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Haruun Kal


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Darla remembered a lot of the stuff that Darex was talking about. She was sure that she had met him before the first time that he said, but with such hazy memories she couldn't be sure.

 

She remembered when she had watched over him in his coma. The two of them had already becomes friends by then. They hadn't known each other very well, but Darla's empathy had extended to the Jedi even then. It was the first time she truly felt useful in her role of healer. Thinking back, she really hoped that one day she would be back to such a place of peace. A place in her mind where her compassion extended to all and she was able to chanel the healing energies of the Force once more.

 

Darla didn't voice any of this, she merely listened to Darex enjoying the sound of his voice.

 

"You've saved my life a fair few times as well you know." She smiled and then lay back on the bed, propped up comfortably on one elbow.

 

"It just suddenly struck me how well we know one another and yet at the same time we know so little about each other."

 

Darla realised that was probably her own fault. She tended to be so guarded about her feelings and about her past. There were large parts of it she could barely remember herself. 

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Darex agreed. "It's funny, I was just thinking about that. I feel like I know you better than anyone else, yet I don't know much about you. We should take care of that."

 

He held out a hand. "Hello, I'm Darex Trevelian," he said with a chuckle. He paused. "Well, what don't you know about me? I was born on Coruscant, or at least I assume I was. Both my parents died when I was barely old enough to remember, and I assume I had no other family, because I found myself on the streets. I did what I could to survive in the underbelly of the city, but even then I always tried to do what I could to help the others in the same situation as I. I had one friend, a Codru-Ji named Induran, and we helped each other survive. One day we ran into one of the undercity gangs. I knew we weren't going to make it out in one piece; it was what happened to any urchins that ran into this gang. But a Jedi came and defeated the gang singlehandedly."

 

He rose and paced the room. "I had never heard of the Jedi before, but when I saw him standing there, I knew that I wanted to be just like him. Somehow I worked up the nerve to approach him. He talked to me for a moment, then I remember surprise lighting up his face. He had realized I was Force-sensitive. He told me he could take me away from Coruscant and give me Jedi training."

 

Darex glanced away, out the window overlooking the grounds. "It was a defining moment in my life, though I was only seven or eight years old. I knew I wanted to go with him. Not only was it a chance to get away from the life I had been living, but if what the man said was right, it was a chance for me to make a difference in the galaxy. I chose to go with him."

 

He looked back at Darla. "He took me to Naboo. There was a Jedi Temple there, and they gave me room and board. I was too young to being training, but I eagerly drank in the knowledge they offered me freely. It was such a different life than I was used to, and I had no idea that the galaxy could be full of such interesting and wonderful ideas. I suppose my love of Jedi lore and galactic history began then. Anyway, when I was finally old enough, I was transferred to the Jedi base on Hoth, and it was there that I met Skye and my training began."

 

Darex sat back down on the bed. "I suppose that's my background. What about you? Where are you from? Do you have any family?"

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"Hello Darex Travellian, it's a pleasure to meet you." Darla smiled and then listened intently while Darex spoke.

 

It surprised Darla that all that Darex said to her was new. She felt bad for not knowing all of of this about her friend. It made her realise just how closed off she had been, even to those closest to her. 

 

Had she been hurt so bad in the past that she had gaurded herself so well? It wasn't like speaking about her past would make her any more vulnerable than she already was. Darla willingly put herself in danger time and again. 

 

So why did she keep so much of herself to herself?

 

She was often free and open with her feelings. These were emediate responses to situations. Impulses that she followed. It wasn't often however that she spoke calmly about all that had led her to be the person she was now.

 

Her excuse was often the gaps in her memories after twice returning from the dead. But there was still a lot she remembered.

 

"I had a mother and a father that I knew... My father died fighting the Empire. My mother, last I heard she was on Coruscant, but after all the battles that have taken place there I'm not sure if she's alive or not. I ran away when I was 15 and I've never seen her since."

 

Even after all this time it was still dificult for Darla to speak about her mother. She felt so stupid, now a grown woman and looking back at how petulant she had been. Now Darlaould give anything to go back and do things differently. Her biggest regret was losing her mother. 

 

They'd parted on bad terms. Very bad terms. Darla didn't think the woman would ever want to see her daughter again.

 

"I was quite wild, I wouldn't listen to her. We always argued and fought. Then one day I just left..."

 

There was a sadness to her eyes.

 

"So we have the same homeworld I guess." 

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Darex listened with interest to Darla's story. "And after you ran away, you went to the Rebellion?" He thought he had heard somewhere that she had been a Rebel soldier in another lifetime.

 

"What made you run away from your mother? Were you just being rebellious, or was there another reason?" He paused. He could tell that she regretted it. "You know, it's never to late to reestablish your connection with her. Is there a reason you haven't seen her for years? If you want, we could go back to Coruscant and try to look her up; at least see if she is still alive."

 

He placed his hand on hers. "It's your decision, but I'm more than willing to go with you to look for her if that is something you'd want to do."

 

He liked the thought that they were both from Coruscant. There were trillions of beings that called the city-planet their homeworld, but in the wide scope of the galaxy, homeworld ties were still strong amongst various peoples. He affectionately brushed her mind with the lightest of Force-touches. "I've always heard it said that a homeworld girl is best."

 

He lay back next to her on his side, and as he gazed at her, he saw the sliver of scar remaining on her cheek. He assumed a stern expression. "Now no more talking. Yesterday you were injured, and while the doctors may say you're fine now, I know you need rest to recover completely." He took her hand in his and kissed her forehead. "Sleep."

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--An incoming transmission is sent to all Jedi on Haruun Kal. It is from Admiral Onderin Starlisk of the New Republic, and requests that any available Jedi go to Krayiss II to support the New Republic against a Sith onslaught.--

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There is nothing good in war. There is good in why we fight them.

