ã€ŠThe Way of the Greyã€‹


 1. Chapter

    Prelude:

    A twi¡¯lek orphan girl in a slum on Ryloth was about to give up hope; she was hungry and sick, beaten from a fight with a bunch of other orphan kids for the scraps of food they could find in the trash piles.

    She was sitting on the side of a dark alleyway, enduring the pain of her gnawing hunger and thirst.

    She was forced to drink water from a dirty puddle yesterday since there was no clearer source of water to be found. Now she had a fever. She knew that it was a risk, but she had no other choice...

    Now it will be over at least faster, she thought with sadness, but also relief. With her hazy mind, she finally realized that someone was standing before her, a tall man, a human man? She couldn¡¯t make out his features. At least she will not be alone in her last moments. Suddenly, she felt happy and calm, like everything was going to be alright. It was probably from the hunger. She felt light-headed for a while now.

    Her reasoning gone, she didn¡¯t know if this was a wishful dream or reality anymore. Her heavy eyelids slowly closed, but she heard the words of the man calling for her, telling her about a purpose that she¡­ only she could fulfill. It was such a fresh thought, the idea¡­ that someone needed her.

    The girl had a funny thought at the moment. A wish of sorts¡­ she desired to be useful to this man, even if she had to give her life for that cause¡­ It was a lot better than dieing on the roadside. Only if this was truly true, then she finally could be useful for someone.

    With that thought on her fragile mind, the girl lost consciousness from her growing fever and various other conditions.

    Meanwhile, the stranger was looking at the small, probably five or six-year-old child. He looked at the girl, but there was no pity in his aging eyes. Only realization.

    ¡°So be it.¡± ¡ª He said.

    The force made him come to this place. It led him into this alley at the right time to save this light gray twi¡¯lek girl. She was a bastard child of a whore, most likely dropped on the streets, or orphaned in some other typically cruel way. But that did not matter for the bearded man. He wasn¡¯t a soft man that would help just any stray child without thought. That said, he wasn¡¯t a particularly cruel person either. Merely realistically pragmatic, in a world filled with death and chaos, that trait was for the better.

    What mattered to him was the fact that he could sense a spark of the force inside said girl¡­ The force surrounded her. It swirled, circling her broken form like a twisted raging storm, drawing his attention to her until he reached her side. Then it calmed and became still as night.

    A shatter point. He recognized the signs, and he felt it as well. The future has changed drastically, the moment he laid eyes on the little twi¡¯lek.

    He knew now that she was the one he was searching for. Crouching down, he gently picked up the girl and walked back to his ship hastily.

    ¡°Don¡¯t die on me now, after all that trouble I went through to find you.¡± ¡ª The man cursed while panting heavily. He was old, his beard was entirely white. The spring in his steps and deep wrinkles were telltale signs of a battle-hardened veteran. Or at least a hard life, with heavy physical labor.

    The man ran up the ramp of his ship, straight into its medical room. Carefully placing the trembling, feverish girl on the table while two different medical droids booted up and started to scan the girl¡¯s body. Each droid had four different arms, giving the girl antibiotics and bacta poultices on her forehead, with at least a few doses of immune re-invigorators and energy infusions.

    About seven years later.

    ¡®It happened on a silent night. I was sleeping in my cabin as usual, and I had a dream. The dream didn¡¯t feel too unusual. Well, not more than my other dreams, to be fair, in this one I was standing before my master. The kind, old master who took pity on me a few years ago, and took me under his wings.¡¯

    ¡®Without him, I would be dead by now or taken as a slave, which does not sound any better. Nevertheless, I should not wander off-topic, it is a bad habit, and master always told me, that I should be as precise and straightforward with my words, as I aspired to be with my lightsaber.¡¯

    ¡®To my shame, this was a lesson I could never really learn from him, not well anyway.¡¯

    ¡®I was in my cabin, dreaming of a strange, dimly lit room, one I had never seen before.¡¯

    ¡®Inside the room, there was a clear pond filling up its center. Then a voice called out to me, a voice I instantly recognized. It was my master¡¯s somewhat weak voice. I saw him standing on the other side of the room, clothed in formal attire.¡¯

    ¡®He was smiling at me, yet I saw sadness in his old eyes surrounded with wrinkles, but there was also hope, much more hope than sadness, which confused yet also reassured me.¡¯

    ¡®The dream ended at that moment since the door in my room opened. Followed by a smooth hiss caused by the escaping air pressure, which was released through the opening mechanism built inside the door.¡¯

    ¡®Your average twi¡¯lek would not even budge from that small noise, but I was taught otherwise. To sense the slightest shift in my surroundings, to react to danger, preferably in time. That was why I opened my eyes and turned towards the door, instinctively grabbing the hilt of my lightsaber.¡¯

    ¡®I saw as my master stood in the doorframe, watching my hurried movements with an amused smile. His gray hair matched his gray robes well, not even mentioning his almost entirely white beard. There was also something else I noticed; he was clothed in ceremonial attire, the same I saw in my dream. This put me a bit more on guard, master told me about the special dreams, which the gifted people had from time to time.¡¯

    ¡®The force called out to warn us of great danger, or great change.¡¯

    ¡®Since master was here, and he seemed calm. I could only think that in this case the latter happened or will happen soon. This, however, only raised more questions. I tried to ask my master, but he raised his right hand pre-emptively, stopping the incoming storm of questions. Holding back my tongue. I chewed on the inside of my lips anxiously; sometimes it was frustrating that he knew me so well¡­¡¯

    ¡®He pointedly looked at my shoes, which were randomly kicked off somewhere beside my bed. Then turned around, and slowly but surely walked out of the room.¡¯

    ¡®I panicked a bit, then jumped out of my bed, trying to pull on my shoes as fast as possible. I grabbed the outer part of my robes as well, from the chair, where I had thrown it before I ended up falling asleep. With that done, I ran out of the room, leks flailing in the air behind me, as I closed the distance between me and my master.¡¯

    ¡®He had much longer legs, since he was an adult while I was a thirteen-year-old girl. A few years ago, I would instantly start to whine after getting to my master¡¯s side following such a rude awakening, but now I knew that it would only lead to some infuriatingly boring punishment, which I had no desire to experience. Not again, anyway.¡¯

    ¡®I also realized that my stamina got much better. Not only because I was no longer malnourished. It was just as much thanks to the thin layer of muscles which grew on me because of the training master made me do every single day.¡¯

    ¡®We walked through the corridors in comfortable silence, reaching the turbo lift and getting into it. The doors closed with another hiss, and the lift started its descent.¡¯

    ¡®Simultaneously, I also descended into my thoughts. The only place I was comfortable enough to completely let my guards down was in the presence of my master. Soon, I felt a touch on my right shoulder. I looked up, realizing that the door was open, and master was looking down at me with a knowing look in his brown eyes.¡¯

    ¡®I walked out of the lift in my embarrassment, taking up the lead for a few seconds, only to realize that I did not know where we were heading. With a slightly reddening cheek, I stopped. Looking at the floor wordlessly, while master took back the lead with an amused smirk. I followed him without a squeak.¡¯

    ¡®We reached the door of master¡¯s private meditating room.¡¯

    ¡®My eyebrows rose a bit from surprise; I was never allowed to enter this room. Yet now, the mysterious doors slid apart and master walked into the room, urging me to follow him. I hesitated for a few seconds, then stepped inside the room. The door closed behind us and a strange feeling immediately made me stop in my tracks. My body suddenly felt heavy. I looked around skeptically. It was a hazy and empty room.¡¯

    ¡°Empty?¡± ¡ª ¡®I voiced my concern, surprised by my own observation. I looked around one more time; I couldn¡¯t see master at all.¡¯

    ¡°Master?¡± ¡ª ¡®I called out to him again.¡¯

    ¡°Your master is dead.¡± ¡ª ¡®A cold, terrifying voice appeared behind me. I spun on my heels, my blue lightsaber activating in mid-motion, scattering the crawling shadows around me.¡¯

    ¡±No need to be scared.¡± ¡ª ¡®Sounded the voice again. This time, it seemed to come from everywhere. I could not pin down the source of it. The shadows on the edges of the room started to move slowly, encircling me.¡¯

    ¡°You will join him soon.¡± ¡ª ¡®The voice appeared behind me once again. I turned to face it and froze.¡¯

    ¡°Ma-master?¡±

    ¡°I see you recognize me. Now kneel, and join by my side as my one and only apprentice¡­ or die.¡± ¡ª ¡®Those words were spoken with deceptive ease, yet they contained so much terror within. There was no doubt inside me that he meant what he said and that realization terrified me even more.¡¯

    ¡®I felt an urge, a hunger to submit, to kneel and be on my master¡¯s side forever.¡¯

    ¡®My resolve weakened, and my knees started to buckle on their own. Faced with the terrible threat¡­ The sense of fear began to numb my limbs and thoughts.¡¯

    ¡®Before my knees could give out completely, our eyes met, and I froze again. The warm brown eyes of my master were nowhere to be seen. Instead, I saw a golden gleam and a wide grin on his usually solemn face. It was repulsive. Endless greed and blood-thirst contorted his tender yet strict features. However, behind the prideful facade, I could only sense pain, sorrow, and regret too.¡¯

    ¡®My whole body shuddered as the multitude of emotions resonated through me. Their source was my loved master, no he¡­ it was no longer my master, but something else.¡¯

    ¡®I couldn¡¯t let that creature possess my dear master¡¯s body any longer.¡¯

    ¡®My resolve steeled, I stood tall again. Vision blurred from the slowly forming tears appearing in my eyes. I finally understood what had happened, and what I would have to do next.¡¯

    ¡®I stood in a fighting style I learned from master, form seven Juyo, the most aggressive form I knew of, while simultaneously beginning to feed on the emotions that master projected, gathering and enforcing my will and strength with them.¡¯

    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡®I knew that I had no chance to win without doing my utmost and even then; it was hopeless. I decided to use this dangerous fighting style that fed on negative emotions because I hoped to surprise mas-... no, this creature and kill it with a suicide attack. Throwing my defense aside, I was about to jump when a familiar voice stopped me.¡¯

    ¡°Enough!¡± ¡ª ¡®I blinked, looking around, confused. The shadows disappeared, the cold and pressuring presence receded. The room seemed perfectly normal, only oh.¡¯

    ¡®In front of me, a familiar pond appeared, and my master was standing on the other side of the room, smiling at me with an amused smirk forming on his lips. His features looked tired and sad, but also hopeful. My dream! This was what I saw in my dream, and there was the pond, too. I looked around one more time and then walked closer, still standing on the opposite side of the small pond. My obviously wary behavior elicited another loud smirk from master.¡¯

    ¡°It was a trial, your last trial, to be more specific.¡±

    ¡®I blinked again, with growing confusion. I never even knew there was a trial¡­¡¯

    ¡°You passed.¡±¡ª ¡®I blinked one more time, watching and listening to him silently.¡¯

    ¡°Congratulation, from today on you have gained the title and mantle of the thirteenth Gray Lord.¡± ¡ª ¡¯My mouth opened as my jaw moved slightly up and down, but no voice came out of my suddenly constrained throat.¡¯

    ¡®Long minutes passed in this manner. At last, my voice came back to me and I successfully squeaked out a few words.¡¯

    ¡±I¡­ I am¡­ not ready¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes you are, you must.¡± ¡ª ¡®Sounded the dreadful answer.¡¯

    ¡°Wait¡­ but no, why¡­ so suddenly? I¡­¡±

    ¡°Nizzal, I am dying.¡±

    ¡®There, my building oppositions and excuses crumbled and scattered under the weight of those words. I felt my eyes water as the flood of tears broke loose.¡¯

    ¡°No, master¡­ don¡¯t leave me. We can go to a doctor¡­ to heal you.¡±

    ¡®Master shook his head slowly; an honest smile appeared on his face while he said.¡¯

    ¡°Dear child, no doctor could heal old age. There is no technology which could give life to these old bones of mine, and even if there was such a thing, I would not allow it to be done. Honestly, I am somewhat interested in the secret that lies beyond the veil of life.¡±

    ¡®I couldn¡¯t accept such reasoning. There was no way!¡¯ ¡ª ¡°Master, but I¡­ I can¡¯t, I am too young¡­ there is too much I don¡¯t know yet¡­¡±

    ¡®Master smiled reassuringly.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°Of that, I am sure.¡±

    ¡°Then will you¡­¡± ¡ª ¡®I pleaded.¡¯

    ¡°I can¡¯t. Now, stop with the futile pleading. There is one more thing we have to do tonight.¡±

    ¡®I tried to gain back the control over those tears and gather myself together to listen properly. Master continued his monologue with his usual lecturing tone.¡¯

    ¡°Did you ever wonder why I never gave you a holocron? The item that Sith and Jedi use for teaching and storing their secrets.¡±

    ¡®I nodded to indicate that I actually thought about it.¡¯

    ¡°Good. The reason wasn¡¯t that I didn¡¯t think you were worthy. It is much simpler actually, we never created holocrons, we created a better yet more risky method to preserve knowledge and defend our secrets. We created living holocrons.¡±

    ¡®I was surprised by this revelation, yet I could not understand what that exactly meant.¡¯

    ¡°I and every one of the thirteen masters of the order is such a holocron. This means, as I am no longer suitable to bear this responsibility, it is time for you to become one.¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡±

    ¡®Master looked at me with a hint of anger at my disruption, and I closed my mouth again. There were millions of questions jumping around my mind, but I forced myself to focus on what more master had to say.¡¯

    ¡®His features turned milder, seeing my slightly shaking form.¡¯

    ¡°Every one of your questions will be answered after we finish the ritual.¡±

    ¡®He stated, and I relaxed a bit.¡¯

    ¡°Wh-what do I have to do?¡±

    ¡°I ask you to remove your clothes and sit down cross-legged in the middle of the pond; submerge half of your body in the liquid. Then you will have to open yourself to the force entirely, clear your mind, and let go.¡±

    ¡°¡­kay¡­¡±

    ¡®I started to remove my clothes, placing them on each other neatly on the floor, just to stretch the time a bit. After removing every piece of clothing, I stood there awkwardly, covering myself with my hands with a frustratingly rosy cheek.¡¯

    ¡®My master¡¯s expression was the same as always, stoic but warm, as if there was nothing unusual. This, thankfully, made me relax, and I walked into the pond, sitting down the way it was requested. I tried to clear my mind and open up to the force, but it felt harder than ever before. I became frustrated with my failures and doubts started to emerge on the brink of my thoughts.¡¯

    ¡®That was the moment when master¡¯s voice appeared again.¡¯

    ¡°Nizzal, do you trust me?¡±

    ¡®My chaotic thoughts stopped in their endless circles, as I felt hurt and frustrated by the question.¡¯

    ¡°Of course, I do!¡± ¡ª ¡®I stated, with stubborn frustration.¡¯

    ¡±Then relax your mind and let go.¡±

    ¡®I did just that. My doubts and fears were strangely chased away. I could finally open my mind to the force. A few minutes later, I fell into a deep meditative state, completely submerged in the force.¡¯

    ¡®Then the memories came, a flood of seemingly endless memories of people I never saw, never met, or never even knew of their existence. I was seeing through their eyes I felt what they felt, every sensation, every fear, every doubt and every desire.¡¯

    ¡®I felt as if their feelings and experiences became my experiences and fears. No¡­ it was exactly what was happening.¡¯

    ¡®After a long time, the first person¡¯s memories neared their end as the human male, named Darth Revan, created and used the same ritual as my master did. A ritual that was originally a Sith ritual created to steal another person¡¯s body and replace their souls with the caster¡¯s soul, but it was changed and recreated in a new manner for another purpose.¡¯

    ¡®That goal was to implant the caster¡¯s memories and experiences into the subject. There was a need for a willing subject and a heavy price had to be paid. I watched as Raven¡¯s body disintegrated to fuel the power of the spell.¡¯

    ¡®The perspective changed, and I heard the dull noise of his mask hitting the ground. Now I saw through the eyes of the one he cast the spell on. The stream of memories continued. Years passed hundreds of years, maybe thousands. There were different masters with different races, some lived longer, and some lived shorter amounts of time. One had lived through hundreds of years, to the extent that she herself did not care to remember how old she exactly was.¡¯

    ¡®Then, after generations of memories, as an immeasurable time passed before my eyes, I saw myself, at a younger age. First, I didn¡¯t even realize that I saw my body from a third person¡¯s view.¡¯

    ¡®A few years passed in the memories when my hazy mind finally realized that it was really me. As the fragments of my numbed personality started to gather the ritual happened, I saw and felt as my master looked at me, with sadness and a bit of fear from the approaching inevitable end; his eyes looked at my meditating body, searching for reassurance for the first time he wanted to be reassured, from my presence. Yet my eyes were unfocused, still under the effect of the force weave. He steeled himself and said.¡¯

    ¡°Nizzy dear, I know that you are ready.¡± ¡ª ¡®His body started to disintegrate as his final whispers were spoken.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°So am I¡­ thanks to you¡­¡±

    ¡®With a shaky smile on his face, his body rapidly disintegrated, swallowed by the empty void. His clothes fell limply on the steel floor, along with his double-bladed lightsaber. The moment the saber¡¯s hilt hit the floor, a resounding empty noise was generated that woke me from my meditative state.¡¯

    A few seconds later, the light gray-skin colored twi¡¯lek girl¡¯s body started to move as she woke from her trance.

    Her eyelids opened, and she looked around the room slowly, her gaze stopping on the pile of ceremonial clothes laying on the ground. The pink eyes that usually glinted with childish innocence were gone.

    There was a deep knowledge and experience in those eyes now, along with a disturbing amount of apathy. Not something that a child should ever possess. She stood up slowly, walked out of the pond, uncaring for her nakedness.

    She monotonously picked up the ceremonial garbs, carefully folding the still-warm clothes of her master. Her movements were practiced, confident as if she have done this many times before.

    Maybe she has?

    She finally picked up the double-bladed saber, then walked to a section of the wall. Where she pushed a carefully hidden activator through the subtle use of the force.

    At last, a new secret chamber opened, revealing the entrance of a dusty tomb, a tomb for the masters of the order. She placed her master¡¯s clothes on the top of the simple empty stone pedestal beside the other twelve already used ones.

    The eerily silent, dim room was filled with the fading remains of ceremonial clothes once belonging to powerful masters of the order.

    Some of those clothes long since turned into dust and only the strangely glinting hilts of once proudly held lightsabers could be seen among the dust.

    Everyone created their own pedestal; therefore, this was the only empty one. She will have to create her own when that time comes.

    There weren¡¯t many rules in the order. Only a few such as this one was.

    There are currently thirteen lines of memories with thirteen different masters, gray lords or gray jedi, as most identified themselves.

    In the past, there were a lot more lines, but they faded, along with many things in the universe. Entropy was one of the major forces fueling the cycle of existence. They were no exception in that regard.

    Gray lords were the ones closer to the dark aspects, just as her memories were.

    ¡®Our order lived through secrecy, since there was one active member of every line of memories until the time came to give them away to the next master. Because there were no separate holocrons to steal or to find, the jedi and sith never learned of our presence. That also means if one master dies before using the ritual, the memories are lost with them forever. They became faded. Milleniums of effort and knowledge disappearing in the matter of seconds.¡¯

    ¡®About two hundred years ago was the last meeting of the masters. Only five of us appeared, and one sent his regard through another master. I am too old for this journey was the simple message. That means, overall, six masters were surely alive. Seven lines of memories were lost or simply did not care about the meeting or didn¡¯t get the invitation in time.¡¯

    ¡®Another rule was to never create a physical holocron and there was a rule to never succumb to the dark side, but that rule becomes ridiculous after five generations of memories. With that much life experience, it becomes clear that letting the dark side control you is a stupid mistake. Therefore, its lure loses its power. After enough time lived and experience gathered, you realize that life is not a linear line, but many smaller and bigger circles that repeat themselves with different characters.¡¯

    ¡®The dark side is a quick way to gain power, but what you gain is fickle and easy to lose. It loses its childish allure for those with a wider perspective. The last rule was that you can elongate your life as long as possible with the force, but you cannot make yourself immortal to natural death. To learn and truly understand the workings of the force, you need many-different perspectives.¡¯

    ¡®That is the reason you have to give away the memories when your time comes, and that is the natural way of the universe. The first masters created these rules with absolute faith in them, and since their creator¡¯s memories live through us, we inherited the strong faith in the need of those rules. I had no wish to oppose them.¡¯

    ¡®I placed master¡¯s saber on top of his folded clothes; I gave a last sidelong look to the other pedestals, then turned around and walked out of the room, closing it behind me. I walked back to my clothes dressed up, then picked up my lightsaber.¡¯

    ¡®I held it out before me and then activated it. Instead of the usual blue color, the blade had a shining silver light to it. The crystals used in the order were special kinds of Kyber crystals. Their colors changed to reflect the personality of the one who bonded with them.¡¯

    ¡®What forms a personality if not the knowledge and experiences gathered in the mind? I turned off my saber and walked to the door that opened automatically. I looked back to the room one more time, already dreading the day when I will come back here. This time I will be in the shoes of my master. On a whim, I turned around, put my palms together in front of my chest, and gave a slight bow.¡¯

    ¡°Rest well, masters. Until we meet again.¡±

    ¡®Then I straightened my spine and walked out of the room, closing it behind me with the use of the force, entombing the secret ritual chamber for another few hundreds of years, hopefully.¡¯

    ¡®While I walked towards the turbo lift, I thought about that strange bow I just completed with such reverence. In response, memories of old Sith ceremonies came to the forefront of my mind, showing rituals that happened on Korriban hundreds of years ago.¡¯

    ¡°Interesting. Now I guess it¡¯s time to live, and explore the world, see it with my own eyes, to compare memories to the current reality. Since I am not a stuck up jedi to live in seclusion, neither am I a sith to plot something sinister all the time. Living as a gray jedi or gray lord means that I am free. Free from the influence of the force, well as free as you can become from it anyway, and I have several generations of money to spend.¡±

    ¡®I reached the lift and activated it. Now I was waiting to get back into the living quarters of the forgotten old Sith temple, built into a working volcano that was mostly buried under the frozen surface of Hoth.¡¯

    ¡°Then again, what should I do? I don¡¯t know much of the current political situation or anything like that, not that I care. Master was in seclusion for the last seven years; he was training me and never left for much time, only to bring back food and other things for us. By the way, why am I talking to myself aloud?¡±

    ¡®Another memory came to answer my question.¡¯

    ¡°Ah, of course, master Bell Plaha, sigh, why would she go into a hundred and fifty years-long seclusions if she hated to be alone¡­ That baffling Muun¡­ Always talking to herself!¡±

    ¡®I froze in mid-step.¡¯

    ¡°Was this the reason master forced me to speak as punctually as possible?¡±

    ¡®I smirked loudly.¡¯

    ¡°He was actually trying to help me with this problem even before it occurred.¡±

    ¡®I slowly shook my head with an amused smile plastered over my face, one that I was sure to be almost, if not entirely, identical to my master¡¯s cynical smiles.¡¯

 2. Chapter

    ¡®One day later in the living quarters of my somewhat reconstructed sith temple. I was sitting on an oversized armchair, in a quite depressed mood. My partially opened eyes were looking at a spot on the ceiling. There was nothing interesting there, and that was the point.¡¯

    ¡®After the ritual, my mind was overwhelmed with information. Memories, old and new, were jumping around in a hazy storm that reminded me of the cruel sandstorms on Korriban.¡¯

    ¡®Reminded me¡­ the very notion of being reminded to something I never actually witnessed or experienced was entirely ridiculous.¡¯

    ¡®However, there was one instinct or thought that came back again, and again, and again...¡¯

    ¡®Which was to leave this place as soon as possible; staying here was too painful.¡¯

    ¡®Too many masters died in this place. The memories I inherited urged me to run away, to leave. The thought of death and solitude lingered in these old corridors. It was a heavy feeling that I never felt before the ritual.¡¯

    ¡®I tried to make myself look at the things that I liked here. With the childish thoughts I had before, but it didn¡¯t work. Every item and every corner here brought back memories, memories I didn¡¯t have before and I didn¡¯t want to have now.¡¯

    ¡®Every item in these halls had a story and, in most cases, many stories. It was a museum created from the items of the masters, in other words, the members of my family. Yes, many masters thought about their apprentice as their child, or at least their family.¡¯

    ¡®It wasn¡¯t rare for the masters to speak out loud or in their minds, addressing the future holders of their memories, effectively speaking through time and space.¡¯

    ¡®Note to myself, don¡¯t do this type of communication in the company of others, especially not out loud or I will be condemned as a crazy individual. I felt an unexpected blush appearing on my cheeks, and I felt an unnatural embarrassment assaulting me out of nowhere...¡¯

    ¡®I thought about the potential cause, then realization dawned on me.¡¯

    ¡°Oh no, master Ari, that crazy Cerean was locked up once for half a month because of this exact reason...¡±

    ¡®Oh, force help me... I would say that I have second-hand embarrassment, but taking into consideration how the ritual made me act, it is probably first-hand embarrassment... The only silver lining is that it happened hundreds of years ago. Regretably, the memory is as fresh as if it happened yesterday¡­ at least I won¡¯t run into anybody who would still remember that¡­¡¯

    ¡®I forcefully shook my head to chase away those thoughts... This whole situation began to look like a poor joke, if you ask me.¡¯

    ¡®Anyway, back to the topic. I want to leave this place for the foreseeable future and wander around the galaxy to my heart''s content. What I really want is to go to places where the older memories originated, and look at the things I find there, match them with my memories, and find out how much has changed.¡¯

    ¡®I also want to move out and add unknown places to the archive, that was, how most of the masters called our shared memories. An archive that was always at hand and completely safe from thieves.¡¯

    ¡®Well, it was always at risk from eradication too, in case I die randomly. Even the thought made me cringe; I could not bear it... I can¡¯t be the one responsible for the loss of our archive...¡¯

    ¡®Well, that was the reason why many masters were afraid of going out, deciding to live a more safe and secluded life, in one of our secret bases spread out all over the galaxy. That living style lead to the stagnation of the archive¡¯s information quality.¡¯

    ¡®I mean, if you only watch the holo net news, you can¡¯t really learn quality information and how do you recognize what is true and what is false or simply a lie? So I will not do something that stupid...¡¯

    ¡°I will go out and live my life as I want to. If I die, no one will get the memories and therefore no one could curse me for my stupidity later, heh!¡±

    ¡®There was a powerful shift in the force behind me; it was so sudden and unexpected that I instinctively rolled out of my seat, creating a high-pitched girlish squeak on the way that was cut short when I accidentally head-bumped the corner of the table near my chair...¡¯

    ¡°AAAHH!~ Damn that hurt! Curses! What did I do to deserve this misfortune?¡±

    ¡®I was very disoriented and confused, laying on the ground moaning in pain while hugging my head, tears appearing at the edges of my eyes.¡¯

    ¡®Why did I have to hit my head, of all things? It was already threatening to split in two¡­ Thanks to that damn ritual!¡¯

    ¡®The ritual negative side effects lessened somewhat, but the memory overload of my brain is still there. While my thoughts were all over the place, a craggy, unamused voice resounded in the room.¡¯

    ¡°Pathetic.¡±

    ¡®Who the heck is this now?¡¯

    ¡°Such impudence, to risk your betters hard-earned knowledge in such a blatantly disrespectful way. This same behavior led to the destruction of more than one line of memories in the past. I will not stand by and watch as my own legacy disappears in the dust of time. All because of a sleazy twi¡¯lek girl-child with pink eyes of all.¡±

    ¡®My confusion cleared from the sudden scare and unexpected head injury. Then I looked up, narrowing my furious eyes at the huge, ghostly figure towering over me. The moment my gaze fell on the familiar mask, I instinctively gulped with a newfound sense of self preservation. My anger quickly dispersing in the air. With my awfully thin, and somewhat trembling voice, I could only say the name...¡¯

    ¡°Re-Revan...¡± ¡ª ¡®I am so dead¡­¡¯

    ¡°It is Darth Revan to you. Consider yourself lucky to be in my presence.¡± ¡ª ¡®I gritted my teeth as the ghostly form continued to insult me.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°I have sensed a mild disturbance in the force, a while back. It seems I was right in my assumption¡­ that old fool has finally kicked the bucket.¡±

    ¡®I sensed a spike of pain in my heart followed by righteous anger. Revan or not, what does he think to insult my dear master? Right in front of me.¡¯

    ¡°He had a certain talent, and I believed that my line was in the right hands with him¡­ At least for a while. I couldn¡¯t have been more wrong. That senile idiot left the most ancient of all our memory lines in the hands of a barely trained uninitiated street waif. His softness and emotions clearly blinded his judgement, creating this¡­ catastrophic situation.¡±

    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    ¡®I felt his radiating disgust and biting scrutiny on my skin. He easily pierced me with his sharp gaze, bypassing my mental defences sensing my anger, sadness, grief and also my fear.¡¯

    ¡®I caught a yellow glint through the dark visor of his helmet, then sensed the immense malice coming of his ghostly presence in powerful waves.¡¯

    ¡®I couldn¡¯t help but shiver in its shadow.¡¯

    ¡®He was once a true Darth lord. The influence of channeling the dark side without reservation always leaves behind a deep scar on one¡¯s body and mind.¡¯

    ¡®A scar that never heals entirely. Thanks to my memories, I knew that I had nothing to fear, since a force ghost or force apparition has only a limited arsenal to influence the physical world aside from certain special places which they are bound to.¡¯

    ¡®Therefore, even one as powerful as Revans could not hurt someone with as much knowledge of the force as me. Yet the legends and memories I had gained after the ritual made Revan look like a godly, all-knowing and all-powerful entity.¡¯

    ¡®Those memories and my general confusion clouded my judgment, and I was scared witless by his sudden appearance. It didn¡¯t really help that I actually had his memories, and so I knew most of those legends were true, if a bit exaggerated.¡¯

    ¡°Ah-eh?¡­ First-grandmaster Revan, I didn¡¯t mean it that way. I-I just wanted to... to explore and expand our knowledge of the galaxy, you see... I might have become a bit overexcited¡­ but that¡¯s all¡­¡±

    ¡°Silence!¡± ¡ª ¡®He shouted.¡¯

    ¡®I squeaked in my fright, once again managing to embarrass myself. Face turning red rapidly. There were no more excuses to be made.¡¯

    ¡°Stop creating those utterly embarrassing sounds! Aren¡¯t you ashamed of yourself? You have more than four thousand years of memories. How can you still act like a child?¡± ¡ª ¡®Revan raged on, and to my stupidity. My mind decided to come up with a cheeky response at a time like this.¡¯

    ¡°B-but, I am still a child. My body is definitely that of a child¡¯s! And it¡¯s not like the ritual overrules the core personality, it just expands the mind with new layers of knowledge separated from the core. Therefore, even my mentality should be considered that of a genuine child¡¯s. Albeit one with a shocking amount of lexical and practical knowledge. Even if I can¡¯t control it that well yet, he-he.¡±

    ¡®Revan glared at me as if he was contemplating to smother me in a spoonful of water.¡¯

    ¡°Did you just explained me the workings of a force technique I myself created? How enlightening...¡± ¡ª ¡®He didn¡¯t sound amused to me¡­¡¯

    ¡°I should have made it into a primary dogma to forbid the use of the memory transfer technique on children. Even if that means the end of the line¡­ I can¡¯t seem to accept this humiliation. I hoped against hope that the memories will have enough power to overwrite the general stupidity of a careless child!¡±

    ¡°Hey! I had enough of this. Stop insulting me and my master, you stupid prick!¡± ¡ª ¡®I shouted at the translucent bastard.¡¯

    ¡°At least you continue to impress me with your irritating nature¡­ and sheer lack of intelligence.¡±

    ¡®Did he just called me stupid again? I had enough of this!¡¯

    ¡°Excuse me!? Am I the stupid one now? I don¡¯t know about that, at least I had enough guts to show my face without a stupid mask, Mr. big nose!¡± ¡ª ¡®Oh yes, that hit a nerve isn¡¯t it? I am in possession of his memories. That means I knew his secret¡­ hehe~!¡¯

    ¡®The victorious smirk quickly froze on my face, though.¡¯

    ¡®I immediately regretted saying those words. I wanted to apologize, but the threatening silence that engulfed the room made those words stuck in my throat... ¡®

    ¡®For whatever reason, though, a sense of haughtiness rose inside me, winning over logic and useless stuff like that. It decided to pour more oil on the already burning fire.¡¯

    ¡°Anyway, what could you do about it? You are just a force ghost after all, humph!¡±

    ¡®There was a dangerous spike of anger, and a cloud of malice and hate began to fill the room. My confidence quickly started to waver as I watched the sadistically cringing eyes of Revan.¡¯

    ¡®I could only see his eyes, since his big nose was miraculously out of sight.¡¯

    ¡®My lips curved to a smirk as I imagined his giant nose under the mask. He quickly realized the cause of my smirk, it was not that hard really, since I was stupidly staring at the place where his nose ought to be.¡¯

    ¡®Suddenly I felt an awful premonition. I looked up into his eyes, and they were already turned into glowing golden rings. When he saw that my attention was back on him, he voiced out a few lines of words practically dripping with malice.¡¯

    ¡°I may be a force spirit, but you had forgotten who exactly built this sith temple in the first place. Activate unit HK-47!¡± ¡ª ¡®His cold voice rang out in the hall.¡¯

    ¡®The last remainders of my smirk disappeared hearing that dreadful activating code... My face turned from its natural light grey color into an almost white shade. A few seconds later, I could hear the first heavy robotic steppes closing on our location.¡¯

    ¡®Revan was looking at my terrified expression, enjoying and most likely siphoning my suffering and fear.¡¯

    ¡®At last, the air pressure door lock opened on the farthest door, as a copper-colored, at least two meters high, fully armored droid walked into the room with an arsenal of different weapons. Many of those weapons were long forgotten, used by bounty hunters to capture or kill force sensitive¡¯s under the Mandalorian wars and even before those...¡¯

    ¡®Yet the biggest problem was the droid itself, an assassin droid, created by Revan himself, and I was currently in the body of a thirteen-year-old child, without the muscle or stamina that needed to challenge such foe, my body was far from its ideal condition and well, my current body''s midi-chlorian count was only a bit above average...¡¯

    ¡®Those numbers are not really important. They are only crude estimations of one¡¯s raw force power. With enough knowledge and control over the force, I can achieve almost anything, so those numbers will be more than enough... The only problem is that I am a somewhat clumsy child right now.¡¯

    ¡®My body could not withstand the pressure of channeling that much force, either. Don¡¯t get me wrong, for a child, I am well built, but looking at it from an adult¡¯s perspective, well, you see... I couldn¡¯t find a way to deactivate that droid, not even talking about destroying it, especially without a long-range weapon.¡¯

    ¡®While the droid came closer, I looked back to Revan with the legendary round pleading eyes of a child, on the verge of crying. The bastard only smirked, then said with glee.¡¯

    ¡°Kneel.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± ¡ª ¡®I can¡¯t believe this bastard¡­¡¯

    ¡°(Observation, curious, hopeful) Master Revan, is this the meatbag I have to clean out?¡±

    ¡®Revan smiled down at me condescendingly, repeating his words with an ominous tone.¡¯

    ¡°Kneel.¡±

    ¡®I tentatively glanced at the droid, which was already heating up a flame thrower built into its arm¡­ I gulped, then said.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°...kay...¡± ¡ª ¡®I kneeled down slowly, accepting defeat¡­ for now.¡¯

    ¡°(Observation, disappointment, realization) Ah, so it was just another slave of masters. One more meatbag to endure. What a pity.¡±

    ¡®This droid is even worse than him¡­¡¯

    ¡°It is indeed, HK. You have a new order; from now on you will guard this pitiful excuse of a meatbag with your current body. She will soon start her adventure around the galaxy, and I need you to watch over her if she acts stupid or reckless, endangering my legacy... In that case, I order you to stop her stupidity with force, and save my memories. They are, unfortunately, in her mind right now.¡±

    ¡°(Astonished, frustrated) Can¡¯t master just create a safe copy of those memories, then eliminate her?¡±

    ¡®Wait¡­ what?¡¯

    ¡°No, it doesn¡¯t work that way, unfortunately.¡±

    ¡®¡­¡¯

    ¡°(Frustrated, resigned) I understand, master, it never ceases to amuse me, the inconvenience of meatbags. Droids are much more sophisticated. I have hundreds of different copies of my memory base. My superiority is unquestionable.¡±

    ¡®My superiority is obvious¡­ bla-bla-bla¡­ EH?¡¯

    ¡®The droid came over to my silent kneeling form. Causing me to look up with a round pair of eyes¡­¡¯

    ¡®It picked me up, grabbing the back of my clothes with one hand and started to walk out of the room while constantly insulting me in a variety of ways.¡®

    ¡®While silently dangling in the air like a wet cat caught by its owner, I felt another force pulse as Revan¡¯s force spirit left.¡¯

    ¡®Being in this unique perspective, I had a chance to reevaluate my choices. I sighed¡­¡¯

    ¡°Damn, me and my big mouth...¡±

    ¡°(Observation, surprised) Oh, it speaks.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

 3. Chapter

    Two hours later, in the shipyard of the base.

    ¡®HK-47 was checking and repairing an old smuggling ship. It was Revan¡¯s old ship, the Ebon Hawk.¡®

    ¡®I tried to tell this damnable droid that we should take a ship that is not one from legendary jedi fairy tales, but it simply ignored me. It even told me that I should sit down and amuse myself with some child¡¯s games or something like that.¡¯

    ¡®That infuriating bastard¡­¡¯

    ¡®¡­I am actually sitting in the navigator''s seat on the bridge right now¡­ I assure you it is merely a coincidence.¡¯

    ¡®I was kind of sulking after all those things that happened a few hours ago. In the end, I ended up here since this place was surprisingly comforting and quiet¡­¡¯

    ¡®Thanks to that, I am fine now.¡¯

    ¡®Looking at this ship, it had a minimalist design, but it had a calming effect on my nerves.¡¯

    ¡®I knew every function of the ship thanks to my new memories.¡¯

    ¡®The controls were familiar. Everything was well preserved and saved, a beautiful old machine, from a time where practicality was the keyword in production. It was a time of war and destruction, with little time for general entertainment and useless styles.¡¯

    ¡®The ships were crude but massive; every part was easily changeable with many types of gear. Everything was compatible with everything. Nowadays, it is quite the opposite; things are complicated to a stupid extent purposefully.¡¯

    ¡®At least, that¡¯s what more recent memories tell me.¡¯

    ¡®I patted the console sentimentally, then my fingers slid over the old worn-out control panel. Removing a few layers of dust in their wake.¡¯

    ¡®It was my ship now, dust and all. Sigh, well, it is probably true. After thousands of years, who would remember this old ship?¡¯

    ¡®I wonder how long will it take for the droid to start it up. I already packed up my stuff; there wasn''t much. Some clothes, food... I also refilled the water supply of the ship, packed up some sentimental personal items too.¡¯

    ¡®I do not intend to come back here for a while, and I don¡¯t want to leave anything important behind. I also brought a few electronic devices for information gathering, a handful of different computer spikes and some grenades too, and a one-handed laser gun.¡¯

    ¡®I am not stupid enough to underestimate the usefulness of such a weapon. Since I don¡¯t want people to mistake me with jedi, nor some half-wit sith. Therefore, I can¡¯t always rely on the use of such an iconic weapon as a lightsaber.¡¯

    ¡®It is already cheesy to have a blaster gun on a thirteen-year-old girl. I might have to hide it under a long coat or something.¡¯

    ¡®By the way, these clothes were created for me with a sewing robot. They are flexible enough, for free movement yet durable. They were like traditional jedi robes with a modern design element.¡¯

    ¡®That means it did not stand out in the middle of a crowded street. They are practical and look well too; I liked them, especially the one with flower embroidery on the ends of its sleeves.¡¯

    ¡®Oh, and I also brought enough credit with me to last for a few years. We never used galactic banks to guard our credits; it would be too problematic to explain why some random individual inherited our wealth. Even if we manage to do it once, it was impossible for the sixteenth time... They would suspect something, then start an investigation and we don¡¯t want an investigation. It¡¯s much better this way, for everyone.¡¯

    ¡®The door behind me opened and the infamous droid walked into the control room.¡¯

    ¡°(Statement): The Ebon Hawk is ready to launch; most of the needed repairs were solved by changing the weakened or burned-out energy cells. The ship is in good condition. I also changed the main energy core, which lost almost all of its power throughout the millenniums. With the new ship core, it will be faster than ever before.¡±

    ¡°That is fantastic. I can¡¯t wait to see it fly!¡± ¡ª ¡®I cheered. Overcome with a sense of excitement. We were ready to head out.¡¯

    ¡°(Surprised): I never thought that a small meatbag like you would be able to differentiate a good ship from scrap metal.¡±

    ¡°You know that I have your master¡¯s memories, and fifteen other master¡¯s memories, too. With that much knowledge, it would be almost impossible to not know at least that much¡­¡±

    ¡®The droid simply ignored my words and continued its tirade as if I wasn¡¯t even there. The bastard¡­¡¯

    ¡°(Statement, frustrated): Meatbags are such nuisances. Smaller meatbags are even worse; they talk all the time complaining and throwing around statements about supposed facts that lack foundation and proof. My circuits, processors, are overheating when attempting to run simulations to refute their false observations.¡±

    ¡®So basically, this droid hates children, because they ask too many questions... He is lucky since I am not a real child in that regard. Um, well, not anymore. So I patiently waited for the droid to run one last overall diagnostic scan on the ship¡¯s systems.¡¯

    ¡®When he deemed the ship¡¯s state acceptable enough. We packed in a ton of different interchangeable components, in case something burns out on the way.¡¯

    ¡®Then I finally took my place in the navigator''s seat once again. Connected the safety belts over my chest and hips, then waited for the droid to start the engines. Luckily, I didn¡¯t have to wait long.¡¯

    ¡®Through our security system I watched as the flamethrowers activated outside of the hangar, melting the few meters thick ice layers that buried the temple, hiding this place from sight.¡¯

    ¡®When the process was done, the door opened at the same time as the life supporting systems began to shut down in the old temple. It was programmed this way to save energy and to make the place invisible for even the most powerful of scanners.¡¯

    ¡®I think it wouldn¡¯t be found even if someone used such a device right on top of it, but I could not be entirely sure of it, since I am not up to date with the current technological standards.¡¯

    ¡®This was why our new goal was the technological and cultural core of the galaxy, Coruscant. We will have to use the Corellian Trade Spine hyperspace lane, then the Corellian Run to reach our goal as fast as possible. It¡¯s good that Hoth is already in the middle of these hyperspace lanes. The planet would be an ideal place for commerce only if its climate wasn¡¯t so harsh.¡¯

    ¡°We are currently in the Anoat sector, droid remind me, how much time do we need to reach Coruscant?¡± ¡ª ¡®I asked curiously.¡¯

    ¡°(Humorous, statement): We have to travel about eight and a half grid, considering that this is the Ebon Hawk, with a specially boosted and currently illegal hyperspace engine, we should be able to reach our goal in less than four days. With the galactic standard hyperspace drive, it would be five days and about twelve hours to reach the core.¡±

    ¡°Did you say, currently illegal?¡± ¡ª ¡®That kind of worried me¡­¡¯

    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    ¡°(Surprised, cynical): Correction, it was usually illegal, because of the eventual reactor overheating and risk of detonation. I assure you that if you change the case of the reactor core, and the cooling liquid, at least every half a year...¡±

    ¡®Listening to the droid, a bunch of memories jumped forth in my mind, they were triggered by the ongoing conversation.¡¯

    ¡®I reflexively took over the conversation from the droid, finishing his words cheekily.¡¯

    ¡°It is perfectly safe to use. I know HK... The only reason it is illegal is that the idiot slimy huts never even considered reading the potential safety hazards leading to a series of accidents all over the galactic hyper-lanes... The politicians, of course, never listened properly to a lowly engineer telling them the reason for the malfunction, banning the whole technology outright, deeming it too risky. Damned fools!¡±

    ¡°(Emotional, cynical): Masters¡¯ words, spoken with the mouth of a little meatbag. My circuits are overheating.¡±

    ¡®I crossed my arms over my chest then said poutingly.¡¯

    ¡°I have a name, you know?¡±

    ¡®The droid turned towards me. A few awkward seconds later it stated cryptically.¡¯

    ¡°(Observation, re-evaluation, conclusion): Meatbag.¡±

    ¡°I am going to rewire you, you stupid scrap aaaaaAAAHHH!¡±

    ¡®While I was distracted, the hangar door opened completely, the ship being done with its preparation. The droid decisively pulled a lever.¡¯

    ¡®The afterburner activated and the ship burst out of the hangar, quickly accelerating towards the sky, while I got pressed into the navigator seat feeling the quickly multiplying G-forces weighing on my whole body.¡¯

    ¡°I am so going to rewire you if I survive this! DAMN YOU!!!¡±

    ¡°(Satisfied): Hearing the terrified squeaks and futile threats of meatbags always had a cooling effect on my circuits, such pleasure.¡±

    ¡®Damn, this body... I am starting to get that tunnel vision. Am I going to faint now? Wait, thinking about it, there was no other individual in my memories that become a master of the order this young.¡¯

    ¡®The youngest before me was at least twenty-two years old. Am I some unfortunate pioneer here? Stupid master, how am I supposed to fend for myself as a child? I can¡¯t even drink! They will throw me out of any cantina in case I showed up like this! No one would take me seriously; even this droid makes fun of me constantly! I am doomed!¡¯

    ¡®¡­ Wait¡­ since¡­ since when did I have a desire for alcohol? Is that also¡­ ¡¯

    ¡®Pressed into the back of my seat, I felt dejected. The cruel reality sank to the bottom of my stomach. I was also just about to faint and throw up at the same time from the rapid acceleration.¡¯

    ¡°(Observation, statement): We are entering the outer atmosphere.¡±

    ¡®Following the droid¡¯s statement, the powerful pressure forcing me into the seat quickly began to let up. Allowing my body to finally relax.¡¯

    ¡°(Scheming, statement) Entering hyperspace in three, two, one.¡± ¡ª ¡®Stated the droid. I was too occupied at the moment with breathing, so I only caught the last part of his sentence.¡¯

    ¡°Wait¡­ What, ugh, are we already in space? What did you just say? NO! Don¡¯t you dare to pull that lever!"

    The droid pulled the lever without care and the hyper acceleration began once again pressing the sole passenger into her seat.

    An elongated scream and half a minute later, a certain young girl ended up jumping out of her seat and running off toward the toilet while covering her mouth with both hands.

    Said girl at the time was thinking along the line of: ¡®I am gonna grind this jerk to metal dust and spread its ashes over the surface of Mustafar.¡¯

    Seemingly, a new vendetta was born that day.

    Ten minutes later.

    ¡®After cleaning myself up, I felt humiliated and miserable. On top of that, my head started to hurt again.¡¯

    ¡®I didn¡¯t want to see that cursed droid again, having nothing else to do. I walked back to my chosen room, sat down, and sulked for a while.¡¯

    ¡®Minutes passed until I realized that my childish impulses took over again. So I forced my body to relax. All of those memories I gained finally started to calm down and sort themselves out. I knew that it inadvertently caused most of my current emotional turmoil. After all, I wasn¡¯t this emotional and spontaneous usually.¡¯

    ¡®There were simply too many things going on, too many changes both inside and outside. It was impossible to keep up with them. As if someone swept my legs from under my body only to realize that I didn¡¯t hit the ground which I was standing on, but instead fell into water.¡¯

    ¡®The memories were constantly fluctuating in my mind, over a whole day now; the worst was in the temple. If I looked at almost any item, hundreds of memories appeared before my eyes. In the Ebon Hawk, those appearing memories were more specific. They were Revan¡¯s memories and not sixteen different being¡¯s memories. It was bearable here.¡¯

    ¡°At this rate, a few more days and the memories will settle down enough, and I will be able to control them through my will. I can¡¯t separate them from my personality completely, but I will be able to make them more dormant.¡±

    ¡°It would be dangerous to see randomly appearing memories in crucial moments after all. Like in the middle of a lightsaber fight or a large-scale battle... Hell, even in the middle of a normal conversation, to blank out randomly, that would be awkward!¡±

    ¡®I guess I am going to sleep now to hasten the process. Then I will laze around the ship, for the rest of the trip, do some light training too... yawn... good night...¡¯

    A few days later, after exiting hyperspace, in the middle of a space traffic station on the atmospheric border of Coruscant.

    ¡°So HK, what will we do, on Coruscant exactly? I mean, I know that we are supposed to check on the current technological state of the galaxy, but how will we do that?¡±

    ¡°(Lecturing, statement): Little meatbag should think before activating its communicator device. My databank states that the now ruling government is a democratic galactic republic. That means any citizens can freely enter the intergalactic general archives, located on Coruscant.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s pretty neat, but can children enter too?¡±

    ¡°(Statement, order): Yes, I will be your guardian in this endeavor as an educator protocol droid. I expect your full attention and respect while I update my database.¡±

    ¡®Yeah sure¡­ you better not think that I forgot about your little prank a few days back bastard¡­ The most you can expect from me is a swift decapitation. Just wait¡­ I will catch you the next time you go to your charging station¡­ I almost got you yesterday¡­ it was a pity I fell asleep¡­ again¡­¡¯

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just download the entire database? Since we are already going there¡­¡±

    ¡°(Statement, disappointment): Impossible, even my superiorly designed memory bank can¡¯t handle that much data. I will only update a few critical sections, then we will leave.¡±

    ¡°Oh, what a pity¡­ It turns out that you are not so superior after all¡­¡±

    ¡°(Deductive statement) My database concludes based on a ten-year-old galaxy wide statistical analysis of different types of droids: you are wrong.¡±

    ¡°¡­Sigh¡­ whatever¡­¡±

    In the space traffic, control station, a few kilometers away.

    ¡°Sir we found a suspicious ship!¡±

    ¡°Suspicious? Why, what did it do?¡±

    ¡°Nothing sir, the ship is waiting in line orderly, although there is a warrant of caption on this type of ship all over the galaxy from the Jedi Order.¡±

    ¡°From the Jedi Order, is it stolen or what?¡±

    ¡°No sir, the warrant is very old, about five hundred years old, to be more concrete.¡±

    ¡°What the hell! What sort of warrant is that?¡±

    ¡°It says that this ship is a rare type of dynamic-class freighter, and only a handful were ever created under the time of the Mandalorian Wars. It was the exact type of ship which Revan the betrayer used. It has enormous historical value. The Jedi Temple wishes to buy one. As a relic of war, the price is negotiable with the current owner.¡±

    ¡°I see¡­ never seen a warrant for buying a ship before¡­ Those jedi seem to do whatever they want these days. By the way, what is the name of this ship?¡±

    ¡°I will scan it, sir, just a second. Here...¡± ¡ª The man turned silent looking at the screen with a complicated expression.

    ¡°Is there any problem?¡±

    The man shook his head, but his confused expression was still present.

    ¡°No, sir¡­ It¡¯s just the name¡­ It¡¯s called Ebon Hawk¡­¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that the same as the¡­?¡±

    ¡°Yes¡­ some history enthusiast most likely... but the date of assembly is strange, over four thousand years ago... Originally certificated, under the Old Republic, could it be?¡±

    ¡°Soldier, are you trying to tell me that it¡¯s an original one and not just a copy of the ship design? That would mean that the ship survived just over four thousand years and it still works. That¡¯s ridiculous.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s what the scanner states, sir. What are your orders?¡±

    The man silently looked out of the window, trying to pick out the ship from hundreds of different ships waiting to be allowed into atmospheric levels. Eventually, he stopped searching for the freighter and said to the man sitting at the console.

    ¡°Hold up the ship for a while; I will call the temple directly. They will have to pay us a little extra for catching such a rare fish. If this transaction proves successful, think of it as an unexpected bonus, which literally appears every five hundred years. We can¡¯t let it slip through our fingers.¡±

    The younger man¡¯s eyes glinted with cunning understanding. ¡ª ¡°I will make sure they reach the temple safe and sound.¡±

    The captain patted his subordinate¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°As always, you are quick on the uptake, my boy. You will go far with that mindset.¡±

 4. Chapter

    Inside the elder¡¯s house in the Jedi Temple of Coruscant. An unexpected incoming call, without prior announcement, broke the meditative silence of the hall. It must be an urgent matter. The few masters who were currently in the middle of a general meeting were crudely interrupted by the repeating signal.

    ¡°Where does this call originate from? Can you tell me Kenobi?¡± ¡ª Asked master Windu, already frustrated by the rude interruption.

    ¡°It is from one of the atmospheric border stations. How curious. We never got a direct call from there before.¡±

    ¡°Humph.¡± ¡ª Snorted Windu, showing little interest in the matter.

    ¡°Answer this call, we should, its rude to make the caller wait without proper reason.¡± ¡ª Grandmaster Yoda chided the arguing pair calmly.

    ¡°Of course, grandmaster, I will redirect it to the central holoprojector.¡±

    Soon enough, the semi-opaque form of a border guard appeared before them.

    ¡°Greetings, esteemed masters.¡± ¡ª The man greeted them while giving a slight bow with his head.

    As the youngest of the present masters, and with the title of infamous diplomat, General Kenobi naturally took over the lead in the conversation.

    ¡°Greetings to you too, sir. May I ask, what is the reason for your sudden call?¡±

    ¡°Of course, master, we have located a wanted ship, waiting to enter Coruscant...¡±

    Windu interrupted the man¡¯s long-winded monologue.

    ¡°Then you should already be on your way to arrest the owner instead of calling the Jedi Temple, initiating idle chatter...¡±

    ¡°Yes, master, and I would do so normally¡­ Alas, there is no crime on record that the owner committed...¡±

    Hearing that unexpected statement, Windu eyebrows raised with evident surprise. He glanced to the other masters, then slowly leaned back into his seat, nodding towards the man, acknowledging his decision at last.

    ¡°You stated that it is the ship which is wanted, not the owner. Why is the ship wanted?¡± ¡ª Windu asked, taking the matter seriously this time.

    The man visibly relaxed as he sensed the abrupt change of tone, quickly continuing his explanation.

    ¡°The Jedi Temple provided a wish to buy this type of ship as a relic because of historical value. It is a dynamic-class freighter ship. Its code name is Ebon Hawk, the scanned assembly date seems to be original, certificated by the old republic. We are currently holding back the ship on the border.¡±

    There was silence in the room. Kenobi and Windu simultaneously looked towards the grandmaster for advice.

    Yoda considered this matter, clearly trying to remember such a decision made by the Jedi Council in the distant past. His eyelids suddenly shot up, new insight mirrored in the old gaze.

    ¡°Yes, I seem to remember that there was a warrant issued for that type of ship a few hundred years ago; sadly, there was no ship to find.¡±

    ¡°The force works in mysterious ways. After so much time and futile effort, the ship comes to us on its own accord. Captain, escort the ship to the Jedi Temple¡¯s landing platforms. We wish to speak with its owner personally.¡±

    The captain nodded happily, but he didn¡¯t seem to leave just yet. ¡ª ¡°Masters...¡± ¡ª He began slowly.

    Windu¡¯s eyes narrowed on the holographic image. Then he said, after a weak shake of his head.

    ¡°You will be compensated for your good work, captain. We expect it to continue in a similarly effective manner.¡±

    The man couldn¡¯t quite hide the spreading smile coming to his face.

    ¡°Thank you, masters! Have a beautiful day!¡±

    Windu sighed and said after the call ended.

    ¡°The greed of man holds no bounds.¡±

    There were a few minutes of silent contemplation after that. In the end, master Kenobi, broke the silence.

    ¡°Honestly, I am looking forward to this encounter. What type of person uses such a relic as general transportation? Is it possible that they don¡¯t even know how unique their ship is? Will we really buy it?¡±

    ¡°We will give a reasonable price, but of course, we cannot force them to sell their ship. It is their property, after all.¡± ¡ª Stated Yoda.

    ¡°In case if the ship actually belongs to the current owner. I feel a strange disturbance in the force. There might be an unexpected surprise waiting for us.¡±

    Windu added his two credits sinisterly.

    ¡°You might be right, old friend¡­ Let¡¯s wait and see what the future holds.¡± ¡ª The grandmaster closed the conversation with a thoughtful expression.

    All hell broke loose inside the bridge of the Ebon Hawk, after a less than comforting call from the traffic-control station. In which a soldier explained to them with an unusually cheerful tone of voice that they were invited to the Jedi Temple for a meeting with the elders none the less.

    In the call there were careful but obvious hints that they should not try anything funny, like running away. The possibility of denying the invitation wasn¡¯t even brought up as a few police fighter ships escorted them to the planet until the very moment they landed on a big landing platform right on the side of the temple.

    At which time, Nizzal was screaming hysterically while throwing random objects at the stoically sitting droid still controlling the ship.

