Reaching Through Darkness (Fin)

[JediKaren]

Reaching through Darkness

Sequel to The Hidden Secret

 

Also known as the Emotional Battle

 

So here is the intro to the story (yes I'm torturing you all mwhahaha)

 

Karen, a twenty one year women from a far outer rim planet, came to the Jedi Academy to train as a Jedi and to move past her fearful and abusive past. Through a lot of rough times and the help of her much loved Master, Mirmo, she faces her fears and becomes the Jedi she always wanted to be. At the end of a fate deciding meeting with the Jedi council, her master requests and receives permission to take her on her first mission to Coruscant.

 

The trip starts out slow paced, boring as any meditation session could be, until they set foot on the immensely busy ship landing station The ever going up building, the unbelievable diverse masses, and the rush of the fast life is quite a different setting of the quiet and alive Yavin four. Karen is introduced to an old friend of Mirmo who's character is questionable, but proves to be interesting, like the idea of planet wide city that never sleeps.

 

As Mirmo brings Karen to see the low and high of life of the planet, they discover someone, or someones is following them for unknown reasons. When Mirmo makes the mistake of taking his eyes off his apprentice for just a second, she disappears to face the worse of nightmares....

[JediKaren]

Ch1

Karen

 

Adventure: It wasn't something a Jedi craved, daydreamed, or furiously worked to make happen. Yet, here I was, on a ship in hyperspace, sailing through space and time to a planet that was full of adventure and I loved and craved it. I loved the excitement, the unknown events waiting to happen, the real danger, and the speed of a trip. I was a veteran traveler who knew that adventure was not all thrills and included late or missed meals, sickness, lack of sleep, and the dull moments that were in all trips. I knew all there was to know about travel, like travel days.

 

Travel days were guaranteed to bore anyone to sleep and make them wish they were back home doing something useful and vaguely exciting with their life rather than doing the tedious job of sitting in a cramped seat in a cramped ship, next to an equally cramped, unentertaining Jedi Master named Mirmo. I had to admit that at least I did not have to sit the whole time or sleep in that chair like I might have done back on my home planet which was rather backwards and unknown to the rest of the galaxy. The small ship contained a compartment of one bed in the back, a tiny galley of one burner with one pot to cook, a tiny sink to clean everything, including myself and my master, and a tiny cupboard to store protein bars which I quickly grew to hate.

 

Travel days were also a logical must in order to have an adventure. There was no possible way to get from point A to point B without the weariness of travel unless one knew the secrets of teleportation and I was mentally working out the physics of that. I forced my addicted-to-depression mind to look for something positive about where I was and what I was doing. There was one nice point about travel. It gave me plenty of time to reflect on my past life on my home planet compared to my life now and how I had changed, and more importantly the relationship between me and the man sitting next to me.

 

Master Mirmo was my one true and beloved master who took me as his apprentice, six months after my first scary meeting with the council. It was funny to say, but I was starting to believe that Mirmo loved me as his apprentice. I think he saw me as the daughter he never had and never will. I wanted to say deep in his heart he loved me the way I had grown up to believe is right and true; somehow I couldn't see this feeling in him. He might have been sitting half an arm's length away, but it felt like he was galaxies further. My natural emotional, hungry heart reached out to him, for his strength, support, and wisdom. All I got was coldness, like a turned back, wondering eyes and a blank, unreadable face that evaded the best my scanning abilities could produce. This distance hurt me because I knew I had hurt him. He had said in front of the council he had forgave me and asked me to accept his apology. It seemed now he had forgotten those easy words and had withdrawn from all around him.

 

The worst part of sitting in that small, cold metal chair was my mind wouldn't leave the past. Again and again, I saw myself run through the jungle, look into the misleading eyes of my role model, hearing the words that stung so clearly with truth, and when I felt I was done and had won, seeing the feelings and thoughts of my master as he picked up and carried me back home. I thought I was done with this pain and this past haunting me. I had found my inner child as some would say. I had started to genuinely heal myself, something even Mirmo couldn't get me to do. Did my master not see this process begin? If he did, then why did he stop caring for me? Why didn't he talk to me? He said we had much to talk about and now would be the perfect time to talk. He begged so many questions in this awkward silence. There was so much confusion in the air, I felt like I could reach out and touch it with my fingers.

 

I looked over my right shoulder to peer at Mirmo. His body posture was relaxed, forming to the ridged chair. His face was composed while he meditated. I noticed his eye lids weren't moving, which told me he was not asleep and therefore was doing his customary meditation that he was so fond of doing. I moved in my chair, dying to get up and stretch, but I didn't dare it. With our relationship being so rocky and traveling a path I knew nothing about how to navigate, it was better I didn't disturb him and end up annoying him. I stretched what little I could by flexing my legs and arching my back to get the kinks out, but that did nothing to relieve my restlessness. My eyes turned away from his peaceful outward look and glazed out the small window of the front of the ship. Billions of streaks that I had to guess were stars zoomed pass the window. The space between the streaks was the blackest black I had ever seen. The view was gorgeous to me who had never seen space. My trip to the Jedi academy on Yavin Four from my home planet was spent asleep or eating, so this was the first time I had ever seen space with my own two eyes.

 

Again, I forced myself to think of something else, something cheerful. I allowed myself the brief joyous feeling of where we were going, which was the biggest city ever made. In my travel, I had been to a fair amount of cities. My house was about an hour away from the capital of the area where I lived. I had learned that big, important cities were not all what people made them, which was of two ideas. The first idea that cities where a place of unlimited wealth, with the streets paved in gold, everyone was dressed in unspeakable riches, and smiles were to be seen everywhere. The second impression everyone had about cities who didn't live in or near one, was that cities were the most dangerous places to live. If you weren't mugged on the street during broad daylight, raped during the night, and then shot and never found again, you were most likely going to die of poverty and some hideous disease. In my experience, cities were not just one or the other, but had a bit of both and then more.

