A Shift in the Force: Chapter Fifty: Paths of Many
AN: Wow, fifty chapters already! That's such a huge milestone and this fic is already my third longest fic, and we've almost hit 300 reviews! That's so cool!
"Do you love Master Kit?"
Aayla choked on her swallow of chaka noodles.
Talik, as casual as ever, was sitting on a table in the dining hall, one leg curved under the other which was swinging freely. She'd already finished her lunch and was mulling things over in her mind while drinking some of the tea that Sabé had always been fond of. Her eyes were fixed on someone in the distance, where Tiplar could be seen talking with her twin sister.
She was unfairly beautiful, if you asked Talik, so much so that it was almost distracting. But if Sabé could manage being in love with Obi-Wan for as long as she had and not let her feelings be clear to see, then so could Talik.
"Where'd that come from?" The blue Twi'lek inquired with a shrewd eye once she'd managed to clear her throat enough to speak.
"You're different with him," Talik said simply, "softer."
"Keep staring at Tiplar and she's going to notice," Aayla pointed out instead and Talik snapped her head towards her master, her lekku swinging wildly around her head, the flush spreading down to the tips of her lekku. "What do you think of Sabé's theory?"
Talik was momentarily thrown by the change of topic, her brow furrowing. "You mean the one on attachments?"
Aayla hummed in agreement. That had been the one that Sabé had been the most vocal about, and it certainly was the one that earned her disapproval throughout the Temple.
"I think…" Talik paused thoughtfully. "I think she's right, that attachments, love, can give you as much strength as the Force can…but to take care about such relationships, because to offer yourself equally to someone in exchange for the same amount of themselves is one thing, but seeking to possess another being is something entirely different."
Even if Talik hadn't been looking at Aayla's face, she would've sensed her pride in the response she'd given.
"It's not the response the High Council would want, but it's clear that you've thought about your old master's beliefs seriously rather than taking them in without a thought," Aayla said easily.
"Do you believe in Sabé's theory on attachment?" Talik inquired, though she still felt as though she knew the answer.
Aayla glanced out of the corner of her eye where Kit sat with Nahdar not far away, going over their next mission. She hadn't seen much of him lately now that they both had Padawans to care for and teach. Talik didn't need all that much teaching, though, she'd been rather self-sufficient from the start; Sabé had trained her well.
"I do," Aayla said finally, her heart fluttering when Kit looked up to see her looking and flashing her a grin that made her lekku darken. "And like Sabé, I am mindful of all that my heart entails."
Talik made an amused sound in the back of her throat. "I don't think she's all that mindful anymore."
A chuckle escaped Aayla. "Sabé's always had a big heart, but she knows what will earn her the ire of the High Council and what will earn her Exile." Aayla faltered slightly. "Or she did, at least."
"So being affectionate with say her friends and Padawan versus being romantically affectionate with another Jedi?" Talik quipped.
"Something like that," Aayla tried hard not to laugh. "Sabé learned the hard way to temper her emotions being the Padawan to Master Yoda. It's not exactly the easiest thing for a young Jedi to be." She grimaced thinking of little Sabé, stressed out and strained, not knowing what to do as the Grandmaster's Padawan when he seemed so devoid.
"I don't think that the Order meant to start out condemning romantic entanglements," Aayla admitted, her eyes drifting off slightly, "I think they acknowledged how dangerous possession was but over time that line of thinking was corrupted into all attachments."
"What about the ones between Masters and Padawans?" Talik asked, tilting her head slightly as she listened with intrigue.
"Simply put, the bonds between Masters and Padawans can vary in strength and breaking the strongest bonds can sometimes lead to death."
"Oh." Talik paled, remembering the excruciating pain in her head when Sabé had all but severed theirs.
"The loss of a master that a Padawan is very close to can cause them to lose control," Aayla continued, "in your case, you became increasingly cold and distant, but others have not been so lucky."
Talik, who had looked vaguely uncomfortable at the memory of how she'd once acted, paused. "What d'you mean? Going Dark Side?"
