Chapter 2
Nev-Kwellen entered the quarters he shared with his Master and went straight to the kitchen to get something to drink.
"There's hot water on the stove." Woren told him from the living room.
Sighing, Nev-Kwellen grabbed a tea bag from the cupboard, placed it in a cup, and then poured hot water from the kettle into it. I really would like some Corrillean whiskey instead right now.
"Once you get your tea come into the living area." Woren continued.
Taking his tea, Nev-Kwellen did as his teacher requested and he entered the living room to see his Master sitting on a green chair with his eyes closed. Sitting down on a chair across from him, Woren placed his cup of tea on the table in front of him and waited.
"I thought you would like to know that Raven is returning to the Temple tomorrow." Woren informed him, opening his eyes to study Nev-Kwellen's reaction.
Nev-Kwellen's face remained passive as he responded. "Why would that interest me?"
Woren smiled and took a sip of his own tea that he held in his hands. "She fascinates you."
"You are mistaken." Nev-Kwellen answered, deciding to take a sip of his tea. "I have no interest in her."
"I disagree. If what you say is true then you would have left after Mustafar. You have what you need for your Master." Woren calmly stated.
Nev-Kwellen's eyes flashed with irritation as he looked at Woren. "I have not fully completed my mission. Anakin still does not trust me."
"So, your Master is still not satisfied with the information you have gathered already?" Woren questioned.
Nev-Kwellen glared at Woren and then slowly nodded. "My Master wants to know why Anakin has left the Temple so suddenly."
Woren raised an eyebrow. "Suddenly? That's an interesting way to put it. One might assume from that sentence that the Sith are planning something and Anakin's departure has disrupted their plans."
"He does have a tendency to disrupt things, but that does not mean that the Sith are planning anything." Nev-Kwellen smoothly responded.
Woren shook his head and placed his cup on the table. "Nev-Kwellen, You have had access to a lot of information that the Sith can use and I also know that you can easily send that information to your Master along with the information about Anakin. So don't tell me that the Sith are not planning an attack."
Nev-Kwellen took a long sip of his bitter herb tea and then placed it back on the table. "Have you told them yet?" He said instead.
"No." Woren drank the last of his tea before he continued. "It is not the right time for them to know yet."
Nev-Kwellen shook his head. "This is ridiculous. We want to destroy the Jedi and you all are waiting for us to attack you so that it can not be said that the Jedi struck first."
"We defend, we do not attack." Woren reminded Nev-Kwellen.
"But the people claim that they are being oppressed by the Sith and yet you all wait for the Sith to strike first. Is the position you once had in the former Republic more important then the people?" Nev-Kwellen questioned.
Woren smiled. "What do you say it is?"
Pressing his lips together in a thin line, Nev-Kwellen pondered the question for several minutes. "I cannot say."
Woren nodded his head, stood up, and walked over to a window that had a pleasant view of a lush green field. "When will you leave?"
The question came out slowly and softly, as if it pained Woren to ask that question, Nev-Kwellen noted. "I will leave after I find out why Anakin has left the Temple." When Woren remained silent, Nev-Kwellen stood up and left their quarters.
Drengin finished his last math problem on the datapad, set it down on the desk, and leaned back and stretched. "They should ban homework on the weekends." Deciding to take a break, Drengin went to check on Mikel.
Finding Mikel sound asleep in his bed, Drengin pulled up the rocking chair and watched him sleep, his mind drifting back to the past.
Mikel's wailing woke Drengin up from his sleep and he immediately plugged his ears with his fingers, wishing that Mikel would be quiet. When the crying continued, Drengin angrily threw off his covers and stomped to his brother's room. "Quiet!"
The light of the moon lit up Mikel's red face as his arms and legs flailed wildly out of the confines of his blanket.
Drengin's eyes darkened with growing irritation and he reached into the crib to pick Mikel up. When he did, Mikel's crying ceased, but when Drengin went to put him back in the crib, Mikel started crying again. "What do you want?"
Carefully Drengin got Mikel over the railing and held him in his arms, carefully supporting Mikel's head and neck. He walked over to the rocking chair and slowly rocked Mikel back to sleep. "Did you just want company?" Drengin asked, knowing he would get no response.
Slowly Drengin's anger faded away, and in its place was love and caring for his little brother. "I'm here for you." Sensing Anakin watching, Drengin looked up to see Anakin in the doorway.
"Did he wake you up? I'm sorry, I got a little bit delayed on my way back." Anakin explained, walking into the room.
Drengin smiled genially for the first time in three weeks as he responded. "It wasn't any problem. My brother needed me."
Anakin smiled, his concerned look vanishing. "If you're sure."
