Chapter Five

Aedan was meditating as the Dauntless touched down at the Republic base just outside the Senate District. He felt he meditated more in the past two years than he had in the previous ten years. He had to. It was the only way he could escape the torture of staying away from Kyra. Reaching out to the force was the only way he found peace, and peace he needed often. She had only grown more beautiful and more incredible.

A clone pilot kindly gave the two weary Jedi a ride back to the Temple in his Gunship.

"Thank you, Tilt," Kyra said. "We appreciate it."

The pilot nodded, "You saved a lot of lives over there. It's the least I can do."

Kyra smiled, while Aedan gave a respectful nod, and the two Jedi stepped off the gunship, and into the main temple hangar. Kyra let out a long sigh, the temple certainly was a comfort. The massive, lavish columns, while regal, were familiar, and it was the closest thing she had to a home. It went a long way in reducing the dread and despair they both had been feeling.

"I'm getting some rack time," Kyra said, heading for the general quarters sector.

"Not yet, Padawan," Aedan said, "We need to report to the council." Kyra groaned up towards the ceiling, and then let her head fall forward, chin resting against her chest. "Kyra, this will only take a few minutes, then you can rest."

"Fine," she said, "Let's get it over with."

They took the turbolift up to the Council Chambers vestibule, both hesitating in front of the main doors. "Remember...back when we first-"

She cut him off, "Of course I do." And smiled at him. "Here we go again," she said, walking through the entrance, and into the Council chambers, the morning light glaring through the windows. Master Yoda and Master Windu were of course there, but so many of the seats were empty, their usual occupants off fighting battles.

"Welcome, you two," Master Yoda said, "Done well you have in your battles."

Aedan ignored the comment, "Sarrish was a trap, and we walked right into it."

Master Windu, scowling as always, spoke next, "After reading the reports from Commander Cody, it sounds like you were integral in preserving a majority of the soldiers that survived the trap."

"We did the best we could," Aedan said.

"Mhmm," Yoda said, "And ready are you for another mission?" He already knew the answer. That coy little troll, Aedan thought. Are we so fatigued that our shields have faltered? Or maybe it's just written on our faces.

Aedan sighed, he had trouble admitting this. And a few years ago, he wouldn't have, but things had changed. Plus, he wasn't the only one struggling. "Master, my padawan and I are...compromised. Our bodies and minds have taken a toll, and I'm not sure we are currently fit for duty. So, I'm formally requesting a temporary reprieve."

"The Order is compromised," Master Windu said sharply, "The whole galaxy is compromised. You think we should put everything on hold for you and your feelings. We have to soldier on."

"Oh," Aedan said, "I thought we were keepers of the peace." Kyra gasped at her Master's audacity. "And if the order is compromised, isn't that a sign that we aren't doing the right thing, and not following the will of the Force?"

Master Windu's scowl deepened, lines on his face increasing. "We have six critical missions on the docket, and not enough jedi. You are needed," he said sweeping his hand out to the open windows, one finger pointing towards the horizon. "There is a war going on out there and the separatists must be stopped."

"I understand that, Master," Aedan said calmly, "But what good are we while operating at far below optimum levels. It would be a hazard for us to lead anyone at the moment."

Windu shook his head, "There are Jedi dying right now. Literally thousands of soldiers falling every moment, and you, what, want to take a break?"

"Easy for you to say, sitting up here on these comfortable plush cushions."

The scowl morphed into a sneer, "I was waging war before you even knew what the force was, Kahl. Don't-"

"Then you obviously know that no soldier can go on like this forever, that they need to rest and recover. Especially for those that are acutely attuned to the force. Because they can feel every soldier's death through the force and that much death weighs on a person. Unless you just want to endanger more soldiers, as they'll be under the command of compromised leaders." Aedan shook his head. "These clones aren't droids, Mace. They all have their own spark in the force."

Windu tilted his head, "Are you hiding behind you're padawan?"

"No just looking out for her, perhaps you should do the same for the order you seem to be champion of."

"No, that's not it. I think you're afraid."

Aedan tilted his head back and laughed at the ceiling, "Me afraid? Master Windu, surely you're not so daft as to believe that." He rolled his shoulders, "You know what, I'm feeling reenergized, why don't we go to the sparring rooms. I'll teach you a lesson in fear."

Master Windu began to stand, the sneer on his face seemingly escalating in ferocity by the second.

A pulse from the force reverberated through the room, silencing all.

"Enough," Yoda said, and continued before Master Windu could say anything, "Understand, we do. Granted is your temporary leave."