Aayla nodded seriously. "Some Force bonds are so weak that a Master couldn't even sense if their Padawan had perished, some were so strong that to cause death to one would cause death to the other. It's probably why the Order teaches us to let go of our attachments to them to rejoice that they are one with the Force."
A sour expression overtook Talik's face. She remembered when the Vurk Master Coleman Trebor told her to do the same with flat inflection in his voice and a detachment in his wide-set eyes.
"You can't get over death that fast," Talik countered. "Surely they know that?"
Aayla shrugged. "How someone deals with death is also particular to them…besides, you were taken on as a Padawan younger than most, the same as Sabé, the only difference was you chose Sabé and Sabé cared for you as her own, the same can't be said for Yoda."
Talik's lips twisted faintly, remembering the bitterness in Sabé's voice when she'd spoken of her old master on Naboo.
"Do you think she'll come back?"
Aayla placed her cup of tea gently on the table, closing her eyes, and though her face was relaxed, Talik could sense that her thoughts were moving fast.
"I think she knows that there's still good in the Jedi Order, even after all it's put her through," Aayla decided, "but I think it's going to take a lot of convincing for her to come back, and if she does, it should be on her own."
The blue-skinned Twi'lek cast a look towards Talik, who couldn't help but feel sheepish about the whole thing, remembering just how many times she'd tried to convince Sabé, along with Obi-Wan trying to guilt her into it.
"If she comes back," Talik countered instead, "what d'you think will happen?"
"With your training, you mean?" Aayla arched an eyebrow. "What do you want to happen?"
Honestly, Talik had no idea. Sabé had trained her for longer, but Aayla was her master as well, and a Padawan couldn't have two masters, nor a master have two Padawans.
"I don't know."
"Good," Aayla smiled. "That choice is before you, should she ever return, but I believe that if and when Sabé returns, there won't be much left to teach you with how you're determined to pass the Trials by eighteen."
"Hey, what're you guys up to?" Anakin dropped onto the seat next to where Talik was sitting, still on the table.
"Debating the nuances of the Jedi Order," Talik informed him without missing a beat, "and what'll happen if Sabé comes back."
"Oh," Anakin drew the sound out before the confusion rolled in. "What's going to happen when Sabé comes back?"
Aayla didn't comment on the assumption. "She's talking about who will be in charge of her training."
"Oh," Anakin said again, this time with more feeling. "Awkward."
Talik glared.
"You know, before the Battle of Theed Qui-Gon didn't think that Obi-Wan was ready to take the Trials," Aayla admitted and both Padawans looked at her.
"He didn't?" Anakin's surprise was evident, after all, Qui-Gon had said that Obi-Wan was ready for them when all three had been in the High Council Chamber.
"No, and for him to abruptly change his mind when you were found on Tatooine…let's just say Obi-Wan wasn't the only one irritated about the whole matter."
Aayla's bright eyes were solemn, fixing on Anakin. Anakin had always thought highly of Qui-Gon, something Obi-Wan did as well, it was something that had always aggravated Sabé.
"Sabé remembers how Obi-Wan felt about being cast aside," Aayla said, holding a hand to stall Anakin's words when he opened his mouth, her attention focused on Talik. "Sabé doesn't like leaving things unfinished, and she'll see you off until the end because she doesn't want you to feel like you're second rate to anyone."
Talik's heart clogged her throat and she swallowed thickly, nodding in understanding.
"She put her faith in me to train you in her stead, and she put her faith in you to become a better Jedi than she thought she was, and her faiths in us both are not misplaced."
Then she stood and left the pair alone.
"That was a bit…"
"Heavy?" Talik offered, frowning as she watched her master go.
"Think she was telling the truth about Master Qui-Gon?" Anakin asked with a frown.
"Probably," Talik said, pulling herself off the table to sit on the bench, catching Tiplar looking in her direction. The Mikkian smiled and waved.
Talik's heart leapt as she did the same.
"How's Padmé?" she asked, turning back to Anakin before he could notice.
