Author's Notes: Drakonian… DUDE! Either log in, or create a profile! Responding to your reviews like this is a pain in the #%# &*# ! (Cal that fifteen lines of profanity and leave it at that! I don't think FFN would allow that much cussing on this site, besides, everyone else would rather read the chapter instead of a five thousand word rant.) Also, quality takes some time, Rome wasn't built in a single day, and I flat refuse to post something that SUCKS! At any rate, Plot Demons have returned from their vacation, and I am taking full advantage of it! Enjoy!
Ben Skywalker sat alone in the lounge with a cup of caf that had long ago gotten cold. The dream that he'd experienced earlier had been more frightening than almost anything he'd ever dealt with in person. Learning that it was something that Talon had actually lived through somehow made it even more horrific. Suddenly Ben remembered what Kyle had mentioned the night before. 'Stang! That… nightmare was part of the best day of her life?' The young Jedi Knight shuddered at the thought that the rest of Talon's life had to have been even worse.
Ben was pulled from his musings by the sound of clashing lightsabers that was getting closer. Then he was gaping in astonishment as Talon backed her way past the doorway while what was apparently his grandfather's Force ghost kept driving her further back.
His caf completely forgotten, Ben slid from the table and darted to the doorway to watch what was going on. He was in such a stupor of disbelief and shock that Ben couldn't even think of telling or asking his grandfather to stop. All he could do was follow after them while staring stupidly at the incredible saber skills in use. He watched in concerned silence as Vader drove Talon backwards through the Temple and into one of the training rooms.
It wasn't until a couple of moments after they had gotten into the room that Ben noticed how Talon was not only squinting against the lighting, but sweating heavily. He knew that he was no match for the Force ghost of his grandfather, and after seeing the saber skills that were in use, he quickly realized that he would only be in the way and likely get either himself or Talon killed if he tried to intervene. There was one thing he could do to help though, and he did. Stepping over to the environmental controls he quickly lowered the light level down to what he had thought it was last night. Then he lowered the temperature as well. He had no idea what his grandfather wanted with Talon, but he didn't know of anyone who could defeat a Force ghost, and that included his dad.
Beneath the mask of Darth Vader, the spirit of Anakin Skywalker smiled. Not one of his powerful attacks had even come close to getting through the girl's defense. Although they had been fighting for several long minutes, she had yet to even try any type of counter attack. He had to admit, her saber skills were much better than any he'd ever seen. He brought the lightsaber he'd retrieved from her workstation straight down in a strong overhead sweep, but didn't pull back when it was blocked. He kept the saber there locking the two opponents in an angry clash of energy as the blades continued to make contact.
"Why are you here, young apprentice?" He demanded in a firm voice.
Talon was terrified. She wasn't exactly sure why Lord Vader was angry at her, or why he had come to attack her. The only thing she could think of is that he was here because she was following the instructions of her Jedi Master. The lowered lights and temperature helped, because she could now see where the strikes were as well as feel them through the Force. It wasn't until she heard that question from Lord Vader that she began to understand that he would probably kill her for her failure. That was when Talon decided that she wasn't going to let Master Leia be angry with her actions, and she decided to answer the way these Jedi wanted.
"Be… because Master Leia wants me to be a Jedi. So that's what I'm going to learn." She almost wailed in fear.
Suddenly, Vader moved back and deactivated the lightsaber in his hands. "But is that what you want?" Anakin demanded angrily.
Talon closed her eyes and waited for the rage of Lord Vader as she gave her answer. "Y… yes."
"Then you must listen to my daughter, and heed her lessons well. She is your Master now, and she can teach you what being a Jedi truly means. It is not an easy path, but it is a rewarding one. Obey her wishes and you will indeed become a Jedi, but if you do not… if you betray her… you will know my wrath!" Anakin said in a menacing rumble before he tossed the lightsaber to the girl and vanished.
