Chapter 34

The Restored Triumph

A yawn escaped between Caloc's lips as he carefully studied the text in front of him. Apparently, a great duel was indeed the key to getting a good night's sleep. After fighting both Telle and Talos, he was beat. Illuminated only by the light of a glowrod, he sat at the shelf he had turned into a makeshift desk, reading the high-security datapad carefully in the light.

As I ventured into the Mid Rim, I came across a planet called Minthos. It was on this world that I found an ancient site, possibly a relic from the Old Republic. Mediating there, I came to realise a deeper connection with the Force. There were breakthroughs that I made during this meditation, which I have recorded here. Some are basic thought and require study, but others may be a surprise to the Council and the Jedi Consulars.

The Force is the energy that moves through everything and binds the galaxy together. Although all are touched by it, only few can feel it. Even fewer can utilise it. It can be manipulated by few, and those individuals must both learn and adapt with it. It is the duty of the Jedi to stop those who seek to manipulate the Force for their own gain. To do this, we must understand more of the universe. Do not follow the orders of someone, for people have agenda's that may be dark. Be strong and follow the Force, for it will show you it's will.

I am feeling the Force pulling me to venture deeper into the Outer Rim. I need to discover what the Force has in store for me there.

Master Helen Tano – Jedi, explorer, and Wayfinder.

"Interesting.", he murmured to no one in particular, "Yet maddeningly unhelpful."

He flicked through the digital pages, eyes carefully reading the passages. Over three hundred different Jedi had put entries into the text over the years, each writing in a either Menachi runes or Rylothi text. He had to translate each passage carefully and try to guess the tone the writer was scribing in. It was hard work, but they seemed to illustrate everything from the basics of entering a mediation state and breathing exercises to the navigation of a mediation plain, a sort of existence outside of reality.

He flicked through to a passage he had begun translating earlier, before he had been called to the bridge for a menial task. It was probably time to finish the translation. It seemed to be a segment from the Umbaran Sages, a group of Force Users who had split from the Order hundreds of years ago and made their own Temple on the Shadow World. They had died out, or perhaps succumbed to a plague. Even their Temple had degraded, becoming a 'haunted site' to the locals. Writing about the Sages were very rare.

The text before him was the Menachi runes. He rubbed his eyes and tried to remember the writings from his homeworld he had deciphered in the Temple.

One of our order's members has recently had a revelation. Before now, he was unable to fully embrace the Force. It was one of the reasons that he joined us, and moved away from the Jedi Order's regulations and boundaries. But now, he has discovered that he has a blockage in his past.

That is interesting, Caloc thought, and continued reading.

An incident when he was younger is traumatising him. It has created a mental block, stopping him from being able to properly meditate. However, because it occurred in his youth, he had no memory of what this trauma is. We need to form a cleansing circle, an ancient ritual used to clear the mind. I am afraid of the pain it might bring him. For this, we will need to travel to the Hidden Valley, on the Unspoken World…

"Hello?"

He looked up at his door. They were still meant to be in hyperspace for another hour or so, so he hadn't been expecting any visitors. He had thought to use the lengthy amount of time for research and meditation. Only now, there was the inexplicable appearance of a Senator's handmaiden standing in the doorway of his cabin.

"Hello to you.", he tried his best to give a friendly smile, but with the unexpected arrival and the exhaustion from his practice duel, he was a bit put off by her sudden appearance. She looked around his small quarters with a look of wonder before she fixed her eyes on him again. He nodded, unsure of what could be a friendly gesture. "What can I do for you?"

"Hi.", the girl seemed nervous, playing with the zipper of a very stylish maroon jacket. "Um… I wanted to ask you about…"

She stopped, seeming nervous, and Caloc placed the book down, saving the page with a flip of his finger. He interlocked his fingers and set his elbows on his knees, placing his chin on the new platform he made. He repeated the last word slowly, trying to jog her into talking again, "About?"

"I don't know.", the girl went to turn around, "I just wanted to say thank you."

"Wait.", he didn't know why he said that, but the girl turned back to look at him, so he continued talking with the first words that came into his head. "I have no idea why you are thanking me. Why don't you come in and explain? I want to know what would convince you to knock on my door."

The girl cautiously took a small step into the padawan's quarters, looking the entire time as though she was crossing a metaphysical line. She looked around, taking in the few possessions on his stand. Just a satchel, the boy's leather-bound weapon hilt, and a strangely shaped cube sat on the niche of belongings embedded in the wall. He stood and placed the datapad he had been reading on the niche beside these objects, then walked over the bed and plopped down on the hard mattress. His eyes, a pale blue, stared at her, and she cleared her throat, trying to remove the lump of nerves that had taken residency in her oesophagus, "I… just wanted to talk to someone my own age."