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Darla pondered all that Darex had said to her. Long into the night, long after Darex had fallen asleep, she lay next to him awake with her thoughts.

 

Was Darex right? Could they really find her mother? Darla had no idea if  she was still on Coruscant. Her assumption had been that she had died in one of the many attacks on the city planet. After all this time, if she was still alive, would she welcome her daughter with open arms?

 

Laying behind Darex, Darla put her arms around his waist and lay her head against his back. She was safe with him. That thought banished all others and she soon fell asleep.

 

Awaking before Darex, Darla felt terrible. Was it something she ate? Her dreams had been a little strange, but nothing out of the ordinary. Especially compared to her nightmares recently. That in itself was a blessing. But Darla was feeling extremely queasy.

 

Climbing out of bed she rushed to the fresher. Almost as soon as she was shut inside, she doubled over vomiting in the toilet. The day before, she had been feeling fine. Perhaps the shock of eating some real food after so long barely eating had been a shock to her body.

 

Deciding to think nothing of it, Darla climbed back into bed. She was still pretty tired. As she did, she heard Darex's comm chime that he had a incoming message. Darla left it for Darex to answer when he awoke and tried to fall back to sleep.

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When the Jedi Master awoke, the sun had fully risen. Darla was asleep beside him, and he lay there for a moment, just enjoying the peacefulness of the morning. After a few minutes, however, he gently extracted himself so that he wouldn't wake her and stretched. What I need is a good run, he thought. He put on some workout clothes and saw his comm blinking with a message. Frowning, he activated it and read the message.

 

The thought of war spoiled the peacefulness of the morning. He set the comlink back down on the bedside table and stretched out, shaking his head and pondering the message as he did so. After scrawling a note to Darla on a piece of flimsy, telling her where he had gone, he left the room and made his way outside before setting off on his run through the jungle.

 

A tiny exertion of the Force kept the insects from his face as he ran, freeing his mind to ponder the greater events happening in the galaxy. He couldn't go; he knew that much. While on the outside he seemed to be fine, inside, he recognized that his mind was still struggling to cope and heal from the constant struggles he had been through in the past few months--first with Geki, then with Kakuto. Besides, he felt no pull in the Force that meant he was supposed to join the Republic offensive. He wished Onderin well, but he knew the Force meant him to stay here for now.

 

His mind turned to the steady pull he had felt--that to take on a new padawan. It seemed that he was correct in being here, but the place seemed mostly abandoned. Perhaps someone would be coming. The only other people besides adepts that he had seen here were those two young men yesterday in the mess hall. And there had been something about that silver-haired young man who reminded him so strongly of Seraphim...He resolved to speak to him next time he saw the man.

 

By the time he had finished his run, the sun was shining brightly. He returned to the temple, and found himself in a courtyard of stone. He bent over to catch his breath, and suddenly realized that there was someone else in the courtyard. It was a young man, probably 18 or 19, with black hair ((Dahar)). The boy looked a bit confused. Curious, Darex spoke.

 

"Do you need help, apprentice?"

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Dahar stood alone in the courtyard wondering what to do with the crystal he had retrieved. He knew that it certainly must have some purpose, why else would Master K'munee have sent him out for it? Dahar could feel the Force emanating from the stone. From a distance he heard someone running. He could feel it was another Jedi. The man soon entered the courtyard and approached him.

 

"Do you need help, apprentice?"

 

Dahar gave a quick bow to the man, he could tell he was well connected to the Force. He felt the same strong presence that he had in Master K'munee. "Yes Master, in fact I do." He glanced at the box in his hand. "My name is Dahar Raikanda. I came to Haruun Kal to learn the ways of the Force. Master K'munee was instructing me. I learned many things from him. I have just now returned from a mission I was sent on. I believe I have recovered something important." Dahar opened the case to show the purple crystal. "I am sure this item must be of some importance, although I am not sure in what regard. Most unfortunately Master K'munee has since disappeared and I do not sense his presence anywhere around here."

 

Dahar looked down to the ground and let out a sigh. He felt lost and frustrated. "I'm still not completely sure what I'm doing here sir. I have learned many things and discovered abilities inside of me I had no idea of. I just don't know where to go from this point."

Jedi Masters never die, they just fade away...

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Darex listened to the boy's story. It was one that was all too common amongst the Jedi these days, and it was a shame that that was true. He sat down on a bench to finish catching his breath.

 

"Well, Apprentice Raikanda, Jedi use crystals such as the one in your box to create their lightsabers. The crystal is at the heart of the weapon, and provides the focus for the blade. If Master K'munee sent you on a quest to find this crystal, he must believe you are ready to create your first lightsaber."

 

Darex paused. He could tell that the boy was mostly trained. K'munee had done a good job with him, although the boy had many questions and insecurities still, which were made clear by his last few statements. He made up his mind.

 

"I can guide you through the remainder of your training, if you wish. Master K'munee was called away urgently, and chances are it will be a long time before he gets the chance to return."

 

He suddenly realized that he had not introduced himself. "I'm Master Trevelian, by the way. Tell me, apprentice, why did you decide to begin training as a Jedi? And what have you learned from Master K'munee?"

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Darla awoke alone. She hadn't realised what a deep slumber she'd falled back into. At first she was startled to find herself alone, but when she saw the note from Darex she was grateful that he'd let her sleep in.

 

After staying up with thoughts of her mother and waking up early to be sick, Darla was glad for the extra time in bed. Now that she was awake, she really wasn't sure what to do with herself. Darex had gone for a run. She wasn't sure where to find him. Darla thought about doing some exercise herself. She was pretty out of shape and needed some rehabiliation after all her injuiries. It wasn't like she could just walk into a gym, she'd probably do more damage than good.

 

Although she wanted to get some exercise the best thing for her to do at the moment was recuperate and heal. There was nothing pressing she needed to do and she had all the time in Galaxy.