"Mom doesn't approve."
"Well, of course not, it's not like slicing is entirely legal."
Padmé's amusement echoed in the dining room in the palace, sitting beside Sola as they ate and as Sola made sure her children ate, no idea how far away Sabé was, or even where she was.
"You don't sound like you disapprove too much," Sola pointed out as Ryoo tried to make a mess of her lunch before Sola pointed out that she wasn't allowed to leave the room until she'd eaten the greens she hated so much.
Padmé shrugged with difficulty given the large headdress perched on her head. "Hardly anything Sabé does is legal, so I'm not really surprised…so you're going to be working with the same bounty hunter guild that Sabé was?"
Sola nodded. "Jalindas was impressed with my work and, according to her, the longer House Renliss goes without a slicer, the more at risk their hunters are. I think she was more impressed that I was the sister of Darth."
Padmé paused. "That was Sabé's bounty hunter alias, right?"
"Not very original for a Sith, but you get what you get," Sola conceded as Pooja attempted to eat the sludge that equated to baby food on Naboo, but it was clear that she wasn't much of a fan. Sola grabbed the small piece of fruit that had begun to float in the air and towards Pooja, who had grasped her hands out with interest.
"Has she been doing that a lot?" Padmé asked as Sola plopped the fruit in her mouth instead.
"Only every so often," Sola grumbled, looking down at her youngest child. "Did Aunt Sabé teach you that trick?"
Pooja giggled disarmingly.
"Oh, you're hopeless," Sola sighed as her sister tried to hide her amusement. "This is what I get for choosing to raise my Force-sensitive daughter on my own."
"It could be worse."
"How so?" Sola arched an eyebrow.
"She could be alone in the crèche at the Jedi Temple," Padmé pointed out and Sola's expression soured. She'd heard Sabé talk about growing up there, who alone she'd felt until she'd made friends with Kit Fisto and Aayla Secura. She never wanted Pooja or Ryoo to feel that way.
"Gratina is going to train me," she added suddenly, and clarified when taking note of the furrowed brow in confusion, "she's one of the heads of House Renliss, Jalindas is her sister. She's going to train me; she thinks it's an utter waste for their slicer not to be skilled in different types of offense and defense."
"Are you okay with that?"
When she was younger, she'd contemplated the security forces, she'd wanted to stop bad people, bad men, but that had been before her interests had shifted towards computers. Bad men took away Sabé's arm at sixteen, bad men took over the planet and tried to force Padmé to sign a treaty at fourteen, bad men had caused the death of Darred and robbed him of years with her and their children.
Sola would never forget that.
"I am," Sola said truly and sincerely. "It's not the way I thought my life was going to go, but I'm not going back now. Jalindas and Gratina have been nothing if not understanding of my position, and if House Renliss is what Sabé claims it to be…then I think I'll be at home there."
Padmé's painted lips curved upwards. "I'm glad," she said, even though she still believed in the system that had failed Sola. "What did Sabé say?"
"Comm silence from her," Sola admitted, cupping her chin thoughtfully. "But I don't think she really trusts comming over long distances, anyways. Those transmissions are easy to slice into. I did tell her what I was doing before she left, though, and she told me to find some Mandalorian armor."
"Is that all?" Padmé asked, a laugh huffed softly.
"Get a small ship with maneuvering capabilities, always have backup weapons because you never know when you're going to need them," Sola counted them off on her fingers, "trappers and trackers are essential, don't use your real name, stuff like that."
"How helpful," Padmé laughed. "And what name will you be using?"
Sola hadn't really decided, but Amidala was still a family name and one that was connected to an ex-Jedi and a Queen, certainly something to be wary of.
"I haven't decided yet," she said instead.
Cross-referencing from ancient planetary charts of the sector and the ones from the Jedi Archives unveiled several planets beyond the outer rim, a number of parsecs between the planets.