"I'm sure." Drengin replied. He gently rubbed Mikel's small hand with his thumb and asked. "When's mom coming back?"
"The vote was tonight so she'll be back sometime late in the morning while you're in class." Anakin responded. "Do you want me to take Mikel now?"
Drengin shook his head. "I want to hold him for a few more minutes."
"Alright then. I'll be in the living area reading." Anakin replied and then left them alone.
Drengin planted a kiss on Mikel's forehead and whispered. "Perhaps being the older brother won't so bad afterall. I hope I can do a good job. All right little brother, it's time you get back into your crib."
Carefully standing up, Drengin brought Mikel back to the crib and gently placed him in the crib and tucked the blankets around him. "Sleep tight." He tiptoed out of the room and went to sit down next to Anakin.
Anakin placed his datapad down and wrapped his right arm around Drengin's shoulders. "How did your classes and training go today?"
Drengin snuggled against Anakin's side and replied. "They went well. Master Orain taught me a new kata. I'm not very good at it yet. We also did some meditation exercises."
"I'm glad that you are doing well." Anakin remarked, looking at Drengin. "I know I have been busy lately, but I'll do my best to set some time aside for you. Perhaps we can watch the lightsaber tournament together that is taking place in two days."
Drengin grinned. "That will be fun." He tried to stifle a yawn, but was unsuccessful.
"It's past your bedtime, you should get some sleep." Anakin informed Drengin who had closed his eyes.
"I want to sit with you." Drengin replied sleepily.
Anakin chuckled as Drengin began to drift off. "Tell you what. You go back to your own bed and I'll sit next to you until you fall asleep."
Drengin murmured something unintelligible and the last thing he remembered was being held in strong arms and being tucked into bed.
Mikel stirred a tiny bit in his sleep, his left arm escaping the covers and laying at the edge of the bed.
Drengin smiled and tucked Mikel's arm back into the covers. "It's weird thinking that I was scared about being an older brother. That was not the whole reason really, but it was part of it. Now I understand how my brother Jaren felt about Naron, and how Naron felt about me and why that was so."
Standing up, Drengin left Mikel's room again to continue on his homework.
Two days later, Anakin and Kenshin arrived at the planet Honoghr. Letting the Force guide his hands, Anakin navigated the ship through the planet's atmosphere.
"It's very tropical here." Kenshin noted as he saw densely packed trees in full bloom, the presence of animals and insects rippling through the Force. "And peaceful."
Anakin nodded in agreement. "It sure is." He gently landed his ship on a landing pad near the planet's capital, Nystao, and shut down the engines.
Minutes later they emerged from the ship and saw that someone was there to greet them.
/How did they know we were coming? They normally don't get outsiders./ Kenshin asked.
Anakin didn't answer and simply bowed in greeting to the Noghri, Kenshin following suite. Remembering what he had read in the archives, Anakin stretched his hand out, palm up.
The Noghri was a head shorter than Anakin, had large dark eyes, a protruding jaw and teeth that looked like the needles that the healers used. Its skin was a light brown and the Noghri wore what looked like a combat suit, complete with a dagger.
When the Noghri saw them walk down the ramp, he walked over to them and sniffed Anakin's outstretched palm.
What happened next was both startling and curious. The Noghri backed up a step and bowed deeply. "Greetings Ja'mak Skywalker, Honoghr is honored by your presence. I am Lecwertawa of the clan Eikh'mir."
/Well, it looks like we're already getting somewhere./ Kenshin remarked to Anakin as he held out his hand for Lecwertawa to smell.
Lecwertawa sniffed Kenshin's palm and then also bowed to Kenshin. "Greetings Ja'mak Kenobi, Honoghr is also honored by your presence."
Kenshin's amusement faded and he looked at Anakin questioningly. /But that's not possible. My father is the only one of his family to leave his planet and even he never visited here! In fact, no one knew the Noghri existed until you had a vision that led you to a datafile that had been hidden in the archives./
Anakin looked at Lecwertawa as he answered Kenshin. /Actually it is possible. We'll talk about this later./
"Your Casa has been kept ready for your arrival milords," Lecwertawa continued, "The Clan Dynasts will be assembled in the Grand Duhka in the morning. Please, allow me the honor of escorting you to your Casa." He finished, bowing his head again.
Anakin and Kenshin both shifted uncomfortably by this display of respect they received, especially from someone they had just met and whose people they had only recently found out about.
Sensing that their lack of answering was making Lecwertawa uncomfortable and nervous, Anakin spoke. "Thank you Lecwertawa. Please, lead the way."
Lecwertawa nodded his head and turned to head down a well kept path into the forest.
