Chapter 6

Nev-Kwellen walked along a cobblestone pathway, greenery was to his left and right. This garden was the only garden that was let to grow wild, yet carefully weeded. It was, perhaps, his second favorite garden. A light mist sprung from the ground, watering the plants, splashing his face with cool water.

Raven had been called away to the healers ward, leaving him alone in the tree cave. The sense of emptiness he felt when she left disturbed him, chilled him even. Nev-Kwellen rubbed the back of his neck and bent to avoid some overhanging branches that dripped lightly with water. The comlink on his belt beeped and he answered it. "Hello, Nev-Kwellen here."

"We need you in the healers wing in room 38b…It's Asha."

Raven's words were calm, but he could hear something else in her tone that was anything but calm. "I'll be there in a couple of minutes." He responded, turning to leave the garden.

He arrived at the healers wing in record time and found the room Raven had told him. He paused a few feet from the doorway, his mind catching up with him. Why am I even here? So Asha is sick again, it's nothing new. Still, he walked the last few steps to the doorway, touched the side door panel and the door slid open. Inside he found Raven sitting at Asha's bedside. Asha was hooked up to various monitors and her face was pale against her light brown hair.

Raven looked up at him after placing another cool cloth on Asha's forehead. "She collapsed on her way to class and she hasn't woken up since. I tried reaching to her through our bond but it's blocked. The Crèche Master also tried, but found that her bond with Asha was severed. I think the transformation process of her development is beginning but I can't get her to open up to me."

"So you want me to try." Nev-Kwellen said. He sat down on the edge of Asha's cot and then closed his eyes as he reached for the bond he had with her. He encountered no resistance and found himself in her mind.

It was a cloudy mist he mentally stepped into, one filled with a multitude of colors. He walked, his footsteps making no sound, the mist lifting off of the ground with every step he took. "Asha?" He walked deeper into the thickening mist until he came to a small brown structure that pierced the mist. Nev-Kwellen entered it and found Asha curled up in a far corner. "Asha, what's wrong?"

Asha hugged her knees closer to herself, her eyes wide with fear. "It's trying to get me."

Nev-Kwellen sat down next to her and she crawled into his lap. "What is trying to get you?"

Asha pointed toward the doorway where the mist was beginning to seep through the cracks.

"The mist?" Nev-Kwellen moved Asha off his lap and stood up. "There's nothing to be afraid of. It's just mist, like the mist that comes from a waterfall." He took her hand and she stood up and leaned close to him. "Come on, I'll show you."

Asha slowly, hesitantly, walked beside him, her eyes still wide as he opened the door to the mist. They stepped into it and immediately Asha backed up to go back into her shelter.

Nev-Kwellen let go of her hand and followed her back into the shelter.

"It's too scary." Asha said, once again curled up in a ball in a far corner.

The door opened behind Nev-Kwellen and he turned around. "Raven?"

Raven gave him a brief nod before hurrying over to Asha. "Asha, it's going to be okay." Raven said as she cuddled the young girl. "The mist is not going to hurt you, I promise. You need to stop fighting it."

Asha shook her head, tears running down her cheeks. "I don't like it, Ray."

Nev-Kwellen sat down next to Raven and looked at Asha. "Do you trust us?"

Asha nodded her head.

"Then you know that we will protect you." Nev-Kwellen continued.

Asha swallowed hard and nodded her head again.

Raven rubbed circles on Asha's back and kissed the top of her head. "Let us guide you through the mist. You don't need to be afraid, because we will be with you every step of the way."

"Really?"

"Really." Nev-Kwellen confirmed and gave Asha a genuine smile.

Asha stood up, and with Nev-Kwellen holding her right hand and Raven her left hand, they started for the doorway. They entered the mist and found themselves being drawn in a specific direction. The mist grew even heavier until they could not see each other, the only indication that the other was there was the reassuring touch of hands.

The mist began to swirl around them rapidly and a low hum filled the air. Renewed fear filled Asha and she clenched Raven and Nev-Kwellen's hands even tighter. What looked like lightening zipped through the mist and the air grew warm and humid.

