Over a year had now passed since the start of the war, but I was glad to see that the temple remained unchanged. News had come to me that Ahsoka had gone missing in the middle of conflict, and so in an effort try and locate her through the Force I spent a great deal of time in meditation. Sometimes it would feel like she was there, but just beyond my reach, so I would concentrate further until I could almost feel her presence as if it were right there next to me. I would catch glimpses occasionally, seeing the world around her through her eyes, felt her fear, but also her courage. She was not alone either, I could sense other life forms around her, children who were strong with the Force. I knew that Anakin was uneasy, in fact he carried around with him a great deal of anger and frustration, unable to let his padawan go as his attachment to her was too strong.
Although I was concerned for Ahsoka, I felt certain that she would prevail whatever trial it was that she was facing, hoping that through the Force, she would be guided back home, and these hopes came to fruition when a Wookie transport made contact with the temple, bringing back not only Ahsoka but two other padawans who had long since been lost. I went to the landing port alongside other members of the Council, Master Polo Koon and Anakin Skywalker also following, Anakin striding to his apprentice after calling out her name.
"It is good to see you safe, little 'Soka." Master Plo Koon said to her as the two of us moved forwards and pass her as Anakin held onto her. Meeting her eye, I gave her a proud smile and reached out, holding her face for a moment before leaving her with her master in order to go over to the other padawans who had been brought back from the moon where the Trandoshans had hunted them for years. The Council had specifically asked me to come and meet them, intending to put them under my care.
"Greetings padawans. My name is Theca Rouyn, welcome home little ones." I said to them both before asking their names which were Jinx and O'Mer. "You have survived a true ordeal, and I want you to know that your nightmares are behind you. You are safe now." Glancing behind me to see that Ahsoka was heading inside with Anakin, I gestured for the two of them to follow me in order to get them seen by our healers and begin their healing process. Master Yoda came with me, shuffling along in order to see the results of their medical examination. "They will have nightmares."
"Yes, suffered greatly they have. Under your care, they will remain. Most suitable, you are, to oversee their recovery." Master Yoda said to me as we waited. "Take care of them, young Theca. So young they are, to have gone through so much." Nodding my head, I watched over the two young padawans as they began their process to healing and accepting their past. For a while neither of them would open up to me, choosing to keep to themselves and supress their feelings as they came to finally realise just how much they had lost. It was Ahsoka who helped them the most at first, they saw her as a leader, and often she would be with me as we talked through what had happened, but still Jinx and O'Mer would remain standoffish and defensive with me, until Ahsoka made a suggestion that changed their perception.
"Master Theca, perhaps if you were to share your own experiences in what you went through on the hostile planet you were lost on, perhaps we might feel more at ease sharing what we went through." Ahsoka spoke, making both Jinx and O'Mer look up in surprise from where we were all sat in meditation.
"What does that mean, master? Where you lost too?"
"Yes, I was." I told them both, giving them a serene and understanding smile. Glancing at each other, they asked me to tell them, so I took a deep breath in order to think back. "I once had a master called Master Bondara. He and I went to answer a distress call sent by explorers who had landed on a dangerous planet for scientific research, but the mission went wrong, the indigenous people were hostile and natural predators, they attacked the explorers and a fight ensued. I fell off a cliff into a ravine and the rapids washed me away for miles and miles, when I came to I was in a completely different region. The planet…was brutal. Excruciating heat during the day, freezing temperatures at night, and practically every living thing, even the plants, trying to kill me. I was hunted for two years, and for two years I had to fight for my own survival, completely alone." I then went into more details, telling them some of the experiences I had endured, and once I was finished, I could look upon the padawans as an equal. "So you can understand now, I know exactly what it was like for you to be on that moon, and I know exactly what it is you are going through now. Do not deny yourselves the realisation that you have proven yourself as courageous, valiant padawans who have survived something that no one ordinary could ever hope to endure. I am with you, and so is the Force. There is no reason for either of you to hold back. Release your fears and share them with me, otherwise you will never be able to find peace and balance within yourselves."
"So you were assigned to guide us because you have shared a similar experience to us?" Jinx questioned me and I nodded my head as Ahsoka sat beside me, listening to us converse. She had already proven herself resilient, rallying herself from her experiences with a strength that truly impressed me, but she continued to remain here in order to help O'Mer and Jinx also recover as she had.
"Yes, the Council believed that it would be better for you to have someone who can truly empathise with your sufferings. We each have our own experiences, for you lost many friends whilst I could rely only on myself. You are the survivors, and I know that there will be some guilt in your mind because of that. I sense it in your both. Please, try to trust me. I am here to help you, and I wish for you both to heal." From that point on, the two padawans were more open, sharing with me their darkest moments both together and alone, and the more they shared, the more they progressed on the road to heal. They were with me almost every waking moment, and at night I monitored their nightmares as the healers had done for me, helping them to overcome them.
I also oversaw their training, taking them both under my wing and taught them in a class of younglings for certain aspects of their Jedi education whilst for the rest, I taught them both together. Their lightsaber forms were rusty, but soon they remembered what they had been taught before. Their old masters were unfortunately called away on active duty, and both had new padawans so Jinx and O'Mer would need new teachers soon, but for now the Council were willing to allow them to remain with me. It helped that they could integrate back amongst the other padawans and learn with them also, and gradually I began to back away as to give them more space so that they could find their own footing.