 

A sigh escaped past my mouth with a twitch of my body. Impatience and worry made me restless. I stared out in the dark nothingness that our ship soared through, hoping the trip was over soon. It hurt so much to sit next to a stranger.

[Amidala Skywalker]

WOW! That's a great first chapter. Very well written. I really enjoyed it.

 

My only crit--first you made it sound like she was an experienced traveler, then it was her first time in space. You might have meant a different kind of traveling in the first part, but if so, it didn't come out clear.

 

But that's just me being nitpicky.

 

Sorry I lost track of the Emotional Battle. I really should go back and finish reading it!

[JediKaren]

Thank you so much for read. I'll post the next chapter and yes it has been thoroughly edited to death.

 

Chp 2

Mirmo

 

Many people have told me that meditation is a waste of time, a tedious experience that puts them to sleep, but that is because they perform it incorrectly, like my apprentice. If done correctly with careful, constant practice, another thing my apprentice refuses to do, one can achieve universal oneness with the Force. Most people yawn at this point and change the topic to something more interesting like the weather, or the newest fashion trend for Hutts. I do not get discouraged by this. I know I am not everyone and I am glad of that. I have always been told how wonderful it must be to always be calm when placed in a testing situation, which my apprentice frequently places me into, such as now.

 

Do not get the impression that I do not care, deeply care that is, for Karen. She truly was an amazing student when she wanted to be, and clever and the fastest learner when she fancied, probably one of the strongest people that I have ever known, ranking close to Master Skywalker, but she does severely push my limits from time to time. I love her like a father loves a daughter, and I feverishly hope I have treated her far better than her father did. The memories she shared with me only days ago had caused me unpleasant dreams, and I can not understand how she manages to hold back her screams at night. She claimed during the council meeting that she no longer had nightmares, but from the experiences that I had been suffering from, I had to wonder if that was not said for saving face.

 

I had hope this voyage would provide both of us an opportunity to get to know each other and resolve the uncertainty and strained feeling between us. There was also the hope that this trip would teach her things that a classroom could not, but she was focusing on the less positive aspects of travel and was making the worst of it. I had hoped during the time spent traveling, we could talk, but so far we have only said the bare minimum. As the master, one would assume it was my responsibility to initiate the conversation. Because Karen was the one that left me with no note or idea of where she was or why she left, or if she needed me, I felt it was up to her to start the conversation. She seemed to radiate a feeling of very tense confusion and she was withdrawn, perhaps hurt by the lack of communication between us.

 

This is why I was sitting in front of the blinking green and red console, eyes closed, mind empty, being one with the galaxy, searching for the a deeper truth of life and Force. I had nearly reached the desired state of mind for the meditation when I noticed something in the small room. Mentally, I pulled out of this state and called upon the Force to search for the cause of the interruption with my eyes still closed. The life energy that gave all Jedi their endless power hinted to me it was my restless apprentice squirming again in her seat. My plan to spend the trip peacefully meditating the time away had a few holes. I held a sigh and opened my eyes. One amazing talent she had was being able to ignore my glaze for a full five minutes. When she stopped pretending that she had not noticed me, I asked her if something was wrong.

 

”œOh. Um no, nothing is wrong.”

[JediKaren]

Ch3

Karen

 

When this began

I had nothing to say

And I'd get lost in the nothingness inside of me

I was confused

And I'd let it all out to find

That I'm not the only person with these things in mind

Inside of me

When all the vacancy the words revealed

Is the only real thing that I've got left to feel

Nothing to lose

Just stuck, hollow, and alone

And the fault is my own and the fault is my own

 

I wanna heal

I wanna feel

What I thought was never real

I want to let go of the pain I felt so long

Erase all the pain till its gone

I wanna heal

I wanna feel

Like I'm close to something real

I want to find something I've wanted all along

Somewhere I belong

 

And I've got nothing to say

I can't believe I didn't fall right down on my face

I was confused

Looking everywhere only to find

That it's not the way I had imagined it all in my mind

So what am I

What do I have but negativity

'Cause I cant justify the way everyone is looking at me

Nothing to lose

Nothing to gain, hollow, and alone

And the fault is my own and the fault is my own

 

I wanna heal

I wanna feel

What I thought was never real

I want to let go of the pain I felt so long

Erase all the pain ”˜til its gone

I wanna heal

I wanna feel

Like I'm close to something real

I want to find something I've wanted all along

Somewhere I belong

 

I will never know

Myself until I do this on my own

And I will never feel

Anything else, until my wounds are healed

I will never be anything

'till I break away from me

I will break away

I'll find myself today

 

I wanna heal

I wanna feel

What I thought was never real

I want to let go of the pain I felt so long

Erase all the pain till it's gone

I wanna heal

I wanna feel

Like I'm close to something real

I want to find something I've wanted all along

Somewhere I belong

 

I wanna heal

I wanna feel

I wanna feel like I'm somewhere I belong

 

Somewhere I belong

I took the earpieces off and stared off into the black sea of space through the glass window, contemplating the significance of the song. It was my new favorite song because I could relate to it so much. The song talked about healing, a road I was just beginning, and also talked about belonging somewhere, an aching matter in my life. I was accepted and trained at the Jedi academy, but I didn't feel a part of the family, the group. I still felt like if I were to break a rule that was taboo to them at least to the old order, like getting pregnant or married, I would be exiled in a flash. Perhaps, my master might try to help me survive, but it would be difficult for him and I wasn't sure I would let him go through so much trouble.

 

All my life, I have never belonged to anything or fit in with any group. I am the exception of any statistic. One can't just place a number on me and predict that I will do as that number says. My early birth said many problems would come and stay in my future. I over came almost all of them. There is was some statistic that said I should have been heavily dependent on drugs since they were all around me, yet I never had smoked or drank. My scores to get into a higher education supposed I would not survive my first year, but I did and did well. The abusive history that runs through my family tells I should be abusive towards any children and pets. Obviously, that was wrong for I dearly loved all animals and children. My abilities separated me from the rest of society in a way I still can't explain, increasing the feeling I didn't belong anywhere. I found myself unable to stand human contact for long and groups larger than a hundred were unbearable. The ability to see through people like they are made of glass made me like them even less as I saw most people to be dull, boring, and completely unaware and purposely trying to avoid the things that matter in life. My teachers, at least the ones that bother to really teach us something, said I was already on a higher plane of thinking and they hardly knew how close they hit the mark.