Raven fought to fight down the rising fear and she felt faint. Her turmoiled emotions only heightened Asha's fear.

Sensing that something was not quite right, Nev-Kwellen tightened his hold on Asha's hand and moved to try to find Raven's hand. After some searching, his free hand found Raven's free hand and he squeezed her hand in reassurance. Raven moved closer to him and rested her head on Nev-Kwellen's shoulder.

"Raven, we need to keep moving." He whispered to her.

"Can't." She said in a voice so low that he barely caught it.

His lips forming a thin white line, he lowered himself to the ground. "Asha, climb onto my back!"

Asha quickly did so and wrapped her arms around his neck and legs around his waist.

Once she was secure, Nev-Kwellen stood back up and swept Raven into his arms to carry her. He carried them through the mist until they came to a spot where the mist had settled down to the ground and looked almost like an ocean and came up to his ankles.

Nev-Kwellen carefully lowered himself to the ground and then Asha got off of his back and looked at the sight before them in wonder, her fear disappearing as a sense of calm filled her.

Raven felt renewed strength fill her and she got off Nev-Kwellen's lap and sat beside him.

Asha walked away from them, heading further into the rippling sea of mist. Her eyes sparkled and a smile broke out on her face. "I'm not afraid anymore!" She ran back to Raven and Nev-Kwellen and gave them both hugs. "I love you, Ray. I love you, Evy." She ran back in the direction she had gone and then she simply vanished.

Nev-Kwellen opened his eyes to find himself back in the medroom and noticed with surprise that he was holding both Raven's and Asha's hands. He looked up to see Raven looking at him and his cheeks grew warm a few silent seconds past before he let go of their hands. He looked toward Asha and noticed a glow beginning to surround her and encase her like a bubble. "What's happening?"

Raven moved to turn the monitors of and hurriedly removed the monitoring devices and the iv. "Her species goes through a transformation process that lasts for two years starting in their eight year. We still don't fully understand the process, but we have theorized that the bonds act almost like umbilical cords at this point. The Force has a part in this process and gives a small amount of Force sensitivity after the transformation is complete. Asha is the rare exception since she can already touch the Force."

"What happened to them?" He asked as she sat back down on the edge of the cot next to Nev-Kwllen.

Raven looked at Asha sadly and then back at Nev-Kwellen. "Eight years ago, minus a few days, I went on a scouting mission to an unexplored solar system in Wild Space with Master Gallia and a couple other Jedi. We discovered a planet that was going through extreme tremors leading to the point where it was going to break up. We were able to evacuate twenty-four children, one of them was in the early stages of the transformation process.

We sent a call to one of our allies, the Palonian's, who happened to be several solar systems away and the nearest ally, to bring ships to evacuate Asha's people. Meanwhile, we brought the children to the Palonian's planet. We were there for a week when we heard a report from one of the relief transports that arrived at Asha's homeworld first that the surface of the planet was extremely volatile, making rescue efforts next to impossible. A day later the planet and all its inhabitants was gone.

After we restocked supplies we took the children with us back to the Temple. Asha was only a month old at that point. There was one teenager, Sagu, among the group that happened to be the sibling of the one in the transformation process and who had a bond with his sibling that kept his sibling alive after the death of their parents. He tried to explain to us how the transformation process worked, but he was at a loss to explain how the bonds were involved in the process.

Several of the children were close to beginning the transformation process and Sagu attempted to bond with as many of them as he could and encouraged the children to try to bond with the adults on the ship. He bonded with seven of the children and successfully guided three of them through the process. The last four he guided died due to him being mentally drained. Two of the children who died had each bonded with a Jedi, but for some reason they were unable to complete the process.

Sagu grew depressed despite efforts of the soul healer that was aboard during that time. We made it back to the Temple and I spent some time with Asha who had established a bond with me. I became friends with Sagu and we actually made the tree cave together by encouraging the trees to bend in certain ways. Sagu was a good farmer, I learned a lot from him about plants. He slowly got better but then things started going downhill."

