SW5
Talon watched as the Jedi left and went into her own room. As the door closed, Talon turned back into the room she'd been given and looked around. To anyone else, it wouldn't have seemed like much. The bed was pretty typical for military issue, and therefore wasn't quite as hard as the bare ground on most worlds, but was still much softer than Talon was accustomed too. There was a small workstation in one corner that would also serve as a desk or table if needed for that purpose. The light grey carpeting was soft under her feet. A vast difference from the cold stone floors of the Sith Academy on Korriban.
Talon's attention was drawn once more to the window, and as she stepped away from the door to her room it slid shut with a hiss of pneumatic pistons. Walking over to gaze out the window, Talon could see countless numbers of lights in the numerous spires where people were still working.
Even in the darkest hours of the night, the planet wide city of Corruscant could never be considered dark. As the central planet to a galaxy spanning government, there were always thousands of treaties, contracts, and negotiations being conducted. It was a world that could never sleep, and never did. The countless numbers of diplomats and politicians on Corruscant rarely got the amount of rest that their bodies required, and so they often ended up taking years off their political career, if not their lives by mostly doing without.
Talon knew nothing about any of this as she gazed out the window of her room. If she'd been told of the nearly infinite political maneuvers and machinations that were going on behind the lights that she could see, she would have stared stupidly at the person telling her. She would neither have known nor cared why anyone would be willing to argue and even fight over something that they could never feel, touch, or hold in their hands. The abstract and arbitrary political power would never mean anything to her.
Even in the so called dead of night, hundreds of speeders flitted back and forth in the skies. Some close enough that she could almost make out the driver, others so distant, that all she could see was a streak of lights moving back and forth. Even now, she could sense the jumble of thoughts and emotions that were coming from the minds of more people than she had ever dreamed could ever exist.
Completely captivated by the sheer number of minds and lives in the world beyond her window, Talon stood there staring thoughtlessly out the window for more than an hour before she finally shook her head and with an effort pulled her own thoughts together. A single touch on the control panel next to the window closed the rotating blinds to block out the lights coming in.
After finally stepping away from the window, Talon took her lightsabers and laid them neatly on the workstation, along with her optical filter. Then she got undressed, turned out the lights and looked longingly the bed that was larger, softer, and more luxuriantly comfortable than anything she had ever slept on before.
The sheets, blankets, and pillows still smelled faintly of the cleanser that had been used to sanitize them. A light woodsy scent to begin with, it had faded since the time that the bedding had been cleaned and Talon couldn't identify it; having never been exposed to any type of forest. Since she hadn't been given permission to sleep on the bed, she curled up next to it on the floor. Knowing that there was no one anywhere even close to her, Talon closed her eyes and tried to sleep.
Talon lay there for a long while; trying to get to sleep the entire time; which was very difficult considering that her hands were starting to shake just a bit. She was, for the first time in her life restless and unable to sleep for some reason. After what seemed like hours, she finally sat up next to her bed and tried to figure out why she couldn't sleep. She knew that normally by bedtime, she was so tired that she could barely keep her eyes open and was so exhausted that she could barely move.
'That's the reason!' She thought suddenly. She hadn't had even a single workout today; forget about all three of the four hour training sessions that she usually had. No wonder she couldn't sleep. Normally Talon would have had to use the Force several times during the day to replenish both her strength and her endurance, but today, she hadn't even thought of needing to use the Force for that purpose.
Deciding that she needed to work off some energy so she could sleep; Talon got off of the floor and got dressed. She donned a fresh set of clothes and saw that the legging would fit over the cast and that the brace for her leg would go over that. She made a mental note to find out how to get her first set of clothing repaired. She set the controls to the thermal units on her belt to a comfortable temperature for a workout, before attaching her lightsabers to the belt's hooks. Then Talon put her ocular filter on, and headed towards the door.
A brief, but swift wave of Force power brought her two massively heavy training weapons to her hands. Then, without a moment's hesitation, Talon was out the door and heading to the training room.
Immediately upon entering the training room, Talon lowered the lights to the setting that she had used in her own quarters. Then she quickly reset the temperature controls to a lower setting that would still be what she considered hot, but wouldn't make her feel like passing out. Talon intended for this to be one training session, which would put anything and everything her Sith Masters had come up with to shame.
Once the environment was set to her liking, Talon stripped down, reapplied her brace, and began a warm up with the Whirlus form. She started with several simple katas, and began working her way up from there. Within ten minutes, Talon was whipping those massive one ton rods through the air fast enough to make them whistle and sing to her. At that point Talon knew that she was ready to begin her workout in earnest.
Looking over at the rack against the wall that contained two hundred training remotes, Talon used the Force to summon sixty of them to her. She set the first one for immediate engagement and each of the others for thirty second delays, so that the final remote would begin attacking her at the end of the first half hour.
For the first time in her life, Talon actually smiled. She was smiling in anticipation, because also for the first time in her life, she would be finally able to find out just how far her skills had come. This time, in this place, there were no Masters present to be envious of her superior skills. No Masters present to be humiliated by a mere student with no right to a lightsaber. No Masters present to force her into holding back so she wouldn't be punished for being better than they were. This time, she could truly do her best, and that was exactly what she intended to do.
Already a light sheen of sweat coated her body as she summoned a single hilt lightsaber to her hand. Taking up a classic and basic stance in the Shii Cho form, Talon planned to start with the basics. Igniting her lightsaber, she reacted quickly to the remote which began to circle in random directions seeking an opening.
Talon stood there, completely motionless except for the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. The very image of perfect composure, her rock steady stance belied the eager excitement roiling within. With the first shot from the remote Talon's wrists blurred into action to allow the blast to be harmlessly absorbed by her lightsaber. She had deliberately set the remotes to a low power setting so that she wouldn't accidentally disable them by deflecting their shots back at them.
By the time the fifth shot had been fired and absorbed, the second remote was joining the fray. Talon still remained almost motionless except for her arms which were wielding the deadly lightsaber with such ease that each and every move was fluid like and graceful. With her weight centered on the balls of her feet, Talon didn't intend to move any other part of her body until the remotes were able to force her into it. Designed to target a trainee in unison, the remotes linked their attack patterns to work as a team against their opponent.
Faster and faster her arms and wrists reacted to the incoming shots. The red blade of her lightsaber humming and snapping around angrily to easily absorb each and every bolt of energy. With six of the remotes now circling her at different heights and in opposing directions, Talon had finally been forced to sidestep one of the shots. Still, the girl smiled in satisfaction as the seventh remote entered the fight.
For the next two and a half minutes, Talon had become a whirling dervish protected by a slashing red shield that seemed to sing triumphantly with each shot that was defeated. It was when the twelfth remote had activated that it happened. It was something that Talon had never seen or encountered before. All twelve of the remotes rose to the same height and fired at the exact same angle from various positions around her. Dropping to the floor on her back with her lightsaber pointing straight up Talon watched in pure disbelief as all twelve shots hit her blade at the same time.