 

It was a nice feeling.

 

After her sleep, Darla's stomach had settled. Now she was hungry again. It was a good sign she guessed. Eating was important, she was still quite frail and needed to gain a little weight. Darla would get strong and healthy again.

 

Leaving Darex to his business, Darla headed to the mess hall. He would easily be able to find her when he was done.

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"It is a pleasure to meet you Master Trevelian." Dahar again bowed to the Jedi. "As far as what brought me here I am still attempting to figure that out. I felt... something. A pull kind of. On my home world of Adumar I was a prizefighter. Life was alright. I enjoyed being a warrior for a time but eventually my life became empty. I felt stagnant. I knew there was more to life than being a glorified killer. Then one day it happened. I felt something guide me here. I couldn't see or hear it but it was very real. I was connected to something."

 

"Shortly after arriving here I met Master K'munee. He explained to me what it was I was feeling and all about the force." Dahar thought fondly back on his very first lessons. How little he had known.

 

"Up until that point I had no knowledge of the Force." He looked down at the crystal in his hand and could feel the energy flowing from it. He closed his eyes for a moment and connected to the world around him. "I have learned that the Force is everything. It connects us to each other and to the core of the galaxy." Opening his eyes he looked at the Jedi Master in front of him. He could feel him.

 

"I have also learned how to use the Force to do and see certain things." Dahar thought back on how Master K'munee was able to deflect a lightsaber blade with a stick by channeling his energy into it. "I have the ability to connect to things and move them about. At times I am able to do this with my own body. Out in the jungle I was able to move faster than ever before and jump distances I didn't think possible."

 

He thought about finding the droid and discerning the real from the holograms. "I can use the Force to see around me that which my eyes cannot. I have learned that my senses can deceive me."

 

Dahar again held out the box in his hand. "I believe now I must learn what to do with this."

Jedi Masters never die, they just fade away...

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The boy's training had progressed rather far. Darex listened as he explained what K'munee had taught him. He could tell that the apprentice's training would have soon come to a close anyway. All Darex really needed to do was show him how to make his lightsaber and then give him the trials.

 

He stood. "Very well. Are you ready?

 

"As I said before, the crystal in your hands will be the heart of your lightsaber. You need to first gather the remaining parts. You will be able to find a list of components in that data terminal over there," he said, gesturing. "You should be able to find the parts all over the base. They are mostly everyday items; a lightsaber is little more than assembled pieces of junk in the wrong hands. Once you have all the pieces, you will need to immerse yourself in the Force. It will guide you to not only put the pieces together, but also in the final stages of the weapon. Without the precise tuning offered by the Force, the weapon will not work. Know, however, that there is more to making a lightsaber than just putting together components and inserting a crystal. The changes you make in the lightsaber will also be made in yourself, and the final integration of your former self and you as a Jedi will be made."

 

He put a hand on the man's shoulder. "Go now. Make your lightsaber. When you are finished, meet me in the training room over there." He pointed to the room. "May the Force be with you."

 

He strode off then, confident that Dahar would have no issues. Meanwhile, Darex needed to get cleaned up. He headed back to the room and noted that Darla wasn't there. He took a quick shower and changed into his robes, then reached out with the Force and located Darla in the mess hall. It didn't take him long to reach the hall himself. He came up behind her and gave her a kiss. "Good morning. Ah, good! Breakfast!" He sat down and helped himself to several pieces of fresh fruit. "Did you sleep well?"

 

((Dahar, I want two posts finding your components and putting the actual physical part of the saber together, then another bathing the saber in the Force and doing the final attunements. There are 17 components and you can find the list here: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Lightsaber_components))

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Darla smiled at Darex's arrival.

 

"It took me a while to get off to sleep. I was thinking about all the things you said. Mostly about my mother. I don't know if I could bring myself to see her again, if she still alive that is. Even if she is, I'm not sure how easy it would be to find. Coruscant is a big place. If she's not a Coruscant... Well... The Galaxy is a verrrry big pace."

 

She sighed.

 

"It would take time. And a lot of effort. I don't want to go through all that just for her to reject me. I mean... I was pretty awful to her. I abandoned her and left her alone. My father had been dead for years and I was all she ahd left."

 

It was a bit of a heavy conversation to be having over breakfast.

 

"Anyway... I got to sleep in the end. Thank you for letting me sleep in, I needed it. I'm feeling pretty good."

 

Darla didn't mention waking up to be sick. It was nothing really and she was feeling a lot better now. She didn't want to worry Darex over nothing.

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When i awoke the next day, i found to my surprise, that i had slept half of it away. In a brisk rush, i made my way back toward the temple and to my room where most of my days began. A shower, fresh change of cloths, and finally i was ready to head toward the cafeteria. Luckily though, Jeremiah must had covered well for me, for as i found upon my return, none of the Masters had noticed my absence. Grabbing my gear, i headed toward the door.

 

"Cut it close today Rai." I heard Jeremiah say as i open the door, startled by his arrival. "Master Da'Hara was looking for you earlier."

 

"Was he now?" I questioned, shutting the door behind us as Jeremiah motioned me to follow, likely to the mess hall so i could grab something to eat. "Wonder what he wanted."

 

"Don't worry. I told him that we pushed in a few more hours clearing those quarters last evening." He spoke with a chuckle as we turned into the cafeteria. "He wants us to put in some sparring time this afternoon. Can't imagine why though."

 

Yeah. Like your the Temple's best, eh?" I jested.

 

"Certainly." He jested back, both of us chuckling heartily as we filled our plates and sat down to eat.

 

Looking off as i ate, i noticed again the woman(Darla) from yesterday. For an unknown reason, i found her interesting. But more importantly, i found myself drawn to her companion. Looking beside her, i found him absent from her presence. Though not for long, as he(Darex) had returned when i looked back from Jeremiah's conversation with another adept. I turned toward Jeremiah.

