11.
She knew impatience led to anger and anger was a path to the dark side. At the moment she didn't care about that. All she cared about was getting to Jedi Skywalker's lightsaber holotraining. She had never met Anakin Skywalker and probably never would. He was a war hero, a great Jedi Knight and had vastly more important things to do than train Padawan's on Ledeve. He was also known to be one of the best with a lightsaber and as such had taught and recorded hundreds of classes on the subject. Zo would not miss a moment of his holo, it would be another rotation before Master Qui-Xot replayed them. "Nel! I am leaving right now! Without you! Class is in less than five minutes!" She stomped her foot for emphasis.
There were other Padawan's in the dormitory waiting for their next class or to be summoned by their Master for one on one training. A few of them gave Zo disgruntled looks peering over the top of dusty tomes or datapads. Nel bounded down the steps a moment later, backpack loaded with books, her long blonde hair falling past her shoulders. "I'm coming Zoey! Calm yourself, we won't miss the holo."
"We're going to have to run to make it on time!"
"We have plenty of time." Nel tucked her single, thin Padawan braid behind her ear. "Oh! Poodoo I forgot my lightsaber!" Nel shoved her backpack into her twin sister's arms and ran back up the stairs into their shared room. Zo groaned in annoyance, adjusting the heavy pack on her own back and letting her hand fall to the hilt of her saber making sure it was still there.
She was more attuned to her weapon than her sister. She had a whole six months of additional training than Nel. That had been the hardest test of their devotion to the Jedi order yet for the twins; when Zo returned glowing and triumphant from the ancient temple with her kyber crystal only to find out that Nel never even made it past the maze-like temple's first chamber. Zo was moved to the Padawan's dorm and shortly after chosen by Master Vatari. Nel had to stay with the younglings in an entirely different wing of the giant temple facility. It was the longest they had ever been separated since they were born just minutes apart. Zo's inherent talent for empathic connections and the Force link they shared meant they could at least feel each other if not see one another. It was the only contact they had until Nel took the Padawan trials again and passed.
Nel returned with her lightsaber clipped to her belt. "Race you to the quad!" She giggled, snatching her backpack out of Zo's hands. Nel took off, not waiting for her sister's response. She was a blur of speed as she used the Force to dart away.
"Poodoo!" Zo grumbled running after her. She drew the Force into her, feeling the comforting warmth and tingling in her muscles before sprinting after her sister. She caught up in no time. Zo had always been faster. Even at birth, when she came into the world a whole fifteen minutes before Nel.
They darted around Jedi and droids, ran up and along a wall to avoid a squad of the clone troopers that had been stationed at the temple.
They burst out of the building and into the bright sunlight. The air was warm and salty from the ocean crashing against the cliffs below the temple compound. A ship landed on the airfield and more clone troopers departed in neat lines. Jedi Knights walking with their Padawan's and trailed by at least one trooper criss-crossed the pathways between the tall stone buildings that made up the Jedi complex. Zo and Nel ran past them all. Several of the troopers cheered the twins on as they rushed past.
The clones had been frightening when they first arrived at the temple a few months prior. Quiet, standoffish and cold in their matching white plastioid uniforms and emotionless helmets. The Seperatist war was raging in every corner of the galaxy. Stories of terrorist attacks on planets like Coruscant and Naboo played out on the galactic news scans. Chancellor Palpitine convinced the Jedi Council to allow the clones to help guard the temples if only for the safety of the young ones while the Knights were trying to restore peace in the galaxy. It took a few weeks but the clones slowly warmed up to the Jedi. They took their meals in the great hall with everyone else, knew and greeted the Padawans by name. Even though they all looked and sounded alike, they all had different personalities and attitudes. Most of them also had nicknames bestowed upon them by their brothers or the Jedi they served under.
Zo burst through the quad and skidded to a stop outside the holo-classroom. She was triumphant once more, face flushed and wavy red hair plastered to her sweaty forehead. Nel appeared at her side a minute later. "Dang it, Zoey! I'm going to beat you one of these days!"
"If the Force wills it, Nellie." She responded with a smile.
"Good job, girls! I think you broke the sound barrier!" Detour called to them. He was Zo's favorite trooper, friendly and funny and always had a word of encouragement for the Padawans. He high-fived the twins as they walked into the large arena classroom.
