Aira Cadan

That is by far my favorite line. So funny...

Finally got to read this, Chris! What a fun idea, having all your characters meet and talk. It's something that can't be done in the RP, so it's fun to see it here!

I took a deep breath as the girl in the tank stirred. With one hand, I reached for Aelyn's hand. "Add your focus and power to mine," I told my apprentice through the Force. Aelyn would be connected to my mind through the whole exchange, serving as my anchor to myself, as well as being able to hopefully observe, learn, and help. Once I felt a flow of Force energy from her, I slipped the obsidian ring onto my finger and placed that hand on the outside of the bacta tank. The Force flowed through me as I lowered myself into its current. The darkness was thick inside Liv's mind. It was guilt, it was doubt, it was regret. But as I searched, I came to the realization that, thankfully, it was not an outside source drilling into her. Rather, she was doing this to herself. That made the situation both easier and harder. I reached out and brushed my mind against hers. "Liv, you need to forgive yourself. There are people who care about you. I have seen your past. I know it's messy. But everyone's is." I channeled some of my energy into her. It was going to be a rough fight, and she'd need every edge she could get. Then I wrapped her in an invisible blanket of the light side of the Force--peace, serenity, harmony, knowledge, and life. The ring on my finger seemed to vibrate, and with a flicker, a blue-outlined ghost appeared on my right side, opposite Aelyn. Liv's mother mimicked my motion, placing a incorporeal hand on the glass of the bacta tank, her expression gentle and riddled with concern. "Liv," her mother called to her. "Whatever of you is left in that shell, you must know that I forgive you. You must know that I don’t hold you accountable for my death. You will always be my little Rominaria Flower. Know that, I missed traveling with you and that I will always love you." The ghost looked deeply into Liv’s eyes, emerald green meeting matching emerald green. "Please, let it go. Just let it all go."

It was with a feeling akin to triumph that as we moved to the door, I sensed another presence in the room. I turned, and there was the woman from the memories, just as I had hoped. I nodded as she spoke. "I will do what I can to help your daughter," I promised. "But she has to be willing to try." I trotted back and grabbed the whole tray of jewelry. Shutting the lid, I slipped it into my pocket. The spirit faded, and the CoreSec officer led the way to the medbay. Aelyn was already there, and she quickly let me know the security cameras hadn't shown much. I nodded. "My investigation turned up a bit more. There is a Force power called psychometry. I'll teach it to you sometime, but it basically allows me to see memories related to objects, particularly possessions." I pulled out the case of jewelry and opened it to show her. Then I quickly filled her in on what I had learned. "So basically," I finished, "guilt drove this girl to the darkness, and now the darkness has a hold on her. Her mother's spirit is nearby and will attempt to help us, but we just need to get through to Liv and help her conquer and move past all of this." My lips twitched. "I've never done anything like this before," I admitted to Aelyn softly. "There are other Jedi who are better at counseling and such. But the Force brought us here for a reason, and I think both of us have a role to play in Liv's recovery. Trust your instincts." Samuels handed me a bacta strip, and I gratefully applied it to my burnt fingers. The soothing gel calmed the pain immediately. I smiled encouragingly at my padawan, then approached Liv's tank. "Liv? Can you hear me?"