The planet's name was Ilvira, even though there was no intelligent species to tell her that, the Force whispered its name in her ear. It was beautiful and terra-formed, though more tropical in nature with a forest that extended into a sandy beach with sparkling water that was warm when Sabé sat in its shallows, the water pooling around her.
The Force was humming around her, like usual as Sabé dunked her head into the water, delighting in the feel of it through her locks. Using the sonic shower on The Dawning took up power that Sabé didn't really think was necessary to waste on cleaning herself up, unless the smell got too bad.
"I will never understand you humanoids fascination with water," Jay-Seven mentioned at the edge of the beach where he stood with Arthree, both wary of their circuits being too close to water, and Sabé couldn't help but laugh.
"One day, you will," Sabé snorted, scrubbing the grime and grease from her skin where it had accumulated over the past week since she'd left Alderaan. "It's called hygiene and it's very important to society."
Arthree beeped dubiously and Sabé rolled her eyes, pulling on a clean pair of clothes while soaking through her used ones, scrubbing them thoroughly before dragging them back to the ship to hang up to dry.
Then she grabbed up her quarterstaff and bag and strode out of the ship to lock a holo-refractory sheet over it so that if anything did look in the direction of the ship they wouldn't see anything.
"What purpose does this planet serve?" Jay-Seven queried as Sabé pulled out the only speeder bike on the ship, just big enough for Jay-Seven and Arthree to fit on the back.
The Force was quiet, but Sabé didn't need it to make her decisions.
"Shall we say its personal intrigue?" Sabé inquired, a grin on her lips before she slid her Temple mask over her face, the scarf hiding her hair from view. "Come on, Jay, it'll be fun!"
Jay-Seven looked down to Arthree who tooted his doubts.
"For once, I am in agreement with you," Jay-Seven informed the astromech dryly and Sabé had never heard Arthree so insulted.
It was late and Talik was hoping to practice some of her Jar'Kai against a few of the training droids, something Aayla said would be helpful for when she tried for the Trial of Skill, a trial that Aayla herself said was one of the most difficult to pass.
So, Talik was rather surprised to find that it was already in use by a young human boy with dark brown hair, skin a tawny color, and eyes that teal and narrowed as he slid from one kata to the next, stumbling just slightly. It clearly wasn't a form that he was very familiar with, but Talik was.
"Not exactly the easiest form to master," Talik said aloud and the boy dropped his training 'saber which clattered to the ground, deactivating once it had left his grip. His eyes were wide as he twisted to see her.
"Padawan Shala! I –uh– I didn't see you there!" the boy stuttered and Talik allowed herself a small smile as she approached, kneeling to grasp the 'saber and hold it out to him.
"What's your name?" she asked instead.
"Caleb Dume," the boy said, taking the 'saber gratefully with a respectful incline of the head, "I was just—"
"Practicing late at night so no one could see your mistakes?" Talik arched an eyebrow and Caleb blushed. "Don't worry, I did the same when I first started Jar'Kai until my master informed me that it is better to learn from a proficient teacher than learn a form wrong."
His eyes were wide, so she could only assume he was familiar with Sabé in some fashion.
"Niman's not a very common style even among the Jedi," Talik added. "I don't suppose you have an interest in being a Jedi Consular?"
Caleb grimaced. The Consulars were more diplomatic in their approaches; Caleb didn't think he was well suited for that.
"It was also very common with Darksiders," Talik said more to herself, "that actually might've been one of the things that appealed to Sabé, now that I think about it…"
"What was Master Amidala like?" Caleb blurted out and Talik blinked, her eyebrows creasing together as she considered him before realizing that he was honestly curious.
"Kind and wise in the ways of the Force," Talik's words came easily. "She was clever, but reckless. I doubt half of the strategies she came up with would've worked for anyone but her. And she wasn't afraid to go against the will of the High Council."
"Why?" Caleb's eyes couldn't get any wider.
"She had a lot of unorthodox views that they didn't approve of," Talik snorted, "and they're too set in their ways to change…did you pick up Niman because you saw it was her style?"
Caleb turned bright red. "Um, yeah, but also because it's a hybrid of all the styles."