    ¡°YOU SCRAP PILE! I TOLD YOU THAT WE SHOULDN¡¯T USE THIS DAMN SHIP! WHAT WILL I DO NOW? I CAN¡¯T EVEN HIDE MY FORCE PRESENCE PROPERLY! AND THEY WANT ME TO SPEAK DIRECTLY WITH THE COUNCIL I AM DONE FOR!¡±

    ¡®Exhausted from my shouting and emotional crisis, I collapsed into a nearby chair at the end of my hysterical outburst...¡¯

    ¡°It¡¯s not even a week after I became a master, and the jedi are about to capture me... All of this is because of you! And that dirty master of yours!¡±

    ¡°(Logical assessment): They can try to capture us. In that case, I will activate battle protocol. While I distract them, little-meatbag should be able to escape.¡±

    ¡®I froze in my rant for a second. Is this bastard seriously willing to do that for me? Even so¡­ what he asks is impossible!¡¯

    ¡°As if! How do you expect me to escape from the heart of the Jedi Temple? You are crazy. We should try to escape with the ship. That is our only chance.¡±

    ¡°(Statement): There are four fighter escort ships still circling around us; they are faster and more agile under atmospheric pressure. Our shield generator is too obsolete; we would be destroyed in a few hits.¡±

    ¡°Argh! Damn it! I hate this cursed ship!¡±

    ¡°(Critical assessment): There was no better ship in the hangar on Hoth.¡±

    ¡°Maybe, but this way, we painted a giant target on our backs!¡±

    ¡°(Troubleshooting logical deduction): There was no mistake in my logical analysis. Nor the jedi or the station guards should recognize this ship, after thousands of years. The only plausible explanation is that an unknown factor was not included in my calculation. That is the only answer.¡±

    ¡®I blinked at the idiot, unable to understand the levels of idiocy that it produced in the last few seconds.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°That is what is called being misinformed, you dummy ¡ª!¡±

    ¡®My attention was pulled away, before I could throw another empty conserve can at the fucker.¡¯

    ¡°Look, the temple¡¯s door opened¡­¡± ¡ª ¡®I sighed, giving up any chance of running away. Let¡¯s hope that the last millennium of relative prosperity softened the jedi enough to not recognize someone with considerable force presence, and lack of control on it¡­ All thanks to the last remaining side effects of that accursed ritual.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°We should go out and meet them. Let us hope they won¡¯t kill a child. In these types of scenarios, it is actually a boon to be a child.¡±

    ¡®We walked down on the ramp towards the small delegation. They were temple guardians, two of them, with double-bladed lightsabers proudly displayed on their hips. Their faces were hidden under masks and hoods, equipped with some unpractical, ceremonial armor. Now as they got closer, I could see their general forms more clearly, one of them was a man while the other was a woman. I watched them suspiciously, as HK-47 took its place behind me, obviously intimidating the guards a bit.¡¯

    ¡®When I reached them, I bowed lightly in polite greeting, as a member of the high aristocracy would upon meeting jedi. They looked at me, surprised by my actions clearly thrown off their rhythm. They didn¡¯t expect to deal with aristocrats, nor with a child, which showed in their hesitance. One of them, the man eventually asked. While the woman continued to not so subtly scrutinize me.¡¯

    ¡°The council would like to speak with the owner of the ship.¡±

    ¡®I noticed that the man directed his question towards the protocol droid, and I had a hard time to stop clicking my tongue at him. This fool blatantly decided to ignore me over that rude tin-can!¡¯

    ¡®As my annoyance hit through the roof, I stated stubbornly.¡¯

    ¡°Then, lead the way.¡±

    ¡®The guards exchanged a few knowing glances as they turned towards the weird protocol droid once again.¡¯

    ¡°(Informative statement) The master of the ship is currently not present. We came here with Miss Nizzal in the hopes of visiting the central library to further her knowledge and update our databanks. You can treat her as the second best choice. She holds the highest authority between the two of us.¡±

    ¡®The guards nodded and finally turned to me properly. This time the woman spoke up, pointing towards the door.¡¯

    ¡°This way, please.¡±

    ¡®So, having no other option, I reluctantly followed them into the heart of their temple.¡¯

    ¡®Soon enough, I felt hundreds of powerful force signals all around me. It was a strange experience. I kind of liked it, though.¡¯

    ¡®The tall bright halls and corridors gave away a strong and peaceful sensation, nothing like the sith temple I was used to with its pressuringly low ceilings and dark-dim rooms.¡¯

    ¡®This was a freeing experience, forcibly relaxing my troubled mind. I closed my eyes for a few seconds to take in this special feeling. When I opened my eyes again, I saw for a second as the female temple guard was eyeing me carefully.¡¯

    ¡®Oh hell, I forgot about myself... With a spike of fear, I started to reinforce my mental shields and did my best to erase my force presence, which came loose in the moment of self-forgetting. As a reaction, both of the guards stopped and looked at me. I saw as they touched their blades, if only for a fraction of a second. Then they began to walk again, acting as if everything was normal.¡¯

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    ¡®I have done it again... Stupid, stupid, stupid... everyone has a force signal, even the people that can¡¯t use force... If you erase your force presence suddenly, they will instantly realize that I am trained in the ways of the force... They are going to lock me up here... bye-bye cantinas, bye-bye freedom...¡¯

    ¡®My shoulders dropped sadly as I realized that I am most likely screwed, yet again, I was screwed from the moment I came here... Time to figure out, how to escape, I looked back towards the door we came through... Maybe I can make it back to the ship?¡¯

    ¡®The female guard caught my longing gaze and stepped in front of me, activating her yellow saber staff, warning me with a strict voice.¡¯

    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it, girl.¡±

    ¡°I turned around and saw the other guard doing the same, locking me and the droid between the two of them. Being in the middle of corridor there was nowhere else to run.¡±

    ¡°Uhm, would you consider letting me go if I asked?¡± ¡ª ¡®I questioned with a small voice.¡¯

    ¡°No.¡± ¡ª ¡®The woman stated, no hesitation.¡¯

    ¡°Pretty please?¡± ¡ª ¡®I added almost pleadingly.¡¯

    ¡®The woman snorted hearing that.¡¯

    ¡°You are a funny one. I like that, but the answer is still the same.¡± ¡ª ¡®She stated the barest of humour lingering in her otherwise strict voice.¡¯

    ¡°Ugh...¡±

    ¡®I looked towards HK-47. Attempting to convey my thoughts with my wide, scared eyes. It would be a good time to start that distraction... Right about now...¡¯

    ¡®He was standing there unmoving, without a care in the world.¡¯

    ¡®Oh no, I am a damnable fool! I actually trusted in this pile of scrap! Of course, it won¡¯t lift a finger to help me.¡¯

    ¡®At that moment, it turned its face towards me. I felt a fickle of hope igniting in my chest, then it looked away uninterestedly.¡¯

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡®My mouth opened with utter disbelief. I couldn¡¯t even oppose when the two temple guards grabbed me under my arms and forcefully escorted me to the council room.¡¯

    ¡®I am going to blow up that cursed droid. Since it joined me, everything went downhill... The sadistic smile of Revan¡¯s ghost reappeared before my eyes at this opportune moment. Then I realized¡­ This droid doesn¡¯t care about me having Revan¡¯s memories...¡®

    ¡®This droid might not even care about Revan¡¯s orders. It would never even entertain mine. I am just a complete nuisance to it, just another meatbag... I started to struggle a little. I wanted to blast that thing to smithereens even if I couldn¡¯t do it realistically...¡¯

    ¡°Ouch¡­¡± ¡ª ¡®I whispered as the tightening hold of the guards jolted me out of my wishful thinking.¡¯

    ¡°Stop wriggling around, girl.¡± ¡ª ¡®The man scolded me.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°Fine¡­ I will stop.¡± ¡ª ¡®I answered reluctantly but sighed, feeling relieved when they adjusted their hold¡¯s strength.¡¯

    ¡®The female guard attempted to lighten the mood as we walked across the unending corridors.¡¯

    ¡°So, are you a run away padawan? I bet your master will be over the moon to catch up with you. I can foresee a heavy scolding and some extremely boring punishments in the near future, tough luck.¡± ¡ª ¡®The man chuckled on my other side, hearing her teasing tone.¡¯

    ¡®To my surprise, he also added a sentence.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°Your little act of aristocracy was quite convincing, though. Only if you weren¡¯t wearing armor¡­ You should be using your talents for the right things, instead of running around and causing trouble, lass.¡±

    ¡®Are they seriously thinking that I am a runaway padawan? I decided to not answer either of those questions in the end.¡¯

    ¡®A few minutes later, we finally reached the council room. The door opened, and we marched in, stopping in the middle of the room. The three jedi masters currently present looked towards us with an obvious frown.¡¯

    ¡®I also looked at them carefully... Two humans, and a goblin, that¡¯s my luck.¡¯

    ¡®The black-skinned human male on the right side was the most frustrated. No surprise there, since all of his hair was long gone. It probably means he had a very short fuse... There you go, he almost immediately started the questioning. Where is your patience, master?¡¯

    ¡°What is the meaning of this interruption? We are waiting for a guest. It is not the time to judge some misbehaving youngling!¡±

    ¡®The male temple guard gave his answer without hesitation.¡¯

    ¡°Master, she is the guest you were waiting for.¡±

    ¡®That surprised all three of the masters. There were a few seconds of hesitant silence, then the other human continued the questioning.¡¯

    ¡°Then, allow me to ask, what is the reason for this commotion?¡±

    ¡®Now the female guard gave the answer.¡¯

    ¡°The girl is force sensitive and trained in the ways of the force. She could hide her force presence so well that we couldn¡¯t sense it while standing right next to her. Still, she seems to struggle to hide it consistently. She is doing it at this very moment.¡±

    ¡®Now, the three masters looked at me with calculating and somewhat skeptical eyes. The one in the middle, the goblin, blurted out eventually.¡¯

    ¡°You are right about this, while you were coming towards the room; I only sensed the two of you. Now, as I consciously focus, I can sense her presence as well. She is shockingly skilled in hiding, on a level of a knight or even a master. How troubling¡­ troubling indeed¡­¡±

    ¡®The temple guards nodded, then looked at me with a new light glinting in their eyes.¡¯

    ¡®The strangely serene moment was destroyed by the female guard¡¯s next short sentence.¡¯

    ¡°Oh, and she tried to run away.¡±

    ¡®The change in the overall mood was quick. Damn that lady, that part was uncalled for. She avoided my betrayed gaze...¡¯

    ¡®I stamped with my right leg.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°I did not do such a thing!¡±

    ¡®The woman was clearly surprised as she turned back looking down at me thanks to the difference in height as she added calmly.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°Only because I stopped you before you could.¡±

    ¡®I didn¡¯t have a prepared answer to that¡­ and therefore I shut up, looking down at the floor in front of me.¡¯

    ¡®The master sitting on the left seemed amused by this, but he easily picked up the conversation.¡¯

    ¡°How do you know that she is the actual owner of the ship?¡±

    ¡®Both of the temple guards answered in unison. Were they twins or something?¡¯

    ¡°The protocol droid said so.¡±

    ¡®I saw a momentary confusion in the eyes of the masters than the one without hair asked.¡¯

    ¡°Where is this droid, then?¡±

    ¡®All three of us turned around simultaneously; there was no droid behind us, only air.¡¯

    ¡®I facepalmed, to the particular amusement of the master sitting on the left from my perspective. The skinhead was less amused by this chain of events and began an infuriated rant.¡¯

    ¡°You mean to tell me that you brought an unidentified droid into the temple and then lost it? This can easily be a separatist plot. We are in the middle of a war! Find that droid immediately!¡± ¡ª ¡®The door opened, and another guard run in hastily.¡¯

    ¡°What is it now?!¡± ¡ª ¡®Shouted the still raging master.¡¯

    ¡®The additional guard was taken aback by the shouting master, but he soon composed himself and started his report.¡¯

    ¡°We have located an unauthorized breach into the jedi archives, about ten minutes ago, and the ship that landed on the seventeenth landing pad just left without authorization.¡±

    ¡®An even heavier silence fell on the room. A few awkward seconds later, everyone¡¯s gaze were focused on me. I could not stand their accusing gazes filled with hostility and suspicion. Under their piercing eyes, I could only say.¡¯

    ¡°Oh, I am done for...¡± ¡ª ¡®I said, realizing that the droid completely screwed me over. It was his plan all along to use me as a distraction to open a possibility of breaking into the jedi archives. I can¡¯t believe I fell for it!¡¯

    ¡®But there was no helping now.¡¯

    ¡®After long seconds of silence, the third temple guard left silently. At last, the grandmaster tried to salvage what was left of the conversation.¡¯

    ¡°Hmmm... Let us start this conversation a new. What is your name, girl?¡±

    ¡®I was truly grateful for this chance, therefore I answered quickly and honestly.¡¯

    ¡°Nizzal, I am called Nizzal grandmaster.¡±

    ¡°He smiled a bit. I see you know my position in the order. Where you trained in this temple, perchance?¡±

    ¡®Oh crap, I should have known where this will lead to.¡¯

    ¡°No, grandmaster, but you are a well-known figure in the galaxy.¡±

    ¡°He looked at me strangely. Tell me then who trained you, and where.¡±

    ¡®I bit the inside of my lips. If I lie, they will know it, but I can¡¯t tell the truth, so I decided to not answer at all.¡¯

    ¡°Did you not hear the question? Said the skinhead, angered by my presumed defiance.¡±

    ¡®I looked at him and answered calmly.¡¯

    ¡°I heard it, but I have no intent to answer.¡±

    ¡®The witty remark left my lips even before I realized it. Oh hell, not again, ugh, I can already see the veins on his forehead popping out...¡¯

    ¡®He jumped to his feet, then started another rant, just as I expected.¡¯

    ¡°Hah, be careful girl, named Nizzal. It is your fate that is currently being judged. Yet I can already see that you will not leave this temple today. You may have some skill with the force, yet you should not be that proud of your knowledge or it will be the downfall of you.¡±

    ¡®Crap, I should get used to my changed personality. Those witty remarks were not my cup of tea until now...¡¯

    ¡®The other human master asked curiously.¡¯

    ¡°What is your full name?¡±

    ¡®I answered that question, since it was common enough.¡¯

    ¡°Nizzal Grey.¡±

    ¡®All the masters used this name, after all, and it was a generally common name in the universe.¡¯

    ¡°Just like your skin color.¡± ¡ª ¡®Observed the same human master with a playful tone.¡¯

    ¡°Humph, and her force presence too.¡± ¡ª ¡®Said Yoda nonchalantly.¡¯

    ¡°Now, show us your lightsaber, girl.¡± ¡ª ¡®Ordered the one with the anger controlling issues.¡¯

    ¡®I froze hearing that unexpected demand.¡¯

    ¡®They stared at me expectantly.¡¯

    ¡®Yoda spoke up, attempting to soothe my hesitance and fear.¡¯

    ¡°We have already seen you reaching towards your right sleeve multiple times, only to stop halfway. It is obvious what you have inside your sleeve, at least to our eyes. It is a habit we all share after all¡­ humph¡­ And one best to be aware of, at all times. Which you evidently failed to do.¡±

    ¡®I resigned and slowly took out my lightsaber, then activated it before everyone¡¯s eyes.¡¯

    ¡®A silver blade ignited in the silent room, to the mild surprise of the masters and guards.¡¯

    ¡®There was another contemplating silence as the temple guards stepped back a few more steps, finally relaxing somewhat.¡¯

    ¡°She is not one of them.¡± ¡ª ¡®The grandmaster stated, clearly relieved for the time being.¡¯

    ¡°We can¡¯t be entirely sure of that just yet.¡± ¡ª ¡®The skinhead opposed that decision immediately.¡¯

    ¡®This guy must have some grudge towards me...¡¯

    ¡®The other, more sensible human master joined the conversation at that moment.¡¯

    ¡°I agree with both of you, masters. We should watch over her to make sure of her affiliation¡­ Before that, child, would you let me ask you something?¡± ¡ª ¡®He looked at me with a deceptively warm smile one that without a doubt would arose some level of sympathy in me if I was an ordinary girl. Unfortunately for him, I was not.¡¯

    ¡®Therefore, I blushed lightly and said, avoiding eye contact. Voice wavering a little at the edges.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°S-sure¡­ Go a-ahead¡­¡±

    ¡®The man chuckled, adding the question.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°Were you aware of the droid¡¯s plan to break into the jedi archives?¡±

    ¡®I was suddenly overcome with anger and shouted blindly stomping my feet.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°No! I was most definitely not! That damned droid left me behind and stole my ship with all my items and money! I am gonna kill that fool if I ever get my hands on him again!¡±

    ¡®The man smiled, seeing my genuine reaction.¡¯

    ¡°So the ship was really yours, at least.¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± ¡ª ¡®I shouted.¡¯

    ¡°Where did the droid come from?¡±

    ¡®I faltered for a second. Trying to figure out a reasonable explanation.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°I-I found it in an abandoned ruin...¡±

    ¡®That was actually the case, so they can¡¯t sense a lie if there is none.¡¯

    ¡®The master continued my questioning.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°A ruin? What sort of ruin was that, and where was it?¡±

    ¡®I was getting frustrated with the overflow of questions, to which I had no answer¡­¡¯ ¡ª ¡°Well¡­ I don¡¯t really know? It was on a random planet where we stopped for sightseeing¡­¡±

    ¡°You say we stopped, but your only traveling companion is the missing droid?¡± ¡ª ¡®The man asked innocently.¡¯

    ¡®I was feeling the imaginary rope tightening around my neck with every sentence I spoke¡­ This wasn¡¯t going as planned¡­ at all¡­¡¯

    ¡°Well¡­ that wasn¡¯t always the case¡­¡± ¡ª ¡®I said, sweating profusely.¡¯

    ¡°Who else were travelling with you then, and where are they now¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­I¡­ well, they are¡­ at home, I guess?¡±

    ¡°Where is that?¡± ¡ª ¡®The man asked immediately.¡¯

    ¡°¡­¡± ¡ª ¡®Good luck with finding the place¡­ I decided to not answer that particular question.¡¯

    ¡®Yoda frowned at that.¡¯

    ¡°I sense that you hold many secrets, and just as many questions yourself. We will continue this conversation later, Master Kenobi. I trust you to lead the youngling to a separate holding room.¡±

    ¡®The man now named Kenobi stood up from his armchair, then called out to me.¡¯

    ¡°Nizzal Gray, you should know that you are under arrest for suspicion of breaking into the jedi archive, holding back information from official personals of the republic, illegal possession of a lightsaber, and unauthorized use of force abilities which are yet to be verified.¡±

    ¡°Since you are underaged, without the backing of any legal guardian, or the willingness to name one.¡± ¡ª ¡¯Wait¡­ did he just smirked at me¡­ the bastard?¡¯ ¡ª ¡°As an already trained force-sensitive of unknown caliber, the Jedi Order will take over guardianship as your legal lawful guardian. Until the time you achieve proper mastery of said abilities and are no longer being considered a child.¡±

    ¡°All that is done in light of the possibility that you may pose danger to others and yourself with a partially mastered control over force abilities. You are expected to stay in the temple until you receive proper qualification. An exception can be made in the presence of a guide with proper qualification to guide you. Or until other rightful guardian or parent appears, taking over the responsibility from the order. They obviously need to have a sufficient evidence of their legal claim over you.¡°

    ¡°Until the documentation is done and the archive breaching suspicion is cleared, you are ordered to hand over your lightsaber to the council, effective immediately.¡±

    ¡®He walked in front of me, waiting for me to turn off and hand over my lightsaber. I thought about my chances for a whole two seconds, then turned it off and dropped it into his open palm.¡¯

    ¡®With that gesture, the last bit of open hostility also disappeared from the hall. Then they silently led me to my minimalistic prison and left me there without a word.¡¯

    ¡®I dropped on the bed instantly and buried my face into the pillow. I will destroy that damnable droid! Just wait, you dirty scrap pile! I will show you!¡¯

 5. Chapter

    ¡®In the following minutes of my imprisonment, I was absorbed in an activity that can be described as imagining that sweet moment when I will, and I will, blow up that droid in as many ways as possible.¡®

    ¡®The first method I came up with was simple and straightforward. I crushed it with the sheer power of the force. The only problem with this method is that I will have to wait for a few years to do it.¡¯

    ¡®My physical body would become too drained after exerting such effort, dangerously so.¡¯

    ¡®The next was more realistic for the current me. Melting it with sith lighting. I could use a few different variants already. Using sith lightning techniques is not as draining as some may think.¡¯

    ¡®The main reason is that you can very finely control its power. Based on how much force you channel into each burst of lightning. You can choose to slowly cook your target from the inside out, with weaker bursts, or use one short yet powerful blast that kills instantly.¡¯

    ¡®The latter is obviously very tiresome, but I think I can do it without dangerously draining my resources.¡¯

    ¡®At least with the basic lightning technique, the purple one is much more demanding. There is another one too, a red lightning variant, that drains life essence from its victims, but taking into consideration that my opponent is a droid that wouldn¡¯t be of much use.¡¯

    ¡®I couldn¡¯t kill it with my lightsaber sadly, it is much faster and stronger than I am, it would be foolish to get in close range, so I guess the lightning and some force shields, maybe a little speed enchantment had to be enough.¡¯

    ¡®Now, the only problem is getting out of here. That is the challenge. Assuming that this damn droid planned to drop me here in the first place, instead of actually doing his job and guarding me, well, not that I need much guarding really, I would be just fine without his so-called help.¡¯

    ¡®I sat up on my bed to look around one more time. There was a desk, a chair, my bed, and, of course, a door leading to the toilet, most likely. Oh, and there are the cameras, I almost forgot about the always vigilant eyes of the order. Well, it is a prison room, so I should not be surprised¡­¡¯

    ¡®I guess it¡¯s time to enjoy my new home. Such hospitality is quite nice really¡­ I expected way worse¡­ that said they didn¡¯t quite realize yet that I wasn¡¯t just some extremely misbehaving youngling already part of their order. That might be the reason why they didn¡¯t treat me harsher¡­¡¯

    ¡®I looked at the closed door and sighed¡­ letting out some of my pent up frustration.¡¯

    ¡®Of course I could open that door with the help of the force, but what then? I don¡¯t have my lightsaber, and even if I had, there is no way I could escape this place so easily.¡¯

    ¡®I will play the good girl, for now, I guess.¡¯

    ¡®I have confidence in my power, but I am not stupid enough to think that I can steal back my saber and hide from the whole Jedi Order in their own temple.¡¯

    ¡®You know the saying, that individual strength can overcome numerical superiority, well, the guy who said it was most likely beaten to death by a mob¡­¡¯

    ¡®I mean, in some cases, it could happen. There was that crazy guy, Darth Nihilis, or was it Nihilus? Anyway... he was basically a force wound, a walking black hole with basic intelligence.¡¯

    ¡®A pitiful creature that was, his personality and mind long shattered from the endless hunger controlled by his basic urges in an inhuman way. That state of existence is what I consider hell. One man is not suited to hold that much raw power, aim for balance and be reasonable.¡¯

    ¡®Therefore, I will accept that I am at the mercy of the jedi for now. They don¡¯t know who I am, and they only saw a girl with a rare ship, and some force knowledge from an unknown master. Yet, I am interested; will they really adopt me? Is that even legal? Well, thinking about it, they are used to kidnapping small children from their parents at a much younger age than I am. So, probably I shouldn¡¯t question their intent.¡¯

    ¡®Look at that. What a master I am, adopted by the jedi out of pity and probably grudge, left behind by my own droid guardian and used as a distraction for him. Even my weapon was taken from me. Looking at my achievements from this perspective, I actually felt somewhat pitiful¡­¡¯

    ¡°Damn. I am stupid.¡± ¡ª ¡®Even with my newfound knowledge and experience.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°Bah, no reason for crying over spilled milk. I decided I will think about it as a vacation!¡±

    ¡®I started to pull off my boots, throw them on the floor, then sat up again in a cross-legged position, still on my bed.¡¯

    ¡°Let¡¯s do something jedi like for once.¡± ¡ª ¡®Without my console I can only meditate, still better than looking at these boring walls. Oh, I got it, so this is why they don¡¯t have anything in here to make me meditate. How devious, but you know what, you won this round.¡¯

    ¡®Thankfully, the infuriating side effects of the ritual are almost over. I am not that muddle-headed anymore. So I won¡¯t start and speak out loud without realizing it that often.¡¯

    ¡®That is a big plus. Oh, I got an idea, let¡¯s see, if they can sense me. I am going to use foresight with a partial spirit detachment. This way, I will be able to look around the temple and search for a way out, too.¡¯

    ¡®To gain enough focus, I will have to enter into deep meditation, but I have to clear my mind first.¡¯

    ¡®About an hour later, I could finally cast those force spells. They were very hard to activate as a child, but after casting them successfully it was easy to use them even at the same time.¡¯

    ¡®The partial spirit detachment was a very high-level force technique. Normally, it was used in the middle of a fight to confuse highly force-sensitive enemies.¡¯

    ¡®The force presence of the technique can be easily confused with the actual body of the user. This way creating a perfect opportunity for a decisive surprise attack, using it against not force sensitive people is useless since there is no physical body to be seen or to actually hurt someone, only a force presence that the caster can control.¡¯

    ¡®Obviously, this force presence cannot actually see, but if I use my foresight spell on it, I will create the perfect spy.¡¯

    ¡®Now mind you, it cannot really go that far to be used as a typical spy, but it is still far from useless. I think that I can walk around most of the Jedi Temple with it easily.¡¯

    ¡®Now let¡¯s see, I will walk through that wall, okay? I will try to hide the presence of the technique as much as possible, but constantly using three spells is very demanding.¡¯

    ¡®My forehead is already wet with perspiration; this may stretch my current abilities a bit after all.¡¯

    ¡®The technique was created with the purpose of radiating force presence therefore, it was very hard to hide it since it¡¯s going against its original purpose. Not even mentioning that the ritual''s last remaining side effects were still present. Making me especially easy to get distracted.¡¯

    ¡®The smallest of quiver in my attention would be enough to alert the jedi, just as it did when I was being escorted to the Elders.¡¯

    ¡®Yet, I can¡¯t cast the whole spirit detachment, and even if I could, I wouldn¡¯t! That technique is just stupid.¡¯

    ¡®You can see and sense through the eyes of your detached spirit, even fight with it. Sounds good, right? No, because you can die just the same too, and using it drains you constantly, not even mentioning that to activate it you will have to burn a sizeable chunk of your force pool, and it will continue to drain it even after that!¡¯

    ¡®That means you basically start the fight half drained and if the enemy realizes what you do, it can simply drag out the battle until you are too drained and are forced to drop the technique disappearing from the battlefield.¡¯

    ¡®Not so good after all, right? Oh, and if you overextend without dispelling the technique even after you are too drained to normally use it, it will feed on your life energy until there is no more, then you will die, such a charming technique.¡¯

    ¡®The only positive part is that you can teleport with it to places where you have been before, but again with bigger distance comes greater strain on the body. With my momentary abilities, I could probably use it to appear in my base on Hoth, then a few seconds later my actual body would disintegrate.¡¯

    ¡®Eh, I have to admit, I could not use this technique effectively even as an adult. It is hard to admit it, but there are a few sick force techniques that actually need an astonishing amount of midi-chlorian count. Those are for the lucky ones, I guess, like Revan. A smirk appeared on my face.¡¯

    ¡°Ah, just as the saying goes, with a big nose comes great responsibilities.¡°

    ¡®Anyway, you can use your creativity and knowledge instead of raw power. You know what, my combined use of different force abilities has a considerably lower chance of accidentally killing myself!¡¯

    ¡®Well, they also have obvious restrictions. Like the distance, after going too far from my body, it simply dissipates. Oh, and if someone senses it, it can be destroyed by siphoning the force presence with some basic dark side techniques, but who would do that in the middle of a Jedi Temple?¡¯

    ¡®Hah! Well, it can also be dispelled forcefully, but that isn¡¯t as effective because you can simply move out of the way, while you can¡¯t really run away from a siphoning attack, since it attaches itself to the force presence. The smart thing in that situation is to dispel it instantly. You lose the spell, but at least didn¡¯t let your enemy gain power from siphoning it.¡¯

    ¡®In the meantime, I was looking around the corridors. If I remember correctly, the council was somewhere this way. Let¡¯s check on them first.¡¯

    ¡®A few minutes later, it turned out that I remembered correctly. When I walked through the door of the council room, it was closed but I was a force presence so who cares!¡¯

    ¡®The moment I entered, via slipping through the door¡¯s matter, I immediately felt the need to facepalm.¡¯

    ¡®By the force, they were also spying on me through the camera placed in my room. Our habits are too similar for comfort.¡¯

    ¡®The camera¡¯s image was projected onto the central holo-projector.¡¯

    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

    ¡®Well, at least I won¡¯t have to feel bad for spying on them, not that I would. Thankfully, foresight doesn¡¯t only include vision but voices too. So, I could hear what they were talking about, oh the skinhead was in the middle of his usual tirades. What a surprise¡­¡¯

    ¡°I am telling you, this girl means only one thing: trouble. You can¡¯t really think about letting her stay in the Jedi Order just like that. Especially not among the other padawans as a learner... She is a bad influence. I can see that already. Nothing short of Skywalker¡­ and one Skywalker is already more than I am willing to put up with.¡°

    ¡®Then man paused for a few seconds then continued with the same intensity.¡¯

    ¡°Becoming a jedi is a special privilege, not something we gave away to someone who breaks into our temple and steals from our archive! We have already searched for her descriptions through the entire jedi archive and we didn¡¯t find a single information about her ever being affiliated with our order.¡±

    ¡®Oh¡­ crap. They worked that out a lot faster than I anticipated.¡¯

    ¡°She was never trained in any Jedi Temple. That means she has been thought by some renegate master who does not align with the beliefs of our system. Which is already shown in her openly rebellious actions. She was purposefully holding back information, shamelessly throwing around the fact that she would not cooperate with us.¡±

    ¡®This guy seriously called me rebellious... did he ever looked into a mirror?¡¯

    ¡°If worse comes to worst, it might turn out that she is a sith apprentice sent to spy on us while exploiting our sympathy.¡±

    ¡®Okay, master hairless is officially on my blacklist, no pun intended. Oh, now the other guy actually started to argue with him. What was his name? Kenobi, yeah, that¡¯s it. He has a charming smile, but his personality is equally annoying if you let him speak for too long.¡¯

    ¡®Anyway, I listened to what he had to say to Master Hairless.¡¯

    ¡°Master Windu, calm down, please. It was only a theoretical possibility which we were mentioning. The girl shows immense talent, and I am curious about her background, just as you are, no doubt. Regarding your last comment, surely you yourself don¡¯t believe her being a sith apprentice sent to the Jedi Temple to spy walking in the main door. Surely they are not so desperate.¡±

    ¡®I chuckled at that, while straining myself to keep control over the delicate spells. Master Hairless answer didn¡¯t lag behind for long.¡¯

    ¡°Humph! The apple didn¡¯t fall far from the tree. I see now where your apprentice learned his uncouth manners and distinct disrespect for his elders.¡±

    ¡®Yoda chose that very moment to speak up with solemn words.¡¯

    ¡°Obi-Wan is right, Windu, and you are exaggerating. Don¡¯t forget that we were the ones who invited them into our temple, hmm? The girl could be a victim of unfortunate circumstances.¡±

    ¡®Obi-One continued reinforcing the grandmaster¡¯s stance.¡¯

    ¡°I agree, which is further proved by that I didn¡¯t sense any hostility from her towards us. Even after I told her about those partially fabricated felonies, she supposedly committed.¡±

    ¡°Hu-humph!¡± ¡ª ¡®Said Yoda, creating the impression of stifled laughter.¡¯

    ¡°She obviously didn¡¯t know that possessing a lightsaber in itself is not a crime. Using it is an entirely different matter.¡± ¡ª ¡®Stated Kenobi with a somewhat guilty smile.¡¯

    ¡°Oh yes, that was an ingenious solution, I must admit.¡± ¡ª ¡®Said Windu at last, letting part of his pent-up irritation go before he continued.¡¯

    ¡°Making her activate the blade before the council made this into a strictly jedi case, since it also involves our sacred weapon. Otherwise, it would fall under the jurisdiction of the Coruscant Republic Justice System.¡±

    ¡°It would be a worldwide commotion.¡± ¡ª ¡®Windu stated direly.¡¯

    ¡°Unknown, possibly separatist droid breaks into the jedi archives, then escapes in daylight.¡± ¡ª ¡®Master Hairless practically spat out those words with a disgusted expression before continuing.¡¯

    ¡°We cannot let any of this information get into the hands of any media outlets. We have already enough problems to deal with, as the clone army demilitarization factions grow bigger by the day. I admit, I was reluctant at first too. But since then many things have changed. I can¡¯t fathom what those na?ve senators think. At this stage of the war, the only thing standing between the endless swarms of droids and us is the clone army. ¡±

    ¡®Obi-One reacted defensively.¡¯

    ¡°Thank you, master, but please don¡¯t mistake my duty towards the Jedi Order for enthusiasm in this situation. I am not exactly proud that I lied and exploited a child that had no detailed knowledge of the current laws.¡±

    ¡®Windu raised his hand to indicate that he understands.¡¯

    ¡®In the meantime, Yoda closed his eyes as a troubled expression slowly settled on his face, with still-closed eyes and a very dejected voice. He started to speak.¡¯

    ¡°Dark times we live in, that even the masters of our order have to sink to this level, to even lie to the children. No lasting system was ever built on lies. This war took more from us than we could ever possibly realize. Sometimes I wonder, even if we win the war, what will be left of our original order, of our philosophies and teachings.¡±

    ¡®There was a solemn silence in the room. Everyone was thinking over the words of the grandmaster while looking at my unmoving form in the middle of the hologram.¡¯

    ¡®A few minutes later, Kenobi broke the silence, also changing the direction of the conversation.¡¯

    ¡°She looks like a bright child, yet she talks like an old man holding thousands of small grudges. She also has a unique aura and clearly knows her capabilities, able to adapt swiftly to new situations. Many traits that are rare even for jedi knights nowadays.¡±

    ¡®After hearing Kenobi¡¯s opinion, Windu also shared his thought, even if somewhat reluctantly.¡¯

    ¡°Rash, too honest for her own good, proud and disrespectful at the level of Skywalker, and one Skywalker is already more than I would wish to handle.¡±

    ¡®Obi-Wan added in a teasing tone.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°Yes, you have already mentioned that part¡­¡± ¡ª ¡®His comment earned himself a burning glare. Which he reciprocated with a disarming smile, causing Windu to sigh.¡¯

    ¡®Master Hairless reflected over his next sentence for a while. Then he finally continued his words.¡¯

    ¡°Yet I must admit that precise control over her force aura is an obvious sign of incredible talent or the result of years of hard work, knowledge, and experience. Taking into consideration her age, it should be the first one.¡±

    ¡®Nope¡­ completely wrong¡­ Master Hairless¡­ I thought while hovering in an empty corner of the room.¡¯

    ¡®Hearing the evaluation of the two masters, Yoda¡¯s ears slowly started to rise as a small grandfatherly smile appeared on his wrinkled face. At last, he opened his eyes to look at the image of the girl before him.¡¯

    ¡°She knew that we would sense if she lied, but she could not tell the truth. I felt both spite and fear inside her. An interesting mix of emotions in such a situation. That was the reason why she didn¡¯t answer. It was not meant to disrespect us. Quite the opposite, in fact. We were simply blind to the bigger picture, through our own prejudices.¡±

    ¡®That sentence surprised the other two masters. Their gaze also wandered to the girl¡¯s meditating form in the holoprojector.¡¯

    ¡®Yoda continued to state his observations, while the other two masters carefully listened to every word.¡¯

    ¡°Her eyes, hmmm, are not the eyes of a child. No, those eyes, carefully hidden under the fa?ade of a youngling, are not ones of innocent curiosity. They are deep with raw knowledge. How to explain this, I know not¡­ But I fear that something terrible happened with the girl, something that will burden her for her entire life.¡±

    ¡®Another minute of heavy silence passed, before Kenobi asked a new question.¡¯

    ¡°What kind of meditation practice is this? She is sitting without any movement, yet she became almost entirely drenched from perspiration in the last few moments.¡±

    ¡®Yoda focused on the girl¡¯s straining form. Something was strange, he decided to open himself to the flow of the living force. And a warning came immediately. There was something, someone hidden here, but he could not locate it, he decided to try a more direct approach. He stated calmly.¡¯

    ¡°Show yourself.¡±

    ¡®The other two masters were taken aback by this sudden warning from the grandmaster. Each of them jumped up from their seat, instantly igniting their blades, looking around carefully, and simultaneously sensing the area with the careful use of force.¡¯

    ¡®I was also surprised as I got too immersed in their conversation.¡¯

    ¡®Without hesitation, I hastily dispelled my force avatar, then my vision jumped back into my body. My eyes opened wide. As I begin to feel the waves of exhaustion suddenly crashing down on me, I started to forcefully breathe in big mouthfuls of air.¡¯

    ¡®Damn, this combined use of different force abilities really took their toll on my body. My clothes were totally drenched¡­ Breathe. Damn, breathe¡­ I dropped on my back and tried to control my breathing. It was hard, but I succeeded.¡¯

    ¡®Next thing I noticed were my somewhat trembling arms. They started to feel awfully cold. A clear sign of drained vitality. I lay down on the bed completely stopping any force use.¡¯

    ¡®Some would think that channeling healing energies to heal your exhaustion is a good idea. It is generally true, but if you are exhausted, your mental powers to a level where it started to drain your life force, even if just a little, doing that could be categorized as a suicide attempt. At this moment, normal rest was the only possible solution or asking another force user to heal you. ¡®

    Back in the council room, Master Yoda¡¯s ears started to droop slowly while the other two masters were carefully looking around the hall, trying to sense the presence of this intruder.

    Master Windu and master Kenobi were also able to sense this foreign presence after the grandmaster¡¯s warning, but only for a split second, as it suddenly dispersed as if it was never been there to begin with.

    Yoda was about to fall back into his deep and troubled thoughts. There were many things, many mysteries appearing one after the other.

    Before he could get back to his meditation, his eyes caught onto the sprawled out and wheezing form of one of those so-called troubles. He was about to let this thought slide, then the realization came. An uncertain idea popped up in his mind. One that he reflexively wanted to drop right away¡­ since it sounded almost impossible. It would most likely embarrass him in front of them and nothing else.

    But what if? What if he is right?

    Why would he hide his intuition from his fellow council members? They were his friends and family, after all. Is it possible that he did not trust in their judgment, or was he too proud? A possibility, but it was something else this time. He was afraid, afraid of failure as a grandmaster of the order.

    Fear often bound his decision-making, the possibility to lose the respect of the council, his fellow jedi. They often looked at him with reverence of someone all-knowing, all-powerful, but only he knew truly how false and misguided those thoughts were.

    Sometimes it was easier to act on this belief, to act as if it was true, that he was all-knowing. This made him more confident, but this confidence had already started to shadow his judgment. I am too proud to see unlikely possibilities. This behavior must be changed, he decided; let¡¯s take small steps at a time.

    The other masters were waiting for him to end this council meeting. Instead, he purely acted on his instinct for the first time in years.

    ¡°Obi-Wan, project the recording of one of the camera¡¯s footage in the council room, together with the camera in Nizzal¡¯s room. Synchronize their time and rewind it back about two to five minutes.¡±

    Obi-Wan was very surprised by the uncharacteristic request from the grandmaster. Master Windu also raised one of his eyebrows.

    Nonetheless, Kenobi followed his request without a second thought. After a few minutes of manipulation over the activator buttons, everything was ready. He started the videos, side by side. When they reached the part where the grandmaster¡¯s warning happened, all of them, even Yoda, were somewhat shocked.

    It was in the exact same moment when the girl suddenly awakened from her meditation, that the force presence they sensed ceased to be. That could not be a simple coincidence.

    After the initial shock wore off, Master Windu voiced his thoughts.

    ¡°This is way too perfect to be a coincidence.¡±

    Kenobi whistled heartily.

    ¡°Well-well, I have to say that we highly underestimated our little guest. Now, I am truly curious who her master is.¡°

    Windu watched the utterly exhausted girl. Than said sarcastically.

    ¡°From what I have seen, it could be your former padawan Kenobi. Who else would have the stupid confidence to spy on a council meeting?¡±

    Kenobi reacted with the charming smile of a politician.

    ¡°Oh thank you, but I heard, master Windu, that you are not one to talk in this regard.¡°

    Windu¡¯s head whipped with a horrified expression towards the seat of the order¡¯s grandmaster. Who was sitting in his seat in a meditative position, eyes closed, buried in his own thoughts.

    ¡°Each of us were children once. Forget this, we must not.¡± ¡ª Came the succinct declaration, eventually.

    Hearing this, Windu stood up from his seat and began to walk out of the council room without waiting for the grandmaster to officially end the meeting. Quite a disrespect form a man of his position.

    Before he left, he said one last sentence without looking back.

    ¡°I will send a healer to that youngling before she chokes on air. ¡°

    The door closed behind him automatically.

    The other two masters left behind were smiling stupidly to themselves. In that flash of a rare moment, each of them looked much-much younger as their powerful yet happy force presence slowly expanded around the temple as every force-sensitives began to relax.

    That day, even the force itself seemed to smile around the temple. Creating a small, peaceful island in the middle of the chaotic city-planet called Coruscant.

 6. Chapter

    ¡®My breathing finally started to relax, damn that was a bit of overexertion, but nothing too bad.¡¯

    ¡®I knew that I shouldn¡¯t go into the council hall, but that was just too much temptation for a single child. I mean, yeah, I have these memories, but that does not change the fact that I currently have the urges of a thirteen-year-old.¡¯

    ¡®What does that mean, you ask?¡¯

    ¡®That means that I am more prone to act with little thinking. More easily swayed by momentary emotions, I became bored faster, also I have a ton of energy and I can¡¯t stay in one place for long periods of time. Oh, and my attention span is somewhat bad for things that I don¡¯t enjoy. ¡®

    ¡®So if I knew all of these things, how is that, that I can¡¯t control them?¡¯

    ¡®Well, you see, it is more of a hormonal and biological thing. Here is a simple example: imagine Revan who smokes cigarettes and also drinks alcohol often, he most likely knows that it is not good for him.¡¯

    ¡®Knowing this does not mean that he will stop these activities, or even if he wants to stop them, he may not be able to. Now, looking at my own situation, as a child, I didn¡¯t really like being left alone here, without anything to do.¡¯

    ¡®For an actual jedi padawan it wouldn¡¯t be a problem, but for me, who in the last seven years never was bored for more than half an hour, it was.¡¯

    ¡®In our base on Hoth, there were a ton of items, games to play, books to read, paint, watch long recorded holo-movies, learn something interesting from master, practice saber forms, or other more general weapon use, like blasters and grenades.¡¯

    ¡®It was an exciting life! The training was tough, but I could spend my free time however I wanted, many times even master joined in my childish activities.¡¯

    ¡®This was what the jedi missed purposefully, poor sods never even knew what life can offer. I already feel that this will be the main reason to run away from this damn place.¡¯

    ¡®Especially now that I knew half of those felonies were straight-out lies, typical jedi humbug. Well, except for the suspicion of breaking into the archives, that one sounds pretty damn serious.¡¯

    ¡®I bet that it is more than enough to lock me up. That sacred weapon thingy was only the cherry on the top of the cake. Also, withholding information? I don¡¯t think that there is a law that forces you to answer honestly to every personal type of question that a jedi asks from you.¡¯

    ¡®Although I have to praise the grandmaster, he came very close to the truth about me, so close, but so far. I will have to be extra careful around him. He even noticed my force avatar. Well, probably because I was too weak to support it properly, but still. Nicely done for someone with a mere eight hundred and seventy-four years of experience.¡®

    ¡®The doors to my cell suddenly opened, making me instinctively try to grab the hilt of my blade, only to realize I don¡¯t have it anymore. Understanding this was a frustrating process, but I still stubbornly sat up on the bed and looked towards the door. I couldn¡¯t sense anyone coming closer since I can¡¯t use the force without injuring myself right now. Instead, I waited patiently for the guest to come in.¡¯

    ¡®She came in just fine, a quite tall blue colored Twi¡¯lek adult woman. She looked at me with a fickle of anger. W-what did I do to earn that glare? She marched to the side of my bed, sat down, then began to check me all over. I was genuinely surprised by her rude actions. I was about to start to protest, but her sharp gaze instantly took away my voice. Damn, this woman is scary. ¡®

    ¡°In much trouble, you are little miss.¡± ¡ª ¡®She said, shortly, then continued.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°I don¡¯t know how you succeeded in making Master Windu personally ask me to check over you, but seeing that you are almost entirely drained of force, I am no longer surprised.¡°

    ¡®Oh, did they realize that I was the one who spied on them? Interesting, but it was a calculated risk, anyway. She suddenly grabbed my chin with one hand and made me look into her eyes.¡®

    ¡°Look at me when I am talking to you, girl.¡± ¡ª ¡®She said to me, almost hissing. I immediately nodded, now somewhat scared from this no-nonsense type of woman.¡¯

    ¡°Your name?¡±

    ¡°Nizzal Grey ma¡¯am.¡±

    ¡°Good. What happened to you to become like this? Even your life-force is drained somewhat...¡°

    ¡°Eh, are you a healer?¡± ¡ª ¡®I realized with a sense of relief.¡¯

    ¡°What else would I be? I am the current chief healer of the order. My name is Vokara Che. Every youngling from the order knows me. How is it that you don¡¯t?¡±

    ¡°Well, you just answered it yourself.¡°

    ¡®She looked at me confused for a while, then she realized what I meant.¡®

    ¡°Ah, you are not from the section on Coruscant. Did your master visit here for some reason?¡± ¡ª ¡®She asked, intrigued by the prospect.¡¯

    ¡°Eh, not quite. I am not a jedi, actually.¡±

    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

    ¡®She stopped her healing and looked deeply into my eyes, searching for something she clearly didn¡¯t find.¡¯

    ¡®Her shoulders relaxed again while restarting my treatment. Oh, she must have looked for the yellow eyes of a sith. I am quite lucky that my eyes only turn yellow when I actively channel a large quantity of dark side energies.¡¯

    ¡®I have a feeling that I shouldn¡¯t tell her about that fact, nope definitely not. My childish side would love to see her reaction, but nope, go away temptation, go away!¡¯

    ¡®The woman put her hands on my temples. She was very gentle, quite in contrast with her personality. I felt a wave of force energy engulfing my mind and body with its peaceful, revitalising cocoon.¡¯

    ¡°Let me heal you up, little one.¡± ¡ª ¡®The woman stated with a mask of cheerfulness that doctors around children so often tended to use.¡¯

    ¡®I felt like shit, to be honest, so I let her treat me without complaint. But I was still surprised when she began to speak the diagnosis out loud.¡¯

    ¡°You are quite strong in the force. Your aura is very refined, yet clouded with shadows. I sense much darkness inside you, swirling, powerful¡­ but contained? For how long I wonder¡­ Wait¡­ what is this? Darkness that is balanced out by the light... I have never seen such delicate balance before¡­ Its almost harmonious? It reminds me of Master Windu¡¯s aura but less volatile¡­ Now I understand why he seemed so interested in you¡­¡°

    ¡®I stared at the woman. Vokara Che was it¡­ An empath or a sensor, maybe both¡­ A useful skill to have as a healer, and even better as a jedi. I should not underestimate this woman.¡¯

    ¡°By the way¡­ Where you kicked out of the order by any chance, girl?¡± ¡ª ¡®She asked in a funny voice, she clearly meant it as a joke to lighten the stiff atmosphere.¡¯

    ¡®Still, it was a logical conclusion, although it really bothered my pride, as a master of my own order to be assumed as a dropout.¡¯

    ¡®I felt as my haughtiness started to take over my logic. I attempted to control it with my iron will.¡¯

    ¡®She looked at my inner struggle for a while, then she made a shocked face, clearly misunderstanding everything.¡¯

    ¡®She covered her shocked and guilty expression with a strained smile. She obviously thought that she accidentally hit the nail on the head. Then she said patronizingly.¡®

    ¡°There is no shame in it. Not everyone is as smart and skilled to become a jedi.¡±

    ¡®Oh no, you don¡¯t! I won¡¯t get baited that easily, and what the hell!? If I would be a normal child, that would probably make me cry... Oh, from her strained expression she realized it too.¡¯

    ¡°Cute little girls have no place on battlefields, anyway.¡± ¡ª ¡®She said hastily, and I blinked at her slowly.¡¯

    ¡®I see she was probably asked to ruffle my feathers a bit, but it isn¡¯t too suited for her personality type. I watched as she made another grimace. This is getting more and more awkward with every second¡­ Time to take over the lead in this conversation. Maybe I will help her a bit on the way. She healed me, after all. My sense of vertigo was gone before I could notice.¡¯

    ¡°Why do you think that there are only two possible choices?¡±

    ¡®She blinked for a second. Then she asked.¡®

    ¡°In what?¡±

    ¡°In the force, of course.¡± ¡ª ¡®I answered wisely.¡¯

    ¡®Now she was honestly confused, so I tried to explain it a little. That much couldn¡¯t cause any serious trouble for me. I will have to tell something to the other masters from my origin sooner or later.¡¯

    ¡®So this moment is just as good as any. She will obviously report it to them, or maybe they are watching this conversation already. I looked into the camera just for a second, then turned back to the healer lady.¡®

    ¡°I meant to say, why do you think that there is only a Jedi Order and a Sith Order. Why couldn¡¯t there be hundreds of other force orders teaching their own philosophies and interpretations of the force? We are living in a vast galaxy, after all. I could easily name a handful of such orders, without even trying, you know.¡±

    ¡®She thought about it, then asked.¡¯

    ¡°Ah, you are right. There are smaller and more secretive ones. But they are usually similarly aligned to eighter the light or the dark side, effectively making their difference merely a cultural one. One is good the other bad so to say.¡±

    ¡®I frowned at her conclusion. Couldn¡¯t help but tell her my thoughts.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°That¡­ is an incredibly oversimplified worldview. I find it hard to believe that you yourself abide by it¡­¡±

    ¡°A person as familiar with life and death as you are, wouldn¡¯t call death a bad thing, merely a necessity¡­ Creation and erosion, birth and death, light and dark are constant things¡­ neither one remains for long in the absence of the other¡­ As we exist in a fundamentally cyclical world.¡±

    ¡®There was a solemn silence filling out the small room as we stared into the eyes of one another. As the moment passed, the woman shook out of her stupor¡­ forcing that fake smile back onto her face.¡¯

    ¡°So¡­ so you are from one of those sects, then? I must say, you kids learn interesting things these days¡­¡°

    ¡®I let my momentarily manifested presence slip through my fingers. Turning back, at least in the eyes of Master Vokara, to the harmless little scoundrel, I was for the larger part of our conversation. As I answered her question cheerfully.

    ¡°Maybe.¡±

    ¡°So what is your rank in your sect?¡±

    ¡®She already healed most of my exhaustion. She is a truly superior healer, I noted in my mind. Hmmm... what should I tell her? I guess it¡¯s time to indulge in my childish self after escaping from so many carefully laid traps in this brief conversation. Jedi rarely asked questions without reason. I will have to be on guard all day from now on. So for my answer, hehe...¡¯

    ¡®I suddenly raised up my arms with the unlimited energy of a child and told her, almost screaming. ¡®

    ¡°I am a master!¡±

    ¡®That sudden outburst made her very uncomfortable for a second. Then she sighed and patted wow, she just patted my head and also my leks. That felt surprisingly good. Oh no, is this the attention seeking nature of a child? Nonono, let it go! No! Damn, calm down... huff, that was close. She pulled her hand away and smiled at me.¡¯

    ¡°Is this a children only sect? She asked playfully while giving me her last rounds of checkups.¡°

    ¡®I thought about it. Well, practically I am the only living member. There are other masters, but from what I knew of them, they could be children, too. The thought of Darth Revan¡¯s sect becoming an only children sect gave me unbelievable satisfaction. I felt as my innocent smile started to turn into an evil one, but I stopped it forcefully by shouting energetically!¡¯

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    ¡®Revan, you are officially out of your own sect now. It¡¯s an only children''s sect, after all. Hehe. You better deal with it.¡¯

    ¡®Also¡­ Don¡¯t fuck with me boy, I will catch your droid too.¡¯

    ¡®While I was imagining Revan¡¯s form rolling on the ground before me from pure embarrassment, as every following generation of masters in our order will have my memories too, effectively destroying his mysterious, but terrifying image forever, I felt peace.¡¯

    ¡®The healer lady soon excused herself and left, advising me to sleep and since there was literally nothing else to do, I slept. Like¡­ DUH!¡¯

 7. Chapter

    ¡°Yawn~¡±

    ¡®After I slept enough, I woke up the next morning, about 7 AM.¡¯

    ¡®There was a digital clock built into one wall across from my bed. This way I could watch the clock even from my sleeping position. I was still in bed, contemplating the thought of leaving it, but I realized that there was nothing else to do, so I decided to turn around and sleep for a few more hours.¡¯

    ¡®That was the moment when the door suddenly opened, and the tall form of a temple guard came in. I looked at the new guest. Now there was at least a reason to sit up and say hi. So I did just that.¡®

    ¡°Hi, can I help you with something?¡±

    ¡®Since I was sitting now, I could see that the guard was actually a she. I also saw that she had a pile of clothes held in her hands. Looking at me patiently.¡¯

    ¡°Good morning. I brought you a pair of new clothes. Your current ones will be sent to the cleaner.¡±

    ¡®Now that she mentions it, my clothes were pretty sweaty and uncomfortable since I did those demanding force techniques yesterday. I was too tired to care about it, but now, they feel kind of gross.¡®

    ¡°Thank you very much. I appreciate it.¡±

    ¡®She nodded.¡¯

    ¡®I stood up, took the two pairs of clothes from her, then walked to the bathroom. First, I washed up a bit and only then changed my clothes.¡¯

    ¡®They gave me two sets of clothes with the same simplistic design, but they were in different colors. One was a black-colored light tunic, with brown pants, while the other one was beige colored one with grey pants.¡¯

    ¡®I got two pairs of shoes, too. One was more comfortable and easier to wear, most likely for training purposes, while the other was a simple pair of boots, much like my own.¡¯

    ¡®Acting on a whim, I took the light-colored clothes. I was in a black robe until now. Time for some change, I thought. A few minutes later, I dressed up and came back to my room. The guard was still here, waiting for me.¡®

    ¡°What should I do with the laundry? I am not exactly allowed to bring them to the cleaner myself...¡± ¡ª ¡®I spoke my mind, showing my dissatisfaction sarcastically.¡¯

    ¡®She looked at me, checking my new attire for a few seconds, then said.¡¯

    ¡°There is no reason to bring them there. A droid will come for it soon, you are invited to the council room for another meeting. Follow me, please.¡±

    ¡®Now that was straight to the point.¡¯

    ¡®I nodded and hastily followed her out to the corridor. She gave me a short sidelong glace when I reached her side and started walking beside her.¡¯

    ¡®Now, what was her problem? There was a momentary frustration in her eyes, then she gave up on the voiceless communication and said.¡¯

    ¡°You should always walk one step behind your superior.¡±

    ¡®Ah, the etiquette. I almost forget about it, but she already contradicted herself. She is not my superior, but my captor at the moment.¡¯

    ¡°I am not a jedi, therefore you are not my superior.¡±

    ¡®She reacted to my snide answer as if she expected it.¡¯

    ¡°I am older than you, and you are a guest here. Therefore, it would be prudent of you to abide by our rules instead of trying to rewrite them.¡±

    ¡®Oh, I am not so sure about that, but I can¡¯t really blame her for thinking this way. The other half of her argument I could hardly question. I nodded and lagged behind just a little.¡¯

    ¡®She seemed pleased with her insignificant victory. She nodded with a light smile, clearly satisfied.¡¯

    ¡®Well¡­ as long as she is happy.¡¯

    ¡®We walked for a while through the long corridors. Corridors that felt surprisingly empty. We only met with one other temple guard on the long way towards the jedi council.¡¯

    ¡®Thinking about it, master hairless shouted something about a war, and separatist? Maybe that is the reason why there is only about a hundred force signal around the whole temple.¡¯

    ¡®Most of those are pretty weak, likely children, the next generation of the order.¡¯

    ¡®When I expanded my senses, I could also feel the presence of the masters. Their force presences were like beacons of light compared to the other, less powerful auras.¡¯

    ¡®The temple guard¡¯s aura was not bad either, but theirs were leagues under the power of the masters. I could easily differentiate them this way. I also realized that master hairless presence was gone.¡¯

    ¡®He must have got an urgent meeting outside of the temple, but there was another force presence there, not as strong as a master or even a temple guard, but it wasn¡¯t weak either.¡¯

    ¡®Most likely a weaker knight, or a padawan. The temple guards were, after all, full-fledged jedi knights and sometimes even masters joined in their ranks to do this sacred duty, as they called it.¡¯

    ¡®I would call it utter boredom, but no one asked my opinion in this matter.¡¯

    ¡®We finally reached the familiar door. My guide knocked on the large double door then waited.¡¯

    ¡®A few heartbeats later, I sensed a calm invitation through the force. This must be the sign to enter. Just as I thought, the guard pushed open the door, then urged me to enter with a slight wave of her palm.¡¯

    ¡®I walked in then she closed the door behind me from the outside, ah she wasn¡¯t invited to the party. What a shame.¡¯

    ¡®In the room, I saw the grandmaster and master Kenobi sitting in their usual seats, but there was someone else too, standing in the middle of the room.¡¯

    ¡®Oh a togruta girl, about my age, this will be interesting.¡¯

    ¡®I reached the center of the room and stood beside the obviously antsy togruta. Someone doesn¡¯t like to stand before the council, I guess. I nodded to her, then turned to the masters and greeted them with ease.¡¯

    ¡°What do I owe the pleasure of this splendid invitation, dear masters? Not that I have anything better to do in my solitary cell, mind you.¡±

    ¡®The togruta girl beside me completely froze after hearing what I said.¡¯

    ¡®Her mouth was hanging loosely in the air. Wow, those are pretty sharp teeth. I shouldn¡¯t get distracted too much. It¡¯s rude after all, some of my masters had a very good upbringing, therefore I also am in possession of those etiquette lessons.¡¯

    ¡®I looked back to the masters. Kenobi seemed to have a hard time hiding his smirk, while Yoda nonchalantly gave me a nod of acknowledgment. Now he was the one who began the conversation.¡®

    ¡°I am happy to see that you have rested enough after your eventful arrival at our temple.¡±

    ¡®He looked at me with a mischievous glint appearing in his eyes. I looked to the floor with a bit of embarrassment. I am sure that he already heard what I told to the healer lady. No problem though, if I have to make some sacrifices to achieve my revenge on Revan, so be it. I soon collected myself and looked back to the masters, just as Kenobi continued the conversation.¡®

    ¡°Indeed, but first of all, let us introduce you to your new guide. This is padawan Tano. She will help you find your way around the temple. Oh, where are my manners, padawan Tano, here is our new exchange student Nizzal Grey from another more secretive force user sect. The sect¡¯s name was not shared with us yet, but we knew just enough to know that it is an only chil-¡±

    ¡®While listening to their sentences, my expression began to grow darker and darker. I slowly realized what they were getting at. While I didn¡¯t care about what the elders thought for some reason¡­ The prospect of getting embarrassed in front of Tano felt unbearable. Was this what people called peer pressure?¡¯

    ¡®She is the first child similar to my age that I met in seven years¡­ I just didn¡¯t want to ruin the first impression with a potential friend.¡¯

    ¡®I gritted my teeth and hissed out just before Kenobi finished that sentence¡­¡¯

    ¡°The Order of the Grey.¡° ¡ª ¡®Not that they would know anything of it by simply knowing its name. Even if I told them half of what I know, that wouldn¡¯t change anything meaningful. The Order is not a place that anybody can invade without being invited first.¡¯

    ¡°Pardon me?¡± ¡ª ¡®Kenobi said teasingly.¡¯

    ¡®I gritted my teeth. I didn¡¯t think that this will backfire, especially not this soon, damn it.¡¯

    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    ¡°Our sect¡¯s name is The Order of the Grey, or more commonly, the Grey Order.¡±

    ¡°Interesting. Remind me, what did you say? How many of you are out there currently?¡°

    ¡°I did not say it.¡± ¡ª ¡®I spoke sarcastically.¡¯

    ¡®He smiled at me innocently, completely ignoring my glare. Then he said, with humor.¡¯

    ¡°Very secretive, indeed.¡± ¡ª ¡®He teased me once again.¡¯

    ¡®Last time master hairless took the limelight, but now I have to realize that this guy is just as much of an annoyance as him.¡¯

    ¡®Yoda looked at me with a weak smile, then he turned to the togruta girl, who in the meantime managed to compose herself somewhat.¡®

    ¡°It will be your mission to guide her and also to guard her if the need arises while she resides in our temple. Treat her as your equal, as a padawan learner of another force sect. I must remind you that this is a great opportunity to create friendly connections with a mysterious yet seemingly peaceful force sect.¡±

    ¡®What does he mean by, seemingly? Is he also trying to get on my nerves?¡¯

    ¡®The girl answered energetically.¡¯

    ¡°Yes, master Yoda! I understand!¡±

    ¡®I hope that this girl isn¡¯t always this excited, or my peaceful life will also become a memory in my archive. I gave a sidelong glance to the togruta girl. She didn¡¯t even notice it, although, master Kenobi seems to understand the reason for my irritated expression. He only smiled at me sympathetically. Oh, no...¡¯

    ¡®Master Yoda turned back to me with a grandfatherly smile.¡¯

    ¡°I honestly hope that this cooperation will become fruitful. It is a rare chance to create friendly connections between members of different philosophical schools of the force. As a sign of trust, we allow you entry to our jedi archives on the level of a padawan learner. You can find your card in the library by asking our lead librarian, Jocasta Nu. She has already been notified of this.¡±

    ¡®He looked at me with a thoughtful expression, then he added one last sentence.¡®

    ¡°You have reminded our council of some of our basic principles that we shouldn¡¯t have neglected. In exchange, I ask you to show us the same respect as we do. And while we cannot let you leave the temple perimeters, we allow you to roam it freely. Let us not regret the trust we gave you.¡±

    ¡®So this was the roundabout way to decide what kind of person I am. I guess I couldn¡¯t complain... So I gave a decisive nod to them.¡¯

    ¡®Kenobi stood up and walked over to me, then said.¡¯

    ¡°Also, there is something I have to give back to its rightful owner.¡±

    ¡®Now, that truly surprised me. There was a shocked expression on my face as he dropped my lightsaber into my open palms. I even looked towards the grandmaster. He gave me a serious nod, then master Kenobi continued.¡¯

    ¡°It is a beautiful blade, resolute and honest. It¡¯s strongly bonded with its wilder, through a special force ritual that our weapon master could not identify.¡±

    ¡°You may wish to speak with him in the future. In the hands of a true weapon master, a blade can tell much of its user¡¯s nature.¡±

    ¡°There are dark shadows partially clouding your blade, yet its heart remains clear of its taint. Sharing some of our teachings in a friendly manner could be beneficial for each of our orders.¡±

    ¡°For starter, can you tell us what is the proper form of address to one of the higher members in your order?¡±

    ¡®Okay, they are quite good at making me feel indebted to them... Dangerously good, to be honest... Well, what is the chance that they run into one of our members in the first place? I may as well gave them an honest answer.¡®

    ¡°There are two different invocations. Every person chooses their own style from these two. It serves as a warning for the others, showing which aspect of the force they stand closer. The first is the Grey Jedi, while the second is the Grey Lord.¡±

    ¡°Interesting... which one is yours and your master¡¯s title?¡±

    ¡°Grey Lord.¡±

    ¡®There were a few seconds of silence after that. Then, master Yoda closed our meeting hastily.¡¯

    ¡®I placed my lightsaber on the side of my robes to be visible to everyone. It was a strange feeling.¡¯

    ¡®I was so used to hiding it that I actually felt uncomfortable not doing so.¡¯

    ¡®After we left the council room, the little togruta practically bounced on me, grabbing my arm with one hand and she started to pull me towards somewhere constantly talking about herself and places she liked and I need to immediately see too. She also asked me just as many questions, leaving me no chance to properly answer any of them.¡¯

    ¡°I am Ahsoka Tano, but you already know that oh, I am padawan to Master Skywalker. He is a really powerful jedi! Who is your master? Is it a secret? Is he powerful? I bet my master is stronger than yours, he is very cool too! Oh, I am fourteen years old. How old are you?¡±

    ¡°Thirteen...¡±

    ¡°You are younger than me than, just as I thought! I will show you one of my favorite places. The room of thousand fountains is really beautiful! What is your order like? Why are you so secretive? Are you afraid of something to hide all the time? I never saw a grey twi¡¯lek in the Jedi Order. Is it your natural skin color?¡±

    ¡°Yes...¡±

    ¡°So you are afraid of something? What are you afraid of?¡±

    ¡°I meant the skin col-¡°

    ¡°Oh yes, what color is your lightsaber? Master Obi-Wan seemed to be interested in it?¡±

    ¡°Silver...¡±

    ¡°Wow, I never saw a silver blade. Will you show it to me, please? Can you show it?¡±

    ¡°Maybe later...¡±

    ¡°Eh, come on! I will duel you if you want, oh that¡¯s it. We should duel, it will be fun! I want to fight with someone who is not trained by our order.¡±

    ¡°You wanted to show me the fountains...¡± ¡ª ¡®I attempted to distract her, unwilling to end up in a duel¡­ that would not show good on my already troublesome record¡­¡¯

    ¡°Ah, we can look at it later. Come now, hurry. In the morning, the dueling fields are mostly empty. We can fight as much as we want!¡±

    ¡°But, I don¡¯t-¡±

    ¡°Yes, I know that you don¡¯t know where it is. I will lead the way! Come now!¡±

    ¡°Ugh, I didn¡¯t even eat breakfast, can¡¯t we fi-¡± ¡ª ¡®I was really getting hungry to be fair¡­¡¯

    ¡°I also didn¡¯t eat yet. I used to eat after a little workout. It feels much better to eat after that.¡±

    ¡°Master Vokara says that it¡¯s a togruta thing to eat after a workout. I mean, it stimulates the predator nature of my kind. Like, if you go on a hunt and only then got to eat!¡±

    ¡°Twi¡¯leks are not like that, I heard. They are more peaceful usually. Like Master Vokara, she always acts strictly at first, but she is really soft on the inside, especially with children.¡±

    ¡°Are you like that too? I don¡¯t have any twi¡¯lek friends, I read that twi¡¯leks can use their leks as arms. Are you really able to lift up things with it? My lekku can¡¯t do that!¡±

    ¡®Force save me!¡¯

    ¡®We reached the training halls, and I felt already drained from the constant storm of questions.¡¯

    ¡®I started to look forward to the duel, actually.¡¯

    ¡®I hoped that she will stop speaking while we fight. Ahsoka lead me to one of the many training fields. She told me that I have to make my weapon run on the lowest energy level that only gave a slight shock.¡¯

    ¡®It was understandable, there were never too many force sensitives. It would be idiotic to kill each other in a friendly duel. Oh, wasn¡¯t that what the sith usually did, hmm I guess that tells something about Revan¡¯s and his friends general IQ level.¡¯

    ¡®Thankfully, he can¡¯t read my thoughts here!¡¯

    ¡®We showed each other that we indeed changed our blades to the agreed energy level. Then we walked to opposite ends of the training field. We took up our fighting position.¡¯

    ¡®I waited for her to see what form she choose, oho! Is she really a Jar¡¯Kai user, with two single blades, or maybe she just tries to show off? Her stance is not that bad, so it¡¯s probably not the case. One sword is in front while the other is hidden behind her, mostly out of sight, clever.¡¯