(Co-written) With contact, the cortosis ring exploded with action. Dust fills the air. Dirt is upturned and spraying under the pressure of explosive rounds and concussive barrages. Sounds of blaster fire are cascading into view. Verdant green lights and red fire light up the sky. Starfighters scramble and shoot across the heavens with little concern for the battle on the ground. A man of average height and jet black hair bolsters himself against the wall of a trench and tries to take a moment of respite. He looks down in his hand at a small crumpled up picture and a little metal earring. The picture features a small girl with pigtails. The picture has faded with age and wear, but the man smiles despite the obvious damage. He takes a moment to stuff both items into his pocket and pops his head above the trench to begin fire anew. His opponents are obscured, but the white plasteel armor of Imperial stormtroopers is hard to ignore. The man’s leather jacket confers a few pieces of information: His name is M. Strong, the insignia of the Rebel Alliance is on his right sleeve, and another insignia sits on his left sleeve. It resembles a large bird with wings spread wide. The bird looks ordinary except for one thing, its wings curl up into massive red flames. The rest of his jacket is nondescript and aged. And the only other parts of the memory that stand out are the lush green landscapes that surround the battlefield, and an outpost that looks very familiar. I drew back as the memory faded. Psychometry was an unpredictable skill, guided by the will of the Force. Oftentimes, it showed what the owner of the object was doing, and could be used to track a person's movements. But other times, it showed a connection to how they had gotten said object. Or it showed a strong memory associated with it. I hadn't ever experienced a time when it had showed another person's memory, but I didn't put it past the Force. It knew what I needed to see to help Liv, and clearly this memory had a part to play. I assumed the girl in the flimsy photograph had been Liv, which made M. Strong her father. That made sense with what CoreSec had told me. Was that the insignia of Phoenix Squadron on his jacket? I wasn't sure how the memory helped, but I was determined to make sure I remembered every aspect of it. After a moment, I reached out my hand and touched the next piece of jewelry, the pair of silver earrings. When touched, the pair of silver earrings revealed a big sunny open street. Beautiful women arrayed themselves in no particular pattern. They talked amongst themselves in small crowds and busied themselves with idle tasks. Bright colors and a myriad of stalls surrounded the focal point of the memory. A young girl dressed in casual clothes – pants and a T-shirt – with tight curly brown hair, sprinted down the street to a taller woman with short brown hair cut into a bob. The taller woman was dressed in a full ensemble of khaki colors. Her emerald eyes lit up as the younger one approached and a deep sense of love and adulation was shared between the two. Like the light of an amber star, their love shined brighter than anything else in the bazaar and the faded edges of the vision rippled at their touch. A fairy-tale castle perched on a black basalt crag and stood off in the distance, framing the back of the two females as they embraced. The architecture that surrounded the market was superb. It seemed that ideal beauty was praised over practicality. The stalls bustled with activity, yet the bustle of a planet like Coruscant was strangely absent. Lush green landscapes stood out in the background and beautiful mountains rubbed the edge of each horizon. The little girl looked up to the larger women with joy and boundless curiosity in her eyes. The woman handed the girl two little silver earrings and smiled from ear to ear. The little girl squealed with joy and immediately started to show the earrings to all the women that were mingling around them. The taller woman tried to chase after her and catch her, laughing the whole way, but stopped. The taller woman looked off toward where Aira was and stared at her. Her glowing emerald eyes grew gentle and sad. Yet, before either of them could meet, the vision ended. This time the memory seemed to feature Liv's mother. My Force senses had confirmed that the little girl had been Liv. I smiled a little. It was clear they had loved each other. There was little of substance in the memory that could help me now, however, so I moved on, reaching to touch the earring that was shifting and showing many different colors within, bleeding some of my pain from the burns on my fingertips into the Force. She saw Coruscant in glorious form. Buildings bloomed in the upper levels of Coruscant’s busy atmosphere and hundreds of thousands of people pushed their way through the enormous pedways that ran the length of the planet’s illustrious surface. The sprightly little girl from before and the taller woman with her short brown hair cut through the crowd. They held hands to help navigate their way through the throngs of people and squeezed at each other whenever they felt as if they were drawing too far apart. The little girl saw a window display on her left that glittered and sparkled in the artificial sunlight and drew the taller woman in that direction. Something stood out to the little girl and reflected in the window. It wasn’t anything too big, but the quaint shop was filled with remarkable baubles of all shapes and sizes. The little girl’s eyes grew wider than her head and she sprinted inside with the woman closing behind. The little girl reacted as one might think a little child would in a shop filled with strange and amazing things. It was like watching a pinball at high speed as it shot to every single stand. The taller woman seemed to grow exhausted at the sight, but a small smile hung on her weary face and her emerald eyes sparkled in the clear fluorescence of the shop’s illumination. The proprietor, a big Nikto, looked annoyed but stayed relatively to himself. It was only when the little girl accidentally ran roughshod over a delicate vase that he got up and tried to stop her. He lorded over her and almost struck her in his anger. But the taller woman was quick to intercede. She stood between the two of them with anger in her eyes. The fire of her anger reflected in crimson hues that bloomed all around the small store. Loud words were exchanged and irritable impatience drew the owner to strike the woman instead. The woman took it and stared back at him with fire consistent in her glare. She retrieved an ample supply of credits from her bag, picked out a small piece of the glowing merchandise for the little girl, handed the credits to the Nikto and left the shop with the little girl in hand. When they were outside, the taller woman scolded the little girl, but not with the ferocity that the Nikto had. It was clear that she wished the girl to be more careful, but the woman still felt as if the proprietor did not know how to