He nodded, frowning as he patted the bed for her to sit with him, "I can understand that. I know what it can be like to be… lonely."

Memories of his recent isolation flashed through his mind. Weeks of seeing only medical personnel and food droids while the Jedi tried to understand the nature of his limb's properties. Months of no contact from his Master, who had been away on missions. Being restricted to the same four walls each day. And finally, he remembered the terrible pain that had raked through his body every time he thought of the crashing worms on Devaron.

Still moving cautiously, she carefully sat down on the very edge of the bed, as though she was trying not to crease the already disturbed sheets. "What do we do now?"

"I have no idea.", Caloc replied, "Jedi don't really meet people like this. We are isolated to the Temple, and most people that we meet are usually found in life and death situations."

"That sounds lonely.", the girl placed a hand on his knee. "I used to have friends in the city, but we lost contact when I joined the Senator's escort. I'm a little out of practice.

They sat in silence for a moment. Feeling like the room was becoming impalpably quiet, Caloc spoke first, "Why don't we start with names? I am Caloc Tiac, padawan to Stass Allie."

He smiled widely as he said his name, placing his closed right fist in his left open palm as he awkwardly bent at the waist from his sitting position. "What shall I call you?"

"Call me Riyo.", She regarded his strange greeting gesture, but decided to forgo one of her own, settling for a simple, awkward wave. "I'm one of the Senator's handmaidens."

He nodded and smiled, "Just one of the handmaidens?"

"Well, I am the youngest handmaiden, to be exact.", she began to ramble, but couldn't seem to stop the words bubbling out of her mouth, "I'm the lowest ranking maiden in our group, so I shouldn't really be here. I've only just now managed to sneak away for a few minutes."

"That would explain your presence here.", he answered, and was delighted as a smile cracked her face. It was small, and still nervous. "But why did you choose to come here of all places? My room isn't exactly a tourist destination, even by starship standards?"

Riyo stayed silent for a minute, studying him. "We met earlier today. You saved me from a nasty fall."

He closed his eyes, nodding slowly, "I thought you seemed familiar. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time."

Again, silence filled the room. Riyo nervously rubbed her yellow facial tattoos on her cheek as she glanced around the quarters again, drinking everything in. The Jedi's previous question twisted over in her mind. Why had she come here? It had seemed like an instinct, maybe something all people felt. The Jedi were a mystery to her. Perhaps she just wanted to meet one in person. Or maybe there was something else. She really didn't know, so when the silence became uncomfortable again, she filled it with a question of her own. "Your scars."

His fingers flew to his cheek and he turned away slightly, "What about them?"

"Pantorans have rituals.", she replied, "We tattoo our skin to show our heritage. The ancients have been doing it since the old days. Since your scars could have been healed by a bacta patch, these seem to be ceremonial too."

Caloc reached up and gently touched the rough edges of his left cheek's long, wide cut. A small tear formed in his eye. It always stung a little to touch, and he blinked away the salty drop. "This one was a ceremonial mark. I got it when I passed the trials of my homeworld."

"Trials?"

"A series of contests over the years.", he replied. "Gladiatorial trials, hunting, duelling and the likes."

"What about the one on your chin?", she asked.

A sharp burst of phantom aches echoed through his spine, and he tried to avoid making a face. "That is a reminder from another… mission. Have you ever been to Devaron?"

Trav-iss Torn was pouring over his collection of paper documents when Miriam entered the mess hall through a secluded back door. She stayed close to the back of the room, and grabbed one of the flutes of champagne from a tray at the that had been set up for the Senator's entourage. Trav-iss and Agatha were standing by one of the large tables, going over his speech to the Senate.

She leant over to Bridget, one of the other handmaidens who had been selected to join them, and questioned her with a look. Bridget rolled her eyes and leaned over to whisper, "You just missed the big speech. Agatha is helping him edit it to be something less like a cry for help."

"It sounds that pathetic?", Miriam bit her lip to stop a snort of laughter coming from her throat. She sipped the drink to try and swallow it back down.

Bridget shrugged noncommittally, "It does. He uses the term 'pleading with you' over a dozen times. And he understates the severity of the attacks. It's all statistics on why we need more military might and suggested funding plans for Baktoid products to bring an end to the trauma."

"Baktoid? The droid manufacturers?", Miriam grimaced. "They are controlled by the Techno Union. We have been trying to stop them from gaining local resources for years. If he goes through with that, Pantora is doomed. We don't need droids. What Pantora needs is more supplies and temporary medical stations. We need to get back on our feet so that we can rebuild."

