Guys, you should be proud of me. I actually added "titles" to the chapters in addition to the whole "Chapter 1, 2, 3, blah blah blah." You can actually kind of tell what is happening in each chapter should you need to go back and reread something. Improvements, am I right? Before you know it, I'll be adding a cover (maybe in this lifetime, too!) Anyway, this next chapter will be one in which we will see Rose's progress as a Padawan learner under Shaak Ti's supervision. I will have you know, the research I have done into Shaak Ti has been super extensive, and I'm really trying to hold true to her training methods and how she's already had two prior Padawans. I really want the main storyline to focus around Rose and Obi-Wan's relationship, but part of her story is her journey to becoming a Jedi Master, and yeah, some of it has to be on her own. And that means it's away from Obi-Wan. There will be quite a gap of passage of time coming up in the next couple of chapters, just so you aren't surprised. I promise they will get back together and be that mischievous team I've worked to forge in the few days Rose has been at the Temple. Obviously, Rose has only been there for a few days, but I'm really trying to emphasize the amount of connection the two have already made in such a short amount of time and how it's almost "unnatural" – hence why the Council believes they're the prophesized soul people. As always, tips and reviews are always appreciated, and may the Force be with all of you lovely people. Enjoy!
- The Awkward Author
"Well, how long will you be gone for?" Obi-Wan hounded Rose with questions as he sat by her bed in the medical wing, her shoulder fully healed. Master Che had given her the all-clear to leave just twenty minutes prior to Rose telling Obi-Wan the news of Master Ti taking her on as an apprentice and taking her to her home world of Shili.
"I don't know, Obi-Wan. Until my training is complete, I suppose," Rose said. She moved her shoulder around in its socket, relieved at her ability to relieve it of its stiffness.
"I told you that you would get a master, didn't I?" he said, his smile saying happiness, but his eyes betraying a bit of sadness. "I just… didn't know it would be this soon, and before I did."
"Don't get all sentimental on me, dork. We'll see each other again. I can feel it," Rose said, her sad eyes matching his. "Look, I don't really want to leave you – you're the closest thing I've had to a friend since I've gotten here."
"The rocks the Council gave us – do you still have your half?" Obi-Wan asked, taking out his half and putting it on the bed next to Rose. She reached over onto the side table where her belt and sabers were and reached into one of the pockets, producing the other half. While they didn't click together, Obi-Wan smiled. "We'll always have a connection, Rose – even when you're far away training in the wilderness of some foreign planet. We can keep in contact – I know we will be able to. We just need to figure out how these suckers work."
"We're smart enough to," Rose said, picking up her half of the stone and rolling it around between her fingers. "I'll see you when I get back. And we'll be better Jedi next time, too. I'll be good enough to kick your ass all the way to Tatooine. Master Ti says this is the hard part, but once I'm finished, I can come back and finish training here. It's possible we could go on assignments together when you get your master."
"I would very much like that," Obi-Wan said, beaming. "Well, I believe Master Ti is waiting for you in the hangars. I'll walk you there." Obi-Wan stood outside while Rose reassembled her outfit, pulling her light tunic over her shoulders and strapping her belt and sabers on. She went out the doors of the Halls of Healing and met with Obi-Wan, where they began their trek to the last place Rose would see of the Jedi Temple for a long while. The walk to the hangars was silent as the two made their way down the halls. Rose made sure to etch each detail into her brain – each face she passed by, every pillar that loomed over them, and, most importantly to her, the presence she felt with Obi-Wan, even as they walked in silence. Their friendship was solidified – that much she was sure of. She knew it was going to stand the tests of time and distance, and they would be able to pick up right where they left off when she returned. When they reached the doors to the hangar, Obi-Wan caught her arm and dropped something into her palm, closing her hand around it.
"For your hair," he said. Rose opened her palm, and in it was a small bead made of the bone of an animal Rose couldn't decipher. Tearing a piece of cloth off of her tunic, Rose braided the bead into a back segment of her hair, tying it off with the tan cloth, the color blending in against her light blonde hair. She took him into a hug before turning to leave for the hangar.
"Say goodbye to Bant for me. I wish I had time to talk with her, but Master Ti is waiting on me. Oh, and Obi-Wan," she said as the doors began to slide shut behind her. "May the Force be with you, dork."
