"WHERE IS HE?" Galen shouted as he pushed himself to his feet and reached for a weapon that wasn't to be found: His lightsaber.
"Sir please calm down." A medic said softly.
"NO! Caleb Marek is my son, I will not rest until he is safe at home."
"Sit back down boy!" Kota said in a weird sober-yet-drunk voice.
"No, this is no business of the Jedi, I'm here on a family matter and you will not interfere."
"Boy, you have the Jedi's concern, sit and let your calmer head prevail."
"I'm warning you Kota, stay out of my family affairs."
"General please go, your presence is not helping matters." The surgeon said as he entered, he wore brilliant-white scrubs with red splattering on them, Galen automatically went into over drive and stood a step from the surgeon.
"Caleb Marek, have you patched him up? Can he go home?"
"Mr. Marek, I am Doctor Lantium, your nephew-"
"Caleb is my son not my nephew!"
"Well, come into the office I need to speak with you and Caleb's mother."
"Spit it out Lantium!"
"Caleb is alive but in all honesty, it is just a droid keeping him that way."
"Where is he." Galen said coldly.
"He is in the medical bunks, section J7712."
Cye smiled at Cali as he cleared the dishes but he couldn't help thinking that she was hiding something from him, he decided he would bring her guard down with talk of his success with the Galaxy then try and punch a hole in the barrier that stopped him reading her mind.
"Cali?"
"Yes?"
"Would you contact Kallium? I would love to see him but I have not got the time to go to the temple, Arda-2 has requested a meeting for aid."
"Of course I will honey but he may not be able to get here before you goto Arda, his training is very strict."
"I understand." Cye replied with a exaggerated sigh and sniff.
"Don't worry Cy, you'll see him soon."
"I- Hope so."
The fake concern painted on Cyes face could have made anyone melt with sympathy and Cali did, she even thought of aborting her mission but she couldn't betray the Jedi they had been there for her and she would repay the favour even if it meant that she would lose her soul she would but things hadn't got that bad, yet.
J7712/021 was a pure white surgical room, everyone had expected it to be when they arrived and they were not disappointed, many men had died there, every man had been in there or in one of it's sister rooms, the casualties of the war were high and everyone was feeling the heartache of an injured friend, comrade or family members, in zero-two-one patients were put with people they knew, usually of the same rank as the medic's thought it would help recovery, Galen hoped it would, he was not far from his breaking point and he needed Caleb to be ok. Juno hadn't given birth to Caleb, Galen and Juno didn't 'make' Caleb but that aside Caleb was after all their son and Galen could not lose him, it'd be the same as losing Kento or Juno: Unbearable.
Galen limped toward the brown mess of hair in the far right corner his white pants and shirt looked at home here as if he pressed himself against a wall and pulled his head and limbs in he would appear as if part of the wall. Galen stopped dead when he saw Caleb, tears swelled in his eyes as he saw what seemed to be millions of tubes coming from Caleb and how badly burnt and injured the boy truly was.
"His a fighter Admiral, he took on five of those new troopers, the orange stripped ones, they beat him bad before putting holes in him but even then he crawled away and aided the row yes, I said row of people beside him. Half of 'em wouldn't be here without your boy, I hope that comforts you Sir." A youngish medic announced.
"Can I sit with him for a while."
"Of course Sir, I'd expect nothing less."
Another expectation that Galen had to live up to, not only did he have to be the model soldier, the perfect temporary Governor but he had to be a better than perfect Father and all this was expected of him by strangers, a medic, a lieutenant, Target, Kota, everyone expected him to be perfect but he knew they were asking the impossible of him, he could not be perfect. Not with all his hatred and rage that he kept in his heart under a strict lock and key. Every time pressure or impossible expectations were pushed on him the lock cracked, distorted or began to bubble away, he couldn't give into his hate if he wanted to keep what he loved and he couldn't love without his hate reminding him of what loss truly is, of what he could be and what he will never be able to be.
