Bastila:
The wooden practice sword swooped towards my face. I parried. The swords cracked together and some stray slivers of wood sprayed out on impact. Rian's taut muscles were powerful, but she was clumsy. And predictable.
Sweat beaded on the other woman's upper lip as she lunged for me again with the sword. It amazed me that she had the ability to spar and sulk at the same time. I sidestepped her blow and twirled around. My hard blade slammed along the back of her knee joints and her legs buckled. Rian's narrowed eyes became round as she fell onto her back. She managed to slap me in the hip with her practice sword before the wind was ripped from her lungs.
I steadied my sword and positioned it before her windpipe. "Do you yield?"
Rian raised an eyebrow. "Are you so arrogant to assume that you've won already?" she asked.
"Arrogant?" I exclaimed. "If this were a real sword all I would have to do is lean forward and you'd be a smear on my memory."
Rian grinned. "But the sword's not real." she said.
I felt a twinge of anger at the other woman's comment. I mentally reiterated the tenets of the Jedi Code, taking care to stress the word 'peace.' Apparently, my moment of irritation was all she needed. Rian's ability to pick up on my distraction was uncanny, I was positive it had to do with the bond that the Masters spoke of. With her left hand, she swiped my wooden blade away from her neck. I plunged the practice sword forward and it crashed into the hard floor. In the meanwhile, Rian had thrust her own blade into my sternum with all her might.
The air was expunged from my chest in one violent blow. My stomach churned with both painful spikes and the desire to be ill.
"Does that mean I won?" Rian grinned.
I summoned the Force and telekinetically wrenched the practice sword from her hand. I struck an offensive stance and dared her to attack bare-handed.
"Wasn't that just cheating?" Rian asked. She seemed content to stay lying on the floor.
"What do you think what you just did was called?" I retorted. "I had you at my advantage fairly."
"Peace, Bastila." Master Zhar interceded. "This match is over."
The Twi'lek Master walked over and collected the practice swords from my hands. He tucked the swords under his left arm and offered Rian his hand. She gripped it and hopped to her feet.
"I feel it would be best if you two retired to your room and recite the Jedi Code while meditating." Master Zhar said.
"Of course, Master Zhar." I bowed before my Jedi Master.
I spun on my heels and stalked from the practice hall. Rian would be behind me if she knew what was good for her. I didn't need to listen to the footsteps that followed to know that Rian had chosen the correct path. The amusement that rolled off of her in waves was nauseating.
I kept my eyes locked on the red and white tiled floor as I headed towards our bedchamber. If my gaze avoided all others, then hopefully I wouldn't be harassed by anyone other than my current charge. Rian bounded along behind me and whistled, apparently pleased with being the outcast of the enclave.
Safely in the confines of our room, I shut the door. From under one of the modest twin sized beds, I pulled out two mats. I placed them across from each other on the floor and sat down on one. Rian plopped herself onto one of the beds.
"We are supposed to be meditating." Frustration pounded at my temples as I stared at Rian.
She shrugged. "So I'll meditate from the bed. What's the big deal?"
"There is a difference between meditating and snoring." I replied.
"Was that a joke?" Rian slid from her spot on the bed and joined me on the floor.
"It was merely a statement." I insisted.
Rian looked directly into my eyes and raised an eyebrow. She didn't believe me. The glint in her violet eyes also revealed mischievousness. The woman didn't comprehend what a dangerous game she was playing; she had the capability to harness the Force, yet continued to behave irresponsibly.
"Now, let us begin." I said as I crossed my legs. "There is no emotion."
"There is a large quantity of anti-depressants." Rian finished.
"That was not amusing." If Rian was smaller I could have spanked her. "Please try to concentrate on what we're doing. There is no ignorance."
"But there are idiots." Rian grinned.
"Do you intend on being childish through this entire exercise?" I demanded.
She shrugged. "I don't see what the problem would be if I chose to." she admitted. "I've got them memorized already. Why do you insist on being so stodgy about it?"
How dare she insinuate that I wasn't being anything other than what I was supposed to be. "Forgive me if I appear 'stodgy' to you, I am merely displaying both the drive and discipline necessary of being a Jedi."
"Last time I checked, despite being a Jedi you're still human." Rian replied.
"Of course I'm human!" I took a moment to count to ten. "I have no idea what you're implying."
"Don't play stupid." Rian scoffed. "I've seen protocol droids that give off more warmth than you."
"There is no emotion; there is peace!" I argued. "Why is that so hard to understand?"
"But if we deny the very things that make us human, shouldn't we rather curl up and die?" Rian asked.
"The Jedi do not try to deny their base emotions, but we understand and control them." I explained. "That way, they do not get the better of us."
"So in order to understand and control our base emotions we have to meditate." Rian said.
I didn't like the look she gave me. I nodded. "It helps."
"On the floor?" She raised a dark eyebrow.
"You are infuriatingly childish." I snapped. "Why does where we meditate matter so much to you?"