    ¡®This will be much more interesting than I thought, looking at her more carefully, she is in a much better physical state than I am, an obvious sign of a guardian type of force user, she obviously relies more on her sword skills than the use of the force.¡¯

    ¡®Let¡¯s make a more careful approach at first. I choose form six Niman. It is the most basic and most balanced form of the general lightsaber forms.¡¯

    ¡®With an experienced user, the form can create a strong defense with clever calculated attacks boosted with the extensive use of the force. This was why I never bothered to use any type of Jar¡¯Kai, since this way one of my arms is free to control and channel different force attacks freely.¡¯

    ¡®I usually only held my blade with one arm. I am a force user. Why would I choose to not use it in a battle? As I slightly opened myself to the flow of the force, I sensed another outstandingly powerful presence in the room.¡¯

    ¡®It was even stronger than the grandmaster¡¯s aura. What a damn monster! I wanted to look around, and pin down the source of it, but Ahsoka sensing my momentary distraction choose to charge at me at that exact moment. Damn it, she is fast!¡¯

    ¡®I instantly jumped backward, empowering my legs with the force and also giving Ahsoka a light force push to slow down her charge. It was enough to recreate my defensive form. She seemed very annoyed by this, almost pouting. She wanted to finish it quickly. Sorry, but I have some pride of my own, you know?¡¯

    ¡®She was circling around me, trying to find an opening, but I always followed and countered the small changes in her stance.¡¯

    ¡®She was getting frustrated by this. She will charge at me soon, most likely overextending, then I will be able to hit her.¡¯

    ¡®Here she comes. Oh, she charged at me, then jumped up, empowered by the force. Oh, she wants to attack from the air since she didn¡¯t find any other opening?¡¯

    ¡®Not a good idea. In the air, your mobility, even with the help of the force, is very constricted. I lowered my blade then raised my other hand, giving her a moderate blast of raw but concentrated force energy.¡¯

    ¡®She got hit by it for a fraction of a second. She stopped in mid-air as a result of the contradicting forces. She gave me a shocked expression, then she suddenly accelerated backward.¡¯

    ¡®She even dropped her blades on the way, then she fell on the ground about ten meters away like a sack of potato rolling a few more times on the ground for dramatic effect.¡¯

    ¡®I stood there looking at her unmoving form spread out on the ground.¡®

    ¡°I guess I got too excited and overdid it a bit.¡±

    ¡®Probably I shouldn¡¯t take my master¡¯s capabilities as the base of what is moderate and what is strong.¡¯

    ¡®Yes, that must be the problem. There is a need for re-evaluation on the topic of normality. Thinking about normality, there is a pretty abnormally powerful killing intent directed towards me from one of the furthest corners of the training room.¡¯

    ¡®Oh, it was getting closer, too. There was a tall guy running towards the training ground. He had somewhat long brown hair, and was sending a death glare towards me while running to the most likely knocked-out girl sprawled out on the floor.¡¯

    ¡®If a glare could kill, I would be evaporated by now, about ten times, give or take. Is this the hatred what Revan feels when he talks with me? Hmmm, maybe I will be a bit nicer to him next time if I see him. I will only mention his giant nose three times in one conversation, yes that should do the trick.¡¯

    ¡°Ahsoka! Ahsoka are you okay?¡±

    ¡®I walked a bit closer, then said.¡®

    ¡°She is knocked out. She cannot hear you.¡°

    ¡®Oh, his face was quite nice after hearing that. I could feel the burning hate leaking out of him. Is he really a jedi? Maybe I met someone from my order. That would be unexpected, but not impossible. So I asked.¡¯

    ¡°Hey!¡±

    ¡®He didn¡¯t even look at me.¡¯

    ¡°Is there any chance that you are a Grey Lord? ¡°

    ¡®Now that made him look at me instantly, oh did I hit the nail on the head? Then I saw his face. For a second, there was sheer disbelief, then his face turned red as a ripe paradise from repressed anger and embarrassment. What is his problem now?¡¯

    ¡®He asked with a very, and I mean very ominous, voice.¡¯

    ¡°Did you just call me a Gay Lord?¡±

    ¡®There was a heavy and stifling silence filling the empty space between the two of us. A silence that was starting to suffocate me.¡¯

    ¡°¡­¡± ¡ª ¡®Oh, fuck me.¡¯

 8. Chapter

    ¡®This situation was awkward on many levels. Let¡¯s just think over my options here calmly.¡¯

    ¡®It seems that I have managed to dig my grave again somehow. This guy seems like a ridiculously powerful jedi knight even if he is relatively young.¡¯

    ¡®Adding the careful way he holds Tano¡¯s body while sending doom promising glares towards me, I would have to say that he must be her master.¡¯

    ¡®He is indeed surprisingly young for clearly being a master. Aren¡¯t jedi masters usually appointed in their mid-twenties at least? I would think that he is not even twenty yet...¡¯

    ¡®Well, it could be explained by his outstanding level of midi-chlorian count. This vibrating raw power radiating around him is the telltale sign of extreme force powers. This guy is going to be a pain to face in the future. In fact, I bet he already is.¡¯

    ¡®Looking at the way he holds himself, he doesn¡¯t lack actual battle experience.¡¯

    ¡®His also extreme anger was probably another factor in the equation.¡¯

    ¡®I considered trying explaining to him that he totally misheard what I said. But when I looked him in the eyes to start my explanation, I had to realize that he already made up his mind about what I said, and anything else I might say would sound like an excuse to him.¡¯

    ¡®Come now Ahsoka, please wake up. I have a feeling that I will need your guarding capabilities, very soon...¡¯

    ¡®Now, while he is still preoccupied with checking over her injuries, is the best chance to run away. I turned around slowly, as if that was the most natural thing in the world to do.¡¯

    ¡®I was getting ready to break into an all-out run when I heard an even more threatening voice from behind me. It was daring me to run away.¡¯

    ¡®I looked behind me for just a second, yep he was even angrier than before, if that is even possible. I began to run, using my best speed enhancements and agility enhancements through the force.¡¯

    ¡®Then I also begin to hide my presence in the force, which should do the trick, at least until Ahsoka wakes up and calms him down.¡¯

    ¡®After about a minute of running around the corridors in breakneck speed, I stopped. He didn¡¯t follow me. He most likely has gone to the infirmary with Tano. Good enough, I am not in the mood to deter his rage-induced advances at the moment.¡¯

    ¡°Damn, I am hungry.¡± ¡ª ¡®Where is the kitchen here? I am obviously cursed to lose my guide so soon. Since it is breakfast time, I will go where I sense the most force signals gather.¡¯

    ¡®I carefully sensed my surrounding. Then I began to walk roughly toward the largest gathering of force signals. I also checked that mister crazy guy is not heading in that direction for safety standards.¡®

    ¡°Finding happiness in the small things is the key of lasting happiness, they say.¡±

    ¡®I started my long walk towards the supposed public cantina.¡¯

    ¡®While I walked, I had time to look around in a relaxed manner. The temple was truly empty. Or at least it felt like that. This war most likely cost many jedi lives already.¡¯

    ¡®I focused on this thought to clarify my hypothesis. I began to channel a very minuscule quantity of dark side energies, forcefully siphoning towards me some of the negative thoughts and feelings lingering around the empty corridors.¡¯

    ¡®Pictures of crying padawans, depressed friends, and emotionally broken or hurt masters began to appear in my mind. Some lost their masters, some their padawans or their friends, in many cases both, and all of this happened in the last few months.¡¯

    ¡®This thick yet almost invisible taint was present in every corridor I walked through. These negative energies have already begun to weaken the senses of the light siders.¡¯

    ¡®I only realized it because my light side powers became somewhat dull in the few days I arrived here. On the other hand, my dark side energies are having a small party in the backyard.¡¯

    ¡®It was strange since this was supposed to be a Jedi Temple, not a sith one, but I guess I have found the source of it. Grief, no man or woman can truly suppress his or her emotions. The jedi were only lying to themselves if they thought otherwise. Hmm, anyway, I can snack on these dark side energies while I find the cantina. It¡¯s not like anyone would miss it.¡®

    ¡®Thinking about it, this is quite a splendid exercise for my current body. Constantly expending force energy while replacing it with siphoned ones is very economical. I frowned for a moment.¡®

    ¡°Except maybe the fact that I feel like a damn vacuum cleaner. I hope the food is good here. Since I am doing a favour to these guys anyway.¡°

    ¡®A few minutes later, I was still wandering the corridors. This place was like a giant labyrinth, it was made to even confuse force sensitives.¡¯

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    ¡®Like when you rely on your senses and try to follow them in a straight line, it always ends in a dead-end or turns in the exact opposite direction.¡¯

    ¡®I saw this kind of building style in old sith ruins too. It was created this way to buy time for an evacuation or to organize a defense while the potentially force-sensitive intruders tried to reach their goal, most likely using the force to guide them.¡¯

    ¡®I sighed. Every temple had its own unique defense layout, therefore it was no help, that I have many examples in the archive.¡¯

    ¡®I was about to turn off my force-sensing ability that I used to find the location of the cantina. When I noticed that in a few rooms down this corridor, there was another weak force presence in a room. It is time to ask for help, I decided. I walked up to the door, then knocked on it politely.¡¯

    ¡®I waited for a while, then the door opened. A small human girl was standing before me. She had beautiful black hair while being a few years younger than me.¡¯

    ¡®I looked at her silky hair admiringly, noticing the padawan braid proudly displayed on the side of her head.¡¯

    ¡®Oh, what a surprise, she was already a padawan. Sadly, her eyes looked haunted and sad. There was as immeasurable loss surrounding her for presence.¡¯

    ¡®She was likely crying just a few seconds ago. I thought back to those dark memories I had consumed recently. She likely lost her master in a skirmish. What a mess. I bent over a bit and looked her in the eyes.¡¯

    ¡°Hi sweetheart, could you help this big sister a little?¡±

    ¡®She looked at me with a bit of confusion, but she was obviously interested. I made a sad and lost expression while describing my predicament to her.¡¯

    ¡°It seems that I have lost my way. I am hungry and can¡¯t find the cantina.¡±

    ¡®She looked at me funny. Clearly caught in my act.¡¯

    ¡°Oh, look at silly me! My name is Nizzal.¡± ¡ª ¡®I smiled at her.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°You can call me Nizzy if you ask me. In exchange for your help, you can become my first friend here.¡±

    ¡®She smiled at last and giggled a little. Then she nodded.¡¯

    ¡°Thank the force! I am really hungry, you see. I didn¡¯t eat anything since I arrived to this planet and that was almost a whole day ago.¡±

    ¡°This big sis is still in her growth period. If I got stuck at this height, I will sue the jedi council for child abuse.¡± ¡ª ¡®I boasted. Making the young girl giggle again.¡¯

    ¡®On a whim, I picked up the very surprised little girl, placed her on my shoulders with considerable effort. She wasn¡¯t that small compared to me¡­ but I managed with some minor force enchantments.¡¯

    ¡°Lead the way, captain!¡±

    ¡®She snorted. Her warm, happy laughter seemed to quickly fill the empty corridors with life.¡¯

    ¡°By the way, captain, how may I address her ladyship?¡°

    ¡®She laughed again, then answered.¡¯

    ¡°You may call me Rika!¡±

    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡±

    ¡®Ten minutes later, we arrived in high spirits at the cantina. The moment we walked in, I could sense the people¡¯s genuine surprise. They were looking at me with a somewhat shocked expression, which soon turned into a sense of gratitude.¡¯

    ¡®Oh, I see. They were not surprised because of my arrival, but Rika¡¯s arrival. She must have been holed up in her room for quite some time for her presence to have such an effect on the knights, and some of the older padawans.¡¯

    ¡®I saw the healer lady that helped me out yesterday, sending me a very relieved and thankful smile, but also a slight frown. Oh, I should probably put down Rika before each youngling demands a piggyback ride from me. I put her down on the floor, giving her my thanks.¡¯

    ¡°May I join you at the table, my lady?¡±

    ¡®She was hesitating, then slowly nodded. Ah, there was a handful of disapproving glances sent towards me for my little act. I guess they didn¡¯t have windows in their children¡¯s room back then. Wait, they are jedi. That means that they are even proud of this fact.¡¯

    ¡°So, how do you eat here usually Rika?¡±

    ¡°You will have to go to that droid behind the counter and tell it the number of the menu you want to order. I and my master always used to eat number six.¡±

    ¡®She looked a bit sad after telling me that.¡¯

    ¡°Hmmm... how about this? I will choose something to eat for you and you will choose something for me? It¡¯s a game, if some of us didn¡¯t want to eat it we can exchange it with each other. Oh, as a twi¡¯lek I can eat mostly the same things as you, so chose something that you can eat at least.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    ¡®I looked at the menu. There were a few different dishes available, it seemed that on every day of the week there were ten different pickable options.¡¯

    ¡®Let¡¯s see what is the number six, ah, sandwiches with different toppings and sauces. I can understand why a child would want that. There are about five choices that are not for humans, so that is off-limit.¡¯

    ¡®There are two fish menus, interesting. Fried meat pieces of the giant baiting fish of Naboo and Mon Cala¡¯s special squid.¡¯

    ¡®No, not really what I was looking for. What are the other two? Oh, Klatooine paddy frog steeped in grog placed on potato bed.¡¯

    ¡®I looked at Rika, no she is definitely not a Hutt then skip. What is the last one? Krayt dragon steak softened and smeared in spiced bacta. Wait, what? That is actually cool. I will pick this one.¡®

    ¡®We got our already finished dishes from the droid and picked an empty table. It turned out that Rika decided to pick the sandwiches for me.¡¯

    ¡®I had no problem with it. I got three of them, each one had different meat slices and toppings on them, also different sauces. It was nothing special, but I liked it. She was looking at the Krayt dragon steak, but I could see after the first bite that she liked it.¡¯

    ¡®Thank the force, I wouldn¡¯t want to make her disappointed. We were immersed in our own world while happily eating the food.¡¯

    ¡®I was finishing the last half of my third sandwich when a heavy hand suddenly grabbed my right shoulder.¡¯

    ¡®I looked behind and almost choked on the sandwich piece I was munching on at the moment.¡®

    ¡°Come with me.¡± ¡ª ¡®Came the emotionless voice in an ordering manner.¡¯

    ¡®I completely forgot about him! I coughed a few times, trying to clear my wind-pipe from any sandwich residue. Earning more than a few curious glances from the other people in the meantime.¡¯

    ¡®I felt the robotic hand under the thick gloves slowly tighten its grasp around my shoulder.¡¯

    ¡°Move.¡± ¡ª ¡®Sounded his imperious command.¡¯

    ¡®I stood up, gave a weak smile to Rika, who was looking at us with wide eyes, then I was tugged out of the cantina by the self-proclaimed... Well, you know.¡¯

 9. Chapter

    ¡®We were marching through the corridors in a heavy silence. He was dragging me along by my arm, not giving me even the illusion of the possibility of escaping again.¡¯

    ¡®Thankfully he was not that angry anymore, I don¡¯t know why he was so irritated last time, but his injured padawan was not the sole reason for that pent-up anger that he was about to unleash on me if I didn¡¯t get away in time.¡¯

    ¡®Well, I don¡¯t really care about his personal problems, at least until the moment he starts to lash out at me.¡¯

    ¡®I don¡¯t really know why he even came after me now? It must be some kind of revenge to show his superiority as a master and to teach me a lesson. Where are we going? I wonder, is he bringing me to the infirmary to meet with Tano?¡¯

    ¡®It was a ten-minute long silent march when we finally arrived at our goal.¡¯

    ¡®Wait, he can¡¯t be that petty, right? Is he really... I looked at him for confirmation. He didn¡¯t react. Is this some kind of joke? Does he seriously want to duel with me?¡¯

    ¡®He let go of my arm finally, only to show me his lightsaber he turned it down to the minimal energy level. At least he didn¡¯t want to kill me anymore. That¡¯s some progress we''ve made, I guess. I showed him that my blade was on the lowest energy level, too. He nodded.¡¯

    ¡®I looked around the training field. There were a few other masters and padawans around us occupied by their own training session. Hmmm, at least there are other people around, in case if things got out of hand.¡¯

    ¡®I took up the same form as before, Niman.¡¯

    ¡®While he had chosen a more aggressive combat form, form five, Djem So, or in the urban dictionary; the way of the Krayt Dragon. Next time I will choose that dish for myself.¡¯

    ¡®Heh, but I couldn¡¯t imagine any other combat form that would suit him better. Aggressive, unexpected attacks built on a solid defense. Well, I guess I will be able to warm up properly after all.¡¯

    ¡®I gave a slight bow to him as my master and I always did towards each other. It was a show of respect that our order in duelling events since ancient times.¡¯

    ¡®It was derived from a sith greeting. The dark lords of Korriban used it when acknowledging another dark lord¡¯s presence with superior power, but never in case of someone that was weaker or an equal.¡¯

    ¡®The gesture was simple, two hands put together in front of your face while barely bowing your head in their direction.¡¯

    ¡®It was a sign to your opponent that you will give your all. He didn¡¯t bow towards me, not that I expected, since he didn¡¯t know what my greeting meant. Yet he at least nodded, indicating that he was ready.¡¯

    ¡®The duel started, yet we were still standing in our original place, observing each other. A heavy pressure fell upon the room, making some of the other masters and padawans stop their own activities. They began to watch our duel with obvious interest.¡¯

    ¡®I already activated my force shield that would weaken the effectiveness of any type of force attack. I also used my standard speed and power enhancements. They were almost instinctive to me.¡¯

    ¡®About thirty seconds passed from the start of our duel when I saw a change in his expression, he realized that I will not attack. Instead, he decided to do it himself.¡¯

    ¡®He rushed at me with a powerful uppercut aimed at my neck. This was a too straightforward attack for a Djem So user.¡¯

    ¡®Therefore, I decided to roll to the side instead of countering it with my blade. It was the right decision. At the last minute, his attack turned into a half pirouette that ended with a kick which would have hit me in the stomach if I countered his blade with mine.¡¯

    ¡®Now it was my turn to surprise him. At the very moment my roll ended, I trow my lightsaber at him in a spiraling way, controlling it finely through the force. He blocked my blade with his saber at the last second, yet my blade, instead of stopping, suddenly started to turn counterclockwise, aiming a cut towards his other shoulder.¡¯

    ¡®Sadly, it missed too. He ducked under the silver blade and I decided to pull it back to my hand. The moment I grabbed the hilt of my blade, a powerful force push hit me.¡¯

    ¡®It was sent by my opponent to unbalance me, or even topple me over.¡¯

    ¡®The force shield around me did his job quite well. His interruption attempt failed as I took up my fighting form again.¡¯

    ¡®Now he didn¡¯t hesitate anymore. He charged at me immediately. This time, he used a different approach. To stop me from rolling out of the way of his attack, he launched at me with a powerful force pull just before I wanted to make another roll.¡¯

    ¡®I realized that his raw force attack had already begun to weaken my shield. This guy is a damn monster, just as I thought...¡¯

    ¡®Without any other choice, I blocked his saber with one hand, thoroughly reinforced with the force, yet his two-handed attack against my much weaker arm felt like I was trying to stop a battering ram.¡¯

    ¡®He also tried to kick me simultaneously, but I was ready for it. With my free hand, I struck him with a powerful force push from close range.¡¯

    ¡®His kick never reached me as he stumbled backwards since he was standing on one leg at the moment, but instead of falling flat on his ass, he turned his fall into a natural-looking backward roll.¡¯

    ¡®As the pressure disappeared from my right arm that held the saber, I realized that it become strained from blocking that one attack.¡¯

    ¡®I immediately began to channel healing energies into my arm, but it will take at least a minute for the strain to loosen.¡¯

    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡®Therefore, I switched arms. Some of my masters were left-handed, some were right-handed, and some had more than two arms. It didn¡¯t matter that much to me which arm I used.¡¯

    ¡®The moment he finished his roll, he also noticed that I switched hands. He looked at me, somewhat annoyed. Then he charged again, not giving me much time to rest.¡¯

    ¡®He came at me the same way as before, force pull, to block my roll. The only problem was that I didn¡¯t try to roll away this time. Instead, I charged at him at the very second he used his force pull, which accelerated me even further and I was in front of him in a fraction of a second.¡¯

    ¡®I aimed my attack to his knees, as it was the most unprotected spot at the time, but he was able to jump up and at the same time he attempted to cut my left shoulder, but the moment I saw that my attack failed I turned it into a forward roll effectively rolling out of the way of his improvised attack.¡¯

    ¡®Damn, what a mess. I hoped to catch him off guard with that attack, but this tactic would not work another time. I reinforced my force shield, then watched my opponent land on the ground a few meters away from me.¡®

    ¡®He did not attack me immediately this time.¡¯

    ¡®He was lazily circling around me, inspecting me. Act all you want. I will not let my guard down.¡¯

    ¡°Hmmm, I can see why Soka had a hard time dueling you.¡± ¡ª ¡®He commented in an unamused tone.¡¯

    ¡°In the first place, I never wanted to duel her.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I know that, she already told me.¡± ¡ª ¡®He answered with a lopsided smile.¡¯

    ¡°Then what is your exact reason to provoke this fight?¡± ¡ª ¡®I asked.¡¯

    ¡°Why do I need a reason to duel with anyone?¡± ¡ª ¡®He asked back.¡¯

    ¡°Last time I checked, it was the prelude of all duels to agree upon a time and way of the duel. If one participant doesn¡¯t give his blessing, the duel should not commence.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t hear you oppose when we arrived here.¡± ¡ª ¡®He smirked.¡¯

    ¡°That was...¡± ¡ª ¡®I began, but was interrupted.¡¯

    ¡®He attacked me the moment I started to speak. Such a disrespectful lad, at least I know from whom Ahsoka learned that habit.¡¯

    ¡®This time I didn¡¯t need to roll out of his way. I could simply step back since he was somewhat overextending. Not that I could counterattack, since my arms were far shorter than his, and he knew it.¡¯

    ¡®The moment I lifted one of my legs from the ground, a sudden smirk appeared on his face.¡¯

    ¡®The next moment I felt a powerful and this time very concentrated force pull sweep out my legs, pulverizing my force shield on the way.¡¯

    ¡®The next thing I knew, I was lying on my back, more specifically on my right lekku. Staring up at the ceiling of the hall and the buzzing blue sight of a lightsaber tip held a few centimeters from my chin.¡¯

    ¡®Ugh, my lekku hurts. There was a strong pulsing pain in the middle section of my right lekku it was stuck under my shoulder blade, which made a few drops of tears instinctively appear on the edges of my eyes.¡¯

    ¡®The blue blade was pulled back as if it burned its holder. There was a friendly palm extended towards me instead. I grabbed it and was easily straightened up back to my feet with troubling ease. This infuriating guy was looking at me with a wide smirk on his face.¡¯

    ¡°You know, getting beaten by a master of my caliber is no reason to start crying for.¡±

    ¡®I shook my head, overwhelmed by his natural humility.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°Your humility befitting of a Jedi Master has been dully noted.¡± ¡ª ¡®I said with thick sarcasm.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°Aside from that, I fell on my lekku... and it hurts like a bitch¡­¡±

    ¡®There was a brief silence while he began to scratch his face, somewhat embarrassed.¡¯

    ¡°Well, sorry about that, Soka told me once that getting injured on your lekku can be infuriatingly frustrating, and painful. Would you like to go to the infirmary? At least we can visit Soka on the way. She was pestering the hell out of me to find you and clear up our unfortunate misunderstanding.¡±

    ¡°You mean that you are a ga- ¡°

    ¡®A cold palm clasped around my mouth, while his owner was looking around in a panic.¡¯

    ¡®Oh, I remembered, we were not alone. I looked around, and there was quite a crowd gathering around our little duel. Three masters and five padawans, even a temple guard, were watching us from afar.¡¯

    ¡®The masters gave me an acknowledging nod, while the padawans seemed to be more focused on sending me annoyed glares. The little buggers must envy the attention I got, or just didn¡¯t like the fact that their training was paused to gawk at our duel instead.¡¯

    ¡®Hey, it¡¯s not like I was the one to start this duel, but they probably wouldn¡¯t believe it. They were looking at this stupid guy with some sort of reverence appearing in their little shiny eyes. Was he really that big of a deal?¡¯

    ¡®For me, he looked more like a clown right now. I wonder what they would think if I told them about our first meeting. I may give it a shot later... as if sensing my intentions, said the guy turned his head, looking me straight in the eyes. Then whispered to me slowly while pointing his death glare at me.¡¯

    ¡°Not a word, don¡¯t forget...¡± ¡ª ¡®He leaned even closer and hissed into one of my ear protrusions.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°I know where you live.¡±

    ¡®I gulped soundly, a cold shiver running up my lower spine.¡¯

    ¡®Maybe I will just shut my mouth this time, should have remembered that he is not a force spirit, not yet anyway.¡¯

    ¡®With that, he let go of me. We began our walk to the infirmary.¡¯

    ¡®On the way, we only exchanged a few half-hearted sentences since I was too focused on caressing my right lekku. It was distractingly painful.¡¯

    ¡°So, if I understand, you were sent after me to apologize by your padawan, right?¡±

    ¡°No, I decided to go after you and apologize after the misunderstanding was cleared by Soka.¡± ¡ª ¡®He corrected my assumption stubbornly.¡¯

    ¡®That¡¯s basically the same¡­¡¯ ¡ª ¡°Humph, so then tell me why we ended up in a duel of grudges?¡±

    ¡®He smirked again. Then told me with a lecturing voice.¡¯

    ¡°No, you are wrong. It was a moving meditation practice.¡±

    ¡®Moving what? This guy is a pain in the ass¡­¡¯ ¡ª ¡°Obviously...¡± ¡ª ¡®I mumbled.¡¯

    ¡®Why did I feel the sudden need to roll my eyes?¡­ I wonder.¡®

    ¡°So, Soka told me that you are some kind of exchange student from a different force sect. I never heard anything about this until now, since I only got back from a mission before your duel with her happened. On a side note, you are surprisingly well versed in the use of force and even in the jedi fighting styles.¡±

    ¡®Surprisingly¡­ of course¡­¡¯ ¡ª ¡°That¡¯s funny, you know? I thought the exact same thing about you.¡±

    ¡®He gave me a piercing glance, then proceeded to ignore me.¡¯

    ¡°Your master must be proud of you.¡± ¡ª ¡®He said out of the blue.¡¯

    ¡®The compliment threw me off my pace for a second, then I nodded, accepting the unexpected praise.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°Yes, I suppose he would be.¡±

    ¡®He gave me a momentary glance after that, then we become silent again for a while. Until I asked another question.¡¯

    ¡°Is Tano, I mean Ahsoka, all right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, she only got a weak concussion and a few bruises. Nothing unusual.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear, then.¡±

    ¡®We seemed to run out of natural conversation materials, so we wordlessly agreed on not forcing ourselves with further attempts at communication, which would most likely become tiresome anyway.¡®

    ¡®At the time we reached the infirmary a purple and yellow bruise was beginning to form on the middle part of my right lekku, I already began to channel healing energies into it, but there was no other twi¡¯lek in my memory line before me, so I was not really sure how to heal a lekku effectively. Luckily for me, I knew of a twi¡¯lek healer lady I could shamelessly rely on.¡¯

 10. Chapter

    ¡®We were about to reach the infirmary when a high-pitched beeping alert resounded in the corridor. I looked around, searching for the source of this sound.¡¯

    ¡®In the meantime, the ga-... I mean, Tano¡¯s master released a loud sigh after he checked his wrist communicator. So that was the source of the beeping. He stood aside and looked at me, already annoyed by the incoming call.¡¯

    ¡°Uhm, what was your name again?¡±

    ¡®He asked, somewhat embarrassed for not even asking my name all this time.¡¯

    ¡°My name is Nizzal, Nizzal Grey, and what is yours?¡± ¡ª ¡®I guess I was the same in that regard¡­¡¯

    ¡®I sensed genuine surprise from him, I see. He was used to everyone knowing his name. I was right, that he is considered some kind of big shot here. No surprise with that crushing force presence.¡¯

    ¡°Anakin Skywalker.¡± ¡ª ¡®Stated, watching my reaction thoughtfully.¡¯

    ¡®Didn¡¯t ring a bell. He looked at my unmoved expression with even more surprise, well he covered it up reasonably fast as he continued.¡¯

    ¡°Sadly, I can¡¯t escort you the whole way. The council is waiting for my arrival to give my report. On the bright side, we have almost reached it already. You go down this corridor and turn left. The infirmary is in the third room on the right side. There is a medical cross plastered over the door. You couldn¡¯t miss it even if you tried. Tell Soka that master says hi.¡±

    ¡®With that, he bolted away, running towards the council room. I looked after him as he finally answered the call. A familiar voice could be heard dripping with sarcasm.¡¯

    ¡°Hi there, my former padawan. It feels good that you finally deemed to answer my call. Was I bothering you, perchance I would call back later, but the council would become a bit dejected, I am afraid.¡±

    ¡°Argh, get off my back, Obi-Wan. I got into a mess with the kids here.¡±

    ¡°Oh yes, I could imagine half the temple was speaking about your dueling escapades. I can only hope that you reached a new height of enlightenment from beating up thirteen-year-old girls in your heroic deeds. Because you will need it to explain this situation to the council.¡±

    ¡°It can¡¯t be that bad...¡± ¡ª ¡®The young man stated tentatively.¡¯

    ¡°Maybe you should tell that to Master Windu when you finally arrive. He is waiting through the holo call for about ten minutes now.¡±

    ¡°Great! He will give me another rant for disrespecting the elders...¡± ¡ª ¡®Anakin whined while heading down the corridor.¡¯

    ¡°Maybe you should follow his advice for once and there wouldn¡¯t be a need for repe-...¡±

    ¡®Their voices were cut off by the automatically closing air pressure door behind him.¡¯

    ¡®Heh, I knew that Anakin was reminding me of someone equally infuriating, should have known that his master was that Obi-Wan guy. They had too many similarities.¡¯

    ¡®Suddenly finding myself having nothing else to do, I decided to follow his advice and soon enough reached the place easily.¡¯

    ¡®I knocked on the door lightly, then walked in. I didn¡¯t want to trouble any patient that may want to sleep here. It turned out that I was worried for nothing. It was a somewhat small room, and there were only six beds here.¡¯

    ¡®In one of those beds, a familiar togruta girl was resting.¡¯

    ¡®She seemed to be extremely bored. Our eyes met, and she immediately became livelier from seeing me. That made me feel kind of uncomfortable. Why was she so happy? We only met, and I already caused some trouble. Even if I didn¡¯t want to.¡¯

    ¡®I felt strange, that someone that I hardly knew was this happy from seeing me, or maybe I was just overthinking things. Children were supposed to become attached to people easily. One thing that was definitely not true for me, in my memories I saw so many people, so many dead, friends, and family all gone, again and again, and again.¡¯

    ¡®Of course, I knew that I needed some social interaction to stay mentally healthy, but the amount of the needed interaction was very small in my case.¡¯

    ¡®I could stay alone, not talking or seeing anyone for months, and I wouldn¡¯t feel the need for conversation. I would simply live for my hobbies: reading, painting, playing games, and so on.¡¯

    ¡®Well, being closed in an almost empty room with nothing to spend time with is still a big no, but if I can do whatever I want, I can easily occupy myself for an unholy amount of time.¡¯

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    ¡®On the side, I have to say that I don¡¯t hate speaking with people. It is a good activity. I simply never really had the chance to speak or meet with many fresh faces, or create new bonds.¡¯

    ¡®If you are someone with thousands of years of memories, you would also become accustomed to being alone. Being alone is not a bad thing, but you should not mistake it as being lonely. That is entirely different. Being alone is a choice you can make for yourself, while being lonely is something that others decide for us, most likely against our will.¡¯

    ¡®I choose to be alone because it would be very hard, if not impossible, to hide what I really am from someone who gets that close to me. I don¡¯t want to figure out what would they do with me if they realized that I am practically a walking and talking holocron.¡¯

    ¡®One that has enough sith and jedi knowledge amassed to change the tide of the current war. Such knowledge in the hands of shortsighted beings that at best can only think in the length of a few years and not in lifespans would lead to a catastrophe.¡¯

    ¡®I also plan to be around for the next five hundred years, so if I don¡¯t plan to become the subject of a force experiment on immortality or as a living holocron, while they try to forcefully extract memories from me...¡¯

    ¡®I shivered from the thought alone.¡¯

    ¡®Then I probably shouldn¡¯t get too close to anyone right now, especially not a jedi.¡¯

    ¡®I already began to slow my natural aging through the force, therefore I will be in this child''s body for the next fifty or sixty years if everything goes well.¡¯

    ¡®Why wouldn¡¯t I wait until I became older, you ask?¡¯

    ¡®If I wait, for example, until I become eighteen or twenty, then I would lose five or seven years of my life. Not that big of a deal, right?¡¯

    ¡®Wrong!¡¯

    ¡®That seven years of lifetime elongated by the force would become seventy years, and that is kind of a big deal for me.¡¯

    ¡®There is a stretch to the level of the length which you can elongate your lifespan through the force, if you go beyond that which is by the way about ten times slower than normal aging, some of your bodily functions will slow down to an extent that would seriously endanger your life.¡¯

    ¡®For example, your brain functions would become so slow that you would only try to take a breath every minute, hour, or day.¡¯

    ¡®Your reaction to an incoming attack would also slow down so much that you wouldn¡¯t be able to react to it at all.¡¯

    ¡®The healing of your wounds would become so slow that it would count as nonexistent.¡¯

    ¡®Overall, you would become an existence that is mostly out of real-time. You would slow down so much that the world would seem to accelerate around you.¡¯

    ¡®It¡¯s no wonder, since the technique that we use for this purpose was originally a force hibernation technique.¡¯

    ¡®With an ingenious variation of the technique that you have to keep activated to a lower extent all the time, you can slow down your aging process to a certain degree.¡¯

    ¡®You may wonder why these side-effects only became troublesome after your bodily function is beyond ten times slower?¡¯

    ¡®The answer to this question is simple: the force. To be more punctual, my bodily reactions are already slowing down around ten times of their normal versions, which means without the use of the force, my body would heal ten times slower, and so on.¡¯

    ¡®With the help of the force, however, I can quicken my reaction times and desired bodily processes to the level of a normal force-sensitive, but that ability also has an extent, and its maximum is about twelve times your normal reaction time.¡¯

    ¡®Jedi use this technique all the time on an instinctive level to hasten their reactions to danger and such. What I do is simply to lift that instinctive process to a partially conscious level, choosing specific functions over others. Creating an incredible level of control over my body¡¯s internal processes.¡¯

    ¡®Anyway, if you use the hibernation technique to its full power, you must be wary about your surroundings and the consequences.¡¯

    ¡®You don¡¯t want to die in a pitiful and really cringe-worthy way, like being stuck on a tree that grows out of the ground under you then a few hundred years later the tree get struck by lightning, or the branch you end up on breaks under you and you fall to death.¡¯

    ¡®After all, entirely activating the technique, then deactivating it at the minimum takes about five hundred years of time.¡¯

    ¡®So don¡¯t try to use it as an excuse for skipping the laundry like master Cil-Cil Muz did, that halfwit gungan...¡¯

    ¡®He was lucky enough that his family realized what he did, and they placed his body in a corner of the house like a statue, where he was at least dusted a few times a year for the next eight generations.¡¯

    ¡®What an idiot. Sometimes I am surprised that our memory line is still going.¡¯

    ¡°Yoda is right in one thing. The force works in mysterious ways. Ouch!¡°

    ¡®Something flicked me on the forehead. I looked around, a bit confused. I was sitting on the side of Tano¡¯s bed while a nurse was treating my lekku, covering it with a bandage coated in bacta.¡¯

    ¡®Then I remembered Ahsoka began to rant about her master injuring me instead of properly apologizing and not even showing his face to visit her. Then I got distracted by my own thoughts while I was waiting for the nurse to come over since Vokara, the lead healer, was occupied in another room with much more critical cases.¡¯

    ¡°Ouch!¡±

    ¡®This time I was outright smacked on my forehead. I looked at Ahsoka, the perpetrator, with obvious disbelief in my eyes.¡¯

    ¡°What? You were ignoring everything I said in the last ten minutes, so don¡¯t give me that betrayed look now!¡± ¡ª ¡®She lectured me aloud.¡¯

    ¡®Ugh, was I distracted for that long?¡¯

    ¡°Sorry...¡± ¡ª ¡®I said, eventually.¡¯

    ¡®The nurse chuckled behind me when she witnessed or antics. Both of us turned towards her with confused glares.¡¯

    ¡®She happily shared with us her reason for the laughter.¡¯

    ¡°Don¡¯t blame your friend little Ahsoka, it is quite normal for twi¡¯leks to be easily distractible after lekku injury. You both have leks, but their physiology and therefore their functionality is not the same. Which is hardly a surprise being members of two different races originating from different planets.¡±

    ¡®Ahsoka looked ashamed after hearing that explanation.¡¯

    ¡°I... I didn¡¯t think I didn¡¯t mean to... Sorry...¡± ¡ª ¡®She apologized quickly.¡¯

    ¡®The nurse laughed again as she finished my first aid treatment. Then she left us for our own devices, walking away hastily. There must be a lot of injuries in this chaotic time of galactic civil war.¡¯

 11. Chapter

    ¡®As the nurse walked out of the room, we found ourselves in sitting in awkward silence. To be more precise, I would say that it was not awkward for me; I like silence; if there wasn¡¯t a good reason to talk, I rarely talk.¡¯

    ¡®Talking to myself when I am alone didn¡¯t count, as it is basically one of the many newly gained habits of mine. I can¡¯t really do anything against it, and I didn¡¯t care enough to force myself to stop those activities. Well, the point was that I am just fine with sitting here and relaxing silently in the company of Tano.¡¯

    ¡®I decided to take off my boots and sit on the bed beside her in a crossed-legged position. I don¡¯t want to steal her bed, after all, so I better take up as little space as possible. She was already flustered from the sudden silence, and I could see that she was not accustomed to it.¡¯

    ¡®She watched me curiously while I took off my boots and sat down next to her on the bed. I was still caressing my now bandaged right lekku, pulling it over my shoulder, in this way my lekku was resting on my chest; its tip was even reaching my lap.¡¯

    ¡®I did the same with the other uninjured one. This was about fifteen centimeters shorter than the right one. It was a natural thing in my race. Some twi¡¯leks leks were simply not identical.¡¯

    ¡®By the way, ninety percent of a twi¡¯lek lekku is basically fat storage. While the closest parts to the head are much more important; it contains some of the twi¡¯lek brain, my brain. That is why some particularly rude individuals tend to call leks as brain tails.¡¯

    ¡®I didn¡¯t hurt that part, mind you, so no worries. On a side note, twi¡¯leks, if they get fast medical attention, can live through losing most of their leks. Sadly, a cut-off lekku will never grow back on its own, but the force can make it happen, and I know of a few rituals that can achieve that result.¡¯

    ¡®Tano was getting antsier with every passing second; she looked at my bandaged lekku one more time and began to speak in a solemn and dejected way.¡¯

    ¡°Sorry for that one more time... I shouldn¡¯t have forced you to duel with me in the first place.¡± ¡ª ¡®She said to me in a guilty tone.¡¯

    ¡°I could see that you didn¡¯t want to, but I was too excited to fight with a trained force sensitive that is not a jedi. With the sith reappearing in the galaxy and all that, I wanted to know how well I would fare against an unknown opponent. I guess I was lucky that it was only you, otherwise I would either become captured or outright killed.¡± ¡ª ¡®She stated with a small voice, clearly ashamed by the cold reality.¡¯

    ¡®I looked at her thoughtfully, surprised by such self awareness. Where was the bubbly girl that I met in the council room? Did she have a twin sister or something? No, the force presence is the same...¡¯

    ¡®Was she really that excited about the opportunity of fighting with me? I knew a few other covens of force sensitives like the Nightsisters and even a few orders of not-so-radical dark side users.¡¯

    ¡®They were using the force to see into the future and gain wealth and power through it. I mean, they are certainly dangerous. They wouldn¡¯t have second thoughts about killing you on the first opportunity in case if you got in their way, but still far from the level of a true sith.¡¯

    ¡®If the real deal is back, then they are most likely controlling this war from the shadows. At least if they are worth their salt.¡¯

    ¡®Hmm... That is troublesome. If there is really a fully trained sith behind the war, it will not stop until the entire galaxy is under its control. I am absolutely certain about this, since Revan was a true Darth at one time, he was like that too.¡¯

    ¡®One thing is the same with every true sith and that is the never-ending greed and thirst for power. Only the jedi manipulation over his memories and mind could lift the veil of unending thirst from his eyes and it lead him to the path of creating our order, but that is a story for another time. Let¡¯s ask a few questions about this supposed sith first.¡®

    ¡°Is there really a true sith here? How do you know this?¡±

    ¡®She blinked at me, surprised.¡¯

    ¡°You didn¡¯t know about this?¡± ¡ª ¡®She asked.¡¯

    ¡°Well, you see, being a member of a secretive, and therefore reclusive force sect, means that you don¡¯t really have any connection with actual political and worldly affairs.¡±

    ¡°...I see... Anyway, my master told me that about ten years in the past, Master Obi-Wan and his master, Qui-Gon Jinn, run into a sith on Naboo.¡±

    ¡°Interesting. I could imagine that didn¡¯t go well.¡±

    ¡®Tano nodded.¡¯

    ¡°No, Master Qui-Gon Jinn, died in the battle, but in the end, master Obi-Wan was able to destroy the sith.¡±

    ¡°Hmmm... it must be true. Then, if he could kill a Jedi Master in a two against one battle, this is indeed very troublesome.¡± ¡ª ¡®Jedi tend to have extremely good teamwork, especially between master and padawan. If you have to fight with them in groups, their threat level multiplies exponentially.¡¯

    ¡°Why do I feel as if you are praising the skills of that sith?..¡± ¡ª ¡®Ahsoka questioned.¡¯

    ¡°Oh, in my understanding, skill is praiseworthy in itself. We must appreciate our enemies¡¯ abilities to not fall into the mistake of underestimating them.¡± ¡ª ¡®I lectured her, earning a small pout.¡¯

    ¡®Still, she seemed to understand and accept my point easily enough.¡¯

    ¡°You sounded like master Yoda¡­ for a second.¡±

    ¡®Is that so?¡¯ ¡ª ¡°Uhm, thank you for the praise, I guess.¡±

    ¡°No biggie.¡± ¡ª ¡®The girl patted my head, putting herself into a big sisterly position for a change.¡¯

    ¡°Youngsters...¡± ¡ª ¡®I said, amused by her actions¡­¡¯

    ¡°Hey!¡± ¡ª ¡®Came the annoyed shout following my unwise comment.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°You are even younger than me! Stop acting like an old lady...¡±

    ¡®She¡¯s still giggling in the background, though.¡¯

    ¡®Huh, she thinks that I am acting like this on purpose. Maybe that is the most logical assessment. Children of this age tend to act all grown up to showcase their reliability.¡¯

    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    ¡®Thankfully, the pain in my lekku is already numbed, so I am no longer that easily distracted. The sith is not that big of a problem for me right now. I am currently not in my best shape for battle, and fighting with a Darth is not something you do halfheartedly; I mean, you can do that, but you will die.¡¯

    ¡®Let the jedi deal with the sith. I can¡¯t really see how they could lose with these numerical advantages and with the support of that clone army they always talk about.¡¯

    ¡®Droids are brutal killing machines, and they are not to be underestimated, yet they are only as good as their battle programs, which means they are predictable and they lack imagination and ingenuity, which is a crucial skill on the battlefield.¡¯

    ¡®This is why droids never win a battle against trained humanoids without a large technological and numerical advantage. There are special droids, like HK-47 though, droids that have enough experience and memories to become something more.¡¯

    ¡®They become individuals. Those kinds of droids are incredibly rare and generally frowned upon. People usually don¡¯t want their droids to have personalities, because a droid with a personality is not really a droid anymore.¡¯

    ¡®Therefore, it loses its purpose; it will argue with you left and right, even calling you names, and that, in many owners¡¯ case, is not acceptable. I wouldn¡¯t want to be lectured by my rice cooker at every morning about my life choices either.¡¯

    ¡°So, is your master famous or what?¡±

    ¡®I asked on a whim to continue the conversation.¡¯

    ¡®She turned to me with the look that you give to a country bumpkin after asking a very stupid question. Then she shook her head with a helpless smile on her face.¡¯

    ¡°My master, Anakin Skywalker, is a very skilled and accomplished Jedi Master. He is also kind, maybe not the best teacher, but at least has a good humour. He is regarded as the youngest knight appointed to the master¡¯s rank in recent years. He is a well-experienced jedi guardian, with many successful and very dangerous missions behind his back. I think you can think of him as a kind of celebrity in the order, someone you generally look up to, as an example.¡±

    ¡®I couldn¡¯t suppress my sudden smirk as a sinful thought resurfaced in my mind. You didn¡¯t mention one of his most important titles.¡¯

    ¡®Tano was looking at me somewhat haughtily as she obviously misunderstood my smirk. I should distract her before she becomes angry at me.¡¯

    ¡°Oho, so that is why everyone was looking at us in the cantina and on the practice field, too.¡±

    ¡®I was already suspecting this, but it is good to know with certainty. I thought about that, while telling a few carefully chosen words.¡¯

    ¡°It seems that even I have to acknowledge this. Your master''s intuitive fighting style is commendable. Still, I was able to land a few blows on him here and there and I didn¡¯t even take it that seriously.¡± ¡ª ¡®Otherwise he would have been electrocuted in the first three seconds.¡¯

    ¡®Another wave of uncontrolled fits of giggling later. Ahsoka suddenly stopped laughing and sobered up.¡¯

    ¡°Wait, are you serious? How did you do it!? You MUST teach me! I want to make his infuriating grin disappear. That would be so fun!¡± ¡ª ¡®The girl practically jumped into my neck. Screaming into my ear protrusions.¡¯

    ¡®In the meantime, she grabbed my shoulders and started to shake me. In the middle of this assault. I was wondering if I once again managed to step on a landmine.¡¯

    While Nizzal was giving a detailed report of her and Anakins duel to a certain togruta girl. On the other side of the temple, Anakin was just finishing his own version of both his and her padawans duel with the so-called exchange student.

    He, of course, had no intention of sharing the genuine reasons behind their duel.

    The council room was silent, especially after the long retelling of such an interesting event. Even Master Windu¡¯s angry gaze became somewhat milder after hearing Anakins evaluation of this so-called Grey Lord apprentice.

    Today¡¯s meeting was substantially more important than the last one, and therefore more masters appeared, even if they were only present through holograms.

    In today¡¯s High Council meeting in a physical form were present Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and the Grandmaster of the Order, Master Yoda.

    As holograms, there were also present Master Windu, Master Shaak Ti, a togruta woman currently residing in Kamino. She was the one who was assigned to monitor the clone¡¯s development.

    There was also Ki-Adi-Mundi, a cerean who was currently on a patrol mission with a small starfleet around the core worlds. The last one present was none other than Kit Fisto, a nautolan Jedi Master who was known for his outstanding battle focus.

    The silence was eventually broken by Master Windu¡¯s question.

    ¡°You said that she could fight with you as an equal in technique; may that be with the lightsaber, or in the case of force abilities? That she only lacked the raw strength and power, those that will come with age naturally. Do you understand the weight of those words?¡±

    Anakin thought over the duel he experienced against that little gray devil.

    He didn¡¯t want to say this out loud, but in his heart he knew that this twi¡¯lek girl was not just equal to him in technique, but most likely a few levels above him.

    He never saw such a fine and fluid control over a thrown lightsaber in his life. That technique was very outlandish. The smallest mistake will lead to your imminent death. Throwing away your weapon was generally considered as the supreme level of confidence in your skill or the greatest level of stupidity.

    Damn, he had confidence, but even he would never throw away his weapon in the middle of a battle or a duel. Now at least he knew that this skill was actually a real threat; he almost got hit by it two times in a few seconds.

    ¡°I am sure of this master, if I may suggest, watch the recordings of the duel from the security system. All of her techniques were smooth, perfected to the extreme, well-coordinated, some might say calculated, and her adaptability to new situations was at par with my own. However frustrating that is to admit.¡±

    Then he continued.

    ¡°The only reason I won was my physical power advantage, my longer reach, and my much greater level of raw force ability. This way, I could eventually overpower and break through her shields. I do not believe that she has an outstanding amount of midi-chlorian count either. It¡¯s just that she has an incredibly fine control over it. Something that a child of her age should not possess in any circumstances.¡±

    There was a unique silence in the room of the High Council. The masters who only joined and were not present yesterday seemed even more confused than the others. Kit Fisto soon took the opportunity to ask the question, which almost everyone in the room was waiting for.

    ¡°Allow me to ask Master Yoda, but when did we discuss an exchange student program with a force-sensitive order called the Order of the Grey? I am afraid that I slept in on that particular day...¡±

    As the witty nautolan master broke the heavy silence with his easy-going yet well-mannered style, a few hesitating smiles began to appear on some of the members of the Council.

    On the other hand, Yoda and Obi-Wan, along with Windu, were unnaturally silent.

    Shaak Ti, the highly accomplished togruta master, looked at Yoda and Kenobi just like the others did.

    Her projection was next to Kenobi, so she turned towards him with a curious expression. To her utmost surprise, Kenobi, instead of looking at her with a half smile as he usually does, seemed to intentionally ignore her.

    Well, he eventually nodded halfheartedly with a somewhat strained smile, but that was it. He was clearly avoiding eye contact. Was that embarrassment on his face? She wondered.

    The strained silence was broken by Yoda¡¯s next statement.

    ¡°The reason for that, Master Kit Fisto, is simple.¡±

    The grandmaster¡¯s eyelids were still closed. He looked and acted just as always, with the most natural and comfortable confidence. Shaak Ti couldn¡¯t wait for the grandmaster¡¯s antics and she silently asked.

    ¡°And that is?¡±

    Yoda finally opened his eyes as he serenely looked around the masters in the council room. His eyes wandered to the still form of Master Windu. The moment their gazes met, the man¡¯s holographic form sizzled out, and he disappeared uncharacteristically.

    Yoda shook his head, slowly, then his gaze focused on the irritated form of Obi-Wan, who was sitting with an unnaturally straightened spine while constantly trying to escape the searching eyes of Shaak Ti. Yoda and Kenobi¡¯s eyes met.

    Then Yoda said with the same confidence he always used.

    ¡°In much trouble, we are.¡±

    This single sentence was followed by an uncomfortably long silence, one that not even the masters were ready to handle. After a few minutes of this constant silence, everyone currently present silently agreed to never mention or bring up this situation again. From then onwards, the meeting continued with its normal schedule.

 12. Chapter

    At the end of that particularly strange meeting, long after, Anakin was sent away. As he was not a member of the council, the currently present masters decided to watch the security camera captured footage of that duel.

    What they saw only strengthened Anakin¡¯s statement and observations. The sheer skill and control of the young apprentice made the council feel uneasy. The entire room sunk into a thoughtful silence after the holo video ended. This silence was much more self-aware and sober than the ones before it.

    This time, Obi-Wan was the one who broke the silence.

    ¡°I wonder, is there a possibility that what Vokara reported as a typical childish behavior could actually be the truth? I feel that the girl didn¡¯t even take my ex-padawan seriously. You can see her roll her eyes here and there throughout the duel. Creating the impression as if she was merely going along with the necessary antics of an unruly teenager. It¡¯s quite humorous actually, if we can overlook the more worrying implications¡­¡±

    Yoda looked at Obi-Wan with apparent surprise in his old eyes, yet he did not say anything else. He was carefully analyzing this new possibility.

    In another chair, Ki-Adi-Mundi was doing the same. He was a very traditional type of Jedi Master. In the meetings such as this, he mostly tended to listen. Hearing out the other masters¡¯ more intuitive suggestions.

    He was much more comfortable on the side of logical analysis. It was rare from a jedi to not be controlled by his or her intuitions, but he decided to listen to his logic in most of the situations.

    It was more of a part of his race characteristics than a personal choice.

    He understood as a cerean he had many small binary brains that made his kind natural in computations and logical analysis. Thinking of many varieties of different things at the same time was as common as breathing air for him.

    But today, he felt that there was something very important here that didn¡¯t make sense to him. His intuition that he generally used to ignore told him that there may be an answer to this in the words of Kenobi. He still wasn¡¯t completely up to date with yesterday¡¯s happenings in the temple, so he decided to ask.

    ¡°Pardon me, Master Kenobi, may I propose a question to you?¡±

    ¡°Naturally, ask away, Master.¡± ¡ª ¡®He answered.¡¯

    ¡°What was exactly the thing that Vokara Che, the temple¡¯s lead healer, reported?¡±

    ¡°Ah, of course, we haven¡¯t had the time to share those details yet. There was a small incident that led to Master Windu asking Vokara to check on our new guest.¡±

    ¡°Master Windu also asked her to try to figure out something new about her, while she was possibly too tired to think straight.¡±

    ¡°She reported later that she asked what her rank was in their order, and the girl answered with a childish glee that she was a master. On the other hand, she also told her that their order was an only children¡¯s sect. Therefore, we thought of this as a lie, or a purposeful attempt to confuse us. I am beginning to lean towards the latter. But seeing how skillful a fighter she is, there is no reason why she couldn¡¯t be as good with her lies, too.¡±

    Yoda stopped Kenobi¡¯s line of thoughts there.

    ¡°No, master Kenobi, I have faith in our abilities, that we would be able to see through this girl¡¯s lies. What she told us in the council was true. We would have sensed at least the attempt of diversion; but there was not such in most of her words.¡±

    Windu nodded, saying.

    ¡°However skilled she is, there is no way a kid as young as her could so easily deceive our eyes. If that were to happen, we may as well give the galaxy to the sith.¡±

    He thought over his next choice of words, then continued.

    ¡°On the other hand, Vokara is known to be biased with children.¡±

    This was the time where Master Ki-Adi-Mundi politely took over the discussion.

    ¡°I think that I found a possible connection that may or may not lead us to an answer.¡±

    Everyone in the room looked at Master Mundi with silent curiosity.

    Yoda urged him to continue.

    ¡°Enlighten us with your thoughts, then, Master Mundi.¡±

    ¡°Thank you Master. It will be my pleasure.¡± ¡ª ¡®With that he started his explanation.¡¯

    ¡°I sensed a controversial statement in Anakin¡¯s report and the council¡¯s presumption until this moment. The council was stating that there was a supposed master of this girl called Nizzal Grey.¡±

    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

    Everyone nodded to this prelude.

    ¡°In Anakin¡¯s report, he stated that when he praised the girl¡¯s supreme skills by using a standard jedi gesture namely, your master must be proud of you. The girl dejectedly agreed by saying he would be. This means that she indeed had a master that was a male; yet he is no longer alive, or at least she believes so.¡±

    There was a complete silence in the council room. The masters were thinking over Mundi¡¯s analysis, yet they could not find any errors in it. Every piece seemed to fall into the right place; even the force seemed to agree with this conclusion.

    The first to react was Master Shaak Ti.

    ¡°It seems to be a perfect answer; allow me to praise your outstanding intuition. Master Mundi. As they say, the devil is indeed hidden in the details.¡±

    He nodded. Appreciating the heartfelt compliment.

    ¡°Yet I must say that there is a possibility that this was just another attempt at misdirection.¡± ¡ª ¡®Shaak Ti added softly.¡¯

    Mundi nodded again.

    Yoda chooses that moment to add his own points to the discussion.

    ¡°It is indeed a possibility; but from what I have seen, however good the girl is at hiding her presence, that didn¡¯t help her holding back her tongue. She, in the end, is still a youthful spirit, which we can use to our advantage to learn more about her.¡±

    Windu nodded to that saying.

    ¡°She is too impulsive. Her childish nature is still strong and livid. She didn¡¯t learn proper emotional control like Jedi do.¡±

    Obi-Wan added to that.

    ¡°Yes, her emotions are much stronger, much closer to normal people, who did not receive any formal training on controlling them, but she still has an unbelievably firm control over the force, as if her emotional state is completely separate from the surrounding force.¡±

    ¡°Well, we didn¡¯t see her genuinely angry yet, but based on the reports of the Jedi Shadows, we sent to tail her. It seems this is the only explanation. To use the words of the shadow, the force surrounding her is alike to a still pond, until the moment she wishes otherwise.¡±

    Kit Fisto began to talk.

    ¡°I am curious. Did she also notice the shadow following her?¡±

    Obi-Wan answered.

    ¡°No, or she didn¡¯t show any signs that would indicate differently. She overlooking them wouldn¡¯t be a surprise with that many force signatures constantly moving around the temple. She might have sensed the shadow¡¯s presence than thought of it as a temple guard patrolling the corridor.¡±

    Kit Fisto nodded, realizing the possibility, yet he also gave voice to one of his doubts.

    ¡°True enough. Still, it is still hard for me to comprehend. How could she become a master so young?¡±

    To that, Shaak Ti gave an enlightening answer.

    ¡°We know nothing of their order¡¯s tradition. It is possible that her master died, and she simply inherited his title.¡±

    Many of the masters nodded eagerly to that idea.

    Kit Fisto didn¡¯t let up on the argument so easily.

    ¡°That is true, but her skills say otherwise. What if she earned the right to be a master?¡±

    Shaak Ti had no answer to that question.

    Yoda, on the other hand, seemed to realize something. His eyes were closed and his face seemed unnaturally troubled. Soon he began to talk.

    ¡°There is an old, sith ritual that could make someone look younger than his or her current age, and there was one more that could stop your ageing entirely. Both of these rituals require an exorbitant amount of life energy, especially the latter, and that is usually drained off from innocent victims.¡±

    There was a dire silence in the room.

    ¡°Speak of this. We shall not. Observe her, we must. Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, I ask you to become her substitute master and find out the truth about her. If she is indeed a sith, you must try to capture her alive. This is a force-given opportunity to learn more of our old enemy, or to find a possible ally against them.¡±

    Master Windu nodded, agreeing to the grandmaster¡¯s proposal.

    ¡°I agree. She needs to be monitored either way; she can pose a great danger to our order.¡±

    Master Mundi and Fisto also nodded to this.

    Shaak Ti turned towards her currently very uncomfortable friend. She gave him a predatory smile, one that was menacing yet at the same time caring. Those smiles were signature marks of the togrutas.

    ¡°Obi-Wan, you got a new apprentice, and a feisty one of that, too! You know, I am somewhat jealous right now...¡±

    Obi-Wan finally awoke from his surprise-induced stupor, then said hastily.

    ¡°Oh, you can have her all you want! I am not really fond of the possibility of training a potential sith! Master Yoda, you have surely realized that this idea is doomed from the very beginning. Do I need to remind the council that my master was killed by a sith, before my own eyes?!¡±

    Master Windu interrupted Obi-Wan¡¯s sudden rant with a pair of furrowed brows.

    ¡°Compose yourself, Kenobi; you are in the presence of the Jedi High Council, none the less as a member of that.¡±

    Obi-Wan seemed to realize his mistake and forcefully calmed himself.

    Seeing the situation stabilize, Yoda answered Obi-Wan¡¯s question.

    ¡°Master Kenobi, you don¡¯t have to remind us of the unfortunate fate of your Master Qui-Gon Jinn. To be more precise, that is the exact reason why I trust you with this important mission. You were the only one who fought and killed a sith here. Your personal history with this matter will allow you to handle it with the proper care. You should not be biased even if your opponent hides behind the face of a child. Although, I sincerely hope that this is not the case.¡±

    The others nodded.

    Kenobi saw this happening and asked one more question as a last-ditch attempt to get away from this new heavy responsibility.

    ¡°Do I have a say in this?¡±

    Yoda answered with stoic finality.

    ¡°Unfortunately, no.¡±

    Obi-Wan breathed out a very long sigh, as he said weakly.

    ¡°Oh, boy, that girl is even more troublesome than Anakin was...¡±

    Shaak Ti suddenly looked at him with the smile of a cat that had eaten the canary.

    ¡°Ti, stop looking at me like that... You should know that gloating over others¡¯ misfortune leads to the dark side.¡±

    She blinked, then said innocently.

