I watched for a while as Mando and Carl passed the time by arm wrestling. "I got you, Mando." "Care to double the bet?" Oh, boy; this was getting ridiculous. With a roll of the eyes, I climbed up to the top deck were Kuiil was taking his turn manning the controls. I grinned at him as I approached the dashboard.
"Quiet night, huh?" My arms folded so I could lean on the board. "Yes," he agreed before gazing over at me. "Now that we're alone, I wanted to ask you something, Saoirse." "What is it?" "That man, he said you healed him back on Tatooine, correct?" My grin began to fade as my head bobbed up and down slowly. "You healed him using your power?" "M-my power?" I wasn't sure if I should tell him about the Force or not. I know I wasn't supposed to tell Mando but Kuiil seemed to know more than he let on. My lips parted a bit, sucking in a deep, steading breath.
"Hmmmmm, I see. What Mando told me about the Mudhorn makes more sense now." "The Mudhorn? Oh! You mean that animal back on Takodana; the one who hurt Mando," my fingers snapped together. "You stopped him. It was with the same power, wasn't it?" Kuiil asked me directly. I hesitated for a moment but eventually nodded my head. He too nodded his head in turn.
"Yes, it all makes sense now- why the Imperials are searching for you so badly." "Why? I don't understand; why do they want me?" I pressed, now hopeful for some answers finally. "You are of use to them. You have the same blood as their late emperors." "I-I….. don't know what you mean. I'm descendent from the Jinn clan. We're not royalty at all," my hand rose up to press against my chest. "Not that kind of blood….." Our eyes met sincerely; his sharpened into mine. "Do you know what I mean, child?"
After staring at him for a second, my eyes lowered a bit. Then I nodded my head ever so slightly. His face lit up, though he did a very good job hiding his sudden enthusiasm. "Show me," he directed, much like Dr. Pershing that day. My hand stuck out and I concentrated on a small metal ball. Seconds later it floated over to me, landing in my palm. I had to suck in a few deep breaths, feeling a tiny bit tired all of a sudden. And I looked at the marvelled Kuiil; man, were his eyes huge.
"So it's true? I've heard rumours of your kind while enslaved in the Empire." "No one else knows; I'm not supposed to tell…." Well, the Mandalorian anyway. "So, Mando doesn't know then?" My head shook. "Hmmmm, good. It's better he does not," Kuiil sat back in his chair, folding his hands over his stomach. "But why?" I had had enough of all these secrets. Why couldn't Mando know about the Force or my Force-sensitivity? I didn't get why I had to keep it from him…
"Your power is very special, and rare. The fewer who know about it, the better." "But it's Mando. I can trust him." "You may trust him, but he's a Mandalorian. You must believe me on this: Mandalorians do not take well to your kind," his hand stretched over to rest on my arm. "What?" I blinked astonished. But before either of us could say more, a very startling entity appeared from behind us. I glanced over my shoulder only for my eyes to widen.
"Master!" I practically leapt up. The look on Kuiil's face when he saw Master Yoda's ghost in the room with us was priceless. His eyes were as big as dinner plates and his jaw dropped to the floor. "I-Incredible!" He gasped breathlessly. "Good to see you again, my child," Master greeted me; both his hands were on his temperament walking staff. "This Jedi is your master?" Kuiil blinked to me, still speechless. "Yes. He raised me; him and the others." "Others?!"
That's when I turned back to address my master; he was watching me with those soft, soulful eyes of his. "Master, what's wrong? Why did you come and show…. yourself?" I got nervous at the end of my question. It's Master Yoda- the smartest being in the galaxy. If he's here and incidentally revealed himself to Kuiil, it must be for a reason. "Why must something be wrong for me to visit my pupil?" Of course he was going to say something like that. "N-no, never mind; I'm sorry. I'm happy to see you, Master," with a hand on my forehead I grinned.
"Are you the ones who taught Saoirse Force-healing?" Kuiil mustered up the nerve to ask Yoda. He hummed and nodded. "It was the will of the Force." "Master Yoda taught me all about the Force," I added. "Yes, and an excellent student she is. She uses the Force for good, keeping her vow of peace and nonviolence." "Master, the Imperials are still after me. We're going to try and stop them, but… is there anything I can do to prevent any death? I don't want anyone to die, but I don't want to keep running my whole life either. Isn't there something I can do? Something diplomatic?"
Master Yoda eyed me, then he lowered his head a smidge. "It is as I have always said. Listen to the Force; it will guide you, if you only let it." "But Master, I still don't know how to listen to the Force. I don't know what I'm doing," my hands flew out at my sides. His eyes narrowed onto me intently. "Much to learn, you still have."
Yoda's Force essence came forward, flowing through me all of a sudden. I paused stunned, and when I looked down, there was this weird short bar thing in my hand. Kuiil also leaned in to see it. The stick was… odd. Divided into three parts essentially in a row: the first row had these black handles spaced out on it; the second was an all black rim; and the third was solid grey with a nuke poking out of it. There was this weird notch at the top. Curious and confused why Master would give this thing to me, I kept inspecting it, hoping- in vain- for some answer as to what it might be.
"What is it?" I eventually asked Kuiil. He shrugged. "Don't know." "Huh," I lifted it closer to my eyes. How strange; why would Master Yoda give me this small, short stick? Was it a healing tool? A weapon? A flashlight? Who knew. That's when it dawned on me that the little notch might be a button of sorts; it wasn't exactly clear. Kuiil merely observed as I pressed it- nothing happened. I looked at him and he rubbed his finger ponderingly under his chin.
"Use the Force," he suggested to me. "What?" "The Force. Use the Force when you hold it." I didn't see what good that would do but seeing as I was out of ideas…. I concentrated this time; I inhaled deeply and pressed the button again. Both Kuiil and I ogled with large eyes as a green stick-like thing shot up from the top end. It was bright- glowing I'd say- and making this buzzing noise. I'd never seen anything like it! And I had no clue what it was.
"Remarkable….." Kuiil muttered gobsmacked to himself. "Wow!" I also exclaimed in shock. Why would Master give me a glowing stick? What am I supposed to do with it? My free hand slowly began to raise up. "I wonder…." "Don't touch it!" Kuiil shouted with such command and fear that I accidently lowered the arm holding it. The moment the stick touched the switchboard, it began to laser through it. Luckily my hand released it and the green light disappeared. The ship shook a bit; I guess I hit some buttons. While Kuiil and I tried to steady ourselves, the stick fell onto the ground and rolled away. Good thing too cause Mando and Carl were up within a matter of seconds.
"Are you alright?" Carl rushed over to me while Mando went to regain control of the ship. "Y-Yes!" I managed to spit out. Kuiil and I wordlessly looked to each other, silently agreeing that it would be best if we didn't discuss this with anyone else. And thankfully, Mando didn't ask about the burn marks or minor indents on the dashboard.