Master Qui-Xot stood in the middle of the room preparing the recorded hologram. "Padawans, gather yourselves and stand in position one. Jedi Skywalker will be drilling on forms I to V."
The class lasted several hours. The gathered Padawans moving seamlessly through the drills, the calm reassuring voice of Anakin Skywalker echoing across the arena as the ancient saber Master Qui-Xot moved between the lines of trainees with a dozen Knights and older apprentices correcting and critiquing the Padawan's forms. When the class ended the sun was sinking below the tree covered horizon. The warmth of the day replaced by the chill of the evening ocean. The grand complex was lit up like a beacon to the tired, hungry Padawans. Their clone escorts following as usual, Padawans broke off from the group to find their friends to discuss their various classes. Detour met up with Zo and Nel as he usually did on their walk to the food hall. Once inside the twins would separate to find their Masters and report on the day's activites.
"Skywalker is the greatest sword Master ever!" Zo gushed to Detour. "I hope one day I will be as great as him."
"Zoey, You won't even need your lightsaber once your locked away with all those dumb books." Nel replied. Zo's face fell in disappointment.
"Well, Nel, you never know, a band of pirates may try to break into the archives and steal Jedi knowledge. Who better to protect it than Zo Mara the swordmaster?" Detour commented with a warm smile.
"Thank you, Detour." Zo smiled at the clone before sticking her tongue out at her sister. Nel mirrored the un-Jedi like expression. "Nellie, do you want-" Her voice cut off in a strangled gasp. She staggered forward, grasping her head as a scream echoed across the Force. "Nel! Nel, something is wrong." She gasped, grabbing for her sister's robes. Nel staggered trying to hold her sister up as the cold disturbance in the Force hit her as well.
"Detour! Detour, call Master Vatari and Master Jerah!" Nel screamed at their friend. Detour's head twitched, his friendly smile disappeared and was replaced by a blank stare. Nel took a wary step away from him. The cold shadow of fear and danger settled over them.
Detour's once warm eyes grew cold and distant as he turned them on the twin girls. He grabbed for the blaster on his hip and Zo shoved him back with a Force push. Nel gave a startled yelp as the grounds dissolved into chaos. Blasters erupted around them, startled screams and the sizzle of lightsabers in the next instant. The Padawans around them were dying, killed at the hands of their clone trooper friends. Zo grabbed her sister's hand, "Nel! We have to run! Now!" She dropped her heavy backpack and used her will to call her lightsaber to her hand. Everywhere they looked, clone troopers were attacking Jedi. Lightsabers burned through the air, countering blaster fire as the Knights appeared and tried to fight back the onslaught. But they were far outnumbered, fifty clone troopers to every Jedi. More war ships dropped out of hyperspace above the temple as the sisters dashed through the commotion.
The pain and fear of Jedi dying all over the galaxy was coursing through the Force. "What's happening? What's happening?" Nel cried, tears streaming down her pale face as Zo dragged her along.
Zo's blue lightsaber spun and deflected blaster shots. "I don't know Nel. But you've got to help me or we are going to die!" She slid to a halt behind a giant stone statue of some ancient Jedi Master whose name was lost to history as a squad of clone troopers carrying rotary blasters mowed down a line of Jedi Knights and their Padawan's. "Can you sense your Master?"
Nel was curling in on herself, the fear eroding her teachings. Zo placed her hands on her sisters shoulders, bringing her face close. They shared almost every physical aspect except the difference in hair color and the placement of freckles on their pale faces. "I am one with the Force. The Force is with me." Zo murmured. "Say it, Nellie." She pressed her forehead against her sisters. Nel trembled but repeated the mantra until some of the trembling receded. "Can you sense Master Jerah? Where is he?"
Nel wiped her face, "He's close. He's coming for me."
Zo nodded, "Good. Master Vatari is coming too. She wants me to go to the Great Fountain. We have to run, Nel. Hold my hand and don't let go!"
The sisters stood and dashed away, the heat of repeating blaster fire hot on their heels as they ran to the rendezvous. They nearly slammed into three Padawan boys a few years older than them as they came running down the staircase from their dormitory.
"What the kriff is going on, Jacen!"
"I don't know….the clones, they killed my Master-"
"They're killing everyone...the younglings– they don't even have lightsabers."