    ¡°Thank you for the advice, Master Kenobi. I will meditate over it.¡±

 13. Chapter

    ¡®We talked through the events of the duel for quite a long time. Ahsoka was interested in the shield technique I used to shake off force based attacks.¡¯

    ¡®She also wanted to try out the saber throwing, telling me that it must have been epic. I told her that it is indeed spectacular, but also warned her to not get ahead of herself since it is a very hard to do skill.¡¯

    ¡®I mean, not that hard to do in general, but definitely overcomplicated in actual battle situations. It could give you an edge to surprise your enemy, but the effort to learn it isn¡¯t really worth the time, especially if you have other, more basic things to learn.¡¯

    ¡®She gave me the stink eye, immediately, asking me how is it that I learned it then.¡¯

    ¡®I took the opportunity to tell her, with my nose lifted high into the air, that I already mastered the basics. Which she had to agree to. Even if somewhat reluctantly, our duel was still fresh in her mind, the way I countered every slight change in her attack form with my own.¡¯

    ¡®I was getting a little sleepy since we were in bed and there was a peaceful silence around us, but I didn¡¯t really want to sleep, so I forced my brain to work out a legitimate question.¡¯

    ¡°So what do you do around this time, usually?¡°

    ¡®She turned to me with a thoughtful expression.¡¯

    ¡°When I am not practicing with master or with some of the other padawans, I used to meditate in the room of the thousand fountains, or in my personal room.¡±

    ¡®Sounds normal enough.¡¯

    ¡°Sometimes I go to visit the teaching centrum in the middle of the temple where the younglings learn and hone their skills. It is good to listen to Master Yoda''s lessons. He never really repeats a lesson in the same way. There are always additional elements to them, different stories shared, wisdom and knowledge given away for free.¡±

    ¡®Interesting, but not unexpected. Nine hundred years are more than enough to gather a basically inexhaustible amount of tales.¡¯

    ¡°Master Yoda must be a skilled teacher. He has the experience for sure.¡±

    ¡°Yes, but since the war started, he rarely comes by. Even then he seems to be very tired and his face, even as he tries to hide it, is always serious. He used to joke and sometimes even play with the little ones.¡±

    ¡°He is the whole orders grandfather figure, even though nobody ever dared to call him like that. Especially not in public. I am worried about him. He pretends to be alright, but too many jedi lost their lives.¡±

    ¡°The first day of the war on Geonosis was the worst, right before the clone troops arrived. I believe he blames himself for holding back the clones. Many have criticized the council''s decision on this matter. It takes its toll on him. Jedi live to sacrifice themselves to keep the peace in the galaxy¡­ Only if it was enough, then we could have prevented the war.¡±

    ¡®I hardly doubt that¡­ It was clearly a well-calculated bait placed by the Sith. Playing into that exact belief that the jedi would try to resolve everything on their own. Blinded by their overconfidence. Having a connection to the force can easily overflow one¡¯s ego with heroic fantasies.¡¯

    ¡®The force gives proficient and well-trained wielders supernatural reflexes which are based on prescient insight.¡¯

    ¡®It is so easy to forget that even if one¡¯s mind can sense an incoming danger, their body often cannot react in time. The smallest of mistakes, which is bound to happen especially under life-threatening pressure, can prove itself deadly. A single stray laser beam is more than capable of erasing all the knowledge a jedi harnesses over decades of harsh training.¡¯

    ¡®I am no exception.¡¯

    ¡®Aside from all that, I was taken aback by the emotional maturity of this girl. For me, all of what she said was obvious and logical, but I am not exactly sure if that would have been the case without the inherited memories.¡¯

    ¡®Who am I kidding? I didn¡¯t even realize that my master was dying till he told it to me, leaving no place for doubt. Is it possible that she is an empath too? That must be the case, anyway I should praise her for knowing so much.¡¯

    ¡®I lifted my right hand and patted her on the head; the poor girl must have been worried for so long.¡¯

    ¡°There-there.¡±

    ¡®After she realized what I was doing, her eyes widened drastically. She stared at me with a surprised, uncomfortable but mostly confused expression.¡¯

    ¡®Her face was getting somewhat red from embarrassment. Eh, children nowadays can¡¯t take a praise without getting embarrassed, it seems.¡¯

    ¡®That was the exact time when the door suddenly opened and a pair of humans in the middle of a heated discussion walked into the room, only to freeze, seeing and sensing the weird atmosphere inside.¡¯

    ¡®Seeing Tano¡¯s horrified expression, I decided to turn around since I was sitting backwards to the door. While I was trying to turn, she forcefully pushed my hand away; what is it now?¡¯

    ¡®It was just a pat on your head, dummy. You did the same with me not long before, if you care to remember.¡¯

    ¡®As I finally turned around, I met with two pairs of familiar eyes. It was that Obi-One fellow or what was his name, and Anakin, Tano¡¯s master. Each of them were looking at us with a somewhat strange and embarrassed expression.¡¯

    ¡®What for? I couldn¡¯t tell. Eventually, Obi-One whetted his throat and started to talk.¡¯

    ¡°Did we intrude on something? I am sorry about that¡­¡±

    ¡®Anakin chuckled loudly, interrupting Kenobi¡¯s words.¡¯

    ¡°Look at that, master. Where have you left your manners? Not even knocking before entering¡­ Tsc-tsc-tsc! And to think you tended to lecture me all the time!¡±

    ¡®Kenobi furrowed his eyebrows for a second. Then decided to get back at Anakin with a sarcastic remark.¡¯

    ¡°Sigh, it must be your bad influence... I swear that I can¡¯t recall the last time I entered a building without you blowing in the door prior to it.¡±

    ¡°Now, now, master, that is just an over-exaggeration.¡± ¡ª ¡¯Anakin added, followed by a loud smirk.¡¯

    ¡®I didn¡¯t get what their problem was so suddenly, but I didn¡¯t really care. So, I instead asked, what was the reason for their arrival?¡¯

    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

    ¡°Masters, how can we help you?¡±

    ¡®They looked at each other, then Obi-One began to talk again as the atmosphere became much more serious.¡¯

    ¡°We came directly from the jedi council¡¯s meeting; the council has decided to appoint me as your substitute master for the time you reside in the temple.¡±

    ¡®Now¡­ that was unexpected.

    ¡°You can come to me if any problem appears and we will work it out together. For the time being, you will remain at the rank of a padawan learner; therefore, you can¡¯t be left without supervision.¡±

    ¡®Why am I not surprised?¡¯

    ¡°You aren¡¯t allowed to leave the temple¡¯s perimeters without a jedi knight, or master accompanying you until the investigation is finished and a verdict is made.¡±

    ¡®¡­¡¯

    ¡°You can think of this as a test to assess your true allegiances. You must understand that we are in a state of war, and we can¡¯t be lenient against unknown force-sensitive sects. Especially ones whose droid breaks into our archive.¡±

    ¡®I hate that guy as much as you do, probably more.¡¯

    ¡°My report will have a heavy impression on the council¡¯s final decision, claiming you, guilty or innocent, in the face of the accusations.¡±

    ¡®I didn¡¯t do anything.¡¯

    ¡°If you are proved innocent, we will drop all charges and with the proper exams done, even offer you an official documentation that identifies you as a trained force sensitive. In exchange, we would like you to share more information on your order. And possibly help us establish a diplomatic connection.¡±

    ¡®Fat chance¡­¡¯

    ¡°Yes, master Obi-One.¡± ¡ª ¡®I answered hastily.¡¯

    ¡®Anakin outright laughed.¡¯

    ¡®While Master Obi-One furrowed his brows, looking at me with skepticism, then he sighed and stated.¡¯

    ¡°Good. I wanted you to know about your current situation. Now, to move to more pleasant topics, I will introduce myself one more time properly. My name is Obi-Wan Kenobi, and not Obi-One... you can call me Master Kenobi if that is easier for you to pronounce.¡±

    ¡®I nodded, my face reddening in the process realizing my childish mistake. I totally misinterpreted his name from the very beginning.¡¯

    ¡®Master Kenobi eagerly filled in the awkward emptiness left behind Anakin¡¯s laughter.¡¯

    ¡°So since Anakin has already tested your skills, and I also watched your recorded duel with him, I think we can skip the skill measurement part, but allow me a few questions to fill in the holes.¡±

    ¡°Yes, master.¡± ¡ª ¡®I answered, eager to channel the conversation into a different direction.¡¯

    ¡°What is your preferred lightsaber style?¡± ¡ª ¡®He asked.¡¯

    ¡°Form VI Niman. I prefer to use force manipulations to create openings for swift, decisive strikes.¡±

    ¡®Anakin and Obi¡¯Wan seemed to exchange a knowing look, hearing my answer.¡¯

    Unknown to Nizzal, with that statement, she practically acknowledged the two masters and the council¡¯s suspicion. That she was indeed holding back in the duel with Anakin. She didn¡¯t even attempt to use any offensive force technique while saying that it was her main fighting style.

    ¡°Very good.¡± ¡ª ¡®Kenobi stated.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°It is a cold yet effective way to fight.¡± ¡ª ¡®He praised her. What went without saying was the supreme level of mastery necessary in both saber forms and force powers that needed to pull it off.¡¯

    ¡°If you want to practice, feel free to use the temple training fields. For meditation, I recommend the greenhouse or the room with the thousand fountains. If you want to find their locations, I believe Tano will happily show them to you.¡±

    ¡®Yes, I believe you are right about that.¡¯

    ¡®Anakin spoke up.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°She was really sullen for a while to have nobody to talk to or train with. I was on a dangerous mission and Obi-Wan had little time to spare, thanks to his council duties. Your presence will brighten her up in no time.¡±

    ¡®Ahsoka took in a sudden breath, shouting at her master while making my ears ring at the same time.¡¯

    ¡°Master, stop, don¡¯t tell her that!¡± ¡ª ¡®It was evidently too late¡¯ ¡ª ¡°How could you!¡± ¡ª ¡®She pouted, pretending to be more hurt than she actually was.¡¯

    ¡®So, Tano doesn¡¯t have a lot of friends, if at all. That could explain her unnatural excitement at our first meeting.¡¯

    ¡®Hmmm... my eyes wandered to the form of the so-called jedi celebrity. The jealous eyes of the padawans surfaced in my mind at the end of our duel.¡¯

    ¡®So it was not because their master stopped their practices, but because I was stealing their hero¡¯s attention from them. Even Rika was shocked when she saw Anakin in the cantina.¡¯

    ¡®Ah, the so-called short-sightedness and possessive jealousy of children. It must be amplified because of the accumulated dark side energies lingering around the temple.¡¯

    ¡®Grief and jealousy, two emotions that should never be underestimated. One of the key flaws in the jedi teachings. If you tend to block and numb your emotions, you will never learn to deal with them properly. Only to hide them under the carpet. In most of the cases, this will work, especially since the jedi usually live peaceful lives with little to worry about. These teachings are only showing their true inadequacy in times of war.¡¯

    ¡®When there is no time to let the emotional traumas calm down, to let them settle by themselves. Because before it has any chance to heal; there will be another one and another on top of that.¡¯

    ¡®This is how you describe the essence of a war, a series of unreasonable tragedies piled on each other in a cruel, horrifying act. This was the reason that so many jedi fell to the dark side under the Mandalorian Wars.¡¯

    ¡®It reached a point where reason and justice lost their distinct meanings, and they became similar with vengeance.¡¯

    ¡®They couldn¡¯t handle the feeling of loss and fear anymore. The dark side was there to offer the tool to their vengeance, as it is always there to offer what you think you desire.¡¯

    ¡®That¡¯s why it¡¯s so dangerous for the shortsighted. It is not something to underestimate. It can give you more power than anything in this world, but that power is never truly yours.¡¯

    ¡®That is how the dark side is. It steals strength, life, memories; it can steal anything and give it to you, yet in the and it is always stolen from someone else. That is why embracing it makes you feel that endless, uncontrollable greed. Only something that is utterly empty inside can truly hunger.¡¯

    ¡®Without understanding this truth, any practitioner will eventually lose itself in the never-ending flow of greed.¡¯

    ¡®Even the dark ritual that our order uses to give away our memories to the next holder isn¡¯t an exception. At first sight, it looks like the technique is able to create something, yet in the and it is only a sick illusion of creation. Since in the process of creation, it takes away much more than what it eventually gives.¡¯

    ¡®That is the accurate definition of the dark side. It always takes more than it can give.¡¯

    ¡®A much better twi¡¯lek than me, would never even think of using it even as a tool. I am different, though.¡¯

    ¡®You see, I am an inherently greedy child. I can¡¯t accept having all this knowledge at my disposal and not using it. What was the point of gathering knowledge if I never use it?¡¯

    ¡®There are situations where those techniques will prove their worth. Sometimes the best way to fight fire is by using fire. After all, the next few hundred years are plenty of time to run into a sith. You never know¡­¡¯

    ¡®At least these are the thoughts I often used to console myself.¡¯

    ¡®The truth is much simpler. I am just greedy, a very greedy girl. I want to wield the dark side because it looks cool, because it¡¯s forbidden and freeing. It makes me feel ecstatic. Unleashing the sheer power of it makes me shiver with excitement. Knowing that I dance on the edge of a thin blade makes me feel alive.¡¯

    ¡®That is how sinful of a girl I am¡­ But I accepted that since I received these enlightening memories. I won¡¯t feel guilty anymore about those desires. Because I am aware of them, and simultaneously aware of the consequences of overindulgence.¡¯

    ¡®This enlightened guiltless self acceptance allows me to wield the dark side with minimal risks. The reason why jedi almost every single time fail to do so, is because of their ingrained belief that using it is wrong. And their inability to control their own emotions.¡¯

    ¡®From a state of a lack of emotion is much easier to end up in a state of being controlled by emotions than finding a middle ground.¡¯

    ¡®After my newly appointed master¡¯s reintroduction, he told me of the basic layout of the temple, and gave me a standard holo-device uploaded with the temple map. Finally, I could go surfing the net, and download some games too. There are plenty of free games if you know where to find them.¡®

    ¡®This thing looks high tech! I can play newer games!¡¯

    ¡®The rest of the day was spent wandering around the temple with Tano, who was eventually allowed to leave the infirmary. True, only after we promised to not start another duel for the next few days.¡¯

    ¡®Oh, and I got another room, close to Master Obi-Wan¡¯s room, as per tradition or something like that. It looked just like the one I used yesterday, boring and empty.¡¯

    ¡®I watched videos on the net late into the night, then after a particularly funny loth-cat compilation, I placed the device under my bed and turned in for the night.¡¯

    ¡®Those stupid loth-cats are hilarious. Was my last conscious thought before sleep finally claimed me.¡¯

 14. Chapter

    ¡®I was still sleeping in my bed when the air pressure lock on my door unexpectedly opened, jolting me out of my sweet dreams. My eyes shot open, and I jumped out of bed with my lightsaber in hand, already ignited.¡¯

    ¡®The silver light shining through the gloomy dark room.¡¯

    ¡®I was confused, still half asleep, but ready to counter any incoming blow. My master often pranked me as such, attacking me in the middle of a night to train my awareness.¡¯

    ¡®Sometimes he sent lightsaber training drones to do his bidding, other times he came personally.¡¯

    ¡®The painful spikes of low energy laser beams hitting against my skin were still a regular returning visitor among the other nightmares I meticulously accumulated in my years of training.¡¯

    ¡®I was waiting and waiting for any sigh of incoming danger, but no attack seemed to appear.¡¯

    ¡®My mind slowly began to clear as my adrenalin-powered tunnel vision weakened.¡¯

    ¡®Now, with a much more self-aware mind, I could look around to find another reason for the door¡¯s unexpected opening.¡¯

    ¡®I reached out with the force to search the area. Which was still too dark for me to see properly.¡¯

    ¡®Almost immediately, I felt a frightened presence in the corner of my room. It was somewhat familiar. Where had I sensed it before? I wondered while slowly walking towards the spot where the presence was hiding.¡¯

    ¡®As I reached close enough for my saber to lighten up the dark corner. I saw a small human form, with black hair, wait is that Rika?¡¯

    ¡®I quickly gave voice to my suspicion.¡¯

    ¡°Is that you, Rika?¡±

    ¡°Yes...¡± ¡ª ¡®Sounded the shaky answer.¡¯

    ¡®I did not sense any lie in her voice, and the force presence was familiar, even if I hadn¡¯t memorized it perfectly.¡¯

    ¡®I decided to turn off my blade and stop scaring the poor girl even more.¡¯

    ¡®I walked to her side; she was very small even compared to me, and she was trembling like a single leaf in the middle of a storm.¡¯

    ¡®I swallowed down a frustrated sigh. Good job girl¡­ you managed to traumatize an already traumatized child even further.¡¯

    ¡®I picked her up, as she buried her wet face into my neck, hugging me and saying that she was sorry to walk into my room in the middle of the night...¡¯

    ¡®She also mumbled something about her master and that he would be disappointed, if he knew... I was not sure about that, but my hands were already full with trying to calm the terrified child. Patting her head and back to make her feel some comfort.¡¯

    ¡°Rika, did I scare you that much? I am sorry, I was trained to be on guard even in my sleep, but I am not angry with you. Do you understand? You can come over if you need to, but please knock on the door next time instead of just walking in, okay?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I am sorry...¡± ¡ª ¡®She mumbled.¡¯

    ¡°There is nothing to be sorry about, you see?¡± ¡ª ¡®I sat down on my bed, placing Rika in my lap. She was still hugging me like I was her lifeline.¡¯

    ¡°Look at me, Rika.¡± ¡ª ¡®She hesitatingly raised her face to meet mine.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°I was also scared of you. That was why I jumped out of my bed that fast! Did you see how big of a jump I did, even half asleep? I only jumped that high, because I was that scared of you, the fearless Rika bane of sleeping padawans.¡±

    ¡®She giggled a little. What a relief! I patted her head once more.¡¯

    ¡°Now, that¡¯s what I like to hear. I bet your master would also prefer to hear your bell-like laughter.¡±

    ¡®She tried to object to tell me something that I already knew. I stopped her.¡¯

    ¡°No need for that, Rika. Your master loved you. He didn¡¯t want to leave you behind.¡±

    ¡°He fought for what he thought would make this world safer for you. He wanted to stop the war, hoping that you would have no need to fight in it. That was his only wish.¡±

    ¡°He died hoping that you would not face the same challenges as he had to.¡°

    ¡®Rika began to cry and tremble again, after I told her what I sensed from siphoning the dark miasma around her room, while I was there yesterday.¡¯

    ¡®Her story was not unique. There were many other padawans, just like her, scattered around the temple.¡¯

    ¡®The self sacrificing nature of the jedi was well known to me by now. There were fanatical extents to it, but in this case it was most likely na?ve stupidity.¡¯

    ¡®There is no heroism in jumping before a blade, when the blade wouldn¡¯t hit anyone if you just stayed still. Sometimes the jedi would want to be remembered as heroes taking unnecessary risks showing off their level of self-sacrifice. Think you fools. How many padawans did you leave behind without guidance?¡¯

    ¡°I... I never asked him... to die for my sake!¡°

    ¡®Her voice came back alright. She shouted that last part in my ear protrusion... I agreed with her, the selfish selflessness of a parent, or a parent figure, I guess.¡¯

    ¡®We often try to shelter our loved ones, even when there is no need for it. Sometimes, a parent needs to learn how to accept help from their children, not just to give it away. Allowing your family to feel useful is a wise trait.¡®

    ¡°You are right about that.¡± ¡ª ¡®I sighed.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°You see, you never had to ask him. He decided to do it on his own. Was it the right thing to do? I don¡¯t know, but we should at least respect his decision.¡±

    ¡®She sniffed, and I saw her head nod weakly as the first sunlight shined through the window.¡¯

    ¡®I hugged her close as I laid back down, with her already half-asleep form clinging to my side. I pulled the blanket over both of us.¡¯

    ¡®I dropped my lightsaber handle under the bed next to my computer device. Damn, it¡¯s not even five AM; I guess I will have to sleep too. She will wake if I try to leave, anyway. I looked at the now much more relaxed form of the little human girl.¡¯

    ¡®She was holding onto my right lekku with her left hand while she was clinging to my torso with the other. Is this some kind of death grip technique?¡¯

    ¡®I smirked. It surely made me stop moving. That said, it was quite uncomfortable and ticklish to have someone grab my lekku in such a manner. Oh, boy, what am I thinking again... This is all because of those stupid wrestling videos I watched yesterday. What were their names again?¡¯

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    ¡®Ah, the race was besalisk, that much I remember. They had four arms, no kidding. One of them was called Dreadnought, yeah, while the other? Dead Fet or Fat Death, eh... yawn... he was kind of skinny, so Dead Fat most likely... Anakin is so lucky, he wouldn¡¯t have to think about what his wrestling name should be... I would love to see his costume though...¡®

    ¡®A few hours later, I was rudely awakened to the sound of heavy knocking on my door. I was still half asleep, but somehow managed to crawl out of my bed and open the door. Ahsoka was standing outside, looking quite frustrated when she saw us. She was both relieved and even more frustrated for whatever reason.¡¯

    ¡°Yawn... eh, Miss Tano? What a coincidence¡­ I was just having this dream about you facing Fat Death in the arena¡­¡± ¡ª ¡®She blinked, turning her focus from Rika to me for the first time.¡¯

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±

    ¡®I blinked this time¡­ did I say that out loud? I coughed lightly and asked in a more serious tone.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°How could I help you?¡±

    ¡®She narrowed her eyes, giving me a look that promised a through interrogation. I could only smile at her innocently.¡¯

    ¡®Her gaze then slowly wandered down my body, looking me all over with growing frustration.¡¯

    ¡®She eventually blown up in my face.¡¯

    ¡°Don¡¯t miss Tano me here, you... you shameless nudist!¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡®I looked down at my body. I was in my undies, so what of it? Oh, man, she scared me a bit there for a second. I really thought that I was naked.¡¯

    ¡°What? I am in my undies, you dummy. That is not what you should call a nudist. I didn¡¯t get a pajama in the first place, and I am not allowed to leave the temple to buy one.¡±

    ¡°I will get you one later! Now go inside and get dressed...¡± ¡ª ¡®She shoved me inside the room.¡¯

    ¡°Okay, okay, relax, I am going to get dressed!¡±

    ¡®I pulled up my pants while she was constantly throwing knives into my back with her angry glares. What a prima-donna jeez.¡¯

    ¡°By the way, what did you want to ask? I mean, your purpose to come here wasn¡¯t solely to call me names, yes?¡±

    ¡®She looked at me, then turned to the sleeping form of Rika on my bed.¡¯

    ¡°She was the reason. We were searching for her with a few other padawans. Since Vokara asked us to. She came to check on her in the morning and her room was empty.¡±

    ¡°She didn¡¯t leave behind any message, so we thought that maybe something bad had happened. After searching for a while, I remembered that you said you met with Rika and ate together in the cantina.¡±

    ¡°I rushed here to check if she came over or something. Thankfully, I was right, but that is no excuse for your shameless behaviour. Finish dressing up already!¡±

    ¡°Shhh... stop shouting. She is still asleep.¡±

    ¡®What¡¯s wrong with these kids, or is this a jedi thing? Probably.¡¯

    ¡®While I finished dressing up, Ahsoka called Vokara on her wrist communicator.¡¯

    ¡®Seeing how slick that wrist com was, I decided to get one too.¡¯

    ¡®Ahsoka told Master Vokara that she had found the missing padawan. While I discretely listened into their conversation, I also learned that Rika¡¯s sleep is usually troubled by bad dreams.¡¯

    ¡®She is in need of someone to rely on while she heals mentally. This was quite obvious to me based on her actions.¡¯

    ¡®She will never get over the loss of her master entirely, but it will be bearable, much easier with time.¡¯

    ¡®It seems that I was the only one she opened up to recently. No surprise there, I could handle children better than any jedi with all my memories of parenting.¡¯

    ¡®Some of my masters actually had their own families. It was not a taboo, but it was still complicated, as all family is. So most of the masters never bothered with it.¡¯

    ¡®Anyway, what matters is that I had the knowledge to raise children. That was something that cannot be said for the jedi. They generally treated children like small adults, with rare exceptions like Yoda.¡¯

    ¡®They never really knew how to deal with children; they were used to handling them in the way they were handled when they were young.¡¯

    ¡®I couldn¡¯t blame them for this; it was how life worked. If people didn¡¯t go out of their way to learn and change their behaviour, they will subconsciously follow the pattern which they received from their own parents.¡¯

    ¡®I will help Rika gladly. Not like I have anything better to do, except maybe buy a pajama, and a few more clothes.¡¯

    ¡°Hey, do you have a sewing droid or something like that here?¡± ¡ª ¡®I asked.¡¯

    ¡°Yeah, we will go and order you more clothes after Rika wakes up. You did say something that your clothes were stolen by that droid you found in a ruin, yeah?¡±

    ¡°Along with my ship and my credits too, but I will catch and rewire it, so not that big of a problem, really.¡±

    ¡°You sure have confidence in finding a small ship in a large galaxy.¡± ¡ª ¡®Ahsoka teased me.¡¯

    ¡°Humph, I have a feeling that the droid will come to me, and I will not have to lift a finger.¡±

    ¡°How can you be so sure?¡±

    ¡°Because he will get bored on its own.¡±

    ¡®Ahsoka looked at me with a funny expression.¡®

    ¡®¡°Are we still talking about a droid? You sound like it has a personality¡±

    ¡°Yeah, you will understand if you are unlucky enough to meet with him.¡±

    ¡°Hmm... but how did you end up in a ruin in the first place?¡±

    ¡®Ugh... that is... what should I tell her? That I lived there, in a ruin on Hoth... I may as well tell her that I was living with the wampas. I will just drop a few partial truths, I guess.¡¯

    ¡°It was one of my trials.¡±

    ¡°Trials, what kind of trials? Did you succeed? Was it hard?¡±

    ¡®I had to face my master while he tried to lure me to the dark side; then he turned me into a holocron containing all the sixteen different masters memories that came before me...¡¯

    ¡°It is a secret of my order. Yes, I succeeded, and it was pretty damn hard.¡±

    ¡°Ehh, always with the secrets, but congratulations on your success, I guess.¡±

    ¡°Thank you... and that¡¯s life.¡±

    ¡®A thin, dreamy voice interrupted our discussion.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°Is Master Vokara angry with me?¡±

    ¡®We turned to the waking Rika.¡¯

    ¡°Nah, she doesn¡¯t seem to be, at least for me.¡± ¡ª ¡®I answered.¡¯

    ¡°No, not that much, but she will give you a rant for not leaving a note behind.¡± ¡ª ¡®Warned Ahsoka from the side.¡¯

    ¡°Well, I guess I will go and apologize right away...¡± ¡ª ¡®She said, rubbing her eyes while climbing out of the bed.¡¯

    ¡°Hop to it, then. If you want to come over again, just knock on the door.¡± ¡ª ¡®I turned to Ahsoka and said.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°Now we should go to eat something.¡±

    ¡°It is already too late for that. You should probably wait for lunch.¡± ¡ª ¡®Ahsoka answered, leaning it into the backseat comfortably.¡¯

    ¡°What time is it?¡±

    ¡°Ehm, 10:37 AM you guys overslept.¡±

    ¡°What? So when can I eat?¡±

    ¡°At noon, of course. There is a tight schedule to everything in the temple. You will get used to it quickly.¡±

    ¡°Well, then I am going to wait for the food, but until then, would you like to play chess?¡±

    ¡°Chess? With carved figures of wood?¡±

    ¡®My eyes glinted.¡¯

    ¡°I didn¡¯t take you for the traditional type. We are going to play holo chess, the rules are the same, but it looks wild.¡±

    ¡®I could see that she was hooked.¡¯

    ¡®I bent over and fished out my holo communicator computer from under my bed. Than placed it down in the middle of the table, pushed a few buttons, and a chess table suddenly appeared in the form of a hologram hovering in the air.¡¯

    ¡®Ahsoka was pretty surprised by this. She walked to the other side of the table and sat down. Soon the figures also appeared.¡¯

    ¡®I had many skins for this game. And I knew my codes from memory so I could log in with my account easily.¡¯

    ¡®The currently activated skin was a custom one created by assigning already existing characters to specific figures.¡¯

    ¡®I created the battle of light and darkness. The black figures were represented by real historical characters from the Sith Empire. While the light side was the old republic jedi.¡¯

    ¡®Not all the units where jedi or sith lords, mind you, but the King and the Queen were definitely.¡¯

    ¡®On the dark side, the queen was Darth Traya, while the king was Darth Malak. On the light side was the brainwashed Revan as the king and Bastila Shan as the queen. The other units were random infantry troops from that time.¡¯

    ¡®I smiled widely.¡¯

    ¡°Are you ready for a few rounds of battle chess? I am with the dark side just saying.¡±

    ¡°Wow, this looks cool. Is that a jedi? And those are sith? Strange, I don¡¯t seem to recognize either of them¡­¡±

    ¡°Right on point, you are. I will tell you about them while we play. You better get ready for a quick spanking girl¡±

    ¡®That line proved enough to rile her up.¡¯

    ¡°Oh yeah? Let¡¯s see about that¡­¡°

    ¡®Rika watched our antics for a while. When she grow tired of it, she stood up patted down her clothes in a futile effort to straighten them. Then silently walked out of the room, going to the infirmary to apologize to Vokara, for needlessly worrying her.¡®

 15. Chapter

    ¡®We played one game of battle chess. It was only enough to get a taste of it and to get used to the game somewhat. To control the figurines with your voice, giving them orders as to where exactly should they move or which enemy unit should they attack.¡¯

    ¡®Ahsoka got the hang of it fast after that first game, which we didn¡¯t even finish.¡¯

    ¡®Time passed quickly and soon we had to walk to the cantina picking up Rika on the way. When I saw that there was a special twi¡¯lek traditional food on the menu. I immediately decided to choose that.¡¯

    ¡®It was Gruuvan Shaal Kebab, I loved it.¡¯

    ¡®Ahsoka was looking at me strangely. She said that it was basically grilled lizard meat and vegetables on wooden sticks. Nothing to be overjoyed about.¡¯

    ¡®She was right, but then, what of it? It was a dish from home, and I was delighted to find anything from Ryloth here.¡¯

    ¡®I remembered the times I smelled the mouth-watering taste of the grilled lizard meat while begging on the side of the street as a child. There was a vendor who took pity on me and gave me a portion once. I still vividly remember the taste of it.¡¯

    ¡®Even now, as my mind told me that this dish is far superior to the one I ate back then. The circumstances, desperation and gnawing hunger made up for the difference in taste tenfold.¡¯

    ¡®Regarding Ahsoka. She was most likely just annoyed that it was something she couldn¡¯t eat as a togruta. Then again, there are things I couldn¡¯t eat, but togruta could, so that¡¯s just fair play as I see it.¡¯

    ¡®After we finished the food, the girls finally took me to the sewing droid that was responsible for the padawans clothes.¡¯

    ¡®It was a slight surprise that there was not really a need to create new clothes. I could choose from hundreds of already existing ones. Although the droid said that it would be delighted with a new, more sophisticated challenge instead of the usual boring stuff.¡¯

    ¡®I told it that, if possible, I would come back later and ask her for a more special design. It said that I could come by whenever I wanted, since droids never sleep.¡¯

    ¡®After we dropped my new clothes off in my room, we realized that there was not much else to do.¡¯

    ¡®A little aimless wandering later. The three of us ended up in the room of a thousand fountains, since we didn¡¯t have much else to do, and Ahsoka was still forbidden to duel or practice lightsaber forms because of her concussion.¡¯

    ¡®It turned out that the temple¡¯s rumor mill had already reached Rika. She heard that I put up a good fight against Anakin Skywalker. When I asked her if she wanted to duel with me, she paled and squeaked out an immediate no. I was joking in the first place, so I only smiled at her reaction.¡¯

    ¡®When we arrived at the hall, I could hardly disagree with the rumors that lingered around it.¡¯

    ¡®This place was truly awe-inspiring. The simplistic beauty of the fountains. Hundreds upon hundreds of fountains filling the crystal clear white room. The warmth of the nearby star streaming into the chamber through the tall windows while the gentle hum of flowing water filled the background. Like the rumbling of a distant waterfall echoing through the clear water surface of a lake.¡¯

    ¡®I have never seen something like this with my own eyes¡­ Only through the memories. It was true that the memories were so detailed that I felt like I was there myself. Yet it was still not the same, being there in my body. It made the moment unique, as it belong to me first. It was my genuine experience, and that filled me with a sense of peace and happiness.¡¯

    ¡®As we took in the special atmosphere of the hall. On a sudden whim we decided to do a proper jedi thing, even if I wasn¡¯t one.¡¯

    ¡®We sat down in a triangular formation while lightly touching our hands.¡¯

    ¡®It was a basic form of team meditation practice.¡¯

    ¡®Ahsoka, as the oldest of our little group, took the opportunity to play the boss and decided to be the one who led the meditation.¡¯

    ¡®I had no problem with it, so I silently accepted her offer while Rika seemed to be happy that nobody wanted her to lead it, so she also accepted it silently.¡¯

    ¡®Our first team meditation has officially begun.¡¯

    ¡®The true effects of this meditation room began to show around ten minutes into the process of silencing and slowing my flowing thoughts.¡¯

    ¡®In my case, it was usually about an hour of time to enter into the level of calm consciousness or even more.¡¯

    ¡®In this room, I have already begun to slip into a hyperaware state of calmness after barely ten minutes passed.¡¯

    ¡®To know and understand what I am speaking of. You should have at least once experience it yourself. However, to tell someone who never meditated, I can only describe the feeling as being on the brink of falling asleep.¡¯

    ¡®At that fragile state of mind, when an unnatural calmness takes over your body. You feel no fear, desire, or loss. It¡¯s a sense of simple contentedness. The modest happiness of being.¡¯

    ¡®The only difference is that your mind is awake, but not in the general sense. In this state, you can sense the world around you, but your ego won¡¯t control your every thought.¡¯

    ¡®Imagine a narrow mountain river with a powerful stream as you go down on the river, struggling against the drift in your canoe. The water rushes, bringing you along with great force. You become too occupied attempting to stay afloat, and won¡¯t even notice the world beyond the canoe and its direct path.¡¯

    ¡®Now imagine a wide river cutting across a plain. Flowing with the age old foresight and timelessness belonging to the lifeless aspects of the universe we live in.¡¯

    ¡®If you paddle down on this river, you will focus more on the sights surrounding you than the canoe itself.¡¯

    ¡®You will notice the smallest of movements in your environment as your mind becomes freed from the convulsive effects of a strongly directing ego.¡¯

    ''Suddenly, you see things in different colors, since your experiences with them are not that vivid anymore.¡¯

    ¡®Every emotion you feel is dull, less frightening, less exciting, and much closer to reality.¡¯

    ¡®There is a reason for that, which is the following.¡¯

    ¡®In short, our minds see the surrounding world in the contrast of our personal experiences. Those experiences change the final image of reality to our version of reality.¡¯

    ¡®In essence, we never truly see the world around us, but a version of the world our minds create based on our experiences held together by the mysterious thing that we call ego.¡¯

    ¡®A person, it doesn¡¯t matter if it is human or twi¡¯lek, never really sees the world for what it is. Except maybe when he or she is born and for the first time opens his or her eyes.¡¯

    ¡®Adults, or anyone who has a small segment of personality, cannot clearly see this raw information anymore.¡¯

    ¡®Because our mind already has enough experience to create a personality.¡¯

    ¡®Positive and negative experiences, even neutral ones. The most powerful experiences are the negative ones as they are a matter of survival.¡¯

    ¡®Our experiences overwrite the raw information that the eye receives. That is why, if someone once heavily burned his arm by splashing soup, or cafe on it. For his or her entire life, that memory will immediately appear when she or he smells or sees a cafe or soup, especially if it is the same type.¡¯

    ¡®This means that person cannot enjoy the soup or cafe anymore, not without the sense of subconscious fear and a reminder of the pain that was caused when the accident happened.¡¯

    ¡®This was why I actually liked to meditate sometimes.¡¯

    ¡®If you have about four thousand years of memories, you will have so much personal experience with the world around you that you will become tired from only looking at the things and remembering them.¡¯

    ¡®With an average lifespan you can accumulate so much memories that you have thousands of stories with almost any item around you. It is much more severe in my case. When I look around in the world, I constantly feel a giant tsunami of memories pressuring my mind. I have to repress them. If I didn¡¯t do it, I would freeze up time and time again, literally drowning in the endless waves of memories.¡¯

    ¡®I needed these breathers, to refresh my mind; this is the only time when the weight lessens.¡¯

    ¡®I was thinking and enjoying the freeing experience of deep meditation, when a light brush of force reached my mind. It was coming from Ahsoka, ah. I see she also entered deep meditation. We were only waiting for Rika now.¡¯

    ¡®This room was fantastic. I was mostly skipping on meditation because it took me more than an hour of time to reached the ideal state.¡¯

    ¡®In this room, it was much faster. Ten minutes, maybe twelve. Ahsoka took about thirty minutes, and in the end Rika joined us at forty-five minutes.¡¯

    ¡®Ahsoka then gave us a request through the force. We were meant to rely on her in the meditation session.¡¯

    ¡®I reinforced the barriers around the memories that I inherited from my masters when I was sure that nothing could leak out that I hadn¡¯t experienced or seen with this body; I finally relaxed.¡¯

    ¡®If something that was secretive came up, I could simply banish it with my will. It would ignite Ahsoka¡¯s anger, and she would rant for a few minutes, but I could say that I was not allowed to disclose certain things from my order. That will make her eventually calm down.¡¯

    ¡®I finally joined into the continuous flow of force that the other girls were carefully creating and moving in a circular motion between us.¡¯

    ¡®My entrance gave a slight jolt through the force. Since I was the only missing part. Now, as we all were holding each other¡¯s hands in a continuous circle, the flow began to stabilize.¡¯

    ¡®Ahsoka gave us another remainder through the force. She was getting irritated with our hesitation.¡¯

    ¡®Okay, fine, I relaxed my control over my presence even more and let Ahsoka handle it. We waited for Rika to do the same, then I felt as our force presences began to turn into a vortex. We felt as our astral bodies slowly began to sink into the bottom of this roaring whirlpool. When the bellowing storm dulled to a whispering background noise, I opened my eyes.¡¯

    ¡®We were at the bottom of a dark vortex, still holding hands. I looked upwards. The storm from this depth only seemed as a slowly turning black painting. It didn¡¯t take a genius to realize that something was very wrong here.¡¯

    ¡®When Rika opened her eyes, I could sense her panic as if she recognize the spell at work, just like I did. Well, more likely she got simply scared and I am overthinking things. Yes, that¡¯s definitely it.¡¯

    ¡®I felt that Ahsoka sent her a burst of reassuring feelings through our meditative bond. I was still very surprised from the outcome of this meditation.¡¯

    ¡®This force maelstrom was far from normal, especially in a Jedi Temple. I felt its presence yesterday, this thick suffocating darkness reaching out and engulfing the whole temple.¡¯

    ¡®I sensed that Ahsoka herself wasn¡¯t comfortable with the outcome of our meditation. Therefore, I decided to take over the lead, asking her through the force if she would let me get us out of this situation. She only hesitated for a few seconds before suppressing her control of our shared force bond, while I slowly took over it.¡¯

    ¡®There was a sudden change in the flow when I took over the reins. Not in a good direction, sadly.¡¯

    ¡®The storm suddenly intensified, then it stopped completely and just as suddenly. We were looking around in the thick, silent darkness. Something was very wrong. I just knew.¡¯

    ¡®I felt the force trying to warn me of something, but it was constantly silenced by another outside interference. Only the years of experience that I gained from the ritual allowed me to still understand the small, innocuous warning signs.¡¯

    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    ¡®I peered into the suffocating darkness. Wait, it hadn¡¯t really felt suffocating until now. Not for me, at least. The girls were not that lucky. What changed?¡¯

    ¡®On a whim, I reached out with my force presence, almost instantly a terrifying chill ran through my body, the icy dread physically shook me.¡¯

    ¡®I saw a firestorm, coiling around me fuelled by incredible heat and pressing at my body on all sides. The sensation of slowly being cooked while unable to do anything. Panic, raw undiluted panic, was threatening to overcome me.¡¯

    ¡®Then the vision subsided. I found myself back in the eye of the storm, covered in sweat, grasping for air with a thirst I never experienced before.¡¯

    ¡®There was a presence. An aura so dark that it was almost entirely invisible in the middle of this darkness. I wouldn¡¯t sense it if I myself wasn¡¯t a knowledgeable practitioner of the dark side.¡¯

    ¡®This dark, almost empty presence was so dense that it left an empty vacuum behind the much thinner dark energies of this place. That¡¯s why I found it, but it also realized this...¡¯

    ¡°Ohhh... what an unfortunate... surprise... he-h-h...¡±

    ¡®I heard a sadistic voice coming from the dark mist around us. It was in a continuously changing tone. There was no way to identify it, not even its gender.¡¯

    ¡°But, who? I wonder, who could have possibly found me?¡±

    ¡®Peering into the darkness with a hitching breathing, I noticed the slowly appearing silhouette of a hooded black-robed figure materializing in the darkness.¡¯

    ¡®Everyone of us unmistakingly sensed the deadly presence. Raw power radiated from it in enormous waves. I felt as the girls¡¯ hands trembled in mines. They were about to claw through my skin with their terrified grips.¡¯

    ¡®The sensation of sharp pain jolted me out of my shocked state. I quickly began to untie our connection, dismissing the meditation as fast as possible.¡¯

    ¡®The dark-robed figure suddenly stopped moving. Its head whipped in our direction, sensing my actions, no doubt.¡¯

    ¡®Before he could completely turn his face, I blasted apart our meditative connection through letting out a sizeable chunk of the dark side energy that I had gathered from the temple in these few days.¡¯

    ¡®I could only hope that I was quick enough, and he couldn¡¯t take a good look at us.¡¯

    ¡®As I awoke from the horrible meditation, I realized that my body was visibly trembling. My heart beating like a drum, shaking my entire frame.¡¯

    ¡®The room of the many fountains surrounding us was partially engulfed in a blackish cloud. A residual manifestation of the swirling dark side energies mixing with my own. A phenomenon often seen in Korriban¡¯s barren plains. There were even weak electrical discharges mixed in. I hastily began to disperse the residue, siphoning and cleaning most of it out.¡¯

    ¡®Terrified that the jedi might find even more things to put me in a disadvantaged position.¡¯

    ¡®I couldn¡¯t think entirely straight at that moment, since I knew, I clearly knew what I saw.¡¯

    ¡®The deep gold color. It¡¯s sickeningly radiating glint was an unmistakable sign of a true Darth Lord.¡¯

    ¡®One that was powerful enough to cause the appearance of death visions by its mere presence. I shivered from the vivid memory circulating through my thoughts.¡¯

    ¡®The jedi never bothered to realize this detail, but the shade and richness of yellow or gold in this case can be a very good indicator of the level of dark side energies contained by someone.¡¯

    ¡®For example, my eyes became yellow when I tapped deep into the dark side. Like now, as I tried to clean up this mess. It is far from the deep gold hue that guy possessed... but¡­ Wa-wait...¡¯

    ¡®I suddenly realized my grave mistake.¡¯

    ¡®I looked to my left, from where I felt a spike of fear just now.¡¯

    ¡®Ahsoka was watching me with wide, betrayed eyes. The moment I saw her guarded form. I realized that there was no going back. She saw it. I turned to Rika, with slight hope, but she was actually knocked out from the sheer terror of sensing a Darth unmasked presence.¡¯

    ¡®Still, I was worried about her. The poor girl had enough on her plate as it is. I tried to reach towards her and help her with my force abilities.¡¯

    ¡®A suddenly appearing unfamiliar presence stopped me.¡¯

    ¡®A screaming force warning later, I was jumping backwards from my crouching position as fast as possible.¡¯

    ¡®A blue blade slashed into the upper layers of the floor where I was standing a mere second ago. I focused on the attacker with the seriousness the situation demanded. He just attempted to kill me. There was no question about this.¡¯

    ¡®I felt a sense of hurt, but I quickly shoved it aside. Exchanging the feeling with a cold, calculating logic.¡¯

    ¡®My yellow eyes bored into the person standing before me.¡¯

    ¡®A masked jedi, with an actually practical battle armor. A jedi shadow, no doubt... Damn it! I might be able to speak this out with Ahsoka, or even Obi-Wan, but these guys were typical fanatics of the Jedi Order. There is no talking this out with someone like that.¡¯

    ¡®He practically hissed at me.¡¯

    ¡°Drop your weapon, traitor, and may the council judge you for your sins. For deceiving us and betraying our hospitality.¡±

    ¡®I clicked my tongue at that.¡¯

    ¡°You are mistaken. I am not a traitor. I was never a Jedi. How could I betray one ideal which I never possessed? Regarding your hospitality, you were the ones who dragged me here out of nowhere, so shut the fuck up! Alright?¡±

    ¡°Your lies have no more power here. Drop your weapon, or die holding onto it. It makes no difference to me.¡±

    ¡®I blinked at him. Feeling flabbergasted.¡¯

    ¡°You realize that you just tried to kill me and admitted that you don¡¯t care if I live or die¡­ right? Now, do you honestly expect anyone to surrender after that? The hypocrisy of your words, betray your true intent shadow. You don¡¯t want me to surrender, do you?¡±

    ¡®I saw as the man¡¯s eyes narrowed hearing my words. He didn¡¯t react to them and instead said monotonously.¡¯

    ¡°Drop your weapon and raise your arms. This is your last warning.¡±

    ¡®I sighed internally. Now he is acting as a goody two shoes, finally realizing that Ahsoka was a witness to our conversation. What a slime.¡¯

    ¡®I glanced at Ahsoka. She was hesitating, and her expression was pained, looking at me with so much hurt. Pleading through her gaze, asking me to follow the shadow¡¯s instructions.¡¯

    ¡®She at least didn¡¯t want to see me slaughtered, not yet anyway. That will change soon. I am afraid... I can¡¯t let the jedi probe into my mind. That would likely end up killing both me and the fool who attempts such a notion. My mind is surrounded with layers upon layers of defensive mechanisms, nothing short of a Sith holocron.¡¯

    ¡®At first, it would only dissuade any invader, but if they push it too far and too long, it is more than capable of destroying my mind along with anyone¡¯s connected to it at the moment. In a desperate attempt to contain our secrets.¡¯

    ¡®I believe at this point, sharing some of my memories is the only way I could ever convince them. I might be wrong, but the risk is too much to take. The jedi are too good with mind manipulation. We already learned this the hard way, right, Master Revan?¡¯

    ¡®I sighed heavily while I stood there, unmoving and pretty dejected.¡¯

    ¡®My eyes were closed, thinking over my chances... Even if they changed their methods, through the years, which I hardly doubt, seeing the shadow before me. With one Darth Lord, this powerful hiding so close to the Jedi Temple as if he usually walked the corridors of it.¡¯

    ¡®I had no intention to risk being captured and then assassinated, especially not after that vision just now. The pain was too real for it to be a simple illusion.¡¯

    ¡®If that Darth finds me in a helpless and bound state. Then I am as good as dead. I was pretty sure the foresight was warning me about this.¡¯

    ¡®I slowly raised up my face, and opened my eyes, looking at the form of the jedi shadow before me. Then I said with apparent acceptance in my voice.¡¯

    ¡°So be it.¡±

    ¡®He momentarily lowered his guard, surprised by this development.¡¯

    ¡®My eyelids shot up filled with the bright yellow hue, followed by a flick of my left hand and an ear splitting crackling thunder.¡¯

    ¡®Soon a painful scream joined in the chorus as a heavy body flew through the room, crashing into a particularly big fountain. The smell of ozone and burned hair immediately spread across the silent hall.¡¯

    ¡®I made a disgusted expression, feeling the wave of corrosive energies, feelings and thoughts washing over my mind and body. All from the sudden and explicit use of dark side energy.¡¯

    ¡®My body was used to the minor changes by now. I trained to use the dark side, just as the light, or even better. Therefore, the changes were accommodated easily, and will disappear just as easily with time given.¡¯

    ¡®The physical changes were one thing I hated about the dark side. Looking like an undead is nothing to be proud of¡­ My skin shade is pale enough as it is. I didn¡¯t need the sickly color with blackish veins. My left arm, which I used to unleash the lightning, got it worst.¡¯

    ¡®I felt as the muscles inside my arm began to twitch violently. What a mess...¡¯

    ¡®Even with trained adaptability, I can¡¯t get away without injuring myself if I cast such power out of nowhere. I need to warm up with dark side powers like any normal athlete to get accustomed to it slowly.¡¯

    ¡®That¡¯s not an option in a surprise attack, though.¡¯

    ¡®Do you know what is even more sad? That I have to cast a lot more dark side spells to even attempt an escape from this cursed temple. Not that I actually believe I have a chance¡­ I will be most likely caught, but it¡¯s not like me to go down without a fight. At least it will help me get rid of some accumulated frustration. It¡¯s a shame that my skin will become or dried up again¡­¡¯

    ¡®Now, let¡¯s create some havoc here. I was dying for a stretch. And that bastard deserved an enlightening swim in that fountain for his cheek. To think that he thought he can assassinate me with such a weak attempt.¡¯

    ¡®I throw a playful wink in Ahsoka¡¯s direction, who was kneeling next to Rika with a stupefied expression. Then I began to erase my presence and cast a dark miasma cloud, as a small scale storm, that centered on me.¡¯

    ¡®I smirked. It was the same spell that the Darth used, only unmasked and more potent in its concentration. This will counter the jedi¡¯s senses both visually and in the force.¡¯

    ¡®The last thing I had to do was to run. I didn¡¯t hesitate anymore and began to run towards the closest temple gate I knew of. It was the seventeenth landing pad.¡¯

    ¡®I hoped to reach it, then simply jump off the edge of it. With the help of the force, I theoretically could slow my descent enough to not die. Let¡¯s hope I will make it in one piece.¡¯

    Obi-Wan Kenobi was walking through the corridors of the temple with a thoughtful expression. He recently sensed a strange disturbance in the force, but it disappeared almost immediately. Thanks to that, he couldn¡¯t effectively pinpoint the location. What he knew clearly was that it originated from the inside of the temple.

    He had a strange premonition, one that unmistakably suggested that his presence was urgently required. And so he left whatever he was doing and went on a blind search for the cause of that disturbance.

    As he walked, relying on his intuition, a black cloud of force energy appeared at the turn of the corridor around thirty meters from his current position. The cloud, or more like the person covered by the dark cloud, was followed by a huge ruckus of angry shouts and curses.

    Seeing the ridiculous and utterly unbelievable sight spreading out in front of him in the middle of the always peaceful and serene Jedi Temple. Obi¡¯Wan Kenobi froze, blinking rapidly at the phenomenon, unwilling to believe what he was seeing.

    Then he sensed a powerful force wave unleashed not far beyond the escaping or from his perspective incoming black blob.

    ¡°¡­You are kidding me?¡± ¡ª Were his only words, as he saw the mysterious escapee picked up by the powerful force push along with a variety of invaluable historic items displayed in the jedi corridor.

    The dark cloud of energy quickly accelerated, wildly thrown in his direction, crashing into him, releasing a pained girlish cry on impact. They both fell on the ground, tumbling all over each other.

    Obi-Wan found himself spread out on the floor, completely disoriented like a rag-doll. The experience was comparable to being hit by a car. Without his last-minute force shields, the damage would have been a lot worser. Still, his body was aching all over. He might even get a slight concussion from this.

    Feeling utterly humiliated by being caught up in such a disaster of an event, noticing the various broken vases and irreplaceable historical items wildly thrown around the corridor. Obi¡¯Wan, for the first time in ages, struggled to contain his level-headed calmness.

    ¡°What in blazes is happening here?!¡± ¡ª He shouted his face getting red from the special mix of embarrassment and fluctuating anger.

    He was angry at himself as much as the fools responsible for this disaster.

    How did he not sense this? He questioned. The force didn¡¯t warn him of an incoming danger of such magnitude? Why?

    As he attempted to pull himself up, he realized that he was partially lying on someone. It must be the bastard who had just crashed into him with the force of a cannonball none the less!

    From his half sitting half entangled position, he caught sight of the person¡¯s clothes. They were typical padawan robes.

    This information further inflamed his anger. Whoever¡¯s padawan is this, he will give the rant of his life to her or his master. He only needs to copy Master Windu¡¯s ranting skills to achieve such a result. It will finally pay off, listening to his tantrums all these years.

    Suddenly, a series of footsteps appeared, surrounding him on all sides.

    He attempted to look around, still clutching his head from the newly received injuries. A large lump had already begun to form on the back of his head.

    When he actually looked up, the frustration in his eyes immediately changed into surprise and confusion.

    There were three different jedi shadows standing around him with activated lightsabers.

    One of them was especially grumpy and agitated; small smoke clouds were continuously billowing from his clothes, not even speaking of the fact that he was entirely drenched in water and looked like an utter fool.

    Nothing less than he did right now, he imagined.

    Obi-Wan Kenobi, the legendary jedi diplomat, probably for the first time in his life since he could remember, couldn¡¯t find a drop of serenity inside him. After about half a minute of this awkward silence, he finally ran out of patience and shouted.

    ¡°What the hell is happening here?! Are you going to attack me in the middle of the Jedi Temple or what? Is this an insurrection against a council member? Answer me!¡±

    The other three jedi, were completely shocked by the unforeseen change of events.

    Obi-Wan, the calmest member of the jedi council, the model jedi, was currently sitting on the back of the suspected sith apprentice.

    The girl was obviously unconscious and sprawled out on the ground like a bag of potatoes. While he was shouting at them with utter rage, accusing them of insurrection.

    One of the Jedi shadows turned towards the other two with a most likely baffled expression that was hidden behind her mask. Then she asked hesitantly...

    ¡°... Is this some sort of Sith witchery?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Urgh...¡±

    Hearing the painful moan, Obi-Wan finally remembered that he was lying on someone and jumped up from the ground, ignoring his injuries as if the floor have threatened to burn him alive.

    What he saw only raised more questions instead of answereing them.

    Not far from the Jedi Temple, a finely robed figure was walking in his richly designed apartment with a troubled expression.

    He was surprised that someone had found his presence from the halfwit Jedi Temple, but that was not a reason for his worrying.

    On the other hand, the real problem was the fact that he could not find out the identity of this person. That was much more troublesome. This meant one thing, that the person was able to cloud its presence with the use of the dark side.

    To that realization, a sadistic half-smile appeared on his wrinkled face.

    ¡°A rival, it seems.¡±

    His sickening smile only widened.

    ¡°I will teach you to never play with forces far beyond your narrow-minded understanding.¡±

    He walked out of his room, while his bloodthirsty expression slowly formed into a warm grandfatherly smile. There was not even a drop of that sickening malice he showed a few seconds ago.

    In a much calmer, even warm voice, he said.

    ¡°You will soon realize the full potential of the dark side, with your own pitiful body and soul.¡±

    The voice and the expressions he wore while saying such threats were entirely different, almost succeeding in making his threats seem like a simple joke.

 16. Chapter

    After Obi-Wan realized that his new padawan was the one who crashed into him. Managing to hit her head in the process and lose consciousness as a result.

    Suffice it to say, he was understandably shocked.

    He crouched down and checked over her small yet well-toned body. He didn¡¯t really realize until now the extent of the girl¡¯s training. It shouldn¡¯t be a surprise since she was actually able to fight with Anakin shoulder to shoulder for a while.

    Anakin was a Jedi Master in every essence, but title. At times, even some of the council members used to call him like that.

    As he looked over the girl¡¯s body, he immediately realized some strange and frightening signs. Meanwhile, the three jedi shadows were silently standing around them in a triangle formation, watching his actions.

    ¡®Seriously, what the hell happened here?¡¯ ¡ª He wondered.

    As his gaze focused on the girl¡¯s left arm, he was again shocked. Her arm was very pale and her veins were much darker than they should have been.

    Next, he looked over at her face. There were also blackened veins and an unnatural paleness. Her skin was too cold for comfort. He tried to wake her, unsuccessfully.

    He forced open one of her eyelids to see if her eyes reacted to the light the way they should. What he saw made him inhale sharply. He let go of the eyelid as he had to force himself not to jump up.

    Before coming to a hasty decision. He decided to double check what he had discovered. He lightly forced open both of the girl¡¯s eyes this time.

    He saw the hurtful truth. Both of her eyes were clearly yellow. Obi-Wan felt as if suddenly a giant rock appeared in his stomach.

    He took in a sharp breath.

    ¡®Why? How could this happen? It didn¡¯t make sense at all¡­¡¯

    He watched the girl interact with others. He saw that she was genuinely kind and helpful. She even became friends with Ahsoka and Rika. That shy girl would feel if someone wasn¡¯t genuinely kind towards her. Ahsoka had a good sense of people, too.

    One shadow suddenly crumbled to the floor with a painful grunt.

    That made his line of thoughts pause.

    ¡°Would one of you finally tell me what happened?¡±

    His voice was much calmer now, as he began to process the shock and surprise.

    Now he was back in his usual calm jedi facade.

    Sensing that the storm had passed, one of the jedi shadows came to him while the other began to use some basic level of force heal on the injured one. They relaxed somewhat.

    Since Master Obi-Wan checked over the girl throughly, they realized that she was indeed knocked out without any doubt.

    The masked shadow who came to explain was also a man. There were very few women who chose to become a jedi shadow. So it was a kind of surprise that one of them actually was a female to begin with.

    ¡°You are already aware of this, but the council ordered the three of us to continuously follow the girl. We were supposed to watch over her twenty-four hours a day by switching each other at the end of every eight hours.¡±

    ¡°Indeed.¡± ¡ª Kenobi nodded, confirming the shadow¡¯s statement.

    ¡°Our injured companion saw the girl in the company of padawan Ahsoka and Rika. He reported that they went to the hall of fountains, preparing for team meditation.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t see anything suspicious about that.¡± ¡ª Kenobi stated, starting to lose his patience once again. While the shadow continued his long-winded explanation.

    ¡°Yes, but while they all were in a meditative state, the twi¡¯lek girl suddenly erupted a powerful wave of malevolent energy from her body. It contaminated a large part of the sacred meditation hall.¡±

    ¡°As a result to such action, all of them were forcefully woken from their meditation. Ahsoka seemed paled and terrified, while the other padawan lost consciousness right away. The twi¡¯lek then began to control the dark side energies in the room, siphoning them to use another force ritual most likely, or to simply hide the evidence. That is all I knew. I was asked by holo call to provide assistance.¡±

    Obi-Wan, not knowing what else to do, stood up and walked over to the injured shadow. Who was already feeling better from the continuously applied force heal his companion provided.

    He crouched down before him, to speak with him from eye to eye. In the meantime, he also checked over his body, searching for any telltale signs that could explain what caused so much damage to him. He didn¡¯t have to search for long. The signs were very obvious, and it made Obi-Wan¡¯s already troubled expression look even more sinister and sad. He didn¡¯t even have to ask. He said it as a statement.

    ¡°Force lightning.¡±

    The injured man only grunted in affirmation.

    Obi-Wan had to take in a few more calming breaths of air before he finally continued.

    ¡°Tell me how it happened, from the moment you called for reinforcement. I want to know everything.¡±

    ¡°Yes Master...¡± ¡ª The man squirmed in his place uncomfortably. ¡ª ¡°I watched the girl as she cleaned up most of the residual dark energies that appeared in the room. It was at that moment I noticed that her eyes glowed with a bright yellow color. I... I may have acted rashly, but when I saw that she was reaching for the unconscious padawan... I launched a preemptive attack at her.¡±

    An ominous thought appeared in Obi¡¯Wan¡¯s mind. He decided to ask, sharply, staring into the eyes of the man.

    ¡°Was this attack meant to deter her or to kill her?¡±

    ¡°I... the latter.¡± ¡ª The man said with apparent difficulty.

    The events leading to the current situation slowly started to stand together in Obi-Wan¡¯s mind. He continued with an even more disappointed expression appearing on his face.

    ¡°... I see... Your attempt must have failed, seeing that she is still alive.¡± ¡ª Obi¡¯Wan stated in an accusatory tone. ¡ª ¡°You might be a shadow, but first of all you are supposed to be a jedi. A keeper of peace. Yet you decided to unleash a preemptive attack based on speculation towards a child known to be a member of an unknown force sect with the intention of causing lethal harm. You will answer for the potential consequences your actions caused, but for now, continue with your explanation. What did you do after that?¡±

    The man¡¯s smile faltered. He looked confused, even.

    ¡°I warned her to drop her weapon and be judged by the council for deceiving the Jedi Order as a sith.¡± ¡ª The man stated his confidence was waning with every word.

    Obi¡¯Wan facepalmed¡­ sighing deeply. ¡ª ¡°I imagine it had no effects after almost killing her¡­ or did it?¡± ¡ª He asked sarcastically. To which the man shook his head, just as he expected.

    At this moment, the shadow was sweating profusely under the pressure of the interrogation.

    ¡°Sh-she said that she was not a sith¡­ but that could only be another lie¡­ You yourself saw her eyes, and aside from that¡­ There are changes on her body that are signs of heavy dark-side exposal. Not even mentioning that she blasted me across the room with a force lighting¡­¡± ¡ª The man added breathless, a sense of disbelief shown across his features. He was clearly not understanding what he had done wrong.

    Obi-Wan sighed with trepidation.

    ¡°That is right, and she will have to answer for her actions.¡± ¡ª His eyes narrowed on the man. ¡ª ¡°Just as you.¡± ¡ª The man was enraged, immediately arguing back.

    ¡°Master, with all due respect, I only did what I was trained for! As a shadow I am trained to eliminate the sith!¡± ¡ª He protested vehemently.

    Obi-Wan¡¯s expression darkened as he spoke with barely contained anger.

    ¡°What is the basis of your claim that the girl is a sith? Give me your absolute proof, then.¡± ¡ª He demanded.

    ¡°Her eyes¡­ ¡° ¡ª Obi¡¯Wan interrupted him. ¡ª ¡°It doesn¡¯t prove anything¡­ it might as well be a contact lense, you idiot.¡±

    There was a stifling silence weighing in the air of the dimly lit corridor.

    ¡°Even if they are real¡­ She is a member of an unknown force sect. They might have certain techniques that we would find unorthodox. Even among our ranks, there are few members who are capable of channeling the dark side to a certain extent. One is sitting among the rank of the High Council, if you didn¡¯t forget.¡±

    ¡°Master Windu doesn¡¯t have those eyes¡­¡± ¡ª The shadow hissed. ¡ª ¡°You know it as well as I do, master.¡±

    The two men glared at one another, the silent tension between them threatening to blow into another argument.

    Obi¡¯Wan decided to continue his previous thought. Ignoring the shadow''s sentence. The man was clearly not in the right mind to see to his own mistakes.

    ¡°Certainly, she will have to explain herself in more detail this time around, but this is far from a proper reason to assault her without giving her a chance to clear her name.¡±

    The man looked to the side, this time unable to retort, while Kenobi continued his rant.

    ¡°It did not pass my notice either, that the girl who is supposedly in possession of such malicious powers and intentions¡­ Clearly choose to use only enough force on you that wouldn¡¯t leave any lasting damage in your nerve system. Or do you believe that a sith¡¯s force lightning is something that you can take head-on and then run around basically unscathed?¡±

    The man¡¯s eyes widened with surprise. He turned towards the unconscious girl, uncertainty and guilt mirrored in his eyes.

    ¡°Continue your explanation.¡± ¡ª Obi¡¯Wan told him.

    ¡°For a time she looked genuinely confronted.¡± ¡ª He stated. ¡ª ¡°She hesitated for an entire minute, then she, to my surprise, agreed. It caused me to lower my guard, if only for a second.¡±

    ¡°It turned out to be another deception, as she chose that moment to attack me with a sudden blast of sith lightning.¡±

    ¡°The blast was powerful. Someone untrained in the use of the force would immediately die from it, a padawan too. It melted my force shields like they were not even there, and I was blown away by the sheer power of it.¡±

    ¡°I crashed into the water of a nearby fountain. Luckily, I didn¡¯t lose consciousness and was able to crawl out of it.¡±

    ¡°It was around this time that the others arrived. I quickly briefed them in on the situation and we began our chase.¡±

    Obi¡¯Wan was thoughtful. Thinking over the unusual situation. Coming to the quick realization that this was not something he could simply handle by himself.