Ben let out a breath that he hadn't realized he was holding. He was in a complete daze as he left Talon in the training room and returned to his seat in the lounge. Apparently his grandfather wanted Talon to learn the ways of the Jedi, to fully embrace the tenants and teachings of the order, and to become one of their number. It was something that baffled him. What he couldn't understand was why had his grandfather appeared as Vader? If he wanted Talon to listen to his aunt as Talon had been told, then why hadn't he appeared as Anakin?
Ben sat there after downing the remains of his now cold caf and pondered what he had seen for nearly an hour. That was when he suddenly realized why his grandfather had shown up as Darth Vader. Talon had been taught to look up to the Sith Lord, to idolize him, and to revere him as a great leader! By showing up as Darth Vader, his grandfather had taken advantage of Talon's past. It was entirely possible that she wouldn't recognize Anakin at all, but Darth Vader was someone whose reputation was known, whose advice and instructions would be followed without question. That was why his grandfather had shown himself that way!
The question of why Anakin had bothered to appear and show himself at all was a different matter. Ben figured that it probably had to do with those saber skills that he'd seen in use by the both of them. He'd known that Talon was good, but that was something that he would not have imagined possible! He knew of several masters, his father included, who were good with a lightsaber, but prior to what he'd personally witnessed, he would have sworn that no one was that good! The thing that really made him wonder though was that not once had he seen Talon on the offensive. There was a strange feeling that made him sure that his grandfather's Force ghost hadn't been holding back either. She hadn't initiated so much as a single attack his grandfather… and now that he really thought about it, he also realized that she had only defended herself against his attacks without launching even one against him.
'Her defense is impenetrable, but she'll need to learn how to go on the offensive when it's called for. Not everyone she faces will be willing to back down like my grandfather or I. That's going to have to change. I'd better talk to my aunt to make sure she knows the score on that one. Somehow I think that Talon's presence here is about to become vital, because there are no coincidences when it comes to the Force.' Ben thought seriously.
That was when Ben was pulled from his introspective thoughts by a blue haze gathering around a chair on the opposite side of the table he was sitting at. He watched with narrowed and suspicious eyes as his grandfather's Force ghost appeared while sitting in a chair across from him. He looked at the apparition for a moment, and noticed immediately that it was Anakin Skywalker and not Darth Vader who was sitting there. He also noticed the worried and concerned expression on the face as well as the serious expression in the body language.
"Ben, I need you to listen to me. I can't tell you what's going to happen, but what I can say is that Talon is going to be needed by the Order, sooner than you might think. Because of the past that she and I share, there will be many who refuse to ever trust her. There will be some who will be wary of her at first, but might eventually give her a grudging amount of trust. She needs friends! That girl needs to know that she isn't alone. I know that Leia will do everything she can, but she's only one person. I know some of what Talon has been through, and I also know what you have been through, but believe me when I say that everything in your life has been pleasant compared to hers!" Anakin began seriously.
"So what exactly is it that you need me to do?" Ben asked quickly knowing that he was likely interrupting whatever else his grandfather was going to say.
Anakin actually smiled and gave a half hearted sardonic chuckle, but it was fraught with the concern that was etched heavily on his face.
"I need you to trust her Ben. I need you to become one of the few friends that she will actually have around her. Do what you can to make sure she doesn't fall to the Darkside. Fear is incredibly strong in her. That fear… even terror is much, much stronger than my hatred or anger ever was! Do not allow those fears of hers to develop into anger. She will need reasons to want to stay with the Order. Between you and my daughter, I am certain that Talon will be given those reasons. She's had no say in how she was raised… in fact; she's had no say in anything! Make her start to choose for herself; have her start to make decisions, even if they are minor or inconsequential ones. Show her that she now has some control over her life. Make her see that her life is more valuable than a lifeless chunk of rock. She was trained to be and raised to be nothing more than blaster fodder; to die against whatever enemy she was ordered to attack; to be a suicide fighter, because her life is worthless!" Anakin finished in disgust.
"Her life isn't worthless!" Ben retorted angrily. "That may be what her Sith Masters wanted her to believe, and maybe even what they believed, but it's not what I believe!" He continued in a near growl of outrage.