Talik smiled, grateful that he had a sound reasoning behind wishing to study the form. "They call it the Moderation Form, but really it's the form that can have adaptations made to it and still be successful in a fight. It can be far more dangerous than many are willing to consider."
"Whoa."
A smile split Talik's lips as she called one of her 'sabers to her hands, flicking the green blade on as she came to stand beside him.
"Kata one," she said, the blade held out from the body, one-handed, the lightsaber angled upwards and back with her free hand folded across the chest.
Caleb hastened to replicate the movement.
"Kata two," Talik intoned, shifting the 'saber so it was angled upwards and now slightly inwards, with her dominant left foot placed forwards.
Caleb stumbled into the second kata.
"Kata three," Talik continued, bring the blade down to waist height, blade pointed down and to the side with her feet closely spaced.
And the lesson continued and Talik tried not to think about the odd sensation she felt around the boy, like she was missing something, something important.
The headscarf Taria Damsin had wrapped around her vibrantly colored hair in order to hide it from view was rather itchy, but there was little she could do about that. Taria's dark fighting dress over her dark green stretchskin would have drawn attention and her hair color would've done that even more so.
Besides, Taria wasn't on Alderaan as a Jedi and people tended to watch you more closely when they knew that you were one. She'd left her 'saber in her apartment in the Temple; Sabé was paranoid enough for the two of them and they both knew not to take your 'sabers with you if you weren't going on an officially sanctioned trip.
She'd had to inform the Council of First Knowledge that she was leaving, of course, but she'd only said it was a routine mission to Dantooine to deal with a minor skirmish. None of them had suspected anything, but it was lucky for her that Maw was away from the Temple for the week; he would've seen through her effortless lie.
Taria scratched at her headscarf as she stepped off the transport, the comlink on her arm giving a soft buzz against her skin instead of the loud beep and Taria stepped off in the direction of the strongest pulse.
Alderaan was an odd choice for Sabé, she thought, but not entirely unexpected. Anyone that spent five minutes with the Nubian knew that she either hated Coruscant or she loved terra-formed planets, sometimes both at the same time.
Aayla had mentioned that she'd been recovering an illness when she and Talik had happened on her and wouldn't say much else on the matter other than that Sabé was a friend of the royal family; Taria wasn't unfamiliar with gaining friends in rather curious places.
But the comlink pulses, connected to whatever Sabé had tagged her frequency to, were headed in the opposite direction of the palace.
Taria stepped around a few Alderaanians arguing over food prices in the marketplace, keeping focused in front of her. She had been surprised when Sabé had actually contacted her; she was a symbol of all Sabé had lost, she would've thought that she was the last person Sabé would've wanted to contact, even if Taria still counted her among her closest friends.
The pulses grew stronger as she continued past the vendors.
The check-ins from Talik had stopped once she'd returned to the Temple, but even Taria wasn't certain if Sabé would ever be coming back to the Order.
She liked to think that she would, but she was also bitter about the decision the High Council had made; her friend deserved better than what she'd gotten.
Her feet took her into a small park in full bloom, the pulses increasing until they were practically on top of each other. There was a fountain constantly spraying water set in the center with a few children playing not too far away with a few adults walking through from time to time. The environment was very calming, but Taria's heart leapt as she sat down on the edge of the fountain, the pulse now a solid one and she glanced down into the fountain.
There it was, a data-chip in protective casing, pressed against the bottom of the fountain.
Taria allowed herself a small smile.
Very Sabé of her, subtle and overlooked.
The Jedi Shadow looked around to make sure that no one was looking when she reached down and pulled the data-chip in its casing out of the water. She broke the seal and pulled a datapad free from her small bag, pressing it in the slot.
The message was only one word: Maw.
AN: Sola's journey is going to be the most interesting, I have to say, but I think having two sisters that have worked closely with a bounty hunting guild at some point is going to alter Padmé's world view.
I haven't written much of Kit in awhile, so maybe he'll be in the next chapter…
As always: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!