 

I didn't just think on a higher plane, I lived and studied a plane of reality so advanced and complex, no amount of words could capture the beauty and wonder of the design. I, at the young age of twenty one, had access to something that was the cause of the wipe out of the Jedi. I knew of the ”œbeyond life and death”

[JediKaren]

Ch4

Mirmo

 

With blessed, suppressed relief, I pulled the small, weaponless ship out of hyperspace. The bright streaking stars suddenly came into focus; the ship shuddered, causing both us to be jolted painfully on the cold metal of the chairs. A frown formed in my face at the performance of the ship. If pirates were to seek us out, I doubted the ship could endure the hard run I would need to take. Luke Sykwalker, or Master Skywalker to me, had apolitically informed me this was the only ship the fledging order could afford to lend us for our mission and he wisely advised us to avoid trouble if possible. There was luck with us, for the galaxy lived in a relatively peaceful period of rest from war and prosperity was on the increase. Piracy and homicide activity was rarer than usual while traveling, promoting business and increasing trade. It was a good time for a simple first mission of the two of us.

 

A gasp from Karen broke the silence that filled the room after the rough maneuver. I spared a glance over my left shoulder to observe the wide eyes, the leaning forward body, and the slightly opened mouth in awe by someone who never had ventured into space and the core of the galaxy. My attention turned back to manually steering the craft through a course coordinated and dictated by the computer. A black sphere came into view and hurriedly enlarged itself by the second. My apprentice could not hold back her amazement any longer.

 

”œOh look! Is”¦is that the famous Coruscant?”

[JediKaren]

Ch 5

Karen

 

In my travels I had visited cites, the big important ones. I thought of them as far too huge, and overwhelming, not a place I would want to live in, yet I knew nothing about what big really meant until I had stepped off our small ship.

 

There was so much to see and all of it seemed to go by so fast, I wanted to chase after each ship and person to discover who they were and where they were going, even if it was impossible. I hardly noticed myself drifting away from Mirmo when he went to a map to figure out where we were going. Admittedly, I should have been with him, studying the map, but maps have never interested me despite my father's best efforts and I doubt I could understand how to read the map when I knew absolutely nothing about reading a holographic one.

 

Master Mirmo's talk about keeping close to him in a crowded station brought me back into a mode I hadn't been in for years. When my father would take me to these so called big cities, it was understood that I was to stay near him at all times and not wander off. As Mirmo turned around and started walking towards some unknown point, I shook my head at myself and followed his feet. The trip mode that I had developed over years was one of serious alertness, taking in everything, but letting nothing dominate my attention for more than a second or two, unless it was interesting enough to point out to my father. If my father agreed, then we would stop and watch if we had the time. Usually if I knew we didn't have time, I wouldn't let myself get interested in anything for too long, even on the first day.

 

My master weaved through the crowd to a huge exit area and across this walkway where there were some sort of car like vehicles, floating above the steel duracrate floor next to what looked like a cab driver. My master approached one of the cab drivers, a short, fat human guy with greasy hair who looked bored and poor, and told where we needed to go. It was strange to comment he was human, but after a nasty shock of seeing millions of different aliens in a few seconds, I felt myself cling to the relief and need to associate with my kind.

 

”œYa, I ca take ya there, but th' gal thare will be a' extra twenty.”

[JediKaren]

Ch 6

Mirmo

 

While I permitted Karen enter first, I moved ahead to be the first person my dear friend Nea Walne saw to avoid confusion. I stood in the dark hallway of his medium size apartment, peering through dark green walls by the light the other rooms cast out. I was not sure how he might take my apprentice and hoped my presence would smooth over any awkwardness that might occur.

 

”œMirmo, is that you ol' buddy?”

[JediKaren]

Ch7

Karen

 

”œKaren, time to get up.”

[JediKaren]

Ch 8

Mirmo

 

The ride downward to the lower levels of the enormous city was non eventful, if not a bit depressive, at least to me who had seen more than my taste of all cities poorest levels. Through our Force bond, I sensed the excitement and wonder radiating from my apprentice. There was no way to disregard the soft words of bewilderment or feeling her movements as she twisted around to look behind us. I shook my head and wondered for the forth time if this was a good idea. Karen, tough as she was, knew nothing about crime or the criminal underworld and I worried her reaction to where I was taking her. I vowed silently to myself to keep her close to me once we landed.

 

I was thankful that Nea stopped the car in a dark corner by a falling down building with a sign that had four letters missing, one letter out, and the rest of the letter flickered giving little, untrustworthy light. The smell of the street was enough to inform me that I did not want to see what had died near by. Karen gagged loudly, startling me. I turned grabbed her wrist and pulled her close. In a stern, no nonsense tone told her to keep by my side at all times and if anything does happen, let me make the decisions and take the lead. She was to follow me and do whatever I said, no matter what. And above all, keep quiet. Being unheard could mean being unseen, something that was much wanted here. Nea locked up the car and tucked the small remote key deep within his clothing.

 

”œWell buddy, I say we get ourselves moving and not stand here being prey for Rat birds if you know what I mean. My lady, allow me the honors of escorting you through the less pleasant parts of this area.”

[Dashel Illioni]

Your chapters were long enough that I sat down with a pad and pencil to keep track of what I had to say...That isn't a bad thing, as I read through what you have written and cared enough to keep writing.

 

Chapter 1...

 

Agreed with Amidala, Keren's voice as the hardened traveler was at first very confusing, but after reading through eight chapters really enjoyed the difference between Keren's reality and her perceptions. Not sure, but thing you could probably do a better job of presenting this. Just wish I knew how myself.