"Maybe you weren't paying attention grandfather, but I did! Talon never once tried to strike back at you, and you were not holding back. If Talon was actually what this Darth Magus had tried to make her into, then she wouldn't have hesitated to carve you into a lot of little pieces if you were still alive! From what I've learned, she's just a kid who hasn't been taught properly." Ben began in a near shout of anger.
"Exactly!" Anakin agreed readily. "So now, you must help show her the right way to live. Show her that she has a choice in her life; show her that she doesn't have to be afraid of everyone she meets, because not everyone will want her dead. She her that she… that her life actually has some value, because a lot will come to depend on her choices. Make sure that she wants to make the right choice when the time comes." Anakin finished heavily.
Ben nodded seriously as he looked at his grandfather. He could see the worry, concern, frustration, and yet strangely enough, he could also see hope in his grandfather's expression. He knew then, that there was a lot that his grandfather wasn't telling him, but he hadn't spent a few years in the Galactic Alliance Guard sitting on his thumbs. He had learned a lot, and everything he had learned was telling him that his grandfather would not have appeared like he had if this wasn't extremely important.
"I'll do what I can, and I'll make sure she makes the right decisions. You can count on that. I don't give up easily." Ben said in a tone of resolve.
For the first time, Anakin smiled without the signs of worry. "I know Ben… I know, and I want you to know, that I'm proud to have you as my grandson."
With those final words, his grandfather's Force ghost vanished leaving him alone in the lounge. Ben leaned back in the chair before leaning forward to summon a droid for a cup of caf, he apparently had a lot of thinking to do, and he was going to need to be alert to do it.
Master Cilghal sat in the cafeteria with a much needed cup of caf. Getting the younglings back to sleep after that horrible nightmare had not been easy. Almost every one of them had required a light sedation because though they had been somewhat calmed while they were awake, none of them had wanted to face that nightmare again, and all of them had feared that it would return. It had made for a very long night, and then once the younglings had been put back to bed, she, along with the rest of the Knights and Masters had learned the cause of that atrocity. Even as tired as she was, Cilghal still looked up when she noticed someone coming into the cafeteria. Knight Skywalker looked as tired as she felt, but there seemed to be a grim air about the young Knight.
"Morning. Mind if I join you?" Ben asked as pleasantly.
"Be my guest. Just don't expect many others to show up for breakfast after that mess last night." Cilghal answered bluntly.
"That was something else wasn't it?" Ben asked rhetorically with a slight shake of his head as he sat down at the table next to the Healer. "It kind of makes you wonder though. If that was part of the best day of her life… what kind of nightmares has Talon had to live through?"
"That is something I do not want to know! What I saw before waking was bad enough." Cilghal muttered sourly.
"Oh, I agree with you, but there's still a part of me that can't help but wonder." Ben said as he placed an order for some caf and a few light pastries, before noticing the sound of the breakfast chime.
"You can wonder all you want… but if you ever find out, do not tell me because I do not want to know."
Ben snorted in amusement, although he actually and honestly agreed with the Healer. There were some questions that were better left unanswered, and he was sure that the whole of Talon's past, was one of them. When his breakfast arrived, he sat and munched on the sweet rolls while sipping at his caf and enjoying the companionable silence.
Cilghal looked up as someone else entered the cafeteria, and she had almost ignored it until she noticed that not only was it the cause of last nights problem, but also that Talon was limping slightly. It was clear that the girl was in severe pain but also that she was trying to hide it.
"Relax Cilghal. It's not her fault. I'll explain everything later… in private." Ben muttered under his breath so that only the Healer could hear.
"Hey Talon! Come have a seat and join us." Ben called out with much more cheerfulness than he actually felt. The Jedi Knight watched as Talon took a seat and thought about what she wanted to eat for breakfast.
Talon sat down at the table, and frowned slightly. She knew from what Master Leia had told her that she could order what she wanted to eat. She still didn't know all of the different kinds of food that the Jedi had so she decided to eat what her Master had sent one of the other Masters to get for her the first day that she was here. She placed her order for four slices of nerf loaf with lots of gravy, four pieces of Haroun bread, a glass of Bantha milk, and a cup of Broulahn tea.