Aedan held Master Windu's stare for a moment, almost wanting to continue this battle, but he relented and then bowed, "Thank you, Master."

Kyra bowed lower but stayed silent as she followed Aedan out of the room. Her mouth was hanging wide open, and she kept glancing at Aedan. They walked onto the turbolift, and she now was staring at him.

He finally turned toward her, seeing her wide eyed look. He shrugged. "So that got a little out of hand."

She nodded. "You just insulted the Master of the Order."

"Was I wrong?"

Kyra swallowed, "No, but-"

"Fear of upsetting a tyrant means the good man still suffers."

"And Master Windu is a tyrant?"

Aedan sighed, "No, not exactly, but I feel he is walking a fine line with this."

"So were you, Master."

He held her gaze, and let out a breath. "I know. I really do need some rest."

Kyra mimicked his exhalation. "Me too," she said wearily.

He could see she was still struggling with all of this. No doubt psychologically scarred from the horror that was Sarrish.

"Are you okay, Kyra?" Aedan asked, obvious concern in his voice.

She nodded, not meeting his eyes, "Just need some sleep, Master."

"Me too," he said. "If you wake up in time, buzz me on the commlink and we'll meet for dinner."

Kyra checked her mini-datapad, and saw that it was still mid-morning. "I'll do that, I should be up in time."

"Kyra, if you need to talk, I'm here for you."

She nodded, absentmindedly, "I know," she said, "I better get going, I'm falling asleep on the spot." Aedan watched her walk away, his heart aching for his padawan, wishing he could take her away from all of this. At the least, he wished he could keep her company, but being alone in a small room with that woman would be agony, and the undoing to all they worked so hard for.

He sighed, then whispered, "Force, be with her." He glanced once more at his padawan walking away, her head bowed slightly, shoulders slumped, arms wrapped around her torso. He thought he had known pain before but seeing Kyra in this state was too much. He reached out with the force and saw her light had diminished. Still the brightest entity around, but less than she had been.

Now that Aedan couldn't tolerate. He had to do something.

Kyra tried to sleep in the next day but waking up early was now a part of her life. And there was no way around it. She felt completely at a loss. It was the first time in years that she didn't have a mission. Frankly, she didn't know what to do with herself, but she did know she needed to find something familiar, something comforting.

Fifteen minutes after waking up she was in the sparring room, on the floor meditating. Meditation, as of late, had become increasingly...interesting. It only took seconds for her to sink deep into the force. That was the first difference. The second, was the depth that she was sinking into was stunning. It was overwhelming. She did as Aedan had taught her, casting her fears and sorrows and concerns into the force, releasing them into the netherworld where they could no longer harm her.

But today, today was even more different. Because the farther she fell into the force, the more it opened up to her. The more territory she uncovered revealed that there was exponentially more to uncover. And she began to tap into the power of that vast abyss. She could feel it fueling her. Her skin became charged, her awareness spread from this large room to the entire temple, and beyond.

What was going on?

She probed at the force. Did as Aedan instructed, treat it like a revered friend. She shrugged and bit her lip. "Hi, old friend," she thought, "How are you?" Before she had a chance to feel ridiculous, the Force responded. It sent a warm, friendly caress, comforting her, leaving her bewildered. It filled her with light, and she felt like she was glowing. She dared not open her eyes to break this connection.

What do you want of me? She asked.

The force seemed to smile, and whispered in response. "Your time will come. Trust in yourself. And trust in the force."

Her eyes flashed open wide. The force had spoken. Could that be right? Was that even possible? She had to be losing it. She had to blink several times to realign with the physical realm, and then she felt a presence behind her.

Aedan.

"Good morning, Master," she said calmly.

Her achingly good-looking master, who had evidently cut his hair, and trimmed his beard was now walking in front of her, a stunned look on his face.

"You got a haircut, Master," she said. "It looks good, like it did when we first became a team."

"Kyra, just now you were almost...glowing. I thought I had seen it on Tython at the forge. Your eyes had turned blue."

Kyra smirked, "My eyes are blue, Master."

"No, I mean glowing, blazing blue. And your entire eye, not just the iris," he said. "I've seen glimpses of it a few times in our battles. Sarrish too."

Kyra didn't say anything.

Aedan sat down in front of her, "It's okay, Kyra. You can talk to me about it."

She let out a breath, "What is there to say? How can I explain to someone what I don't even understand myself?" she said, looking away from him. "All I know is my connection with the force is deepening, and I'm getting stronger."

