunately, as I made my way towards the enclave no winged creature felt the need to chirp. I dragged my lead filled legs forward while Carth trudged beside me.
Inside, the Jedi enclave was cool, dark and irritatingly tranquil. I think Carth was right about me needing a nap. Maybe that lovely Jedi, Belaya, would give me another lecture so that my morning of disaster could be perfect.
All four of the Masters stood as they waited for my arrival in the council hall. Bastila told me the night before that I should have been honored that all four took the time to see me. Somehow, I felt more like I should have been wearing a prison jumpsuit more than anything else.
Bastila scurried towards the door and slammed it in Carth's face. I raised an eyebrow and opened the door. Carth's eyes darted suspiciously at the sliding door. Bastila glowered at me.
"This is a matter for you and the Jedi council alone." she hissed. "This does not involve Carth."
She hit the button by the door, it shut on Carth again. I hit the green button and the door slid open.
"I personally don't like being outnumbered by five Jedi." I kept my voice low, but I could feel my sleep deprived nose begin to twitch. "I want someone here that I can trust."
Bastila looked at me aghast. Her nose crinkled and her lips puckered like she had been sucking on lemons. "How dare you hold the Jedi Order in such disrespect."
"You have to admit," I replied. "that it would be pretty easy to manipulate your Force 'Voodoo' to get your way."
"Why you!" Bastila spluttered.
"Enough." Master Vandar interjected. "Carth Onasi can join us if Rian Vega wishes it. We have no desire to appear suspicious."
The pale-skinned human, Master Vrook, narrowed his dark eyes. What's wrong, oh suspicious looking one? I thought. Are you disappointed that I got my way? I shot the old man a grin and his frown deepened.
Master Vandar beckoned us forward with a long, gnarled green finger. "Bastila has told us of a most unusual development." the diminutive Jedi announced. "She claims you and she have shared a dream, a vision of Malak and Revan in the ancient ruins here on Dantooine."
Master Dorak seemed to glow with excitement as he chimed in, "The ruins have long been known to us, but we believed them to be merely burial mounds. Perhaps they are something more than we first suspected if Revan and Malak found something there."
I shot a glance at Carth for support. He looked completely dazed.
"What?" I demanded. "How would Bastila know if we shared a dream?"
"She says that she felt your presence within the dream," Master Vandar explained. "the presence she has felt within you ever since—"
"Master Vandar!" Master Vrook barked.
"Ever since Taris." Master Vandar finished. He shot his fellow Jedi Master a hard look.
"That's too bad, since I didn't have a dream." I crossed my arms. It was fine and dandy if these old guys wanted to teach me how to use the Force, but I was not going to allow them to butt into my life.
Sweat beaded from Master Zhar's pale red forehead. He offered a reserved smile before he spoke. "We understand that you are frightened by these bizarre happenings, it is only natural." he said. "Please accept that we wish to help you."
"It is not unknown for this to happen between two people strong in the Force." Master Vandar continued. "Bastila has described this shared dream to the council in great detail. We feel it is more than a dream. It is a vision. The Force is acting through you as it acts through Bastila."
I groaned. "I'm having visions now?"
Master Zhar swallowed. His energy seemed to be concentrated elsewhere. "You and Bastila share a powerful connection to the Force and to each other." The Twi'lek looked me directly in the eyes, yet he still managed to come off as guarded. "This is not unheard of. Connections often form between Master and student, but rarely does a bond develop so quickly."
A bond? And with Bastila? Well, the morning just took a turn for the worse. I didn't care what they felt they should do, those Masters had better have been working on a way to un-bond Bastila from me.
"Whatever dangers may lie ahead, we cannot ignore the destiny that has brought you and Bastila here to us." Master Vandar said. "Together."
"What are you talking about?" I glanced from Vrook to Zhar to Dorak and finally back to Vandar.
"You and she are linked, as is your fate to hers." Master Vandar said it as pleasantly as if he had just stated that the day's weather would be partly sunny. "Together you two may be able to stop Darth Malak and the Sith."
Great. How could the Jedi Masters just accept that bond? I certainly didn't want it. By the shade of green that Bastila's cheeks had turned, I was sure that she shared my sentiments. If that wasn't good enough, they threw in the prospect of tackling a Sith Lord with a little more than a handful of witty remarks at my disposal.
"Do not let your head be filled with visions of glory and power." Master Vrook warned. I noticed he had clenched the hems of his sleeves so tightly that his knuckles had drained of color. "Such thoughts are the path to the Dark Side. The way of the Light is long and difficult as you must learn. Are you ready for such hardships?"
Worry creases worked their way into my forehead. "Something tells me you won't allow me to back out of this gracefully."
A warm smile briefly touched Master Vandar's lips. "Understand that there is little choice in this matter, for you or us." he said gently.
"It seems that there's no way around this one." I sighed.
"I can only hope that you will prove up to the task." Master Vrook still eyed me critically.
So that was it, then. The Jedi had tightly secured their leash around my neck. My training had begun.