 

The flavor of the chapter borders on almost too wordy. Could the same emotional effect be created with less wordiness?

 

Chapter 2...

 

Your sentence structure seems odd and a little long winded.

 

Your wise jedi master comes across as an emotionally strained father. Interesting choice and nice contrast between his reality and Keren's and his perception of himself.

 

Chapter 3.

 

I thought you were switching to long form poetry for a minute. Some sort of warning in the form of a transition would have been nice. The narrative break just brought me completely out of the story.

 

Chapters 4 -8.

 

Story is getting very interesting and seems to flow a little better. It seems we are looking at a Jedi master whom has decided to help his apprentice mature and help her see past her own limitation by a little direct experience...very well done.

 

Sentence structure still seems odd and wordy. Definitely needs work.

 

Conclusion.

 

Your story shows a great deal of talent and potential. I really like the "battle" you have set up for these two people and hope you can successfully pull off a really good, hard hitting conclusion.

 

In fact, I wish the publishing houses would create a one-off novel like this just to show how difficult it is for a Jedi Master to raise an apprentice, the bonding that develops between the two, and how difficult the journey from Padawan to Master would be on every conceivable level.

[JediKaren]

Thank you very much. You really should read the first story to understand this one. It's called The Emotional Battle. Reading it will show you what's going on and I think make the story flow a bit better than before.

[JediKaren]

Ch 9

Karen

 

The Dawners? Who were the Dawners? There was a slight shift in emotions that I sensed through the Force and then noticed everyone was looking at me. I realized I had mused my thoughts out loud. My cheeks went red and I found myself needing to move about. The crowd before me was one of mostly humans, dressed in rags of various colors of gray and brown. They were a sad, skinny crowd; each person had the look of hunger in their eyes or as I feared the hunger for me. I remembered the fact that my tight skimpy shirt tempted many eyes of men who had not had seen the presence of a female for some time. I sent out a warning through my Force bond to my master. He got the message and stood in front of me, protecting me.

 

”œOh yes, the Dawners, back from the days on Zabreen, my home planet.”

[JediKaren]

Ch 10

Mirmo

 

We entered the dingy, small apartment and everyone settled into the living room/kitchen area. Nea got out his com link and ordered the midday meal for us, I suspected something as costly as the steaks we had the night before. I did not approve of him spending so much money on just a meal, but I remained silent. Perhaps Karen would cheer up with some good food. She certainly needed something. I asked Nea to make some more Fallen Bark tea. As Nea got busy with finding a clean pot that was not stinking of old spice, I looked over to the tired, unhappy figure of my apprentice. I asked her if she was okay.

 

”œYeah, I am.”

[JediKaren]

Ch11

Karen

 

I had to admit I felt pretty. I felt like a lady rather than a butt-kicking, Force-using Jedi. I looked beautiful and my master did admit that much with his long lasting stare. I also had to admit that Nea had a way of making my face blush red and giggle. Something that Mirmo couldn't do. Maybe, just maybe Nea wasn't such a bad guy. His car was certainly nice, as was the ride.

 

For the first time we headed up, rather than down the city. I much preferred going up and staying up. For one thing we were much safer. There were more cloud cars, richer, newer, less battered cars, more friendly people, and less insane drivers. The buildings were in better repair, some were even gleaming in the light. There were more signs flashing advertisements. It seemed the higher we went the more government looking buildings we came across. The city was divided up into different zones according to Mirmo, who was giving me another lecture. Each zone had a different look to it, with different stores and businesses. Although all zones had basic stores to buy food and clothing, each one specialized in something. The center of the city was the Republican Capital where the senate and the galactic leader, the proper title being Chief of State, Leia Solo, were governing the galaxy. Around highest levels of the Republican capital were a million expensive cafes and fancy clothing stores showing off clothes. I didn't even want to think about the price of a few high class hotels. As we drove further from the government center there were more apartments and small businesses. Sometimes there would be a break in housing and there would be a block of pure shops, bars, restaurants, and entertainment centers. It was late in the afternoon, about time when work ended for most people. As a result, there was heavy traffic. Nea was in no rush, so he would go around the blocks avoiding the stop-and-go cars. Strange, even though I was billions of light years away from my home planet, bad traffic still existed.

 

Sadly, the time came to head back down to the seedy underworld to make it on time for the meeting. Mirmo promised me that if things went right during the meeting, we would be back up in a day or two. That cheered me up and made it more sufferable as the glamor of the buildings faded away. Hard dirty reality seemed to set in, the lower we went. The quality of the air dropped, and soon I found myself holding my hand to my nose as we flew pass reeking vents.

 

”œThis is it.”

[JediKaren]

Ch 12

Mirmo

 

The meeting room was dominated by a massive heavy wooden table, darkly stained and reeking of stale beer among other smells I did not want to describe. The air was fogged with a dense cloud of a grayish blue smoke that hung around eye level when standing. The source of light was two light fixtures, naked and dim, barely able to shine through the layer of smoke. Around the table were eleven men. Some of these men were dressed in rags, who had not groomed themselves for weeks, with fierce, dangerous looks in their dark, distrusting eyes. The other men spoke of riches and lives of luxury. They were heavy, dressed in bright colors, covered in jewelry, beards trimmed, and seemingly cheerful and caring. All, I was sure, had guns, even if not displayed. I would have not trusted either group with my life.

 

Our presence was unannounced and few men bothered to glance at us. I ushered my apprentice to two chairs at the far end of the room, where the light was dimmest. The talk was low and decentralized. Each man had at least one mug, most taking a sip every few seconds, others simply held onto their mug while nodding at the talker. I reached out into the Force to test the mood of the crowd. Feelings of seriousness, worry, and greed came through. This was not just another meeting, but one meant to get something done. I just hoped the plan went with my own plan.