The girls stopped and gasped for breath. "We can't stand here. Follow us! Our Masters are waiting at the Great Fountain." Zo yelled at the three frightened boys. The boys agreed instantly and turned towards the atrium that housed the Great Fountain of Jedi Masters.
"Stop! Traitors!" Angry voices echoed off the high walls. The clone troopers marched out of the corridors surrounding them. The hiss-pop of five lightsabers igniting as one sounded as the Padawans formed into the defensive circle they were taught. The first trooper stepped forward and even though he looked the same as all his brothers, Zo knew it was Detour.
"Detour! Stop! We are your friends! Why are you doing this?" Her voice cracked and hands shook.
"The Jedi attempted to murder Emperor Palpatine. For your traitorous actions you are all sentenced to death!"
"Emperor Palpatine? Who the kriff is that?" The blonde boy, Jacen, yelled out. Chancellor Palpatine they knew, he was a friend and great advocate of the Jedi and their service as galactic peacekeepers. 'Emperor Palpatine' did not make sense to the Padawans.
"Execute them!" Detour ordered.
Five lightsabers blurred as the Padawans spun and kicked and flipped and fought for their lives. Zo had never been in a fight, she had never even lit her lightsaber outside of training. None of them had. The first rule any of them were taught was never draw your lightsaber unless you are ready to take a life.
The first life she took was Detour's. Her lightsaber cut through his flesh effortlessly, his plastioid armor unable to stop the burning laser. He gasped, his eyes bulged and for a moment she was certain she saw her friend behind the hollow black of his pupils. The smell of burnt skin and blood assaulted her senses, the tremor in the Force shook her. She didn't even have time to breathe when she heard her sister cry out in pain. Nel was on her knees, grasping a burn in her shoulder. The trooper standing over her raised his blaster and Zo jumped forward. Her lightsaber sliced his arm clean off and the clone screamed in surprise stumbling back. She spun on her heels, remembering the moves she had practiced for hours that very day. The trooper's head left his shoulders and rolled away.
The sudden silence was deafening. Zo wobbled on her legs, nauseous and gasping for air as the reality that she had just taken two lives slammed into her. "-go...we have to go…" One of the boys grabbed her hand and urged her forward.
"No! Nel!" She turned towards her sister to find the other two boys supporting her under each arm.
"We have to move before more clones show up." Jacen said taking her hand again and leading them away from the atrium. Everywhere they looked their friends, Jedi and clone alike were scattered cold and unmoving like discarded toys. The Great Fountain appeared before them, the bright orange light of Master Vatari's lightsaber and the dark green of Master Jerah's lit up the dark sky.
The fountain was gone. In its place lay a battlefield of smoking stone and blood. A monument that had survived thousands of years destroyed in seconds by rocket launchers. Water flowed from the broken fountain, running in rivulets between the giant smoking fragments of hand carved stone and dead troopers. The Padawans stood in awe watching as Masters Vatari and Jerah moved with fluid ease wielding the Force to send their opponents flying away or slamming into the ground, their lightsabers brightly lit blurs in the darkness. The only sounds were the hum of the lightsabers and the hollow bangs of blasters. Vatari spun gracefully, her robe billowing out around her as she took down the last clone trooper.
"Zo! Come, hurry all of you!" Master Vatari called to the Padawans. Her lite green skin paler than normal, the tattoos on her face more prominent. The Padawans ran toward them like a cluster of frightened ducklings. "Master Jerah has procured a ship for us."
Master Jerah was already kneeling in front of Nel. His large dark eyes narrowed in concern as he inspected the wound in Nel's shoulder. "You have done well my Padawan. Remember your training, the Force is with you, let go of your fear." He said quietly. He touched the wound and bowed his head in concentration, in another moment the wound was healed. The rough burned hole transformed once more into intact, smooth skin.
"Master, the younglings! They would be in their dorm with Master Karai. They need us—" Zo started. She was not one to usually argue with her Master but these were circumstances they hadn't ever faced.
Master Vatari sighed and hung her head. When she looked up at the children, tears ran down her face. "The younglings are gone, Zo. Everyone is gone except us and we must hurry before more of the troopers find us."
There was no more discussion. No sound at all from the group except their feet slapping off the stones, Zo clung to her sister's hand as they followed Master Vatari to the waiting ship.