handle children. A small shiver went down the woman’s spine and her expression seemed to exit the reality of the memory again. Her emerald eyes were sad and her expression drawn as if she were near to tears. I began to wonder if Liv's mother had been a Force-user. Force sensitivity often ran in families, although it could manifest in anyone. The way her anger had seemed amplified nagged at me, but then, perhaps it had simply been the effect of this being a memory. I frowned. I was starting to wonder if any of this would help, but my training told me to always follow up every lead, and there were two more pieces of jewelry. One was a regular black ring, and the other was green and--I grimaced--had the look of a tongue ring. My nose wrinkled in distaste at having to touch it, but I psyched myself up and put the sliver of a finger on the tongue ring, which was dancing with blue fire. At her touch, the tongue ring cooled and filled her mind with a lively scene of more vibrant colors. The scenery was bordered by a large ovoid palace and large round structures that implied Nubian influence. Large formations of people gathered around on the stone terrace and goggled at a young Rodian with a huge cart of miscellany. The crowd’s words weren’t audible, but their intentions were clear. Angry faces and wordless phrases were thrown at the young Rodian and some of the crowd were throwing rotten fruit. The little girl with bouncing tight brown curls appeared around the corner. She stood older than she had in previous visions, but not quite as tall as the older woman with emerald eyes. When the little girl’s eyes found the Rodian, she shot toward him with fierce determination in her eyes. Her arms were wide and her expression was aggressive. She took a rotten fruit to the face, but she didn’t back down. The little girl stood between the Rodian and the crowd of angry onlookers. Her arms were wide open and her expression was stony. She said a few words that were also inaudible. The crowd refused to back away. An older woman--Liv's mother--closed the distance with a squad of military personnel. And, although a little slow, the military personnel helped to break up the spectacle. When the concentration of people diminished, the girl turned to look at the Rodian with a big smile and eagerly started to poke through his cart. The Rodian tried to stop her for a moment but retreated when he remembered what she did. When she returned from her search with a familiar bauble, the older woman started to dig for her credits. It was at that point that the Rodian stuck out a hand and did his best to smile. It was hard to tell on his face, but the expression was earnest. The older woman looked at the girl and smiled widely. Pride swelled in that moment; pride for the compassion that her daughter had shown in the face of danger. It was a subtle change, but the sensation exploded with color. A moment followed, that seemed consistent with previous visions, and the older woman looked out to where Aira was. The same face of sadness reflected in those emerald eyes. I shook my head as the memory faded. Something was strange about these scenes. Liv's mother had seemed almost aware of my presence. Could her spirit be tied to these objects, somehow? I didn't sense a presence, but it was difficult through memories to detect things like that. My mind flicked back to the spirits Onderin and I had freed all those years ago. If Liv's mother was Force-sensitive, it could be possible she was trapped. Could Liv's mental instability be related to that? Had she discovered the truth and been driven to despair and madness as a result? It was hard to reconcile that courageous, compassionate young girl with the torturned, murdering drug addict I had met. There was one last piece of jewelry. Hoping it would provide the key, I reached out, both with the Force, and with my hand. The obsidian ring didn’t glow as fiercely as the others. But it called for contact. And it drew her mind through a murky transition. The scene that opened was dark and dirty. The buildings that surrounded her were huge and brightly colored, but they reeked of over-indulgence, while the street she stood on was poorly maintained and covered in detritus. The memory brought her to the door of a shop that was falling apart. And, for a moment, the memory seemed to wilt with little to no activity. But, with a few seconds of time, the familiar form of Liv bounded around the corner. The little girl from before now sported her trademark mohawk and was just as eccentric as ever. Yet, she still bore her compassion in the smile written on her face. The pre-teen was eager to get into the shop but was stopped at the door by a large Weequay. And he didn’t turn to stop her, so much as his bulk was blocking the way. The man was beating a human that she assumed to be the store owner. When she found an opening, she reached into the holster at the Weequay’s hip and came away with a blaster pistol the size of her forearm. It was a bit unwieldy in the girl’s hands, but it was clear that she not only knew how to use it, but that she was a fair shot. Her mouth opened with aggressive phrasing and the Weequay paused in his beating to look her in the eye. Needless to say, he wasn’t intimidated. So, Liv shot him in the foot. Her intention wasn’t to kill. She wanted him to stop. The feeling was strong in the action and reflected outward in the ripples of the memory. The Weequay frothed in anger, but when Liv aimed to shoot the other foot and backed carefully away from his huge paws, the Weequay abandoned his mission and left the shop. Liv held the over-large pistol in her right hand and entered the shop when the Weequay left. Her mother, the taller woman with emerald eyes, was slow to come to her rescue. And despite the finesse that Liv had shown in dealing with the situation, the woman’s concern grew. It was as potent as her other feelings and reflected in her expression. It shook the memory with the integrity of its sensation, but the memory held until Liv came away with an obsidian ring. She paid the human a little extra than he asked to help him with his trouble. Yet, her aggressive action toward the Weequay would have lasting results that the little girl couldn’t understand. Her mother looked out again, staring into Aira’s eyes, attempting to contact her. But, once again, the vision fizzled. Now I was sure. Somehow the spirit of the emerald-eyed woman was attempting to contact me. That was why the Force had guided me here, and it was the woman's direction that had chosen these specific memories. There was something she wanted me to see, to understand. Absently, I turned to Officer Samuels. "Do you have a bacta strip for my fingers?" I asked. They were burned pretty badly. If the officer didn't have any medical aid, I could deal with it myself, but I wanted to be fully focused on the task at hand. And that task was putting together pieces of a puzzle that Liv's mother wanted me to solve. "Take me to Liv," I ordered. "I need to see her."

