"Inquiry: Master, now are we leaving?"
"Patience HK. I need to prepare and pack." Xanthe looks over at HK-55 eying the droid up and down and adds, "Something that it seems droids don't have to worry about."
"Assumption: Is this an indirect order to assist you Master?"
"You may if you wish. Your assumption is neither correct or incorrect. But I would rather have no more interruptions if we wish to leave this planet sooner rather than later." Xanthe states, resuming her packing, pausing as she hears the sound of the engine of a ship take off. 'Finally. Hopefully she doesn't kill Snoke before I do…' Xanthe thinks to herself.
As per the Sith Lord's order, HK-55 stands by silently, surveying their surroundings until it notices something in the distance. As HK notices the packing and preparations coming to an end, it decides now should be a good time to state its findings. "Observation: Master, I think you should see this. It seems like something has caught fire."
"What?" Xanthe asks, quickly walking over to HK and looks outside. "What in blazes? Is that the Force Tree on fire? What is Skywalker thinking? I swear he's gone insane!" Xanthe angrily all but shouts.
"Master, my sensors indicate that the tree was struck by lightning, not by the Jedi, although it seemed he did intend on burning the structure down. He is also not alone. As the Millenium Falcon was heard leaving earlier and judging by the size, I can confidently assume, the Jedi's companion is not Rey." HK states.
"There is no one else… Who could it possibly…" Xanthe trails off as she checks her macrobinoculars, "...Yoda." Xanthe shakes her head. " I don't believe it, it's Master Yoda. He better had a bloody good explanation for destroying those texts…"
"Explanation I have, Darth Imperius."
"Warning: Halt, small ghost looking meatbag!"
Xanthe rolls her eyes. "You can't shoot a ghost HK, no matter how much you try." She turns around fully, coming face to face with the former Grandmaster of the Jedi Council, Master Yoda. "A pleasure to see you again Master Jedi. " Xanthe greets with a smile.
"Good to see you too it is, my young Sith, Lord Xanthe Kallig."
"I am over three and a half thousand years old and you are calling me "young Sith"?
"Young you look, young you shall be."
Xanthe laughed. "Your humour has improved over the years. But how about your sanity? You just destroyed the one thing that could teach Rey what she needs to know in order to continue the Jedi Order." Xanthe questioned.
"Nothing left in the tree there was. Took what she needed the girl did. As much I said to young Skywalker." Yoda replies. Xanthe blew a sigh in relief. "So she did take them then?"
Yoda nods in confirmation. "Good. So now I can get ready to meet the others. I guess there is nothing left here, since Skywalker refuses to get involved." Xanthe states.
"Confused Skywalker is. Help, I believe he will. His time is near however." Yoda replies.
"In that case, Rey will truly be the last of the Jedi… Or perhaps, the first of the new?"
"First of the new I believe she will be. Necessary your guidance will be for young Rey-"
"No way on Zakuul will I be involved in that girl's training! I know only theories about the Jedi teachings. The best I can do is find a holocron for her to learn from." Xanthe protests.
"Guidance between light and dark she needs. Provide that you can." Yoda calmly states. Unfortunately, Xanthe can't actually argue that point. "Fine." Xanthe grumbles, "That I can help with. Right now however, I need to clean up the mess that the late New Republic allowed to exist called the First Order. No offense, but they are more hopeless than the Republic I remember."
"Offense not taken. Agree I do." Master Yoda replies. " Before you leave, message I have for you."
"Oh?"
"Always helps, meditation does and "fear does not become you", I believe it was."
Xanthe pales "You've spoken to her?"
"Yes, numerous times. Interesting Sith, that one is. Frustrated with you she is. Wanting to speak with you, but allowing her you are not."
" What? How? Of course I want to speak with her. I've always wanted to see her, but I never heard or saw anything so I assumed…. She had become one with the Force." Xanthe says sadly.
Yoda clears his throat. "It seems correct she was in her assumption, so second message I have for you. "Quote I do: "Stop being so stubborn and why do you let your fear stop you from reaching your potential again? If you wanted to see me, why do you avoid everything concerning me, even avoiding my saying my name out loud? How do you expect to see me when you try to deny my very existence?" End quote I do."
Yoda continues, "Very unhappy she is. Heard your exploits I have. Destroyed tratorious Sith, killed a reincarnated Sith Emperor, Commander and Empress of a Galactic Alliance and many other things. Happy we are that you are meeting the Sith, unhappy we are that you cannot find purpose, only duty. Die on the battlefield she prefers, rather than in your room on your ship."
Xanthe stays quiet for a while and simply states "...Duly noted Master Yoda."
"Agree with her I do. Sympathise with your pain I do. Happiness she wants for you. Loyal you are to her. Finding a companion, necessary it is not. Finding a purpose and living is what she asks. Companionship… against it she will not be should you find it."
Xanthe looks sadly at Yoda "I really do miss her. I tried but I can't stop the pain. That was the only way I could think of. I didn't realise the consequences of that. Thank you for your advice and her messages. I will try to do what she- what you both -ask. I appreciate it, my 'Little Green Jedi Menace' friend." Xanthe says with gratitude in her eyes, as well as a small smirk.
"Remember that you do?" Yoda chuckles. "Owe you I do for providing Dagobah to me. Believed you to be dead by the time of the Clone Wars I did."
"You were a lot more agile back then, and very dedicated to the Jedi code. I could never get a clean hit on you. Only sometimes getting you with lightning… just enough to slip away. I knew that if I explained who I truly was, you would want to kill me even more. You were more annoying than bounty hunters at one point. Trust me, I was relieved when you thought I was gone. Took quite a bit to conceal my identity while serving Palpatine in the Royal Imperial Guard, with him and yourself in the same room with me." Xanthe says with a fond smile.
Yoda turns, as if hearing something, "Sorry young Sith, go I must. Remember yourself and trust in the Force. May the Force be with you Lord Kallig."
Xanthe bows in response "And with you Master Yoda." She lifts her head, noticing Yoda had already vanished.
With a familiar feeling she hadn't felt since the days of her time on Odessen, she smiles. Turning to HK, she says "Alright HK, I think it's time we left this blasted island."
"Excitement: Finally Master! Will we get to blast some meatbags?"
"In due time, after we meet Scourge, but yes… we most certainly will." Xanthe responds with a grin.
"Plot course for Yavin 4."
A/N: This story is also up on AO3 if you prefer a better reading experience, as it actually lets you structure the text the way you actually want :)