    ¡°I see, now rest. Each of you will be questioned by the council, throughly. And I expect a written report as well. You take him to the medical bay. The rest will be handled by me.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I understand.¡±

    Said the female jedi shadow as she helped her teammate to his feet. They moved away slowly. The burst of adrenaline must have given him the strength to move until now, but as the situation calmed, its effects also weakened.

    Obi-Wan turned to the last shadow who was still standing here.

    ¡°How did the chase continue?¡° ¡ª He asked, eager to get to the end of this.

    The man, quickly realizing that Obi¡¯Wan¡¯s attention now turned to him, straightened up and continued the explanation from where the others left it.

    ¡°First, we tried to locate her through the use of the force, but it didn¡¯t work. We couldn¡¯t even find her presence at all. It was as if she had vanished.¡±

    ¡°We connected to the temple security system, and the droids analyzed all the camera¡¯s feed. This way, we could find her. We also realized that she was trying to reach the seventeenth landing pad, yet there was no ship to pick her up.¡±

    ¡°We feared that it might be on the way or waiting for her signal. Therefore, we decided to alert the nearby temple guards to close the gate. Even if there was no sign of any incoming ship.¡±

    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    ¡°Hmm.¡± ¡ª ¡®That was a good choice, and it also explained why I didn¡¯t sense her presence at all.¡¯ ¡ª Obi¡¯Wan thought to himself.

    ¡°Go on.¡± ¡ª He urged the shadow to continue.

    ¡°After we managed to catch up to her. We quickly realized that she was clouded in a swirling dark mist that seemed to follow her everywhere. We could not focus on her presence and didn¡¯t dare to close on the unidentified force technique.¡±

    ¡°We followed her for a while, then decided to try to blast away the black mist with a joined force push¡­ The rest¡­ you are already aware of, sir.¡±

    ¡°¡­ Most certainly¡­¡± ¡ª Obi¡¯Wan noted sarcastically patting down his wrinkled robes¡­ his bones still aching from the recent tumble he endured. What was worst was the sharp pulsing in the back of his head.

    Hearing his reaction, the shadow seemed to have a hard time keeping his expression stoic.

    ¡®I saw that smirk on your face.¡¯ ¡ª Obi¡¯Wan thought, but decided to keep silent about it. However, he could not stop insulting the man, at least in his thoughts. ¡ª ¡®So you were the reason she crashed into me with the force of a charging tauntaun. You damn bastards. There will be consequences to this¡­¡¯

    ¡°Cough, yes. I see.¡± ¡ª He stated with a strained expression.

    ¡°Go and bring the other padawans to the council room.¡± ¡ª Kenobi commanded.

    The man nodded, accepting the command and quickly disappearing at the lower end of the corridor.

    ¡®Master Yoda must still be there. He used to meditate around this time.¡¯ ¡ª With that thought, he glanced at the girl still laying lifelessly on the floor.

    ¡®I guess I will give her over to the temple guards for the time being. This matter must be solved with careful investigation. I want to know what the other padawans think of the situation. Then we will ask Nizzal, too, when she wakes, that is.¡¯

    ¡®Considering that this is connected to another force sect, we should handle it with the utmost care and secrecy. No one else should know about this not until the council makes its judgment. It¡¯s out of my jurisdiction either way.¡¯

    ¡°I might have to carry her¡­¡± ¡ª He mused loudly.

    At that moment, a familiar weak voice sounded in the corridor.

    ¡°There will be no need to do that-¡­ cough... I will come on my own two feet...¡±

    Obi¡¯Wan was surprised by the sight of the stirring girl. Based on her injuries, he didn¡¯t expect her to wake anytime soon.

    Still, she was clearly not in pristine condition. Her weapon was taken by him and seeing her confused state, he didn¡¯t really feel any threat from the lass. He crouched down next to her, searching the girl¡¯s pained expression.

    ¡°You should lay down. Your injuries are understandingly more severe than my own. You know, based on kinetic energy in relation to the weights of colliding bodies. All that boring stuff kids of your age learn in school.¡±

    Her only reaction was an insufferable expression, taking its place on her pale features. Eventually, she groaned, pulling herself into a sitting position. Clutching her head in a dazed grip.

    ¡°I am drained and bruised all over...¡± ¡ª She stated, clearly tired from the recent goose chase. ¡ª ¡°I think I broke a few ribs.¡± ¡ª She grimaced. ¡ª ¡°It¡¯s pretty hard to breathe... ah-h-h.. ouch...¡±

    She slightly moved her torso into a different posture, her expression softening as the pain subsided.

    ¡°There is no more fight in me, not for today...¡± ¡ª She stated eventually. ¡ª ¡°Do what you want, jedi... torture me or whatever... I was already your prisoner from the moment I stepped in here... Do you really think I never realized that someone was following me all day long...¡° ¡ª She spitted out the words venomously.

    Obi¡¯Wan realized that the girl was a lot more riled up from the experience than he had initially anticipated.

    That or maybe he was just not used to dealing with children, whose emotions weren¡¯t tempered by the jedi indoctrination. Anyway, this was a complicated situation, and he wasn¡¯t going to show any weakness in front of a potential sith or dark jedi.

    ¡°Silence!¡± ¡ª He demanded. To which the girl became surprisingly miffed.

    ¡°¡­ Oh yeah?¡­ And what if I don¡¯t shut up? Will you make me? Will you try to cut me in two like your shit-eater friend did¡­ I just wanted to help Rika, and that bastard attacked me out of the blue! Tell me that she is alright at least¡­¡±

    Obi-Wan was about to lose his patience for the second time in one day. He had the audacity to think that Anakin was hard to deal with. Now life has begun to teach him another tough lesson.

    Still listening to the girls rant, he had something to ask.

    ¡°If what you say is indeed true, then tell me, why did you use that dark side technique that caused this entire unfortunate event?¡±

    The girl seemed to remember something, as her eyes widened with clear abhorrence and fear.

    Her left hand began to twitch. It could be the side effect of the lightning technique, or something else: is it because of fear or nerve damage? Her face also turned ashen. Then she finally answered as her eyes wandered to the ground, failing to hold eye contact with her Kenobi.

    Almost as if ashamed of her own actions, she admitted her deeds in a whispering tone.

    ¡°I... had no choice... It would find us... otherwise...¡± ¡ª The shaking of her damaged arm intensified while her pupils expanded momentarily, remembering the scene.

    That sentence and the clear, genuine fear in the boisterous girl¡¯s voice caught Obi¡¯Wan off-guard. He couldn¡¯t help but press on seeing her mental barriers momentarily shaken by fear and uncertainty. It was a cowardly act, but he knew from experience that the girl wouldn¡¯t talk if he gave her time to gather herself.

    ¡°What would have found you?¡± ¡ª He demanded the answer.

    The girl seemed to be hesitant about answering that question. Obi-Wan chose that moment to interrupt, and hopefully prod the girl towards speaking.

    ¡°Nizzal, please. I want to help and understand you, but you must speak to me.¡± ¡ª He whispered to the clearly shaken girl in a confident, reassuring tone.

    The girl sighed, nodding weakly. Then she was caught in a fit of wet coughing. This immediately alarmed Kenobi. Wet coughs like that were never good news. He was about to pick the girl up and run to the infirmary. But she raised her hand, stopping him in the action.

    ¡°Since the cat is already out of the bag. There is no more reason to hide my¡­ abilities. Give me a moment, Obi¡¯Wan, and I will be fine.¡±

    Kenobi couldn¡¯t help but raise a questioning eyebrow. One that was soon joined by another, as he saw a very unusual sight spreading out in front of him.

    There was a thin flow of blue blood leaking out of her mouth and nose. The girl also realized this, but didn¡¯t seem to care.

    ¡°I think that I should still take you to Vokara¡­ Most definitely¡­¡± ¡ª Obi¡¯Wan stated as worry threatened to overcome him.

    ¡°Heh, how ironic?¡± ¡ª The girl said. ¡ª ¡°You didn¡¯t even notice, not even now...¡°

    Obi-Wan felt that something was seriously wrong with that solemn yet vindictive expression on the young girl.

    He had only seen that kind of expression on the faces of aged politicians, like on his favorite count, and only when he had fallen into another trap of his scheming. Seeing that particular sign of assured superiority and satisfaction on a thirteen-year-old girl-child was not something he ever wanted to see.

    He was already cursing himself internally, yet he had to ask.

    ¡°Would you like to enlighten me, what you find so entertaining before you bleed to death?¡± ¡ª He asked, unintended sarcasm entering his voice. A bad habit that came to the surface in situations when he wasn¡¯t sure of himself. Giving a mask of confidence to him that was meant to cover his vulnerability.

    ¡°The Sith Lord you are looking for is not me, as I have already told to your lesser multiple times.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡ª Kenobi asked, unsure what to think about this unexpected turn of events.

    The girl continued at her own pace, unperturbed by the man¡¯s interruption.

    ¡°To be entirely honest, I was quite skeptical of his existence. At least until half an hour ago. When we had the unfortunate luck of running into him at the start of our meditation session. I¡­ don¡¯t actually know if he is a male though¡­ not for sure¡­ It¡¯s just a hunch.¡±

    ¡°What!?¡± ¡ª Obi¡¯Wan exclaimed.

    The girl smirked up at him, enjoying his reaction.

    ¡°When we entered into the state of... - cough, cough, cough... cough... - joint meditation, we appeared at the bottom of a large dark energy storm.¡±

    She stopped to think for a moment, then continued.

    ¡°I won¡¯t lie. It shocked me as well... I was sensing something from the moment I stepped into your cursed temple...¡±

    ¡°Watch your mouth, lass¡­¡± ¡ª Obi¡¯Wan lectured her, in a bored tone. It seemed like a purely reflexive gesture that came to him without thought. He was probably having to correct someone¡¯s behavior for years for it to become such an instinctive gesture.

    Nizzal glanced at the man. Then her thoughts wandered back to Anakin¡­ so he was the culprit in question.

    She shook her head, amused.

    ¡°I meant it in¡­ in the literal way. Your temple¡­ is most definitely cursed. With a wide area of negative energy. A dark ritual¡­ It¡¯s very sophisticated¡­ It even fooled me for a time¡­ It is incredibly well hidden, and¡­ Its effect is weak, but in the span of years it will eventually blind your foresight and cloud your judgment¡­ Among other light side abilities. You can¡¯t really find it without knowing what to look for, either. You have grown too used to it over the years¡­¡±

    Obi-Wan took the opportunity to ask another important question.

    ¡°Oh, tell me then, how did you know what to look for?¡± ¡ª There was a curious glint in his eyes. Projecting a sense of innocence towards the girl.

    The girl looked at him with a fascinated expression. Coughed a few times. Then she continued with a sigh.

    ¡°It is not because I am an apprentice of the sith, as you so happily try to imply... Based on that disgusting expression of yours¡­¡± ¡ª Cough! ¡ª ¡°My order¡­ It teaches both the light and the dark side.¡± ¡ª Cough...

    ¡°That is what grey means¡­ if you had two working brain cells, you would already realize this based on the name I readily provided. Not that knowing about it would make any difference¡­ There is no way you can contact my order without them willingly allowing it to happen.¡±

    She spat out a mouthful of blue blood on the floor as she talked.

    Obi-Wan was getting worried about the girl for real now. He decided that the moment she finishes answering this last question, he will have to take her directly to a bacta bath.

    ¡°Our philosophy is to find a balance between the two aspects, never to... agh... this fucking hurts.¡± ¡ª The girl winced, grasping her side.

    There was an alerting cracking sound as the girl ground her teeth while a few drops of tears began to flow down her cheeks. Then, she gave a deep relieved sigh...

    ¡°...Much better...¡± ¡ª She stated, relief filling her voice, in place of the recent tension and pain.

    Obi¡¯Wan didn¡¯t understand what had happened for a while, then he realized something. Nizzal¡¯s breathing was stable once again.

    ¡°What did you do?¡± ¡ª He asked, his voice filled with genuine curiosity.

    ¡°I healed my broken ribs... obviously...¡± ¡ª The girl answered.

    ¡°Yes... obviously...¡± ¡ª The Jedi Master noted sarcastically. As if doing something like that at her age was anything to consider normal.

    ¡°I can see that you are well versed in force healing... I never heard of a sith that was able to effectively use a purely light-side technique like that.¡± ¡ª Obi¡¯Wan stated thoughtfully. Then added with new layers of suspicion.

    ¡°Unfortunately, I recall that I seem to realize very frequently in recent times how ignorant I could be in certain aspects.¡±

    Nizzal glanced up at the man who was supposed to be her substitute master. To be honest, she was very surprised that the man was yet to point a saber blade at her. She looked every bit like a typical sith. Yellow eyes, dark corrupted veins visible through the unhealthy shade of paleness.

    Obi-Wan eyed her balefully as he asked the next question.

    ¡°What is your rank in your order, girl...¡± ¡ª He stopped for a second, adding a quick afterthought. ¡ª ¡°And I want to hear the truth now, no more nonsense for yours and my sake as well.¡±

    Nizzal¡¯s sighed. Rolling from her side to her back, staring at the tall ceiling.

    ¡°... I have already told it to one of you... I earned the rank of a master through my own skills and achievements... It doesn¡¯t matter if you believe it or not, master jedi.¡± ¡ª Stating the last words, she turned her gaze from the ceiling and looked into the suspicious eyes of Kenobi.

    A thick silence engulfed the corridor as they held eye contact with each other. Then Obi-Wan asked.

    ¡°How old are you?¡±

    ¡°Asking a vulnerable girl her age what a presumptuous act from a man of your stature. I expected more from the infamous jedi diplomat.¡± ¡ª The girl scolded. Obi¡¯Wan, to his shock, actually felt a sense of guilt overcoming him, just before he realized that he was being played.

    He couldn¡¯t help but roll his eyes. There was no way that he could read this girl, however much he tried. One time she was acting her age, then she acted like a wise matron of all things.

    Well, either that, or he was going crazy, which he definitely hoped was not the case.

    ¡°I was meaning to ask your actual age, girl.¡± ¡ª He finally stated in an insinuating tone.

    The girl blinked, then rolled her eyes and stated after a short, condescending sigh. It was enlightening to see so much conceit on someone who is currently being sprawled out on the cold marble floor.

    ¡°For the love of¡­¡± ¡ª ¡°Language.¡± ¡ª Obi¡¯Wan interrupted her warningly. ¡ª The girl huffed, clearly frustrated, but too weak to do anything about it. Eventually she said.

    ¡°What does that have to do with anything? I am thirteen, just as I told you...¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s definitely not your real age, though.¡± ¡ª Kenobi added.

    ¡°My real what? Oh... I see... you think that I slowed down my aging... Why would I slow my aging when I am too young to even hold a lightsaber properly...¡± ¡ª She snapped at the man. While thinking internally.

    ¡®Yeah-yeah, I know that I am doing that exactly¡­ What of it?¡¯

    ¡°Slowing down your aging? Now that¡¯s¡­ an interesting concept¡­ But far from the only ominous possibilities that came to mind, Miss Nizzal.¡±

    ¡°But, since you are so opposed to those ideas, why don¡¯t you provide a suitable explanation to how you, as a little girl¡­ Oh, forgive my manners¡­ A master little girl, are capable of having such tremendous insight in the workings of the force?¡± ¡ª Nizzal¡¯s left eye twitched as she heard her newly awarded title.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you go and die in a dark corner somewhere out of my sight?¡± ¡ª Was Nizzal¡¯s only answer.

    Obi¡¯Wan smiled at that. Offering his own cutting sarcasm. ¡ª ¡°An enlightening argument, Master Nizzal. One much more suitable for your particular age, I might add.¡±

    His statement surprisingly elicited an unexpectedly strong reaction from the girl. One that Obi¡¯Wan definitely didn¡¯t expect.

    She blushed furiously. Causing the man to realize that just as the sith, gray lords might share the same weakness of getting easily riled up.

    With a meaningful smirk, he pushed the girl a bit further. ¡ª ¡°Aside from your insightful observations, do you have any other explanation? Not that I wouldn¡¯t be happy to share it with the rest of the High Council. Just in case that you wouldn¡¯t want to be further humiliated¡­ Master Nizzal¡­¡±

    The girl squirmed with embarrassment, eventually forcing herself to sit up again, then with great difficulty she peeled herself off the ground, and stood up. Her features occasionally contorted in pain throughout the whole process.

    ¡°Stop it¡­ f-fine, I... I have¡­ I have three hundred IQ¡­ Are you happy now?¡± ¡ª She stated clearly overcome by fear and a great deal of embarrassment.

    The corridor was engulfed in complete silence.

    Obi-Wan¡¯s eyes slowly began to tick, witnessing the blatant lie as a wry smile spread across his face.

    Then he said in a matter-of-fact tone.

    ¡°You are lying.¡±

    ¡°¡­ Shut it¡­¡± ¡ª The girl answered, flustered by her weak lie.

    Obi-Wan suddenly caught her left arm by the wrist and began to tug her along towards the council room. It was time to get to the end of this whole facade.

    ¡°You have a lot to explain, and this time, we will get to the end of it. I assure you, Master Nizzal...¡° ¡ª He spoke over his shoulder to the miffed girl trudging along.

    Noticing that, the girl wore a conceited expression. He shook his head disapprovingly at seeing the overly proud expression.

    What he didn¡¯t see was that slowly, with each step, Nizzal¡¯s expression morphed into a pained one.

    She eventually tugged on the man¡¯s arm in a stubborn gesture, stopping Kenobi for a second.

    He looked back at the girl once again, waiting for her to say something.

    "I am still injured, you know? Slow down... please...¡± ¡ª She added the last word, a sense of desperation seeping into her voice for the first time since Obi¡¯Wan met her.

    Hearing the last word, Kenobi¡¯s demeanor softened considerably. ¡ª ¡®Maybe it wasn¡¯t too late for her. Alas, that decision depended on the council¡¯s judgment.¡¯ ¡ª Which Kenobi, being part of the council known all too well, wasn¡¯t known of its flexible nature.

    ¡°Well...¡± ¡ª He began. ¡ª ¡°Of course¡­ Sorry about that. I guess I have become a bit excited.¡± ¡ª He showed her a wry smile, then continued to walk towards his original goal, with measured steps.

    Walking along the familiar corridors in a stifling silence.

    Obi-Wan began to repeat the long-learned mantra in his mind as the minutes passed, preparing himself for the incoming predictably unsavory conference.

    ¡®There is no emotion, there is only peace. There is no emotion, there is only peace. There is no emotion, there is only peace...¡¯

 17. Chapter

    ¡®I was led by my arm to the council room all while the entire temple seemed to have sunk into a judgemental silence around us. The sense of frustration and injustice I had to go through since coming here boiling inside me. The hot bubbles of impotent rage slowly simmering to the surface of my subconscious.¡¯

    ¡®I was annoyed by the occasional stares and whispering that followed my dejected steps across the corridors. I tried my best to run away, and I failed. What is going to happen with a fugitive who tries to slip away? Surely nothing good.¡¯

    ¡®As I limped along, led by Kenobi, I kept up my stoic facade, but that was it, unfortunately. My calmness was, but a carefully created act.¡¯

    ¡®From now on, I will be taken much more seriously by the jedi. There will be no leeways to use. I looked up at my substitute master. He looked pretty disappointed and angry... I... I hoped that they weren¡¯t going to actually torture me... That would be...¡¯

    ¡®Fear settled in my stomach like a big cold stone as the dire thoughts continued to haunt me. I unconsciously squeezed tighter Obi¡¯Wan¡¯s hand that was grabbing my wrist since our little walk of shame began.¡¯

    ¡®Until now, I was holding back my powers. The reason for that was pretty obvious. I have never killed anyone before, nor did I hurt anyone seriously. I might have experienced it through my master¡¯s memories, but I wasn¡¯t as foolish as to assume it wouldn''t affect me. Yet, if they actually tried to torture me... I... I would have to, at least die as a warrior... and not be tortured to death... I didn¡¯t want to die yet, nor did I want to be tortured. I hated pain as much as the next person. Don¡¯t hold it against me.¡¯

    ¡®Then an even more dreadful weight settled on my shoulders... The thought of losing the memories was simply unbearable. I can¡¯t let that happen to me... Those thoughts bounced around wildly in my head, unable to find any type of reassurance.¡¯

    ¡®The remorse which I felt was real and powerful. It was eating me from the inside out. I was risking so much here¡­ Why am I even in this damnable situation? Where did it go wrong? The answer came immediately. That curse of a crazy droid is the reason for everything! If I ever find you, I will throw you into the lava pits of Mustafar. You should pray that I never get away from here, because if I do, you are done for!¡¯

    While Nizzal was distracted from her various injuries that continued to ache through her body, and her thoughts which were submerged in a personal revenge on that particularly ugly droid.

    The internal anger and desire for revenge caused an unfortunate side effect. Her light yellow eyes, whose yellowish color somewhat dimmed since the time of her forced dark side presentation¡­ Well, suffice it to say that they took upon a more ominous shade once again and began to radiate with an unusual intensity of that baleful yellow hue.

    ~oOo~

    Unknown to Nizzal, Obi-Wan, being the Jedi Master who prides himself on his constant awareness, immediately realized this not-so-subtle change. After all, he was observing his new padawan¡¯s every move.

    ¡®Luckily, she seemed to be quite distracted.¡¯ ¡ª Obi¡¯Wan noted to himself. He didn¡¯t really expect that the girl would really follow him to the council hall so easily. Especially not after such an act of defiance that she showed towards the shadows¡­ Still, maybe he couldn¡¯t really fault the girl for that. He swallowed back a sour sigh.

    ¡®One of our shadows has irrevocably overstepped his boundaries. It is a shame¡­ but at least the mistake didn¡¯t result in dead bodies. The man will surely be expelled from the ranks of shadows, put back to more mundane jedi tasks.¡¯ ¡ª That fact, aside from his intuition, were the main reasons Kenobi didn¡¯t raise his sword at the girl.

    ¡®There was a lot of hesitance in this child. She definitely had the capacity to maim or even kill the first shadow, but she choose not to.¡¯ ¡ª Obi¡¯Wan thought carefully.

    ¡®She was about to be judged by the grandmaster, yet she seems to be more interested in fantasizing over something predictably gruesome, at least from the expression she is currently making.¡¯ ¡ª Obi¡¯Wan could only hope that the fore-mentioned gruesome fantasy didn¡¯t include his person and the Jedi Council at large.

    ¡®Does her sect really teach both the use of the dark side and the light side?¡¯ ¡ª The idea in itself seemed so unorthodox he couldn¡¯t quite believe it, even with the living proof reluctantly trudging along by his side.

    He unexpectedly felt the girl¡¯s small hand anxiously closing around his wrist. Obi¡¯Wan glanced in her direction inquisitively, only to realize with a small deal of surprise that the girl didn¡¯t even seem to realize her own action. She was lost in her own thoughts, notedly chewing on the side of her lips.

    ¡®There were precious few jedi, who actually could use force lightning as a technique. It was rare among light side wielders to pull off the infamous ability. Because it required an uncanny level of control over one¡¯s emotions aside from a great deal of raw force power.¡¯

    ¡®In the current order, I wouldn¡¯t be able to name a single jedi, who actually uses it in battle.¡¯

    ¡®Some, like Master Windu, could do it on the practice field, but he never used it in an actual duel or a battle scenario, as far as I am aware of it. He deemed it too risky, something that could potentially disturb his focus, that could result in a careless mistake leading to an immature death.¡¯

    ¡®All in all, light siders were simply not comfortable enough with the technique to even rely on it in low-risk environments. Not even speaking of actual battles¡¯

    ¡®What a strange sect this must be. How did they even manage to not turn to the dark side?¡¯ ¡ª He looked at the girl beside him. She was looking like a Sith with all the stereotypical features. Then Obi¡¯Wan realized something that he wasn¡¯t really willing to, not until now. The answer was predictably simple, if a bit hard to accept.

    ¡®They don¡¯t.¡¯ ¡ª With that thought in mind, he couldn¡¯t help but steel himself for what was incoming. He just knew too well that the council would not see reason for this. That they would not entertain the idea of someone so in line with the dark side and not being evil at the core. ¡ª ¡®That would question all our beliefs, the very foundation of the teachings of which our temples were built upon.¡¯

    He glanced at the girl once again. A foreboding sense of impending doom hovering in the surrounding air.

    ¡®Such a small child holding so much mysteries and secrets. We must have won the celestial lottery to catch her in such a ludicrous way¡­ In an attempt to buy an antique ship of all possibilities¡­ The force indeed works in mysterious ways.¡¯ ¡ª Obi¡¯Wan noted, while shaking his head, a sparkle of amusement sneaking into his dire thoughts.

    They finally reached the council hall. There were only two masters present at the moment. One of them was Grandmaster Yoda, just as Kenobi expected, while the other was a bit of a surprise.

    ¡°It is good to see you, Master Aayla Secura. I must have missed the news of your arrival back to the temple. Never mind that. Allow me to welcome you once again in our circles.¡± ¡ª He bowed lightly towards the blue twi¡¯lek woman who was sitting in one of the empty seats.

    ¡°It is a pleasure to see you too, Master Obi-Wan. I see that trouble once again has found you, but this time it is in an unusually strange form, if I may add.¡± ¡ª The woman reacted serenely, returning his polite bow while openly staring at the gray-skinned twi¡¯lek girl limping along Kenobi.

    As she took in her features, Aayla¡¯s expressions darkened with every passing second. The girl was clearly tugged along against her will. She looked very dejected, and above all injured if the blue lines of recently leaked blood traces around the edges of her orifices were anything to go by.

    Naturally Master Secura wisely noted the telltale signs of heavy dark-side exposure screaming from the girl, most notably the blazing golden eyes staring ominously right back at her.

    Yoda looked up from his light meditation as Obi-Wan and his newly assigned padawan marched into the room. He was eyeing them at this very second, his wizened features thoughtful, conscious of the importance of this predicament.

    ¡°Fear, distrust and confusion, I sense, surrounding both of you. What trouble has befallen you, Master Kenobi, I wonder?¡±

    Kenobi¡¯s already strained expression seemed to worsen after hearing the Grandmaster¡¯s words.

    ¡°Did the other shadows perhaps forget to tell you what exactly has befallen on me?¡± ¡ª He asked, clearly annoyed by this outcome.

    Yoda thought about this for a while, then he looked to Secura, who was similarly meditating until this recent interruption. Eventually, he decided to explain.

    ¡°When we meditate, we close off the distractions of the mundane world. Master Kenobi, forgive us, but we do not know what you are talking of.¡± ¡ª Yoda stated, with the calmness and serenity worthy of his age and position.

    ¡°Well, I guess that the honour shall be mine to retell the story then.¡±

    Secura looked at Kenobi, and before he could start his obviously long-winded monologue, she decided to gently interrupt him.

    ¡°Forgive my interruption, Obi-Wan, but I am not a member of the council, as you are no doubt familiar with. I was merely here to meditate. If this is something that could only be heard by official council members, then I shall take my leave.¡±

    ¡°Ah, don¡¯t fret, Aayla. I guess you will probably hear about this soon, one way or the other... Might as well be coming from me then.¡± ¡ª Obi¡¯Wan stated with a wry smile.

    ¡°Go on then, if you please.¡± ¡ª Yoda, urged him. No doubt eager to get to the bottom of this.

    Obi-Wan nodded with finality, then began to retell the happenings until the moment he reached the council room.

    ~oOo~

    ¡°So, that was it.¡± ¡ª Kenobi finished his speech. It took quite a lot of time to retell this, especially with all the details.

    There was solemn silence in the room. Yoda seemed as if he had aged ten years in the last fifteen minutes.

    Aayla Secura was looking left and right with a complicated expression, trying to judge if this whole facade was some kind of poor joke. Her worried look kept hovering over the obviously uncomfortable girl. Who was standing rigidly, slightly fidgeting from time to time. She was clearly unsure of what was going to happen to her next.

    Aayla decided to ask, unable to watch the girl¡¯s silent struggle any longer.

    ¡°Are you telling me that this girl is equally trained in the use of the light side and the dark side at the level of a master? For real? When I was her age, I could barely hold a lightsaber properly...¡±

    ¡°Well, yes.¡± ¡ª Answered Obi-Wan. ¡ª ¡°But are you sure about the last part? I seem to remember quite differently...¡±

    ¡°Hush, Obi¡¯Wan, your flattery is wasted on me.¡± ¡ª Aayla chided.

    Nizzal, could have sworn that she heard Obi-Wan murmuring under his breath, something along the lines of: flattery my ass, you always kicked me out of the dueling ring. Yet she didn¡¯t have enough time to consider the possible meanings of that sentence, since Yoda chose that moment to speak up.

    ¡°Hmmm... So a master you are, at least that is what you claim to be. Atop of that already questionable feet. You say that you have managed to reach a mastery with both sides of the force? Something that was believed to be impossible, or near impossible?¡±

    For the first time since she came to this temple, Nizzal decided to drop every facade.

    She was already tired of this conversation. She just wanted to get over the humiliation of having to be present at the retelling of the exact way she was thrown across a corridor with a plethora of random junk traveling along only to be knocked out by a heavy vase hitting her on the head mid air. Then crash into an annoyingly good looking council member at the end.

    There was truly no more reason to lie. The loth-cat was already out of the bag. Of course, that doesn¡¯t mean that she will tell them more than she must. Secrets were supposed to be closely guarded after all.

    She felt her heart throbbing in her throat as she began to talk. Her voice sounded annoyingly hesitant right now.

    ¡®Am I really intimidated by them? It must be because of my childish body... Damn it!¡¯ ¡ª She scolded herself wordlessly.

    ¡°...Yes, that is correct¡­¡± ¡ª Was her eventual answer. She bit her lips, after realizing how stupid that sounded... She was a young girl¡­ Stating that she has some knowledge about the dark side is completely different than saying that she has a mastery over it. Nobody will believe her¡­¡± ¡ª That was what she expected, but to her surprise, a different reaction occurred.

    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°Hmm... Show us then. Your power. Master Nizzal.¡± ¡ª Came the infuriatingly calm reaction from the grandmaster.

    ¡°Wh-what!?¡± ¡ª Sounded the disbelieving question from Nizzal and everyone else present in the room.

    ¡°Master Yoda, forgive me for my interruption, but we shouldn¡¯t let her...¡± ¡ª Obi¡¯Wan began to persuade the grandmaster that it wouldn¡¯t be a wise decision to urge the girl for further presentation after what happened in the corridors and the hall of fountains.

    He was soundly interrupted by the grandmaster''s voice.

    ¡°No, Master Kenobi, we must know if she is really what she states herself to be. Allow her to prove the true worth of her claims. We must.¡± ¡ª The grandmaster skillfully closed the discourse before it could truly begin.

    Nizzal, was taken aback by this. ¡ª ¡®What would they achieve by seeing her powers? What does the grandmaster want to achieve by this?¡¯ ¡ª Were her thoughts, but she had no answer to those worries, and that was even more annoying.

    Kenobi bowed to the grandmaster, then stepped back from Nizzal, giving her space to do what she wished.

    Aayla Secura also decided to stand up and walk to the other side of the room. She was observing the girl¡¯s every move, just like Obi-Wan did.

    In the meantime, Nizzal forced her body to relax, while mustering up her courage to ask a question that was bothering her.

    ¡°What would I achieve by proving my knowledge to you? I know my own abilities quite well. I don¡¯t see a reason to advertise them.¡±

    ¡°Hmm... Not eager to showcase your knowledge, you are... An excellent trait that is valuable for someone who pretends to be a master.¡± ¡ª Yoda added, snidely. Something that clearly irked the girl to no end.

    ¡°I know what I am capable of.¡± ¡ª Nizzal stated, signs of frustration leaking into her childish voice. Then she blinked, realizing the grandmaster¡¯s intentions. A cunning smirk was spreading across her face.

    ¡°For a sufficient price, however¡­ I might be inclined to make an exception with you.¡± ¡ª Yoda, smiled back at the girl, with all the patience and fake politeness in the galaxy. ¡ª ¡°And pray tell, what would serve as a sufficient price?¡±

    The girl snorted. As if her desire could be anything else in this unfortunate situation. ¡ª ¡°Let me go free, and I will show you my abilities. I promise that you will never hear of me again.¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately, that I cannot accept, but I will take it into consideration in my final judgement.¡± ¡ª Stated the grandmaster.

    ¡°It¡¯s unfortunate indeed¡­ since in this case, I have no desire to showcase any of my abilities to you, either.¡± ¡ª Nizzal said stubbornly.

    There was an uncomfortable silence hovering in the air of the council hall. It was broken by Yoda¡¯s commanding tone. ¡ª ¡°Take her to the dungeons then. A few weeks of solitary containment might prove enough to loosen her tongue.¡±

    Nizzal, shuddered from the thought. She was not used to being alone by any means¡­ such punishment was the worst she could have envisioned aside from down right torture¡­ No¡­ this¡­ this was torture. Just not physical, but mental torture.

    It seemed that even the two other masters were shaken by the coldhearted decision. Still, they hid their shock well enough that the terrified girl didn¡¯t notice it.

    Nizzal was unable to hide her fear. Overcome by emotions, pain, and the general tiredness of her injured body. She eventually gritted out the words.

    ¡°¡­Fine¡­ What do you want me to do?¡­ You bastards¡­¡±

    ¡°Kenobi reported that you have spoken of a curse surrounding our temple. Break the curse, and I will believe that you are indeed worthy of the rank of master. This shall prove to us that you are more than a willful child who drifted far from her home.¡± ¡ª The grandmaster demanded.

    The infuriated girl hardly batted an eye at the request, as if she was expecting it.

    ¡°Then allow me, grandmaster.¡± ¡ª The girl gritted out the last word, dripping with venom and distrust.

    She suddenly reached out through the force, her awareness expanding rapidly in every direction.

    What felt like a fickle force presence, barely noticeable before. Pulsed with a new life, its previous form overtaken by a refined and solid tower, one that has witnessed uncountable numbers of storms and still stood proudly, watching over the flow of time.

    Her tense force presence coiled wildly like a snake, unveiling itself with wild inelegant motions.

    It eventually came loose as her unmasked force presence radiated through the room with the same intensity as any Jedi Master¡¯s. The only difference was the pillar¡¯s size. It might have been refined beyond belief, yet it was much smaller and thinner in raw potential.

    The girl was no powerhouse like Anakin or most members of the Jedi Council. She will never be, with her average midi-chlorian count.

    Still, her skills in hiding her true abilities all this time, right in front of the Jedi Council, proved that she was nothing to scoff at. Above all, she was still a child, meaning that her abilities would keep growing in the following years.

    The dark side stigma like signs over her body slowly began to withdraw as she kept drawing in the lingering light side energies of the temple. The bruises and minor cuts visible to everyone slowly retreated as well and soon enough, completely disappeared from sight.

    Then the presence suddenly pulled back, and they couldn¡¯t sense it anymore. As if everything that had happened previously was nothing but an act of their imagination. Except that the girl¡¯s wounds were nowhere to be found.

    The present masters watched this phenomenon with fascination in their eyes.

    Obi-Wan noted to himself that in case of Master Yoda, there was a familiar glint present in his crooked eyes.

    ¡®The grandmaster has definitely cooked up some sinister plot, like when he dropped the twi¡¯lek menace in my lap.¡¯ ¡ª Kenobi thought to himself.

    Meanwhile, after carefully observing everything that the girl did, Master Yoda nodded with a solemn expression, then said.

    ¡°I see that you did not lie about your familiarity with the light.¡± ¡ª He stated with a playful smile.

    Aayla spoke up as well, after Master Yoda finished his sentence. ¡ª ¡°That was a textbook example of a perfectly applied force heal if I ever saw one.¡± ¡ª The woman praised.

    The girl looked at this strange act with confusion.

    ¡®What is his deal...¡¯ ¡ª She wondered silently. ¡ª ¡®Anyway, I will know it soon enough. The only thing that remains is to break that curse. It will take considerably more effort, especially after using force heal two times. Changing to a dark side technique after pulling so much light side energies into my body will put a ridiculous strain over it. That was why I choose to heal my less important injuries just now.¡¯

    To the surprise of the onlookers, Nizzal, sat down on the floor in a meditative position.

    The three masters exchanged a few curious glances above Nizzal¡¯s head while she was too occupied searching for the core of that dark whirlpool that surrounded the temple.

    ¡®There!¡¯ ¡ª She thought, finding the strange accumulation of negative energy gathered above the Hall of Thousand Fountains. ¡ª ¡®No surprise that we got drawn into that mess earlier.¡¯ ¡ª Nizzal¡¯s brows creased in frustration.

    ¡®The whole incident was caused by my lack of awareness. Not like I would expect to find anything like that in a Jedi Temple¡­ If this was a sith ruin, I would never fall for such an obvious¡­ Ah¡­ so that was it¡­ the surreality of the situation caused me to overlook the signs. It¡¯s a calculated effect.¡¯ ¡ª Nizzal shook her head as light goosebumps appeared all over her skin.

    ¡®Such an insidious trap, it¡¯s worthy of a Sith Master.¡¯ ¡ª She thought.

    ¡®The dark side technique must have reacted to my presence when I meditated there, acknowledging me as its master. The sith no more guarded against one another with the same effectiveness. Not since Darth Bane created the rule of two. Placing the core of such an ominous technique right above a location most frequented for meditation is just basic sith efficiency and arrogance. Anybody who would start looking for it would start at those locations, just as I did, but they never expected anyone to do that to begin with.¡¯

    ¡®Whatever, I will break this barrier then figure out how to get away from these pestering jedi.¡¯

    She made up her mind and concentrated on the task at hand.

    In a matter of seconds, thin tendrils of dark miasma started to be drawn towards her. The ominously wriggling tendrils came from every direction, manifesting through the walls, ceiling, and even the floor.

    They only became concentrated enough to be seen by the naked eye when they reached her proximity. The dark tendrils then started to circle around her like bees drawn to a particularly enticing flower.

    She was too focused on the technique to notice any of this, or the pale expressions of the masters watching her with abated breath.

    As the dark miasma kept accumulating, it also began to circle around her at a faster and faster pace. When no more darkness was left to be drawn towards her. The miasma suddenly launched itself towards Nizzal¡¯s body, which seemed to greedily absorb it. In a few seconds no sign of the all contaminating miasma was left in the eerily silent temple.

    The three masters were staring at all of this, with complicated expressions and a spiking worry. Especially after seeing that the girl¡¯s features, reacting to the absorption of that dense dark side miasma reacted quite radically.

    Her skin became ghostly pale and brittle, with the occasional wrinkles running along her face. Underneath the surface, dark corrupted veins covered every part of her uncovered skin, suggesting that the same was happening with the entire surface of her body. Unhealthy splotches of darkened skin appeared in seemingly random places. Her eyes were surrounded by deep dark creased circles as if she hadn¡¯t slept for a week straight.

    The girl wobbled in her place, being so tired that she seemed to have difficulty remaining in a seated posture. She opened her eyes and, as expected, they once again glowed with a bright yellow color.

    Yoda observed the changes in a silent contemplation, trying to figure out what exactly had happened. Then his ears suddenly raised, his eyes opened wide as he looked at the weakly smiling girl with shock.

    Obi-Wan, lagging a step behind Master Yoda, also felt the ongoing changes.

    A powerful resonance emerged through the force around the entirety of the temple. Followed by a wave of relieved sighs, as if every soul inside could finally be able to breathe clean air for the first time in many years. A weight was lifted from their shoulders. A weight that they didn¡¯t even know was there.

    The three masters present in the hall felt as a large amount of the coiled up tension in their bodies slowly loosened up, their thoughts became clearer and more positive in regards to the future.

    Yoda was the first to compose himself. His visibly surprised expression morphed back to a more neutral one.

    ¡°Hmm, so that was the dark barrier that you spoke of Ahsoka?¡± ¡ª Yoda questioned with a knowing smile.

    Nizzal was too tired at the time to think clearly, the recently absorbed negative energy creating small quivers throughout her body. As it violently clashed with the remaining light side energies. It was a known side effect to her sect, though, so she wasn¡¯t too worried about it.

    For gray lords or gray jedis, even if they were capable of using both sides of the force comfortably. Switching between one and the other without allowing time for the body to adjust was a reckless action. Resulting in the current side effects.

    They were usually harmless, and they tended to pass over in an hour or so. Alas, if it happened in the middle of a conflict, they would likely prove fatal. As the slightest distraction tends to do in life and death situations. Especially since the side effects included a sense of dizziness, confusion and general weakness.

    That was why masters of the gray were separated into two large factions. Grey jedi and grey lord. The first favored to only lean on the light side in conflicts, while the other wielded the dark side. It was not an ideological split, but a practical one.

    While Nizzal was lost in her thoughts, fighting back the uncomfortable symptoms of her overstrained body. She barely noticed a blue hologram appearing by her side. The figure in the projection was throwing worried glances in her direction.

    ¡°Yes, Master Yoda.¡± ¡ª Sounded the familiar voice. It belonged to Ahsoka. With that blurry realization, Nizzal felt as if a cold and heavy stone had just dropped to the bottom of her stomach.

    She shouldn¡¯t see me like this¡­ I-I most definitely look terrifying now¡­ after directly absorbing so much negative energy.

    While she was worried about those things, Ahsoka continued with her words. ¡ª ¡°I couldn¡¯t sense it anymore, the barrier, it suddenly disappeared.¡± ¡ª She finished her words solemnly, through the holo-communicator device placed in the room.

    Aayla showed a relieved smile while Obi-Wan also realized what must have happened. He shook his head weakly as he tried to foresee what possible and most likely negative effects this situation would have on his mental health. The chances weren¡¯t in his favor, sadly.

    Under the combined siege of the side effects and her mounting tiredness, Nizzal¡¯s consciousness was threatening to slip away. Her thoughts were swimming in a more comfortable direction for once as she wondered.

    ¡®Was that truly Ahsoka¡¯s voice? She didn¡¯t sound angry anymore, but I thought that she would hate me... after that¡­¡¯

    Beyond the loud waterfall consisting of her immediate thoughts, a distant resonating speech seemed to find its way to her mind.

    ¡°Nizzal Grey from the Grey Order. As acting Grandmaster of the Jedi Order. I hereby find you guilty in the crime of unnecessarily attacking and heavily injuring a Jedi Shadow inside the Jedi Temple of Coruscant. It is true that the attack only happened after provocation, but it could have been solved without further injury. The Jedi Shadow himself will have his own trial and his own punishment for his rash actions, but that did not erase your own crime.¡±

    Nizzal¡¯s eyelids suddenly felt incredibly heavy... She forced her eyes open with sheer willpower. She wanted to hear about her punishment, at least...

    ¡°As a legitimate master of your order, which you have proved to be in front of at least two active members of the Jedi Highcouncil and an additional impartial witness of your race. You will be judged as an adult who is in a complete understanding of the consequences of her actions and potential repercussions.¡±

    ¡°Therefore, as per current republican law, your punishment is five years of mining labour in one of the meteorite mining camps in the possession of the republican state. Which, added to the previous suspicions regarding your person, adds up to a complete twenty years of forced labour.¡±

    Nizzal blinked after hearing the outrageous statement, but she was too drained for the time to argue back¡­ One thing she definitely knew she was not going to fricking mine rocks for twenty fucking years straight¡­ It was more likely that an escaped from jail tag will be added to her fastly accumulating titles soon enough, if that truly came to pass.

    ¡°In light of the potential service you can provide and your special circumstances. Your forced labour can be replaced by five years of military service in the army of the Galactic Republic.¡±

    ¡°As a trained force wielder, you would immediately receive the rank of squad commander, especially with the backing of the Jedi Order, which I will gladly provide if you chose to accept.¡±

    ¡°As a sign of goodwill and trust in exchange for destroying the dark side barrier surrounding our temple, you will not receive the otherwise mandatory ankle tracker that would normally provide us with your current location, in case of an attempted desertion.¡±

    Nizzal, finally realized with a weak smile what the grandmaster¡¯s scheme was. ¡ª ¡®This green guy was a truly terrifying entity. I have vastly underestimated him. He knew that there was no way I would choose to go to a prisoner labour camp on some meteorite field for twenty years. Just as much as I knew it.¡¯

    ¡®And the other part¡­ if I follow the military route, without the tracker¡­ That means I can basically run away anytime I choose to. What the green guy¡­ no, what Master Yoda wants to say¡­ Is that he can¡¯t just let me go after the commotion I caused, even if he wanted to.¡¯

    ¡®Instead of that, he gives me a choice. I can honestly do the military service, and prove myself innocent, or simply find an ideal moment to steal a fighter ship and escape. With the future consequences being that I will be a wanted criminal throughout the systems of the Galactic Republic.¡¯

    ¡®What a shrewd bastard¡­ He is worthy to be called a grandmaster, too. I guess¡­¡¯

    In the end, Nizzal said with her last bit of energy before she lost consciousness.

    ¡°... Give me¡­ that squad...¡±

    Yoda smiled and nodded with unexpected warmth.

    ¡°Your squad will be a newly trained clone strike team. You and your squad will serve under the leadership of General Kenobi, who you already knew.¡±

    In the background, Kenobi¡¯s shoulders dropped dejectedly.

    ¡°I knew it...¡± ¡ª He stated, in a low whisper, no doubt expecting something similar to happen since he caught that baleful glint crossing the grandmaster¡¯s eyes.

    Next to him, Aayla snorted aloud, no doubt catching the gist of his whisper.

    There were other things that were spoken in the council hall after that, but Nizzal, was not aware of them anymore, as she lost her consciousness.

 18. Chapter

    ¡°Fall asleep, she did, hm?¡± ¡ª Master Yoda noted aloud, curiosity and amusement similarly present in his voice.

    ¡°It seems so. It must have been too much effort for her body.¡± ¡ª Said Aayla while carefully picking up the limp girl from the floor.

    ¡°A dark veil has been lifted from our eyes, one that dulled our senses for years.¡± ¡ª Added Yoda in a solemn tone.

    ¡°We were indeed blind if a little child had to open our eyes to the truth. It is a failure that could have cost us everything. I could only hope that we are not too late to stop the scheme of the Sith.¡± ¡ª Stated Obi-Wan with a grave expression.

    There was a momentary silence in the almost empty room that was soon broken by the grandmaster.

    ¡°Your observations are correct, Obi-Wan. The danger is still present. We must prepare ourselves to face it. A Sith Lord as skilled and powerful, able to blind our senses for years even without us realizing it, is our enemy. This is a true Sith Lord. A master of the dark-side, one that we haven¡¯t seen in the last thousand years. To find and destroy this Sith Lord must be our utmost priority.¡± ¡ª Said Yoda.

    ¡°I fear that the separatist leaders may have been deceived by the lies of this Sith Lord.¡± ¡ª Noted Obi¡¯Wan then continued.

    ¡°Your former padawan is no exception, I am afraid.¡±

    ¡°Count Dooku failed to resist the lure of the dark side. Realize this, I fear he will, too late. It is another failure of mine that I still couldn¡¯t accept.¡± ¡ª Said Yoda.

    ¡°It was his decision to leave the order, Master Yoda.¡± ¡ª Said Aayla, trying to reassure the weary grandmaster.

    ¡°The failure of an apprentice always holds a mirror to the failure of the master.¡± ¡ª Stated Yoda, attempting to close the discourse.

    ¡°Even if that is true, in the end, each of us chooses his or her own fate.¡± ¡ª Said Obi¡¯Wan ¡ª ¡°You can¡¯t force someone to do something that is against his or her ideas. It never ends well.¡±

    ¡°Hmm... Qui-Gon, used to say this, as well.¡± ¡ª Yoda¡¯s expression turned into a thoughtful one, then he stated as he looked Obi-Wan in the eye.

    ¡°Admit this, I will. Your master was right from the very beginning. We were blinded by our arrogance. We failed to act on time. Now a war has begun, and the consequences are unforeseeable. We are scattered around the galaxy while a Sith Lord hides in the darkness. I will send out all the Jedi Shadows to search for this Sith Lord and destroy it if possible.¡± ¡ª Stated Yoda solemnly, then continued.

    ¡°Obi-Wan, I ask you to watch over Nizzal. Her official rank will still be your padawan, and we will not disclose the details of her punishment. The Sith Lord must have already realized that someone had destroyed its barrier. It will search for the culprit, thinking that the council destroyed it. We must act ignorant about this. Only then will he find the girl, with time.¡± ¡ª Said Yoda.

    There was a solemn silence in the room. All of them looked at the young twi¡¯lek innocently sleeping form in the hands of Master Secura. She was completely ignorant of the things happening around her. The child¡¯s knowledge may have been exceptional, but she was in the end still just a child. They will question her when she wakes up from her order one more time, but that was it.

    ¡°Using her as a bait is indeed an efficient way to find a trace to this Sith Lord. It may see a rival in her, or a new opportunity.¡± ¡ª Said Obi-Wan with a troubled expression.

    ¡°A rival? Hmm, I think not. When it realizes that she is just a young child, it will try to use her against us, then throw her away. Only this time, it won¡¯t work. I trust you to guard her as much as if she were your own padawan, but we must trust in her abilities as well, and not treat her specially, or the Sith Lord will sense our trap. To speak about this I will, with the other masters. No one else who didn¡¯t hold at least the rank of a master can know about this.¡±

    ¡°We understand.¡± ¡ª Said both of them in unison.

    ¡°Good, Aayla, if I may ask, start a rumor in the temple that our exchange student from the Grey Order likes to use dark side techniques like force lightning. I am sure that it will also get in the ears of the one we are looking for.¡±

    An evil smirk appeared on the face of the blue twi¡¯lek master, as she began to nod eagerly.

    ¡°I would never have thought that I would live to see master Yoda ask such a condemnable thing from old little me.¡± ¡ª She said trying to hold back her bubbling laughter.

    ¡°Oh, I bet it was only because there was never a need to ask. You did it either way.¡± ¡ª Obi-Wan noted from the side mockingly.

    ¡°Ah, how rude! You are hurting my feelings.¡± ¡ª Aayla complained, with mock hurt in her voice.

    ¡°I could only imagine.¡± ¡ª Obi-Wan shook his head.

    ¡°Aayla, could you take the youngling to the infirmary? I sense that someone is waiting for her arrival.¡± ¡ª Yoda wisely interrupted their banter before it got out of hand.

    ¡°Of course, master, I will go immediately.¡± ¡ª Aayla answered. While throwing an expectant look at Obi¡¯Wan. ¡ª ¡°Won¡¯t you come along? She is your apprentice in the end.¡±

    Before Obi-Wan could join her, Master Yoda spoke up. ¡ª ¡°Obi-Wan for a word, please stay.¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± ¡ª Obi-Wan said, then turned towards his old friend with an apologetic expression.

    Aayla shrugged her shoulders and turned around.

    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    As the twi¡¯leks left the council room, all the cheerfulness left with them, it was soon replaced by solemn expressions.

    ¡°I trust you with this heavy duty, Obi-Wan. You will have to reveal the identity of this Sith Master. You must understand, this is not a mission to destroy it, but to discover its true identity. We are powerless against it until we know who it is. I will also send two of the best jedi shadows with you, but know this, they will not reveal their presence. Until the Sith Lord certainly appears, their only mission is to help in destroying it if an opportunity may arise.¡±

    ¡°I understand. I will do my best, grandmaster.¡±

    ¡°Good. Very good. This is the first time in years when we have had a chance to strike back. It could easily be the only chance we have left. I trust in your judgement, Obi-Wan. You will leave Coruscant in a few days. It will be best to let your padawan meet with her squad and let them become acquainted. Some shared training might help her out a little, hmm?¡±

    ¡°Definitely. I suspect that she will be infuriated.¡±

    ¡°Take Anakin with you, and his padawan, too. Ahsoka is more than ready to start her missions alongside her master, and her master¡¯s master. With this, even Anakin can¡¯t resist taking her with him.¡±

    ¡°I am starting to suspect that the true punishment has actually been inflicted on me, and not on my new padawan.¡±

    ¡°Hmm-hmm-hmm. Wisest among your peers, you always were. Master Kenobi.¡±

    ¡°Eh, much good it ever did for me...¡±

    Hearing Obi-Wan¡¯s sarcastic retort, Master Yoda couldn¡¯t help to let out a loud snort.

    ___________

    Ahsoka was frustratedly walking left and right in front of the Jedi council room. She wanted to go in, but that would be too disrespectful, and she would never hear the end of it from Anakin, or in fact, from Obi-Wan.

    She tried to forcefully calm herself, but her breathing techniques this time simply didn¡¯t work. She was either too frustrated or didn¡¯t focus on it enough to do them properly.

    She was confused, hurt, but at the worst of it, she felt guilty. She saw her new friend Nizzal¡¯s face. She saw how dejected and sad she looked when she realized that she was afraid of her. She couldn¡¯t help it. Those glowing eyes were so unnatural, as if she had stepped out of an old jedi legend.

    The eyes of a dark side wielder were scary. All those child stories she heard in her life, the ones that were shared by the older younglings and padawans, to scare the younger ones for fun. They liked to hear them, even if they couldn¡¯t sleep properly later.

    Those stories were a source of joy in the mostly empty temple. They treasured them, but now Ahsoka was confronted by their meanings. There was a dark side wielder here, and she became one of her only friends. She was a kind natured girl, and she would never even imagine that she would willfully hurt someone if there was a possibility of evading the fight.

    She winced as the glowing blue lightnings appeared in her memory, but something still wasn¡¯t right.

    When she looked at her face, at the moment she created that lightning technique. There was no glee or satisfaction seeable on her face. Only pain, disgust, and regret.

    What she saw was an entirely different picture than what the stories described as a sith. At that moment, it became clear to her, she couldn¡¯t be a sith!

    This belief only solidified in her heart as the strangely clothed jedi suddenly stood up in the fountain, and began to, even if hesitatingly, walk out of the water. She didn¡¯t want to kill him, only stop him from hurting or killing her. Isn¡¯t that what the jedi is thought to do? To only use their power in self defence and the defence of innocents.

    She was forced to do this. Then she remembered that strange presence she felt in their meditation. It was so dark and cold. After she gave over the control to Nizzy, Ahsoka was almost immediately frozen to her place. As that presence appeared. The only thing she could do was to hold on to Nizzy¡¯s hand as much as possible. If she wasn¡¯t there, then that thing, who knows what it could have done to them? It felt like the manifestation of darkness itself. She will never forget that coldness. Like a barely contained, furious and hungry animal, which was ready to consume everything that got too close to it.

    She only knew her friend a few days now, but she understood one thing. She was unnaturally calm, specifically for a thirteen-year-old, but even she looked terrified by that presence. That was the only cue she needed to realize the danger they were in. Her usual grandmotherly act immediately crumbled, followed by a sudden series of decision making.

    That act, that was her signature sign.

    She was a year younger than her. Yet when she felt comfortable enough, she could naturally create this air of confidence around herself. As if there was nothing in the world that could surprise her. It was actually really funny. A child with so much contempt and conceit.

    She even thought for a while that she was acting like that purposefully to make her laugh. Although, she slowly realized as she began to look more carefully, that it was her genuine personality. It was so ingrained in every part of her little gestures and expressions. It couldn¡¯t be an act.

    Jedi were trained to see these things, and that was true for the padawans too. She realized that in her sects, there must be no other children of her age. She was probably like this, because she didn¡¯t know how to act around other children, or how to be a child in the first place.

    After realizing all of this, Ahsoka picked up Rika, because she was still unconscious and ran to the council hall. She pleaded to the temple guard at the door to ask the grandmaster to see her. Soon, she was let in, and she told everything to Master Yoda, and also Master Aayla Secura, who was also in the room.

    In the end, they asked her to take Rika to the infirmary and told her to stay calm. They would handle everything carefully. But how could she stay calm? They also realized that for some reason, the masters couldn¡¯t sense this suffocating barrier around the temple she was talking about. It was strange. She didn¡¯t sense it until she saw it and felt it in their meditation, either. Since then, she was feeling this sickening aura everywhere in the temple and she couldn¡¯t stand it. How didn¡¯t she realize that it was here for so long?

    Suddenly, a sense of peace and relaxation settled over her. Which was soon broken by an annoying beeping sound.

    ¡°Y-yes?¡± ¡ª She answered the call hesitantly, especially after seeing the name of the caller.

    It was a holo call incoming from the grandmaster. He was asking her if she could still sense the dark presence surrounding the temple. She tried to feel it, only to realize that it disappeared. She wanted to ask Master Yoda what had happened, but the call had already ended.

    She continued her frustrated walk for another few minutes, then the door to the council room finally opened, and master Aayla Secura walked out. There was someone carried in her arms. Wait!?

    Ahsoka saw that her new friend¡¯s deathly pale body was carried by Master Aayla. Did she? No! Calm down, reach out, search for her presence! There... there was a weak force presence in the body. It was tired, but stable. She was simply asleep. As she understood this, she relaxed. Only to realize that Aayla was looking at her expression and sensing her chaotically changing force presence with a very amused gaze.

    ¡°You remind me of your master sometimes.¡±

    Ahsoka blinked, confused by this out-of place statement.

    ¡°He also used to act as a mother hen around his injured friends.¡±

    Ahsoka felt as if her montrals were on fire. She looked down to her feet, as the other woman chuckled lightly.

    ¡°There is no shame in worrying about your friend¡¯s health, but be careful and ready to let go if the time comes. Sometimes, letting your friends go when they have to leave is the hardest thing to do.¡±

    Ahsoka only nodded to that, then they began to walk to the infirmary, where this time not she, but Nizzal, were placed in a bed and treated by the medics.

 19. Chapter

    ¡®Back in the council room, when I destroyed the dark force field that surrounded the temple, I highly overstrained my force reserves.¡¯

    ¡®This was the reason I only woken up two and a half days later.¡¯

    ¡®My new master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, told me about the council¡¯s decisions, that my official rank will remain padawan.¡¯

    ¡®Everything we have spoken in the council hall will remain a closely guarded secret. Including the fact that I am a master rank force wielder.¡¯

    ¡®I am not allowed to share that information, even with Ahsoka.¡¯

    ¡®On the other hand, every council member will know of my true capabilities, and treat me as such in private. A few other masters like Aayla will also know of this, but not many.¡¯

    ¡®That means I basically have the responsibilities of a Jedi Master, without a padawan, but in public I will be treated like a nosy padawan or, even worse, a simple little girl.¡¯

    ¡®Which I was, I guess, but it was not something I wanted to be reminded of everywhere I went. I was actually beginning to rethink the use of this age-slowing technique; maybe I should stop with it at least until I reach eighteen properly and finally go and relax in a cantina. I wanted to just listen to the bith jazz music and drink cold whisky paired with perfectly cut ice-cubes.¡¯

    ¡®If I sneaked out and went into one of these bars, I would probably only get the ice, though. Even that I would have to use as a cold pack after I got kicked out of one, most likely.¡¯

    ¡®Anyway, there is no chance that I could run away. I just tried.¡¯

    ¡®Obi-Wan asked me a bunch of questions about my order. Based on the questions, it seemed likely that the council wished to create a basic file of it in the Jedi archives.¡¯

    ¡®I only told him simple things, like how I trained, that we have some secret temples and bases around the galaxy. Of course, I didn¡¯t give him any concrete location. I told him that if I told anyone the location of one of our temples, without the elders¡¯ explicit consent, I would be exiled, and they would hunt me down.¡¯

    ¡®He was pretty surprised hearing this. However, he also sensed that I wasn¡¯t lying, which made him stop asking those kinds of questions.¡¯

    ¡®How did I manage to lie about something like that? You might wonder¡­ Simple, it is actually not a lie; secrecy is taken very seriously in our order. We can tell basic things about it to people we trust, family, friends, but it cannot be anything concrete, especially not locations. The temples are only available for the masters and the apprentices, and their exact locations are only ever known by the masters.¡¯

    ¡®It is pretty extreme, I know, but you have to guard your secrets, not even speaking of dangerous items and cash, a lot of credits. Inside of our bases, there are a lot of old relics hidden after all.¡¯

    ¡®Some hold great power, therefore pose great danger as well. Especially to the untrained mind.¡¯

    ¡®Anyway, Obi-Wan seemed to be happy about what I told him.¡¯

    ¡®He told me before he left my room that today I can freely rest, but from tomorrow my five years of duty will begin. I will have to meet my newly trained clone squad; they are waiting for us in orbit, on a Venator-class cruiser.¡¯

    ¡®From what I realized, it is some special force, an elite strike team of the sort.¡¯

    ¡®Why would I get an elite strike team? I had no idea, most likely to catch me, if I decided to act as a bad girl and attempt to run away in the middle of a mission. It¡¯s not that I didn¡¯t think about doing exactly that, but I had no money at hand.¡¯

    ¡®My ship was stolen, and there isn¡¯t a hidden base on Coruscant. I would be caught in the city sooner or later, and then I would have to go mine for probably fifty years in some asteroid fields...¡¯

    ¡®Sounds intriguing enough, but for now I would like to skip that part.¡¯

    ¡®Aside from the dull stuff. There was a certain someone who was extremely overjoyed with the current events.¡¯

    ¡®Ahsoka was all over the place since she heard that we would serve on the same ship as squad commanders. It was a rare thing to get two Jedi and two padawans on one ship.¡¯

    ¡®The council allowed it, since this is our first official mission.¡¯

    ¡®Oh, the mission itself is fairly simple, since it¡¯s our first assignment.¡¯

    ¡®The cruiser will patrol the K-10 grid territory, in the core words near Coruscant. It is a relatively safe space, usually, but nowadays there are hundreds of reports from traders and civilians describing some kind of suspicious pirate activity.¡¯

    ¡®We will go and search for this so-called group of pirates. I was thinking that it would be a brutal overkill to send a battle cruiser to harass some small time pirates; but who am I to reject an order only because it sounds easy?¡¯

    ¡®Well, I think I will just laze in my bed for the rest of my day, while listening to Ahsoka¡¯s happy tirades about finally going on a real mission.¡¯

    ¡®Rika was also here. Dear girl was already worried about us; she was also a bit stumped since she couldn¡¯t come along. The council is yet to assign another master to her, but because of us, she is getting out of her depression. Thereafter, it is only a matter of time now.¡¯

    ¡®I suddenly heard a familiar beeping sound. It was the sound of an incoming holo-call, as my wrist communicator faithfully signalled. Oh yes, I finally got one of my own. It is basically like a small computer that is attached to your wrist. You can use the web, start and receive calls, and even watch movies with it. Cool stuff.¡¯

    ¡®I answered the call. To my surprise, the appearing figure did not belong to my new master as I expected, but to an unassuming sewing droid.¡®

    ¡°Good afternoon, miss. Your urgent order has been verified. I will do my utmost to finish it by tomorrow morning. However, I am ashamed to say that some parts of the armor have to be improvised from already finished parts, since the available time doesn¡¯t allow me to do it otherwise.¡± ¡ª Stated the droid in a strongly emotional tone, which didn¡¯t feel forced or programmed, something that was very unusual for a droid.