 

My thoughts were interrupted when the heavy duracrete door opened and two men stepped in. These were important, powerful men. I could tell because the room went instantly dead silent and eyes flew from their mug or listener to the two men. In truth, all eyes skipped over the first man to the second in the back. In my experience, the taller, heavier, meaner man always entered second and always was the more important one. The first man was small, slim, fast and strong. I ventured a guess that the first man acted as a body guard and a personal assistant. The two men stepped forward, with the little man standing to the right, near the table, giving the big guy some room.

 

”œThank you, gentlemen for gathering here tonight.”

[JediKaren]

Ch13

Karen

 

I went straight to bed, not pausing to wish anyone good night or the Force be with them, but straight to my room, where I undressed and climbed into bed. I shook my head on the pillow, trying to block out any thoughts about the meeting. Yes, the meeting was disturbing, as well as education and interesting, but tonight I needed to focus with a clear, calm mind. Tonight was the night I teach and help Luke Skywalker project out of his body.

 

I already knew that around this time Master Skywalker would have crawled into bed and if the Force was with me, he would be in a light sleep, perfect for what needed to be done. I also took the time before we left for the trip to peek into his bedroom so to have no trouble projecting myself into his room. I settled down in my bed, stilling my body into a peaceful sleep, but kept my mind alert. I took a deep breath, shook out the restless energy residing in my mind and body.

 

Projecting out of your body, even for an experienced practitioner like me, is not easy, even if I perform it most anywhere and anytime. To me, I have found the key to projection is knowing yourself, not what people think of you or your image in the mirror, but the true you. You need to know your soul, your spirit. Only then can one achieve unity and then separation from the body. That is the part most people struggle with. It's strange because I have spent so much time trying to run away from myself, yet I still could find my soul.

 

I allowed the image of Master Skywalker's sparse room fill my mind. At least that's not hard. I have a wide, active imagination and can easily picture anything. If I have already seen an object, like a bed, it is even easier. His bedroom was simple. There was a low bed, a light standing in a corner, a book self, and a dark wooden night table. The room would be dark and quiet. I pictured myself standing at the doorway, what view I would have and then stopped day dreaming. I focused on my soul leaving my body, sort of peeling away and then standing in the spot I had conjured up.

 

There are times when I question if I ever daydream this and how to tell if what I am doing is real. When I project and truly leave my body, I know. It is the difference of imagining a room and standing in the room. One instantly and instinctively knows the difference, even half asleep and drugged. It is like asking how to tell the difference between the dark side and the light. It is fairly obvious which is which when presented with one or the other. If I must be pinned to more solid reasons why I know these projections are real is because they aren't dreams. The content of all my dreams that I have ever had never ever come close to the events that happen while projecting. The scenes, the detail, people, the movements, and the dialog are nothing at all like my dreams. Furthermore, when I project, I can still be consciously aware of my body and my surroundings in ways I never have or will be in my dreams. There may be times that I question, but I always come back to the same fact. These projections are more real than what humankind foolishly calls reality.

 

Through closed eyes, almost displayed like a hologram, I saw the room Master Skywalker slept in. I took a step forward and looked down at my feet, covered in my normal boots the Jedi had given me. It was good to be back in Jedi clothing and not be displayed like a fancy, eye catching doll. The change in clothing did not bother me because when projecting anything and everything was possible, even stuff you didn't know could or believed could happen, did. This projection should be fairly simple and ordinary. My job was to help another person come out of their body. Nothing weird was to be expected, but I also had been through enough to know nothing was ever straight forward. I walked over to Master Skywalker's bed, staring at his peaceful sleeping figure. His eyes were relaxed and not moving, meaning he had not fallen into REM sleep. While one can project through REM sleep, it would be better for me if he hadn't gotten to that sleep stage.

 

Watching him sleep was strangely addicting, but a nagging voice wouldn't let me relax. I knew I was stalling. I knew I wasn't sure what to do next. The trouble was, I never had helped someone project this way. I always told someone over a computer what to do, not project to them and then guide them through. My mind turned back to why I was chosen and not someone else. True, I had years of experience of projecting and giving advice, but I still couldn't understand why me. I had been given this task by the dead Jedi who existed through the Force, and had to wonder why they didn't do themselves. What did I have that they didn't? Was it simply because I was alive? Perhaps it was easier for someone alive to help another living being project? Maybe the first timer would incur less shock? I scolded myself for getting off track again.

 

The main problem was, I wasn't sure how to reach the soul of Luke. I didn't know how to awake his soul and make his soul aware of me. I reached out to the Force, for the Force always had an answer if you knew what question to ask and how to interpret the answer. I scanned the Jedi in front of me, being careful to probe lightly into him as to not wake him up. The sleeping person before me felt alive and awake in a sense. I could tell he was aware of me on some level of his consciousness. Carefully, I probed closer to his mind, looking for a response from his soul. I felt something, something I could not explain fully, but like when a person first opens their eyes to realize they are awake and don't know where they are. I tentatively stood next to the sleeping, still body and put an astral hand on his I which laid on top of the sheets. The physical hand was still, yet another hand, more like an image of a hand appeared. My eyes widened in shock. He was becoming aware of his soul and thus his astral body was coming out of his ”œreal”

[JediKaren]

Ch14

Mirmo

 

I walked through the messy, narrow, and short hall of the dingy apartment to the room where my apprentice was sleeping. The door was shut. That was strange. She had kept it open last night. The door opened, and closed a thought of worry within me. Inside was the ever still lump of quiet and peaceful looking young woman. The blanket was half off her body and her hair was its normal disaster. I called out to her in a not-so-quiet voice to wake up and eat her breakfast. She grunted, telling me she was awake before I had opened the door and was now testing me to see if I would give her five more minutes. This was a game I allowed to go on at the temple because there was time to be lazy, but not now, not on this trip. I sternly told her to get up, have a quick shower and put on the new set of clothes that Nea provided again. That man sorely needed a woman in the most desperate way.

