We were able to get Kalenta patched up after I bought a med pack from a random vendor. Her arm was almost out of commission, but she wasn't useless yet. We had made it to a public transport and were making our way farther from the Jedi temple. The sooner we got away from the clones, the better. I rubbed my face as I felt like I had aged another 20 years.
"You're not doing well." I shot a glance at Kalenta when she spoke.
"Neither of us are…" I said. She nodded, her hand grazing her shoulder. "I told you to stop touching it," I commented dryly.
"Sorry, I think the pain meds are wearing off."
"I would give you more, but I need you fully aware of your surroundings." She nodded and did her best to ignore it. I felt the Force nudge me and looked around. It was a general 'there's another Force user here.' I caught sight of a dark brown robe and nudged Kalenta on her good soldier.
"Possible Jedi on our right, two cars down," I muttered as I leaned back, pretending to relax by crossing one leg over the other. She looked at me, then let her gaze fall past me. She perked up.
"Master Tress!" She stood up and hurried over, ignoring my outstretched arm.
"Kalen-gah." I stood up, exasperated and followed her closely.
'Master Sebaal said to avoid others…granted he said over comms, but we don't know who gave those orders.' We stepped over to the female Jedi standing by herself. Though she was facing away from us, she detected our presence, her bowed head lifting up. I blinked in surprise when I saw a female Dathomirian. I hadn't met someone from her planet before, even though I heard their species was highly Force sensitive. A look of relief passed over her pale face. (Just realized that Tress is the last half of Ventress…They have no correlation in this story, it's just a name I thought of! I doubt anyone will believe me though! XD)
"Young ones. You survived." She said as she relaxed.
"Barely. Master, what is happening?" She took a seat, having been on guard while alone.
"As I'm sure you witnessed, the clones have turned against us. The temple has been taken over by the clones with a Sith Lord named Vader leading the charge."
"Vader?" I folded my arms as a feeling came through the Force. I focused on it for a second before casting it aside. "Whoever they are, they're powerful." Kalenta looked over in confusion.
"How can you tell?"
"The Light side of the Force shuddered at the mere mention of his name." I looked at her.
"How did you fare? Obviously, thank the Force, you made it out alive." Master Tress commented.
"Trooper Raider cornered us with a small platoon."
"And neither of you are injured?"
"N-"
"Kalenta took a hit to the shoulder, but we got it fixed up." I didn't need my attunement to the Force to know that said Padawan was glaring at me. There was no point in hiding her injuries from a Jedi Master. She could probably sense her pain anyway.
"Let's hope you heal quickly. I located a Jedi shuttle and was headed there. You two should come with me." Master Tress said. I nodded.
"We've got no other place to go," I paused. "Did…did you see Master Sebaal?" I had tried to feel for him after we had escaped the clones, but when he had snapped our bond, it made finding him difficult. It was either that, or…the option I wasn't willing to think about.
"Master Sebaal?" Master Tress asked.
"Yes, he is my Master."
"I see. I knew him, we talked a few times. But I am sorry, Padawan, I was too busy trying to escape myself. My own Padawan didn't make it." I bowed my head in somber acknowledgment.
"I understand."
««{{}}»»
Master Tress, Kalenta and I had departed from the transport station, heading to the shuttle the eldest of the group had located. My thoughts were clouded as I continued to try and reach out for my Master.
I still couldn't feel him and it made me dread the likely truth. He had either been killed by the clones or cut down by this Vader person. I felt my heart ache in pain at thought.
'He can't be dead. He has to be alive! I don't know what to do without him. I need his guidance.' I thought as we walked up the loading ramp, Master Tress having hurried ahead in order to start the ship. A warning came through the Force moments before a voice behind us called out.
"Open fire!" I spun, my blade coming up and blocking multiple bolts. Kalenta ducked with a scream as one glanced off the ship above her. I stepped in front of her to cover her. More than 20 clones filed into the shipyard.
"Kill the traitors!" One of them cried. I felt my face twist into a scowl.
"I'm no traitor," I breathed as I ducked under one bolt, only to deflect five more. "Kalenta, get on the ship!" I ordered.
"O-oka- AH!" I felt the hit Kalenta took just by being so close to her. She hit the ramp and didn't move.
"NO!" The blood in my ears roared as the Force reacted to my cry of distress. A huge invisible wave knocked away anything within a 30 foot range. Multiple clones were either knocked off their feet or were crushed by flying objects. I spun and grabbed Kalenta with the Force, running up the ramp and closing it.
"Take off, NOW!" I roared. Tress jumped at my demand before looking back. It only took a glance to see things were bad. She quickly set the ship to take off before running over to us. I dropped to my knees, my saber discarded to the side.
"Kalenta!" I looked her over, only to freeze. The middle of her chest had a blaster wound in it. I pressed two fingers to her neck, only to fall back a few seconds later. "No…no, no, no, Kalenta, please," Tress went to get medical supplies, but I could feel Kalenta's lifeforce fading. A tear rolled down her cheek as the final thread of her life gently broke. Her body fully relaxed at the final breath. I could only stare in open mouthed horror.
"First the Temple. Then my Master. Now Kalenta? Why?!'
««{{}}»»
It had been an hour since we had entered hyperspace. Neither of us had said a word after Master Tress had moved Kalenta's body into a small room, out of sight.
I sat in the co-pilot seat, facing backwards with my elbows on my knees as I stared at my former friend's lightsaber in my hands. It felt wrong, like it was mourning her as well, but I needed something solid of hers to hold onto. Master Tress approached me.
"Padawan, you need to eat, or at least drink something. We need to keep our strength up." I didn't respond. She sighed before sitting in the pilot seat and messing with the controls for a while.