    ¡°It is acceptable. Just create another one for the time I come back from this mission.¡± ¡ª Nizzal stated. ¡ª ¡°Until then, this improvised armor should suffice.¡± ¡ª The droid was visibly relieved hearing the answer.

    ¡°I understand, and it will be done!¡± ¡ª The droid answered, then hesitated before proceeding to ask a question. ¡ª ¡°Still, I must say I didn¡¯t expect this. It is a very unusual request. Very few Jedi use full body armor, especially not with a headpiece¡­¡±

    Nizzal shrugged her shoulders before answering. ¡ª ¡°Well, I am not really a Jedi, you know.¡±

    ¡°Ah, of course, I remember that. You are an exchange student from the Grey Order¡­ It must have slipped out of my processor unit.¡± ¡ª The droid said, with a chuckle. Causing Nizzal to blink with suspicion.

    ¡®This droid¡­ it must be another sentient droid¡­ Just like HK-47, that bastard¡­¡¯ ¡ª Nizzal ground her teeth, silently deciding that it will be best to move along with the topic.

    ¡°No problem¡­ By the way, did you find enough materials for the armor, the ones I requested?¡±

    The droid cheered up and continued with its happy attitude.

    ¡°Surprisingly, yes! There was enough durasteel in the temple¡¯s storage. It wasn¡¯t used for decades. I don¡¯t think that anyone even remembers we have it, except maybe master Yoda. There is enough to make a few more armors and repairs if the need arises.¡±

    ¡°That is fantastic! Thank you very much.¡± ¡ª Nizzal stated with a genuine cheer in her voice. Some of the droid¡¯s cheerful mood must be latching onto her.

    ¡°I am happy to serve, young miss.¡± ¡ª The droid stated solemnly. Its mechanic eyes softening while gazing at the genuine excitement showed by the otherwise stoic twi¡¯lek girl. ¡ª ¡°I will print the base part of the armor from plastoid composite, then cover it with the durasteel plates in more critical areas. The entire outfit¡¯s color will be dark gray, as you requested. I am afraid that I couldn¡¯t find any type of exoskeleton upgrade for your armor to boost your movement ability.¡±

    Nizzal nodded, along with a widening smile.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, but if you have the chance, please search for it on the galactic market in the time I will be away from the temple.¡±

    ¡°Of course. The prototype of your armor will be delivered to your room in the morning. Good night.¡± ¡ª The droid stated suddenly, no doubt preparing for the task of creating said armor.

    ¡°Thank you, bye!¡± ¡ª Nizzal waved at the droid through the holo-communicator. Then the call ended.

    ¡®Behind the dispersing holographic image of the sewing droid, the silhouettes of a smirking Ahsoka appeared.¡¯

    ¡®She was staring at me with a skeptical and overly proud expression.¡¯

    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

    ¡°What?¡± ¡ª ¡®I asked.¡¯

    ¡°Why would you use such a restrictive armor? You still have your lightsaber. Did you forget, perhaps?¡± ¡ª ¡®She asked while shaking her head disapprovingly.¡¯

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand, is there any connection between my armor and my lightsaber?¡± ¡ª ¡®I asked back, genuinely confused.¡¯

    ¡°Nizzy, stop acting like a fool! Your lightsaber is your weapon and your defense at the same time!¡± ¡ª ¡®The girl shouted with the same amount of disbelief and excitement.¡¯

    ¡®I blinked, considering her statement, then answered.¡¯

    ¡°That maybe true to some extent, but what would you do if two shots were sent towards you at the same time from different angles?¡±

    ¡°I could still defend myself. I use two sabers, remember?¡± ¡ª ¡®The girl smirked victoriously. Something that I found quite comical, as she clearly didn¡¯t think further along my line of thoughts.¡¯

    ¡°Fine. Then what if there are five or ten shots heading towards you at the same time?¡± ¡ª ¡®I asked.¡¯

    ¡°I would dodge.¡± ¡ª ¡®She provided the answer just as I anticipated.¡¯

    ¡°Hmm, and what if you can¡¯t, for some reason? Like there is not enough space to dodge or you are too injured¡­¡± ¡ª ¡®I offered my dilemma with a solemn expression.¡¯

    ¡°Eh, I would figure something out in that case.¡± ¡ª ¡®She stated with a frown, clearly having no answer to the particular question, therewithal I decided to answer instead of her.¡¯

    ¡°You would die.¡± ¡ª ¡®I dropped the simple words, allowing the truth carried by them to offer the necessary weight to the conversation.¡¯

    ¡®She froze for a moment, surprised by my sudden seriousness. She squirmed in her place then attempted to divert the discourse which she was clearly uncomfortable with.¡¯

    ¡°Nah, I would escape somehow, even if they captured me. I know I would find a way¡­¡± ¡ª ¡®She said attempting to act firm in her belief, but her tone was less confident now.¡¯

    ¡°You don¡¯t get it. They never intended to capture you. They wanted to kill you. Therefore, you would be dead.¡± ¡ª ¡®I tried to lecture her, nudging her into the right direction. Alas, the only thing I got was an elaborated eye-roll.¡¯

    ¡°Okay, tell me, what would you do in that case? Since you are so wise and all, Master?¡± ¡ª ¡®The sarcasm was impossible to overlook, especially in the last part. Still, my heart actually skipped a beat, as I believed for a second that she somehow figured out my actual rank¡­ It was, of course, just a plain coincidence.¡¯

    ¡®I took a slow breath to calm myself and went into lecturing mode.¡¯

    ¡°I would block the shots that were aimed at¡­¡± ¡ª ¡®I was rudely interrupted by Ahsoka¡¯s derisive words.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°Oh, so you would block the laser beams¡­ how shocking, who would have thought about that!¡± ¡ª ¡®She argued in a mocking tone.¡¯

    ¡®I coughed lightly, flustered by the interruption.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°Allow me to finish, first!¡± ¡ª ¡®I scolded her with no effects.¡¯

    ¡®A sigh and some finger waving later that only elicited another amused chuckle. I got back to my explanation.¡¯

    ¡°I would block the shots aimed at the most critical parts on my armor, like my neck and joints. Then I would let the others hit me. Equipped with a military grade durasteel armor, I could fight in this manner for quite some time. Now you, show me your battle gear, and I will give you some tips on how to reinforce it so you keep as much of your flexibility as possible.¡±

    ¡®Ahsoka looked at me with a thoughtful expression spreading across her face. Her previous joviality was nowhere to be seen.¡¯

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡®She didn¡¯t react to my request unfortunately, so I decided to repeat my question.¡¯

    ¡°Where is your battle gear?¡± ¡ª ¡®I asked again, and there was a moment of awkward silence before she tentatively said.¡¯

    ¡°I am wearing it.¡± ¡ª ¡®That said, she looked to the side, something that I would think as an action of shyness, if this wasn¡¯t Ahsoka who we were talking about. Therefore¡­¡¯

    ¡°Hehe... nice joke.¡± ¡ª ¡®Was my reaction instead.¡¯

    ¡®Her expression suddenly became annoyed. As she pointed her stinging gaze at me.¡¯

    ¡®I blinked, my mouth hanging loosely in the air with utter disbelief.¡¯

    ¡°Wait, you are not joking?¡± ¡ª ¡®I eventually managed to squeak out those disbelieving words.¡¯

    ¡°Of course not!¡± ¡ª ¡®She shouted at me, while hitting the desk placed between us with a burst of anger.¡¯

    ¡®I stared at her with a dumbfounded expression, slowly describing what I was seeing.¡¯

    ¡°You are in a crop top and sweatpants.¡± ¡ª ¡®I stated, armed with a deadpan expression and tone of voice.¡¯

    ¡°Yeah, I like it since I can move as freely as I want.¡± ¡ª ¡®Was her honest answer¡­ but I couldn¡¯t handle it¡­ and to my shame as a teacher my true thoughts slipped out.¡¯

    ¡°... Are you retarded?¡±

    ¡®The next thing I realized was a pillow flattening against my face with quite the force, but it was not the end of it.¡¯

    ¡®I felt a weight jump on top of me while I was too distracted with attempting to get rid of said pillow. Before I knew what was going on, the dastardly togruta was already on top of me, currently beating the crap out of me with another pillow while pinning me to the bed mercilessly. I was too surprised to even think about retribution.¡¯

    ¡®All the while, Rika was laughing like a madman in the background.¡¯

    ¡®I tried to move, but Soka tackled me and also began to tickle my sides while she was basically sitting on top of me. It was a lost cause, I realized.¡¯

    ¡°Do you plead for mercy?¡± ¡ª ¡®She asked while I tried to push her off my back futilely. It was hard to breathe from the constant laughing.¡¯

    ¡°Yes! Please leave me be...¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t hear you clearly?¡± ¡ª ¡®I heard her teasing voice right behind my ear protrusions.¡¯

    ¡°Okay, fine! Please have mercy!¡± ¡ª ¡®I decided to plead earnestly this time.¡¯

    ¡®She stopped, for a while, to let me breathe, but she was still comfortably sitting on my back.¡¯

    ¡°Hmm... Should I let you go, I wonder?¡± ¡ª ¡®She spoke aloud, letting her momentary superiority seep in, and I definitely didn¡¯t like how it felt. Alas, without actually using some serious force spell, I wouldn¡¯t get rid of her from this position, and I obviously didn¡¯t want to hurt her. This was all a game in the end.¡¯

    ¡®I felt an icy shiver running over my back as an awful premonition came to me.¡¯

    ¡®Ahsoka ominously whispered into my ears.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°It seems that I have found your weak spot finally. I would let you go, but I haven¡¯t even heard the magic word yet?¡±

    ¡®I gulped drily, my voice faltering a bit as I enquired.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°Wh-what? Magic word?¡±

    ¡®She began to tickle me again.¡¯

    ¡°No~! Stop!¡± ¡ª ¡®I kicked out blindly, trying to push her off my back. It didn¡¯t succeed.¡¯

    ¡®I felt an icy stare burrowing into my scalp as an immediate reaction, and I couldn¡¯t help but shiver under the pressuring glare.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°That wasn¡¯t too nice, was it?¡± ¡ª ¡®Ahsoka stated in a dire voice.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°Aren¡¯t you a bad girl? I heard that bad girls ought to be punished!¡±

    ¡®With that said, her attack continued¡­ And this time she didn¡¯t show me any mercy.¡¯

    ¡®I squealed like a five-year-old. I could feel my tears flowing from my eyes as she tortured me for a few more minutes.¡®

    ¡®When she finally stopped, she asked.¡¯

    ¡°Now, do I hear the magic word?¡± ¡ª ¡®She demanded.¡¯

    ¡°Sorry¡­ Sorry! I am¡­ sorry! Please¡­ just let me off the hook this time! I won¡¯t lecture you again, not like that, I promise!¡± ¡ª ¡®She smirked victoriously.¡¯

    ¡°Much better. You seemed to have learned your lesson.¡± ¡ª ¡®She jumped off my back and sat down on the chair with a satisfied bossy expression.¡¯

    ¡®I could hardly care about that though, since I was completely drained from so much forced laughter¡­ I simply rolled on my back, gulping down air needily.¡¯

    ¡®Rika wasn¡¯t laughing anymore either. She was looking at Ahsoka with a scared and weary expression. After some thoughts, she finally said.¡¯

    ¡°You know Ahsoka, sometimes you are very scary.¡±

    ¡®Ahsoka turned towards Rika with a smug smile, then asked.¡¯

    ¡°What was that again?¡±

    ¡°No-nothing!¡± ¡ª ¡®Squeaked Rika while hastily turning away from the sinisterly smiling togruta.¡¯

    ¡°I thought so.¡± ¡ª ¡®Said Ahsoka nodding to herself.¡¯

    ¡®After that, all of us calmed down, and played a few matches of battle chess. Then we told our goodbyes to each other, and Rika, since we would be away for the next few weeks. We agreed to speak through the holo-net every day.¡¯

    ¡®That night I slept like a rock. I was still a bit tired from the overexertion from a few days prior, and the torture that followed afterwards put the last nails into that figurative coffin.¡¯

    ¡®The next morning I still woke up fresh, all thanks to my careful channeling of healing energies throughout the night. Also, I suspected that there were more than a few good sides to be so young and full of energy.¡¯

    ¡®I washed up and showered.¡¯

    ¡®One thing that is good about being a twi¡¯lek is that you don¡¯t have to dry your hair, since you don¡¯t have any. Not even a single thread of hair could be found on my entire body, aside from one spot, well, two.¡¯

    ¡®Seriously, even my eyebrows are painted; the only natural hair I have is my eyelashes. Where is the logic in that? Like dah? God must have been dead drunk the day they created my race¡­¡¯

    ¡®After finishing my early grooming session, I realized with a burst of joy that my armor had arrived in the meantime. I thanked the droid that brought it. It was an unfamiliar droid, used for carrying around stuff like this. As it left, it released a happy beeping sound. But I was already preparing to dress up in my full battle gear.¡¯

    ¡®The base of the cloth was created from a simple, moderately strong, but still highly flexible type of material. This part of the armor was in simple black color. This base part was covered with dark gray durasteel plates at the chest, shoulders, shins, forearms, back, and stomach.¡¯

    ¡®My thighs were covered in the much weaker but easier and more flexible plastoid composite, just as the other unmentioned areas like my butt.¡¯

    ¡®The latter was in a light gray color. I also had a full-face helmet to the set. The front area of the helmet which protected my face was covered in a durasteel plate, at least when the front of the helmet was closed.¡¯

    ¡®My most obvious weak spot was my two lekku. They weren¡¯t covered with anything and they were sticking out of my helmet at the top.¡¯

    ¡®I hated the feeling when my leks were covered. This was the reason I never used the usual traditional head pieces of the twi¡¯leks too.¡¯

    ¡®I fastened my armor in some places where I didn¡¯t feel it tight enough, then I was essentially ready.¡¯

    ¡®Obi-Wan said that my normal clothes were already sent to the ship while I was out cold in the last three days. Now the only thing that had to be sent was me and the other Jedi.¡¯

    ¡®I walked out of my room. In the meantime, I pushed up the front part of my helmet to see more easily and be more recognizable. We were supposed to meet at the seventeenth landing pad. It was time to leave the temple, finally, not in the way I had hoped for when I entered about a week ago; but it could have been much worse.¡¯

    ¡®As I closed on the location, I saw the infamous trio standing before a small passenger transporter ship.¡¯

    ¡®It will serve as our ride to the Venator, I concluded.¡¯

    ¡®Ahsoka was already waving at me with a giant smile. The others were somewhat taken aback by my obviously epic outfit, yet I also realized something.¡¯

    ¡®Anakin and Obi-Wan also wore some type of minimalist battle armor. How didn¡¯t Ahsoka realize the usefulness of the armor until now, if she saw armor on Obi-Wan and Anakin, too?¡¯

    ¡®She was a complete mystery to me sometimes. Of course, I wasn¡¯t as stupid as mentioning this to her.¡¯

    ¡®When I arrived, we greeted each other politely. Then we entered the ship and soon we were flying towards our Venator class cruiser.¡¯

    ¡®Through the window, I watched as the temple became smaller and smaller while we continuously raised our altitude.¡¯

    ¡®Let me see that elite clone squad. I can already foretell their reaction. A bunch of elite troopers placed under my command. They must be thinking that it¡¯s the end of the world. A thirteen-year-old girl is going to be their new commander.¡¯

    ¡®I hope they don¡¯t throw a grenade at me in the first five seconds. Well, they are probably used to being led by padawans and Jedi overall, so maybe there is no reason to fear. I gulped unconsciously.¡¯

 20. Chapter

    In the common quarters of one of the many Venator class republic cruisers currently waiting outside of Coruscant¡¯s atmosphere.

    A group of newly trained clones, among many others, were sitting at their table, silently eating their military rations.

    This food was much better than usual. The reason for that is that they are in the core worlds where supplies are basically endless.

    This particular team of clones counted six soldiers, and they were quite edgy right now. The other clones sitting at different tables were giving them weary looks.

    For this interesting phenomenon to happen, there were a few different reasons.

    The other shinies were looking at them with evident admiration and respect in their eyes, while the veteran troopers were trying hard to ignore them, failing miserably.

    When they also realized this, they instead began to act superior towards them, leading to the current unique situation.

    As this particular clone squad continued to sit at their table, they could easily overhear some interesting combinations of derogatory words directed at them.

    Like shiny commandos and special rookies, to name a few...

    Getting some special attention was a normal thing for them at this point, honestly. Even on Kamino, wherever they have gone to the cantina, especially as a whole squad, they always stood out like a sore thumb.

    Therefore, the weary glances or comments directed at them were not the reason for their frustration.

    A few days ago, they were told that their new commander had been chosen, and today was the day when they would meet with her.

    Yes, her, since she is a woman, but the worst part was that she is not even a proper Jedi, but a mere padawan. What the hell could a thirteen-year-old girl understand of properly leading a commando?

    They trained their whole life. They learned to be a team, to excel and made their brothers and the republic proud of them. Is that the thanks for their loyalty? To place their lives and their efforts in the hands of a child?

    They heard stories of failed missions because of unreasonable padawan commanders. Even proper Jedi knights used to act too stubbornly as leaders. However, being under the direct command of a nosy child was a clear death sentence.

    It¡¯s not like the thought of dying was new to them, but the thought of dying stupidly without achieving anything was an entirely different thing. What was even more strange was that they were asked to report to the commander at one of the training fields, and in full gear.

    ¡°Attention, Gamma Squad, time to finish up here. We have a meeting scheduled with the princess commander.¡± ¡ª Stated one of the man standing up from the table.

    ¡°Heh, that was a good one, Crusher. Just be careful that she never hears it.¡± ¡ª Added another one while joining his comrade-in-arms.

    ¡°Yeah, we didn¡¯t want to make her cry after all.¡± ¡ª Crusher said back with a smirk.

    ¡°At least not on the first day!¡± ¡ª Another one joined in the conversation, shoving the two others on the shoulder.

    They began to laugh, hearing that. Some of them were still smiling when they reached the training field half an hour later, equipped with their complete gear.

    They stood to attention in a proper military line while waiting for their new commander. Even if she was a child, they wouldn¡¯t let their discipline look lackluster. They were professional soldiers, after all.

    Suddenly they heard as the air pressure door opened, and a small childlike figure stepped into the large hall. She glanced around, her gaze quickly focusing on them. After a few more seconds of hesitation, she began walking in their direction.

    Gamma Two, whose nickname was Brain, suddenly poked Crusher¡¯s side with his left elbow.

    Crusher gave him a quick nod to indicate that he was listening.

    ¡°Look at that Crusher, that armor. I could swear that it is durasteel and plastoid composite.¡± ¡ª Brain whispered next to Crusher, while still looking straightforward in a proper position.

    Gamma Three chose that moment to speak up from the other side of Crusher. He was otherwise known as Handy. ¡ª ¡°Yeah, it is, most likely. I always wondered why there were so few Jedi who even considered wearing cheap armor, but durasteel, that stuff is top-notch. I would love to have some for myself.¡±

    Crusher couldn¡¯t help but agree with the others observations. Maybe this commander won¡¯t be that bad after all.

    The clones also noted that the girl was a gray twi¡¯lek, and as she walked closer, everyone noticed her most unique feature in the form of a pair of pink eyes. They seemed to be much deeper and calmer than they should be... It was weird. If they saw those eyes on anyone but a young child, it wouldn¡¯t be that out of place. However, it felt quite wrong, even disturbing in this particular situation.

    She finally stopped before them, about two meters away.

    For a few minutes, she simply stood there and watched them. Then finally, as if she had realized something, she said hastily.

    ¡°Ah, rest soldiers.¡±

    They immediately relaxed their position. She then continued.

    ¡°Okay, my name is Nizzal Gray. It is nice to meet you all. From now on, I will be your acting commander¡­" ¡ª She hesitated for a few more seconds, clearly struggling with what to tell them. Then, when she made up her mind, she continued with a brief sigh.

    ¡°I decided to be forthcoming with you. I think you deserve that. Therefore, I will say this once: I am not here because I want to be here, so don¡¯t try to make my life into a living hell. Since I cannot leave even if I wanted to. Aside from that, I promise that I will take my position seriously and try to make our lives longer, easier, while being reasonably productive at the same time.¡±

    She smiled at them weakly. Was that supposed to be a joke or what?

    One of the soldiers decided to ask a question after seeing her disarming smile and strangely reasonable behavior. For a Jedi that is.

    ¡°May I have a word, commander?¡±

    ¡°Yes, what is your name, soldier?¡± ¡ª She asked, curiously.

    ¡°Gamma Five, commander.¡± ¡ª The soldier answered. For some reason, her expression seemed to contort unnaturally upon hearing that name.

    ¡°...Is that a joke?¡± ¡ª She asked, clearly unable to accept the answer.

    ¡°What do you mean, commander?¡± ¡ª Gamma Five asked, similarly confused.

    ¡°Your name is Gamma Five?¡± ¡ª The girl asked with a deadpan expression. ¡ª ¡°Are you serious? Is it some sort of inside joke?¡±

    There were a few seconds of awkward silence following that question.

    ¡°Commander, as clone troopers, we don¡¯t have real names, only these numbers.¡± ¡ª Came the solemn answer, eventually.

    The girl¡¯s joviality seemed to disappear as if she was splashed with a bucket of cold water.

    ¡°... Okay... this is¡­ kind of awkward... do you have some nicknames at least? Mine is Nizzy. You may call me that in unofficial meetings and circumstances.¡±

    That was a surprise for the clones.

    ¡°We understand commander!¡° ¡ª They said in unison.

    Then Gamma Five continued his question.

    ¡°Commander, you are right. Most of the clones used to have nicknames. We also have our own. My moniker is Ice.¡±

    ¡°Thank you! So, what is your question, Ice?¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking, what did you mean by that, that you don¡¯t want to be here?¡±

    ¡°Ah, a good question. Sadly, the Jedi council classified it as a secret. So it should be enough that I did something bad in their eyes. And they were kind enough to offer me two choices of punishment. Well, if you look at it from that angle, it turns out that I actually want to be here. Ironic really.¡±

    That explanation only created more questions in the minds of the clones.

    ¡°Ah, if you have other questions, ask away freely, and please, don¡¯t repeat commander all the time. My title is not something I would forget so easily... Oh, and tell your names when you ask something, otherwise I will never learn them.¡±

    There were a few loud smirks to that.

    ¡°Gamma One, nickname Crusher. I was wondering what kind of sin could a thirteen-year-old commit to be forcefully sent to war as a punishment?¡±

    Nizzal chuckled at that.

    ¡°I may or may not have partially cooked one of their knights sent to watch over me, but you shouldn¡¯t know about this. It¡¯s classified, after all, and he is a complete jerk anyway,¡± ¡ª Said the girl with a straight face.

    The atmosphere in the room after hearing that answer turned somewhat strange. Most of the clones didn¡¯t take the answer seriously, only smirking half-heartedly at the poor joke.

    Crusher, Stinger and Brain were different in that matter. They sensed that the answer was faster and much more natural to be a joke or something made up on the run.

    That could only mean that she told them the truth, and that was definitely not a good thing to hear.

    Also, what the actual hell? She just gave away classified information like it was nothing.

    Nizzal naturally noticed the weary expression Crusher, and some others were currently making, and decided to say, hastily.

    ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that. The guy tried to kill me first, so that¡¯s the story.¡±

    The clones looked at each other, confused. Some of them only began to realize that the previous answer wasn¡¯t actually a joke.

    ¡°Lets continue. Who else has questions?¡± ¡ª One of the soldiers raised his hand. ¡ª ¡°What is your name, soldier?¡±

    ¡°Gamma Two, my moniker is Brain. Why did a Jedi Knight try to kill you, one of their own? I am not sure I believe that to be true.¡±

    There were a few seconds of silence following that question.

    Crusher gave a warning glance to Brain. ¡ª ¡®Even if she is a child, you shouldn¡¯t directly question her like that. She is still our commander, like it or not.¡¯ ¡ª Crusher tried to remind Brain of that fact.

    ¡°... Now I see where the misunderstanding is. Look, I am not really a Jedi.¡± ¡ª She said nonchalantly.

    ¡°You have a lightsaber, and the rank of a padawan. How could you not be considered as a Jedi?¡± ¡ª Crusher asked the next question immediately. The question which was on every clone¡¯s mind at that moment.

    ¡°Crusher, right? See, there are not only Jedi in the galaxy who use lightsabers and are trained in using the force. I am from one of the many different secretive sects, namely the Gray Order.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s just say I am on a one sided exchange student program in the Jedi Temple to create new connections between the two orders. It didn¡¯t go well, and one knight thought that one of my techniques was a sacrilege and decided to attack me.¡±

    ¡°It didn¡¯t go well for him either, but that is already more than I should have told you lot about this incident.¡±

    ¡°Tell me something about you now. What are your specialties and the rest of your names? Don¡¯t worry in case some of you don¡¯t have nicknames yet. We will figure something out soon. It is already enough that you look the same. I don¡¯t want to call you almost the same way on top of that.¡±

    ¡°Beginning from Crusher towards the other end of your line, Gamma One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven Eight, am I right?¡± ¡ª Nizzal questioned funnily.

    ¡°Yes, commander.¡± ¡ª The clones answered.

    ¡°State your nicknames and specialty in that order. Alright? Let¡¯s start then. You are Crusher, I already know that. What is your specialty?¡± ¡ª She asked and seemed to be honestly interested in it.

    ¡°I am the sub-commander. I specialize in fast decision making and situational awareness.¡±

    ¡°Good! That will be really useful! Next one?¡±

    ¡°Gamma Two, Brain, plan making and mission logistics.¡±

    ¡°Gamma Three, Handy, I have no specialization, but I knew a bit about everything.¡±

    ¡°Gamma Four, Stinger. I specialize in close quarter combat and capturing targets alive.¡±

    The Commander reflexively gulped, hearing that, and she didn¡¯t even comment on it.

    ¡°Next!¡± ¡ª She simply said, instead.

    ¡°Gamma Five, Ice, short and mid range combat, with automatic and semiautomatic rifle.¡±

    ¡°Gamma Six, Targetman, the same as Ice, but everyone aims at me first for some reason.¡±

    ¡°You have quite a bad luck there, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡ª Nizzal said.

    ¡°Heh... I appreciate your sympathy, command-¡­ ¡±

    Stinger shouted, interrupting the conversation.

    ¡°Commander, don¡¯t pity him, he is just ugly. That is why everyone is trying to put him out of misery!¡±

    The commander blinked heavily after hearing that particular reasoning.

    She bit into her lips, trying to suppress her smile, as she caught onto the joke.

    Targetman shouted back. ¡ª ¡°We all look the same way, you halfwit!¡±

    ¡°Next please!¡± ¡ª Shouted the commander. She couldn¡¯t hold back her smile anymore, and therefore attempted some sort of misdirection.

    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

    ¡°Gamma Seven, Watcher, I specialize in long range, sniper rifles.¡±

    ¡°And what is yours, Gamma Eight?¡± ¡ª Nizzal asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s Dozer, ma¡¯am.¡± ¡ª Came the answer. Which caused Nizzal to flinch.

    ¡°For the force¡¯s sake, do I look like a madam to you?¡± ¡ª She demanded.

    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡± ¡ª Said Dozer with a smirk, eliciting a few more from the others standing in the line.

    ¡°Sigh, I never thought that I would have to join the army to find such a fine gentleman.¡± ¡ª Said the commander with thick sarcasm. Someone even whistled at that.

    Nizzal smiled and asked meaningfully.

    ¡°I hope your specialty is not womanizing?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s just my hobby, ma¡¯am. As a soldier, though, I prefer to blow up stuff.¡±

    ¡°Ah, the pyrotechnic, then! Quite a well-balanced team, I have to say. Now come over here and sit with me. Time for our first team meeting to officially begin.¡±

    With that said, she plopped down on the floor uncharacteristically. Alas, nobody else seemed to move from their line.

    ¡°So, what are you waiting for? Come over, and sit in a circle. I won¡¯t bite.¡± ¡ª She smiled toothily.

    ¡®What a strange girl¡­¡¯ ¡ª Thought Crusher, while walking over and sitting down. The others soon followed. When everyone took their place, she continued.

    ¡°So, I know quite a lot of battle formations and tactics, but I am afraid that they are not up to date and not against enemy droid armies, but humanoids. Therefore, until I learn the proper formations, I will give the quick decision making to Crusher, as the next in rank after me. Clear?¡±

    That sentence made Crusher honestly surprised. The others also blinked a few times before they nodded, accepting the offer that practically resolved their main issue with this entire setup. After all, who in their right mind would refuse a trained force sensitive to join their unit?

    No matter if said individual was just a child. They were perfectly aware of the extent of a Jedi¡¯s power, meaning that even a child could prove an immensely valuable asset on the battlefield. Even if she doesn¡¯t do anything else aside from deflecting incoming laser beams.

    ¡°Good, we will have the chance to warm up on some pitiful pirates in the next few days. If we find them, that is. Until then, we will learn of each other¡¯s abilities starting from today. I want to see what your weapons are capable of, and I will show you some of my skills. You will have to know what you should and what you shouldn¡¯t expect from me too, after all. Is that clear?¡±

    ¡°Clear!¡± ¡ª Came the unified answer once again.

    ¡°That¡¯s the spirit. I am already beginning to like you guys. It was a long time since I had the opportunity to work with professional soldiers.¡± ¡ª She said, while stupidly smiling to herself, as if she was lost in some old memories.

    ¡°How old are you, if I may ask?¡± ¡ª Stinger asked the next question, out of nowhere, a slight tone of amusement sneaking into his words.

    She blinked, clearly roused from her thoughts.

    ¡°Ah, sorry about that. I just remembered the good old days. By the way, I am thirteen. I thought you knew, since one of you already stated my age. Was it a blind guess? I see¡­¡±

    The clones become even more confused from that. Giving weird glances at each other. Before Stinger could clarify his question, she continued with her words.

    ¡°I also heard that you guys are actually three years younger than me, so why do you care so much about my age?¡± ¡ª The girl pointed out the fact with a victorious smirk spreading across her pale cheeks.

    That question was actually spot-on...

    Targetman gave the answer to that. Somewhat self-consciously.

    ¡°Commander, we were raised for war. Our growth was fastened artificially. We may be ten years old, but we are actually twenty in body and mind.¡±

    ¡°Now, you see, that is a good example there. I can only tell you this, not everything is what it seems to be.¡± ¡ª She smiled mysteriously.

    ¡°So, boys, show me how your equipment looks like... I-I mean, your weapons...¡± ¡ª She stumbled over her words, her face suddenly turning a few shades darker gray.

    The clones looked at each other with gleeful eyes. Uncertain how to react to the current situation. While she was clearly frustrated over those words and their possible secondary meanings.

    ¡®Look at that. This is actually going to be fun.¡¯ ¡ª Thought Crusher.

    The other clones were snickering, and even Crusher had to admit that his lips took on the shape of a smile, seeing how frustrated she had become. ¡ª ¡°Okay boys, leave some dignity to the commander. It¡¯s her first time, after all.¡± ¡ª He called out to the unit with a purposeful innuendo.

    Causing ever more chuckles among the soldiers.

    ¡°No, stop it!¡± ¡ª She shouted at us, hiding the lower half of her face in her palm. For once looking like her age, with the blush covering the upper half. Since she couldn¡¯t take the embarrassment anymore, she eventually hid her face entirely behind her palms, trying to hide her own bubbling laughter.

    ¡°Let me explain commander¡± ¡ª Crusher stood up from the small circle of sitting soldiers. Bringing an end to the snickering. ¡ª ¡°Our basic weaponry system is the DC-17m Interchangeable Weapon System.¡±

    ¡°That means it is a multifunction weapon. There is a reason why we carry these armored backpacks on our backs, after all. There are four different attachments to the same weapon changing it into a blaster rifle, a sniper rifle, an anti-armor grenade launcher, and last but not least the non-lethal Pulsed Energy Projectile emitter, in short, we used to call it PEP. Dozer, would you like to show off to our new commander what that exactly entails?¡±

    ¡°Yes sir, I am always ready to blow up some stuff!¡±

    Dozer, also known as Gamma Eight, stood up this time and walked to the middle of the training grounds. There were different kinds of targets placed on the other end of the room. Dozer activated his weapon, then aimed it. There was a sudden burst of blue energy beams that hit one of the targets on the wall.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough for now!¡± ¡ª Shouted Crusher, after a whole round was fired, it only took a few seconds. ¡ª ¡°So that was the blaster rifle in full automatic mode. There are other modes like semi-automatic and single shot modes too.¡± ¡ª He added as an afterthought.

    ¡°Why is the laser¡¯s color blue?¡± ¡ª Asked the commander.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s quite simple. We mostly fight against droids, therefore we use ion pulse weapons. It would kill any organics too, but it only delivers the real punch against droids.¡± ¡ª Explained Crusher.

    Nizzal nodded to that explanation.

    ¡°We usually have around three-hundred rounds with us, but we used to customize our gear before every mission based on the data and expectations we had. Dozer, show us the big gun now.¡± ¡ª Crusher continued.

    ¡°Ha! On it boss!¡± ¡ª Dozer shouted back, more than happy to continue with the volatile presentation.

    He changed the attachment on the weapon, taking off the first half of the gun and placing it into his backpack, while also attaching the new part to the weapons base. He then aimed it and shot at the targets. After the first shot, the target that was hit immediately broke apart.

    ¡°Stop right there, brother. We should leave some targets for the others, too.¡± ¡ª Stated Crusher, then turned back towards the commander.

    ¡°How do you like it, ma¡¯am? That one is a heavy hitter. It fires solid projectiles encased in blaster energy, and also has a scope that can zoom in on two different modes, changeable between a ten-times and a twenty-times zoom. We also call it the can opener, if you know what I mean. Hey, Dozer, what the hell are you doing? We won¡¯t test the grenade launcher on our damn ship!¡±

    ¡°Damn! But that is the best part, sir!¡± ¡ª The man complained.

    ¡°I feel ya, but the answer is still no! Damn pyromaniac.¡± ¡ª The others laughed around Crusher after hearing his snide comments. Even the commander smiled at it.

    ¡°The grenade launcher was specifically created to be used against tanks and heavy weaponry, but that doesn¡¯t mean you can¡¯t blow away some clankers with a precise shot. The only reason we are not used to doing that is because the grenades are very heavy and we can¡¯t take that much with us. It is a waste to use them on simple droids. Dozer there thinks differently, though. He is our local pyromaniac, for a reason.¡±

    Dozer shouted from the other side of the training field.

    ¡°What are you telling to the commander there, hey! Are you trying to blacken my name?¡±

    Gamma Four, also known as Stinger, shouted back at him.

    ¡°Shut up, man. She will realize it soon enough, anyway!¡±

    ¡°Oh, hell no!¡± ¡ª Complained Dozer once again.

    The others laughed.

    ¡°So, what I was trying to tell you is that he usually empties almost his whole backpack, and only brings nades in it. Sometimes he even steals some of our grenades when he¡¯s used them all up, and can¡¯t get anymore from the storage management team.¡±

    ¡°That was really not something you should have to tell to our new superior!¡± ¡ª Dozer shouted again, with some embarrassment in his voice.

    Stinger shouted back at him.

    ¡°Like I said, she will realize it soon enough. Better now, then later.¡±

    Another series of snickering later. The commander asked a question.

    ¡°So, how many grenades can he carry alongside with the basic rounds and at least the basic rifle attachment?¡±

    ¡°Fifteen!¡± ¡ª Shouted Dozer with pride in his voice.

    ¡°What is the chance that the grenades blow up in his backpack if he is shot?¡±

    ¡°Almost zero.¡± ¡ª Answered Ice this time. ¡ª ¡°The grenades are created in a way that they only become activated when placed into the gun, but there is still a one to two percent chance per unit to blow up if they are hit.¡±

    ¡°Well, multiply it with fifteen different grenades and you¡¯ve got a recipe for a catastrophe.¡± ¡ª Said the commander with a troubled expression.

    Crusher froze uncharacteristically, actually thinking about what she said, and his expression became more and more horrified by the second.

    ¡°Dozer! You fucking idiot. Did you know about this?¡±

    ¡°Well, I guess...¡±

    ¡°You complete imbecile! I forbid you to carry more than six of those damnable bombs from now on! Cross me on this, and I will put you in front of the Military Court.¡±

    ¡°What, no way!¡±

    ¡°Shut up! Do you want to blow all of us up?!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Now show the last of the weaponry, you crazy bastard!¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±

    He focused on the already changed weapon and shot a circle like energy beam at one of the targets. Then a few other shots, too.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough for now! This is the PEP, the non-lethal one. The name should not deceive you, by the way. It won¡¯t kill you, but that doesn¡¯t mean that you will not end up in a hospital bed if hit by it without any armor or shield.¡±

    Nizzal nodded to that.

    ¡°That was the brunt of it. We also have a few more tools, like a secondary blaster gun effective for close quarter combat, and a vibroblade built into the top of our gloves.¡±

    Crusher raised his right hand, forming a fist in front of him. From the commander¡¯s perspective, she could clearly see the top of his hand. As he activated the weapon, a small vibroblade charged forward until it reached its maximum reach, about twenty centimeters. It was resembling one of the intergalactic common signs of communication, namely, flipping the bird. The commander seemed to realize this too, but effectively ignored it, with a weak shake of her head. Then she asked.

    ¡°Can you give me one of your secondary handguns?¡±

    ¡°Of course, commander.¡± ¡ª Crusher stated, then gave her his without a second thought.

    She eagerly took it, checked it over from a few different angles, then said.

    ¡°I like it, and therefore I will keep this. Think of it as a punishment for your cheek. And I also need a handgun. A lightsaber is a good weapon, but it has some flaws too.¡±

    Crusher nodded to that statement. One more thing that he never expected to hear from a Jedi. Well, she already said it. She is not one. With that in mind, Crusher also gave her his gun holder belt. She accepted it with a happy smile and soon attached it to her hip.

    ¡®What a weird gal.¡¯ ¡ª Crusher thought, for the second time. ¡ª ¡®But one thing was clear. We hit the jackpot with this one.¡¯

    While she was occupied with her new toy, Crusher looked over at his team. They were also smiling and nodding towards him with clear acceptance on their faces. Their test was over. From now on, if she doesn¡¯t change her ways, she will be their commander.

    <hr>

    ¡®I sneaked a peek at my new squad. They happily smiled at each other with knowing looks, giving quick nods and small gestures towards Crusher. I sighed, feeling my shoulders relax finally. I managed to get over their test and it seems they accepted me as their commander for now. I felt my palms sweat from the pressure they gave me until now. It was not an obvious pressure, mind you, but for someone with access to the force, it becomes very clear.¡¯

    ¡®I was looking at the floor, already thinking over the events of the last thirty minutes. When I sensed a hand carefully touching my left shoulder. I looked up, seeing Crusher standing before me and looking down at me with a supporting smile. He then said.¡¯

    ¡°Commander, aren¡¯t you supposed to show us your special abilities? We have already laid out our own cards. It¡¯s your turn now.¡±

    ¡®Oh, yeah, it¡¯s only fair towards them if I do. I nodded to him, then walked to the training field. When I reached the ideal distance, I turned back towards them.¡¯

    ¡°My basic fighting style is using my lightsaber in one hand, while with the other hand, I use a blaster or channel the force with it. I can¡¯t channel the force effectively if there is a blaster in my hand or if I am holding something else. I have to place it back into the weapon holder before I can use it properly. Remember that.¡±

    The clones nodded. Listening to her explanation.

    ¡°If I had time to enter into a meditative trance, I could use the force in a much freer manner and in a larger area, but it takes much preparation to achieve that, at the minimum, one hour, but usually even more.¡±

    ¡°That technique can be used in situations when we know that we will soon enter into a confrontation. It is called battle meditation, one of my most powerful techniques.¡±

    ¡°Using it, I can assist and control even a large scale battle helping our troops to be in the right place at the right time, raising their morale while simultaneously weakening the enemy¡¯s will to fight. The last part doesn¡¯t work on droids. Ah, and while I am doing this technique, I can¡¯t fight, so someone has to guard me. Also, right now, since I am practically a child, I can¡¯t really use it effectively in large-scale combat, but a few hundred troops should work fine.¡±

    ¡®The clones looked at me with confused eyes, as if I had grown another head or something.¡®

    ¡°I see that you have many questions about this, but I can¡¯t really describe it in a better way. We will try it out tomorrow and you will understand it naturally.¡±

    ¡®They nodded to that.¡¯

    ¡°Also, there are many easier to do techniques I would like you to know of. I think this you already know, but if that isn¡¯t the case, I will tell you now. With my lightsaber I can effectively deter laser beams. I can even hit the enemy with their own shot. It is a defensive technique, good to surprise the enemy and distract them.¡°

    ¡°Although, since I like to use my saber with one hand, I don¡¯t really use it. I have another technique for that, but I would like one of you to help me with the presentation.¡±

    One of the clones was pushed and stumbled forward a few steps. He immediately gave an angry glare towards the one who had pushed him.

    I looked at him and asked.

    ¡°You are?¡±

    ¡°Watcher, commander.¡±

    ¡°Oh sure, thank you for your assistance. I would like to ask you to shoot at me with your rifle.¡±

    ¡®A silence fell upon the room, as if a switch had been changed. The light-hearted smiles immediately disappeared. They watched me with questioning gazes, seemingly trying to figure out if I had lost my sanity in this short time.¡¯

    ¡®Understandably, Watcher was the one who was the most surprised.¡¯

    ¡°I won¡¯t shoot at my commander with a deadly weapon, he said with clear annoyance in his voice.¡±

    ¡°Eh... fine, then use the stunner attachment and do it with that.¡±

    ¡®He was still agitated from my request, but after he looked at Crusher, seemingly asking for permission, he nodded and so he changed the attachment. He aimed at me, then asked.¡¯

    ¡°Are you ready, commander? I won¡¯t be responsible if you spend your next day in the infirmary.¡±

    ¡°I appreciate your concern, but it is misguided.¡±

    ¡®He shot at me, finally.¡¯

    ¡®I raised my left hand in the way of the stun beam. Everyone was shocked by this, since they all expected me to dodge it or block it with the lightsaber. One of them even shouted at me to jump away immediately.¡¯

    ¡®I channeled my force powers into the palm of my hand and also extended outwards the energy shield in a half circle about the size of my body in front of me. This shield was almost entirely invisible to people who were not trained in the ways of the force. Only a few small ripples in the air could be seen. The energy beam was, of course, caught up in this whirlwind-like shield, and it morphed into a weird form, then disappeared in my closing palm.¡¯

    ¡®I liked this technique because I could steal energy from blaster shots and even other force techniques sent to harm me. It was the light side way of siphoning energy. It was not that effective, as the dark side version, and it didn¡¯t steal life energy from someone else, but transformed a small part of the energies while forcefully disintegrating them.¡¯

    ¡®Of course, it can¡¯t simply disintegrate any magnitude of energy, but a few hundred normal laser beams or lightning techniques are within its boundaries. It also could be forcefully overloaded to release it in a controlled manner, blasting away a large chunk of the enemy force if they were unlucky enough to be caught up in it.¡¯

    ¡®I realized that the clones were unusually silent around me since I was again submerged in my thoughts.¡¯

    ¡®I straightened my back and told them the basics of the technique. They were dumbfounded, hmm... Well, probably I should show some attacking techniques too. I just know the right choice.¡¯

    ¡°Okay, now I will show you one of my favorite attack techniques. It is called force lightning. This will be the one I use most of the time for attacking, also small force pushes, but they don¡¯t look half that cool.¡±

    ¡®The clones nodded silently and continued to watch me. I closed the front part of my helmet. There was a built-in adaptive light reducing transparisteel visor. So my eyes wouldn¡¯t hurt from looking into my lightning, or any other light that normally could blind me momentarily.¡¯

    ¡®Also, this was the reason I chose to wear a fingerless glove. I wouldn¡¯t want to blast apart my own clothes with my lightning.¡¯

    ¡®I hold out my left arm, pointing towards one of the practice targets. This time I focused a low energy stream into my fingers. I felt as the tension began to prickle my fingertips. Then the first small lightning appeared. They soon turned into a continuous stream of discharges blasting into the target about ten meters in front of me. The steel droid dummy slowly began to melt as its head fell to the floor. I decided to stop with the presentation. I turned towards the clones, waiting for their praises.¡¯

    <hr>

    Watcher was still standing at the place where he shot the stunner gun at his new commander. He looked at the deformed form of the melted droid with awe and fear. He began to realize that the girl wasn¡¯t joking about partially cooking a Jedi knight.

    She finally stopped the lightning show, opened up her helmet, and turned towards them with a proud smile, as if hoping for praises. He also realized something strange. Those pink eyes were nowhere to be found anymore. They were changed to an unnatural yellow color that gave him goosebumps. Wait, they began to change back. He blinked a few times and her eyes were back in their original color. Was he imagining things? Now it seemed to him that her skin color was much paler than a few minutes ago? Is this some Jedi mind trick? It must be.

    He wondered.

    <hr>

    The other clones were sitting in their original place while watching the presentation. Every one of them took differently to the current situation. Dozer, and his two best chums, Ice and Targetman, were watching the lighting with clear fascination. They were clearly enjoying the show.

    Stinger was looking at it with a confronted expression. He most likely hadn¡¯t decided yet what to think of it.

    Crusher wasn¡¯t that shocked. It certainly looked flashy and cool, but a blaster gun was just as effective in his eyes, and much more reliable.

    On the other hand, Crusher noted that Watcher seemed to be acting strangely. He stood closest to the show. Maybe he saw something they didn''t.

    ¡®Gonna ask him later.¡¯ ¡ª Crusher decided silently, then turned towards the next soldier.

    Handy was pretending to be uninterested, but he could sense the discomfort radiating from him, and Brain had a thoughtful expression on his face. He was also slowly stroking his chin, most likely contemplating the possible use of those force techniques. ¡ª Crusher finished his observations then slowly shook his head. What the hell did he get involved in again?

 21. Chapter

    ¡®After my epic lightning show, I decided to end today¡¯s meeting, but before I left, I gave the clones my holo contact just as they shared their own with me. Now I was sitting in the lower part of my bunk bed. I had to share my rooms with Ahsoka, who immediately decided that she would sleep on the upper part. It was not a problem for me. I didn¡¯t really care where I slept and it was the same bed, basically. She was giving me a nasty look right now. What did I do? Now she is rolling her eyes at me...¡¯

    ¡°You!¡±

    ¡°Me?¡± ¡ª ¡®I questioned hesitatingly.¡¯

    ¡°Argh! How is it that you¡¯ve got an elite clone team to work with? While I have to share Obi-Wan¡¯s and Skyguy¡¯s team? You basically have a bad-ass team that is entirely under your command!¡±

    ¡°Now, that is not really true. I also report to General Obi-Wan Kenobi as my immediate superior.¡±

    ¡°Yeah! But you only get the missions from him, and you are sent out to solve them alone, with your team! The General never leaves the ship with the special operation teams, everybody knows that!¡±

    ¡®Wait, is she seriously envious because I will have a much greater chance of being killed or captured and tortured to death by droids? Not even talking about the responsibility...¡¯

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like I asked to be placed in the special force? You know, it¡¯s a bit easier to die there... I didn¡¯t realize that you hated me so much...¡± ¡ª ¡®I pouted, staring at my boots, fidgeting with my right lekku, while altogether making a sad impression. Of course, it was all part of my master plan to guilt trip her.¡¯

    ¡®This level of destructive combination will utterly destroy Ahsoka, I thought.¡¯

    ¡°Cha!¡± ¡ª ¡®She slapped my forehead with a full palm strike from the top of the bunk bed.¡¯

    ¡°Bwaaah!¡± ¡ª ¡®I shouted from the surprise and sudden pain, instinctively trying to roll backwards, only to hit my head into the lower part of the upper bed... I felt as a few teardrops appeared in my eyes. This time it was genuine.¡¯

    ¡°Ouch... What the hell, Ahsoka, do you want to seriously kill me?¡± ¡ª ¡®I whimpered, heartbroken at the utter rejection of my attempt to be cutesy.¡¯

    ¡°Humph, I won¡¯t be that easily manipulated anymore, like at lunch, when I gave you one of my favorite desserts, just because you asked for it in that devious manner. Shame on you!¡± ¡ª ¡®Than she started giggling, she even turned towards the wall, to try to hide the fact that she was laughing her ass off at my demise.¡¯

    ¡®Who is the devious one now? I thought to myself. Ouch, I will have to stop further aggravating Ahsoka, or my forehead will have a palm-sized red mark in the middle of it soon, if it isn¡¯t there already.¡¯

    ¡®I laid on my back in my bed while thinking over the situation. Sighing frustratedly¡­¡¯

    ¡°What do you think about this pirate activity so close to Coruscant? Do they have a death wish or something?¡± ¡ª ¡®I asked Ahsoka, trying to raise my mood.¡¯

    ¡®I heard and felt as she rolled over on the upper part of our bed.¡¯

    ¡°Who cares? They just want to steal and they are stupid enough to think they can get away with it. Pirates are one of the worst! They have no discipline, no honor, and the only thing they are interested in is credits! Not even mentioning their smell, urgh...¡±

    ¡°That is an oversimplification.¡±

    ¡®Ahsoka was already growling, hearing the beginning of my usual scholastic answer. Maybe I will save my forehead from another slap and let that great opportunity for an explanation slip away this time.¡¯

    ¡®A few minutes later, the atmosphere didn¡¯t change much. It seemed to be even gloomier right now?¡¯

    ¡®This situation is seriously bad. Ahsoka is picking at me for no logical reason. Maybe I should just try to sleep for now? I guess that is the best thing to do.¡¯

    ¡®With that thought in mind, I pulled off my boots, then draped the blanket over me, and proceeded to sleep soundly. It was already nine PM by galactic standards, so there wasn¡¯t much to do, anyway.¡¯

    ¡°Good night Soka.¡± ¡ª ¡®I said, while Ahsoka only mumbled something, but I didn¡¯t hear it clearly as my consciousness slipped away. I guess I was more tired than I thought.¡¯

    ¡®Sometimes later, I felt as if a warm smile had formed on my lips as a kind memory resurfaced from the depths of my mind. I saw my master¡¯s warm brown eyes watching over me in my sleep so many years ago, and it only felt like a second.¡¯

    ¡®It is still better this way. When you don¡¯t realize that time is passing by, you usually spend it well. Now I could also see the memory from my master¡¯s perspective as he watched over me, still holding my hand even when I was already sleeping.¡¯

    ¡®Strangely, I felt as if my hand was really being held by someone. I must be dreaming already...¡¯

    <hr>

    ¡®Great job Tano, you are such an outstanding big sister figure... I thought sarcastically, as I watched the small twi¡¯lek girl silently crying in her sleep. When I realized how rude I had acted after she came back, I wanted to apologize, but the words didn¡¯t seem to come out of my throat. What the hell, I could cut down a bunch of droids, but I couldn¡¯t force myself to apologize to my friend.¡¯

    ¡®It wouldn¡¯t be that bad if I had a bunch of friends... But I only got these two. Rika was even younger than Nizzy... Come to think of it, I don¡¯t even know how old she is exactly? I watched a few more teardrops slide down her cheeks. She looked so small and innocent right now, but when she was awake, she acted like a little devil that always gets under my skin. How is it that she knows everything much better than me? I wasn¡¯t the sharpest knife on the shelf, but I wasn¡¯t stupid either. Except I looked like one when she was around.¡¯

    ¡®I carefully climbed down the bed and sat next to her. She is still crying... This feeling of guilt in my chest. Ugh, if this goes on, I won¡¯t sleep at all tonight. In my slightly raised panic, I decided to grab onto her hand as a desperate attempt to support her.¡¯

    ¡®In my desperation, I completely forgot what happened the last time someone got close to her while she slept.¡¯

    ¡®Oh no, she will definitely wake up now, I thought suddenly. Will she jump at me with an activated lightsaber, like with Rika? She warned us multiple times that she was trained to be guarded against ambushes... and its dangerous to get close to her while she was asleep¡­¡¯

    Ahsoka was bracing for impact, but the only thing that happened was the feeling of the girl¡¯s hand grabbing onto hers with natural ease.

    A content smile appeared on her face, that was quickly reciprocated by the orange togruta. What further surprised her was what the sleeping girl said next.

    ¡°-ster you are back... don¡¯t leave... again...¡±

    Ahsoka blushed furiously, feeling both horrified and excited by the prospect of being called a sister. Since that was what she thought had just happened.

    ¡®I suddenly felt a lump form in my throat. Nizzal¡¯s voice this time sounded so different? Was that her authentic voice? It reminded me of Rika, when she was in the middle of her depression, but not entirely. Rika¡¯s voice sounded more lonely, while Nizzal¡¯s didn¡¯t, her¡¯s felt, hmm... maybe tired? I never really thought about this from her perspective. She just got dragged into a galactic civil war out of nowhere and was assigned to a clone special force as commander... What did the council even think? Did they lose their minds to act like this? Cornering a child into a military assignment, I mean, she almost cooked that stupid Jedi with that mask, but if he hadn¡¯t attacked at that time, nothing drastic would have happened. Sigh...¡¯

    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

    ¡®She at least stopped crying now. I set the blanket over her than I wanted to climb back to my bed to sleep, only she was still clutching my hand... Ugh... What should I do? I don¡¯t want to wake her up, but I am kind of sleepy now... Uuu... I guess. No other choice then... I slipped under her blanket, too, and soon we were sleeping soundly, side by side. Now this is a much more worthy act from a proper big sister, I thought while I slowly entered into the world of dreams.¡¯

    <hr>

    ¡®My eyes suddenly opened wide in the darkness as a force warning screeched in my head. I looked around, my awareness constantly rising. The room was empty, except for Ahsoka? She was sleeping beside me? Why? Ah... Never mind that! Through my force senses, I already realized that the room was safe, so the warning most likely came from outside of the room, or even from the ship. I looked at my still attached wrist communicator. It was currently 3:34 AM. Six and a half hours went by since I went to sleep.¡¯

    ¡®I sat up and sent a message to Crusher, warning him of potential danger and also telling him to get ready for anything. Stating sharply that it¡¯s not a practice! I felt that necessary since we didn¡¯t know each-other that well just yet, they might think I wanted to surprise them or something stupid.¡¯

    ¡®Then I proceeded to wake up Ahsoka.¡¯

    ¡°Ahsoka, wake up! Hey, wake up Soka!¡± ¡ª ¡®I shook her slightly, but she continued to sleep like a log with a stupidly blissful and ignorant expression that further annoyed me. I took a deep breath and-¡¯ ¡ª ¡°AHSOKA!¡±

    ¡®Now that did the job, she bolted up, and with that same speed, she head-bumped the upper bed¡¯s bottom part, which was made of metal.¡¯

    ¡®I winced. A ghost of the pain I received when I hit my head similarly pulsed through my scalp. I watched as she instinctively curled into a trembling ball of pain while partially holding back a flow of curses.¡¯

    ¡®I sat there, smiling stupidly, as a sharp sense of guilt coiled in my stomach. I shook my head eventually and said.¡¯

    ¡°Ahsoka, you must wake up. We are in danger!¡± ¡ª ¡®I said the moment her angry tear-filled eyes turned towards me, promising doom if I didn¡¯t have a very, and I mean very-good reason to wake her up like that. I gulped as I saw the quick change in her features. I just avoided a doom scenario... I see...¡¯

    ¡®She nodded at me, realizing that I hadn¡¯t just pranked her for fun. Would I do something like that? No way!¡¯

    ¡®She crawled out of bed, looking around carefully. She then began to dress up in her usual gear. I also joined in that process, taking up my armor as fast as possible. Ahsoka even helped me in this. I gave her a warm smile as a reward. We just finished dressing up, when the familiar sound of an incoming holocall filled the dim room.¡¯

    ¡°It¡¯s yours.¡± ¡ª ¡®Said Ahsoka, while pointing at my blinking wrist communicator.¡¯

    ¡®I took up the call. The already armored form of Crusher appeared in a full body hologram.¡¯

    ¡°Reporting for duty, commander. We got your warning. What are the details?¡±

    ¡°I sensed a powerful premonition of danger in the force just minutes ago, but I have nothing more to go by.¡±

    ¡°Understood. What are your orders?¡±

    ¡°Meet me at the gunship hangar. Be ready for battle against unidentified enemies.¡±

    ¡°Yes commander, should we warn the Generals?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that there is a need. They must have sensed it, too. Probably, they don¡¯t want to create chaos, or maybe they have some other plans in their pockets.¡±

    ¡±Understood ma¡¯am. We will wait for you at the hangar entrance.¡±

    ¡°Affirmative.¡± ¡ª The call ended.

    ¡®Ahsoka watched our little conversation, then asked.¡¯

    ¡°So, what should I do?¡±

    ¡°Of course, you should come with me! We may need a proper Jedi if things turn nasty.¡±

    ¡®She smiled at that, and we ran out of the door. We entered the closest turbolift and went down to hangar level.¡¯

    ¡®We were running towards the rendezvous point when suddenly the whole ship began to shake forcefully, as a bunch of different alarms started to scream in our ears. I stumbled to the wall as another powerful shock ran over the ship¡¯s hull.¡¯

    ¡°What the hell is happening?¡± ¡ª Shouted Ahsoka over the screeching sirens.

    ¡®I grabbed hold of her before she accidentally fell on the floor and told her.¡¯

    ¡°We are under attack. Do you hear those distinct screaming sounds, appearing periodically? Those are our heavy turbo-laser turrets at work. They are firing at the enemy ship or ships! We had to reach the hangar and wait for further commands. Follow me!¡±

    ¡®We ran towards the hangar as fast as we could. Ahsoka was running in front of me, since she had no armor to carry, and she knew the ship much better than me. I only learned the most crucial areas of it. We finally reached the main hangar entrance, and as we ran in, I immediately saw my squad.¡¯

    ¡®One of them, I think it was Handy, waved towards us, and we ran to their position. They created a small barricade from empty but still heavy steel crates around an LAAT gunship. It was probably the one assigned to our unit.¡¯

    ¡°Commander!¡± ¡ª ¡®Crusher nodded towards us, with some minor surprise to see another padawan.¡¯

    ¡°Report soldier.¡±

    ¡°Yes, we created a small defensive area around our LAAT in case of an enemy boarding attempt. There are already other clone troops arriving at the hangar. The General must have ordered the fighter pilots to join the fray.¡±

    ¡°Ahsoka? What the hell are you doing here?!¡± ¡ª Came a sudden and quite frustrated voice out of nowhere.

    ¡®We turned around, seeing General Skywalker running towards his interceptor, only to freeze when he saw us crouching behind the piled up crates with the company of clone commandos in battle formation.¡¯

    Ahsoka looked at Anakin and stated happily.

    ¡°Master? We are defending the hangar in case of a boarding attempt! Are you going out to fight with the other pilots?¡±

    ¡®Anakin heavily blinked at that. He gave me a sidelong glance, seemingly only realizing that I was there, then turned back to Ahsoka.¡¯

    ¡°Well, do your stuff, then. There are three separatist ships attacking us right now! They appeared in front of us, straight from hyperspace ready for battle right from the get go. That means this was not an accident, but a planned encounter. Someone leaked our exact location.¡± ¡ª ¡®His eyes hovered over me for a few seconds longer than I would like to¡­ Wait, he can¡¯t be serious? Does this idiot suspect me? He continued with his words before I could make a complaint, however.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°This makes me wonder if this whole pirate story was just another trap to lure us out¡­¡±

    ¡®With that said, he turned around and began to run towards his fighter ship.¡¯

    ¡°General Skywalker!¡± ¡ª ¡®I shouted after him before he left. He looked back towards me with a questioning expression.¡¯

    ¡°What type of ships are attacking us?¡±

    ¡°One Munificent-class frigate, and two Recusant-class light destroyers... Obi-Wan is trying to position our ship under the Munificent-class frigate. We can¡¯t handle the bombardment from their heavy forward turbo-laser cannons. Defend the hangar! We need every fighter plane out there!¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± ¡ª ¡®I shouted back, and the clones joined too. With that said, he ran away. I saw his Jedi starfighter flying out of the hanger not long after.¡¯

    ¡®I turned towards the clones and shouted new orders.¡¯

    ¡°Gamma Squad, get ready for incoming droid forces. We need to defend the hangar until new orders arrive!¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡±

    ¡®I looked around the place, and there were a bunch of clones also taking up defensive formations around the perimeter of the dock. They seemed to follow our good example. I smiled at that, but my smile was short-lived.¡¯

    ¡®There were series of heavy blasts hitting one of the closed hangar doors from the outside. Flashes of red plasma crashed against the metal.¡¯

    ¡®I watched as a red bubble made out of melted metal extended inwards. The metal was super-heated and quickly expanding. It didn¡¯t even break away when an already burning droid transport ship rammed through the damaged door. Soon after, it crashed into one of the LAAT gunships parking nearby and immediately turned into a spectacular fireball. I could feel the heat on my cheeks from this distance.¡¯

    ¡®Ahsoka laughed at that.¡¯

    ¡°It seems the droids took care of themselves.¡± ¡ª She said jovially.

    ¡®I had no time to comment as another two transport ships flew through the already activated atmospheric shields.¡¯

    Dozer aimed his grenade launcher at the closer one and shot without a second thought.