 

"Know anything about that Jedi Master?" I questioned Jeremiah, my curiosity slightly peaked. "The one sitting near Joel with a female companion."

 

"No. Can't say i've heard anything about him." Jermiah replied, his gaze adverting toward the two. "Must have arrived yesterday after i left my duties in personnel."

 

Shaking my head, i fnished my meal and awaited Jeremiah. I looked forward to our sparring match.

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Darex nodded. "Well, it's your choice. If you want to look for her, then we can. Otherwise we can let sleeping gundarks lie. I'm glad you slept well after all, though. I know a bit of rest and some recouperation time and you'll feel like your old self again."

 

As he ate, he absentmindedly scanned the room. Suddenly, he recognized the young man he had seen at dinner last night. It wasn't surprising that he should be here, but seeing him again brought back the same curious feeling that Darex had felt the previous evening. He raised a hand as an adept passed their table, and the adept paused. "Excuse me, but do you know who that young man is?" Darex asked him.

 

The adept glanced over to where Darex had indicated. "They are both hopefuls here. The one is named Jeremiah, and the other is named Rai ((OOC: sorry, didn't know if that was the character's name or if it was Jin)). If you are interested, master, the hopefuls and apprentices will be sparring today under the supervision of Master Da'Hara."

 

Darex thanked the man, then took another bite of his breakfast before looking back up at Darla. "I need to speak to them later," he told her. "There is something about the silver-haired one that sparks my interest." She knew he was looking for a new apprentice, and so she would easily understand that he wanted to see if the young man had potential.

 

When he saw that Darla had finished, he rose and offered her his hand. "Walk with me? I was thinking about what we were talking about last night. When did you first realize you were Force-sensitive? And Tares was your Jedi Master, wasn't he?"

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It was strange how much the apprentice looked like Seraphim. Darla remembered him. He had been a quite a thoughtful soul. Darex's other Padawan's had been a little more of a hand full.

 

Darla was glad that Darex let the matter of her mother drop. It hadn't really occurred to her to try to find her. The idea was definitely in her head now, but she was very unsure if it was one that she should pursue. For the time being she was happy to put it to the back of her mind.

 

As they walked Darex questioned Darla. It seemed that this morning would be a continuation of the night before. It felt nice. Darla wanted to let down her own barriers as well as getting to know Darex better.

 

"Well..." She had to think about it. I was quite a few years ago and she was now in her second body since then. "I ran away and I joined the Rebellion. My father had been a fighter pilot and had died fighting the Empire, I wanted to follow in his footsteps... Not the dying part... Although that did happen."

 

It seemed strange to say it our loud. Was she even the same woman? She had Darla's memories, but this was a completely new body. How much of her was different? Had she merely inherited that rebellious young woman's looks and memories or were they truly the same person.

 

It seemed so long ago that Darla felt like she was a different person completely. Not necessarily a better one.

 

All the time and distance, made it easier for Darla to talk. It was like she was telling a story. Most of the feeling and faded away and now she was just relaying the events.

 

"I couldn't follow orders though. I got into a fight with my commanding officer and they threw me out. I was more trouble than I was help to them. That's when I met the Black Dragons. They were vigilantes, pretty much. A ragtag group of fighter pilots who fought pirates on the outer rim. We thought that we were unstoppable and that we were really helping the Galaxy by ridding it of scum.

 

"That's where I met Zane."

 

It had been a very long time since Darla had spoken about Zane.

 

"He was a rouge Jedi. Just like me, he was a little too wild. He'd left the Jedi to pursue his own goals, but he still held their ideals in his heart.

 

"I'd always been an uncanny fighter pilot. Dodging blaster bolts at just the right moment, making impossible manoeuvres. I thought that it was my calling. Zane could see the Force in me. I had no idea. I didn't think that I was Force sensitive. But he told me I had a gift, that I could make a great Jedi someday."

 

Suddenly Darla realised that it wasn't quite as easy to talk about as she had thought. Although, old and dulled with time, the feelings where still there.

 

"He tried to teach me to still my mind, to focus. I humoured him a bit, gave it try. But I couldn't. Zane wasn't ready to give up on me though. He told me he'd take me to Jedi. I really wasn't sure about the whole thing. I told him I needed to think about it. I took some time away from the Black Dragons. I gave it a lot of thought and decided that I needed to find out if I really had what it took to be a Jedi.

 

"I wasn't something I could ignore or run away from. If I had this gift of the Force, then I needed to learn how to use it. But when I got back, Zane was dead. They were all dead. There was nothing I could do and I hated myself for not being there to save my friends. But in reality, I would have just died with them.

 

"So maybe the Force did have a plan for me."

 

Darla took in a deep breath of air and let it out.

 

"It seems like a lifetime ago, but it still hurts."

 

She wiped a stray tear from her cheek, then smiled.

 

"I know I couldn't have saved them."

 

With age Darla had come to accept the things that she could not change.

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::It's Rai or Jin, whichever you prefer::

 

Competitive smirks adorned our faces as we grew ready in our stances, Jeremiah having taken an offensive stance while i remained defensive, both holding a shared ego the size of Coruscant. We had always enjoyed our spars together, a shared friendship that seconded only the bonds of brotherhood, though we had only known each other less than two months. Master Onishi once spoke that we were two spirits of the same presence, bound by kindred hearts. Like two sides of the same coin, he would often say. Even our combat skills were complete opposites, yet together, could show no weakness.

 

"Begin" Spoke Master Da'Hara, the old Thisspiasian perched upon his lengthened posterior.