The room was full of the junk and detritus one would expect from a contraband collection room. I gave the room a sweep with my senses but didn't pick up anything out of the ordinary--except coming from the long table against the south wall. Samuels motioned to the brightly glowing jewelry sitting on it and stepped aside, looking expectant. First I probed the jewelry with the Force. It was giving off a good deal of heat, and that seemed to be emanating from somewhere...up. I nodded to myself. The girl was clearly tapping into her low level of Force sensitivity. She was doing this, however improbable that was. It was what I expected, but it was good to confirm that there was no outside presence doing this to her. Reaching out, I hovered my gloved hand over the metal pieces, then I sighed and began to remove my gloves. This was going to hurt, probably. Probably a lot. But psychometry could tell me much about the girl who seemed both perpetrator and victim. Samuels realized what I was doing, and moved to stop me, but I held up my other hand. "It's okay. I have to do this." Slowly, I touched my index finger to the cortosis earring, ignoring the pain that I knew would come, and bathed it in the Force, my eyes slipping shut.

Honestly, I thought we might be able to help the exhausted CoreSec officer more than the patient/prisoner. Clearly, things were busy around here--so busy that there wasn't enough staff to fully provide for the planet's needs. I listened to the briefing, making a plan. Once he finished, Aelyn--clearly perplexed--indicated our interest. Before we moved, however, I put a hand on Officer Samuels' shoulder. "Take it easy, Officer." I reached out with the Force, and sent some energy into the man, just enough to wake him up and get him working back at his full ability. Once his eyes had brightened, I removed my hand and motioned to Aelyn. "My Padawan will take a look at the surveillance tapes. She'll see if there is anything that we can learn from them, and then let me know exactly what happened. In the meantime, I'll take a look at her jewelry. We'll meet again to compare notes before we go see her face-to-face. Perhaps having a full picture will help us figure out how to get through to her."

I couldn't keep a smile from crossing my face at Aelyn's words. I rose and grasped her hands. "Then we'll do it together," I said, stressing the last word. "We will do whatever it takes to prevent war from happening." I took a deep breath, then let go. "No point in sticking around here, then. Let's go see Liv, and then head out." We gathered our things and checked out of the hotel. There were two messages waiting for me at the front desk, both from the hospital regarding the patient. Apparently, I was the emergency contact. I shrugged, and we headed back to the hospital. "Now let's see if we can't figure out what's going on here," I muttered under my breath,

I took a deep breath. "Yes, Aelyn. Something has happened. Remember when Imperial Remnant Head of State Zinthos said that she was going to take a hard line on the Sith? They have decided to fight back. And...it's bad." I thought about showing her the holonet segment, but then changed my mind. She didn't need to see that. "They killed a lot of people on Carida. The war has begun again. And...the GA has taken notice. Between the Imperials breaking off and them instigating this fight against the Sith, things are going to be changing drastically and suddenly. The GA is going to reform their navy, and they want me back. Aelyn, I can't let this go unanswered. It's not only my duty as a former solider, but I see it as my duty as a Jedi. I have to protect people the best I know how, and that means accepting the position." I sighed. "Can you feel it in the Force? The peace is broken." I was silent for a long minute, then spoke again. "I understand that this affects us," I gestured, "and I'm sorry about that. I know you probably won't want to continue as my apprentice when I'm going to be throwing myself back into the thick of things. I totally understand, and I'm sorry. I'll find you a new master, if you still want to be a Jedi." I rose. "Okay?"