Talon nearly grinned in delight even as she rolled to her feet. She'd never been allowed to actually cut loose like this before, and she was really starting to enjoy it. Her blade now in constant motion, Talon was switching it back and forth between her right and left hands, to force the remotes to keep readjusting their attack patterns.
Her breath was coming faster as she now faced more than twenty remotes. She wasn't exactly sure how many were circling her, because she was now totally focused on both the form she was using, and where the shots would be aimed next. Although she had started with the Shii Cho or first form, Talon had rapidly moved on to Soresu, and then Makashi.
She knew that she was taking them out of order, but she was doing this deliberately. She wanted to save the hardest form for last. With more of the remotes now arrayed against her, Talon methodically moved through the Djem So or fifth form, before practicing form six; Niman.
Just as the final remote joined the battle, Talon summoned her second single hilt lightsaber to her left hand, and picked up her pace still further. Her breath was coming in ragged gasps and she was drenched in sweat. Her muscles burned from the intensity of her efforts. All the same, this was the first time that Talon had ever enjoyed herself during her entire life.
Although she had yet to be hit by a single shot, there had been many beyond count that had gotten close, but close wasn't nearly good enough. Her teeth bared in a wide grin of pure joy, Talon moved into the seventh and last of the standard forms of lightsaber combat. She had deliberately saved this one for last, because she knew that it would prove to be her toughest challenge yet.
Form seven known as Ataru had one glaring and well known weakness. It was a weakness that was obvious to anyone who had ever studied or practiced the form. It was considered almost completely worthless against blasters!
With both of her lightsabers whirling about in her hands, they would appear to be solid sheets of energy to anyone who was watching. Leaping, rolling, and moving with a speed that only the use of the Force could impart, Talon was now taking the fight to the remotes.
More than a year and a half ago, Talon had inadvertently discovered a way of getting around that single infamous weakness of Ataru, by actively attacking the shots themselves. While this principle involved a completely different mindset, and use of tactics, than would normally be used, it also proved to be highly effective. There was only one major drawback, and that was that the shots couldn't be deflected back at the source. That one small flaw made little difference to Talon while she was fighting these remotes, since doing so would have disabled the remotes; which was what she didn't want.
With sweat now pouring off of her, Talon increased her efforts to her absolute best. So intense was her concentration that she never noticed the twinges of pain circulating through her injured leg. Every move was now a blur of Force enhanced speed that was painful to watch as the eyes of any observer would be straining to keep up. For more than ten minutes, Talon pushed herself at her absolute best, before she rolled out of range and deactivated her lightsabers. Once she had disengaged from immediate combat and deactivated her lightsabers, the remotes went into standby mode, to await another opponent with an activated weapon.
For more than a full minute Talon stood hunched over, hands braced on her thighs as she struggled to catch her breath. Never before had she pushed herself as hard as she had during this session, and never before had she actually enjoyed anything. Tonight, she had enjoyed this. In her mind, she wasn't challenging remotes, but rather her level of skill. Pushing herself for once to see what she was really and truly capable of.
When she finally caught her breath, Talon used the Force to place both of her lightsabers next to her clothes, then she summoned her massively heavy training weapons to her hands. Taking up the initial stance of the Whirlus form, Talon used the Force to pull a dozen of the remotes around her. Within less than a second, a new round was started.
Like Ataru, Whirlus was also weak against multiple opponents with blasters. Talon knew this, just as she knew that changing her mindset while using Whirlus wouldn't help. There were only so many ways in which two weapons that large could be used synchronously. But, Talon also knew that where one gained a weakness, one also gained an advantage. It only had to be recognized. Against any opponent or even a group of opponents wielding a bladed weapon, the Whirlus form would prove to be more than devastating.
Talon knew that the form was far from complete. There were many refinements, techniques, and principals that she knew that needed to be worked out, but she'd never been given the free time to do so. Now that she was alone, with no one to bother her or insist that she fight using methods that they chose, she could now work on those sorely needed techniques.
Talon had been at it for just over ten minutes, and had come up with one combination that she thought would work, but would have to practice and refine it when she wasn't faced with a living opponent. Deciding that it would be best tried in combat against the remotes; she was about to actually attempt the untried move when she heard the door to the training room hiss open. To her credit, Talon reacted exactly as she'd been trained. There wasn't the slightest hesitation or pause in her defense or her assault on the remotes. If anything, Talon increased her attention on the remotes, just enough to begin tapping each one with the end of her weapons. As it was struck, each remote acted according to its designed programming and disengaged from its opponent; having been 'defeated'.
At 1,000 kilograms apiece, Talon's weapons could have easily shattered the remotes, and during her early training sessions with them, she often had, only to be severely punished for 'wasting resources'. In Talon's now expert hands however; the large and unwieldy weapons were being used with skill and precision. Once she had struck and therefore defeated the last of the remotes, Talon turned to face the person who had entered.
Talon found herself looking at a Jedi that had to be only a few years older than she was. He was slightly shorter than most males and of average build, so the only thing that really stood out about him was the red color of his hair. While not quite as red as the blades of her lightsabers, there was definitely more red in the young man's hair than Talon had ever seen before.
"Nice moves! I've never seen a double staff technique before. Any particular reason for practicing in the dark?" The Jedi asked in a tone of admiration.
"The light out there is too bright and hurts my eyes." Talon answered plainly.
"Oh, okay. I'm Ben, by the way." He said introducing himself.
"I'm called Talon." She answered as she placed her training weapons down by her clothes.
"Nice to meet you Talon. Since we're here how bout a sparring match?" Ben asked pleasantly as he pulled out his lightsaber.
"What form?" Talon asked.
"Tell you what. How bout you decide?" Ben responded amiably.
Remembering the incident earlier with the highly aggressive Ataru form, Talon thought that it would be best if a more defensive form were chosen this time.
"Soresu." Talon said simply as she summoned one of her single hilt lightsabers to her hand.
"Sounds good to me. Perfect form to start with against an unknown opponent." Ben said with a smile as he activated his lightsaber.
The brilliant blue blade flashed into existence with a snapping hum as Ben took up a type one stance with his lightsaber held in both hands at his right side pointing straight up. Talon adopted a neutral stance and activated her own blade with it angled slightly downwards and to her left.
Ben Skywalker's smile disappeared and he felt his blood run cold at the sight of the obviously Sith weapon. Directing his attention from the color of the blade in the girl's hands to the softly glowing amber colored eyes, Ben knew, just knew that the person holding that weapon was still a Sith. Memories of being tortured by both his cousin Jacen, and later his apprentice Tahira, along with everything he and his father had encountered during the last two years flashed through the young man's mind in an instant as he reacted to the presence of an enemy.
His agreement to stick to the Soresu form completely forgotten, Ben used the Force to leap forward and press his attack. Using a deadly downward flowing cross body slash to his left that was aided by his weight and speed as he came down from his jump, Ben attempted to finish the Sith off quickly. Instead of killing his opponent however, his strike was harmlessly deflected as Talon stood her ground and angled her blade to cause her assailant's weapon to slide down its length to her right.