/This is getting a bit overwhelming./ Kenshin remarked to Anakin.
/Mm. I have a feeling that there are plenty more surprises in store for us./ Anakin responded.
Kenshin mentally snorted. /Yeh, like how you know it is possible that my father's ancestors had been off planet before./
/That detail had slipped my mind at the time./ Anakin told Kenshin. /There was a lot going on when I found out./
Kenshin nodded. /Of course./
Anakin mentally smiled. /Your father would be proud of how far you have come./
Before Kenshin could respond, his eyes caught sight of a massive structure that looked as if it was naturally part of the woods.
Anakin and Kenshin's eyes were wide in amazement as they stopped walking and looked. The building's structure was similar to that of the Mountain Temple except that the walls and door were made out of polished brown wood. The entrance had double doors and was shaped like a half circle on the top. Trees and brushes grew near the structure but had been neatly trimmed back, showing that this place had been well taken care of.
Lecwertawa walked over to the double doors and pushed them open.
Anakin and Kenshin continued forward, only partly hearing that someone would be by in the morning to bring them to the meeting place and the doors shutting behind them. They had stepped into a large greeting area that was circular in shape. The walls were a clear white and gleamed like they were made of some sort of crystal. The walls also contained carvings, and with a closer inspection, they recognized the carvings as the ancient language of the Jedi.
"This is a genealogy chart with a short history of each person and a birth and death date." Anakin remarked, running his right hand along the wording.
Kenshin looked up the high wall and asked. "I wonder how they managed to carve these so high up."
Anakin looked too and rubbed his chin in thought. It's possible that they carved them on the ground and then used something to raise it to the top." Looking at the rest of the walls, he nodded in confirmation and pointed at a wall across from them that was blank. "See, that wall doesn't match up with the rest."
Kenshin nodded. "That makes sense." He looked back at the carvings, knelt down and read the first inscription. "Tanekin Ja'mak, born in the year 29,000 in the Phellem Sector of the planet Kashi. Born to Den and Fai Ja'mak. In the year 28,981, Tanekin freed Guat from the hands of an evil warlord and became the first ruler over the whole land for sixty years. He married Feraa Wren and she bore him a son, Yunsean. Tanekin was taken by The Breath in the year 28,920."
"I wonder if The Breath is another name for the Force?" Anakin speculated.
Kenshin shrugged. "It could be. He stood up and chuckled. "I noticed that if you make only two alterations of the name Tanekin then it will become your name."
"Come on, let's look in the other rooms." Anakin suggested, feeling restless. As they walked across the room to a single door Anakin responded to Kenshin's last remark. "It could just be a coincidence."
"I don't know. The first two letters of my name comes from the first two letters of my father's first Master's name." Kenshin defended.
"It could also come from your last name." Anakin retorted.
Kenshin sighed as he reached out to open the door. "Point taken, but it is still a possibility."
They walked into a narrow corridor that had a skylight overhead. On the walls was painted a rolling landscape that was merged together by the brown tiled floor. It was almost as if they were in a dream.
"Someone went into a lot of trouble to create this place." Anakin commented. "I wonder how long it took to do all of this."
"Well, they must have had plenty of time or a lot of help." Kenshin answered.
They entered another room and found themselves in a simple living area. The walls had a mixture of yellow and orange colors, creating an almost golden look. There were two round windows on their right and left and between the two windows was a potted tree that held, yet unripe, fruit. In the center of the room were two light brown couches across from each other and a low wooden table between them. There was also another skylight right above the table that let in a steady stream of light onto the polished table. The left wall next to the doorway Anakin and Kenshin were still standing in had a playpen next to it and there was what could have been a toy box in the corner. On the other side of the door were two rows of wooden shelves that contained games and puzzles. The floor itself was a dark blue carpet and was extremely soft. Across from the doorway and spaced a couple of meters apart were two doorways.
"Which door do you want to try first?" Anakin asked.
"Let's do the left." Kenshin suggested.
They walked to the door on the left and opened it to find theirselves in a kitchen where kitchen droids were busy cleaning. Next to the kitchen was the dining area where there was a round wooden table with eight seats that had thick, blue cushions on them.
There was another door on the far right and they opened it to find themselves looking into a garden where there were some more droids busy working.
"Perhaps we should split up, we can cover more ground that way." Anakin suggested.
Kenshin looked at Anakin who was watching a protocol droid walk through a doorway in the garden. "This place can't be that big."
"There's one way to find out." Anakin replied and walked into the garden, leaving Kenshin by himself.
"If you insist." Kenshin responded and went back into the kitchen and headed to the living area.
"You're in my spot again!" A familiar female voice snapped at Nev-Kwellen.