"The best," I replied, my tone wistful. "That was quite possibly the best thing about serving. Everyone is on the same page. Everyone has the same training. You rely on each other, and you know that your fellow soldiers will never abandon you. They have your back and you have theirs." I hesitated. "Technically it's the same in the Jedi Order, but there are so few of us that we are often spread thin. The times I get to work with other Jedi are rare. And then, everyone has different shades of traininga nd experience." I sighed. "Yes, sometimes I really miss it, as strange as that sounds." It didn't take us long to get back to our hotel. It was quite late, and we knew we'd only have a few hours of sleep until the sun rose, so we went to bed right away. My dreams that night were dark. Death surrounded me. The cries of innocents, helpless, filled my ears. My heart ached within me. Something had to be done... I woke in the morning convinced that my dreams hadn't simply been coincidence. The Force felt heavy, much like it had during the war. Staying quiet so as not to wake Aelyn in the other room, I flipped on the holonews, dreading what I might see. We Do Not Comply I stared, horrified, as the segment played. But it wasn't the terror of what had been awakened so much as the fact that there seemed to be no response by the Jedi or the GA. Certainly, something was being done. The Sith had reawoken. The GA would need to militarize again. They had to protect their citizens. I had to protect them. My role suddenly became very clear. I stumbled to my feet and crossed the room to get my comlink. Belatedly, I noticed the green light flashing on top indicating I had received a message. Holding my breath, I opened it. Reactivation of your commission in the Galactic Alliance Navy was all I saw at first. It was enough. Taking a deep breath, I skimmed the rest of it. They recognized my right to choose, given my status as a Jedi, but it was clear they wanted me back. The Force swirled in me, and suddenly, the sense of purposelessness that had been haunting me for the pat few years vanished. That was where I was meant to be. That was where I could make a difference. I'd have to let Kirlocca know--and I'd have to find Aelyn another master. I was certain she wouldn't want to stay with me now. The thought filled me with regret. I had enjoyed teaching her. The GA was giving me a few days before they wanted to hear back from me, so I had time to wrap things up. And suddenly, I wanted to get them done. I smiled. "I'm back."

The meteors were stunning. It was funny; I had spent so much time recently going, going, going, and most of it on ships or space stations. It was nice to go dirtside and simply enjoy one of the marvels of the galaxy for a change. It reminded me of my youth, of sitting in our backyard, staring up at the stars and wishing I could travel between them, having adventures. But not long into the show, my attention was arrested by a man standing off by himself. There was something familiar about him in the Force, and he had an air of weariness, of clinging on to shattered hope, and of being directionless. I alternated watching him and watching the sky. When the show started to die down, I glanced at Aelyn, and gestured to the man with my chin, an unspoken signal that I was going to go talk to him before he could slink away into the night. As I approached him, the memory clicked. "Ensign Davis!" I greeted him warmly. "Captain Cadan!" He returned my warm handshake. "How the dickens are you?" "I'm fine, fine. How are you? It's been a long time." "Yeah, last time I saw you was that skirmish over Ilum. Heh, that was quite an experience." I smiled. "Yes, it sure was. What have you been up to?" He shook his head. "Came here after the war. This is where I'm from. No family to speak of though. It's been rough. Not many jobs out there; at least, not ones for an old New Rep navy ensign. Being a soldier was all I was ever good at. And now...well, I'm glad we're at peace, ma'am, but it leaves a lot of good men and women in the lurch." "I understand," I replied. "Anyway, it was good to see ya, Cap. If you're ever around again, let me know. Or if you'll be here a few more days." "I will," I promised. "Take care, Davis." "You too, ma'am." He headed off, leaving me with a strange feeling. I realized suddenly that I missed the war. I missed the battlefield bond. I missed being united with others. I didn't miss the death and cost of war, but there was something about it...The thought vaguely disturbed me. Resolving to think on it later, I returned to my padawan. "Well that was quite a show. Did it live up to your expectations?"

“Sounds good,” I replied. Aelyn and I got ready, which mostly involved me grabbing a heavier cloak. The nights got cold here this time of year. Soon we were walking through the streets, heading for the outskirts and a specific hill that Aelyn had heard about from a local that was supposed to have a particularly good view. As we walked, my padawan started with some questions, this time focused on me. “I don’t mind at all!” I replied. “Let’s see…well, I always dreamed of being a Jedi. I’m the daughter of a middle-class family on Adumar. It’s kind of backwater, and I never had the chance to get tested for Force-sensitivity. But I had heard of the Jedi—their exploits, their heroism, their dedication and self-sacrifice. There was nothing I wished to be more. But I knew it was a pipe dream, and I never actually expected it to happen. “When I was eighteen, my parents took my sisters and me—we’re triplets—on a vacation to Coruscant. It was amazing, but as a bonus, we stopped by the Jedi Temple to get our Force-sensitivity checked. My sisters were negative, but I was positive.” I shook my head with wonder at how everything had worked out. “It was quite a shock to all of us, but I knew that I not only wanted to take the opportunity to become a Jedi, but that I also had a duty to. There are few people in this galaxy who are Force-sensitive enough for training; to waste my gift was unthinkable to me. We went home and I dropped out of school. A few weeks later, my family dropped me off at the Jedi Temple. The Temple at that time was on the same planet as the New Republic headquarters. I trained for a few weeks, and then I was in a class with other Jedi hopefuls when Onderin showed up, still in his admiral’s uniform. He watched for a while, then called me over and offered to train me.” I smiled at the recollection. “He warned me that it’d be an unorthodox training, but I didn’t care.” We turned a corner. “My commission in the New Republic navy came as a result of that. Onderin felt that things would be easier if I had security clearance, as he was often involved in high-level military maneuvers. The war kept us apart a lot, but I still learned everything I needed from him over the course the following years, and I was also learning life lessons from the war.” I shrugged. “I’m not a very good Jedi, I don’t think, and that’s partly because of my training. It’s no coincidence that Onderin’s previous apprentices also went on to distinguished military or political careers, even if that often made their duties as Jedi come in second place. But I do what I can. The galaxy is a strange place.” I glanced at her. “So if you feel like I’m not really sure what I’m doing, it’s because I don’t have much context for ‘normal’ Jedi training,” I said, half-apologetically.