Talon frowned as soon as the Jedi had made his leaping attack. It wasn't that he'd lied about sticking to Soresu that disturbed her, but rather the wild and dangerous attack that she could have easily countered in a dismembering or even fatal way. Deciding to deflect the attack instead had been an almost natural reaction, because of the number of times that her own Sith Masters had pulled such moves against her.
Unlike her attacker, Talon kept her end of the agreed upon method and stuck to Soresu. Easily blocking the rapid flurry of strikes that were obviously intended to kill or at the very least maim. She could feel the Jedi's rage flowing from his mind, but had no idea what had caused him to get so angry in the first place.
Ben's initial anger upon seeing the Sith in the very heart of the New Jedi Order was quickly fading. Switching from Ataru to Juyo hadn't helped him any either. Every strike, each slash, and every thrust was quickly deflected or blocked outright by the Sith with an absolute minimum of effort. Realizing that his anger was clouding his judgment, and affecting his ability to effectively fight, Ben began to focus himself.
Ben was still angry about the fact that there was a Sith right here in the main temple of the Jedi, but he also knew that something was off about this whole situation. It was his experience as a GAG officer that made him suspicious when the Sith he was fighting hadn't yet launched even a single attack against him even though he knew that there had been several opportunities to do so.
Talon was surprised when the Jedi suddenly stepped back and shut down his lightsaber. Certain that it was a trick that she hadn't encountered before, Talon lowered her own weapon and deactivated it but stayed ready for another attack just in case.
Ben just stood there, while he struggled with his anger. He knew that he wasn't a hothead, and had never been one to fly out of control like that before, not even with his cousin who'd brutally murdered his mother. But then, he'd never expected to find a Sith running around loose in here of all places, and that had caught him off guard. He was about to demand to know what she was doing here, when the doors hissed open and Master Katarn came rushing in.
ooo000ooo
He'd been sitting alone in the darkness for the past two hours, replaying the same security vid over and over. Sometimes he played it at normal speed, but mostly it was in very slow motion as he slowed the playback down to a near crawl. Zooming in on exactly what he wanted to see, Kyle could clearly see that each and every attack that the girl had made was directed against one thing; the blade of his lightsaber.
No matter how many times he'd watched the vid, it didn't do anything to ease the guilt he felt over injuring someone that hadn't deserved it. Even though when played at normal speed, just watching the vid made his heart pound in his chest as he recalled just how it had felt to be on the receiving end of those lightning swift strikes; he still regretted what he'd inadvertently done.
He hadn't meant to hurt the girl, and he certainly hadn't intended to break her leg as badly as he had. It didn't matter that Cilghal had told him how fragile the girl's bone structure was; Kyle Katarn still blamed himself for the injury. In retrospect, he knew that it all could have been avoided by just a few more questions. Questions that he hadn't asked, questions that he knew he should have asked.
He wasn't wallowing in self pity, guilt, or regret; instead, he was doing what he knew any responsible Jedi Master should do; learn from one's mistakes. So he sat there in the darkened observation room above the very training arena where earlier that day, he'd injured a student.
Master Katarn hadn't noticed as Talon had entered the training room, but when the light stopped coming in through the observation windows, he looked out in curiosity. With the dim lighting and the distance, Kyle couldn't make out all the details of what the girl was doing, until she started her workout.
Kyle had stared in rapt attention as Talon whipped those heavy rods around in the patterns of the Whirlus form. He couldn't actually see the rods themselves because of the low light level, but he could tell That Talon had something in her hands from the way she was moving.
Kyle had continued to watch with interest as Talon completed her warm up, and began using a lightsaber. He easily recognized the Shii Cho form; known to be the basics of lightsaber combat, and was taught to every student to enter the academy.
By the time that the girl had finally ignited her second lightsaber, Kyle was simply staring in dumbfounded shock as he watched the single most dazzling display of saber skills that he'd ever heard of. He knew beyond any doubt that he was now a witness to a level of skill that no one in the order had ever dreamed was possible. He couldn't be sure exactly how many remotes were actually in play down there, but it had to be at least twice what he'd ever seen Luke practice against!
Unable to truly believe what he was watching, Master Katarn continued to stare in muted wonder, at what he knew, just knew was impossible. Kyle knew without thinking about it, that Talon was using Ataru against those remotes. He also knew that what the child down there was doing was so far beyond his skills, that it was frightening to watch.
Master Katarn could help but smile when Talon suddenly darted away from the remotes to disengage from the battle. He watched in silent admiration as Talon bent over to catch her breath. He'd almost gone down there to congratulate the girl, but refrained out of curiosity to see what she'd do next.
When he saw the dim lighting gleam on the metal rods once more, Kyle leaned forward and watched intently. As soon as she began moving Kyle lost track of the weapons, but knew that they were still in play because not one shot from the now much smaller group of remotes got through to hit the girl.
The Jedi Master shook his head as he thought about just how many hours of intense and dedicated training must have gone into learning that kind of skill. Kyle suddenly looked up with interest as someone else entered the training room. He recognized the voice of Luke's son as the two began talking to one another. He had frowned in consternation as the two faced off against one another, but as soon as Talon activated her weapon, Kyle knew he had to get down there.
"Hold it Ben! It's not what you think." Kyle nearly shouted as he burst into the training room expecting to still see the two of them going at it.
"Yeah; I kind of figured that out for myself, when she didn't slice me to ribbons." Ben responded as he turned to face the Jedi Master.
"Don't feel too bad. You're not the only one to overreact with her." Kyle told him ruefully.
"So, she surprised you too huh?" Ben asked him.
"Yeah. Except that you at least figured things out before making the same mistake I did." Kyle told him heavily.
"Really? What mistake was that?" Ben asked interestedly.
"I ended up breaking her leg this morning." Kyle answered in a tone of regret.
Ben Skywalker whirled around to take a good look at the girl he'd attacked just a few short moments ago. Now that his eyes were finally adjusting to the dim lights, and not blinded by lightsaber blades he quickly noted both the cast and brace on the girl's left leg even as he noticed something else.
Ben spun around and put his back to the girl in an exasperated huff, as he tried to wrap his disbelieving mind around what he'd just seen.
"Why isn't she wearing any clothes?" Ben finally exploded in disbelief.
"What!" Kyle demanded before he too saw that it was indeed the case.
Master Katarn quickly turned around and ran a hand across his beard in stunned surprise.
"Talon; you really need to get dressed." Kyle told her as calmly as he could muster.
Talon watched the two Jedi stand there with their backs to her. She could sense some type of emotion from both of them that was almost like humiliation, but not quite. She kept a curious eye on them as she sat down removed her brace and got dressed. Then she put her brace back on along with her boots, before gathering her weapons.
Talon wasn't sure why the Jedi still hadn't turned back around as she was putting her weapons back on her belt before summoning her training weapons to her hands. Then she realized that they were waiting for something.
"I'm dressed now." Talon said quietly as she looked down at the floor.
Both Jedi hesitantly looked over their shoulders to verify that Talon was fully clothed before they turned to face her.
"Good. Now why don't you tell me why you decided to disobey Cilghal's instructions against saber training?" Kyle asked lightly. "Are you trying to end up in a bacta tank?"