 

I closed the door to give her privacy, but did not come back into the common room until I heard large amounts of grunting, moaning, and things falling over, being followed with curses. Twenty minutes later she came out with wet hair, tight dark blue pants, a deep "V" cut, red silk shirt with long expanding sleeves, with a black glossy belt made out of real reptile skin. Her hair was pulled back in a simple style and she wore the black boots from yesterday's outfit. She was not quite sexy looking or beautiful, but came off as classic, rich, screaming power and knowledge. Truth be told, it was the perfect outfit for today's events, but Nea did not need to be informed of that information.

 

Nea gave her breakfast and I reviewed the day's events so she would know exactly what was going to happen. She nodded every so often and to my surprise came up with a few modifications of her own. For all the immaturity she can display at the worst times, she had a strong, confident mature side of her that reminded me why she would make a great Jedi-knight. When she was done eating, we gathered our few supplies needed for the trip and headed off with Nea to his cloud car.

 

We took our time driving around the city, slowly heading up. I wanted Karen to see more of the city and understand what life is like here at the center of the galaxy. By now, some of the glamour was wearing off, though Karen still could not get enough of it. What was even stranger is she was clearly a nature lover and despised large concentrations of human contact. To distract myself from the boredom of our surroundings, I focused within myself and evaluate through a meditation process my current emotions and control over my mind and body. By doing the meditation, I can discover any cold developing in my system and become aware of hiding stress, fear, or anger. I have tried to get my apprentice to do this, but the attempts are merely attempts with little success. I put that thought out of my mind and solely focused on myself. My stress levels were doing well as well as my emotions, but the deeper I looked, the more of a feeling I got. Focusing on that feeling brought out a feeling of worry about the future. I labeled this as a warning provided by the Force, telling me there was danger near by in my future. The danger did not center on me, but someone close. There was no name or image to go along with the warning, leaving me mystified and thoughtful.

 

”œHey Mir, waking up from that nap of yours would be good, at any time now.”

[JediKaren]

Ch 15

Karen

 

This was another one of those boring, slow parts of adventure. The tour of the government building was boring as anything. I really have no interest in government. Sure, the building itself was impressive and the feeling of being surrounded by rich, famous, and darn smart people was stronger than the Force, but that still didn't make the feeling of boredom go away. We walked down another boring hallway. My thoughts drifted off to other things. I decided to test the Force, figuring only my master would notice and he shouldn't have cared if I did or didn't.

 

If I thought I was bored, the Force here was far more boring than I was. The feeling I got from the building was a mindless droning of not quite paid enough employees slaving away for spoiled rich senators whose ego were far too big. The building seemed to be purely drama, emotions flying over all with little swirls of activity centered in different areas of the building. Well, that was the best way I could explain it to someone who wasn't experiencing the feeling for themselves. I dug further into the Force, looking for something to distract me while I stared mindlessly at meaningless, non offensive ”œart”

[JediKaren]

Ch16

Mirmo

 

”œAlright gentlemen, you have my full attention for thirty minutes. Hurry up because there is a meeting I have to go to after this.”

[JediKaren]

Ch17

Karen

 

I hate high heels. I hate the fact that I can barely balance while taking pain-staking tiny steps, while trying to act the role of someone rich and graceful all at the same time. Meanwhile, my feet have been forced into way-too narrow shoes with all the weight and pressure being centered on the front pad of my feet. Then there is the silent game between females of who can stand and dance in their heels the longest before giving in, sitting down and taking off the accursed things. What is worse is we go to all this trouble and suck up so much pain, yet the males never noticed or care about the shoes or understand the pain. It is another blasted part of being a female and society expects us to participate in the game no matter what the cost is.

 

The rest of my outfit I loved. I had spent half an hour in the shower while the men figured out what to do about Mirmo's lack of ball-going clothes. I spent another twenty minutes straitening, gathering, curling, and spraying my hair into artistic perfection. Then I slipped into a borrowed evening dress. I did not want to know how Nea got his hands on to it. My face was touched up with what I thought was the right amount of makeup. And finally came the matching high heels and much cursing out of my inability to walk.

 

The most fun I had that night was enjoying the stunned look on my master's face. The men were busy talking boring politics and when they heard the loud thump of my gangly feet, they both turned towards me, gaping, and mouths wide open in pure shock, amazement, and disbelief. A smirk of a proud smile grew on my face. I didn't dress up much, but when I did, I went all out.

 

”œKaren”¦you”¦ you are...”

[Dartha Athanth]

Whoo so many posts! Havne't got through all, but will soon.

[JediKaren]

Ch17

Karen

 

I hate high heels. I hate the fact that I can barely balance while taking pain-staking tiny steps, while trying to act the role of someone rich and graceful all at the same time. Meanwhile, my feet have been forced into way-too narrow shoes with all the weight and pressure being centered on the front pad of my feet. Then there is the silent game between females of who can stand and dance in their heels the longest before giving in, sitting down and taking off the accursed things. What is worse is we go to all this trouble and suck up so much pain, yet the males never noticed or care about the shoes or understand the pain. It is another blasted part of being a female and society expects us to participate in the game no matter what the cost is.

 

The rest of my outfit I loved. I had spent half an hour in the shower while the men figured out what to do about Mirmo's lack of ball-going clothes. I spent another twenty minutes straitening, gathering, curling, and spraying my hair into artistic perfection. Then I slipped into a borrowed evening dress. I did not want to know how Nea got his hands on to it. My face was touched up with what I thought was the right amount of makeup. And finally came the matching high heels and much cursing out of my inability to walk.

 

The most fun I had that night was enjoying the stunned look on my master's face. The men were busy talking boring politics and when they heard the loud thump of my gangly feet, they both turned towards me, gaping, and mouths wide open in pure shock, amazement, and disbelief. A smirk of a proud smile grew on my face. I didn't dress up much, but when I did, I went all out.

 

”œKaren”¦you”¦ you are...”