"May the Force be with you, too, my friend," he finished, watching as her figure disappeared behind the hangar door. He pulled the black stone out of his pocket and twiddled it around in his fingers as Rose had in the medical halls while he walked back to his room.
"Padawan Amaha," Master Ti said as Rose approached their awaiting ship. Qui-Gon had been talking with her, smiling as he saw Rose.
"Congratulations, Padawan," he said. "Thought you would leave without saying goodbye to me?"
"How could I forget about my favorite old guy, Master?" Rose smirked. "To think I would do that."
"Indeed. May the Force be with you, Padawan," the Jedi Master bowed, and Rose bowed back in respect. She watched his figure retreat out of the hangar doors, his robes slightly swaying as he walked.
"Ready, Rose?" Master Ti asked as they boarded the ship. Rose nodded, a new sense of determination filling her. "I hope you have said all of your goodbyes. These will be hard times on Shili, but I believe you will find them beneficial."
"Thank you, Master. I have. Time for the fun stuff," Rose said as she felt the familiar feeling of the ship taking off below her. For once, Rose felt no fear as she peered down into the city of Coruscant. She wanted the image of the city to remain in her mind's eye, as she hoped to find solace in it in the coming years.
The training was harder than anything Rose had ever endured before. When they first arrived in Shili, Master Ti had taken away all comlinks and means of communication from Rose, except for the black rock, which Rose hid away from her. She also cut a small portion of Rose's hair and begun the famed Padawan braid, tying it off with green thread. Within the first week, Rose was already surviving off of the land in the deep wilderness of the planet Shili, killing only when it was necessary and using every part of the animal to her advantage. Master Ti emphasized the importance of patience when hunting, especially when you had no other weapon other than lightsabers. All hunting had to be done in close quarters, teaching Rose valuable saber skills.
With time, Master Ti began teaching Rose legitimate fighting techniques, borrowing teachings from Form Six, like Obi-Wan had told Rose she would use due to her dual-wielding technique, and from Forms Three and Four. Form three was a dangerous and invigorating acrobatic-style combat that used high-speed movements that, to an outsider, appeared wild and rushed. After the first week of training, Master Ti noticed Rose's natural heightened acrobatic skills, and decided that incorporating them into her fighting would be beneficial. Form Three, one that was more defensive, dealt primarily against the onslaught of blasters while centering the user into a state of non-aggression, a lesson Shaak Ti had deemed would be useful to Rose's spontaneous nature.
With grooming, Rose soon learned to be a patient Padawan – one that found serenity through herself and the world around her. Master Ti had recommended within the first few weeks for Rose to begin keeping a journal of their time on Shili. Rose, eager for some kind of relief from physical training, took to this new opportunity with open arms. Before she went to bed each day, she was sure to write down the lessons of the day into a makeshift journal she had made from the hide akul and the bark of nearby trees. She used the charcoal of the fire as a writing utensil and wrote for as long as there was something to write with. Each lesson was etched carefully into the journal's pages so Rose wouldn't forget them. Master Ti had made a point of emphasizing the need for being independent, but understanding the need for dependence among a group. She said it was vital for the individual to take care of itself, and that meant learning skills such as sewing, cooking, hunting, farming, healing, and combat, among many more. Among her teachings, Rose had also immersed herself into the pursuit of scholarly knowledge, reading the numerous books her master had brought along with them to the point she had them memorized. Rose was no longer the hot-headed child Qui-Gon had picked up in an alleyway, but instead a woman who had learned what it meant to be a Jedi.
At first, Rose heard nothing of what was happening at the Jedi Temple. She was in complete isolation. It wasn't until after a couple months of time in the wilderness did she hear a ringing coming from one of her pockets. It nearly drove her insane as she tried to distinguish its source, first trying to see if it was one of her lightsabers. It turned out that the black rock the Council was given seemed to speak to her in a voice that could only belong to Obi-Wan. Being sure her master wasn't around so she wouldn't take it away, Rose spoke back to the rock. It was a couple of days before she heard anything, but through it, she could hear Obi-Wan's voice, giving her updates on what was happening in his life. She learned of how Bruck Chum had confronted Obi-Wan in the Room of a Thousand Fountains in an ultimate test to see who was worthy of having a master, and it ultimately led to the discovery of his apprenticeship under the Dark Lord Xanatos. This news troubled Rose, but Obi-Wan had assured her everything was alright. She also learned that Master Qui-Gon wished to take him on as an apprentice, but after that, things went silent on his end. Rose tried every day to speak into the rock, but she never heard back from him.