 

Jeremiah raised his blade to his face momentarily, a show of respect found as a common trait for the young human, before outstretching it outward and placing the tip toward the duracrete floor below us. I, however, smirked and grasped my fists tightly as i drew ready, leveling them with my eye line. Our spars had always began in this fashion, so it wasn't much of an unsettling sight. Within moments, Jeremiah had already advanced upon me.

 

"Now- Now. You should know by now that i am the one with speed." I spoke, quickly grasping hands around his blade's hilt and his hands as i spun him over onto his back.

 

"Show Off." He jested back after impacting the ground below with a soft thud. Gripping his blade once more, he returned to his feet.

 

Quickly, i sidestepped his next attack, throwing the upper half of my body to the ground and bringing my left foot up toward his chest. Though it connected, Jeremiah only stumbled back, returning shortly with a diagonal thrust. Pushing myself off the floor, i flipped forward and gripped tightly on a nearby climbing rope and swung around, catching Jeremiah once again in the chest- this time using my momentum to seat him. Catching myself, it was now my turn to run the offensive, still unarmed.

 

"Excellent use of Form Zero, Rai" Master Da'Hara praised, the jolly Master laughing so hard that one could make out his actual jaw line through his thick beard. "And you, Jeremiah- Excellent use of using your strengths against your opponent."

 

Nodding our heads in appreciation, no doubt our inflated egos only grew larger at his comment, we continued. As many knew, our duels had been known to last a few hours at a time. This was likely because we could never best the other, despite our competitive ways. Jeremiah was strong, stubborn, and was very long winded. As for myself, i was naturally quick, calmly tempered, and was known to pace myself. What one lacked, the other made up for. Nearly an hour had passed when Master Da'Hara spoke again.

 

"Solah." He spoke loudly, yet in a pleased tone. We both ceased, our attentions turning back toward him as we panted heavily, sweat still dripping from our faces. "Very good. I see you two have grown since your last sparring match. Splendid news. It shall be in my report when i meet with the other Masters this evening. It's a shame the two of your have yet to find Masters. Dismissed."

 

With that, Master Da'Hara left, Jeremiah and i turning toward each other and chuckling.

 

"He's right you know." Jeremiah spoke, his breath returning and the sweat upon his brow nearly dry. "The temple's two best students still have to find a teacher."

 

"Indeed." I chuckled, my breath still slightly labored despite that the sweat had long dried from upon my face. "But who is this other student you speak of?"

 

"Funny." He replies, his face stern and grumbled momentarily before a smile returns to his face and a laugh echos through-out the halls.

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As Darex listened to her tale, he couldn't help but smile as she mentioned how she hadn't fit in with the Rebel fighter pilots. "Now how is it that I know you wouldn't be good at taking orders?" he teased.

 

He grew more serious, though, as she spoke about Zane and her regrets. As she quieted, Darex put an arm around her and pulled her off into an alcove along the hallway. "We all have regrets," he told her gently. "It's part of life. There are several things that I regret in my life, but I've learned that you can't blame yourself when things go wrong, and that you can't focus on those regrets. Attitude and outlook make a great deal of difference."

 

He was silent for a moment. "Zane seems like a good man. I'm glad he pushed you to be all you could be. And I agree; the Force clearly did have a plan for you."

 

The Jedi Master gave her a squeeze. "I know I never knew you back then, but it doesn't seem to me that you've changed very much. You're still a bit rebellious, aren't you? Determined to follow your own path, even if it means not identifying yourself with either the Sith or the Jedi." The small smile returned to his face. "It's one of the things I admire about you."

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Darla smiled. Darex always knew the right thing to say. But she knew that he didn't really know why speaking of Zane had upset her so much. 

 

Should she tell him? Or was it unecessary?

 

Zane had been Darla's first real love. He'd been older than her and had guided and shaped her a lot. This was probably the reason why she had such a hard time letting people in. She had let him in completely and then he had died.

 

It was as if she had been torn apart. The person she became after that was a creature of necessity. She'd had to become strong to survive and to be able to carry on alone. Even though Darla had had friends and lovers since, she had ultimately been alone.

 

With Darex was the first time she'd once again let someone into her life completely. That thought made her carry on speaking.

 

"I was only 17 when I met Zane, he was a lot older. But we fell in love. It was hard for me to loose him. After that I feared getting too close to anyone in case they were taken away from me like he was... Not that that really stopped ne from getting hurt."

 

She thought about Fynn, how he had been killed to torment her. She thought about Kakuto and how much it ha hurt everytime that she had lost him to the Darkside. Others that had passed through her life and the sting of their absence.

 

"But I don't have any regrets about him."

 

It was a lie, but Darla wasn't ready to tell Darex what that very painful regret was.

 

"I took Zane's comm. I knew that the order used it to keep in touch with him. I went to Tatooine and became a barmaid of all things. It was in one of the dirtiest Cantina's you've ever seen. I just wanted to be far away from the rest of civilisation. I stayed there until a message came through calling all Jedi in for an important meeting. I decided that it was my chance. It now or never. So I followed the co-ordinates that were sent. They took me to Dagobah. That's where I met Tares."

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Darex couldn't help feel a twinge of jealousy as she spoke of Zane, but as soon as he realized what he was feeling, he dismissed it with ease. If you are jealous of a man long gone because he once made her happy, then there is something seriously wrong with you, he told himself. That brought everything back into perspective for him, and he was glad that Darla had been open with him about it.

 

He was curious, then, when he felt the bright emotion indicator that told him that she was lying to him about the details. He could have pried, but chose not too. She would tell him when she was ready, and it didn't bother him that she wanted to keep some things to herself for now.

 

He shook his head. "I don't recall that I've ever been to Tatooine, and from what I hear, I'm not missing anything. Dagobah, however," he paused as a series of emotions connected to that planet flashed through his psyche. "I have many memories of Dagobah," he finally said.