Talon shook her head to answer the second question hoping that she wouldn't have to answer the first one.
Kyle raised his eye brows and looked at Talon questioningly. "You don't want to tell me why you disobeyed Cilghal's instructions, or you don't want to end up in a bacta tank?"
"I don't want to go in the bacta tank." Talon answered softly never taking her eyes off the floor.
"Look. I admire your dedication, and I wish all of our students were even half that diligent, but sneaking in here like this isn't going to get you anything but trouble, and if Cilghal had been the one to catch you; she'd probably be stuffing you in that bacta tank right now. So, why did you do it?" Kyle asked bluntly.
"I... I tried... I couldn't get... Get to sleep. I was trying to get tired." She stammered knowing that she deserved whatever punishment was coming, and fearful of what it would be.
Master Katarn sighed heavily as he ran a hand across his beard while trying to think. He didn't need to reach out with the Force to sense the tension in the girl in front of him. From his earlier encounters with her, Kyle knew that Talon had been heavily traumatized by her Sith instructors who were obviously cruel with few if any morals and he had the nasty suspicion that Talon fully expected him to be just as cruel. Kyle suddenly realized that this was an excellent opportunity to get to know more about this young Sith and allow her to learn a few things about the Jedi, but that the training arena was no place for such a discussion.
"Tell you what. Why don't we all head over to the lounge where we can talk more comfortably." Master Katarn suggested amicably. "I want you there as well, Ben. I could use your insight on some of this."
Ben shrugged while never taking his eyes off of Talon. He was almost sure that this had to be the Sith his father had warned him about, and given the saber skills he'd witnessed, along with the impenetrable defense that she'd put up against his best attacks; Ben could easily understand why his dad had been alerted to her presence. What he wanted to find out now was; how had she gone from being considered a threat to being a student.
"Sounds fine to me. Because I'd like to find out how a kid like her ended up with moves like that." Ben stated with a speculative glance at Talon.
"Well, if you think that was impressive, you should have seen what she was doing before you walked in. Now I know why your dad wants to take some lessons from her." Kyle chuckled as he led them out of the training room.
Ben stopped dead in his tracks just in front of the door staring at the Jedi Master in surprise.
"You're kidding me; right?" He asked skeptically.
"Nope! Not one bit. He admitted it to me this morning while she was being treated for a compound fracture. This kid's apparently got some saber skills that no one's ever heard of before. Oh, and just remember to go easy on her. This isn't an interrogation, and I don't want to turn it into one. I just want to find out more about her, and see if she's got any other surprises in store for us." Kyle said as he turned and looked Ben in the eye to make sure the young man understood.
"You mean like how many other Sith we can expect to find?" Ben asked interestedly as they resumed making their way to the lounge.
"Actually, from what I've heard that's one thing we don't have to worry about. I haven't been told exactly what happened, but apparently she's the only one who managed to survive whatever it was." Kyle answered easily.
"Just how reliable is the source of that information? Can we be absolutely positive that she was the only survivor? How do we know that someone else didn't make it?" Ben questioned instantly.
Kyle just had to chuckle at just how fast Ben was turning the various angles over in his mind. "Well, as to the source; that would be your aunt Leia. She apparently got the information straight out of Talon's mind through the Force. From what I gathered, she must have done a pretty good job of checking out Talon's story; before deciding to bring her here. I mean this is Leia we're talking about. She can pick up on a lie from half a system away."
Even as strange as the situation was, Ben had to snicker at that. "True. She's not one that's easily fooled. But still; what do we really know about her?" He said indicating the far too silent subject of their discussion with a nod of his head.
"Well, your aunt did make one comment that had some really disturbing implications. I mean; when you can tell someone that you were forced to run and fight for your life, get poisoned, get your leg broken, have someone threaten to kill you, and then turn around and say that's the best day of your life? It makes you wonder just what kind of horror stories are locked away inside that head of hers." Kyle said as he chose a table near the serving station. He spun the chair around and sat down with his arms crossed on the back of the chair.
Ben stared at the older Jedi for a moment after he sat down facing the man before he turned to look over at Talon who was climbing into her own chair after placing her long staves on the floor.
"Is that true? Did you have to fight for your life?" Ben asked her finally.
Talon only nodded her head while looking down at the table, before placing her shaking hands in her lap.
"Really? So who was it that you were fighting against?" Kyle asked interestedly.
"The Guardians." Talon answered in a barely audible whisper.
"The guardians? Who are they?" Kyle asked quickly.
"Master Leia called them. . . Trent a tech?" Talon responded with a bit of hesitation.
"Leia's not a Master." Ben thought instantly with no small amount of surprise.
"Wait… do you mean… tarentatek?" Kyle asked doubtfully in the same instant.
Both Jedi turned to gape at one another as Talon nodded slightly.
"Ja… I was told that they were only a legend." Ben said catching himself before he could finish mentioning his late cousin as the source of that information.
"Real, but extinct from one of the reports I've read." Kyle replied softly.
Both Jedi turned to look back at the girl who was still staring at the table as if she were waiting for one of them to jump up and do something horrible to her. Both of them could easily sense the worry and fear surrounding her, even without reaching out through the Force. As he observed her; Kyle suddenly remembered the most disturbing part of the morning's incident, and realized that she did expect them to do something horrible to her. Suddenly the Jedi Master grinned as he got an idea that just might help him gain at least a small amount of the girl's trust.
"Hey, Talon. I want you to look at me for a second." Kyle instructed gently.
"Look, you snuck into the training arena to do something you were told not to do. But, you weren't hurt and neither was anyone else, right? So I don't think there's any reason to tell Cilghal about this. What do you think Ben?" Kyle asked as he turned and gave the former investigator a sly wink.
Ben caught on fast as he realized that Kyle was planning on using the long and bloody history of enmity between both the Sith and the Jedi as the 'bad cop' while he and Kyle used a little kindness to portray the 'good cops' to gain both trust and information out of the subject.
"Hey. You know what they say. 'No harm; no foul.' And what Cilghal doesn't know, won't bother her." Ben answered easily.
Talon looked up from the table to gape at both Jedi; her mouth hanging open in pure shock. Back on Korriban, such a conspiracy would have been unthinkable; with all of the participants getting punished, because the Masters had always found out when instructions or rules had been broken.
"You... You're not going to punish me?" She finally stammered in disbelief.
"What for? Like I said, no one got hurt, so why bother with it?" Kyle answered with a slight grin.
Talon slid from her chair and began backing away from both of the Jedi with a look of pure horror on her face.
"But... But, they'll find out and they'll kill you… They'll kill me too for going along with it… I... I don't want... don't want to die." Talon stammered while shaking her head at the two Jedi still sitting at the table.
'Blast! So much for that idea! Apparently, these Sith who raised her were a lot worse than even the meanest of Hutts.' Kyle thought disgustedly as he realized that his idea had backfired on him.
Ben sat there, speechless as he tried to figure out what had just happened. Normally, a bit of kindness or generosity went a long way with a fearful subject during any type of interrogation, but somehow this whole mess had just taken a turn straight for the maw and right into a black hole.