"It doesn't." Rian replied. "You're the one who insists that I must meditate on the floor."
"It's the proper way." I insisted.
"Do you always to things the proper way?" Rian asked. "Don't you ever feel the need to bend things to suit yourself better?"
"You have no idea what you are suggesting." I nearly gasped. "You don't realize yet what it feels like to struggle daily against submitting to the Dark Side. You will learn one day and then you will regret ever behaving this foolishly."
"Perhaps." Rian nodded. "Or maybe one day you'll learn how to lighten up and then thank me."
I bit down on my lip until I tasted blood. The woman was beyond repulsive. Rian smiled, but despite the relaxed face, through the bond we shared I could sense that something was gnawing at her. I'd rather let Rian keep her thoughts to herself, but Master Vandar had been very insistent that I should do my best to befriend the other woman.
"You seem troubled." I gripped one of my braids out of habit. "Perhaps if you talk about it you'll feel better."
Rian sighed deeply. She appeared to be considering her words carefully. "I want to talk about that dream." she said finally.
I was hoping that would never come up. "It was less of a dream and more of a vision. A vision the two of us shared." I instinctively reached out with the Force to test the barrier that I had put in place between Rian and myself. "I am certainly willing to answer any questions the Jedi council did not."
Rian looked at me warily. The woman was extremely powerful in the Force and if she so wished it, could have easily plowed through the defenses that I had erected. Thankfully, she wasn't trained well enough to realize it as of yet. This gave me the opportunity to choose my words carefully. I would not lie to her, but anything I could keep from her, I would.
"I'm not sure I like the idea of you being in my dreams." Rian admitted. She looked as though she had swallowed something particularly wretched.
She was worried about me being in her dreams? "And are you so certain that it is not you in my dreams?" I retorted. I would remain calm.
The wretched taste in Rian's mouth must have curdled. She forced a smile to her lips. "I suppose that's possible."
I sighed. "Regardless of which it is, our fates are linked. The vision was doubtless meant for us both."
"But why would we dream of Revan and Malak?" Rian pulled one knee up against her chest.
"Perhaps because we desired to." I suggested. "Perhaps because they came to this planet and were strong enough in the Force to leave a trace."
"Well I certainly didn't want to dream about them." Rian grimaced.
"That would not be my first choice either, but choice appears to be irrelevant in this matter." I rubbed my temples. Ever since I met Rian Vega I've become accustomed to headaches. "We dreamed about Revan and Malak either because we were meant to or because we needed to. There is no other way to look at it."
"I still don't get why we shared it." Rian said.
I couldn't believe how she could behave so petulantly about it. My presence in her head must have been a stroll in the park compared to the other way around and I wasn't openly complaining. I needed to distract her from her original question if I was to ever get any peace.
"Are you wondering why we shared the vision? Or why we even received it in the first place?" I gave a triumphant smile. "To the first I can only repeat what the answer that the council gave us. Our fates are linked and for two as strong as we are in the Force that amounts to a near physical bond. As to the second, I don't truly have an answer for you. The Force works as it will and perhaps we should be grateful for what we have been given."
"But how did we become linked?" Rian pressed. "I highly doubt you become bonded to every Force-sensitive person you come across at a swoop race."
My stomach churned. I wished I could just tell her everything and get it out of the way. "I don't know." I murmured. "Believe me, I certainly don't find the prospect of being joined to you enjoyable in any fashion."
Rian's face soured. "Believe me, the feeling is mutual." she replied dryly.
"Then perhaps the sooner we see to our destiny the sooner we can proceed on our separate paths, yes?" I said crisply.
"If you say so." Rian grumbled. "But this whole thing just doesn't make sense to me."
"Well, I explained it to you to the best of my ability." I replied.
"No, not that." Rian sighed. "You Jedi accept me with open arms and start training me when there are Jedi Knights younger than me. That's weird by itself, but the fact that I can't be in a room with you or your Masters without someone developing an ulcer makes it doubly weird."
"You are extremely gifted." I offered. "It would be foolish to deny you training simply because your demeanor does not agree with ours."
"And Master Vrook hates me." she muttered.
"Master Vrook may seem harsh and critical, but he understands the dangers that lie in your path." The soothing voice seemed to drift into our room.
"Master Vandar!" I exclaimed.
It did little for Rian's irritation; she probably suspected that Master Vandar had been eavesdropping. I was relieved that I wouldn't be the one answering the questions now.
"Master Vrook wants you and Bastila to be fully prepared for the challenges that you will face." Master Vandar hobbled into the room, a pleasantly lukewarm expression on his face.
"We were just practicing our meditation and recitation of the Jedi Code, Master Vandar." I said humbly.
The old master nodded simply. His heavy-lidded eyes made him appear relaxed, but I knew from past experience that nothing slipped past Master Vandar.
"The council has decided that it is time for Rian Vega's tests to begin." he said. "Are you ready?"