About an hour later, I found myself outside a small cafe bordering a tree-lined avenue. I had recently crossed into a nicer part of town, and the passersby grew richer and richer in appearance. I began to feel a little self-conscious. A Jedi could blend in in any environment, and it was not uncommon for us to associate with the highest ranking officials, but I had always felt uncomfortable around gregarious displays of wealth. It was one thing to meet with the Imperial Remnant Head of State; meeting with a snobby upper-class Borleiasian was something else. The cafe seemed small and clean, though, and I was hungry, so I took a table inside and ordered a sandwich with local meat and fresh greens, and a small Coruscanti-imported scrai-drop soup to go with it. I stayed lost in my thoughts until the food came, and once it did, I ate quickly. After paying my tab and ignoring the way the waitress looked down her nose at my plain Jedi robes, I exited the cafe, glancing at my chrono as I did so. I had some spare time, but I figured I might as well head back to the hotel and wait for Aelyn to return. As I made my way back through the streets of Laikos, a scream suddenly shattered the air. I immediately reached out with the Force, although it didn't take my Force senses to see the speeder careening out of control through the city streets, scattering pedestrians as it jumped onto the pedway. I dashed forward, dropping my cloak on the permacrete. The speeder was heading for a large open-air market that was just beginning to close up for the day. An application of the Force gave me a burst of speed, and I darted up beside it then jumped and landed, crouching, on the hood. The driver was a pale green Twi'lek male, although I wasn't sure if the green was his natural skin color or a clue to the source of the sloppy smelly liquid splashed on the seat beside him. He swerved in an attempt to miss a Gran pedestrian and shrieked loudly. "It won't stop! It won't stop! It won't stopppp!" That was enough information for me. I swung over the windscreen and got better footing. Igniting my lightsaber, I plunged it into the engine. It sputtered, and then as the momentum ceased suddenly, the driver and I were thrown from the vehicle. In mid-air, I released my lightsaber and grabbed the Twi'lek, using my body as a shield to break his fall and rolling together as we landed. There was a loud crash as the speeder flipped over and crashed into a fruit stand. After one final shudder, all was still. After a moment, I rolled to my feet. "Are you alright?" I asked the driver. He nodded. "You...why didn't it stop?" I shook my head. "I'm not sure. I'll take a look at it if you'd like." He nodded again. Emergency services were already converging on the scene. In the chaos, I slipped up to the speeder and took at look at the now-exposed undercarriage, pausing only to reclaim my lightsaber and stow it back on my belt. I focused on the brake systems. Everything was understandably damaged, but there was no sign of tampering. Finally, I pulled a hose and checked it, finding it empty of brake fluid. I shook my head. It looked like the brakes had failed due to poor maintenance. I crossed back over to the Twi'lek, who was now sitting against a medical emergency vehicle with a blanket over his shoulders, sipping a hot drink. "There's no sign of sabotage," I told him. "It appears your brakes simply failed." He looked a little sheepish. "Thank you so much. I would have been injured or killed if you hadn't stepped in." I smiled slightly. "It was my pleasure. That's what Jedi do." Clapping him on the back, I turned away. I gave a witness testimony to the local police investigating, then retrieved my cloak and continued back to the hotel. I arrived to find Aelyn already there. "Hi," I greeted her. "How was your day?"