Raven's eyes brimmed with tears and she hurriedly wiped them away. "A year later ten of the children began the transformation process. Five of them were unable to bond with anyone and died. Two had bonded with four Jedi but did not survive and one of the Jedi actually died in the attempt to guide one of the children into the transformation process. Three of the children had bonded with the same Jedi and only one child made it into the transformation process. A month later that Jedi was killed during a mission and as a result the child he had helped died.

Four of the younger children got a viral infection and died before the healers could come up with the correct medicine and dosage due to the fact that the children were allergic to certain compounds in medications. Sagu did his best to help the healers and offered blood, and other samples to them as they worked to understand how their bodies worked and reacted to various things and so on.

The time soon came for Sagu to help his sibling end the transformation process and it went without a hitch except the shock of new surroundings and people and the absence of the bonds she had with her parents was to much for her and she died. Sagu, he mourned a long time, felt that he should have done something to prevent what had happened, that he should have prepared his sister first before she woke up. He blamed himself."

Tears ran down Raven's cheek as she continued the story. "Sagu, he…he wasn't the same after that. He rarely smiled and even more rarely did he laugh. Then, only a month before the three other children would emerge from their transformation, they died. The healers could find no explanation. All the death, it was slowly destroying Sagu, the fact that Asha was still alive barely comforted him.

I spent more time with him, tried comforting him, encouraged him to see a soul healer, in the end nothing worked. One day he just up and left…he left. Search parties went out to find him but no one ever saw him again."

Nev-Kwellen moved over closer to Raven and he wrapped an arm around her and gave a gentle squeeze. Raven rested her head against his shoulder as tears continued to flow.

Several minutes later, Raven wiped her face with her hand and gained some semblance of control back. "I need to go inform the healers of Asha's status."

Nev-Kwellen watched her leave and then looked back at Asha and saw that the glow had faded, leaving behind a brown shell that encased Asha's body. Nev-Kwellen gingerly touched it with his fingers and felt the rough, yet silky smooth, strands. "You will make it through this, Asha. I promise." Nev-Kwellen said.

He quickly left the healers wing before Raven returned, needing time to think and reflect on the changes that were occurring within him.

~*~*~

Siri slowly woke up and heard the familiar sounds of a cargo ship. Blinking her eyes, she saw stars streaming past through the viewport. Her eyes narrowed and she looked down to see herself fully strapped into the copilot's seat. Unstrapping herself, she checked the to see what the destination was plugged into the nav computer and discovered that it took her far away from the asteroid belt, away from the Jedi.

Pressing her hands against the warm console, she closed her eyes against the tears that threatened to flow. The events from the time she was on Redav's ship came flooding back through her with a vengeance. The pain of the encounter, the frustration and anger, ripped through her and she slammed her hands against the console. "Hard headed stupid son of a ---" Her last words were drowned out by an annoyed roar behind her.

She swiftly turned around and saw a Wookiee glaring down at her. "I can say what I want!" She replied.

The Wookiee made a motion to the back of the ship and she saw a young boy sleeping on a makeshift bed on the floor.

Her face softened a bit as she said in a much softer voice. "Oh." A number of suitable curse words ran through her mind and she gave an annoyed huff. "Why are you both on my ship?"

The Wookiee, who introduced himself as Chewbacca, calmly explained their presence on the ship and by the time he was done, Siri had calmed down a little bit more.

"I understand now and of course I will do my best to help Han and you." She took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "I'm sorry for my behavior, it's been a irritating day for me."

Chewbacca stepped closer and placed his furry hand on her shoulder, barking a short reply.

Siri attempted a smile but it faltered and tears ran down her cheeks.

Chewbacca wrapped her tightly in his arms and she relaxed against him, letting the tears fall.

~*~*~

Han yawned and stretched before sitting up and rubbing his eyes. "Chewie."

Chewbacca left the cockpit at the sound of his young charge's voice and as soon as he reached Han he picked him up.