"Nothing like that is going to happen, so come sit back down!" Kyle snapped irritatedly.
"Look; just listen to me for a minute here." Kyle told her firmly when he saw her mouth working soundlessly to try forming a reply.
"I am a full Master at this academy, and a member of the Jedi Council. As the Master who first discovered the indiscretion; it is solely up to me whether or not I want to have you punished, and to decide what I want that punishment to be. Now if it will make you feel any better; then I'll tell Cilghal what happened and if she thinks that someone needs to be punished, then she can punish me instead, okay?" Kyle told the girl sincerely.
Talon blinked as she stared at the Jedi before she closed her mouth to try swallowing the lump in her throat. Punishment for disobedience she could handle, even if she would be miserable for the next few weeks, but even planning to conceal the disobedience would bring a type of punishment that Talon didn't even want to think about. As much as Talon wanted to avoid all punishments; she knew that as painful as it would turn out to be; she'd rather be punished by both Leia and Cilghal for disobedience than be punished for disobedience and then again for attempting to conceal it.
Having resolved to inform both of her Jedi Masters herself at the earliest opportunity took a lot of pressure off her mind, and though she was still worried about what these two Jedi were trying to do; Talon followed the instructions she'd just been given and sat down once again.
Once Talon had climbed back into the chair, she put her hands in her lap and looked down at the table. She was just beginning to wonder just how bad the punishment was going to be, when she suddenly realized something.
'Master Leia never punished me for disobeying her earlier! I know she couldn't have forgotten about it, and now she has something else to punish me for.' Talon thought miserably as her hands started to shake all over again.
"Why? No! What makes you think that you'd be killed for something like that? I mean sure; you might get cleaning detail for a pretty good while, but death? Come on! I don't know of anyone that strict!" Ben commented in surprise.
"Actually I'm pretty sure her Sith instructors were that strict, Ben. From what happened and what was said this morning; she's apparently seen someone get killed because it would have been too much trouble to mend a broken limb. I've heard people beg for their lives before; but never over something like that, and let me tell you; it wasn't easy to listen to." Kyle said as he recalled the sheer desperation in the girl's pleading.
Ben shook his head. He was unable to imagine ever becoming anything like that, but then; he also knew that it only took a series of small slips to begin a complete plunge that would end up deep in the insanity of the dark side.
"Look Talon. Why don't you name one good reason why we would want to kill you." Ben told her while trying a different tactic; hoping that reasoning might work instead.
"Be... Because you're Jedi and I'm a Sith." Talon answered simply as she put her head in her shaking hands.
Seeing the shaking hands; both Jedi figured that Talon was far more frightened than she was letting on.
Ben snorted in dismissal when he heard the girl's answer.
"So? Considering that my mom was a Sith; you're going to have to do better than that. She was once the Emperor's Hand. One of his best assassins as a matter of fact, and she joined the Jedi and was a Master for years before she died. My grandfather was a Sith Lord. Maybe you've heard of him; Darth Vader?" Ben replied easily as he motioned for the server droid.
Talon put her hands on the table as she looked up at the younger of the two Jedi for an instant before she nodded her head.
"I know about Lord Vader and Lord Sidious. They were killed by a Jedi." Talon answered softly.
"Where in the stang did you hear that?" Ben nearly exploded in disbelief.
Talon looked as if she'd been struck. "It's what our Master; Darth Magus taught us in the histories of the Sith."
"Well this Darth Magus was lying to you! Sidious or Palpatine; whatever you want to call him; was killed by Vader who was trying to save the Jedi who was there. But Sidious got in a few good shots with Force lightning before he died and that's what ended up killing Vader." Ben retorted with a shake of his head.
Talon could sense the truth of the young Jedi's words, and the total sincerity in them. She knew that someone had to be lying; because there was no way that both stories could be true. She knew that her Sith Masters had often lied about many things, especially when it concerned the level of their saber skills, but how was she going to be able to determine if these Jedi were actually telling the truth?
Talon had no idea how she was supposed to figure out what the truth actually was; especially when it was becoming so hard to think. Even though she couldn't see them; she could feel the thoughts and emotions of countless minds impinging on her own. It was a drastic difference from Korriban where there hadn't been anywhere near this level of pure chaos within the Force. On top of everything she was sensing; there was something really strange starting to happen to her. She could literally feel her heart racing and pounding in her chest as if she were still in the midst of one of her training sessions. She knew that something was wrong with her, but with all the background noise in her mind; she couldn't think well enough to try figuring out what it was.
"Talon? Do you want something to eat and drink, or not?" Kyle asked her for the third time, giving her an intense look.
Talon nodded her head in answer even though she wasn't actually that hungry at the moment; she certainly wasn't going to turn down something to eat after a lifetime of being hungry. She saw that both Jedi were looking at her as if they were waiting for her to say something.
"Well; what do you want?" Ben finally asked her.
Talon looked up as she tried to remember what they had called the food she had eaten earlier.
"Easy there, Ben. She's not familiar with regular food. So we'll need to choose something for her." Kyle said lightly while keeping an eye on the girl.
"Could I have some caf?" Talon finally asked softly.
"Caf? I thought you wanted to be able to get some sleep. And when did you start drinking caf anyway?" Master Katarn asked interestedly.
"Master Leia gave me some when she was showing me how to eat properly." Talon answered quietly.
"You tried caf earlier tonight?" Kyle immediately asked her quickly.
Ben snickered when Talon nodded her head.
"And just how many cups of caf did you drink?" Kyle asked giving Talon a suspicious look.
"Six." Talon answered simply.
"Six? Raise your arm for a second." Ben instructed her as he reached forward and felt her ribs near her heart. He was silent for a second or two as her felt the girl's heart pounding away hard enough for him to feel it from the side.
Ben shook his head as he pulled his hand away from the girl. "She's got one major case of the caffeine jitters!" Ben said as he turned to face Kyle.
"Her heart is pounding at hyper speed. No wonder she can't get to sleep. On six cups of caf; I wouldn't be able to sleep either! What was she thinking? Giving a kid that young caf at all." Ben muttered in exasperation.
"Hey don't be too hard on her; as I recall, you were about Talon's age when you started working with the Galactic Alliance Guard." Kyle chided the young man.
"You're telling me this kid's thirteen? No way! Maybe nine; if that old." Ben exclaimed in disbelief.
"Sorry. But I distinctly heard your dad say thirteen years old. As for her size; well, that just goes to prove that a lifetime of starvation will stunt your growth. Speaking of which. . ." Kyle turned his attention to the waiting server droid.
"Bring us three sandwiches, two Tarisian ales, a large glass of blue milk, and one half cup of fermented juma juice." Kyle ordered.
"Fermented juma juice? What; are you planning on sedating Lobacca or something? Besides, I didn't even know we had that stuff here." Ben said as he gave the Jedi Master a disbelieving look while the droid trundled off.
"Just a little something to counteract all that caffeine in her system, and no; I'm not planning on knocking her out! That's why I only ordered a half cup and not a mug, and before you even think of trying to get your hands on some; that's been voice coded so that only a Master can order it. That means your aunt won't even be able to order it here." Kyle replied with a grin.