"I guess you would be pretty hungry after your fight with Darth Vader last night." Ben said casually. "I saw part of that you know." He added as he saw Cilghal stiffen beside him.
"I thought he was angry at me because I'm trying to become a Jedi… but he… he told me that he wants me to be a Jedi, and to obey master Leia. Lord… Lord Vader said if I don't, he'll come back and next time he will be angry at me." Talon answered quietly.
"You know, my grandfather always did have a temper. I think it runs in the family because my aunt Leia has a pretty good one too. She's just sneakier about how she lets it out though." Ben answered easily.
Cilghal was glancing back and forth between Ben and Talon as she tried to comprehend exactly what had somehow transpired last night. She couldn't help but wonder if it had happened before or after everyone had experienced Talon's nightmare. As much as she wanted to treat Talon's leg for the pain that the girl was in, she needed to know what was going on as well. That was why she was holding her silence for now.
"Well, my aunt tried to tell you that my grandfather would want you to be a Jedi. Now you know she wasn't joking, don't you?" Ben asked lightly.
Talon nodded her head slightly. "I thought Lord Vader was angry at me." She repeated softly.
Ben waited in silence as the serving droid approached with Talon's food. He raised his eyebrows at what the girl had ordered, but figured that since she didn't know any better that he shouldn't say anything to her until later.
"Well, it's pretty obvious that he didn't kill you, or you would be sitting there eating." Ben joked lightly.
"He sounded like he was angry at me." Talon replied in a near whisper.
"No Talon. He wasn't." Ben said candidly.
"My grandfather has never done anything without a good reason for it. He wants you to become a Jedi, because… being a Sith is wrong. He found that out the hard way, and he just doesn't want you to make the same mistakes that he did." Ben told her lightly.
"How do you know this?" Cilghal asked curiously.
"Simple. He and I talked about it afterwards." Ben replied without mentioning the unspoken warning about the future.
Cilghal knew that there was something the Jedi Knight wasn't saying, but whatever it was had to stay between him, Talon, and the spirit of Anakin Skywalker. Anything she might have been about to say was cut off by the entrance of one of the younglings that she'd had to sedate. Even with medication this particular youngling had struggled to remain awake terrified that the nightmare would return or that the monsters which were in it would come to get her. It was at that point that she got up to go to the infirmary, being certain that she would probably need to sedate some of the younglings once again, and she needed to get talon some pain killer along with another bacta treatment.
"Hey Talon… did… did you have the bad dream too?" Pleena asked nervously as she approached the table Talon was sitting at.
Talon shook her head because she wasn't sure what Pleena was talking about, and she knew that nothing from last night had been any kind of a dream.
"You got lucky. That was the scariest thing I've ever seen." Pleena said sorrowfully as she went up to the line to get a tray.
Ben watched the young Nautolan leave the table and turned his attention back to Talon.
"Talon… I want you to have something." Ben said as he placed a lightsaber on the table. "This belonged to my grandfather. He built it, and used it when he was still Anakin Skywalker, before he became Darth Vader. I think he would want you to hang on to it and let it remind you that he was first a Jedi… and that he died as a Jedi."
Talon stared at the lightsaber on the table in front of her. She could sense the power contained in the weapon, because however he had built it, she knew that somehow Lord Vader had infused it with the Force. She reached out and carefully picked it up while staring at it in awe.
'This… this was his! This lightsaber belonged to Lord Vader. Lord Vader wants me to be a Jedi, and now… and now… I even have his Jedi lightsaber!' Talon didn't know what to say. She sat there and stared at the lightsaber for a moment before she placed on her belt. She looked back up at the Jedi in front of her in a state of shock.
Ben smiled, because he knew, just knew that presenting Talon with that lightsaber was going to make the difference that his grandfather wanted. "I want you to remember one thing Talon. That is the lightsaber of a Jedi, not a Sith… understand? It was built and used by my grandfather, then my father used it, and then, after recovering it from Bespin, I used it. That lightsaber has been wielded by three generations of Jedi… now it's your turn. You will be the first person who is not of Anakin, or Vader's blood to use it."