    ¡®We watched as the grenade hit the side of the ship, dealing heavy damage to it, but it still landed mostly in one piece, sliding on its belly for a while. As it stopped, its reinforced doors immediately opened and a small army of b1-type battle droids marched out of it.¡¯

    ¡°Here they come, boys! Lets¡¯ give them a warm welcome!¡± ¡ª Shouted Crusher, then added as an afterthought. ¡ª ¡°Fire at will!¡±

    ¡®The others immediately began to blast away the surprised droids. They didn¡¯t expect such a fierce reception. Yet, they seemed to catch on soon as they changed their battle program. Immediately dispersing and searching for cover while shooting back at the clones.¡¯

    ¡®Now, let¡¯s see what this new war looks like. I thought while aiming and shooting down one of the b1-s that had found no cover yet. Ahsoka gave me a surprised look, then mumbled something unintelligible. I caught a few words of it and could make out the gist of her issue. Which seemed to center around the fact that I had a blaster gun and that I was a dirty cheater.¡¯

 22. Chapter

    ¡®As soon as several droids reached some type of cover, the real battle had begun.¡¯

    ¡®Blue and red laser beams were flying left and right. It was impossible to completely understand the situation, even with the help of the force.¡¯

    ¡®The clones, especially the commandos, proved to be invaluable in this type of scenario. They were trained to remain calm and stoic, even in the middle of a battle.¡¯

    ¡®I aimed with my blaster and destroyed another b1 with a shot melting its face plate. Then hastily ducked behind the piled up crates as three red lasers almost simultaneously flew through the empty space where my head was mere seconds ago.¡¯

    ¡®These droids were good. I learned a little about their tactics and abilities in the library after I got the assignment of being a commander of the Republic army. Basically, each droid works as an individual, which means there is no central computer that controls their movements. It¡¯s a clever design, since that exact computer would be the greatest weakness of the system.¡¯

    ¡®On the other hand, the droids can still share their camera footage with each other through military-coded wireless signals. Each droid has its own signal, with its own code. Therefore, there is no reason to try to hack into the system, since we would need to hack every single one of them.¡¯

    ¡®The individual signals only work effectively for a few hundred meters, though. This means any droid in that range can see everything that the other droids see around them, and a possible hacker also needs to be in that range for the whole time to successfully break into one system.¡¯

    ¡®This is the reason the separatist¡¯s droid army was so powerful and the most feared one in the galaxy. Not even speaking of the fact that battle droids have no sense of fear. They just fight on until every one of them is destroyed.¡¯

    ¡°INCOMING!¡± ¡ª Shouted Watcher.

    ¡®I looked up and saw a b1 with a rocket launcher aiming towards our position.¡¯

    ¡®I knew that I couldn¡¯t let that rocket hit our barricade, or we would be pinned down without cover and killed one by one. I looked at Dozer. Maybe he could kill the droid before it shot the rocket, I hoped.¡¯

    ¡®Then I saw that the guy was trying to reload his weapon with another grenade. That would be too late. I turned back towards the b1 unit, it seems that I will have to do it myself.¡¯

    ¡®The rocket was launched. It was flying towards us, gaining even more speed with every second. I reached out to the force with my complete focus and continuously pulled the air upwards in front of us, creating a strong air current.¡¯

    ¡®The moment the rocket hit it, it was unbalanced and flew over our heads by a few meters. I didn¡¯t look after it to see where it landed. There was no time for such things. The droid was reloading another rocket.¡¯

    ¡°Focus fire on that b1 behind the crates! It has a rocket launcher!¡±

    ¡°On it, commander!¡± ¡ª Shouted Dozer, who finally reloaded the grenade launcher.

    ¡°Ahsoka! Create cover for Dozer to aim!¡± ¡ª ¡®I shouted at the togruta.¡¯

    ¡°Okay!¡± ¡ª She jumped off the cover of crates and began to deflect the lasers back at the droids, effectively annoying them and gaining their disdain. Most of them started to aim at her.

    Using this opening, Dozer shot, and his aim was true as the droid with the rocket launcher blew up in an enormous cloud of fiery smoke.

    ¡®I nodded and also shouted at Ahsoka to jump back behind cover before she gets herself killed. She didn¡¯t really want to at first, so I let her be, focusing on the b1¡¯s instead. After a few more seconds of jumping around while a whirlwind of laser beams followed her around, she reconsidered.¡¯

    Eventually she landed behind the crates, breathing heavily, drenched in sweat.

    ¡®She looked at me and said this with obvious annoyance.¡¯

    ¡°You were supposed to argue with me to get my ass behind cover immediately.¡±

    ¡®I gave her a long look.¡¯

    ¡°I am not your master girl. If you want to risk your life stupidly, it¡¯s your choice.¡± ¡ª ¡®Of course, I didn¡¯t really think that seriously, but I hoped saying that would deter her from such irresponsible acts, at least for the near future.¡¯

    ¡®I shot down another droid in the meantime.¡¯

    ¡°Crusher, what is the overall battle situation!?¡± ¡ª ¡®I asked my second in command.¡¯

    ¡°Not good commander, most of the other clone squads began to retreat from the main hangar. They had received heavy casualties.¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t let them capture the hangar while half of our fighter ships are still inside it!¡± ¡ª Shouted Ahsoka, actual fear finding its way into her voice for the first time.

    ¡°I agree with Ahsoka. We have to push them back somehow.¡± ¡ª ¡®My eyes hovered to the LAAT¡¯s form behind our barricade.¡¯

    ¡°Get that LAAT ready to fly as soon as possible. Stinger and Handy will use the ship¡¯s guns to cleave through the droids. Brain, you drive it! We will distract them until you get the ship ready! Move!¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡±

    ¡®A sudden blast that shook the steel floor under our feet froze us in mid motion. If only for a second, everyone looked towards the same direction. There was a giant ball of flame rising towards the ceiling a few hundred meters from us. Watcher checked out the situation with his scope and began his report.¡¯

    ¡°One of the clone squads got decimated by suicide bomber droids.¡±

    Ahsoka blinked and asked, bewildered.

    ¡°Is that even a thing?¡±

    ¡°Of course it is!¡± ¡ª Said Targetman.

    ¡®His armor had at least seven blackened spots on it, showing off the places where he got hit.''

    ¡®Luckily, the clone commando is equipped with heavy plastoid armor. It can withstand three to five normal laser hits at the same place if it has enough time to cool down between each hit. It doesn¡¯t take long to cool off, just about ten seconds, but that is a lot of time in the middle of a firefight.¡¯

    ¡°Watch out for any droid who wants to get close to the barricade!¡± ¡ª Shouted Crusher, who in the meantime gained a long black burn mark on the right side of his helmet.

    ¡®It¡¯s my turn, I guess. I nodded at Ahsoka and tossed her my sidearm. She grabbed it, surprised by my unexpected actions.¡¯

    ¡®Before she could react, I jumped out from behind the barricade, holding out my left arm, creating a one-way force shield in front of my troops.¡¯

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    ¡®I also ignited my silver blade in my right hand, just in case. The others, realizing my plan, immediately stopped hiding behind the crates and instead started to shoot down the confused droids.¡¯

    ¡®They didn¡¯t seem to understand why their lasers never reached their target. Their confusion lasted about ten seconds. In that time, the others managed to shoot down a great number of them. Seeing our heroic stand against the separatist droid army, the slowly retreating clones decided to join us for a last-ditch attempt to turn the tide of the battle.¡¯

    ¡®After the initial confusion, the droids decided that whatever was the reason for their shots to disappear; it was caused by me. That was the moment things started to become quite edgy...¡¯

    ¡®All the nearby droids focused their firepower at me.¡¯

    ¡®I was already feeling the strain from continuously disintegrating the lasers. But from that concentrated fire, my mind simply overloaded.¡¯

    ¡®I smirked under my helmet as the next step in my plan began. I gathered all the recycled energy into a gigantic force push and unleashed it on the enemy.¡¯

    ¡®The force push was so strong that it picked up the already destroyed droids, other steel scraps laying about along with quite a few still functioning ones and simply blew them away. Some crashed into each other in mid flight or into their own transporter ships behind them, only to fall on the ground at last with the clear sound of breaking metallic parts.¡¯

    ¡®I looked around the completely redesigned battlefield. There were still quite a few droids who managed to hide behind covers from my all-out force push.¡¯

    ¡®In those few seconds of relative silence following the unleashed force technique, reinforcing clone troopers began to reach our position, creating a new line of defense centered around the clone commando.¡¯

    ¡®A powerful wave of nauseating feeling appeared in my stomach as I saw that three new separatist transport ships flew through the destroyed gate¡¯s still functional atmospheric shields, landing, this time, much farther from our location than before.¡¯

    ¡®I felt a burst of anxiety settling in the bottom of my stomach. I am starting to really hate these droids. It must be, because of my fresh, extremely negative experience with a certain one. Anyway, since they landed far from our effective firing range, the droids will have enough time to create their formations. If that happens, we won¡¯t hold out much longer... They were outnumbering us by at least three to one...¡¯

    Crusher was shouting commands at the nearby clones.

    ¡°Repair the barricades. We have to hold out for as long as possible!¡±

    ¡®I saw the remaining droids trying to escape and join their reinforcements. The others were shooting after them, thinning their numbers. Watcher was especially good at it, with his sniper attachment activated throughout the whole fight. He basically downed a droid with every shot.¡¯

    ¡®Thanks to the momentarily stagnating situation, I noticed as a big squadron of ARC-170 left the hangar joining into the raging battle outside. That should be good enough!¡¯

    ¡°Soldiers, most of our fighters have already left the hangar. If we can¡¯t stand their attack, we will proceed with systematic retreat and defend the corridors that lead to the main reactors!¡± ¡ª ¡®Crusher shouted, before I could give the command myself.¡¯

    ¡®He was really good at split-second decision making. Well, to be honest, in my whole memory arsenal, the only person who had military experience was Revan. I sighed. Then again, half of his life was a military assignment. I guess he managed to traumatize every following master with his brutal war experiences... At least in this battle, our enemies are mostly droids. That wasn¡¯t the case back then. A few flashbacks later, that contained mostly dismantled, burned alive, and many other likely ways deformed bodies. I stumbled a bit, a stable hand grabbed my arm and began to pull me aside, allowing me the time to sober from my daydreaming.¡¯

    ¡°What are you doing, Nizzal? Don¡¯t just stand there like a tree. Come behind the barricade already. The droids are about to start their charge!¡± ¡ª ¡®Ahsoka was shouting straight into my ear protrusions with a force that caused slight trembles to travel through my lekks¡­¡¯

    ¡°... I hear you, you don¡¯t have to shout so damn hard!¡± ¡ª ¡®I complained, leaning away from her.¡¯

    ¡®She looked at me with a worried expression, then said.¡¯

    ¡°I was shouting at you because you wouldn¡¯t react otherwise.¡± ¡ª ¡®I blinked.¡¯

    ¡°... Sorry about that. I guess I got caught up in some old memories...¡±

    ¡±That¡¯s cool. You will have enough time for daydreaming when we beat back the clankers.¡±

    ¡°You are right about that.¡±

    ¡®Ahsoka pushed me down behind a crate in relative safety and said in a strict voice.¡¯

    ¡°And now, you will rest after that ridiculous force push you just pulled off. You look tired and I can hardly detect your force presence. Catch this.¡± ¡ª ¡®She dropped my blaster gun in my lap and smiled at me.¡¯

    ¡°You are better with that, anyway.¡± ¡ª She added with a smirk.

    ¡°What are you implying by that?¡± ¡ª I asked.

    She looked to the side and said.

    ¡°I just need to practice a bit more. Preferably not on a battlefield.¡± ¡ª She pouted.

    ¡°Well, ask me anytime if you need advice on it.¡± ¡ª ¡®She nodded, then crouched beside me, peeking over the scorched and partially melted metal crates. Then a powerful vibration occurred as the LAAT finally started up and it began to hover over us in a low altitude.¡¯

    ¡°Nice timing, I said to myself.¡± ¡ª With a quickly widening smile.

    ¡°Oh, I have already forgotten about them!¡± ¡ª Said Ahsoka with a happy and clearly relieved expression settling on her face.

    ¡®I got an incoming call on my com-link. I immediately picked it up, pushing the usual button on my wrist computer.¡¯

    ¡°Commander, the LAAT is ready. What are you orders?¡±

    ¡®I gave an honest toothy smile, then said.¡¯

    ¡°Blast them!¡±

    ¡°Roger!¡±

    ¡®Everyone nearby watched as the high caliber turbo lasers activated and began to fire into the lines of droids with deadly precision. The shots were so powerful that they began to even melt the floor under the droid¡¯s legs.¡¯

    ¡®The droids¡¯ much weaker energy weapons were not effective against an armored vehicle like the LAAT from this distance. In half a minute, their numbers had dwindled drastically. Seeing this happening, the clones began to cheer in their happiness.¡¯

    ¡®I looked around the barricade, then shouted towards Crusher.¡¯

    ¡°Gamma Squad, status report!¡±

    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am!¡± ¡ª Began Crusher.

    ¡°Crusher reporting, my helmet is compromised. I am blind for the right side of my helmet as the lenses burned black from the sniper shot that grazed me. I have about 30% ammunition left.¡±

    ¡°Brain reporting, no injuries. 60% ammunition.¡±

    ¡°Handy, lost a pair of fingers on my left hand. 70% ammunition.¡± ¡ª ¡®I cut in as I heard that.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°Give him first aid immediately, next!¡±

    ¡°Stinger, no injuries. 50% ammunition.¡±

    ¡°Targetman reporting.¡± ¡ª ¡®His voice was filled with static anomalies that made his speech hard to understand.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°My suit is trashed, ¡­ the movement sup¡­, engin¡­ stopp¡­ function¡­, this shit¡­ is heavy as fuck. I have¡ª¡­ at least¡­ one¡­ round of ammo. Can¡¯t¡­ check!¡±

    ¡°Roger that, get yourself out of the thick of it Target¡­ I don¡¯t want you zeroed on me, next!¡±

    ¡®There was only static noise coming through the communicator.¡¯

    ¡°Where is Ice?¡± ¡ª I asked.

    ¡°He is out cold, got hit by multiple consecutive shots at about the same spot on his chest. We can use his ammo. His stash is almost full.¡±

    ¡®I gulped.¡¯

    ¡°Is he dead?¡± ¡ª I asked eventually.

    ¡°No, not yet.¡± ¡ª Stated Crusher. ¡ª ¡°He seems somewhat stable for now, but I can¡¯t say if that will be the case for an hour later. If he lives, he will have a new burn scar to show off to the clone girls.¡±

    ¡®My eyebrows have slightly raised up at that, but didn¡¯t comment on it.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°Next!¡±

    ¡°Watcher, nothing serious, 30% ammunition.¡±

    ¡°Dozer, out of grenades, but overall, 25% ammunition.¡±

    ¡°Give him a few more grenades, guys...¡± ¡ª ¡®I said while shaking my head, quite amused with the fool.¡¯

    ¡®Now, where did Ahsoka go? She left while I was focusing on the reports... Well, she can handle herself.¡¯

    ¡®I looked over at my team. Everybody is still kicking, more or less, after that crazy shoot-out. I have a good feeling about them.¡¯

    ¡®I looked back towards the droids. Something moved in the air. My head snapped up. Wait, is that a droid flying towards the LAAT? Was it blasted away that far? What is it carrying?¡¯

    ¡®Then I saw it. It was a jet trooper droid. I gulped as fear gripped my very soul, followed by the dreadful realization and a screaming force warning... I shouted, but it was too late.¡¯

    ¡°SUICIDE BOM-¡± ¡ª ¡®Than a powerful detonation happened a few meters above us in the air. My small body was simply pushed aside as my hastily created force shields crumbled with little resistance...¡¯

    ¡®I flew into a pile of heavy crates that crumbled under my weight. Felt my ribs cracking, my ears filled with the screams of soldiers, or was it mine? I wasn¡¯t sure¡­ A heavy pressure fell against my left shoulder, then a sharp, blinding pain followed. The pain was somewhat familiar, and I realized that my left shoulder got dislocated.¡¯

    ¡®I wanted to cry out again, but the pain in my chest took away my breath, which was somewhat lucky, since the surrounding air was burning from the explosion. My ears were buzzing and ringing. I think I blanked out.¡¯

    ¡®An unknown amount of time later, I came to myself trying to reorient and heal the most crucial injuries.¡¯

 23. Chapter

    ¡®While I was desperately channeling the force in an attempt to mend some of my injuries, I was roughly shaken by somebody in a similarly desperate attempt to wake me from my healing meditation.¡¯

    ¡°-der!¡­ -mander!¡­ commander! Do you hear me?¡±

    ¡®Alas, only after I finished stopping my life-threatening internal bleeding. Could I slowly allow myself the luxury to slip back to the level of general consciousness.¡¯

    ¡®I felt as a large hand grabbed me and carefully freed me from the pile of wreckage that I was buried under.¡¯

    ¡®I was still extremely confused and couldn¡¯t even attempt to stand up on my own.¡¯

    ¡®This is why you are supposed to wear damn armor. Without it, I would have been impaled by the hundreds of broken metal fragments released by that explosion.¡¯

    ¡®This didn¡¯t change the fact that my small body was easily swept away by the sheer force of the blast wave. But at least I am not dead, not yet anyway. I was shaken by my shoulders forcefully. No doubt, in an attempt to gain my wandering attention.¡¯

    ¡®I finally looked around with my suddenly drowsy eyes, too much force channelling again, I guess.¡¯

    ¡®When I looked up, I realized that Watcher was the one who tried to wake me up, constantly shaking my shoulders.¡¯

    ¡®His armor was blackened and parts of it were completely missing or in the middle of crumbling away. I must say, the clone commando suits are fucking overpowered. It must be because of the internal life support devices that are built into it.¡¯

    ¡®With a considerable amount of effort and constant channeling of the force, I quite literally forced myself to stand with the assistance of Watcher. My knees were buckling here and there, but I somehow managed to stand, mostly on my own. I looked around quickly, analysing the situation. There were flames, dead and injured clones left and right... I stated a few dry words, as my breathing started to stabilize.¡¯

    ¡°Cough, cough... report trooper...¡±

    ¡°Yes, commander. The LAAT-was heavily damaged, and it landed in front of us to provide some measure of cover for the retreat. Brain, Stinger and Handy are mostly fine. They are currently forcing back the commando droids, which have started a surprise attack after that damn droid blowed up our central lines of defence.¡±

    ¡°How is it that you guys weren¡¯t blown away like me?¡± ¡ª ¡®I asked, as the question was constantly reappearing in my confused mind.¡¯

    ¡°Our armors are designed with electromagnetic boots, sir. If we activate it, we can even fight while standing on the ceiling turned upside down.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s, wow, that is just fricking cool.¡± ¡ª ¡®I will get my hands on one if we survive this. I promised to myself, then continued with the questions.¡¯

    ¡°Are we retreating now or what, and where is Ahsoka? Is she alright?¡±

    ¡°Yes, commander Tano is covering the retreat. She sent me to look for you. Luckily, she was not present at the moment of the explosion. General Kenobi sent his clone commander, Cody, and a bunch of boys from the 212th Attack Battalion. She was meeting with them at the time.¡±

    ¡®Well, thank the force for small mercies... If she were there in her current ¡°armor¡±... Well, let¡¯s not think about that for now.¡¯

    ¡®I looked at Watcher, seeing the level of damage on his armor, and asked, while constantly moving away from the closing droids.¡¯

    ¡°What are our losses?¡±

    ¡°In the last few minutes, we verified the loss of seven troopers from the 501st, and nine from the 212th. In the meantime, further droid reinforcements have arrived. Targetman suit was not functioning properly, and he stood closest to the epicentre of the explosion¡­ The bastard always wanted to go out with a big bang. We lost Ice too. He got blown away by the explosion and broke his neck and spine. Dozer is missing. We don¡¯t know if he is dead or just unconscious. Crusher saw him trying to reload his grenade launcher after he gave him some of his. He didn¡¯t react to your warning in time, and got blown away by the blast waves.¡±

    ¡®I nodded to him, acknowledging what he had said.¡¯

    ¡®Yep, now the situation starts to resemble a real war.¡¯

    ¡®A sudden warning flared up in the force. I instinctively pushed Watcher away from me with a weak force push. There were a few red lasers hitting the place where he stood half a second ago. I tried to run away in the opposite direction, only to stumble and fall flat on the ground as the nausea and weakness overwhelmed me.¡¯

    ¡®I shouldn¡¯t have used the force like that, not in my current state, but then Watcher would be dead, and I would most likely follow him soon...¡¯

    ¡®I always forgot that this body is not capable of constantly channelling such levels of force powers, especially with my high precision...¡¯

    ¡®I struggled to move, but my body was exhausted and shocked from internal and external injuries. I heard Watcher shout at me to run, but I couldn¡¯t.¡¯

    ¡®There were two commando droids right behind me. One was fighting with Watcher, while the other stood over me, aiming its gun towards my head.¡¯

    ¡®I gulped instinctively. Am I really going to die in such a stupid and pathetic way?¡¯

    ¡®I was looking into the droid¡¯s lifeless, mechanical eyes. They didn¡¯t know pity or mercy, if not ordered to do so. I felt as a few drops of sweat were sliding down my face. It was kind of bad to admit this, but for all of my knowledge, at that moment, I felt like the real age of my body.¡¯

    ¡®I was simply genuinely and utterly scared of death.¡¯

    ¡®I know that I will die, one time, somewhere in the future. I know of this, of course, but it was always somewhere in the future. Which means not now.¡¯

    ¡®I didn¡¯t even think about the possibility of dying a few weeks later after I left Hoth. My whole force¡¯s elongated lifespan was measured in hundreds of years... But, only if I am able to stay alive.¡¯

    ¡®As the adrenalin kicked in, I watched in slow motion as the droid began to pull the trigger on the blaster. Everything seemed to slow down, almost stopping entirely.¡¯

    ¡®I knew that this was my only chance. I stopped thinking and let the years of experiences, feelings, and instincts speak for themselves. At that moment, I felt all of my masters¡¯ knowledge became, for the first time, truly mine. The gates that separated them from my personality disappeared, if only for a few seconds.¡¯

    ¡®My perception of the world has hastened to its normal speed. I felt an incredibly cold rage seep into my body. I was subconsciously channelling the feelings of suffering, pain, and death that were slowly engulfing the surrounding hangar. All of this was channelled into a dark-side empowered force scream aimed at the droid in front of me.¡¯

    ¡®The chilling sound-wave that was resembling the death cry of a dying animal collided with the commando droid immediately beginning to corrode its metal frame.¡¯

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    ¡®Then it shattered into hundreds of small pieces that were blown across the hall like small high-speed projectiles hitting a few more droids, also corroding and shattering them on the way.¡¯

    ¡®Effectively breaking them into small particles of red rust that fell on the floor in small piles.¡¯

    ¡®I continued to siphon up the negative energies, creating an invisible whirlwind around me that was constantly feeding on emotions and pain. It was a source of energy that could keep me going for a while, at least until I leave the battlefield, when there won¡¯t be this much suffering to feed on, the technique will have to be stopped by then, since it will use up more power than what I gained by using it.¡¯

    ¡®I stood up shakily, but the shaking quickly subsided. I was feeling better with every passing second, thanks to the technique.¡¯

    ¡®Watcher managed to destroy the other droid with the help of two other clones, who I didn¡¯t know. They were not commandos, and not from my squad. They had some orange-colored signs on their otherwise white armor, like most of the clones serving on the ship.¡¯

    ¡®Watcher shouted to the other clones to escort me back into the inside of the ship, since I was heavily injured. They nodded, one of them even lending me a shoulder to lean on. While the other was following us closely, ready for an enemy attack. Watcher had most likely gone back to report and help the others in the retreating process.¡¯

    ¡®We successfully left the hangar not long after I stopped my dark side siphon, as there was not enough emotion or pain here to feed on anymore.¡¯

    ¡®As the stable supply of dark side energy stopped, I felt my body grow heavier with every step.¡¯

    ¡®My weakened and injured body began to forcefully tremble. My mind wandering off, lost in old memories.¡¯

    ¡®Memories from old lectures began to seep into my present flow of thoughts. I didn¡¯t even know who I was in the memory anymore. My sense of self felt distorted. It was not my memory, yet it also was in a twisted way.¡¯

    ¡®Through the fog, I heard the silky voice of an old woman repeating a lecture. Her voice sounded crystal clear, ringing through the chaos of my confused mind.¡¯

    ¡°The dark side is not capable of true healing... It is only a perversion of it. When you stop feeding its endless hunger, you will find yourself emptier than ever before...¡±

    ¡®I was close to lose consciousness as even the normal adrenalin was now slowly leaving my bloodstream as the immediate and visible danger was gone.¡¯

    ¡®That was the moment I heard a familiar sound, a very familiar sound, that usually filled me with a sense of confidence and comfort. Unfortunately, it was different now¡­ This time it reminded me of the threat of a hissing-poisonous snake and I was run over with goose bumps.¡¯

    ¡®Yes, a lightsaber was ignited behind us. And before that thought could properly solidify in my mind, a heavy body crumbled behind us.¡¯

    ¡®A cold shiver run over my back.¡¯

    ¡®Oh no... please no, no, not now... please... I plead in my mind as the clone trooper beside me turned around partially. Only to be raised off the ground with an invisible force threatening to break his neck.¡¯

    ¡®Realizing this, he had the presence to pull out a side arm and shot at the attacker, but the laser was deflected back into his face.¡¯

    ¡®From this short distance, the normal, much thinner, clone armor was basically useless. His arms and legs fell limp, then his body was dropped to the ground beside me.¡¯

    ¡®The moment the trooper was raised off the ground, I simultaneously lost my sole support and collapsed on the floor.¡¯

    ¡®I stared up stupidly at the venomous looking female with two activated red lightsabres carelessly walking towards me in the empty corridor.¡¯

    ¡®I tried to feed on the dark side for one more time, but there were not enough lingering dark side energies in this corridor. The battle didn¡¯t reach this point yet except for the two dead soldiers, but they didn¡¯t really have time to suffer and leave behind powerful emotions or pain.¡¯

    ¡®It¡¯s not that I would like them to suffer, but the dark side simply works this way... Except, that it won¡¯t work right now. I couldn¡¯t use the light side anymore in my current state. So should I fight with my lightsaber? One of my shoulders was dislocated, and I can¡¯t even stand on my own. So lightsaber combat is out of the question, but maybe she didn¡¯t know that?¡¯

    ¡®I reached towards my lightsabre¡¯s hilt. As expected, the woman used the force to pull my blade towards herself, while she was forced to deactivate one of her blades to catch mine. Without hesitation, I continued the movement with my right arm, and with a sharp gesture, I pulled out my blaster pistol that was just like my saber hilt hanging from my waist and shot precisely at her smirking face.¡¯

    ¡®I sensed her surprise, but it was short-lived, as she elegantly sidestepped right inside my reach and forced the gun out of my weakened grasp.¡¯

    ¡®She grabbed my left lekku at its root with a force that no lekku should ever be grasped with, and began to pull me up from the ground. My eyes bulged from the overwhelmingly painful sensation as I yelped and trashed against her grasp.¡¯

    ¡®I was forced to crawl off the ground, to lessen the pain. I tried to push her away simultaneously, to escape from her grasp. It was futile. I could see it, that she was drinking up my pain and suffering, as if it was the sweetest nectar to be found in the entire universe. As I realized this, I forced myself to stop my useless struggle. I didn¡¯t want to accept this, but in this state, I couldn¡¯t run away or fight with this witch. Without my force powers, which I have overused beyond their limits, I was little more than a thirteen-year-old girl.¡¯

    ¡®She frowned as she realized that I suddenly composed myself, well, as much as you possibly can when you are in the hands of a clearly sadistic, child-abusing, serial killer.¡¯

    ¡®I was also feeling the pressure growing on my lekku, as my body was still partially hanged on it. She looked at me, taking in my form, with the uncanny elegance of a loth cat playing with its newly captured pray.¡¯

    ¡®Then she grabbed my heavily damaged helmet and, with one quick move, she ripped it off my face. It broke into a few different parts clattering across the floor.¡¯

    ¡®I winced from the pain as tears began to appear in the corners of my eyes. Ripping off the partially broken and deformed helmet like that has left long bloody scratches across my face and head. I could feel my blood leaking from those injuries...¡¯

    ¡®This fucking bitch was deliberately torturing me this way, and she was enjoying it. A twi¡¯leks pride was in his or her leks. It was beyond humiliating to be treated like this¡­¡¯

    ¡®I didn¡¯t scream, though. Instead, I bit into my lips to swallow back that cry of pain.¡¯

    ¡®She seemed clearly disappointed by that.¡¯

    ¡®On the other hand, this pain and humiliation was very useful right now.¡¯

    ¡®I purposely let myself drown in my pain. I forced myself to relive the memory again and again and again. Then I channelled it into a powerful, vivid flow of hate as I suddenly reached out my injured left arm, deliberately causing even more pain to myself.¡¯

    ¡®With the desperate move, I managed to hit this bitch in the stomach. Since that was the closest important body part I could reach. With the hit, I simultaneously released a burst of lightning into her system, letting out all of my hatred and pain right into her very guts.¡¯

    ¡®It was not as powerful as I would like to think, but it still made her scream like an exorcised banshee, which she might as well be.¡¯

    ¡®I smiled wickedly, enjoying her shocked screams. While consuming her pain, I also added a weak life siphon that was concealed by the lightning strike. She shouldn¡¯t realize this not for a while and in the meantime I will heal from her stolen life essence, while she will grow weaker¡­ That is¡­ if she makes the stupid mistake of not killing me off right after this¡­¡¯

    ¡®My moment of satisfaction was short-lived. And my smile contorted into a twisted expression as I joined her in the screaming.¡¯

    ¡®Oh yes¡­ I forgot that she was holding me by my lekku, meaning, I got electrocuted by my own fucking lightning¡­¡¯

    ¡®After a few seconds of screaming, I was uncharacteristically let go, and like a marionette whose strings were cut I dropped on my back, hitting the back of my head in the metal floor. My vision immediately doubled and an even stronger sense of nausea came over me.¡¯

    ¡®I laid there, unmoving, watching the blurry sight of smoke billowing from both of our bodies. My muscles were constantly convulsing still under the effect of the lightning.¡¯

    ¡®The woman also fell, if only on her knees. She was breathing heavily while staring at me with the promise of suffering. I glanced into her eyes, seeing the barely contained rage, a sense of fear crawled into my mind, but I couldn¡¯t even lift a finger anymore¡­ therefore¡­ I simply laid there accepting what was to come.¡¯

    ¡®She suddenly jumped on me, pinning down my arms with her knees, a completely unnecessary move, but she wasn¡¯t playing with me anymore. She sat on my chest, pushing the air out of my lungs with her weight. Then she grabbed onto my face and forced my eyes wide open with her fingers.¡¯

    ¡®She stared into my eyes, with the grin of a madwoman... Now I could see her face under that black hood too...¡¯

    ¡®She was a Dathomirian.¡¯

    ¡®She leaned into my face as my consciousness was about to leave me from the pain, exhaustion, accumulated injuries, but the main reason was still this woman sitting on my chest and slowly suffocating me... My body was about half the size of her body, come on, let me breathe!¡¯

    ¡®Instead, she licked the side of her lips, satisfied with the sight of my broken form and lack of struggle. Then hissed into my left ear protrusion...¡¯

    ¡°I like your eyes... they have a delicate yellow color. My master is interested in those eyes of yours. It¡¯s a pity that I can¡¯t play with you any longer. Those shadows that were tailing you seem to have caught onto my little distraction. Now why don¡¯t you be a good girl and take an early nap? Rest assured, I will take good care of you in the meantime.¡±

    ¡®The last thing I saw was the sadistic smirk spreading across this unfamiliar woman¡¯s face.¡¯

 24. Chapter

    ¡®After I lost consciousness, my mind was consumed by complete darkness. I didn¡¯t know how much time went by since I was in this condition. However, it changed. I heard voices, and sometimes I saw pictures, only for a few seconds, then darkness replaced them again.¡¯

    ¡®This continued for a while. Then it changed again. Now I could hear more of the sounds and voices, and I felt an unfamiliar presence picking up my body, taking me somewhere. Whoever it was, he or she clearly tried to be careful, but was overly clumsy in the process of taking care of someone injured. Soon after this realization, darkness claimed me once again.¡¯

    ¡®I had no idea how much time passed since I lost consciousness on the venator.¡¯

    ¡®When I eventually woke up in an unfamiliar bed inside a shady room. I slowly opened my eyes, and looked up to the ceiling, which was filled with spiderwebs covered in dust, and if I am not wrong, there were more than a few blaster burn marks visible on the dark grey metal that created the frame of the small room.¡¯

    ¡®The room itself was very badly maintained, there were trash everywhere and empty beer and wine bottles covered with years of dust and dirt.¡¯

    ¡®Alrighty~! What the hell could have happened to me while I was out cold?¡¯

    ¡®I slowly sat up on the bed. My body still felt unnaturally heavy, but I was clearly much better than I would be without that dark side siphon. The one I leached onto that crazy bitch... I could sense that she was not close anymore, and the leach spell was also broken by now. No matter, it did its job... and kept me alive.¡¯

    ¡®I checked my battered body.¡¯

    ¡®I was provided with some basic first aid, and my heavy armor was removed, which left me with the standard jedi padawan clothes under it. That meant gray long sleeves and simple brown pants with socks.¡¯

    ¡®I felt that my torso was bandaged, along with my left shoulder, right leg and my lekks and head¡­ Lets just say, I was practically a roll of bandages and be done with it.¡¯

    ¡®Whoever did this, even if he or she was a bit sloppy, I will honestly thank them since they tried to help me as best as they could. I felt genuinely thankful towards my saviors. It was clear that in one way or another, I managed to escape a doom scenario.¡¯

    ¡®I don¡¯t know who the heck that woman was, but she was clearly a sith assassin, since I couldn¡¯t feel her presence until the very last moment.¡¯

    ¡®It is true that I was seriously injured... but my force awareness is something I am very proud of. I believe that I could still sense a powerful, hostile presence when I am on the brink of death. The only exception is if she was superbly trained in hiding her force presence and intentions.¡¯

    ¡®The other proof was the fact that she wasn¡¯t really trained in the force... The sith never gives away more knowledge than it is absolutely necessary. They never trained someone they clearly thought of as a simple pawn in their hands to use the force in any refined way.¡¯

    ¡®That woman, she was powerful in the force, it¡¯s true. But she clearly lacked knowledge, didn¡¯t even realize my force siphon, couldn¡¯t react to my lightning attack, and her attempts at using the force were butchered, and crude beyond measure. They were good enough, against normal padawans, even against weaker knights. Yet, they would crumble against anyone who had a good foundation and stable knowledge of the force.¡¯

    ¡®Her wielding two lightsabers means that she is well trained in the art of lightsaber combat, since any type of Jar¡¯Kai was a sign of a fool or an above average duellist.¡¯

    ¡®All of this information led to the conclusion that she was a sith assassin.¡¯

    ¡®I guess, breaking the barrier around the Jedi Order painted another, much more deadly target on my back... I kind of expected this, to be honest, but this reaction time was off.¡¯

    ¡®How would the sith lord learn who exactly caused the destruction of its barrier so soon... Did I fail to hide myself from it previously? No, if he had indeed sensed my presence, I would feel his or hers, too! I am a great sensor after all, and I didn¡¯t succeed in this. Than that means it must have spies in the Jedi Order, or some kind of way to get information directly from them. That was the more likely possibility, and one I already entertained in my thoughts.¡¯

    ¡®My musing was disrupted, as the door to my room opened, and a widely smiling weequay with a long red rain coat walked inside. I looked at him, giving him a weak but thankful smile, as it was clear to me that this man helped me out in a great deal. His presence felt strangely familiar. Was he the one who brought me here?¡¯

    ¡®I was sitting in bed but still bowed my head towards him, giving my most respectful thanks.¡¯

    ¡°I thank you from the depths of my hearth. I am not sure why, but I can sense that you saved my life from a great deal of suffering¡­ I am honestly grateful for that.¡±

    ¡®There was an awkward silence following my words.¡¯

    ¡®The man seemed to be taken aback by this scenario, and he was looking at me with slightly bulged eyes that were partly hidden by the pilot glasses that he was wearing over them.¡¯

    ¡®There were a few smirks and weak laughter coming from behind him. I just realized that there were another two people standing in the door. One of them was a weequay woman, while the other one was a weequay man.¡¯

    ¡®Now that I thought about it, they looked very¡­ eccentric¡­¡¯

    ¡®The raincoat wearing one, placed his hands on his hips, and began to laugh out load without any reservation. Jolting me out of my thoughts.¡¯

    ¡®The others followed suit, as if they were already waiting for this to happen. Then he suddenly halted his laughter and stepped forward into the weak light that was provided by a repetitively blinking light-bulb that was long due for a change of power cell.¡¯

    ¡®The man fluidly reciprocated my bow towards me in an awkwardly ceremonious way while saying this.¡¯

    ¡°Hondo Ohnaka, at your service, little Miss.¡± ¡ª ¡®Then, after his bow, he immediately dropped this courtly act and fell into a just as natural, overly relaxed one. Yet, I could see in his eyes that he was everything but relaxed at the moment.¡¯

    ¡®He was watching my slightest moves, and even face mimics. This man was an experienced, battle-hardened veteran, and that was clear to me, and my respect only grew. Under the mountain of that carefully created facade, he was unmistakingly a trained warrior.¡¯

    ¡®The type of man which saw opportunities where others saw only danger. Even if this man turns out to be my enemy, or especially in that case¡­ He should not be taken lightly, I noted for myself sensing his sharp awareness.¡¯

    ¡®He was looking at me with a raised brow. Oh, I guess I should give him my name, too!¡¯

    ¡°My name is Nizzal Grey. Greetings to you, sir.¡±

    ¡®There was a whistle coming from the corridor.¡¯

    ¡°Bah!¡± ¡ª ¡®He shouted, suddenly turning around and forcefully shutting the door in the other man¡¯s face.¡¯

    ¡®Before the door closed from the momentum, I heard a shout of surprise and most likely pain noticing the loud bang following afterwards. I winced, realizing that the poor fool was likely slapped by the violently closing doorframe. The muffled shouts coming from the other side of the door seemed to verify that suspicion.¡¯

    ¡®Note to myself, don¡¯t irritate him too much... Maybe just to see where his breaking point is... I shook my head. That can be arranged later. I should pay attention for now.¡¯

    ¡®He turned back towards me with a natural smile, as if nothing unusual had happened.¡¯

    ¡°Now that the nuisance is taken care of, tell me, little girl, how much credit can your parents pay for your safe return?¡±

    ¡®I blinked... then blinked again. Wait, what? That wasn¡¯t exactly the question what I was expecting, to be honest...¡¯

    ¡°What do y-you mean?¡±

    ¡°Well, you see, we are pirates, in case you didn¡¯t notice. There was a great space battle between a few separatists and republic ships in our current looting territory. We were searching for something useful in the left-behind wreckage when we found an escape cabin with two unconscious females in it.¡±

    ¡®Oh, the other one must be that assassin. It¡¯s good to see that my force siphon got to her. Or was it something else? She shouldn¡¯t have fallen unconscious so soon¡­¡¯

    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    ¡°Then, after we, as good and honest pirates used to do, helped you from the pure goodness of our hearts.¡± ¡ª ¡®While he was telling me this fantastic story, the door opened slightly and the other two pirates began snickering, while looking at his clearly exaggerated facade. Suddenly, he looked back with narrowed eyes. The door shut itself, this time on its own.¡¯

    ¡°Sorry about that.¡± ¡ª ¡®He said, not even sparing a shrug, then continued with the same zeal.¡¯

    ¡°But, then, our honestly caring nature was paid back with sorrow. As the older woman woke up, and horribly killed some of my closest friends. Completely unprovoked!¡± ¡ª He stated with a righteous fury. Then continued slowly, giving himself over to his emotions.

    ¡°They were like brothers to me... I even know a few of their names!¡±

    ¡®Wait¡­ what?¡¯

    ¡°The worst of all, that damn bitch just ran away, not even giving me the courtesy of skinning her alive¡­ And this is where we are, sweetheart¡­ So tell me, who will pay remuneration for our loss? There is my question to you, lassie: how much money could your parents pay?¡±

    ¡®I looked at the floor, feeling uncomfortable. That damn droid stole my money. The Jedi didn¡¯t pay me at all. They instead simply provided what I needed, and that didn¡¯t include money... At least not yet, and I could not lead them back to one of our bases, to take out some money, that would be too stupid, and it would risk actual exile from my order... The fact is, that I am broke, and have nothing on me currently... I kind of felt bad for myself...¡¯

    ¡®There was an awkward silence stretching over the room. I finally decided to answer and be honest.¡¯

    ¡°I... don¡¯t have parents. I never knew them... I was left behind and lived on the streets of Ryloth, until someone took me in...¡±

    ¡®The man blinked, then added with fake sympathy.¡¯

    ¡°How terrible¡­ some parents are, but maybe this particular someone who took you in could instead pay for your freedom?¡±

    ¡°He died a few weeks ago...¡± ¡ª ¡®I said, and was genuinely saddened having to remember to that terrible moment.¡¯

    ¡®There was another heavy silence in the room. The other pirates who since then once again began to spy on the conversation looked unusually solemn...¡¯

    ¡°¡­ I am sorry, but I don¡¯t have money. It was already stolen from me... with my ship... That woman you mentioned earlier actually tried to kidnap me... She was a well-trained sith assassin and caught me off guard.¡±

    ¡®Hondo looked at me with thoughtful eyes...¡¯

    ¡°Sith assassin? Are you sure about that?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± ¡ª I answered solemnly.

    ¡°How could you be so sure of this? It¡¯s not like sith were something you run into every day.¡±

    ¡°I fought with her and lost because of my previously accumulated injuries. I can¡¯t really describe why I know this to be true, but I am certain that she is a sith assassin.¡±

    ¡°Hmmm... Are you one of those Jedi padawans, then?¡±

    ¡°Not exactly. I am from a third, much smaller sect, actually, but I worked with them... I had no choice.¡±

    ¡®He raised his other eyebrow next to the already raised one.¡¯

    ¡°How come?¡±

    ¡°Well, one of them attacked me, and I... Well, I guess I almost killed him... and then they told me, that I have to work in the army for five years, or work in a mine for twenty years, if I remember correctly...¡±

    ¡®There was another wave of surprise, but this time it was clearly caused by shock.¡¯

    ¡®The man called Hondo slowly shook his head in denial while saying with as much disappointment one could gather.¡¯

    ¡°How far... The mighty Jedi have fallen.¡± ¡ª ¡®Said Hondo, with a distant look in his eyes as if he was staring into a faraway horizon.¡¯

    ¡°I am a pirate captain, but even I am not heartless enough to send a young baby girl like you into the cruel galactic war.¡± ¡ª He quickly added in a barely perceptible whisper. ¡ª ¡°Well, at least not against her will.¡± ¡ª Then continued in his normal tone of voice. ¡ª ¡°Do you want to go back to them? Maybe they can pay a ransom for you.¡± ¡ª ¡®He asked, and that really surprised me.¡¯

    ¡°Well, I have made a friend, but I don¡¯t really want to go back right now¡­ Do I suspect rightly that you would allow me to stay awhile?¡±

    ¡°Feel free, but until you decide to go back or not go back, you will have to work with us as an honourable member of our crew...¡±

    ¡°And if you chose to stay, you will have to pay back the price of your life, and my lost men¡¯s life in credit to us.¡±

    ¡°I can already think of a few ways to use your force abilities, maybe it is time to visit those hutts casinos... Hehehe... Now rest girl, these two will help you out if you need something...¡±

    ¡°The girl is called Claire, while the nosy one is Jack. I love them as my own! They might actually be¡­ Now that I think about it¡­¡±

    ¡°Anyway, stay as long as you like! Hah! I am such a good Samaritan, I sometimes even surprise myself with myself. Well, that sounded better in my mind, actually...¡± ¡ª ¡®He kicked open the rusty door, then walked out of it, leaving behind me and the two guys who fell on their assess because they were surprised by him storming out without any warning.¡¯

    Hondo barked at them while walking away.

    ¡°Take care of our new guest! She is clearly a respectable child, so treat her in the same manner!¡±

    ¡°Yes, boss...¡± ¡ª Said the other two with varied enthusiasm.

    ¡®I was sitting on the bed, blinking profoundly... I looked up at Claire, who was pushed into the room by Jack, who closed the door behind her...¡¯

    ¡®The woman cursed silently, staring daggers into the doorframe, then slowly walked closer to me.¡¯

    ¡®I looked up at her. She couldn¡¯t be much older than me. I was not proficient in estimating weequays¡¯ age, however, so I could be completely wrong.¡¯

    ¡®Now, as she was standing much closer, I could take a better guess... Maybe she was about sixteen or seventeen at best. She looked embarrassed and kind of excited at the same time, while being wary of me. She couldn¡¯t help herself and finally asked.¡¯

    ¡°Does the force really exist and can you use it?¡± ¡ª She asked this with an embarrassed, childlike curiosity glinting in her eyes.

    ¡®It was not that rare of a reaction, really, except for Coruscant. There were not many worlds who had a constant presence of relatively large numbers of force users.¡¯

    ¡®To most people, Jedi were like some mysterious radical sect. For others, they were noble warriors, but in most cases, people didn¡¯t really see a Jedi in real life, ever, only through the media outlets, news portals or in holo videos.¡¯

    ¡®With today¡¯s technology, you can make anything look like reality in a video. Therefore, the general public, although, acknowledged the Jedi because of their very real and existing political influence. Most of them held a certain scepticism against their mysterious powers and foresight. The force was a truly enigmatic thing, that was a constant source of mystery, even for its wielders. I couldn¡¯t really fathom what normal people could think of it.¡¯

    ¡®I smiled at the young woman.¡¯

    ¡°It definitely exists. That much I can tell you, or show you if you allow me.¡±

    ¡®She nodded without hesitation. I closed my eyes and gently reached out with the force. There were many things in the room lying about, but I chose the empty bottles to play a harmless trick on her. I raised up about fifty of those bottles around us in the air, slowly circling above us.¡¯

    ¡®Soon, I heard a sharp intake of breath. I cracked my eyes open and looked at the girl, who was also raised up in the air with the bottles. She was looking in barely contained shock.¡¯

    ¡®The door suddenly opened, as Hondo walked in with great momentum.¡¯

    ¡°Oh, and I forgot to mention that... SWEET MAMMA! Claire, you are flying, my girl!¡± ¡ª Then he turned towards Jack who was standing by his side with a similarly awed expression, and asked in a demanding tone. While raising his fist in the air. ¡ª ¡°Jack, you damn bastard, what did you mix in my drink this time?¡±

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t me boss, not this time at least. I can see her floating too.¡±

    ¡®Hondo suddenly kicked out Jack¡¯s legs from under him, who fell on his ass generating a loud noise.¡¯

    ¡°So you were the bastard who drugged me with some crazy shit last time! I would beat you black and blue, but I was the one who taught you. However, I am at least gonna kick your arse since you didn¡¯t even steal my money... Are you trying to make me look stupid in front of our Jedi guest? Get out of here! WAAH!¡±

    ¡®Mind you¡­ all this happened casually while Claire, alongside of a hundred empty glass of beer, was currently imitating swimming right above their heads about half meter.¡¯

    ¡®The scenario filled me with strange familiarity and calmness. I wasn¡¯t entirely sure why until extremely ridiculous images started to flash in front of my mental eyes. Showing me similarly wild scenarios in frightening abundance.¡¯

    ¡®I had a terrible feeling that the Grey Order, the mysterious sect I was taught to adore and respect from a young age, had an unknown, less respectable side to it.¡¯

    ¡®Anyway, after Jack ran out of the room, as if his pants were on fire. Hondo turned back to me, then said.¡¯

    ¡°Put down those empty bottles, and the lass, girly. We are not running some wild circus show here, and I want to change the bottles back for extra credits next time I visit Tatooine!¡±

    ¡®Based on my first impression about them, I wasn¡¯t entirely sure considering the circus part¡­¡¯

    ¡®I nodded to him, and placed down the bottles in an orderly manner, while I also put down Claire. She seemed really happy at this moment.¡¯

    ¡°So the stories about the existence of the force were true.¡± ¡ª Said Hondo, thoughtfully. ¡ª ¡°Who would have thought that those unbelievable things seen on holo videos could be real, reflecting back blaster shots, and so on? I would have been more surprised if a half crazed bitch hadn¡¯t run over my ship half a day ago doing exactly that. I guess Claire was sad that she missed out on the experience.¡±

    ¡®I smiled at him warily. Not sure how to react to that.¡¯

    ¡°Well, most of them, I guess. The force itself is believed to have a limitless potential, but what we can harness of it is very much limited by our body and mind. Along with such things as one''s race, age and overall skill, experience and knowledge¡­ All of which are factors that account for one¡¯s ability to wield the force in the end.¡±

    ¡®Hondo¡¯s eyes sparkled at the mention of limitless potential, but that same glint slowly dimmed with every one of my following words.¡¯

    ¡°What about you, Nizzal, was it? You don¡¯t look anything impressive to me.¡±

    ¡°Well¡­¡± ¡ª ¡®I can¡¯t really blame him for thinking like that. I definitely didn¡¯t feel too impressive wrapped in bandages like a mummy.¡¯

    ¡°But seeing how well you do with your injuries and all¡­ I might have another proposition for you, so listen well.¡±

    ¡°If you help me to solve a certain problem of mine, I might entertain the idea of taking you into our little pirate gang as a full-fledged member? I will tell you a few contact locations, and we will hide you wherever you need a safe place. You will also have a share of this job¡¯s profit, and any future jobs that we may do together. Don¡¯t get me wrong, but you are clearly in the need of some quick cash, and this way, we can rid the world from some annoying bastards, while also making good money. Who knows, if we do good, I am even be willing to forget about your debt.¡±

    ¡®I thought about that.¡¯

    ¡°Well, but I don¡¯t want to kill innocent people, nor rob them...¡±

    ¡°Such a sweet little angel. There is no need to worry. The ones I have in mind are definitely not innocent. I myself have a debt to pay off to them, and I think you would also be interested in this endeavor.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s hear it then.¡±

    ¡°I knew that I had a good feeling about you. So everything will work out like this...¡±

 25. Chapter

    ¡®Hondo told me about his so-called plan. We are going to attack another pirate group, one that had attacked Hondo¡¯s pirate team multiple times. They are pretty strong and well equipped, that is why they want my help. I could be their joker, as no other pirate would expect a force user to appear on the side of a pirate group.¡¯

    ¡®They told me what the transport they are carrying is. more than half of it was spice, and that was what Hondo cared for, but he was right when he told me that I would be more interested in the other half. This pirate transport was carrying twi¡¯lek slaves, woman and man too. Even children weren¡¯t spared from the cruel fate of slavery. I knew it well, since I myself experienced the coldness of this world as a child... If you had no power, knowledge, money or connections. You were nothing more than prey in a large part of the galaxy. There were far from enough humanitarian services and their backings were less and less by the passing days, as the founds are constantly rerouted and pumped into the galaxy-wide war machine.¡¯

    ¡®These twi¡¯leks are much like I was back then. The only exception, that master is no longer here to help them. He gave the mantle to me the knowledge to use for good or bad. I am no longer powerless, and I have decided to help them. Hondo told me that he was also sold to a slaver when he was a child, by his own parents, none the less. He didn¡¯t tell me the details, but he assured me with a serious voice that he does not trade with slaves because of his personal experiences in slavery. Actually, half of his crew were slaves at some point in their lives. Therefore, they also hated the prospect of slavery from their very guts.¡¯

    ¡®I didn¡¯t see any trouble with that, since I was more than ones chased around by slavers, in the slums of Ryloth. It was a terrifying experience to live through. Now I know that the only reason I was able to escape was the force subtly guiding me on the right path. The bastards left me after they felt that I was too troublesome to chase around, only to try it again a few days later. Hondo promised me that the twi¡¯leks would be left alone on their own, or if they wanted, they could join his pirate group and seek their own fortune from now on.¡¯

    ¡®Hondo also told me that they had a base in the outer rim, where they usually spend their free time. It sounded like a pirate colony. It was their safe heaven, where their families lived a somewhat cultured life among the outer rims colonies. It was a secret base, therefore, he didn¡¯t mention its location. Clearly he didn¡¯t trust me enough, not yet. I guess it was normal. I didn¡¯t trust him either. I hoped that he will prove me to be wrong about not trusting him, since I wouldn¡¯t want to fight against someone who saved my life... Even if he just wanted to make a profit, it still doesn¡¯t change the fact that I was saved, thanks to them.¡¯

    ¡®Well, I can¡¯t really speak of an actual battle plan here. It was more like a trick, since we would simply attack their ship after they came out of hyperspace to meet with the spice buyers. This spice buyer will be me, and a few of Hondos men disguised. I will play the rich, spoiled brat, who likes to spend money on goons, bodyguards and buy illegal stuff using her rich dad¡¯s money just like slaves and spice.¡¯

    ¡®I was sitting on a chair, still in that same room, eating some soup with deep fried nuna legs. It was a bird-like creature that was easy to domesticate because of its trusting nature. It was widely used in every corner of the galaxy as a cheap yet delicious meat source. I was really hungry and was devouring the food in big immodest bites. Hondo decided to actually join me in the feast. He was smiling at me, and seeing my lack of manners, his smile only grew.¡¯

    ¡°You must have been really hungry, to not even check the food before eating it. You are either someone who is very confident in her abilities or has a stupidly trusting nature, just like this nuna bird, my little twi¡¯lek friend.¡± ¡ª Noted Hondo.

    ¡®I looked up at him half-heartedly, rolling my eyes in a way that it was impossible to miss. He only smirked as a reaction, then picked up one of the nuna legs from our shared plate and began to eat too.¡¯

    ¡°I realized as much. Why would you poison me when I am already in your hands? It sounds like overkill to me...¡±

    ¡®He chuckled heartily at that.¡¯

    ¡°You never know what a crazy pirate captain from the rim is capable of doing...¡±

    ¡°That might be true¡­¡± ¡ª ¡®I said, and took a particularly big bite from the tasty meat, then continued with my unfinished sentence.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°However, you don¡¯t look crazy to me. Your act is convincing, but you can¡¯t really lie to an empath who is also armed with the force.¡±

    ¡°An empath?¡± ¡ª He asked, genuinely confused.

    ¡°Someone who is especially sensitive towards other people¡¯s true intentions. People like that are rare in itself, but this ability is much-much rarer when it comes in a combination with force sensitivity.¡±

    ¡®It is a lie, of course. I am not an empath, but if he believes that, he may decide to actually tell me the truth, or at least half-truths instead of outright lies, to confuse me.¡¯

    ¡°Hmmm... I guess, I will have to sell you to the hutts in the end... If you have such a rare combination of abilities, I know multiple buyers who would pay for you so much that I could build a new ship from scratch...¡± ¡ª He smiled thoughtfully. ¡ª ¡°Yes, that sounds like a good idea...¡±

    ¡®I almost choked on the food which I was currently attempting to swallow. I began to cough forcefully while trying to spit out the bite that went down in the wrong pipe and immediately told him that I was actually not an empath at all...¡¯

    ¡®He was watching my clearly comical reaction, and began to laugh.¡¯

    ¡°I already knew that, girl. You can calm down. It was only an innocent joke on my part. You are seriously bad at lying, though. Every time you tell a lie, you break eye contact at the last second. You should watch out for this¡­¡±

    ¡®Hell, that may actually be true. I was so focused on hiding a lie in my force presence that I didn¡¯t learn to hide it from the more mundane methods of detection. What a ridiculous flaw indeed.¡¯

    ¡®In the meantime, I finally stopped coughing. My pride felt somewhat tarnished as I realized how stupid of a mistake I had made. I clearly looked dejected, as even Hondo tried to cheer me up a bit.¡¯

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be that disappointed girl. The fact that you are not accustomed to lying tells a lot about you in itself. Either way, in my line of work, you either learn to differentiate lies from the truth, or die.¡±

    ¡®I sighed, then nodded towards him, acknowledging the statement, then continued to eat my food.¡¯

    ¡®My gaze once again hovered over the dim room. This place was dirty. The shelves probably never saw a duster in the last few years. Strangely enough, it kept reminding me of the sith temple I lived in. I mean, the rooms we actually used were, of course, cleaned. Yet, there were hundreds of rooms, and each of those were in much of the same conditions as this room, buried under five centimetres of thick dust.¡¯

    ¡®Maybe this was the reason why I felt so relaxed here. Or, maybe, because there was not a bunch of jedi around me, who were just waiting to condemn me.¡¯

    ¡®Before I knew, I was smiling to myself comfortably. Hondo was watching me while also partially lost in his own world. It was a simple and nice early afternoon.¡¯

    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    ~oOo~

    ¡°But master! We will have to go back and search for her! She is lost somewhere, I just know it!¡± ¡ª Ahsoka demanded.

    A clearly troubled looking Anakin answered that question.

    ¡°Ahsoka, I know that you are afraid for your friend¡¯s wellbeing, and believe me that I would like to help her too. But our ship is heavily damaged. We were lucky to get away from that trap. Sadly, there is nothing we can do right now to help her. We can¡¯t risk the lives of more than five thousand clones just like that.¡±

    ¡°Then, we should go back only with one ship, and...¡±

    ¡°Clear your mind, Ahsoka.¡± ¡ª Said Obi-Wan this time. ¡ª ¡°Your judgment is clouded by your feelings. We don¡¯t even know if Nizzal was indeed kidnapped, or she herself killed those two clones and escaped using the general chaos.¡±

    Ahsoka was horrified by the suggestion and vehemently defended her friend.

    ¡°She wouldn¡¯t do such a thing! She risked her life in that battle to defend the hangar. You weren¡¯t there to see it!¡±

    ¡°General, if you allow me to say this.¡± ¡ª Started a soldier standing behind Ahsoka. Obi-Wan looked at the man and nodded, allowing him to speak his mind. ¡ª ¡°I agree with Commander Tano''s statement on this. Commander Nizzal would never do such a cowardly deed.¡± ¡ª Added Crusher.

    The door opened behind them, as Handy helped Watcher walk into the room. He was heavily injured, in multiple places, and needed to lean on his brother to walk.

    ¡°General, I have something to report.¡± ¡ª Said Watcher.

    Everyone¡¯s attention simultaneously turned towards him. Obi-Wan gave the permission by gesturing with one of his hands.

    ¡°By all means, trooper. As we understand, you were the last person who is still alive and saw Commander Nizzal being escorted by two clones under my command.¡± ¡ª Obi-wan stated.

    ¡°Yes, General, but she couldn¡¯t do it. I mean, she couldn¡¯t kill them.¡±

    ¡°Continue trooper, and tell us why exactly did you come to this conclusion?¡±

    ¡°She was heavily injured, couldn¡¯t even stand on her own. Even if she surprised them, in that condition, she could only kill one of them at best, while the other would have put her down. I know my brothers. They wouldn¡¯t go out so easily.¡±

    Obi-Wan¡¯s shoulders seemed to relax somewhat, but only for a second. Then he steeled himself and asked.

    ¡°Describe her injuries as much as you can.¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir. She was blown away in the explosion of a self destruction droid. She crashed into a pile of steel crates. Her left shoulder and back got the brunt of it. I think her shoulder was momentarily dislocated, but it resettled itself back in place naturally. She most likely had heavy internal bleeding and concussions. Her limbs also suffered surface cuts, bruises, along with burns. She also seemed to utterly exhaust her force energies.¡±

    Ahsoka and Skywalker seemed to be taken aback by the extremely detailed observations of this particular clone. Especially the ones that were describing her exhausted force reserves.

    Ahsoka seemed to be the most shocked and angered for a variety of reasons. First of all, she just got the information that her dear friend was not just simply kidnapped, but kidnapped in a state when she had not even a chance to protect herself. She unknowingly bit into the inside of her lips, as she began to blame herself that she had to leave behind her new friend, in a completely vulnerable state. She was worried to the bone, and anxious to get back and search for her.

    Obi-Wan seemed to finally relax... His previous dark expression now was dire for a different reason. That was none other than a sense of guilt. He eventually added.

    ¡°Thank you for your report, trooper. You can go back to the infirmary for your well-earned rest.¡±

    ¡°Yes sir! Thank you, sir!¡±

    As the three troopers left the bridge, Obi-Wan finally sat down in a close-by armchair, exhaling deeply. Anakin knew, from the start, that something was fishy about this mission, but he didn¡¯t mention it since he knew that his master would tell them when the time came.

    ¡°Master, I guess it¡¯s time to share what our actual mission was from the beginning.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean? Master?¡± ¡ª Asked Ahsoka, confusion settling over her features.

    Obi-Wan wetted his throat and said.

    ¡°I guess it didn¡¯t matter anymore, since we failed spectacularly. Sigh... Well then, in all honesty, we didn¡¯t come here to chase some small time pirates...¡±

    ¡°What!?¡± ¡ª Exclaimed Ahsoka. ¡ª ¡°So there aren¡¯t even any pirates here?¡±

    Obi-Wan grinned at that.

    ¡°Of course there are pirates here. Otherwise they wouldn¡¯t serve as an ideal alibi for us to lure out a certain sith lord.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± ¡ª Said this time Ahsoka and Anakin at the same time.

    Obi-Wan only shrugged his shoulders.

    ¡°Did you really think that the Senate could spare a venator with over seven thousand clone troopers, two jedi knights, and two padawans in the middle of a galactic civil war, only to chase around some stupid pirates? Please, don¡¯t make me doubt my teaching even more¡­¡±

    Ahsoka and Anakin looked at each other, then back at Obi-Wan with a gaze that practically radiated discomfort and embarrassment.

    Seeing this, Kenobi¡¯s shoulders sagged dramatically, and he was forced to exhale an even longer, almost desperate sigh.

    ¡°Really now... We were creating a trap for this supposed sith lord to lure him or her out. We know that there are spies in the Senate, and we suspected, based on the result of our mission rightfully so, that there are spies even in the Jedi Order itself. Our enemies have ears everywhere, it seems. We tried to use this information to surprise them, or at least gain more information from the nature of our enemy.¡±

    ¡°So what was the trap?¡± ¡ª Asked Ahsoka. ¡ª ¡°Because it seems to me that we were the ones who got kicked in the booty.¡±

    Anakin coughed drily, pointing a warning glare in his padawan¡¯s direction.

    Obi-Wan generously ignored their usual antics and continued with his explanation.