"That makes sense. It proves the Order doesn't play favorites. Even though she's more than old enough, and has proven her ability to handle responsibility; she's still only a Knight like me." Ben said nodding thoughtfully.
"Exactly. And believe it or not, she was one of those who insisted that no favorites be played, regardless, of age or political rank." Kyle replied.
The Jedi Master grinned inwardly at the sudden change of tactics that Ben had adopted. Knowing the former G.A.G. officer was deliberately making it seem as if the two of them were more interested in their own conversation to pay much attention to the girl that both wanted to question. It was an interesting method that looked as if it might work; judging by the way the girl sitting to his right was acting. Even though Kyle was looking at Ben and talking with the young Knight, his attention was mainly focused on Talon. The girl was sitting with a nearly blank expression on her face, as if she were being distracted by something.
Kyle and Ben were still discussing the various privileges that were reserved for the rank of Master when the droid returned with their order. Ben quickly reached out and took the small tray and passed out the drinks and plates; since the droid had rolled up right next to him. Then he took a look at his ale.
The tall mug still had a slight coating of frost on it, and the dark aromatic beverage contained inside had a rich foamy head that was a perfect three centimeters thick. Taking his first sip of the rich and fragrant ale, Ben sighed and licked his lips in appreciation. After a long day, there was little better than a good refreshing drink to help wind things down.
Kyle chuckled and shook his head with a grin. He'd seen more than a few pilots react the same way upon getting their first drink after a long run, and it was still somewhat hard for him to believe that Ben acted like someone closer to his own age instead of a mere nineteen.
"That good, huh?" Kyle asked still grinning.
"Let's just say that it's been a long week." Ben answered tiredly.
"I know what you mean." Kyle responded as he noticed that Talon hadn't touched her food or either of the drinks.
"Talon, aren't you going to eat? Why don't you drink this first, but go slow with it; it's pretty strong stuff." Kyle instructed turning his focus to the girl as he slid the cup intoxicating beverage towards her.
Talon shook her head slightly; trying to clear the invading thoughts and emotions from her mind. It wasn't that they were getting louder, or stronger; rather it was that as her mind grew tired, she was finding more difficult to ignore what she was constantly sensing through the Force. To her, it was like being in a very crowded and extremely noisy room, except that all the noise was in her mind instead of her ears.
Talon looked down at the cup that was being offered to her and examined it. There was a very strong sweet odor coming from the red colored stuff in the cup. She didn't know what it was, but it was in a much smaller version of the same type of cup that she'd drank the caf from that Leia had offered her, so she decided to go ahead and try it; especially since she'd also been told to do so. She picked up the strange looking cup and cautiously took a small sip.
The first sip startled the girl enough that she completely forgot about the jumbled confusion going on in her mind. Shockingly strong and sweet, this stuff had none of the rich flavor of the Bantha milk she'd had earlier. Instead, there was a powerful sweet flavor that seemed to demand that she drink more. Talon swallowed that first sip and started to take another when she stopped in surprise.
Talon's mouth dropped open, and she stared at the stuff in disbelief. Even though the stuff she was drinking was cold, she could feel it somehow warming her insides as it went down. That was strange; it was a curious feeling to have her insides getting warmed up like that. At least it didn't make her head hurt the way that one kind of food had. Deciding that she wanted to be warm all over; inside and out; Talon downed the rest of it in a single gulp.
Kyle was watching Talon out of pure curiosity to see what she would do with the intoxicating drink. He wasn't the least bit surprised by the startled look on the girl's face when she swallowed that first sip, but the Jedi Master nearly choked as he gaped in astonishment when the girl downed the rest all at once. When the girl set the miniature cup down it was empty.
"Blazes! I could have sworn that I said to go slow with that." Kyle muttered mostly to himself as he stared at the now empty cup.
The two Jedi turned to look at each other in shock at just how readily Talon had downed the stiff drink with barely a hitch in her breathing. Suddenly Ben was giving the girl a sidelong glance as he slid his ale farther away from her.
Kyle noticed Ben's move, and couldn't really blame the young man. After all, regular juma juice was intoxicating enough, but once fermented, a mere liter would put even the biggest rancor under the table.
Both Jedi were sitting there wondering whether or not they'd have to defend their own drinks when a disturbingly loud growl began to emerge from Talon's position.
"Please tell me she's not a mean drunk, because I already know she can beat me." Ben muttered hopefully.
"You know she can beat you, and I know she can beat both of us put together! But I don't think we have anything to worry about just yet; because that was her stomach, and if you think that was loud; you should have heard her in the infirmary earlier. She can get loud enough to put a Wookie to shame." Kyle answered with a slight grin before he turned his attention back to Talon.
"Talon, you are hungry aren't you?" He asked her.
"Then why aren't you eating your sandwich?" Kyle asked when she nodded.
Talon turned her head towards the Jedi Master but kept her eyes towards the table as she answered the question.
"There's no tableware." She said in a near whisper.
Kyle started laughing, while Ben had the most perplexed expression ever seen on his face.
"Okay; I've got to know. What's so funny about that?" Ben demanded in a friendly tone.
"Well at dinner, she was about as neat as a starving Hutt, and now she won't touch her food without a fork. I guess your Aunt was pretty insistent with her lessons in dinning etiquette." He told Ben. "Talon, this is one kind of food that you are supposed to eat with your hands. Here; watch how we do it." Kyle instructed.
With a nod to Ben as an indication to follow suit; Kyle picked up his sandwich, and waited for the younger man to do the same. Then they both began to eat a few bites each. Talon watched them both carefully and frowned slightly when she thought they must be testing her, because they hadn't placed their napkins in their laps.
Talon quietly picked up her napkin and placed it neatly in her lap just as she'd been so painstakingly taught. Then she reached out and picked up her sandwich, and saw that the two Jedi were eating theirs in much the same way that she would have eaten a slab of emergency rations, except at a much slower pace. Taking a bite out of the strange looking type of food, Talon decided that it was much better than the ice cream, and began chewing contentedly.
Talon was eating at a pace that was so slow, she would surely have lost her meal to someone else who had already finished theirs had she still been back on Korriban. As it was, she was still eating faster than the two Jedi who were too busy talking to each other to worry about concentrating on their food.
As Talon carefully maintained her pace, she began to notice the flavor of the food she was eating, and having something to concentrate on, made the constant mental noise much less bothersome.
Twenty minutes later, Talon had finished with the sandwich after having taken far more time than she would have been allowed at the Sith academy; she now turned her attention to the large glass of Bantha milk.
Talon had no clue that the drink she'd been given was starting to affect her. She did know that there was a strange sensation in her head. She couldn't tell where it was coming from, or what caused it, but then she didn't really care. Unknown to either of the Jedi, or to Talon herself; the metabolic enhancers that she'd been given had caused her body to process the intoxicating beverage several times faster than it normally would have done, and Talon was a little more than slightly drunk.