Han wrapped his arms around Chewbacca's neck and laid his head on Chewbacca's furry shoulder. "I'm hungry."

Chewbacca carried him into the cockpit and sat him down in a seat behind the pilot's seat.

"You're going to have to settle for some nutri bars." A woman spoke from the pilot's seat. She turned the seat around and smiled at him. "I'm Siri Tachi. Chewbacca told me of your situation and I will do what I can to help you both out."

Han nodded his head and took the nutri bar that Chewbacca had gotten for him. He bit into it and wrinkled his face at the stale, dry taste. "This tastes nasty." Han said with his mouth full.

Siri turned back to the console as the hyperdrive panel began to flash red. "Hold on, we're coming out of hyperspace." She gently pulled down on a lever and the ship slowed and the secondary engines cut on. No sooner had they emerged from hyperspace, they encountered strong turbulence.

Han dropped his nutri bar and strained in his seat to get a better look out of the viewscreen. "What's going on?" A strong jolt knocked him back against the seat.

Chewie growled as a piece of piping burst overhead and white smoke poured out.

"I know, I know!" Siri snapped as she rolled the ship as another wave of energy hit. "We must have dropped in on a pirate raid or something.

The ship flipped rear to front to rear as a large chunk of debris slammed into it. "Shields are down!" Siri said and Chewbacca got out of his seat, grabbed an emergency tool case from under the seat and began working on a panel in the wall. The ship jerked sharply, throwing Chewbacca to the floor and then the lights flickered and died as the ship lost power.

~*~*~

A black cloaked figure entered a darkened room, lit only by a candle on a short round table. Sitting on a cushion in front of the table sat a person wearing a Sea-green dress, a white cape and a large white hood that hid her face. "The mission was successful, milady. We procured the cargo and eliminated the transport, along with its fighter escort."

"Good. Have Teranat's crew and the fighter pilots put in some down time, they deserve it."

"It will be done, milady."

The woman rose from her cushion and walked around the table until she was standing in front of the black cloaked person. "You should get some rest too, Nemiraa. Let someone else take charge of the raids for awhile."

Nemiraa bit back her immediate response, knowing full well that the suggestion would quickly turn into an order. "Milady, there is a situation that requires your attention. There was an incident involving a small cargo ship that happened as we were cleaning up evidence of the battle. It came out of hyperspace right in the path of the exploding transport and sustained heavy damage. We were able to rescue those inside, a male Wookiee, a young human male, and a Force sensitive human female. They sustained minor injuries, and are recovering in the medcenter on the ship. We have kept them unconscious as required."

"Have them brought to the enclave and have a room prepared for them. Watch over them until I arrive." The woman replied, her voice betraying nothing.

"Yes, milady." Nemiraa bowed. Seeing the dismissive wave of the other woman's hand, Nemiraa left the room.

~*~*~

Kenshin took the whistling teapot off of the stove and poured the water into a teacup that already had a teabag inside it. He sat down at the table with his tea, let it steep for a few minutes and then pulled the teabag out. There was a simplicity in making tea, a simplicity that aided him in relaxing and settling his mind. He sensed Anakin approaching the kitchen and took a short sip of his tea.

Anakin entered the kitchen without a word and went about the process of making his own tea. Soon he was sitting down across from Kenshin with his own tea in front of him.

Minutes silently dragged by and then Anakin spoke. "I wish I could have known him." He took a sip of his tea and continued. "There's so many things I wish I could ask him."

Kenshin took a sip of his tea and then lifted a long thin container from the floor to the table. "I found the lightsaber he mentioned. It's similar in design, but the handle grip is different from yours."

Anakin reached across the table and pulled the container toward himself and then opened it. He carefully lifted the lightsaber out of its container and studied it. The handle was silver and smooth to the touch. Imbedded into the hilt were round crystals, green blue, yellow, orange, red, and a pearl white one in its center. It also had the ancient writing written in black on the length of the handle. The grip was indeed different despite the similarities. He placed it gently back in the purple blanketed container and stood up. "I'm going to go for a walk in the garden."