As the Force flowed through me, I was reminded of the path that had brought Aelyn and I together. The Force had a plan for her, that much was clear. And I believed that path was with the Jedi. She would make a great one, I knew, if only she could get over her doubts and hesitations and just trust the Force. I didn't understand what the issue was. I had trusted the Force immediately, the first time I had felt it. I had known immediately that it was real, that it had a task for me. Perhaps it was because of how I was raised. My parents had always taught me that the Force guided everyone, not just Jedi. The Jedi were its tools, its servants--but the ordinary people of the galaxy were what made up the life force from which it flowed. It seemed that Ambassador Talis had raised Aelyn differently. I shook my head. The ambassador always had been a very practical man. I rose and headed back to the hotel. Aelyn was already gone off exploring, so I took a sanisteam, put on some clean clothing, and sat down at the computer terminal. First, I sent a message to Master Kirlocca. I wanted the Wookiee's advice about Aelyn, and I wanted her exposed to other Jedi hopefuls and apprentices. I remembered the friends I had made during my first months, and how they had done wonders for helping me feel like I could belong in the Order. Then I used the computer terminal to link into the encrypted Jedi archive access and downloaded some vids and manuals for Aelyn. If I didn't feel like my wisdom was good enough in this situation, then certainly the writings, memoirs, and lives of previous Jedi who had gone before might connect with the girl. I also included some educational vids about the broad different paths a Jedi could follow, hoping that Aelyn would be inspired by one. That would give our training some specific direction. Once my work was done, I stood up and headed back downstairs, intending on a walk and perhaps a meal.

As Aelyn headed out, I took a deep breath and centered myself. The girl was a challenge. I wondered if I had ever asked this many questions to Master Onderin. Probably not, I mused. He was always off fighting another battle, and the war took us often in different directions. Honestly, it's a miracle I even was able to complete my training. But that was, I realized, where the source of my recent uneasiness had come from. Who was I to train Aelyn? If I was honest with myself, I barely felt like a Jedi these days. It felt like I was just playing the part, an actor on a holodrama. Was it because of some lack of training on Onderin's part? Was it due the decline of the Order? I wasn't sure I was the best person to train Aelyn. Not only might I not make her a very good Jedi, but there was a greater risk--that a fault on my part could allow her to be corrupted by the dark side, and then I would have unleashed another monster on the galaxy. The possibility gnawed at me. I took another deep breath and immersed myself into the current of the Force. There was nothing I could gain by worrying. I wished I could ask Onderin's advice. I knew he was here, somewhere, in the Force, but right now, I felt very alone.

"Yeah, we're good, go ahead," I replied. "You know, why don't you take the afternoon off? Do whatever you'd like. We'll make sure we see the--what was it, a comet?--tonight." I could tell Aelyn needed some time to do some thinking, and I was happy to give it to her. "And then tomorrow maybe we'll go see that girl again." I hadn't forgotten about the druggie girl, but I knew 24 hours clean would be good for her, and there wasn't much we could do until then. For my part, I planned on making some comm calls. Master Kirlocca had wanted us to keep in touch, and I wanted to update him on our status.

I nodded. "That's alright. The dark side will tempt you at some point. My job is just to make you aware of that and give you the tools to resist it as much as possible whenever it does try." Aelyn still didn't really believe enough to be a Jedi. But that was alright. I didn't expect her to learn everything in the course of a few short weeks. Even if our Order today didn't train people for as long as the Order did in the time of the Republic, there was still much for her to learn before I would call her a full Jedi. Then she brought up the war again. I sighed. "It was worth it, Aelyn. I fully believe that. The Empire run by the Sith was defeated. The Sith are even being actively hunted now, which means that trillions of innocents have a better chance at living out their lives in peace instead of in fear. To me, that makes it worth it. The soldiers that died did so because they believed it too." I crossed my arms. "I know your philosophy is different than mine, and that's fine. I'm willing to answer any questions you have further about it." I dropped my hands to my sides. "As for the future, don't worry. Until you learn to trust the Force instinctively, I'll be here, and I'll always be around if you need guidance. That is, if you'll take it from a soldier-turned-Jedi like me."

I put a hand on Aelyn's shoulder as she collapsed back on the bench. "That is exactly what we have to do. We have to trust the Force. It led you to help Liv, and Liv specifically. It doesn't mean we don't have compassion for the others, or try to help them if we can, but the Force made it clear that Liv was the one who we could help. Everything happens for a reason, and the Force guides us to do things that have lasting ramifications for good in the galaxy. When it comes down to it, it's the everyday person that a Jedi should be helping. And yeah, sometimes the Force calls us to bigger things, but I've found that those things always start on the individual level. I mean, take what happened in the Death Star battle. Do you think I went into that fight thinking that my actions would lead to a galaxy-wide ceasefire and the formation of a new government? No. When I looked into Raven's eyes, all I saw was one young woman, and a chance to make things better for her and for her people and for mine. My focus was that one individual skirmish; everything that came afterward was a ripple effect. Who knows what repercussions helping Liv will have? Perhaps it will somehow affect systematic change for all of those poor beings we encountered. We may never know. We simply have a choice; a choice to be obedient to whatever the Force calls us to do, and leave the results up to it. It will use us to accomplish it's purposes if we only listen and do what it guides us to do." I squeezed her shoulder. "Maybe you're not ready to believe that, and if so, I understand. A lot of people don't even believe in the existence of the Force. I can only speak from my own experience, and trust that as the Force speaks to you, you'll realize the same things I have." I dropped my hand. "But you didn't answer the second part of my question. What do you think the dark side will say when it tempts you? What do you think it will tempt you to do? Or maybe you don't know yourself well enough to answer that question yet? Not everyone does."