Talon nodded her head quickly. "Yes, Master."
"I'm not your Master, Talon, and I'm not a Master at all, just a Jedi Knight." Ben answered lightly.
Anything else Talon had been about to say was cut off by the arrival of the server droid with Talon's food. She had just placed her napkin in her lap when Pleena came back to the table.
"Knight Skywalker? Can I sit with Talon?" Pleena asked hopefully.
"Sure." Ben answered easily. "I was just getting some stuff to take with me." He said as he got up from the table, grabbing the sweet rolls, and caf.
Talon watched the Jedi leave with wide eyes. His actions had just made it clear to her that he had only waited to give her Lord Vader's lightsaber, and he had done so where others hadn't seen it. She was all too aware of the added weight and pressure on her belt from the presence of the lightsaber.
Pleena could see that Talon was preoccupied by something, and she hoped that that it wasn't the night mare everyone had experienced at the same time. Just thinking about the horrible monsters she had seen in that dream sent chills down her spine. Noticing that Talon wasn't eating, she looked over at the other girl's plate and her solid black eyes bulged in her green face.
"That's not breakfast; that's dinner!" Pleena exclaimed loudly.
"But Master Leia said that I could ask for what I wanted." Talon replied worriedly.
"You mean you asked for that?" Pleena demanded in disbelief.
Talon nodded her head slowly. She wondered if she had done something wrong. Master Leia had told her that this was the correct time to eat, and that she was to order the kind of food she wanted, but now someone else was telling her that she had gotten the wrong thing. Although she was sure that Master Leia was right, she couldn't help but wonder if there were certain kinds of foods that were meant for certain meals. She would have to ask Master Leia about that later.
Just as Ben left the cafeteria, he caught the Healer Cilghal just as she was about to go back in. "Hey, about last night. I really don't think Talon was given any choice. When I first saw her, the Force ghost of Darth Vader was driving her backwards past the lounge. She was wearing pajamas if that makes any difference, so I think she was pulled out of bed. She wasn't given the opportunity to put on her thermal regulators, optical filter, or even her leg brace, because Vader never gave her the chance." Ben said quickly before he shook his head slowly. "He wasn't just sparring either. I don't think he was holding back at all, because I've never seen saber work like that!"
"Talon isn't in any condition to be fighting. Surely a Force ghost would have known that, and just how did she manage to defeat him?" Cilghal demanded incredulously.
"She didn't." Ben answered softly as he looked at the Healer seriously. Then, as soon as he saw that she was beginning to realize the implications of what he said, he continued. "I think he was trying to get a measure of her resolve; to find out if she really intends to become a Jedi, or if she was simply telling the Council what they wanted to hear. Once she answered him, he lowered the weapon he'd taken from her, and told her that she'd better stay a Jedi, or he'd be coming back to deal with her permanently. He wasn't joking either."
"No, I suppose he wasn't. He wouldn't have gone to such trouble over a joke." Cilghal mused quietly.
"I know you'd like to get her taken care of, so I'll fill you in on the rest later, besides, my aunt will need to hear this; so will the Council, and I do not feel like repeating it a dozen times." Ben said with a heavy sigh.
Cilghal nodded before entering the cafeteria to give Talon her injection of pain killer and bacta treatment.
Jedi Master Leia Organa Solo entered the quarters belonging to her apprentice, and saw the young girl sitting on the end of her bed staring at a lightsaber that was also on the bed. Suddenly she was looking back at Talon with a hard appraising eye as she studied the girl's belt. All four of the lightsabers she had brought with her from the Sith Academy were still there… so where had she gotten this one from? As she looked at it, the lightsaber seemed familiar, but she couldn't place where she had seen it before.
"Where did you get that from?" Leia asked gently in a casual tone.
"Jedi Knight Ben Skywalker gave it to me." Talon answered quietly in an awe filled tone.