[JediKaren]

Ch 18

Mirmo

 

I watched my apprentice edge into a group of high class, eloquently dressed group of humans and other species out of the corner of my eye. She would do fine, I told myself. Over the course of six months at the temple, training, she had learned to be social and how keep up a conversation, despite her handicap of not being from this galactic system. I focused my attention to my personal mission which was find information about the scandal. I tried various tactics to get into different groups which I spotted senators in such as telling a joke, or loudly commenting on a female's dress. I earned their trust and approval, pretending to be a high class social worker, one who worked for society by sitting back in a high tech chair, listening to my employees about their problems and doing nothing. I kept my tone low and boring. My words were few, but describing and my body language was relaxed, yet bored of going to dinner parties like this one. I wore my borrowed tunic like my daily wear, turning down comments as anyone in my position would have done so. In short, I was fitting in with the rest of the crowd.

 

Once I had won the attention and favor of the senator in a group, I hinted more serious matters needed to be discussed with them privately. If the senator was smart, and most were, they excused themselves from the group and walked some paces from the mass of people. I offered them a drink and a seat and then questioned them about the incident. From the eight senators I had managed to pry away from the ball, none of them were willing to furnish any more information than I had been told. It seemed the senator's were immensely embarrassed by the topic and bluntly refused to go further without angrily demanding why I interviewing them. Why they were so embarrassed was a question I had yet to figure out. I fervently hoped Chancellor Leia could provide me something more substantial to take back to Ven and the gang leaders.

 

Half way through the party I met up with Nea and reported my failure. He was unhappy, but commented it could not be helped. He went on saying he would try a few of his tricks to pick up any more clues. Half an hour before the end of the party I gave up on the social aspect of the party after checking up on Karen. She was happily dancing with some young man, dark brown hair swept back with glowing dark eyes that made me think of Roan again. I gathered the Force and spread my awareness of the living Force to the corners of the room and then doubled back again to the center, searching for formally Princess Leia. To my surprise, I got an answer through the Force from her and sensed she was coming towards me. I checked my location to ensure we would have privacy. We were alone on the third floor. Most of the guests were centered in the first floor, dancing the last of the night away or drinking the last drops of rare wines.

 

”œWe meet again Master Mirmo.”

[JediKaren]

Ch19

Karen

 

The kiss wasn't supposed to happen. He, with his catching eyes and sweeping looks, took me in his arms and before I knew it, bent my head back into a romantic, passionate kiss that stole my breath away and stopped the inner workings of my mind. He mouth worked with such lust and need for me, I was lost in the feeling of being wanted, or being needed. No one, not the two boys I had dated years back, ever made me feel that way. In truth, I had never been much of dating material due to my strong tom boyish personality and dress code.

 

The ride back was a nightmare. The silence in the cloud car was murderous. I wanted to say something. I needed to explain what had happened at the dance, but I sensed Mirmo was not in the mood to talk. When I sensed a presence near by me and my future lover, I looked up and froze. I had seen my father instead of Mirmo. I froze because that was a reaction I developed with my father. I always feared my father and when I did something I knew he would at least be unhappy about, I freaked out.

 

Going to bed this night took longer than usual. Getting out of the tight fitting dress was hard. Then I had to scrub my face clean, knowing it was useless. I would break out later on no matter what I did. Finally, I crawled into bed, but did not go to sleep. There was another training session to be done with Master Skywalker.

 

Now that he had found his astral body and come out of his physical body it was time to take him to the next step. The goal of this session was to show him some of the different astral properties. But first, I had to make sure he knew how to get out of his body again. As they say at the temple, there is no such thing as too much practice.

 

I imagined myself at Master Skywalker's room, standing right next to his body, hopefully him there, lightly sleeping. I then disconnected myself from my body and focused on bringing out my astral body and to that spot I had in my head. I felt the change happen and knew I had done it. I was now in Luke's room. My hope came true. Luke was on his back, asleep. I called out his first name. His physical head turned to his left. Well, at least he was in a light sleep. I called his name again, being quieter. There was no response. I wondered what to do. Perhaps he still didn't get how to leave his body? How was I going to get him out? I couldn't pull him, nor did I want to call his name until he woke up.

 

His eyes opened and for a second I was cursing the world out until I looked more closely at his eyes. I realized his physically eyes were still closed, but his astral eyes had opened. I breathed a sigh of relief. I called his name one more time and his eyes spotted me. They grew wide in expected shock for a second, but after recognizing me, they relaxed. I stayed quiet, waiting for him to separate from his body. I wanted to see him do it on his own without any guidance from me. He took my silence as cue to get up. His astral body rose through his physical one and floated above. He awkwardly straightened his body so he was vertical and descended to the ground. He opened his mouth to talk and something that sounded close to our language came out, but I still couldn't understand it. I told him to think what he wanted to say for communication. He tried it and managed a thank you to me. I heard him mutter something about this being so strange. I asked him what did he meant by that. I knew what he meant, but he didn't know that I could hear his thoughts. He gave me a look and asked if I heard him think that. I said yes. I also told him that he would have to mind his thoughts better because there was very little privacy in the astral plane.

 

I then started my lecture about the ethereal plane. The astral plane is a collection of planes, some lower and some higher, and the plane that we were projecting to was called the ethereal plane. The ethereal plane was a slightly low plane that anyone who could find their soul, could project to. The plane took on the formation of whereever the projected lived. The plane also had many different properties that did not exist on the physical plane where we walked, breathed, and ate. The next plane up was called the astral plane where spirits of Jedi who had become one with the Force upon dying, resided.

 

With that piece of information I jumped up, back flipped, and remained floating in the air. Luke looked at my jump in mild shock. I smiled at him and asked him to join me in my lofty perch. He asked how. How was a good question for someone who was brand new to projecting. I thought about it for a minute and told him just do it. I got another, not quite so mild look of surprise from him. I refused to go into more detail. The astral plane was one of the few things I had the most trouble teaching and Luke was the master of the Force here, not me. He should have known what I meant. With some obvious pondering, he finally decided to take my word and found himself half a meter above the ground. I told him that gravity, weight, and physical strength means nothing here. He nodded and I sensed that he was catching on. I turned to the wall and started walking towards it. When I got to the wall, I didn't stop, but proceeded to walk through the wall if nothing happened. Internally I shuddered. I couldn't feel anything, but the idea still disturbed me even after numerous years of practicing it. I turned back and went into Luke's bedroom.