"Your telling me that you let her go? The man is a psychopath! He is a dictator! He could hurt her! Kill her and you would of allow it! You tell me that the Jedi Order is about compassion, peace and justice yet you allow a good woman, a loyal and moral woman to go into a situation where she could get hurt? You've all broken the code you swear to live by! The code you taught me! I thought we were a force of good, a force that could heal the wounds of this divided Galaxy but I was wrong." Kallium shouted at the Jedi as they were in session.
"Young one, take a seat." Shaak Ti spoke loudly unease laced her voice.
"No! I will not take a seat! I will not! You have broken the trust I had for you all!"
"Miss her, you do? Hmm?"
"Of course I miss her she is my Mom!"
"Master Yoda with all due respect I would like to speak with Kallium, may Kallium and I be excused from session?"
"If think best you do."
"Thank you Master." Shaak Ti said as she rose from her seat bowed and gave a concerned smile to Maris.
Shaak Ti ushered Kallium out of the chamber and directed him toward the meditation spire.
"I do not need to meditate! I need to go and liberate my Mom from this... this betrayal!"
"We are not going to Meditate, we are going to talk in the Meditation Chambers."
"Why not here?!"
"Because young one, I wish to speak in private and Leia and her children are about and we are not far enough from the meeting."
"What did you expect Master? What did any of you expect? Noone even bothered to tell me, I- I'm attached to her, I love her as she is my mother. I need her as she can guide me where you cannot and you just fling her into danger, my Father is a dangerous man Master, you do not know what he has done, you do not know what he can do. You do not have his memory and you do not know just how intelligent he truly is and you put my mother around him without a thought!"
Shaak Ti stopped, her face betrayed her feelings as a slight compassionate anger surfaced.
They reached the tower after a silence that was occasionally broken by Kalliums ranting.
"Here we are Young One, sit."
"You haven't answered me! Noone has! Why take her from me? I need her!"
"Kallium, you are not like others of your age, we have trained you for a very short time and you have been alive only a short amount of time before we began, life is more complex than you think and the Galaxy will not accept us as we are Jedi, we do need Obi-Wan but we did not come up with any of this, it was your Mothers idea and she pushed it yes some of the handful of Jedi we have agreed but Yoda has the ruling vote, it is complicated do not throw your training away over a matter that you do not understand yet, you cannot be so... boisterous and cocky to the other Jedi when things do not go your way. Now I have something I wish to discuss with you."
"I do understand she isn't safe Master but I will allow your guidance to allow me to understand further if you will forgive my behaviour and still take an interest in my training." Kallium backed down then bowed to Shaak Ti.
"Kallium, you need to know that you are powerful more than you know and that your power does intimidate some of the others. Another like you Anakin Skywalker had so much promise, so much power and he betrayed us. We are Jedi Kallium and you will be a Jedi but you must allow yourself a margin for naivety and mistakes. The Jedi are evolving, changing to be closer to the force to follow it's will more accurately and I believe you could be a great Jedi if you are given time."
"Does this mean the Jedi will withhold things from me Master?"
"I don't understand your meaning?"
"The Order withheld things from Skywalker because of the fear they had of the Sith and the Darkness within him, am I the same?"
"Young One, you and he couldn't be more different, you are no risk because of your morality, Skywalker lost his because he was primed by a Sith for well over a decade, you will not be forced or manipulated by the sith or us. We learnt from Skywalker, this temple stands with his and the Jedi he killed's ghost within it, the sith he became parted with him when he died, he returned to light but his darkness did not fade, it lingers in the darkness of this temple's shadows, in the hearts of those who loved him like a sibling and cared for him like a parent. Darkness will not consume you unless you wish it to but on a more.. bright note Young One, I have spoken at length with the other Jedi, Master Yoda and I have spoken and he has granted me a special permission a gift of sorts."
"I do not understand Master?"
"He is allowing me to take you as my apprentice officially in two days time. He believes as I do that you need to become an apprentice as you are advancing so fast that you need structure and not to be taught by any Jedi who is available, so Young Kallium Sericius will you accept my offer of an apprenticeship and do me the honour of being your Master and teacher?"