 

If she inquired, he would tell her more, but he continued on. "So Tares took you on for training? How did you fall in with the Sith then?" When Darex had first met her, he had learned she had recieved some Sith training. He was curious how that fitted in to her life's tale.

 

As they continued walking, they passed Rai and Jeremiah, sweaty but cheerful. Darex was sad that they had missed the boys' duel. He'd have to speak to Master Da'Hara later about it. There was still plenty of time.

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Darla could sense an unease from Darex when he spoke about Dagobah. She had a vague idea of what had happened there. It was something to do with Shy-Ree from what she could remember. But Darla wasn't going to press Darex for any information. It had been a painful time for him and she was well aware of it. For part of it Darla had been there.

 

"When I arrived at Dagobah, there were many other hopefuls. The Jedi were being hunted by the Hutts and they were basically using us as their army, saying that if we wanted to be Jedi we had to fight for it. They handed out lightsaber's on mass and went through very basic training. We had very little time before the Hutts arrived.

 

"It was pretty sickening and I didn't agree with it. I tried to argue peace and the Jedi code from what I understood of it. They didn't listen to me. That's when I met Tares. He thought that we should have choice in whether or not we fought.

 

"In the end we had little choice. We had to fight just to survive and get through the whole ordeal. It as then that I felt the darkside for the first time. I called on it to destroy my enemies, it was almost by instinct, something primal. They were only battle droids, but I released my rage on them through the Force.  

 

"It frightened me, feeling that raw destructive energy flowing through my being. That's when I understood the real power of the Force. The energy of life is wild and free and can be just bad as it can be good. 

 

"Tares was teaching me to understand this, teaching me the wholeness of the Force both light and dark. Teaching me to understand my emotions and harness them. Then I was killed. Snatched away from him before he had the chance to finish my training.

 

"A powerful Sith woman named Tarrian had taken notice of me, watched me from afar. She wanted to break me and mold me in her image. She had me cloned. After that I was her apprentice, against my will at first... But after a while I saw it as an opportunity to learn. She'd given me another chance at life. When I was Lorded a Sith, when I had passed their trials, I was free.

 

"After that I decided to follow my own path."

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What Darla said made Darex really, really angry. The actions of those Jedi had been so inexplicably wrong... A muscle jumped in his cheek and his hands balled themselves into fists as he struggled within himself. The worst part was that as much as he wished he could blame the dark side, or actions of a Sith bending the minds of the Jedi, he knew that too often, even among the Jedi, panic took over. Jedi didn't want to die if they could help it. Darex didn't blame them, but it was the foremost duty of a Jedi to put themselves last and others first, and that meant accepting that death was a natural and all-too-frequent part of a Jedi's life. To do something like this--to throw hopefuls and padawans out into the front lines with no training to fight for their lives--was completely the opposite of the Jedi way. It was a tactic worthy of only the Sith, and even then, he knew they took care to keep their hopefuls on hidden worlds.

 

He forced himself to take a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself. There was nothing he could do about it now except use all of his influence as a Jedi Master to prevent something like this from ever, ever happening again. But Darex found he couldn't rid himself of his simmering anger unless he ceased thinking about it completely.

 

He drew on the Force to bring him back to his center. It rushed in and gently surrounded his heart in a warm soft blanket of bright energy, stealing away his anger and replacing it with a heavy sadness. He suddenly realized he hadn't said anything for a few minutes, and slowly met Darla's eyes again. "I'm sorry, I..." his voice trailed off and he took another deep breath to steady himself. "So you actually completed your Sith training? I don't think I ever knew that. I've heard tales of Tarrian, although I never met her. She trained Skye's brother, if I'm not mistaken. Tares, however, I met quite a few times, as he was Skye's master as well. He was a good man. He gave me quite a beating once training me to improve my hand-to-hand combat skills."

 

He didn't really know what else to say. He was still a little angry, although he was cooling down now and steeling his thoughts away from the actions of those long-gone Jedi. But if any of them were still around, I'd have them stand trial for what they did.

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It was very unsual for Darla to feel anger coming from Darex. A feeling that she wasn't sure she'd ever felt from him. Talking of the hypocrisy of the Jedi no longer angered Darla. It was something that she had come to terms with a long time ago. Events such as these had led her to leaving the Jedi and no longer affiliating herself with them.

 

There were good Jedi and there were bad Jedi. In Darla's opinion, there were also good people who were Sith. Some she called her friends.

 

Darla smiled at little. Darex's anger was in defense of her. She didn't want to lead him astray, making him a slave to his emotions as she was at times. However it did show how strongly he felt her that he would get defensive over something that had happened so long ago.

 

"Yes... I was a Sith Lord... Lady... I passed the trials and I was sent on my way. I was never forced to fight for the Sith after that. For a while I thought I needed redemption from the dark path I'd been led down. That's when I met Skye and she taught me the healing arts. I trained with her for quite some time. I'd already had most of Jedi training completed with Tares. So I was given my trials.

 

"For a while I was a Jedi. I kept the darkside at bay and I trained Nivana. But then you were there for most of that..."

 

Darla could feel that Darex was still agitated about what she had told him. It had been something that the whole order had been involved in and she had been one of the only people to stand against it.

 

She wondered where Darex had been at the time. He must have been on Naboo, learning Jedi lore. It was lucky for him that he had been spared the horrors of battle on Dagobah. Was Darex older than Darla? She wasn't even sure. He looked a little older, but her cloned body was much younger than her years. Darla could well have been born first.

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"Indeed," Darex agreed. "I remember when you were knighted as a Jedi. And Nivana...she was really good for you. You know I still think you could easily continue to train Jedi if you chose; you did such an excellent job picking up where Fynn left off with Niv." He let the topic drop after that; he knew she had no desire to train Jedi, and he didn't want her to think that he disagreed with the way she felt about it. He really was ambivalent. He believed she would make an excellent Jedi teacher, but if she didn't feel that she would or should, then he would be the last person to pressure her to do so.

