Nice long chapter for you. Enjoy!

Kiwiiks POV

I sat in a chair next to my former student's bed, meditating as I had been for the past two weeks. I was doing everything in my power to get through, but Zanthia's mind was closed off to me. Well, not so much closed off, but vacant. Every time I tried to communicate, I found myself in an empty space. There wasn't a wall to bypass or some other type of force blocking my way.

I had yet to try to make contact today. I was doing my warm up meditation. I found it easier to connect with another person through the Force if I focused my own mind first. I only wished it would work with Zanthia. The utter emptiness of her mind worried me.

I relaxed my mind and used the Force to try to touch Zanthia's mind. I was expecting the emptiness I had been experiencing, but this time, I was met by a familiar mind. Almost like a vision, I found myself standing in a field full of purple and blue flowers and sitting in the middle of the field was Zanthia.

I walked up to her and sat next to her. She smiled over at me.

"I've been trying to connect with you for almost three weeks now." I said, not wanting to push too hard, in fear she might retreat again.

"I'm sorry about that." She replied. "I've heard you, but I was unable to reply. It would seem that even though I'm strong enough to go under a trance such as this, I'm not quite strong enough to pull myself out. I'm slowing pulling myself to a state of consciousness, but it's taking a long time. I promise I wasn't trying to ignore you."

"Are you aware of what's going on around you?" I asked.

Zanthia frowned and looked down at the ground, picking a flower and twisting the stem around in her fingers. "Not really. I hear things, but they leave my memory almost as soon as they enter. I'm starting to remember more and more, the closer I am to consciousness, but I'm still fairly confused. To be honest, I've never tried to go this deep into a trance before, but I could think of no other way to save myself. I was hoping Master Kaedan was still the man who helped train me and I'd end up on Tython and not another Republic world."

I nodded. "It worked. Though the Republic plans to have you stand trial for what you did, they agreed to let you stay on Tython until you wake up."

Zanthia scoffed. "Gee, that makes me want to wake up."

"We need you to. There have been attacks on Hoth. Chiss have been attacking Republic outposts. Nothing too serious, yet, but the attacks appear to be escalating. After each attack, a message is left. Release her."

Zanthia said something under her breath in a language I was unfamiliar with.

"I know you wouldn't want anyone getting hurt, just to force your release."

Zanthia was upset. I knew her well enough to tell. "Has anyone been hurt yet?" She asked. I noticed she had a slight accent when she spoke. It wasn't Imperial. To be honest, I hadn't really heard anything like it before.

"No, but it seems it's leading up to it. We wish to stop the violence before anyone gets hurt, but we need your help. You're the only one who can stop the attacks. I doubt any of your people will listen to us. Not after being informed that you wouldn't be released. But there's more."

Zanthia looked up at me. I was relieved to see the news of the attacks bothered her. She was still the student I trained. She waited for me to speak, concern written on her face.

"You're pregnant and we have no idea what being in this trance will do to the baby."

Zanthia closed her eyes and concentrated. After a minute or two, a smile formed on her face. "I can feel her. She's very small. I wouldn't have even noticed her if you hadn't told me." She looked at me. "I didn't feel Thrane through the Force until I was almost halfway through the pregnancy."

"Thrane is your son?"

She nodded. "It was an odd experience, feeling him through the Force while he was still inside me. He just turned two a few weeks ago."

"Let me help you wake up. There are too many people out here who need you." I said, almost pleading.

Zanthia nodded, standing up.

"Now that you made contact, I should be able to follow you to consciousness. Just go slowly."

I nodded, then began to slowly back out of her mind, hoping she was strong enough to follow.

XXX

Satele POV

"We simply don't have the resources to accommodate your request, chancellor." I said for the third time. Saresh was a good leader, but she just wasn't listening.

There had been five more attacks on Hoth, the last one resulting in injuries. The chancellor was requesting we send Jedi to Hoth to protect our outposts. She refused to understand that we just didn't have enough Jedi to protect all of the outposts. There were too many Republic facilities on the planet and most of our Jedi were off planet, supporting the war effort against the Empire. Hoth was a fairly minor target in the war, all things considered.

"Five soldiers were injured in the last attack, Master Satele. We've already diverted as many men to the planet as we can afford. This situation…"

"...is insane." Came an accented voice from behind me. I turned to find Zanthia enter, being assisted heavily by Kiwiiks. She was pale and looked to be barely able to stand. "Is my imprisonment really worth more to you than the lives of your men?"

I noticed she now had a slight accent. It wasn't Imperial. It was like she had spent a long time speaking in a different language and it forced her basic to become mottled.

She looked to me. "I'm sorry if my unconscious state caused you any problems, Master. I was a bit stuck. I've been struggling to regain consciousness for the better part of two weeks."

"You're awake. Now we can have you transferred to Coruscant for your hearing." Saresh said, sounding satisfied. As if putting Zanthia on trial would stop the Hoth attacks.