Kenshin nodded his head and cupped the cooling tea in his hands. There were so many hidden things that needed to be uncovered, truths they needed to know, but was it worth it? Could they handle everything they uncovered? Kenshin's mind drifted back to the room that held the Sith holocrons. What purpose did having Sith holocrons serve? He drank the rest of his tea down and pressed his lips together. Do I really want to know the answer to that question?

~*~*~

Anakin traveled deep into the garden until he came to a mossy rock wall. Sitting down under a tree he didn't recognize, he closed his eyes and turned his mind inward. He sought out the memory block his father had told him about and found it amidst false memories. Using the Force, he carefully removed the block and instantly his true early childhood memories replaced the false memories. Memories that are not normally remembered by a normal being, but a Force sensitive had the ability to look back at those memories if they wished to. One memory caught his attention and he focused in on it.

He could see himself playing on the floor of the lounge of a ship, about three years of age. Sitting on the lounge's couch was his mother, contently watching his younger self play with a ball. A door opened and he saw his father enter the room, a grim look on his face.

Shmi looked up at her husband and her smile turned into a frown. "What's wrong?"

Kedrick sat down heavily on the couch and rubbed his face with his hands. "Tala is an hour late in reporting in."

"I'm sure she's fine. Something must have come up." She answered.

"No, she knows that she must make contact on schedule. If we're attacked we will have to leave her behind. She knows this!"

"Lower your voice Kedrick, you'll upset Anakin."

Kedrick looked down at Anakin who was staring back at him with wide eyes, the ball laying forgotten on the floor. Kedrick's lips lifted into a smile and he scooped Anakin off of the floor and into his lap. "Hey, maybe your mother is right. Maybe your Auntie found herself a guy." He ruffled Anakin's hair and Anakin giggled, reaching up to grab at his father's hand.

"Dada." Anakin pointed down at the ball. "Make ball fly!"

Kedrick chuckled and lifted the ball with the Force and made it fly through the air.

Shmi rolled her eyes, but her smile revealed that she was amused. "You know, I think Anakin is the one who is supposed to be practicing."

Kedrick shrugged his shoulders and dangled the ball with the Force over Anakin's head. Anakin grabbed for it but missed by a centimeter. "He can wait another two years. Right now its time for fun."

Shmi snorted. "Right. I've seen you practice, you always have fun. I am sure Anakin will feel the same way when he's older."

Kedrick dropped the ball into Anakin's lap and gave Shmi a quick peck on the lips. "Ah, because I know you're watching me and that you enjoy seeing me all sweaty."

Shmi blushed and playfully swatted at his arm. "Nerf."

Anakin threw the ball at the ground and watched it roll away from the couch. "Bye, bye ball." He turned around and stood up on Kendrick's lap, grabbed the top of the couch and pulled himself up, using Kedrick's shoulder for a little support. He looked out the viewport and slapped his hand against it, leaving handprint marks. "Ools, look dada, ools." Anakin slapped his hand on the viewport again.

Shmi grabbed Anakin from the viewport and Kedrick looked outside to see familiar shadows lurking near the ship. His face paled and he grabbed his lightsaber off of his belt and ran for the door. "Hide in Tala's cabin and lock the door!"

Anakin started to cry as he felt the strong emotions coming from his father and the worry and fear that rolled off of his mother. They rushed to Tala's cabin and Shmi locked the door behind them. Shmi sat down on the bed and hugged Anakin close to her chest. "Shh, it will be alright, Anakin. Please don't cry." She rocked back and forth, pressing her cheek against the top of Anakin's head. Tears dripped from her eyes and she swallowed hard, trying hard to be brave for their son.

There was a lurch as the ship took off from the spaceport and the ship thrummed as it entered hyperspace. Shmi sat Anakin onto the bed and cautiously went to the door. She unsheathed her silver thin knife that she kept in a secret pocket of her skirt, listened for a moment, and then unlocked it. She looked up and down the narrow hallway and heard a clatter sound from the other end of the ship.