Both Jedi paused in their discussion of current politics when they felt the abrupt but slight change in the Force. A glance at the girl found her sipping away quite happily from her glass. Suddenly the girl set her glass down and aimed a frown at the windows, before she turned to the two Jedi.
"This academy is much better than the Sith academy!" Talon exclaimed suddenly.
"Really? What makes you say that?" Ben asked her.
Talon looked over at the young Jedi as if he'd lost his mind. "Because I don't have to be cold, there's lots to eat, and no one tries to take the food away from me!" She answered in a happy tone.
"So, do you think you're going to enjoy it here?" Kyle asked with amused interest.
Talon frowned for a second as she glanced at the windows again, before she turned back to the Jedi. "What does enjoy mean?" She countered.
"Tell me that was a joke." Ben uttered in disbelief.
Talon started shaking her head "Jokes get you punished, even though Darth Magus used to do them all the time. The Masters never allowed themselves to be bested by a student. The Masters and Wielders used to punish me all the time for being better than they were, until I learned not to show them how much better my saber skills were." Talon said while still shaking her head.
"Where is this Darth Magus now?" Ben asked seriously.
"He's dead. One of the Guardians ate him. He got really angry when they attacked. He was so mad that he threw down the weapons that he was using for my training and tried to fight them with his lightsabers. He killed one, but another one grabbed him and ate him up. He screamed even louder than I ever did when he would punish me." Talon answered in a toneless voice.
"Just how did he used to punish you, Talon?" Kyle asked her.
"He... he would hit me with Force lightning over and over; for hours, until I would hurt for many days and sometimes weeks. Sometimes he or another Master would do it because I did something wrong, but other times they would do it just because they wanted to. I tried...I always tried so hard to do everything right, so I wouldn't get punished anymore. But it didn't matter, because it was almost as if they were hungry to see someone being hurt. I even tried to stay away from them when they were that way, but they would just do it to one of the others. Sometimes they would kill whatever student they found when they were that way. I had to stop avoiding them after that, because they wouldn't kill me, and I knew they couldn't kill me without a valid reason, because I was too valuable of a resource to be wasted. The Masters always let the Wielders do whatever they wanted to us, as long as they didn't waste resources. They were always hitting us with Force lightning. Then I saw one student somehow shove the Force lightning away from her. They sent her to the wilds for that. The Darth Magus told the rest of us that we'd better never defend ourselves against any Master or Wielder." Talon told them quietly.
Only a complete idiot would have been unable to hear the sadness and fear in Talon's voice as she spoke of what she and the other students had been forced to live with. Kyle and Ben were most definitely not idiots, and both Jedi shot each other a hard look as if to verify that the other had heard the same blood chilling story.
Kyle now understood just why the girl was so terrified of getting punished by the Jedi. He'd heard Luke say that she'd been taught that Jedi were cruel, and Leia had said that she was raised to fear Jedi. Adding those simple facts together with what her Sith Masters had used for punishments, and he knew the girl had plenty of reason to go screaming down the streets as she ran for her life.
For his part; Ben now knew that everything two particular Sith had put him through in their attempts first to convert him and then to interrogate him; were nothing compared to the torment and misery that Talon had lived with her entire life. To endure torture when you knew there was a specific goal behind it was one thing, but it was something else again, when it was being done simply for pleasure.
Both Jedi were reflecting on the girl's explanation, when she caught their attention by speaking again.
"That wasn't even the worst part. They would give us a packet of food, and then if we didn't eat it fast enough, they would take it away and eat it themselves. Sometimes they would eat theirs before they gave us ours, so they could still take ours away. We weren't even allowed to try to fight back to keep it either. If we did, then we got punished. You want to know something?" Talon asked suddenly as she interrupted herself.
Both Jedi watched her with interest as she continued.
"I knew that my stomach would hurt when I hadn't eaten anything for a couple of days, but I didn't know that it would also hurt from eating too much. I'd much rather have that pain, than the one from being hungry, because at least the pain from eating too much goes away after a few hours, and hungry pain doesn't." She said absently.
"Another way that this place is better, is the way you were trying to teach the other students their saber skills. On Korriban, they would just line everyone up; show them the stroke that they were supposed to learn, and let them practice it. There wasn't any individual instruction on how to make sure the stance was correct, or that proper positioning was being used, or how to make sure that you could flow from one move or form to the next. But the way you were teaching those students today was better because anyone that does know the correct way to do something can show the others." Talon continued quietly as she reached out and picked up her glass of Bantha milk.
Both Jedi shared a glance at each other as Ben signaled the server droid over and ordered another sandwich along with two more glasses of blue milk. Both of them knew that Talon was feeling the effects of the beverage a little more than she should at this point, and began watching her closely in case something went wrong. They both knew that she wasn't in any danger, especially with a fully equipped infirmary nearby.
"I don't suppose you've got any tips for me concerning my saber skills do you?" Ben asked her curiously.
Talon suddenly set her glass down and leaned towards the young Jedi. "You know that first attack you made against me?" She asked in an almost conspiratorial tone.
"Yeah, what about it?" Ben asked.
"Never do it again!" Talon announced firmly while shaking her head.
"Now come on; I don't think it was that bad! It's fast, powerful, and can do plenty of damage on the first strike." Ben countered after nearly choking on his ale.
Talon started shaking her head rapidly. "That's the kind of attack you would expect from a Wielder that doesn't know any better. None of the Fighters I know of; would ever try something like that unless they wanted to land on the floor in lots of pieces or get killed. Darth Magus knew better than to try something like that. I think he knew that my saber skills were much better than his, but even he would have hurt you very badly. At the very least; he would have kicked your feet so you couldn't land properly. If you want to leap at your opponent like that; then make sure you stay low to the ground, and come in really fast. Feint for the chest, and then sweep the ankles. That's the only thing that might give you a chance at pulling something like that off, but it's still too easily countered, unless you know that you're more skilled than they are." She informed him.
"Never leap at any opponent like that; unless they are wounded, dazed, or off balance. Otherwise, you're just asking to get hurt or killed." Talon said as she picked her glass up again.
Ben actually considered the advice for a minute while the girl finished her milk. He'd seen the way she'd been using not one, but two full sized staves when he walked into that training room, and he knew that couldn't have been easy to learn. That plus the fact that she had easily held off his best attacks, in spite of her obvious disadvantage in size, told the young Jedi a great deal about her level of skill. That reminded him.
"So where did you learn to use a staff in each hand? I've never heard of anyone doing something like that before." Ben asked her with interest.
At that question, Kyle focused his entire attention on Talon. He too was interested in whatever answer Talon was going to give.
Talon furrowed her brow in concentration as she thought back. "I don't really know how to answer that. Darth Magus always made me work on my saber skills more than any of my other skills, but after we both knew that I had mastered all seven forms to a level that was even better than his; he made me try to use a staff in each hand. I think he just wanted to humiliate me at first. But after that first session, when I was hurting so much from the hits he'd given to me; I started thinking about it. I could almost see how the two weapons could work together, and that it should be possible to use them both, but he hadn't given me a chance to really figure it out. During the second session that day, I tried out the methods I'd thought of, some of them worked, but not very well. I had to wait until each session was over to think about what went wrong and how I could improve certain things. After that he just kept pushing me harder to develop the Whirlus form as he called it, and learn to master it at the same time. I think that he only wanted to see just how far my saber skills could go, because he never did consider me worthy of being a Sith no matter how hard I tried. I know he wanted to kill me after he learned everything he could from me, so I always had to make sure that I stayed better than he was." Talon finished sadly.