"Pantora cannot rely solely on the Republic.", another of the handmaidens, Luuna, added. She was one of the more idealistic handmaidens, yet she still remained loyal to the Senator.

Bridget raised a quizzical eyebrow at Miriam, "If you feel so strongly, maybe you should be Senator."

"You and I both know that Trav-iss only wanted to become Senator because of the position's prestige", Miriam snorted, "And though he might actually have Pantora's needs at heart, he doesn't have the peoples. It's all numbers to him. He wants more power for himself, not for the moon."

Raydan looked up, smirking, "I think he just looks for the best opportunity, and that usually benefits him."

"True. This speech is showing his inexperience.", Bridget glanced around, perhaps noticing the lack of both their youngest maiden and the jacket that Miriam had worn when she left. "Did you not find Riyo? I thought that was why you were gone."

"I found her skulking around the corridors.", Miriam replied, hiding her expression in the rim of her glass, "It seems that she felt lonely and went to talk to that Jedi."

"The Tholothian?"

"The younger one, actually."

Bridget fixed her with a look, "She does know that Jedi can't date, right?"

"You two.", a voice snapped, and they looked up to see Agatha glaring at them, "Shut up and be attentive. The Senator needs quiet if he is to get this speech perfect for his Senatorial appearance."

She turned back to continue her whispering in Trav-iss' ear, practically quivering with excitement. Bridget gave Miriam an exasperated sigh. "Personally, I think that she is more excited about that than he is."

"Then maybe she should be Senator.", Miriam whispered back.

"Are you kidding?", Raydan smirked, "She is more power hungry than he is."

Riyo traced her finger's over the carved figure that sat nearby on the display niche. It seemed to be a rather detailed nexu, poised to strike at something she couldn't see. It was only half finished though, the rear of the beast still encased in… was it ivory? Bending down, she peered into the creature's maw. "So, this is that tooth? The one from the dragonsnake?"

"I thought that it was quite an exciting experience and deserved a memento.", Caloc shrugged. He was watching her from across the room, pretending to rifle through his bag a little, until she picked up the small piece. He smiled at it, "It allows me to practice patience and precision as I carve."

"I've never seen such workmanship.", she put the figure back down, "Is it safe to be storing it around in the open?"

"Perhaps not.", he frowned at her, trying to gauge the strange rush of emotion running through her. His hand hit something in the satchel, and he pulled out the old collection of parts he often carried in the bottom of the bag. There were enough pieces to construct another lightsabre, but it was missing a few specialised parts.

"Do you travel a lot?", Riyo plopped back down on the bed, sending the pillow at the other end a few centimetres into the air.

"Whenever I can.", Caloc replied, "Recently, all I've seen is the Jedi medical wards, but before that my youngling clan and I saw so many different places. Pantora is definitely one of the more unique biomes, I think. Your home is beautiful."

"Perhaps to you.", she shrugged, "I've been there for seventeen years now. I want to travel, to see the galaxy. I don't want to be on Pantora forever."

"Then don't be.", Caloc answered. "We need to drop out of hyperspace above Shili. I might be able to convince Telle to refuel on the surface rather than at the military outpost there."

She shot him a look of sarcastic amusement. A light tapping came from the floor, and he realised that her left leg had begun to swing into the metal underneath the mattress, the small heel of her shoe making a light tink, tink, tink. She noticed him looking and lightly punched his shoulder. "It's an old habit. Don't judge me."

Old habit? People fell into old habits when they were bored or feeling uncomfortable. At least, Caloc usually did. He decided that, as riveting as the conversation was, it might be time for him to make a suggestion. "Do you gamble, Riyo Chuchi of Pantora?"

Her eyes flickered with both concern and excitement, a near perfect clue that she had not gambled in the past at all. "Not really. Though Trav-iss has become something of a regular at the Castle le Coruscant. Miriam has tried to teach me some, but I don't always understand the rules."

He didn't let her finish, "I have found that one of the best ways to get to know someone is to learn their tells. Can I interest you in a game of Relutani?"

"The old card game?", her head tilted to the left, but she nodded, "I haven't played that in years. I didn't know it was a gambling game."

He pulled out his hologame board, the same one he and Stass had used on the orbital platform above Pantora. Bending the board, he snapped it in half and handed one side to Riyo. Each side would show the cards, hiding them from their partner.

"I should warn you", Riyo stared across at him, blue light from the board flooding across her face. She glanced down at the cards, then back up with him, a clear smile on her face. "I have a very good deck and before I stopped playing, I was a Relutani master."

Caloc stared across at her, then stared down at his cards. She thought that she had a good hand? He had a better hand. "Sounds like this round could last a while then."