Anakin watched his mother with wide eyes, his crying having become broken sobs. A shadow passed over him and Shmi looked back over to him and screamed. "Anakin!"

Anakin saw a clawed hand swipe down at him from the ceiling and he quickly rolled out of the way and off the bed. "Mama!" He scrambled underneath the bed, trembling in fear. He could hear sounds of a struggle, but dared not peek. "Dada!" He sensed his father's reassuring touch on his mind, but he could sense his father's panic.

There was a loud thump and crash in the room and a clawed hand reached underneath the bed. Anakin screamed and scrambled out from under the bed and saw his mother lying on the floor motionless, a gash in her forehead. He ran toward her and pushed at her shoulder. "Mama, wake up. Mama!"

A bizarre sound rang through the room as the Wouhl approached.

Anakin turned around, pressing his back against his mother's side. "Dada!" His cried out as loud as his little lungs could. He spotted the knife on the ground a few inches away and lunged for it.

The Wouhl swiped at Anakin with its long curved claws but missed as Anakin landed on his stomach. Anakin grabbed the knife and threw it at the Wouhl and managed to actually strike its leg. The Wouhl made its earlier sound again and removed the offending object from its leg, dropping it on the ground. Again it moved forward at Anakin.

It was then that Kedrick appeared, brandishing his blue lightsaber.

The Wouhl made the bizarre sound again when it saw Kedrick and lunged at Anakin, pinning Anakin down on the floor, its right hand around Anakin's throat.

"Noo!" Kedrick yelled and sliced off the Wouhl's head. Kedrick pried the dead body away from Anakin and Anakin coughed as his starved lungs received some air. Kedrick hugged his son close to him and made his way over to Shmi. He checked her pulse using his free hand, and breathed a sigh of relief to see that she had only been knocked in the head.

Tears spilled from his eyes and he rocked back and forth with Anakin in his arms. "I almost lost both of you." He whispered. "I can't let this happen again, I can't."

Shmi stirred and then groaned, reaching up to feel her head.

"Leave it alone, it's a bad gash but nothing a bacta patch can't handle."

Shmi carefully turned her head to look at Kedrick. "Is Anakin alright?"

Kedrick nodded. "Yes, he'll be fine. Sorry it too me so long to get to you. I was jumped by five of those beasts when I left the cockpit."

"Are you all right?" Shmi studied what she could see of him.

Kedrick managed a faint smile. "A couple of bruises, nothing to serious."

Shmi rolled her eyes. "Lying doesn't get you very far, especially when I can see blood seeping through the cloth of your sleeve."

"At least we're alive to talk about it." Kedrick said, trying to lighten things up. He used the Force to open the closet that was in the room and Force pulled down an emergency medkit. He bandaged Shmi's head and once he was sure that there was no other injury besides bruises, he let her treat the gash on his arm and examine him for any other injuries.

Anakin sat on his dad's lap during the whole process, only moving when his mother went to examine his dad.

Later that night, his mother and father allowed him to sleep in-between them in their bed. His mom gently stroked Anakin's head and his father stroked his mother's head.

"Do you think Tala was able to escape?"

"I believe so, she is resourceful." Kedrick pressed a kiss into Shmi's hair. "I was so scared. For a moment I thought I would lose both of you."

"But you didn't, we're still here."

Kedrick swallowed hard and wrapped his arm tighter around Shmi. "I thought, I thought I would lose you like I lost my mother. She died protecting Tala."

Shmi ran her fingers across Kedrick's cheek and wiped away the tears. "I know, I remember you telling me what happened."

"Dada, where Tala? She say she read to me at beddy time."

"She had to go run some errands." Kedrick responded."

"But it night." Anakin rubbed his eyes and yawned. "Beddy time."

Kedrick placed his fingers on Anakin's forehead and sent a sleep suggestion. "Sleep, little one, sleep."

Anakin opened his eyes and wiped at his face and his hand came away wet. Fresh tears came to his eyes and he just sat there and wept.