 

They had been walking outside, but now that it was nearly midday, the sun was getting too warm in the jungle to be comfortable. Darex turned and they walked back into the coolness of the stone temple. The Jedi Master was a little preoccupied. When he tapped into the Force, he could feel the heavy weight that came with war laying oppressively over the galaxy, and it made him a touch uneasy. The battle Onderin had called the Jedi too must have been a big push, he thought. It was possible that the Republic was even trying to retake Coruscant.

 

He felt a little bad for not going to help, but he also knew that the Force wanted him here, and he wasn't one to ignore the Force's impulses. But he did wonder what the reason was that he was meant to stay behind. Of course, he had dealt with the same feelings when he had taken his self-imposed exile of sorts during the war with the Arach'tar, and he knew, looking back, that he wouldn't have traded that time for anything.

 

He realized he had fallen silent again, and made an attempt at conversation. "I met a young man this morning, named Dahar Raikanda. His master had gone off on a Force-quest, so I told him I would help him complete his training. He seems like he's very close to being knighted. I sent him to make his lightsaber, then I'm going to test him to see what he still needs to learn. I'd welcome your help; if he does well in the tests, I'd like for that to become his knight trials. I wanted to duel him a little bit to test his combat and more physical Force skills, but I'd also like to do something creative." Nivana's trials were the last ones that Darex had been creative with; Aerec's had been the duel with Geki, his return from the dark side, and his determination to overcome his physical inabilities with rehabilitation. "What do you think?"

 

Once his mind was on that train of thought, a mental image of the two hopefuls Jeremiah and Rai came to the forefront of his mind. "And I think the Force is telling me to take one of those two young men we saw earlier as my new padawan."

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Darla felt a tinge of annoyance, but she quickly let it pass. Darex meant well with his words, but he really didn't understand where she was coming from. The whole time that she had been with Nivana she had pretty much had to cage a part of herself. It had been immensely difficult. There had been so much that she understood of the Force that she had wanted to share with Nivana. But because she had been Fynn's apprentice originally Darla had kept knowledge for her out of respect for him.

 

He wouldn't have wanted Nivana to learn of the Darkside. By Darla's understanding there was the light, the dark and all the shades inbetween. All of which were aspects of the Force.

 

This is why she couldn't train Jedi. She would feel like she was living a lie and keeping the truth from her student. If she were to train someone in the ways of the Force as she understood it would be a tumultous path through all of it's elements. Such an education would not come without risk. Her student could easily fall to the Darkside were she to share certain knowledge with them. Even if they didn't, the Jedi council surely wouldn't approve of her teaching such things to their hopefuls.

 

Plus Darla was no longer sure of her own powers. They had come back to her in fits and starts over the past year or so. She still had very little control over them.

 

Darla really wasn't fit to teach a Padawan.

 

But she could help Darex. She could be there with him and aid him, ultimately leaving the real training in his hands.

 

"I don't know... Niv was my only Padawan and her trials seem like a lifetime ago to me. My Force powers are still a little all over the place. I'm not sure what I can even do anymore. A lot abilities have only opened back up to me through the Darkside..."

 

She sighed.

 

"I'm not really sure how much use I'm going to be to you in all this. But I want to help if I can."

 

That was all she could really say.

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"I'm glad," he replied. "And I want you to be free to say anything you want to whoever I train. You know I like my padawans to understand the dark side, to be aware of how it will try to lure them and tempt them. So if you have a comment about your own experiences from your time as a Sith or your own points of view as you see them now, I want you to feel free to share them. If they aren't the views of the Jedi, then it will be on me to point that out. But I feel that your assistance, whether it be as Jedi, Sith, or something in between, will help make this new apprentice a well-rounded Jedi."

 

Darex sighed. "I've trained four apprentices already, and only one of them never fell to the dark side. I've accepted that fact, and made peace with it, and not all of them stayed dark, but I've been wondering what it is about my training that seems to make them...almost more inclined to turn dark." He was being deadly serious. This was one of his deepest insecurities, and he had never spoken about it to anyone before. "Anyway, with your help, maybe I can avoid that this time..."

 

He looked down at his hands. "I know it's not necessarily my fault they turned; a lot of it was their own decision, their own choice. But my track record seems to indicate that there is something wrong with the way I've been training them...and I'm determined to do things differently this time."

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Darla leaned up to Darex and kissed him on his cheek.

 

"I don't really know what to say..."

 

She was happy at his open mindedness. He really did seem to understand where she was coming from. Darla had been worried that he wanted her to return to the ways of the Jedi, this however was not the case. Darex undedrstood that she had come to her own understanding of the Force and he appreciated and respected that.

 

It was all that Darla could have hoped for.

 

However, it saddened her to hear her lover speak of his failures. Or at least what he saw as failures. It was a very difficult situation for him to speak about. Although he had always been professional, in his own way he had gotten very close to some of his apprentices.

 

Shy-Ree he had loved. Darla knew that it had been a very deep love, but she wasn't sure if it had been romantic or not. Even if it had been, it had nothing to do with Shy-Ree turning to the Darkside. Darex had also been very close to Aerec in a sort of fatherly way. But Darla was sure that had nothing to do with him falling to the Darkside either. On the contrary she was sure that it was Darex's feelings for his Padawan that had helped him through that.

 

"What I mean is... I don't think it's your fault at all. Maybe... This is just an idea I have... Maybe the Force is trying to tell you something. Trying to show you something. Trying to get you to look at the Force as a greater whole and understand the Darkside. I think it has shown you a lot of things about it. You know that even though it can corrupt people that they can chose to return from it. Also that people can tap into it without necessarily becoming corrupt as well."

 

Darla hoped that Darex was getting what she was saying.

