Chapter 9: Ill at Ease

Lyyr was unnerved by everything she found herself facing. The conversation with Padmé had been unsettling to her. It wasn't the difficult memories that bothered her but the desire she had felt to befriend the girl. Lyyr had no idea what Coursant would be like but if it was anything like Tatooine the fewer people she was attached to the less leverage the Jedi would have against her. She only owed Anakin her allegiance and only needed to concern himself with him.

Right now she was mentally kicking herself in the ass for leaving Tatooine. The horror she knew was better than the one she did not and here she was flying blindly into the unknown. One unknown she found herself facing was her future and it was disconcerting. The fact that she would remain underneath Gardulla's control for the remainder of her life had always seemed set in stone. The possibility that she wouldn't live past the age of twenty had seemed to be equally absolute. Lyyr had always imagined that she would die in the arenas or Shol would finally go too far when disciplining her. No matter how she eventually went Lyyr figured that she wasn't long for this world.

All of that changed the minute Anakin crossed the finish line; winning the race and allowing Lyyr to regain her freedom. Now she was faced with a galaxy full of possibilities and that frightened her. More than any challenger she had faced or any beating she endured, Lyyr was petrified of having a future. A future held promise and disappointment in equal measure. Disappointment was something Lyyr was familiar with if not entirely comfortable with; she was used to it and knew how to adapt to its bitter taste then carry on. Lyyr wouldn't know what to do with a hope that had been fulfilled. That was the situation she found herself facing; the dream of freedom now a reality.

In her confusion Lyyr clung to what she knew and that was suspicion. She shamelessly remained close to Anakin for the remainder of the voyage. Lyyr did not want to be found alone by anyone else particularly by the Jedi. She sensed that Qui-Gon wanted to speak with her alone but he didn't try very hard when it became evident that she would not separate herself from Anakin.

When the ship finally reached their destination Lyyr disembarked from it onto the landing platform and into further bewilderment. She had never seen anything like this bustling buzzing and teaming with life planet before and she felt her eyes widen in an effort to take everything in. She was assaulted by the various noises and smells emitted by the multitude of crafts that whipped about the atmosphere; she couldn't even begin to identify all of them. She stood near the ships ramp torn between an intense curiosity and an even more overwhelming fear. That seemed to be all she was capable of feeling since leaving Tatooine.

There was something vexingly familiar about the girl; the longer he thought about it the more certain he became. He would have a better chance of confirming his suspicions if he could only spend more time in the girl's company. Yet, her obvious desire to avoid him and everyone else did not go unnoticed by Qui-Gon. Moreover, as long as they were on the ship he was content to leave her be. He spent the journey in quiet meditation; ruminating over all that had occurred since their ill-fated diplomatic mission imploded. Qui-Gon would have to speak with the Chancellor but more importantly he would need to speak to the Jedi High Council. They needed to know about the boy; they would want him to start training. It never occurred to him that the Council might refuse to train the boy; once they heard the story of his conception there would be no other decision to make. Even if by some astronomical chance they denied the boy, Qui-Gon would insist on training him regardless of their decision.

Although his mind was mostly occupied with thoughts of Anakin becoming a padawan learner, he had not lost track of his primary mandate. To protect the Queen and that meant that he needed to inform the Council of the Queen's mystery attacker. Qui-Gon had his suspicions but hoped that Grand Master Yoda would disagree. He was not comfortable with those suspicions and what they implied; particularly, what they implied about the Grand Master's weakness to sense inimical stirrings within the Force. If they're ancient enemy truly had returned Yoda should have sensed stirrings of its growing power before now. Still it was hard to ignore the evidence of his own senses and his opponent's obvious powers with a lightsaber.

It pleased Qui- Gon to see Supreme Chancellor Valorum had anticipated their arrival and was waiting for them on the landing platform. He could report the failure of the negotiations and request a meeting with the High Council all at once. That made things neat and tidy; well, more so than what they had been. Qui-Gon preferred it when things could be neatly tied up; even though from long experience he knew that life and the Living Force was hardly ever neat. Before the day was out he would see the boy made an initiate in the Jedi Temple. As for the girl, Qui-Gon had thought about her despite the accusations she leveled at him on Tatooine. For one thing he thought she had been allowed to stew in her anxieties long enough. For another, Qui-Gon had decided to bring Lyyr to the attention of the Council as well. Perhaps then he would find some answers to his questions. He was beginning to suspect that the high midi-chlorian count in her blood and the reason she felt so familiar were linked.

As he was speaking to the Chancellor, Qui-Gon noticed Lyyr had frozen at the end of the ship's ramp. He saw her bewildered expression and felt sympathy for the girl. Once he finished talking to the Chancellor he directed Obi-Wan to go get her while he located a transport. He might as well bring her to the Council with him now. When Obi-Wan and the girl joined him in the transport it was accompanied by a surly silence. Qui-Gon sensed his padawan's curiosity as to why the girl was joining them but said nothing to satisfy that curiosity. Lyyr did not say anything and Qui-Gon could see that her habitual hard expression was back in place.