I shook my head. "Do you think the ends justify the means? There'll be times when you have to make a decision, an ethical or moral decision. Sometimes you'll have to choose between saving one, like Liv, and many, like the rest of those addicts. How will you make that decision?" I wanted to give her as many opportunities to say it as I could. "You speak of evil and the dark side as remote. But you just saw a manifestation of it. It's not mystical, it's real. When you get down and dirty, the dark side is always there. What will you do when it speaks to you? What do you think it will say? Remember, the dark side will always offer you the quicker, easier path."

Aelyn's emotions suddenly went from thrilled exhilaration to quietly serious, and I knew she had suddenly realized the point of the exercise. "I see you realize what this is all about," I said, handing her a water bottle off the rack. "You know that Jedi are often in dangerous situations. Each of those balls I was throwing could have been a blaster bolt. You need to learn to evade them--in order to protect yourself and others." I put a hand on her shoulder. "I know you don't like to think about it, but part of our job is to put ourselves in those situations so others don't have to." I glanced at my chrono, noting that we had already been here for a while. But I wasn't going to let up. "We can't afford a break, Aelyn. We need to build up your stamina. Tap into the Force to rejuvenate yourself, and let's go again." I sensed her reluctance, but she wasn't going to disobey me. We began the exercise again, and I varied my attacks, adding more than just balls to the mix. None of the equipment in the room was safe. Aelyn was clearly more distracted, but as she went on, she began to gain the clarity of focus that the task required. I was pleased to see that she was able to put her feelings aside when the job called for it; that was a key aspect of being a Jedi. After 45 more minutes, I finally let her stop. Both of us were sweaty now, although Aelyn much more so. We both grabbed water to rehydrate our bodies, and I decided that I wouldn't waste any time. "Aelyn, what do you think is the nature of the dark side?"

Aelyn quickly demonstrated what a fast learner she was, picking up on the new skills with no problems. Well, other than slamming into the wall. Seeing as she wasn't hurt, I chuckled. "Great job," I said, reaching down a hand to help her up. Her wry comment once she was on her feet caused me to laugh again. We moved back to the center of the room. I stopped and grabbed some small lightweight balls. "Alright, great. So you've figured out how to do them. Now the trick becomes being able to do them without thinking, or when you're distracted, or as a defense mechanism. I want you to try again, try combining some of those, and I'm going to try to distract you." I tossed one of the balls in the air and caught it again. Soon I'd be pelting her with them. I grinned.

I slowly nodded. "I think you're right, Aelyn. I don't know what's happening, but if anything was made for a Jedi to get involved, it was that." After grabbing a late breakfast, the two of us headed to a gym, where I knew we could reserve private rooms. Shutting the door behind us, I turned to Aelyn. "Alright," I told her. "Today we're going to work on some physical skills. Jedi can use the Force to increase our abilities." Reaching out with the Force, I leapt vertically, slapping the ceiling with my hand before landing gently. Then I used the Force to dash around the room in a blur, faster than the eye could follow. Lastly, I centered myself and slowly began to levitate several inches off the floor. Letting out a breath, I planted my feet on the ground again. "Your turn," I told my padawan.

Can I just comment with a smiley? Looking forward to reading through this again.

Oooh nice. I liked the switch of perspective to see how the galaxy and the Jedi are reacting to things. It's good not to forget them. Really enjoyed your comparisons of the light vs dark, and how using the Force is different. I feel like you really nailed it! Great philosophical detailing. Dooku's reaction seemed a bit strange to me, but I'll wait until the next bit to make a decision on that. ((Oh, and sorry, this is Ami. Forgot to log out of my alias.))

It seemed like the girl was ready to take a chance to get better. I was encouraged. But then something happened. It was unlike anything I had ever seen. Some...spirit of some sort maybe? It started to speak out of Liv's mouth as her body slumped into unconsciousness. I immediately put myself between Liv and Aelyn. Fear shot through me, but I bled it into the Force. I had never seen anything like this before. Perhaps it was a Sith spirit of some sort? But it wasn't speaking like one... Regardless, I trusted my instincts, and my instincts were telling me to get the kriff out of there. I stepped backward, firmly pushing Aelyn towards the exit. I said nothing, but the urgency in my look must have convinced my apprentice. We left the room and headed out of the hospital, making our way back to our hotel in silence. Only once we were back in our suite did I finally breathe easy again. "I have no idea what in the galaxy just happened."