 

The look on his face wasn't so surprising now that he understood anything was possible on the astral plane. I gestured for him to do the same. Master Skywalker walked up to the wall and hesitantly stuck a hand into the solid looking wall. He pulled the hand back and examined it. I saw a tiny shrug and his body passed through the wall. I followed him into a short hallway that lead to a chamber empty except with one lone Jedi knight standing alone, staring at the wall. I smiled and saw another property to demonstrate to Master Skywalker.

 

I went up to the knight, bent down, showing my bottom to the knight and then flashed my underwear at him. I was careful not to touch the knight, worried that the knight might sense my presence. This was highly rude and should have been shocking to the knight. Yet the knight continued to stare blankly at the wall. I straightened up and look at Luke. He did not seem too bothered by the gross gesture, but seemed thoughtful. He asked me if Jedi could detect an astral presence through the Force. I told him yes, but you would have to be attuned to the feeling of a presence and hope the presence wanted to be sensed and wasn't shielding themselves. I shouted as loud as I could at the knight that should have startled the Jedi out of his meditative boring stare, but again the man did not respond. I told Master Skywalker that we could hear him, but he could not hear us. Only those who had become one with the Force could communicate with those who were living.

 

There was one last property that I wanted to show him that would truly show him anything could be done while projecting. I thought of his bedroom, where I projected to and then transported my astral body to that spot. I waited a moment before teleporting myself back to the chamber where Luke was. I explained there was a shortcut to getting from one place to another when projecting. One merely had to think of the location and then project oneself there without all the walking involved. He nodded and gave it a try. I saw him disappear and joined him standing next to his sleeping body. I told him that was all for this night and I should be back if nothing happens. There were many more properties to show, but this was enough for him to practice with for some time. He nodded and thanked me. I told him it was all part of the job. He smiled and floated his astral body up over his physical body and then suddenly his astral body disappeared. He opened his physical eyes, blinked the dizzying feeling of snapping back into his body, and looked at the spot where I was standing. Of course he couldn't see me, but I felt the Force touch me. He bowed his head again and lay back down to sleep. I whispered a good night and returned to my body to dream about my daring, handsome kisser.

[Tiana Calthye]

Heya, JediKaren! Long time, no see! Welcome back!

[JediKaren]

thanks! I hope you like the story!

[JediKaren]

Ch 20

Mirmo

 

Nea had just finished with the bat hawk scrambled eggs when I knocked on Karen's door. There was no response from her so I presumed she was pretending to be asleep in order to gain a few more minutes. At the temple I would have given her those minutes, but not on a mission and not on a day with so much to do. I loudly told her to get up and get dressed quickly. There was a sound between a grunt and a moan muffled by covers and a door. I turned around and went back to the armchair that had served as my bed for the duration of the mission.

 

”œHey Mir. I got a personal message from my comm. a minute ago from the Chancellor herself, saying she has put together a report on the scandal and left it at the senate for us to pick up.”

[JediKaren]

Ch 21

Karen

 

There was nothing to see in the opaque darkness of wherever I was. The air stank of something my foggy brain couldn't begin to describe. By the echoing of the room caused by my quick, loud breathing, the room was rather vacant and large. There was no other sound than my breathing to indicate someone else was here. My skin crawled and my mind reeled. I found my hands shaking uncontrollably along with the rest of my body. The silence, loneliness, and lack of light were terrifying, but nothing was worse than my severed connection to the Force. To lose one's connection to the Force was to go blind, dumb, and deaf, and have one's arms and legs cut off all at once. The feeling was devastating.

 

I couldn't sense. I couldn't feel. I didn't know where the walls were. I was scared to move because I didn't know if I would walk into something. My closer to nine than eight years of training were useless in this situation. I had spent so much time and effort training and drilling into my mind not to panic because I had and could use the Force when all else failed me. I wanted to laugh at the proud voice telling me to breathe, relax and open myself to the powerful, luminous energy. As far as I could tell, curled up into a painful ball of fear, the Force didn't exist, yet strangely enough, I knew I did.

 

My mind whirled, looking for answers to questions that couldn't be answered at that time. I calmed down my screaming mind enough to find the strength and courage to stand up and take one step forward. Immediately my foot hit something hard that made a lot of sound and I uttered several curses. At that exact moment the lights overhead came on, flooding my vision with agonizing, blinding multicolored whiteness. For a full minute I stood paralyzed, unable to center my scattered thoughts from the whirlwind they had been thrown into. Through the white haze I saw a bare, black metal room. My gaze followed a half flight of narrow metal stairs up to a darker platform with a single chair with its back turned towards me. With nowhere else to go I moved forwards to mount the stairs. The scene was entirely too much like the Emperor's quarters, where Master Skywalker witnessed the death of the Emperor. Surely the Emperor under a different person wasn't back? The chair slowly turned around, showing the owner.

 

The man before me was not the Emperor, but a middle build, shocking blond man. I guessed he was in his mid-thirties. His ice blue eyes sent shivers down my spine. There was a chilling coolness about him. I couldn't feel anything from him without my Force abilities, but I still knew how to read a person. The dark side, from what my experience taught me, flowed through him like a freezing, deathly river, leaving a trail of cool steel determination. His voice, cool and smooth, made all the warmth and hope leave my body in a hurry.

 

”œWelcome Karen Nightingstar. Do you like my reconstructed Emperor's throne room?”

[JediKaren]

aww no comments? Come on, this story isn't that bad. Well here's another chapter:

 

 

Ch 22

Mirmo

 

”œGone? Whoa, slow down Mirmo. She was here just a minute ago. She could not have gone far. She must have seen someone and could not have told you before she left.”