"So you still want to be a Sith then?" Ben asked curiously.
"How can I be trained as a Sith when they've all been eaten up? There's no one left to teach me, and I still can't summon anger or hate. That's what made me a failure as a Sith. That hasn't changed. So, I don't know what I'm supposed to be. Master Leia wants me to stay here and learn to become a Jedi, but that other Master promised to send me away. I... I don't want to be sent to the wilds." She said quietly.
Talon was nearly in tears as she spoke these words, and both Jedi could sense the girl's fears about her uncertain future.
Kyle sighed heavily as he looked at the girl sitting at the table with him. At little more than a meter in height; his lightsaber would be taller than she was. Stunted and pitifully thin; it was no wonder she was easily thought to be four or even five years younger than she was. Kyle passed the sandwich and two glasses of blue milk to her when the droid arrived as he tried to think of something he could say that would reassure her about an uncertain future.
Closing his eyes and calming his mind; Kyle Katarn began to focus himself. With his thoughts focused on the girl's future; the Jedi Master opened himself to the Force. Several of the visions that came to his mind were violent and full of turmoil. Others were serene and peaceful. One set of visions saw her face contorted with hate as she led an army of Sith across the galaxy to slaughter every Jedi that could be found. Another set of visions found her standing at the vanguard of a team of Jedi while facing other Sith with blades as red her own. Kyle saw a combat team the likes of which no one had ever dreamed would be put together. Jedi, Mandalorians, and YVH droids surrounded the girl as she led them somewhere deep into the bowels of what he recognized as Korriban. He then saw the girl addressing thousands of storm troopers as they prepared for battle. The next vision found the girl dismembering those same storm troopers as she fought wildly to protect a downed Jedi who'd been hit.
In each set of visions, there was one glaring difference that quickly became apparent to the Jedi Master. Opening his eyes; Kyle looked over to see Talon brooding silently. Knowing how close he'd come to losing one of his own students; Rosh Penin to the dark side, Kyle could not in good conscience allow that to happen to the girl currently sharing the table with him. He knew that her saber skills alone would make her a valuable addition to the Order, but he also knew that a student had to want to become a Jedi as well in order to be accepted for training.
"Talon, the only reason Master Hamner doesn't want you here; is because you're a Sith. So, you need to make a decision, Talon. Do you want to be a Sith, or do you want to stay here and train to become a Jedi? You have to choose one way or the other, and no one else can tell you what choice to make. It has to be your choice; your decision. I can't make it for you and neither can Ben here, or even Leia. It has to be made by you."
"What will happen if I want to be a Sith?" Talon asked in a whisper.
There was a sudden hiss as Ben drew in a sharp almost angry breath at that question.
"If you want to be trained as a Sith, then you'd have to leave Talon. I don't know where you'd go, but I'm sure that you'd find other Sith eventually, but I don't know how long it would be before you did find them." Kyle told her refusing to lie about what he knew could possibly happen.
"What if I want to be a Jedi?" Talon then asked just as softly.
Ben gave the girl a skeptical glance. He realized then that she was only trying to find out what her options were. But still, the idea of sitting at a table, sharing a drink with someone that he might have to try to kill one day, disturbed him more than he wanted to admit.
"If you decide that you want to be trained as a Jedi, and join the Order, then you'd stay here, or go to one of our other academies for training. You'd be assigned a Master who would teach you the rules and ways of our Order." Kyle answered honestly.
Talon stared at the food in front of her with eyes that weren't seeing what was there. Instead, she was seeing the horrified expression on the face of a young student who'd just been told to leave by Darth Magus. She was seeing the countless times that she and other students had gone hungry, because their Sith Masters were still hungry themselves. She saw the stark terror and pain on the faces of students who were having their minds invaded by Sith instructors. Her ears became filled with the memory of the screams of torment that had often echoed through the halls of the academy during a student's punishment. Then Talon blinked her eyes and she finally did see the food in front of her. So much noise and so many emotions were flowing through her mind, and only a very, very few of them actually hers, that she hadn't noticed what had been right in front of her the whole time.
As Talon stared at the food in front of her, she struggled to think back to that first time she had met a Jedi. She remembered what she had looked like when she had escaped from the Guardians, but now, looking back at the moment before she'd found out she was with the Jedi; she realized that someone had cleaned her up, dressed her, and put her in a warm bed. She remembered how the first thing that a Jedi had said to her was that she was safe, and that the Jedi wouldn't let anyone harm her. She remembered how that Jedi had protected her from another, then, later, that Jedi had protected her from still another Jedi. "I'm a Jedi and it's my job." Talon could almost hear those words once more. There hadn't been any anger or hate in them, nor was there any hostility in the Jedi's tone. No, there had been only immutable, solid, reliable fact in those simple words which were beginning to explain so much, and yet so little at the same time.
Instead of punishment for ignorance, there had been explanations that answered questions. Instead of being cold, or burning up in this heat, she'd been given clothes to keep her comfortable. Instead of being hungry, there was more food than she would ever have dared to dream of.
As they sat quietly waiting to see what Talon's decision would be; both Jedi felt a small subtle shift in the Force around them. It was as if something incredibly heavy had been moved nearby, but they had no idea what it was.
As she continued to look down at the food in front of her; Talon knew what her decision had to be, and all at once, to her, it felt as if the Force itself was in approval.
Master Katarn was waiting patiently for Talon to come to her decision. He knew that it wasn't an easy thing to decide. Return to a life of misery, or turn your back on everything you've ever known to side with the enemy that you've been taught to fear and hate. It wouldn't be an easy choice for an adult, but for someone Talon's age? Kyle knew it had to be a tough choice.
"I want to be a Jedi." Talon said determinedly as she looked the Jedi Master straight in the eye.
She wasn't sure what had made her do such a thing. Her Sith Masters had always taken it as a challenge when a student had met their eyes, but just this once, something had told her to do just that. Talon was sure that something was going to happen now, but she didn't know what.
The Jedi Master couldn't hold back a grin as he reached over and placed a hand on Talon's shoulder. "Glad to hear it, Talon. And I'm sure that you'll make a fine Jedi someday."
"You've got a big day tomorrow, so why don't you finish eating and then try to get some sleep?" Kyle suggested as he finished his ale and started to get up. A subtle nod to Ben and the young Jedi quickly took the silent hint and did the same. Both were leaving Talon to finish her food in peace.
Talon did as she was told and began eating. Chewing thoughtfully as she watched the two Jedi leave, Talon wasn't sure why tomorrow was so important. She was still having trouble thinking clearly because of the intruding thoughts and emotions that she was receiving. Strangely after all that had happened to her, Talon felt safer than she ever had in her life as she finished her food and went to her quarters to get some sleep.