"Why did it have to be her?" The question was nearly unintelligible because of the pain in it. Tress looked over at me. My eyes were flat and my mouth in a strained frown. She sighed before looking out at space as we flew through it.
"I don't know."
"Why couldn't it have been ME?!" I roared and ignited the lightsaber, the blue an unfamiliar light as I swung down, cutting through the nearby table. My next slash went through the chair next to it.
"Padawan!" Tress looked on in shock at my anger.
"I watched her grow from the day she arrived at the Temple!" The lightsaber blade shuttered in front of me as I felt my grief spill over. The Force reeled and writhed at the sheer pain I was emitting. "I held myself back in the tests so we could become Knights and Masters together! Teach our Padawans together! She was too young! She was just a kid! They just shot-!" A sob cut me off. The lightsaber in my hands let out a shriek followed by a loud crack. The saber leaped from my hands, landing somewhere near the back of the room, hissing quietly. I wrapped my arms around myself for any semblance of comfort as I finally lost the strength to stand.
A wordless wail of grief ripped from my throat as the Jedi Master looked on with a carefully blank face. She wordlessly turned back to the controls.
««{{}}»»
"This is Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. I regret to report that both our Jedi Order and the Republic have fallen, with the dark shadow of the Empire rising to take their place. This message is a warning and a reminder for any surviving Jedi. Trust in the Force. Do not return to the Temple. That time has passed. And our future is uncertain. We will each be challenged. Our trust...our faith...our friendships. But we must persevere. And in time, a new hope will emerge. May the Force be with you...always."
My eyes stared into the campfire in front of me as the message finished playing, the digital recording of the Jedi Master faded from view.
"You should rest," Master Tress said, looking up from the device in her hand. She had played the message twice before, both of us still in shock that our Order was gone. I didn't say anything to her. The woman shook her head, done with my bullheaded attitude after barely half a day. "If those clones show up and you're too tired to fight or run, that's your fault." I looked up, exasperated. We landed in the wilderness of a random planet. The possibility of the clones finding us was nigh impossible.
"I'm not in the mood," I said with a slight scowl before pulling out my lightsaber and a cloth. I began to clean my weapon, wiping away any dirt or grim that might have gotten on it.
"You never are, from what I can tell." Even though there was a fire in between us, the air went cold. My eyes slid up to meet hers, and she blinked at the look. It was hauntingly hollow, with a buried rage hidden inside. The woman shook it off and laid on her side, turning away from the fire. "We leave at dawn. If you're not going to sleep, at least keep an ear out. We don't need them sneaking up on us."
"Let them come," My cold tone retorted. Tress sat up and spun around.
"You can't fight all of them, you're not even out of trainin-!" I cut her off, pointing the grey saber at her.
"No, you don't get to lecture me! The only people who were allowed to do that are dead!" My eyes stung and I ducked my head. The fire popped and the logs shifted.
"…Your Master may be dead, but that is no reason to throw your life away," She said firmly. I snapped at that, the Force reacting to my emotions as it pushed the fire around.
"What should I do then?! The clones betrayed us! We trusted them and a single order turned them against us without a second thought!" My eyes grew wet, "They murdered my best friend in cold blood, right in front of me! Some of them were like brothers to me, but when Raider looked me in the eye tonight, he acted like he didn't even know me. I was just another target!" The final word echoed throughout the area.
"…This is why attachments are forbidden in the Jedi Order." My eyes widened and I looked away, feeling guilt build up for realizing what I had said. My hands clenched my saber hilt until my knuckles were white. I squashed that guilt into the smallest ball I could and cast it aside.
"You heard Master Kenobi's message. That Order," I spat, "has fallen. I won't apologize for growing close to them. Any, of them. Besides," I stood up, "It's not something I can turn off now." I walked over to a tree and hopped up, landing in a crouch on a branch. I leaned against the trunk of the tree and looked into the distance.
I closed my eyes and focused on the area in front of me, stretching out my awareness through the Force. I could sense the small bugs of this planet, the occasional aerial creature nested down in the trees. I sensed a larger presence, but when I focused on it, it was a native herbivore, sleeping.
I cupped my hands, resting my elbows on my knees, and began pulling on the Force. I tugged it a little and dragged it into the space between my hands. I pulled a little more, feeling it give some resistance before allowing me to do so. I paused and stretched out my awareness again, checking for any new beings in the area.
'Clear.' I thought to myself. I tightened my mental grip on the Force and pressed down on it, compacting the ball I had created until it was about the size of an orange. When I opened my eyes, it was nearly invisible, but I could feel it shudder in my hands, wanting to be let out. I held it up with one hand and pointed my palm towards the sky.
'Shatter.' I commanded. The ball of Force did so, creating near invisible splinters in the air in front of me. I caught them all with my mind and shoved with the outstretched hand. The translucent shards, intangible unless I deemed otherwise, shot into the night sky, only to fade back into the Force itself after a while. It still took too far to form. I paused to check my surroundings again, but I again found nothing.
'Tch, why am I even checking.' I looked up at the sky.
"Kalenta," I whispered. I felt the tears in my eyes again. "I'm so sorry. If only I had been stronger. Faster. Done anything that could have saved your life." My throat tightened as a single tear fell. I caught it with the Force, slowly lifting it back up to eye level with the twitch of a finger. I watched as it wobbled in the air.
"Master Sebaal. I know it isn't likely. But I hope we see each other again. I won't fall. Not to them. Not today, not ever. I'll keep your legacies alive. I'll find a place to settle down, but I won't stop training. I'll become the Jedi Master you trained me to be." I flicked my finger and the tear flew into the distance. "I'll fight for you."