 

"Maybe that's what you should take form all of this. The knowledge that you've gianed and not the pain of loosing your Padawans. Darex, you're not a failure."

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Now that our duel had concluded, we took most of the day off as we usually had on days that we tested, whether sparring or academics. We were supposed to spend the day in meditation. But we were young men, and as all young men, we held a tendency to go looking for trouble. Not that we didn't take some time off for meditation, but only a half an hour left little explored. So after a quick jump into the refresher, a quick bite to eat from the cafeteria, we were on our way.

 

"I wonder what visitors we'll meet today?" Jeremiah questioned, the youthful Romeo take a large bite from his apple. You see, Jeremiah never had been away from the Order. Though he had been moved to Haruun Kal after Ossus, his visits outside the temples themselves had been a rare occasion, at least until i arrived. So to meet space-goers thrilled the young man- especially female space-goers.

 

"Dunno. But if they're smart like the last ones, you won't get a single date." I replied with a chuckle, patting Jeremiah on the shoulder with a mile-wide grin. "Now i, on the other hand..."

 

"Highly unlikely." He retorted. "You never make passes."

 

"One doesn't have to."

 

With a quick shove on Jeremiah, i took off. Like the high stepping of an Iriaz on the plains of Dantooine, Jeremiah saw nothing but my backside as we raced through the halls. It was a common thing to see us constantly competing, as we were like brothers even outside the Order. Whether racing, sparring, or even in our studies, we had to try and best the other. But what i hadn't expected, came just as i turned the next corner. With surprise upon my face and no where to go, i came crashing into the man(Darex) from earlier. Jeremiah couldn't help but burst out laughing as he came upon us.

 

"Master Jedi...." I said, rushing to my feet as i offered my hand to help him upon his own. My face had been as silver as my hair and horror shown within my gaze. "I am sincerely sorry. Please forgive me."

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Darex took a deep breath. "Thanks Darla. I know you're right, but I need reminding occasionally. And perhaps you're right about the Force revealing itself to me more. I didn't get the chance to tell you before, but Kakuto's last attack on me kind of tossed me into another plane of the Force. I found myself in a frozen wasteland filled with monsters. The Force felt so strange there. I feel that, since it was a creation of Kakuto's, maybe what I felt was the dark side...but I wasn't tapping into it."

 

He knew he was probably making no sense. "It was as if instead of reaching down to scoop up some water from a stream, I was reaching up into it from underneath. It was a way of looking at the Force that I had never considered before. Was it the dark side? I don't know. But I do know that there was nothing inherantly malevolent about it; only that the power felt almost more raw, more unrefined."

 

He paused. "Well, anyway, all that to say that maybe you're right in what the Force has been trying to teach me. Believe it or not, I did tap into the dark side once..." He wasn't sure he wanted to tell her about it. It had been a low point for him, when all his training and hard work had seemed useless. But at the same time, he knew she of all people would understand. "If you ask me about it some other time, I'll tell you about it.

 

"I still need to reconcile all of this with the way I view the Force personally and as a Jedi Master," he added. "Of course, I love a time of good meditation." His tone lightened again, making it clear to Darla that he was making fun of himself. "It must come with age. I wasn't nearly so fond of it when I was a young man." Through the Force, he nudged her mind, making her aware of the strength of his gratitude for her encouragement. It really meant a lot to him.

 

"Now, what do you say we--" His words were cut off as a blur of silver connected with him and sent both of them sprawling. Startled, Darex suddenly realized from his position on the ground that the man who had collided with him was in fact the young silver-haired hopeful he had noticed several times before. As the young man's companion--Jeremiah, Darex recalled--arrived on the scene and burst into a fit of laughter, Darex took the hand offered to him by Rai and joined in with a chuckle of his own.

 

He waved off Rai's horrified apologies. "Don't worry about it. Although I might make a suggestion that running is best done outside?" His tone had only a hint of strictness to it. He glanced at Darla and winked. No time like the present...

 

"But since you're here," he added, "why don't you both walk with us? I'm Darex Trevelian, and this is Darla Sar."

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Dahar thanked the master and went away with his crystal. This certainly seemed to him no easy task but he was confident that the process would grow him stronger in the Force. There was indeed a data terminal on the far side of the courtyard. Dahar went over to it and accessed the directory. After a moment he had brought up some information on the construction of a lightsaber. There was a list of components he would need. He transferred the information over to his personal data pad.

 

"Where do I even begin?" He thought to himself, then he remembered Darex's words "A lightsaber is little more than assembled pieces of junk in the wrong hands." Dahar figured that perhaps wherever the temple stores its junk would be a good place to start. On the data terminal he accessed the temple's storage records. He noticed a large room set aside for broken down droids and computers. This certainly seemed like a good spot to find spare electronics.

 

He slipped away his datapad and journeyed inward through the temple. It took him a little while to reach the storage room as it was quite secluded. It was a large room with a high ceiling. The droids ranged from small and simple to very large droids that had obviously been used in construction of some sort. Where to begin? Dahar knelt down on the ground and cleared his mind. He began to meditate on the Force allowing it to fill him. There were literally thousands of droids and he would need guidance on which droids to harvest parts from. Dahar felt the Force move through him. He got up and checked his datapad and looked at the first part on the list. Closing his eyes he searched out the room with the Force. Bingo! On the far side of the room was a small R5 unit in multiple pieces. Rummaging through the remnants of the droid he discovered his first part. "Aha! A power insulator! This will do quite nicely."

 

Letting the force guide him Dahar was able to go through the list part by part and locate them from the vast piles of broken down electronics. After hours of work he knew that all he would accomplish in this room had been done. He looked at the datapad where he had been checking off each part as he found them. "Only one thing left." he said to himself. "It says here its one of the most important parts, a diatium power cell."

Jedi Masters never die, they just fade away...

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