Master Jerah followed behind warily sensing for any danger. "Get on the ship!" He yelled as an assault tank rolled out of the darkened great hall. Thirty clone troopers flanked the tank as they moved towards the Jedi. Nel stopped and turned towards her Master as the others followed Vatari into the ship. The troopers began firing, the night sky turned bright red. Master Jerah stood his ground, his lightsaber countering every shot, the Force flowed through him in a mighty burst as he pushed the front line of converging troopers away. The tank fired and he jumped, narrowly missing the laser artillery. He landed unsteadily on his feet and was bombarded by blaster fire. His body spun with the impact of the shots and he fell heavily on his knees, gasping in pain. He struggled to sit up, his long decorated head-tails fell over his heaving chest. "Run, Padawan!" He commanded.
"Master!" Nel screamed from the bottom of the ramp as she tried to run towards him. Zo clung to her tighter, dragging her sister up the ramp. She screamed, tears streaming down her face as she called again and again for Master Jerah. She turned her agonized face to her sister and screamed, "It's your fault, Zo! It's your fault they're all dead!"
Zo bolted awake, gasping for breath, her shirt stuck to her sweaty back. The nightmares had returned. She couldn't pretend it was due to exhaustion or the unease of new places and strangers. They were back because she was open, her mind once again connected to the Force and she had to face her fears and regrets in order to move forward.
She couldn't do it. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
Her heart thudded against her ribs like a frightened lothe cat trying to claw its way out. Her stomach rolled as her dinner threatened to make a reappearance. She gasped for air, trying to calm her heart and force the fear into the back of her mind. Screams ricocheted around her skull, part of her mind still stuck in a memory. Her stomach flipped and she tasted the acid burn of bile in the back of her throat.
Din heard the slap of bare feet on the wood floor outside his room. He slid his helmet on as the dim light of the refresher lit up the small space under his door. The wet splash of Zo's dinner hitting the toilet greeted him as he stepped out of his room. "Zo?" Her head hovered over the toilet and she didn't even turn to look at him as the door slammed shut in his face. Hopefully it wasn't whatever she made for dinner, he thought turning back to his room for a few more hours of sleep.
He waited for her the next morning. The kettle whistled, he made his own cup of caf and waited. The door to her and the kids' bedroom remained shut. She could sense him out there, wanting to ask her what had happened. She sat in the darkness, willing him to go back to his ship and lose himself in his repairs. The dreams would pass. Or she would get better at controlling them. She heard him sigh then the thud of the door slamming as he left.
The kid was just as stubborn as the day before. She could sense him listening, understanding everything she said but he refused to show her any of his abilities. Well really he wouldn't outright show her but she caught him sneaking snacks out of the highest cabinets. Cookies and candies somehow appeared in his little hands even though he never would have been able to reach them. She found the cabinet doors all thrown open as if a strong breeze had blown inside the little house. "You sneaky little monster…" She muttered as the kid dug into a box of creme cookies. She appreciated his cunning if nothing else. She had also survived using the Force in secret, using only tiny wisps of her abilities to remain useful enough to Gor so he wouldn't grow tired of her.
The three of them developed a routine of sorts. Caf in the morning, if Zo didn't spend most of the night in the 'fresher, lunch at the Crest and evenings at home. Zo built drills into the games she played with the child during the day, pushing, pulling, levitation, sorting things by colors. Each night before bed she would try to get the child to join her for a session of meditation and focus. Mando spent his days unbothered at his ship, tinkering away at the list of repairs he'd been meaning to get to long before their encounter with the ancient killer Crex.
The ship's repairs were completed far quicker than he anticipated. Mainly because he had anticipated having to stop a thousand times to check on the kid like he usually did. Even though it had only been a week he was begrudgingly beginning to trust her. Zo had kept their agreement. She watched Cricket, kept him busy and most important safe. He heard her wake every night, heard the sound of her bare feet as she paced inside the small kitchen or on bad nights retreat to the refresher for a warm shower. Din had his fair share of nightmares, he didn't need to have magic powers to know that's what plagued her. As long as she kept her end of the bargain he didn't care. At least that's what he told himself, even when he waited outside the refresher for her. She would walk past him without a word, avoiding the cold stare of his helmet as she retreated to her room.
Karga had checked in on him daily, anxiously waiting for Mando to tell him he was ready to take his bounty pucks. Today had been that day. The pucks were heavy in his pocket as he walked back to the little home where Cricket and Zo waited for him. Dinner simmered on the stove, toys and the remains of the baby's snacks were strewn everywhere. Not for the first time he felt strangely out of place in this warm little haven of domesticity.