Observing their training amongst several padawans from a balcony, I sensed someone approaching me and so I turned my head in order to view Master Fisto himself who I had not seen in a very long time. My thoughts immediately turned back to my captivity under Grievous, and that it was Master Fisto who rescued me from his ship before Grievous could escape with me still on board. Warm gratitude rose up within me and I bowed with deep respect as I greeted the Nautolean master. "Master Fisto, it is good to see you again. It has been some time." I said to him quietly, lifting my hand to cover my heart in a sign of sincerity as he came to my side in order to also view the training of the padawans.
"Greetings to you, Theca Rouyn. I hear you have taken charge of two padawan learners who were rescued by Ahsoka from Trandoshan hunting grounds." He said to me with a flash of a smile before looking down over Jinx and O'Mer who were currently sparring against one another, revisiting the classic forms in order to remind them of their old teachings.
"They required someone to watch over them. The nightmare they endured was perilous, and had a great many consequences. Soon they will have new masters and continue their journey and hopefully will no longer recall their past with fear." Observing that Jinx was still very unbalanced in his form, I sensed that he was still struggling with his emotions the most and so made a mental note to myself to correct him on his stance later and also see if there was anything I could do to pacify his concerns.
"It is fortunate then that you can relate to them on a personal level. I understand that you teach many of the younglings here. Why is it you have never taken a padawan learner of your own? It has been many years since you have achieved the rank of Jedi Knight, you would have been a Master by now had your padawan taken the trials." Master Fisto phrased the question with both curiosity and reason, however I could honestly say that I had never felt prompted to take a padawan of my own, and none had ever been assigned to me by the Council.
"In any case, I take great joy in teaching the younglings. I feel at home here in the temple. It is where I am happiest and feel safest. Despite all my preaching to the padawans, I can honestly admit that the past still haunts me even to this day, and I do not wish to push such a burden as that onto a padawan who would remain by my side and have to endure the fits and outbursts I receive from time to time. No, I am all too aware that I would not train them to be a Jedi. I would train them to be a survivor, to evade predators, to heighten their physical senses beyond their natural capability. It is not the Jedi way, so I can only believe myself to be an unsuitable teacher for a young one. With the younglings, at least there is a set curriculum, I do not teach beyond the parameters they require before sending them on their way."
"Then you still carry a great deal of fear within you, Theca Rouyn."
"Fear is what kept me alive back then. At least now, I do not allow it to control me." I responded, glancing towards Master Fisto, curious as to why he was taking the time to talk to me. "Was there a reason you have come here, Master Fisto? I do not often see other masters in this area of the temple were the younglings and padawans train. Are you perhaps searching for a prospective student of your own?" He smiled at me but shook his head, saying that it was nothing like that.
"I merely felt compelled to come this way, and it is my good fortune to cross your path, Theca Rouyn. I have heard reports of your exploits and missions in which you partook, and often securing victory for yourself, and it has been a long time since I saw you last. It is good to see you doing better. You appear to have recovered from your ordeal with Grievous." He told me and I hummed in agreement, still watching the padawans as they trained. "I hear you fought him personally, you did well to hold your own against him alone. Having fought Grievous myself, I know he is no easy opponent."
"I favour Form Three. My defence is impenetrable, even against multiple adversaries." I told him simply. "When I move to attack, I favour a full assault with speed and agility. It was by this means I was able to endure against Grievous for as long as I did, though had the battle persisted any longer, then I would most likely have fallen. I am not a natural swordsman such as yourself and Master Windu, I was lucky to survive at all." To this Master Fisto told me that I should have more faith in myself, as confidence and luck had a great deal to do with competency in duelling, or at least that was what he had found, as he said, before then asking if I had any intention of rethinking my decision not to lead men into battle. "In that subject, I have not altered my view, Master Fisto. Not only do I still refuse to lead others to their deaths, but battle is a place for great warriors and leaders, for people with certain abilities and are able to think and plan several steps ahead of the enemy, and I do not think I fit this description. Above all, I am no military leader. I do not know how to inspire others, or how to lead, but I do know how to survive, and how to defend myself. That at least, I can do." Feeling his hand come to rest upon my shoulder, I looked up in slight surprise to see such an unwaveringly kind expression upon the master's features as he looked at me.
"I think you do not give yourself enough credit." Feeling a light warmth exude itself at his words, I dipped my head appreciatively to him before once more looking down upon the padawans to see that they were ending their sparring match, O'Mer proving the victor. "I will not keep you, Theca Rouyn. I wish you luck with your charges."
"Just Theca is fine, Master Fisto, if it is agreeable to you. I have never been one for formality." I said to him as I stepped aside in order to bow farewell.
"As you wish, Theca." We shared a smile with one another before I then went down to the padawans in order to collect them so that we might discuss their progress and see what improvements could be made, and when I looked up to the balcony, I saw Master Fisto still standing there watching us all, so with a final incline of my head, I lead the padawans away with Master Fisto's words still rolling around in my head, prevailing upon me like a constant echo.