When they reached the Temple Qui-Gon lead the way directly to the Council Chambers. Before entering the chambers he stopped and turned to the girl.

"Lyyr, I would like for you to wait here," Qui-Gon informed her. He did not expect her to react badly to that request but should not have been taken aback when she snapped.

"Here, in the hall?" She questioned him scornfully. "Are you certain you don't want me to go find some forgotten corner to squeeze myself into? Or perhaps I could suspend myself from the wall just to guarantee I don't wander off."

"That's enough miss," Qui-Gon scolded her and she glared back at him. He should have realized that her confusion would cause her to lash out. "You will wait here until someone comes for you and you will kindly lose that attitude."

She continued to glare at him and sighed in exasperation, folding her arms she propped herself reluctantly against the wall. Qui-Gon took her actions for consent, he nodded at her and not knowing what caused him to do it he reached out and ruffled her hair. While Lyyr stared at him in slack-jawed amazement Qui-Gon turned and walked into the Council Chamber, Obi-Wan following just one step behind.

The Council listened to his news about the mystery attacker with hardly any visible reaction, just as Qui-Gon had suspected they would. The Council members were well known for their stoicism. Their conclusions about what had happened also were not a surprise to him, but he was a little taken aback that they hesitated in agreeing to see Anakin. He did not mention Lyyr until he was prompted to speak once again by Master Yoda.

"More to say have you, Master Qui-Gon?" The venerable Jedi Master asked for the second time after Qui-Gon failed, again, to leave when dismissed.

"There is someone else," he began then paused uncertain how to explain his suspicions about the girl.

"Another vergence in the Force," Mace Windu asked his voice tinged with sarcasm.

"Well yes in her own way she is." Qui-Gon answered. His answer earned him the focus of every Master in the room. He did not have the chance to say anything more before a decision was made.

"See this girl, we will." Yoda declared.

She was confused ever since she entered the Jedi Temple an overwhelming sensation of peace took a hold of her. She did not know where it came from or what to make of it. So Lyyr tried to ignore it.

She did not understand why Qui-Gon had wanted her to join him only to then leave her waiting in the hall like some useless flunky. She tried to set aside this additional confusion and stared with detachment at her surroundings. Lyyr viewed this time cooling her heels similar to the moments she spent mentally preparing herself before a fight. She doubted that there was a Tusken Raider waiting to rip her throat out in the next room; but she felt like she would be facing a similar threat if/when she entered that chamber. Lyyr worked herself into such a state that when the chamber door unexpectedly slid open it startled her. She jumped and smothered an undignified squawk that threatened to escape her. She whipped around to find the arrogant Obi-Wan smiling knowingly at her. Lyyr's eyes narrowed in irritation convinced that he was laughing at her.

"Come here child," an elderly voice from somewhere behind Obi-Wan entreated her. She looked beyond the young man to see a room full of individuals serenely sitting in a half circle.

Lyyr couldn't even begin to name the species some of those individuals belonged too. Living on Tatooine she had been exposed to what she thought was a large cross-section of alien life; apparently not. However, it wasn't the variety of species that caused her eyes to widen. It was overwhelming sensation that she had been in their presence before. Lyyr hovered on the threshold; dazed by the emotions conflicting within her. The sense of déjà vu threatened to overthrow her learned instinct to mistrust everything and everyone. It was enough to leave anyone's stomach in knots; even someone who grew up a slave in a Hutt's palace.

"Lyyr," Obi-Wan murmured her name reaching out and hesitantly touching her arm. His touch was enough to snap her out of the trance she had fallen into. Shaking his hand off her arm Lyyr rid herself of the obvious remains of her confusion. She stepped into the circular chamber faking a confidence she did not possess. She entered the room as if she was walking into the arenas; unwilling to show any hesitancy or vulnerability.

She came to stand next to Qui-Gon in the center of the room with a straight spine and her head held up proudly. Obi-Wan stood directly behind her. Although he was not standing very close to her, she could still feel his presence looming over her and it only added to her discomfort. Lyyr felt boxed in and grew more anxious even though she maintained her appearance of composure. Still she could not prevent one thought, infested with panic, from scurrying across her mind; there's no way out. Now more than ever before she understood how the bantha felt when it was trapped between a rock and a hungry krayt dragon. The desire to run was nearly uncontrollable. If she was actually in the arena's she would have known how to channel this panic into useful adrenaline. Once more Lyyr found herself at a loss as to how to act.

"This is the girl you spoke of," a man she could easily identify as human remarked. He did not sound happy about seeing her. Lyyr centered her attention on the imposing black man; attempting to stare him down was more productive than gawking at the rest of the room. He met her gaze briefly before dismissively returning his attention to Qui-Gon.

"Very well Qui-Gon we shall test her."

"Thank you Master Windu," Qui-Gon replied bowing then turning to leave. Lyyr wanted to follow him and made a move to do so only to be stopped by the same voice that had entreated her to enter the chamber.

"One moment child, we wish to speak with you." Feeling as though the ax had fallen Lyyr closed her eyes briefly before turning around to face the Jedi Masters.