"Really? Did he say why?" Leia asked slightly puzzled, since Talon already had four lightsabers of her own.
"He… he said that this lightsaber once belonged to Lord Vader when he was a Jedi; that Lord Vader's son used it, then Jedi Knight Ben Skywalker used it, and now he says it's my turn." Talon replied in a somewhat mystified voice.
Now Leia knew where she'd seen that particular lightsaber before! It had been in Luke's possession when she'd first met her brother about the original Death Star. She also knew that it had been lost along with Luke's right hand when he'd first faced Darth Vader and learned the truth of his heritage. She knew that Ben had recovered it from Bespin, but she wasn't aware that he still had it. More than a bit surprised, she reach out picked up the lightsaber and ignited it.
As the brilliant blade flashed into existence with a snap-hiss, Talon stared at the humming blade in surprise. It was blue… just like her Master's. Lord Vader's lightsaber wasn't red… it was blue.
Leia knelt down in front of Talon who looked at her with a multitude of unspoken questions in those glowing golden eyes. "You know Talon, my brother and I weren't left much of anything when our father died. This lightsaber is all we have of him aside from his legacy. It's very special to Luke, to Ben… and to me. I'm not sure why Ben gave you this, but I can see that he did. I want… I would like for you to take good care of this. One day, perhaps one of Ben's own children would like to use it as well."
Talon nodded her head as her Master deactivated the lightsaber and handed it to her.
"Master Leia? Will you teach me the right way to be a Jedi?" Talon asked fervently.
Leia reached out and laid a hand on Talon's where the girl was still cradling the lightsaber gently in both hands. "Talon, there is only one way to be a Jedi. You are either a Jedi or you aren't. I told you that I'm going to teach you, so why am I getting the impression that this is something that's become very important to you?"
"Be… because I don't want Lord Vader to be angry at me when… when he comes back." Talon answered fearfully.
Leia stared at her apprentice hard while her mind raced. When she finally found her voice she had to know. "What do you mean 'when he comes back'?" She asked firmly.
"Lord Vader came here last night. I went back to sleep… like you told me to. But then he came! He picked up this lightsaber from the workstation over there and told me to show him my saber skills." Talon said as she pulled a single hilt lightsaber from the right side of her belt.
"As soon as I got the other one, he attacked me. He was so strong! I couldn't feel anyone in the Force except him. I kept trying to back away because I didn't want to fight him, but he kept coming. He told me to tell him why I was here, and I told him that I was here because you wanted me to become a Jedi. That was when he asked if that was what I wanted." Talon explained in an almost terrified whisper.
"And what did you say?" Leia asked just as softly but very curious about the answer.
"I… I told him yes." Talon whispered as she recalled the terrifying fight.
"That's when I thought he was going to kill me, but he turned off the lightsaber and told me to listen to you; to learn what you can teach me. That I have to learn from you or he'd come back, and that he would be really angry." Talon replied as tears brimmed in her eyes. "I… I don't want Lord Vader to be angry at me!"
Leia quickly pulled Talon into a firm embrace. "Just relax Talon. I promise that he won't be angry at you. He just wants you to be a proper Jedi… and that is what you are here to learn, but it's not just me that you need to listen to; it's all of the Jedi Masters and several of the Knights as well. If someone is teaching a class, then that is who you listen to, and learn from. If you don't understand something, just ask them to explain it to you."
Leia pulled back and held Talon firmly by her shoulders. "This isn't the Sith Academy Talon. Here… if you have a question, then you should ask that question. That is how you learn. The only question that we will not answer… is the one you don't ask! Understand?"
Talon nodded her head slowly, before her Master smiled and pulled her back into one of those hugs. She didn't know what it was for, but she would readily admit that it felt… it felt good to be held by her Master in a way that didn't result in a lot of pain, agony, and suffering on her part. Being so close to her master also meant that she didn't have to endure the constant barrage of torrential emotions impinging of her mind and destroying her thoughts. Although she didn't know the words to describe the feeling, Talon loved being held by her Master like this.