Out of place until he stepped into the courtyard to witness the last moments of Zo's lessons for the day. Today she had somehow actually got the kid to sit still. His ears twitched, big expressive brown eyes wide as he watched Zo stack stone after stone on top of each other. Stones and pebbles swirled around them like a funnel cloud. Each stone sorting itself by size and balancing on the larger stone underneath it. They were surrounded by a half dozen such cairns. The child cooed, reaching his hand out and plucking a stone from the revolving mass.
"Do you feel it young one? The Force flows through us, with concentration and will we bend it to assist us. To give us strength, speed...to open our minds to the great knowledge of the universe." Zo's calm voice carried through the courtyard like a warm breeze. "The stones only stay upright if they are balanced. We must always be mindful of the balance inside us, young one, lest we fall to the dark side." Cricket stood and Mando lurched forward, sure the child was about to be clobbered by the swirling storm of rocks. Zo opened her eyes and held up her hand to stop him from interferring. The cairn closest to her wobbled slightly as her focus shifted away from the lesson. He stilled, his hands clenched at his sides and watched unbelieving as the child waddled forward. The stones parted, avoiding him like they were magnetically repelled. The storm didn't stop or slow, the flying projectiles simply avoided him. He walked to the smallest cairn and carefully laid his chosen stone on top. Zo shrieked in excitement, jumping to her feet and clapping her hands, the flying stones tumbed down around them. "I knew you could do it! You stubborn little monster!' She cried out picking the kid up and swinging him around. "Did you see! Did you see him do it!" She carried him over to Mando.
"I...I don't know what I just saw." Mando replied.
Zo laughed again. "The stones Mando! He controlled them! Moved them out of his way!"
"He could have been pummeled to death.' He replied sourly taking the child out of her hands. The kid yawned, his big eyes drooping closed.
Zo brushed away his concern, "I didn't have them moving that fast. Besides it would have been a valuable lesson.'
"And what lesson would that be?" He asked following her into the house.
"That getting hit hurts. And one should avoid it."
Mando made a disapproing noise under his breath as he lay the baby down on his bed. The baby curled onto his side and fell asleep instantly. Mando ran his gloved fingers over the curve of his ears and checked under his robes. The child was indeed unhurt. His own training had been far from orthodox. And since he knew next to bantha shit about Jedi training who was he to judge. Except his was judging, the child was his foundling. Jedi or not. He was reconsidering his plan, the plan he had yet to discuss with Zo. He stood up with a sigh and turned back towards the kitchen. Zo leaned against the doorframe, watching him with the child. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "You have a job...several jobs."
"We need the credits." He responded not bothering with a sigh or to reprimand her about listening to his thoughts. He would have to practice keeping his defences up, keeping the airlocks in his mind closed to her all the time if he ever wanted to keep a secret in her presecene.
"We need to find a Jedi Master."
He brushed past her, closing the door behind him and forcing her back into the kitchen with his imposing bulk. "We can't fly around the galaxy hoping to run into your people or mine. We need a plan, we need credits to-"
"To fly around the galaxy hoping we run into your people or mine." Zo answered with a smile.
"I've already discussed it with Greef and Cara. They'll look after you two, not that you need it." He clarified when her eyes began to narrow. "If something happens to me out there. If I'm not back by the next lunar cycle… They'll find you a ship and a trustworthy pilot."
"We are safer together." She replied.
"These bounties are bad barves...dangerous, which means the bounties are high." Mando told her. "I'll be able to settle all my debts and give us enough left over to survive... for a few weeks at least. Keep him safe, keep him out of trouble." He reached into his back pocket and handed her a sleek black comlink. "I'll check in every few days."
Zo took the comlink, "You're leaving now?"
"I don't want to upset him."
"Then don't go. Take me to Canto Bight. I'll win you more credits than you'll ever be able to spend."
"I owe Karga this. He saved my life, he saved the kid." Mando said. Couldn't she tell he didn't want to leave, did he have to say it? "If Karga doesn't show the Guild he's still in control around here they will swoop in and take over Nevarro. The last thing I need...we need is more enemies."
Zo curled her fingers around the comlink. "Just–don't die. He's lost enough. We all have."