"Do you really want to do that, madam chancellor?" Zanthia asked, still leaning heavily on her former master, but seemingly insistent on standing. "I'll ask you again, is my imprisonment more important to you than the lives of your men? The man in charge of the entire Chiss Ascendancy presence on Hoth is my mate. Normally, he's a very reasonable man and not prone to violence. He's reasonable, except for when it comes to protecting two things: myself and our son. If you continue to hold me, he will not stop the attacks. If I had done something truly awful, he would probably not act this way, but since my crime was correcting your mistake, and since you refuse to take accountability for said mistake, he will continue the attacks. Trust me, my people have a significant presence on Hoth. You haven't seen anything yet and you can not win."

"Are you threatening us?" Saresh asked.

"Not at all, chancellor. I am merely stating fact."

Zanthia looked like she might pass out at any moment, but still refused the seat Bela tried to offer her.

"Let's think rationally." I chimed in. "Zanthia didn't hurt anyone and didn't do any damage to property. Yes, she helped break into a Republic facility, but it was only an overzealous attempt to free people who were wrongfully imprisoned."

"We will not negotiate with the Empire." The chancellor stated.

Zanthia growled, saying a few words in an unknown language. "For the love of the Force. We...are...not...Imperial. When will you people begin to see that things are not so black and white? Just because my species is not a part of the Republic, doesn't mean we must be your enemy."

"Zanthia, the only way your mate will stop these attacks will be upon your release, correct?" I asked.

Zanthia nodded. "Or assurance that I will be treated fairly in your justice system. Which, based on this conversation, I highly doubt."

"And he'll continue to escalate the attacks?"

She nodded again. "From what Master Kiwiiks has told me about the situation, yes. He probably doesn't like that idea much, but he will continue." She shrugged. "He's of noble birth. Members of the noble houses can be stubborn."

There was a long moment of silence as we watched Saresh pace back and forth, obviously seething. She had been backed into a corner with only one option. As much as she didn't want to negotiate with Zanthia, she was pretty much being left with no other course. If she refused, she'd basically be asking Republic soldiers on Hoth to give up their lives for the sake of one prisoner. It would make her look bad with the senate and the armed forces. She finally sighed loudly enough for it to be heard over holo. "I see I have been left with little choice. We will release you, but know that you have made an enemy today."

Zanthia looked straight up at the Twi'lek, not breaking eye contact at all. "I think I already was your enemy, long before I was captured."

Saresh held Zanthia's eyes for several more seconds, then looked to me. "I will leave the transfer in your hands, Master."

"Agreed." I replied as the holo went dead.

I looked over to see Bela help Zanthia into a chair, the exhausted woman finally accepting the offer to sit.

"I'm sorry things have gone this far, Master Satele." She said. "I've tried to stay completely out of both Republic and Imperial business for the last five years. Figures, the first time I toe the line, it ends in a big mess."

"You did what you thought was right. It was exactly what we taught you." Kiwiiks said, placing a supportive hand on her shoulder.

"Considering the circumstances, are you willing to tell us what happened on Nar Shaddaa. I'm assuming you're decision to leave started there."

Zanthia shrugged. "I guess there's no reason to keep it a secret. Actually, my decision to leave started on Hoth. I was captured by the Ascendancy. They believed I had defected from the Empire due to my company at the time and only captured me to send me back for trial. When it was discovered that I was actually an orphan of the Ascendancy, the leader treated me as a guest and taught me what is was to be Chiss."

"We had guessed it must have been something along those lines." Kiwiiks replied.

"When I left Hoth, I fully planned to never see any of the people I met there again." Zanthia chuckled. "I was wrong. It turned out the leader of the facility where I was being held had grown...attached...to me. He tracked me down on Nar Shaddaa."

"And you fell in love with him." I said.

"No. He did ask for me to be his mate, yes, but that is not what made me leave the Order. What made me leave was a question he asked me. He asked, if given the option, now that I know what it means to be a Jedi, would I still want to be one? Would I still choose the life of a Jedi Knight?"

Zanthia paused, looking down at her hands. "I couldn't answer the question. Not honestly. So, I decided to take some time to find an answer."

"And did you?" I asked, already knowing the answer was no.

"No. I didn't find the answer, but I learned something else. I learned that I could be happy away from the Order. Over the next two months, I fell in love with the leader and the way of life he presented me. I still live as a Jedi, for the most part, but I'm also a loyal member of the Chiss Ascendancy, as well as a wife and mother."

I chuckled, which wasn't the response Zanthia was expecting, judging by the confused look she gave me.

"You're at peace. You're happy." I said.

Zanthia nodded. "Very much so."

"Then you are where you should be. I'd only give you one word of advice, don't go on anymore rescue missions. The Order may not see you as an enemy, but the Republic does."

Zanthia smiled at my joke. "After this, I'll be satisfied just staying home with the kids." She rubbed her hand over her stomach. "Besides, I'll have my hands full when this one comes around."

"If I may ask, is your son Force sensitive?" Bella asked.

Zanthia sighed and nodded. "He's only starting to show signs, but I think he's going to take after his mom. I'm really going to have my hands full, but I had good teachers. I'll pass on what I learned."

I think both Kiwiiks and I wanted to say more, but let the topic drop.

To Be Continued...