In their time on Shili, the master and the apprentice formed a strong bond that was deep rooted. Rose came to admire the gentle nature of the older Jedi and how she lived by and through the Force. She also commended her master's ability to keep her emotions in check, something Rose was still learning to do.
"It is easy to give into your emotions," her master had said to her while they had been building their temporary living quarters. "A true Jedi will know how to conquer their emotions and become truly selfless."
After six years' worth of isolation from the Jedi, Master Ti agreed that it was time to return back to the Temple and finish out the remainder of Rose's training there as the Council intended. Rose was overjoyed – the time for the next portion of her training was upon them. With joy, she clambered into the spaceship with her Master, unable to contain her excitement. She was a woman now in her culture, and would soon need to go back to Varia to undergo a special ceremony, but for now all she wanted was to see her old friend, Obi-Wan, who had dropped out of communication two years prior. Rose couldn't think of a reason why he would have lost communication other than him losing his half of the stone, but Rose didn't think that was the case. She began unconsciously stroking the braid that held the bead he had given to her. Over one of his transmissions, he had explained that it was carved from the bone of a krayt dragon, one that her uncle had given him before they left Dantooine. Rose glanced out the window of the spaceship to the lush planet of Shili, saying goodbye as it soon went out of view as they made a jump into hyperspace.
"I can feel your anxiety from a planet away," Master Ti joked as she meditated in one of the chairs of the shuttle. "Excited to see someone in particular? Perhaps a young padawan?"
"I don't know what you're talkin' about," Rose said. "Besides, I don't think he'd even recognize me. I don't even recognize me." Rose looked down at her clothing. Upon arrival, the shuttle had brought a change of robes from the Jedi Temple. They were a much larger than the ones Rose wore as an Initiate, but their light brown color remained the same. On her arms, Rose had covered her tattoos with bands of cloth, following her uncle's orders of concealing her identity. Rose looked down at the two lightsabers that dangled from her hips. In the past years, they had become not only useful tools, but trusted friends Rose knew she could depend on. She understood now they were more than just a weapon – they were an extension of something larger at work. She looked at the inscription of her right-handed saber, the words she had inscribed on it so many years ago reflecting back at her with the same newness they had then. She smiled at the memory of Obi-Wan asking her what they meant, and how she had promised to tell him one day.
"One day," she whispered to herself, clutching the saber close to her chest. She closed her eyes and let her mind wander through the Force. She was looking for something – someone – within it, trying to reach out to his mind, like she had tried so many times before. As always, there was no one there for her to reach for, almost as if someone had turned out the lights on the other end. Rose sighed and looked out the window, the ship now dropping out of light speed. The planet was just as she remembered it: industrialized and smog-ridden.
As the ship landed at the Temple, Rose breathed in deep, basking in the air of Coruscant. Although it wasn't fresh, it smelled like home to her. She was greeted by the faces of Bant and Master Qui-Gon on the landing platform.
"Rose!" Bant yelled out, rushing to hug her friend. "It has been so long! When I heard you were coming back to the Temple, I had to come and greet you! Oh, how you have changed, Rose! I wouldn't recognize you if I didn't know it were you. You're absolutely stunning!" Rose felt a blush creep up her cheeks as she took in her friend as well. Bant had turned into quite the stunner herself, as far as Mon Calamarians went. Her skin had darkened to a nice chocolate brown, and her webbed features had grown considerably. She sported a Padawan's necklace around her neck, in place of the braid that had grown considerably in Rose's own hair. The braid now reached past the length of her normal hair, symbolizing her time with Master Ti. Rose turned and saw Master Qui-Gon coming up as well.
"She is right, my friend," he said, pulling Rose into a hug. "You have grown into quite the woman. Although, I wouldn't say you've grown that much." Rose threw him a glare.
"I'm fun sized, alright? Don't get me wrong, I'm really pumped to see the both of you, but where's Obi-Wan at?" Rose asked, furrowing her brows. The two Jedi in front of her looked at each other for a moment, an uncomfortable glance passing between the two.
"Rose, we need to talk."