Nev-Kwellen didn't look her way, continuing to stare blankly at the trees.
Seeing that she got no reaction from him, Raven crawled into the tree like cave and sat next to him. "Why do you like this spot?" She asked in a gentler voice.
A muscle in Nev-Kwellen's cheek twitched and he moved himself as far as he could from her in the tiny space.
"When I returned, I thought for sure that you would have left by now. Why are you still here? Why haven't you completed your mission yet?" Raven questioned, looking intently at him.
Nev-Kwellen flinched when Raven placed her hand on his arm. "I have my reasons."
Raven pulled her hand away, realizing how uncomfortable Nev-Kwellen was with her presence. "While I was away, I had time to think." Raven looked away from Nev-Kwellen and looked through the thin spaces between the trees that let in the artificial light. "My behavior toward you was unacceptable. I shouldn't have ever slapped you or gotten angry at you. I know it is inevitable that the Sith will find us soon, in fact, we have been waiting for their arrival for many years." She paused again, looking back at Nev-Kwellen and then lowered her gaze to her hands. "The day we were stuck in the turbolift, what you said…you were right."
Nev-Kwellen slowly looked at Raven, surprise showing on his face of her acknowledgement of something he had said three years ago.
"I did hate myself, among other things. There were times when I wanted to end it, but the thought of my father waking up kept me from doing it. When you said that he may not wake up and said that his health was declining…I was afraid. I didn't know how long I would be able to hang on without him." Raven paused for a little bit, taking a deep breath before continuing. "After my father woke up and we had a long talk, I came to realize that I had come dangerously close to the Dark Side. Being around you, helped keep me from the darkness."
Stunned, Nev-Kwellen looked away from her, unable to believe that she would have ever wanted to end her life. Her life was perfect. She had true friends, a caring father, everything. If it was anyone who wanted to end their life it would be him. His life was so terrible, even the poorest person on Coruscant would look at him in disgust. The only purpose in his life was to obey his Master and the Sith Council without question. "Why are you telling me this?" He asked, trying yet failing to keep the quiver from his voice.
"Because you deserve to know." Raven answered in a gentle voice. "I care about you Ferus, I had since I first met you even though I wouldn't admit it to myself."
A lump in Nev-Kwellen's throat caused him to swallow hard and tears came unbidden to his eyes. "You…care about me?"
Raven reached out to wipe the tears that were trailing down Nev-Kwellen's cheeks away, but he caught her hand and stopped her.
Fear clutched at Nev-Kwellen's heart as he held Raven's hand, memories of the past haunted him, deeply imbedded in his mind, the emotions in his heart, his spirit. He was burned, scarred to deeply to heal.
Shaking his head violently, Nev-Kwellen pushed his way past Raven and back out into the garden. From there he ran, as far and as fast as he could.
Raven watched him go, her heart aching to comfort him, to help him heal from whatever had happened to him in the past, but the Force warned her that it would be unwise to follow him at the risk of pushing him even further away. Leaving the cave, Raven went to find some tools to trim the inside of the cave back to its proper proportion.
Anakin walked down the windy path of the garden where flowers, vegetables and fruit grew. He reached the door the droid had gone through and, brushing aside the long vines, opened the door and entered.
Inside he found a simple child's play ground and, Anakin noted, the various things that were used to help train youngling in the Temple. The monkey bars were a good exercise, so was the balancing beam, and obstacle course. Beyond this playground was one for older children and on the right side of it was another building which Anakin entered.
As he had theorized, it was a room similar to the training rooms in the Temple. There were one small and two large closets that lined one side of the wall where, Anakin assumed, lay training supplies. He went to one of them and opened it. Inside he found training lightsabers of different sizes and types. In the next closet he found an assortment of weapons from spears to blasters. The closet beside it held towels, blindfolds, and different tools.
Frowning, Anakin closed the closet door as he wondered where the training droids were. His question was answered by a siren going off in the building and the grate of a door that he had neglected to spot open up.
Training level intensive initiated. A computer voice informed him.
"Someone must have forgotten to turn the training program off." Anakin remarked, racing for the door only to find it locked. "Oh great." Turning around he saw two training droids walk to the center of the room and aim their blaster's at him.
Anakin unhooked his lightsaber off his belt and turned it on. "Well, this shouldn't be a problem."
The droids began firing at him and Anakin deflected every shot as they came. "Much too easy." No sooner had he said that, a few more doors opened and bigger, and more heavily armed, and shielded droids emerged. The blaster fire ceased for a few seconds as the floor shifted under Anakin and the droids feet.
Sweat trickled down Anakin's neck when the room began to turn around. "Oh, this is bad." A second later the room erupted in blasterfire.