Aedan seemed to weigh this for a moment and nodded. "Well, I'm here if you ever need to talk."

"I know, Master. Thank you."

"Well, are you ready?"

"Ready for what?"

Aedan stood up, and took of his cloak, tossing it to the ground. "Just because we are on a temporary leave doesn't mean we slack off. In fact, the only way this will be acceptable is if we work harder than we ever have before."

Kyra raised one eyebrow at that.

"Oh, you have a problem with working hard now?"

She shook her head, "No, of course not, I just thought we were here to rest."

"No," he said sharply. "We are here because the death has become too much for us, but that does not mean we get to rest. There are thousands of Jedi across the galaxy this very instance, fighting for their lives. We will honor that by getting stronger, increasing our skills, and enhancing our bond with the force."

Kyra smiled, "Well, now that you're saying it, I'm really liking this idea."

"I figured you would," Aedan said, "Plus, I'm sure it will go a long way with the council letting us take some time off."

Kyra stood, and let her cloak fall to the ground, revealing an off-white tunic. "Well, let's get to it."

"Remember the last two weeks on Tython?" Aedan asked.

"How could I forget?"

"We're going to double that output."

Kyra bobbed her head to the side, "Bring it on."

For the next two weeks, Aedan and Kyra went back to their old schedule-an extreme version of it. While the war had been brutal, it had toughened them, increased their endurance and conditioning, as well as sharpened their reflexes. So, now as opposed to the two hours of saber training, they put in four. On top of that, was two hours of meditation and two hours of force powers related training. But even before all of that, they still put in an hour of physical fitness first thing in the morning. By the time dinner rolled around, the two Jedi were completely exhausted.

A few times while training, they had gathered a crowd. Their exceptional prowess and unbelievable stamina put on quite the show. Even Master Yoda and Master Windu made an appearance. The former grunting his approval, and the latter merely scowled.

Benduday morning came around and Kyra groaned, her body aching more than ever. Luckily, Aedan had stuck to his old ways, declaring Benduday a rest and recovery day. She laid in bed for hours, browsing on her datapad, catching up on holodramas that she had missed, although she hadn't missed much, as that was one of the only ways to pass the time in between battles.

At 0900 she received a message on her datapad from Aedan: "Council is requesting our presence. Be there at 0930."

"Copy that, Master," she responded, and got dressed.

A half hour later she was taking the turbolift up with Aedan once again, "Any idea what this is about?" she asked.

"I'm afraid that they'll be sending us on a mission. We can't just hide forever. We do have a duty."

Kyra groaned. "I know, Master," she said, "But it's just..."

"I know," he said as they walked through the Council Chamber's doors, and stepped into the middle of the room. Only five masters were physically present. Two were blue holograms, and the rest were probably in a battle at that very moment.

"Knight Kahl and Padawan Dawnstar, welcome. Impressive your work ethic was this week," Master Yoda said, and then turned to Master Windu.

The Korun Master looked reluctant to speak, "Yes, while I don't approve of the granted leave, you put your time to good use. But we have a mission for you now."

Kyra's heart sank. She was hoping it was something else, anything other than fighting in another battle. She just didn't think she could see any more clones die.

Master Windu continued, "Clone intelligence has received a report of an odd sighting on Onderon. Apparently, a new kind of battle droid was spotted there. One with a purple tipped electrostaff."

Kyra's mouth opened, and she turned to Aedan, who's eyebrows shot up. "Magnagaurds?" he asked.

Master Windu nodded, "It fits the description."

Aedan shook his head, "It's been years since Gromas, and we haven't seen anything of Sa'kard or his droids. How many were seen?"

"Just two."

"Permission to investigate, Master?"

"Granted," the Jedi Champion said, "Sa'kard and his droids need to be neutralized. Go to Onderon. Find out what you can and get to the bottom of this."

"Yes, Master," Aedan said, bowing low along with Kyra.

"May the force be with you."

Aedan nodded and began to walk out with Kyra in tow, but stopped, "And Master," he said, catching Master Windu's eye, "Thank you."

The Korun Master gave him a curt nod.

Aedan and Kyra walked out of the room and back onto the turbolift. Kyra let out a deep breath, "Well that is such a relief."

"You're happy about this?" Aedan asked.

Kyra nodded gingerly, "Of course, Master. This war is one thing but tracking down Salas Sa'Kard is completely different. Something I can totally get on board with. There's no doubt in my mind that he needs to be stopped," she said, then held up a hand, "And no, this isn't about revenge."

Aedan smiled, "Good, glad we're on the same page. Let's go get this guy."