    ¡°We were supposed to ask for reinforcements, at the moment we encountered the enemy, there were another two venators following us at the distance of a ten-minute hyperspace jump.¡±

    ¡°Yet the enemy was clearly aware of our plan from the very beginning, and in a much greater detail we ever anticipated. They created a widespread communication disturbance field around our battle, that was activated a few minutes before the enemy ships arrived.¡±

    ¡°We, as of me and your master, also sensed a strong disturbance in the force at that time, but weren¡¯t able to identify the true nature of the danger fast enough.¡±

    ¡°The force disturbance only made us more confused. While we were looking for immediate threats, we didn¡¯t realise that our long distance communication was disrupted. Then the battle began.¡±

    ¡°One of the smaller enemy frigates was constantly positioned in a way that we couldn¡¯t jump into hyperspace unless we intended to crash into them and blow ourselves to smithereens. Thankfully, to Ahsoka and Nizzal¡¯s actions in the hangar, we managed to send out almost all of our fighter ships. And with Anakin leading the attack, our fighters managed to destroy the forward heavy turbo lasers on the munificent class ship. Which caused a turning point in the battle.¡±

    Anakin nodded to that conclusion. He also explained to the seemingly confused Ahsoka the meaning of that information.

    ¡°Those pair of turbo lasers are incredibly powerful. They are capable of melting a smaller ice planet by continuous shooting in a day, completely changing its climate.¡±

    ¡°Wow...¡± ¡ª Exclaimed the girl, genuinely surprised by this information.

    ¡°As you might expect, based on Anakin¡¯s example, our shields couldn¡¯t take more than a few shots from such a weapon.¡± ¡ª Continued Obi-Wan.

    ¡°That was the reason why we positioned our ship under theirs. Those cannons, thanks to their sheer size, are very slow to aim and have a limited angle to turn. This way, giving time to the fighters to do their part.¡±

    ¡°After the biggest threat was no more, we could freely turn the ship in a way that allowed us to focus the majority of our firepower on the Resuscant-class frigate. The one blocking us from entering hyperspace. It couldn¡¯t possibly handle that level of firepower, and soon jumped away to save itself. Its place was taken by the second one.¡±

    ¡°This time, we focused the cannons on that one. However, it didn¡¯t run away. We most likely managed to damage its hyper-drive. Under the continuous heavy barrage, it eventually exploded. Leaving us alone with the munificent class ship, which was barely damaged aside from its main cannons, while our ship was barely holding together at this point.¡±

    ¡°Luckily, the munificent was much slower. It couldn¡¯t effectively block our escape path. Therefore, we called back the fighters to the recaptured hangar. And finally entered hyperspace. This is where we are right now, after realizing that Commander Nizzal was most likely taken by enemy forces...¡±

 26. Chapter

    Ahsoka was currently in her bed trying to fall asleep, but her deep worry for her missing and possibly injured friend seemed to keep her on the edge.

    She was very tired from the intense battle that occurred not even ten standard hours ago...

    Of course, she managed to sleep here and there. However, every time she fell asleep, she was forced to wake up, thanks to her imagination running wild. Creating many horror scenarios that slowly, but surely, began to seep into her subconscious in the form of haunting nightmares.

    Just like it happened now. Her skin was covered in a cold layer of sweat as she let out a tired sigh, realizing that this was going to be a very long night.

    ¡°I can only hope that she will be all right...¡± ¡ª Ahsoka whispered to no one in particular, then once again closed her eyes.

    With that thought on her mind, she turned towards the wall one more time and hoped to finally fall asleep for good.

    ~oOo~

    (Music starting from this part: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjhpmoZS7ts</a> )

    Meanwhile, a certain gray twi¡¯lek girl a few light years away was having the time of her life with a bunch of pirates in their ship¡¯s cantina. They were currently playing battle chess, for who knows how long at this point.

    It started as a simple game, then turned into a fierce local championship after they discovered that she even had the extremely rare Mandalorian, space pirate and smuggler skins for the game... Of course, the championship never really stopped the ongoing party playing out in the background.

    Just a few minutes ago, a table was broken in two since one of the drunken pirates jumped on top of it to dance with the attractive weequay girl who was already dancing on top of it.

    The lucky pirate girl, so to say, didn¡¯t really appreciate his advances and pushed him away. Unfortunately, she underestimated how drunk said pirate was. Which resulted in him slipping on some food and eventually falling on his back with quite the momentum.

    The poor table gave out under the weight almost immediately. But not before the drunk fool could catch onto the girl¡¯s arm in the middle of his fall, pulling her along. This desperate move resulted with both of them ending up as a pile of limbs on the ground while various plates, leftover food and drinks, violently splashed above their heads like powerful waves of a raging sea swallowing a sinking ship.

    As expected, the event roused waves of dry laughter from the pirates who have witnessed everything. However, the unfortunate pair in the center of undesirable attention didn¡¯t seem to share in the jovialty and after they managed to crawl out of the table¡¯s broken remains, pushing and cursing each other along the way.

    Our drunken hero, with his wounded pride, attempted to reeducate the onlookers via delivering a punch into the first one¡¯s stomach, who came across him. Since then there was a small scale bar fight going on in one of the many corners of the large cantina.

    ¡®Hondo was sitting on his pirate throne watching the show with a satisfied smile stretched across his face, as if being here and watching this organized chaos was the best possible place to be in the entire galaxy... or even the universe.¡®

    ¡®He had Pilf resting on his shoulder, and I got the other one on top of my head. He was called Pikk Mukmuk.¡¯

    ¡®Both of them were proud members of the Kowakian monkey-lizard race. Oh, and above that, they were actual members of the crew.¡¯

    ¡®I was only allowed to roam free if one of them was watching over me... It was quite a strange situation, to be entirely honest.¡¯

    ¡®The little buggers are pretty intelligent. I am still surprised at how many words they seem to understand, and since I won our battle chess match against Hondo, which started this entire scenario.¡¯

    ¡®He loaned me Pikk as a reward for my entire stay here. It was¡­ nice of him¡­¡¯

    ¡®Regarding the game itself, it was not an easy game at all. Hondo played very well, but he had no chance against a few thousand years of chess experience. It was one of my inherited powers that wasn¡¯t any weaker because of my current body.¡¯

    ¡®I gave my last order to one of my troopers on the board and watched it with satisfaction as the figurine executed it flawlessly, causing me to win another game.¡¯

    ¡®My opponent was, for the record, a red skin-colored twi¡¯lek woman. One of the few twi¡¯lek members of the current crew, as most of them were weequays. There was one more twi¡¯lek that I know of, a man this time, and a few humans too.¡¯

    ¡®The young woman realized her mistake as I cornered her king, accepting her defeat with tact. She smiled at me mischievously, then suddenly leaned over the board and gave me a light kiss...¡¯

    ¡®I felt a wave of heat surge into my face, turning it to a similar color as her skin tone was.¡¯

    ¡®My brain spasmed as it tried to understand the situation.¡¯

    ¡®¡­ Okay¡­ What the fuck?!¡¯

    ¡®The small crowd around us began to cheer loudly.¡¯

    ¡°That was your reward, little jedi. I heard that they hold you on a tight leash in that order of yours.¡± ¡ª ¡®She winked at me teasingly, suddenly standing up from the table and leaving me behind with my confusion.¡¯

    ¡°¡­ Eh?¡±

    ¡®I gently touched my lips. That felt strangely hot, realising with both intrigue and a sense of annoyance that the red girl stole my first kiss.¡¯

    ¡®At the same time, I felt a surge of memories leaping into my head, along with a few hundred erotic images from the so-called darker and more suppressed places of my mind...¡¯

    ¡®I panicked. In my panic, I attempted to cover my eyes, only to realize that everything was happening inside my head, and my mental eyes were a lot harder to cover than my physical ones.¡¯

    ¡®My apparent reaction seemed to provide a great deal of entertainment to the nearby pirates. Who were currently laughing at my predicament like hungry hyenas.¡¯

    ¡®Yes, I inherited those kinds of memories too, and to top it off, from both genders... I tried to hastily suppress those kinds of memories, while the others straight out laughed at my reddened face and slightly twitching leks which were misbehaving from my sheer level of frustration.¡¯

    ¡®A gentle force warning caught my attention, drawing my eyes away from those thoughts at the most opportune time.¡¯

    ¡®I looked up, and saw a half empty wine bottle flying across the whole room, heading towards an unsuspecting weequay.¡¯

    ¡®I reached out with the force to stop the bottle and began to pull it towards me instead, saving the unsuspecting man from a painful surprise.¡¯

    ¡®I was actually acting as a proper jedi padawan right now. Not even Master Obi¡¯Wan could raise any objections, in case if he was here.¡¯

    ¡®On the crux of my streak of self-sacrifice I decided to save a few more weequays from a strong headache. Some in the literal while others in the figurative sense of the word.¡¯

    ¡®I caught the bottle out of the air at last and raised it towards my lips with great momentum. Since the ritual, I had this unnatural craving for alcohol. I thought it was high time to sate such mysterious cravings.¡¯

    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    ¡®I fully intended to look at the bottom of this bottle of liquer directly raising it to my mouth.¡¯

    ¡®I was already sensing the aroma of strong booze seeping into my flaring nostrils, eyes closing in blissful anticipation.¡¯

    ¡®Then I felt a strong grasp closing around my wrist at the last possible moment, just before I could tilt the bottle enough for its contents to spill towards my open mouth.¡¯

    ¡®I tried to free my arm, it didn¡¯t budge.¡¯

    ¡®A burst of anger came over me, as my highly anticipated moment was all but ruined.¡¯

    ¡®My eyes jolted open.¡¯ ¡ª Unknown to Nizzal, a glint of yellow was visible in the middle of her pink pupils. ¡ª ¡®Only to see that Hondo was the one that stopped my arm...¡¯

    ¡®He looked at me with a half smile, falling into a fatherly act as if it was as natural to him as any other.¡¯

    ¡°Now-now... What do we have here, my sweet mother always said, that proper little girls shouldn¡¯t drink alcohol."

    ¡®While saying this, he also raised his finger in a lecturing manner.¡¯

    ¡°Oh, come on!¡± ¡ª ¡®I whined, throwing my dignity aside with a surprising ease.'' ¡ª ¡°Can¡¯t a girl have her fun for once in a while!¡±

    ¡®This seemed to surprise the man in the red coat. Alas, it seemed that red was my unlucky color today.¡¯

    ¡®Unfortunately, no matter how much I tried to free my arm, his iron like grip didn¡¯t let up.¡¯

    ¡®Eventually, my consistent attempts to get out of his grasp seemed to get on his nerves as he blow up in my face.¡¯

    ¡°Stop resisting, fool! You won¡¯t get drunk on my ship, however laughable that statement may sound, not today at least! What good would your presence do if you got drunk? Are you intending to deflect those laser beams towards me? Is that it?¡±

    ¡°Who are you calling fool? Fool! And¡­ now that you mention it, that doesn¡¯t sound like a bad idea, actually...¡±

    ¡°Aha, I see what you did there, little hellion. My answer is still no! Give me that bottle, now!¡±

    ¡®He twisted out the bottle from my hand and drank it in a few big gulps while standing over me. The others were laughing around us when they saw my horrified expression.¡¯

    ¡®For whatever reason, the sight of my disappearing prize and the strange cohesion of the laughing pirates resulted in a burst of childish desire accumulating in my chest as I shouted at the fool with all the angst of a ten-year-old.¡¯

    ¡°How could you!¡± ¡ª ¡®I cried out, feeling genuinely betrayed.¡¯

    ¡®My evidently unexpected reaction caused Hondo to actually choke on the drink and resulted in even more laughter from the surrounding people.¡¯

    ¡°Ha hahaha!¡± ¡ª ¡®He shouted after spitting some of the liquor straight into one of his men¡¯s face.¡¯

    ¡°I am an evil pirate captain. I do whatever I want! You better learn it, girly! Haha!¡± ¡ª ¡®Then he leaned closer to me and said subtly.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°I also have an image to uphold, you know?¡± ¡ª ¡®With that, he waved towards me condescendingly, then added as an afterthought.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°Now go and amuse yourself with Pazaak or something, whatever you kids tend to play these days... I have no more time for your childish games. Oh, and you better stop looking for alcohol too, if you don¡¯t want to get spanked! That¡¯s what I call a real checkmate! HA!¡±

    ¡®My eyes glinted with a strange light in the mids of the roaring laughter.¡¯

    ¡°Pazaak? Did you say Pazaak?¡± ¡ª ¡®I asked, as another wave of long suppressed memories burst into my consciousness, seemingly triggered by that strangely familiar word.''

    ¡®Hondo was just about to walk away, but he looked back at me, hearing my new question. Suddenly, there was a new glint in his eyes as well.¡¯

    ¡°Oh, so you know the game? Would you like to play a few rounds then? If you lose, you will owe me a favor. If I lose, I will give you a full bottle of these...¡± ¡ª ¡®He raised another of those wine bottles from a nearby table.¡¯

    ¡®As my eyes hovered over the full bottle of red tantalizing liquid. I felt my throat became dry as a desert. I swallowed unconsciously¡­¡¯

    ¡®My childish impulses overruled my logical decision-making as I immediately agreed to the contest. Revan was a legendary Pazaak player of his time. How could I lose with that much experience under my belt?¡¯

    ~oOo~

    A few minutes later. In the middle of heavy laughter.

    ¡°That wasn¡¯t fair!¡± ¡ª ¡®I shouted at Hondo with an even more betrayed expression in the middle of a bunch of laughing pirates.¡¯

    ¡°Oh, thanks for the praise. I am a pirate captain, you know? The day when I play fairly will be the day I die. Oh, and you didn¡¯t tell me when we made the bet that I couldn¡¯t use my personal deck. You should have used your own instead of complaining.¡±

    ¡°It was stolen by that calamity of a droid!¡± ¡ª ¡®I lied seamlessly since I couldn¡¯t tell him I actually never played the game before, and it was only thanks to my memories from a different person, from a different life that I even knew about it.¡¯

    ¡®In my excitement I completely forget, the fact that Pazaak, to begin with, was a completely unfair game.¡¯

    ¡®To win with a basic deck against a fully equipped one, the chance was practically astronomical. I wasn¡¯t even sure if it was actually doable.¡¯

    ¡°Are you trying to deny the validity of our bet?¡± ¡ª ¡®Hondo asked, with a creased pair of eyebrows.¡¯

    ¡°Arggh....¡± ¡ª ¡®I bit into my lower lips as I said.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°No... It was valid... just¡­ nevermind. So what do I have to do?¡±

    ¡°Look at that, boys and girls, a jedi that actually has a backbone!¡± ¡ª ¡®Stated Hondo, with pride glinting in his eyes. And I realised that the surrounding pirates have stopped laughing.¡¯

    ¡°I am not really a jedi, I already told you!¡± ¡ª ¡®I said with a bored tone.¡¯

    ¡°Maybe, but from my perspective, there isn¡¯t that much of a difference. So, back to my request, there is this old acquaintance of mine. Let¡¯s just say, he has a variety of diplomatic connections and one of these so-called connections wants the help of a trained force sensitive in a so-called serious matter.¡±

    ¡°The only prerequisite is that the person can¡¯t be an official jedi. I can see from your face that you realize how hard it is to find a well-trained force user who is not a jedi. I wish you to take this job after we raided... I mean, get the spice and twi¡¯leks from our current project.¡±

    ¡°I see, but what good would that do for you?¡± ¡ª ¡®I asked, unsure what to think about this request.¡¯

    ¡°Oh, nothing special. You should just tell him that I sent you to repay a debt I owed. His name is Jabba the Hutt, by the way. He is a kind-natured fellow, really he has a soft spot for kids like yourself.¡± ¡ª ¡®Hondo added slyly.¡¯

    ¡°Which means that I should expect him to try to chop off my head the moment I appear... or sell me to slavers?¡±

    ¡®He took in a sharp breath as if he was shocked by my statement, then instead of a hurtful monologue he offered me a wide toothy grin.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°I see you learn quickly. I know that we had something in common the moment I saw you! You are like a long-lost daughter to me. Can I call you my daughter?¡±

    ¡®I rolled my eyes and said.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°Just shut up and die, fool!¡±

    ¡°Ah, such vulgarity, you wound my feelings¡­ that aside¡­ Since the cat is already out of the bag¡­ I mean I might have a bit of a debt accumulated and all, but it¡¯s nothing to concern yourself with.¡±

    ¡®Like hell it is!¡¯

    ¡°I knew it, and what kind of debt do you owe to him?¡±

    ¡°Nothing special, I maybe took a smaller loan, and didn¡¯t pay the whole thing back... But, it will be solved by you doing this job, for free, in my name.¡±

    ¡°Okay... but what am I expected to do in the first place?¡± ¡ª ¡®I at least demanded an explanation for that.¡¯

    ¡°I don¡¯t know for sure, probably some kind of jedi hocus-pocus... Most likely the usual stuff. What else would he need, a force sensitive?¡±

    ¡°Probably? So you don¡¯t even know that? Wait a minute, can¡¯t I have a say in this?¡±

    ¡°I won the game, so no.¡±

    ¡®I held my head in desperation. With the growing urge to head bump the damn table which was still covered in those cursed cards. I am never going to play this damn game again¡¯

    ¡°Arggh... curse you...¡±

    ¡°Ha-ha-ha! Stand in line if you want to curse me, girl. Be wary, the line is quite long... You might just kick the bucket before you get the chance.¡±

    ¡°But...¡±

    ¡°Silence... someone is calling me on my communicator.¡± ¡ª ¡®He pushed a button, then turned away while saying something I could not hear...¡¯

    ¡®Damn Hondo, I will be much more careful with any type of bet with him in the future, and next time I will definitely win!¡¯

    ¡®I promised to myself with apparent determination. Not even realizing the contradiction in that statement.¡¯

    ¡°Vzzz-vzzz!¡± ¡ª ¡®I jumped up from the table, along with a bunch of pirates.¡¯

    ¡®There were two blaster shots sent into the ceiling as a small cloud of smoke began to slowly descend over the people staying in the room.¡¯

    ¡®Everyone looked toward the source of it, already grabbing their weapons, but they hadn¡¯t pulled it out yet.¡¯

    ¡®The pirates became quite tense, just like I did, as everyone realized that the captain was the one who shot into the ceiling.¡¯

    ¡°Thank you, thank you for your undivided attention, my dear fellows. I just got a report that our spice had finally arrived. I say that it would be rude to make them wait for us, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡®There was a tense silence in the room. Nobody gave an answer to his question. He looked around the room, then suddenly began to shout like a madman.¡¯

    ¡°MOVE YOU SPACERATS! I WANT TO SEE YOUR ASSES ON YOUR POSITIONS IN FULL GEAR IMMEDIATELY!¡± ¡ª ¡®He then began to shoot into the ceiling with his already drawn blaster pistol in sync with his shouts to quickly disperse the panicking crew.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°GO GO GO MOVE BASTARDS! HEY, CLAIR!¡±

    ¡°Yes boss?¡± ¡ª ¡®Clair asked after popping up out of nowhere.¡¯

    ¡°Work on the girl, make her look somewhat believable for her act. At least, give her proper clothes, instead of those monk rags¡­¡±

    ¡°You can count on me, boss.¡±

    ¡®While I was distracted by the running around pirates. Out of nowhere, I felt a cold shiver run over my back... Did I catch a cold or something? Great, that¡¯s just what I needed... This day is getting worse by the minutes!¡¯

 27. Chapter

    About fifteen minutes later, inside Claire¡¯s room. Nizzal was clothed in a carefully designed modern robe that was actually quite to her liking. It was a rich garment, but it still provided basic defense properties, and it was only a bit restrictive for her movements. Generally speaking, it was a surprisingly suitable garment.

    ¡°Is this really what rich people wear nowadays?¡±

    ¡°Only the ones prepared for a business arrangement to turn into a firefight at any minute.¡± ¡ª Answered Claire.

    ¡°Neat, but how am I supposed to defend myself? Since we are actually sure that this one will go wrong soon enough...¡±

    ¡°Well, I just have the answer to that.¡± ¡ª ¡®She turned around and walked to a cupboard. She took out something that she suddenly threw over her shoulder towards me while saying cheekily.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°Catch!¡±

    ¡®I caught the glinting item, reflexively, only to realize the familiar weight and shape in my hand. It was my own lightsaber hilt.¡¯

    ¡°What? How? I thought that¡­ I thought that damn sith stole it from me...¡±

    ¡°You are right about that.¡± ¡ª Claire chuckled. ¡ª ¡°Guess what? We stole it from her, too. Just before she could run off...¡± ¡ª The atmosphere turned unexpectedly solemn before Claire added her next words. ¡ª ¡°One of my friends was killed by her. That is why the boss decided to give me this saber as a compensation. I guess it belonged to you, then. It¡¯s only right to give it back, seeing that you are one of us now. What would I do with a lightsaber, anyway? Be careful to not loose it again.¡± ¡ª She winked at me, teasingly.

    ¡°I am really thankful to you for giving this back to me... It means much, much more than I would like to admit. It was created by my master many years ago. I have only modified it since then to match my changing body height.¡±

    ¡®I said, while holding the cylinder shaped hilt. Checking it for any new scratches or bumps.¡¯

    ¡°Aren¡¯t jedi supposed to make their own lightsaber? I read about that on the web. I even watched a documentation film about the ritual of creating the lightsaber.¡±

    ¡°Yes, the jedi does that, but I am not a jedi.¡±

    ¡°Oh, sorry. I tend to forget about that detail...¡± ¡ª ¡®She smiled at me innocently.¡¯

    ¡®I sighed... She clearly thinks that I am lying... I can¡¯t really blame her. I was found in a very jedi like manner... Kidnapped by a sith assassin from a battle between republican and separatist armies. I also looked like a child, and I guess, I was technically a child, and that doesn¡¯t give much weight to my words either.¡¯

    ¡®I turned towards her. Attempting to explain it one more time.¡¯

    ¡°Look, I am really not a jedi.¡±

    ¡°Of course you are not a jedi.¡± ¡ª ¡®She smiled at me comfortingly, and that actually felt really nice. Finally, she takes me seriously, I thought, then she patted my head while saying...¡¯ ¡ª ¡°You are clearly just a padawan at this moment.¡±

    ¡®I was a bit distracted by her sudden comforting actions and accidentally said something stupid.¡¯

    ¡°Yes... I mean... no, I am not!¡± ¡ª ¡®I looked up to see her reaction... She was giving me a smug, victorious smile.¡¯

    ¡°Got you.¡± ¡ª She smirked.

    ¡®I sighed¡­ As I realized that there was no way for me to actually make her see my point anymore. I also felt that she played me too easily... Is she really around my age? I have to ask....¡¯

    ¡°By the way, how old are you, Claire?¡±

    ¡®She blinked from the sudden change of topic, but composed herself quickly.¡¯

    ¡°I am twenty-five, and you?¡±

    ¡®Twenty-five? I mean, she is bigger than me, with about an entire head... But her height is still small compared to most of the other weequay girls around...¡¯

    ¡°You look surprised. How old did you think I was?¡±

    ¡°I am thirteen... and I thought that you were only a few years older than me...¡±

    ¡®She laughed at that.¡¯

    ¡°Well, I guess, I wasn¡¯t very dignified when I asked you about the force in the mannerism of a ten-year-old. Probably my short height didn¡¯t help either... Forgive me my childish act. I was always fascinated by the force, and I never had a chance to witness it until now. It was an otherworldly experience, truly.¡± ¡ª She explained.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I am kind of used to that reaction. It¡¯s not as rare as you may think.¡±

    ¡°I am relieved to know that I am not the only one who acts like a fun girl in the presence of jedi. Oh, and take this small shoulder bag. You can put your saber into it, and it won¡¯t look out of place.¡±

    ¡®I took the bag, placed my saber hilt in it, and hooked it over my shoulder. I looked into a nearby mirror, one that was clearly out of place here because of its gold-rimmed frame.¡¯

    ¡®I am wearing mostly minimalistic but well-designed clothes. The upper part is silver-colored with sophisticated flower embroidery. While the lower part was a pair of skin-tight black britches that were created from fine silk with matching black boots. It was not the type of rich clothes that I would expect after seeing Hondo¡¯s personal style. These were actually fine clothes that you would imagine someone rich would actually like to wear. It wasn¡¯t ostentatious, but had a unique style and was even practical.¡¯

    ¡®While I was looking at myself through the mirror, Claire grabbed one of my lekkus and attached a silver collar to it. Then she did the same with the other one. I moved my lekku with the already attached accessory in front of me. It was a nice silver accessory, with a white pearl in the middle of it.¡¯

    ¡°It even matches my skin color.¡± ¡ª ¡®I noted with a sense of amusement before adding teasingly.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°Are you trying to find me a husband, Claire, or what?¡±

    ¡°Heh, would you like that to happen?¡± ¡ª ¡®She teased me back right away.¡¯

    ¡°Well, not right now, maybe in forty years...¡± ¡ª ¡®I said with absolute seriousness in light of my extended lifespan. Alas, Claire didn¡¯t know about that, and burst into laughter hearing my answer.¡¯

    ¡°Ah-h-h¡­ You are such a child, you will be a grandma at that time, silly!¡± ¡ª ¡®She chastised me. Alas, our time was up, it seemed, as she gave me my republic communicator device and pointed towards the door.¡¯

    ¡°Anyway, honey, you are done, and you look very pretty.¡± ¡ª ¡®She pinched my cheek playfully.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°Time to go to the hangar. We will use a cargo transporter ship for this job. This one we normally used to smuggle items with. It is a simple ship that resembles a brick, but it is a reliable one, at least. For now, it is time to go. Oh, and don¡¯t forget, I am one of your bodyguards from now on.¡±

    ¡®I rolled my eyes, while also turning towards Claire.¡¯

    ¡°But, of course, how could I possibly forget such detail? Do you think I am as clumsy as your typical scum wandering around the stars? Quickly! Prepare my ship. I wish to see the merchandise.¡±

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    ¡°Look at that, you are naturally good at this girl, but don¡¯t overdue it yet. I have already begun to feel the urge to shoot you down, relax. I would only use a paralyzing shot for now...¡± ¡ª She joked.

    The door opened slightly, and Jack looked inside the room.

    ¡°Before you begin shooting at each other,¡± ¡ª He stated slowly. ¡ª ¡°I suggest focusing your efforts on the mission at hand.¡±

    ¡°Sigh, we are coming...¡± ¡ª ¡®Both of us stated at the same time.¡¯

    ~oOo~

    ¡®A few minutes later, we entered the smaller transporter ship that would directly take us to our goal.¡¯

    ¡®I took my seat on the bridge with Jack and another weequay man that I didn¡¯t recognize sitting before the control panels.¡¯

    ¡®The spacecraft soon ignited its engine, and we left the hangar, entering into raw space. It was this time, when I finally saw the place where I had stayed until now.¡¯

    ¡®It was a very old medical space station. Half of it was practically missing, destroyed in a fierce space combat, no doubt.¡¯

    ¡®The pirates found it and most likely managed to repair the part that was not that damaged. It was surprising that they actually succeeded in doing this. The only thing that was more surprising was the fact it was still working, and useable...¡¯

    ¡®The base of the station is ancient... There are new parts and even whole sections that were obviously added to it later. The thing doesn¡¯t even have its own engine. There is another ship attached to it, and that is the one they used to tow it away when they want to change location.¡¯

    ¡®It¡¯s pretty intuitive, even if it isn¡¯t practical. Since it clearly can¡¯t travel in hyperspace. Most likely, they didn¡¯t really use this method to travel long distances, maybe just to avoid crashing into anything accidentally.¡¯

    ¡®Well, the whole thing looks like a pile of scrap that is held together by glue. Yet, I have to agree, it has its own special charm after you manage to get used to the stale air. The constant alcohol and cigarette smell and smoke. Oh, did I mention the guy that always tries to sell you death sticks at the door of the cantina?¡¯

    ¡®It is amusing to see that the drug dealers of each era still manage to cook up more and more sickening types of fucked up shit in their laboratories. What is more amusing, though, is the fact that they didn¡¯t even try to hide what they sell anymore.¡¯

    ¡®They call it a fucking death stick... People still buy it, and they die after about half a year of active use. I saw some of these guys go out in the gutter on Ryloth. They basically shit and vomit themselves to a bloody death.¡¯

    ¡®This is a highly addictive drug. It usually makes you addicted after about 10 doses. Without a high priced medical treatment that cleanses the material from your body, it would cause intense pain if you don¡¯t get your next dose in a day. Most people who use such a kind of psychoactive drug don¡¯t have the mental fortitude or wealth to fall back on.¡¯

    ¡®Therefore, they will buy another death stick, which is a cheap drug, since it comes in a case that holds about 10 doses of it. It is a death trap, you see. Each dose will relax your pain, but with each dose, the time before you need to use another dose of it shortens, and the pain that you will have to endure, if you fail to consume it, will only grow. Until that moment when you will have to consume it every hour, eventually leading you to overdose, or you run out of money and the intense side effects kill you.¡¯

    ¡°Yeah, it is quite charming.¡± ¡ª ¡®I mumbled to myself.¡¯

    ¡°What is charming, sweety? Are you trying to relive my little reward for beating me in that silly game?¡±

    ¡®I looked up as the red-skinned twi¡¯lek woman walked into the room. She was in the same type of clothes that I am. I saw in the background that another twi¡¯lek was following her. It was the gray-skinned man I saw back on the space-station. He was also clothed in the same type of noble clothes. What is the meaning of this?¡¯

    ¡°Why are you clothed in the same way as I am? Oh, and you should be ashamed of kissing someone out of nowhere just to... run away a few seconds later...¡±

    ¡®She looked over my body with a humorous expression.¡¯

    ¡°If I didn¡¯t know as a fact that you are a little whelp, I would think that you expected something more?¡±

    ¡®Oh shit, I felt as my face began to turn red... My leks were on fire, goddamn it.¡¯

    ¡®She smirked at my expression.¡¯

    ¡°Kids nowadays grow up quickly. It seems the jedi are no exception.¡±

    ¡®I could hear a few rude smirks coming from the other pirates standing or sitting nearby.¡¯

    ¡°Sh-sh-shut up!¡± ¡ª ¡®I squeaked out thanks to my increasing embarrassment.¡¯

    ¡®That only served as fuel for the laughter.¡¯

    ¡°Ugh... Damn you... Who are you anyway? You didn¡¯t even tell me your na-... ueh?¡±

    ¡®She caught my face again in much the same manner as before...¡¯

    ¡°What a bad child. Is that any way to talk to your mother?¡± ¡ª ¡®My eyes widened in confusion. What the hell was she talking about? But I shook my head, trying to get free from her grasp as quickly as possible. Everyone seemed to be a lunatic around here...¡¯ ¡ª ¡°Now, that¡¯s better. I forgive you this time.¡± ¡ª ¡®She said while releasing me with a smile...¡¯

    ¡°For the time of this mission, you will call me mother.¡± ¡ª ¡®She stated once again, making me froze on the spot.¡¯

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    ¡°Oh yes, and you will call this gray bastard standing behind me, father, too. Is that clear?¡± ¡ª ¡®She added, while eying me expectantly. A few awkward seconds passed before I asked her tentatively.¡¯

    ¡°.... Did you¡­ overdose on death sticks or what?¡±

    ¡®I am not even surprised anymore. I bet if I stayed with these idiots for a few more weeks, I myself would think that the sky is red and the space is pink... is this the time when the Believers of a Flat Universe march in and begin a seance?¡¯

    ¡®Ups, I guess I should have shut my mouth... She looks kind of angry...¡¯

    ¡°Bad girl, for the sake of the mission, I will overlook your rudeness one last time. If you continue to talk back, I will teach you a lesson about respecting your parents. So what do you say?¡± ¡ª ¡®She demanded, and I decided to play along with it.¡¯

    ¡°.... Sorry?¡±

    ¡°Sorry mother.¡± ¡ª She corrected.

    ¡°Sorry mother?¡±

    ¡°Much better.¡± ¡ª The woman added, satisfied with the outcome.

    ¡®Now, she was petting my head.... Okay, maybe this wasn¡¯t the best idea after all. In retrospect, I should have tried to run away while I had the chance...¡¯

    ¡°Come on dear, let the girl off the hook... She is confused.¡± ¡ª ¡®Oh, dad came to join the party... Is he another lunatic? I guess I will figure it out soon.¡¯

    ¡°Dear... she has to learn her place. It is a must for the mission to go well.¡± ¡ª ¡®Mother stated calmly.¡¯

    ¡°Of course, but you forgot to tell her that we will only act as such to make it more believable. After all, who would send their little daughter to buy spice and slaves alone?¡± ¡ª ¡®The man explained, and I finally caught on.¡¯

    ¡°Oh, did I forget to mention such an insignificant detail? He-he... I am so clumsy...¡± ¡ª ¡®The woman stated, clearly enjoying my reactions.¡¯

    ¡®I relaxed with relief, realising that they were only pulling my leg. I turned to her with a frown and said sarcastically.¡¯

    ¡°Yes, you have¡­¡± ¡ª She raised her finger threateningly, and I added with an eye-roll. ¡ª ¡°¡­mother.¡±

    ¡®The man seemed to catch my angered glance that I sent towards them. As a reaction, he caressed the woman¡¯s lekku while saying this, almost purring into her ear protrusion.¡¯

    ¡°Maybe we should turn this opportunity into a more educational type of lecture. We should show our little kitten what happens to particularly bad girls.¡±

    ¡®I had enough of these two idiots teasing me. I took out my lightsaber from my shoulder bag, playing with it carelessly in front of their watchful eyes, then I placed it back into my bag. I watched their faces turn a few shades paler, but they hid it almost immediately. I guess they got the message, anyway.¡¯

    ¡°My dear,¡± ¡ª ¡®Began the gray-skinned man.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°I guess we took that joke a little too far.¡±

    ¡°Indeed.¡± ¡ª ¡®Said the red woman, giving me an innocent, almost childish smile.¡¯

    ¡®I nodded towards them.¡¯

    ¡°Apology accepted.¡± ¡ª ¡®I told them solemnly.¡¯

    That was the moment when Hondo appeared on the holo communicator built into the control panel of the ship.

    ¡°Oh, I see that you have already met. What a wonderful sight. You look like the perfect family. Even your skin color matches. Nizzal, these two are called Seldibo, and Ayelfita. I ordered them to act as your parents for the mission, be a good kid and listen to them. After all, it is not every day you get adopted.¡±

    ¡°Not for you maybe...¡± ¡ª ¡®I mumbled silently, remembering my recent tumble with the jedi.¡¯

    ¡®To that, Hondo raised one of his brows in confusion, before choosing to ignore the remark altogether.¡¯

    ¡°Anyway, send a message once you verify that they indeed brought the goods. We will launch an attack immediately.¡±

    ¡°Okay, boss.¡± ¡ª Said the pair of weirdo twi¡¯leks.

    ¡®Well, I guess it is time for revenge. I walked behind the man, who was called Seldibo? Yeah, that was it. I grabbed onto his right arm with both of my hands. I felt as he froze for a moment and looked at his arm, more specifically, at the thing that was attached to it. His face seemed to be genuinely surprised by this outcome.¡¯

    ¡®Our eyes met. I suppressed my evil smile and said it with the most childish voice I could create.¡¯

    ¡°Daddy!¡±

    ¡®I felt as the man¡¯s arm shook momentarily. His face was cringing hard. Meanwhile, in the force, there was a sense of surprise, panic, horror, embarrassment and awkwardness appearing in this exact order.¡¯

    ¡®The woman called Ayelfita also turned towards us, hearing my sudden childish exclamation. She seemed to quickly realize what was going on, and she began to laugh at Seldibo¡¯s current expression.¡¯

    ¡®This was how I joined the lunatic duo, unintentionally making it into a trio. ¡®

 28. Chapter

    ¡®About half an hour later, we have reached the coordinates for the exchange. There was a ship already waiting for our arrival. Our ship slowly encroached towards the much larger ship that was waiting silently, the vast space surrounding it.¡¯

    ¡®We tried to open communication with the ship, but we failed.¡¯

    ¡®Ayelfita was deeply frowning at this moment. The others didn¡¯t have better expressions either.¡¯

    ¡®Suddenly, Ayelfita asked Seldibo to try again with the communication for the third time in a row.¡¯

    ¡°Try it again. I can¡¯t believe that their communication device is out of order. They can¡¯t be that stupid to come to meet with business partners without a communication device...¡± ¡ª The woman joked trying to lighten the mood, but her posture was stiff just as the rest of the crew¡¯s.

    ¡°I find it hard to believe too, but maybe they just left the bridge for some reason.¡± ¡ª Answered Seldibo hesitantly.

    ¡°They knew that we were coming to meet with them. They can¡¯t be that stupid.¡± ¡ª Reacted Ayelfita.

    ¡°So what will we do now?¡± ¡ª ¡®Asked another weequay that I didn¡¯t know personally.¡¯

    ¡°We will board the ship, obviously.¡± ¡ª Said Ayelfita in a tone that left no place for objection.

    ¡®In the meantime, I reached out with the force, searching for possible dangers. Strangely, I felt nothing, only silence, but this silence was too eery, even abnormal. There was something clearly wrong here, a danger that could hide from my senses.¡¯

    ¡®Aside from that, I couldn¡¯t sense a single living being on that ship. Wait... Not a single living being?¡¯

    ¡®While I was lost in my thoughts, the others were about to begin the boarding process.¡¯

    ¡®As we got closer, I could sense something even more alarming. There was a carefully hidden miasma lingering around the ship.¡¯

    ¡®When we closed the distance, I finally sensed it.¡¯

    ¡®Along with a series of pictures¡­ a bloodbath, corridors painted in crimson, disembodied body parts spread out in a blood freezing manner, screams filled with terror and¡­ and death.¡¯

    ¡®I was not ready for such an intense force revelation.¡¯

    ¡®The terror and fear of the people. The hopeless cries of children, women and men flowing into a single terrifying amalgamation of suffering¡­ before the final¡­ suffocating silence.¡¯

    ¡®I was unprepared to feel such terror, and such darkness, so suddenly. Therefore, I was momentarily swallowed by this vortex of blinding terror.¡¯

    ¡®A few seconds passed when I finally managed to pull away from this dark void. I opened my eyes as I felt a sudden thirst for air. I began to breathe, feeling strangely out of breath...¡¯

    ¡°What happened?¡± ¡ª ¡®I asked as I looked around the bridge. Everyone seemed to be unnaturally tense, and they were aiming their weapons at me.¡¯

    ¡®Ayelfita looked me in the eye, then she sighed... She waved to the others to lower their weapons. The pirates hesitantly followed the order after a few seconds. Then she marched towards me with the zeal of an angered mother wookiee.¡¯

    ¡°The fuck you mean by what happened? If someone is allowed to ask that question, that someone is me! So tell me what happened that made you start screaming like a banshee out of nowhere?!¡±

    ¡®I blinked.¡¯

    ¡°Did I scream?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡ª ¡®Said practically every pirate in the room. Oh, and there were quite many right now, as many more ran to this location because of my presumed screaming.¡¯

    ¡®Then the force vision I just saw came to my mind...¡¯

    ¡®It was much more drowsy now, as if something wanted to erase it to make me forget... no... that is exactly what was happening!¡¯

    ¡®My eyes widened as the cruel realization hit me. This, this is a darkside technique, a very powerful one, much more powerful than the weakened version that was used on the Jedi Temple.¡¯

    ¡®The dead bodies, clearly butchered by lightsabers, blinked into my eyes as I sprang into action, surprising the surrounding pirates.¡¯

    ¡®I sensed that more than one blaster gun was pointed towards my undefended back at the moment, but I didn¡¯t care. I ran to the control panel and looked around in a panic. Luckily, the ship had standard controls, so I recognized most of it easily. I pushed a few buttons, setting the ship in reverse, then reached for the right lever and pushed the speed control lever to maximum acceleration.¡¯

    ¡®I felt a hand grab my shoulder than Ayelfita forcefully pulled me from the controls, even more so, as the sudden quickening made her stumble backwards pulling me into a bearhug that soon ended with me pushed face first into the floor while she was holding my arms behind my back quite painfully.¡¯

    ¡°What the hack is wrong with you!?¡± ¡ª She screamed. ¡ª ¡°Why would you try to run away now, after we gave you all those chances in the space station? Did you hit your head since we came here? This is why I hate children!¡±

    ¡®She was practically shouting into my ear protrusions and for my enchanted senses, that was unfortunate. She then turned away from me and continued her shouting. Also, those chances she mentioned were clearly traps to make me try to run away... I could see through it from a mile away...¡¯

    ¡°Seldibo, get to the controls and go back to the ship! We have to board it!¡±

    ¡°Okay dear I am...¡± ¡ª ¡®The man began his answer but is cut it short.¡¯

    ¡°NO!¡± ¡ª ¡®I shouted.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°We can¡¯t go back, it is a trap! Everyone is dead!¡±

    ¡®There were a few tense seconds after that, and I felt a cold blaster gun barrel touching the backside of my head right between my two lekku. I shook from the terrible feeling like a dry fig.¡¯

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    ¡°Good, I see that you still fear for your life. That means you didn¡¯t completely go crazy, did you?¡± ¡ª The red woman asked in a no nonsense tone.

    ¡°N-N-no...¡±

    ¡°Splendid, since I don¡¯t like killing children, and you were quite co-operating until now. I will ask it only once, why do you think that it is a trap, and everyone is dead on that ship? Did you know something that I did not? Maybe that is the reason why you were so calm in our custody. Usually people are not half as relaxed, or even grateful, to be kidnapped as you were, sweety.¡±

    ¡°W-well... I saw a force vision... I saw the people, the twi¡¯leks... even the children. They were massacred.¡±

    ¡®I felt as though the weapon barrel that was being pushed to my head relaxed a bit, but it was still pointing to my head non-the less.¡¯

    ¡°Hmmm... your jedi powers have been verified already. Yet I find it hard to believe in some so-called visions... Lifting up things without touching it is already strange. Now you are claiming to see the past? What next? Will you blow up a whole planet with a few waves of your hands?¡±

    ¡°Ugh... only if you know...¡±

    ¡°What did you say?¡± ¡ª She demanded.

    ¡°No-nothing...¡±

    ¡®It was at this time the other twi¡¯lek interrupted us, and I was glad for it.¡¯

    ¡°Ayel, my love, should we go back to the ship, then, or what? We are quite far already...¡±

    ¡°Wait a minute. I am still talking with...¡± ¡ª ¡®She began her answer when suddenly our ship started shaking violently.¡¯

    ¡®Each of the pirates that were standing and not sitting in a seat fell to the floor. Luckily, I was already on the floor, so I was saved from new bruises. I still didn¡¯t completely heal from my injuries from that battle. I couldn¡¯t use force heal all the time, and the pirates didn¡¯t have a fresh bacta supply to fill a full body healing tube. Even if they had, they wouldn¡¯t use it on me...¡®

    ¡°What was that?¡± ¡ª Shouted someone from the pirates, as the ship began to stabilize and the lights turned on again.

    ¡°The ship we were about to board just blew up.¡± ¡ª ¡®Said Seldiba, with shocked realization.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°If we did board it, then now we had been turned into stardust... The girl saved our asses...¡±

    ¡®There were many surprised, thankful and even fearful glances sent towards me, who was still being pushed to the ground by a shocked Ayelfita... She soon caught on, too, and finally pulled away the gun from my head. It was a genuine relief. I was clearly too young to die...¡¯

    ¡®I felt as she pulled me up from the ground and she shamelessly hugged me and kissed me on my forehead at least three times in a row.¡¯

    ¡°That is my little kitten. I believed in you from the very beginning. Seldiba!¡±

    ¡°What is it, my love?¡±

    ¡°I have decided we will seriously adopt her. She is our lucky star! And since she is big enough, you don¡¯t have to worry about her crying all night!¡±

    ¡°Hmmm... If that is what you want, I agree.¡±

    ¡°Good. We will tell it to Hondo when we get back to the space station!¡±

    He agreed silently.

    ¡°What if I don¡¯t want to be adopted!?¡± ¡ª ¡®I asked reluctantly. While wondering what was wrong with this galaxy?¡¯

    ¡°Sssshhhh... Just shut up. You are a kid. You obviously don¡¯t know what is good for you. Have some faith in your parents. We just want to guide you into a better future.¡± ¡ª ¡®The woman said, having a hard time to stay serious while spouting so much nonsense.¡¯

    ¡°But..¡±

    ¡®She narrowed her eyes dangerously... I gulped... I wasn¡¯t really afraid of her... I had my lightsaber on me after all... I reached towards my blade just for reassurance...¡¯

    ¡®It was missing... I checked it again... Still missing...¡¯

    ¡®I looked up to Ayelfita questioningly... Oh damn, she has it on her belt... I should have known.. She must have taken it out of my bag while she pushed me to the ground. Her mood seemed to deteriorate while she watched me looking for my... weapon...¡¯

    ¡°Bad-bad girl... You should not let my praise go to your head. You tried to defy your mother, so brazenly, in front of everyone. No lightsaber for you, for an entire week!¡±

    ¡°But!?¡±

    ¡°Silence, before I make that into two! Go to your room and think over your actions, young lady.¡± ¡ª ¡®She stated it with so much emotion that I actually turned around and took a step towards the corridor before I realized something.¡¯

    ¡®I swirled around, infuriated by being played so easily.¡¯

    ¡°I don¡¯t even have a room!¡±

    ¡°Well, then wait until we reach the space station. Now, sit down and be silent while I call Hondo, and tell him what happened.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡± ¡ª ¡®I wanted to protest realizing that it wasn¡¯t even the main issue that I didn¡¯t have a room, but she was not my mother to begin with. It was supposed to be an act which has no meaning anymore¡­ so she should have stopped bossing me around¡­¡¯

    ¡®I watched as she walked away towards the holo communicator.¡¯

    ¡®I was still standing in the same place, feeling shell-shocked, with a somewhat slack jaw... Seeing the woman¡¯s impudence and shamelessness.¡¯

    ¡®I felt strange, and I mean awkwardly strange... As if I was actually just scolded by my mother a few minutes ago.¡¯

    ¡®It was a really weird feeling, as if my current body and mind needed it, to be scolded and sheltered by a parent figure, as if I was wishing for this my whole life. Yet on the other hand, the memories I inherited were screaming at me that this was so awkward and creepy that nothing good could come out of it ever, and that I should run away as fast as possible.¡¯

    ¡®It was a good feeling and a terribly uncomfortable one, too. In truth, I was confused, even when she held the gun to my head. I didn¡¯t feel her will to actually kill me. None the less, it was still damn scary to physically feel a gun barrel touching my skin and pointing towards my brain.¡¯

    ¡®In the end, I decided to close my mouth, walk to an empty seat in a dark corner of the bridge, and sit down. This woman had the aura of a mother wookiee indeed.¡¯

    ¡®It¡¯s not like I can¡¯t take my lightsaber from her. But I was still injured, and I didn¡¯t want to fight with these pirates. They saved my life, and in the end, if you could speak in their language, they were not that bad. I mean, they are killers and scum, but they still have their own honor. You can find much worse criminals in the galaxy, and you don¡¯t even have to search for long.¡¯

    ¡®I will also tell you a secret, that time when I told the Jedi Council and Obi-Wan that I favor fighting with in one hand a lightsaber, while with the other using force powers.¡¯

    ¡®Well, you see, it was not completely true. Only partly.¡¯

    ¡®My childish body can¡¯t channel the force as freely as an adult body would. Therefore, out of necessity, this is indeed my favored fighting style right now.¡¯

    ¡®Then what is my normal battle style, you may ask? It is very straightforward, I assure you. I simply use the force with my favorite move. It is called force crush.¡¯

    ¡®To use it, you either have to have an incredible amount of raw force power, or just as incredibly fine control over your force abilities.¡¯

    ¡®Or both, like Revan had. I smirked at the thought. Yet again, you should not envy someone who had a giant nose that was so big that when he stood under the shower, it practically functioned as an umbrella.¡¯

    ¡®I snorted silently.¡¯

    ¡®I have to agree with the old sith saying... The dark side of the force is indeed a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural.¡¯

    ¡®Anyway, force crush was a powerful technique that immobilises and one shots people without powerful enough force shields. I usually use it in a simple but effective way.¡¯

    ¡®I pick up my enemy with the force, effectively paralyzing its movements and stopping it from retaliating. Then I crush their hearth, quite literally, mind you.¡¯

    ¡®You can crush their whole body too, but there is no reason to do that, too tiring and you will drain yourself quickly... Sadly, against, well-designed droids, like my nemesis, you had no other choice than crashing the whole.¡¯

    ¡®The only weakness of the technique is that you can¡¯t focus on anything else while doing it.¡¯

    ¡®That means you will be a sitting duck for the next five to ten seconds. Depending on the resistance your victim throws against you. This is why I never use it in open battle... I would be killed by a sniper immediately...¡¯

    ¡®I nodded to my internal conclusion as Claire sat down by my side, already asking me a plethora of questions. She wasn¡¯t in the room when the whole situation happened... I sighed... Well, time to entertain her curiosity... I guess...¡¯

 29. Chapter

    ¡®I told the newest developments to Claire, who was clearly shocked and also very thankful for my quick thinking. She even gave me a big hug to express her feelings. Well, I didn¡¯t expect less. After all, saving someone¡¯s life was a kind of big deal, even if my life also depended on it.¡¯

    ¡®We were heading towards the space station. It was still a long way to go.¡¯

    ¡®Few minutes ago, me and Claire became aware of a growing commotion around us on the bridge... Something was clearly not right. We decided to look for Ayelfita and ask what was currently happening.¡¯

    ¡®I soon found her in front of the holo communicator. She seemed to be very troubled at the moment. As we approached her, she also realized our sudden arrival. There were no more signs of her previous sarcastic mood. Claire also seemed to sense the unusually tense atmosphere, yet she still decided to ask.¡¯

    ¡°Ayel, could you tell us what is going on? Everyone seems to grow more and more stressed by the seconds.¡±

    ¡°Sigh, well, there is no reason to hide it, for one reason or the other, we are unable to communicate with the station... Taking into consideration our memorable encounter just a few minutes ago, I am quite sure that they are in the middle of a battle.¡±

    Seldibo joined the conversation, choosing that exact moment.

    ¡°Yeah, the only question is, who is the enemy that decided to attack us? We are trying to decide what we should do at the moment. If we go back to base, there is a possibility that we enter into a battle that we could not win. On the other hand, the enemy most likely thinks that we perished in that explosion.¡±

    ¡°Which means¡­¡± ¡ª Continued Ayelfita. ¡ª ¡°that we will have a chance to take them off guard, and maybe we can make some credits, and if we even save Hondo, he will surely reward us for our actions.¡±

    ¡°Yes, my dear, you are right, but I think I had to remind you about those supposedly massacred people on that ship. I know that we don¡¯t have any actual evidence that it has happened except the girl¡¯s words for it, but I think we should give her the benefit of the doubt since she just saved our lives.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I suppose. That is indeed a good argument.¡±

    ¡°So what now?¡° ¡ª ¡®I asked, growing tired from their continuous banter.¡¯

    ¡°I guess we should go back, at least into radar distance. If there is something off, we will simply jump away. We should not enter into a space battle with this ship. There is not even a proper weapon system on this trashy ship.¡± ¡ª Stated Claire.

    ¡°Than it is decided. Continue back towards the space station.¡± ¡ª Said Ayelfita with finality.

    ¡®The nearby pirates nodded, just like Seldibo did. Meanwhile, I still had a bad feeling about this.¡¯

    ¡®In the end, I decided to not say anything else. Nothing was certain yet, and it looked like a solid plan. I didn¡¯t feel any obvious threat, but I just knew that something was wrong with this whole situation, and I didn¡¯t like it.¡¯

    ~oOo~

    ¡®Half an hour later, we reached the place where the pirate space station was located. Of course, we didn¡¯t park next to it. We carefully circled around the station in a long distance, searching for any sign of an ongoing battle. Our suspicions soon turned into reality. There was a lot of new debris flying around in randomised directions. There was a battle here, a very fast and vicious one of that.¡¯

    ¡®I watched as Seldibo¡¯s forehead started to sweat profusely. There was a terror in the air, as we soon realized that the debris was from the space station we were meant to go back to. It was entirely destroyed... We could only hope that some of the people were able to escape in time.¡¯

    ¡°What could have done this in less than an hour of time?¡± ¡ª Asked an unknown pirate standing somewhere nearby.

    ¡®I personally was too focused on searching the debris for any potential survivor or a clue explaining what happened here to care about that question. It was clear to me that someone had planned for our demise. What I was not certain of was the reason behind it.¡¯

    ¡®If I followed my instincts, I would suspect that the culprit was the same assassin that attacked me previously. She most likely called for reinforcement, too... Yet if that was the case, then why did she decide to kill me? She seemed to be adamant on capturing me alive before... Maybe she thinks that it¡¯s too risky... But after the life siphon I attached to her body, considering how much I healed from stealing her life energy, she should be in a weakened state right now... If that is true, then who is the cause of the destruction of this pirate base?¡¯

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    ''Suddenly, there was a flaring alarm on the control panels and monitors of the ship.

    ¡°What is it now!?¡± ¡ª Shouted Ayel. Clearly frustrated by the sudden noise.

    ¡°There is a squadron of unidentified predictively hostile starfighters coming towards our direction.¡± ¡ª Shouted someone in the momentary confusion.

    ¡°Well, it seems that it is time to rescue our own asses. Instead of saving Hondo¡¯s, he must have been able to escape in time, anyway. If not, then it was time for a change in leadership, I suppose.¡± ¡ª Said Ayelfita.

    ¡°Yes, it is time to go. Seldibo and Claire were nodding furiously, to that proposal.¡±

    ¡°Ejj, Jedi, why did you not sense these guys before they began their attack?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, something is wrong about this situation... I am not sure what, but I sense a disturbance... There is a warning, but clouded, my senses are weakened... from an outside interference.¡±

    ¡°Well, maybe it is warning you about the starfighters that are gaining on us with every second. They seem to be adamant on blasting us apart.¡±

    ¡°No, there is something else, under the surface of this attack, that I am not able to see. It keeps disappearing every time I try to focus on its presence. I think we should escape as fast as possible.¡±

    ¡°Well, be my guest. I was just about to do that exact thing. Activate Hyper-drive in three, two, one, now!¡± ¡ª Commanded Seldibo.

    In response, there was only silence. We waited for a few more seconds, but the ship didn¡¯t move.

    ¡°What are you doing, idiots? I said activate hyper-drive, now!¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t. It doesn¡¯t work... there are numerous errors. The explosion before, it must have had some level of EMP effects... More than a few of the energy cells are damaged. It is a minor problem, but it takes a long time to replace them... We don¡¯t have enough time...¡±

    ¡°Then what should we do? We can¡¯t fight them off with this unarmoured transport ship!¡±

    ¡®There was no answer to the troubled question of that weequay... I think I saw him before, but I find it hard to differentiate them... I mean, Claire and Hondo are kind of easy, since both of them are wearing one-of-a-kind unique gear. Hondo has his red long coat, while Claire wears a bright blue T-shirt and a red bandana over her head...¡¯

    ¡®She also has a single braid in her hair instead of the multiple ones that the other weequays seem to prefer. What I mean to tell you is that she stands out from the crowd... but the others seem to have less unique outwear. Of course, they are not the same. Everyone here basically wears a different gear, but their faces are not that different from my perspective... I of course asked most of their names... Which I almost immediately forgot, but even when I remember it I can¡¯t connect it to any face... Ugh...¡¯

    While I was thinking about questionable fashion choices, Seldibo seemed to take over the conversation...

    ¡°I have an idea...¡± ¡ª Seldibo looked over at the enemy ships. ¡ª ¡°Each of the three fighter ships are old models and pretty run down... I think that they are mercenaries. Because of the transport ship we are currently in, I don¡¯t think they know that we are actually pirates.¡±

    ¡°Yes, but what good would that do for us?¡± ¡ª Questioned the same weequay who asked the other question a few seconds ago.

    Seldibo gave him an evil smile.

    ¡°We will let them board the ship, act as if we are simple lost merchants, while most of the crew hides in the ventilation system. Then, when they least expect it, you come out and give them a big surprise. How about that?¡±

    ¡®There were exactly ten members of the pirate crew here. Seldibo, and Ayelfita will play the part of the rich merchants, while I will play the part of their daughter, since we are already dressed up for the act.¡¯

    ¡®Claire will be our bodyguard, so she will also remain on the bridge... The others have hastily run away and began to climb down into the unusually large ventilation system. It was purposefully made that way to make smuggling easier, so the six other weequays could easily hide in there. Oh, I realized that Jack was also on the ship, but I didn¡¯t see him the whole time... He must have been pretty occupied with something...¡¯

    ¡®A few minutes went by. This much time should have been enough to climb down to the ventilation system at least three times. Oh, there it was. Finally, the central holo communicator signaled for an incoming call.¡¯

    ¡®As Seldibo activated the channel, a trandoshan appeared before us as a hologram.¡¯

    ¡°My name is Seldibo. I am the captain of this meager merchant ship. I don¡¯t have much value with me, but I will happily give it to you if you let me and my family go without harm...¡±

    ¡°Silenceee... stupid prey... you are not in a position to make any demands here. You will follow us to our command ship, or my friends will simply blast you apart. Were you able to comprehend my words with your retarded brain tails?¡±

    ¡°Oh yes, my lord, please have mercy. At least let my family go; my little girl is so young she needs her mother...¡±

    ¡°Ohhh... We will release them, have no fear, ke-ke-kekeke...¡±

    The connection ended abruptly...

    ¡®I couldn¡¯t help but praise Seldibo¡¯s acting skills. They were quite good.¡¯

    ¡°That was a nice act... I have to say...¡±

    ¡®He smiled at me. Then turned the ship around and began to follow the mercenary ship. While the other two were positioned behind us, in a way that they could open fire at any moment.¡¯

    ¡°So, what is your plan now? If I am not wrong, we will be outnumbered back on their command ship...¡±

    ¡°And how do you know that? Those fighter ships are single pilot ships. That means they have, at the minimum, three people plus one at their mother-ship. They don¡¯t expect a fight, just a fearful family of lowly merchants... That means we will catch them off guard.¡±

    ¡°Everything depends on the size of their command ship.¡± ¡ª Added Ayelfita.

    ¡°Let¡¯s wait and see then.¡± ¡ª I finished the conversation.

 30. Chapter

    ¡®We have been following them for about an hour, when we finally had the chance to see their main ship... It was quite big... but it was also a transport ship with a small hangar... It had at least four rotatable turbo laser turrets. Their ship seemed to be heavily modified and well armoured too...¡¯

    ¡°That is not what I hoped for.¡± ¡ª Said Seldibo...

    ¡°Definitely not...¡± ¡ª Agreed Ayel with a clearly troubled expression...

    Seldibo activated his wrist communicator and called the others, who were still hiding.

    ¡°Guys, come out. It is time for the ¡°B¡± plan.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± ¡ª Came the answer immediately, and that was all they spoke.

    ¡°Uhm... may I ask, what is plan ¡°B¡± exactly?¡± ¡ª ¡®I questioned him, knowing nothing about a plan ¡°B¡±.¡¯

    Claire placed her hand on my head and smiled weakly.

    Ayelfita also turned towards me. She looked into my eyes and smiled.

    ¡°You have a rare pair of eyes, such a lively pink color, even for a twi¡¯lek it is a rare one. Take this, you will need it soon.¡±

    ¡®She gave me back my lightsaber... Oh, I see...¡¯

    ¡°Okay, we are in their tracking beam now... I don¡¯t have to control the ship anymore.¡± ¡ª Reported Seldibo, while standing up from the controls.

    ¡®I saw Jack coming in through the door behind us. He was in full gear equipped with a short range automata laser gun.¡¯

    ¡°Come on guys, it is time for us to shine. Get your gear in tune!¡± ¡ª ¡®He shouted at us, while giving Claire and me a happy wink.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°Since when did the Ohnaka Gang start to get boarded by enemies? We are the ones who used to do that, ain¡¯t that right!?¡±

    ¡°Yeah!¡± ¡ª Shouted a few pirates nearby.

    ¡°Get to the ramp, we will wait for them there, we have to run out of the ship and take defensive position as fast as possible. I don¡¯t want to die because this unarmoured piece of trash blows up under my ass!¡± ¡ª Shouted Jack to the others, and we moved to the ramp as fast as possible.

    ¡®Jack and Seldibo crouched down beside each other in the corridor as the first line.¡¯

    ¡®The corridor was narrow, and only two adults were able to stand side by side. Me, Ayelfita and another weequay were in the second line. We stood tall. This way, we were able to fire over the boys¡¯ heads. Well, I don¡¯t really have a handgun, but the others did.¡¯

    ¡®Soon, the ramp began to open, as someone clearly opened it with the help of a droid from the other side. Everyone was tense and silent. I could only hear the quickening breathing of the surrounding people. I was not much of an exception, either. However, my training made it so, that it didn¡¯t really appear in my body language that clearly. Yet I felt my heart throbbing in my throat, just the same.¡¯

    ¡®As the door continued to open, the mechanical white light of the hangar began to make its way into the dark corridor. It blinded us for a second, but I could still feel the presence of the three creatures standing outside. We were able to hear them speaking with each other, clearly oblivious to our presence.¡¯

    ¡°Kill the man, immediately. He seems to be a coward, and I don¡¯t like his face...¡±

    ¡°Yesss... What about the female?¡±

    ¡°Well, if she is pretty, I may have a closer look... kekekee...¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes! But what about the kid?¡±

    ¡°Hmmm... Kill his father in front of her. Then we will take her to the hunt with the other one. That should be enough motivation to make her into... kssss... worthy prey... And if not, well, I will have a new trophy.¡±

    ¡®All of them began to laugh at that... But their laughter was cut short, as the ramp lowered and Ayel got a vision of them: there were three red laser beams fired in quick succession. Each one was right on target, melting the faces of the still laughing trandoshans into a bloody paste.¡¯

    ¡®They died just like that. Never even knowing what hit them.¡¯

    ¡®All of us began to run down the ramp and out of our ship. We ducked behind a few crates but they were not really suitable as a real cover... Sadly, there was nothing else to use in this place except the now empty fighter ships, and they could blow up just as easily us our ship.¡¯

    ¡®The three shots that were fired didn¡¯t go unnoticed. Soon more trandoshans began to arrive at the hangar. This time they were not laughing, more like hissing with rage as they realized their position as hunters had been compromised.¡¯

    ¡®I was crouching behind the crates in the middle of our pirate group, continuously firing at the trandoshans. I just confiscated a blaster from the previously killed trio, not that they will have much use for it anymore.¡¯

    ¡®I already managed to kill a lizard with it. The fool took an unlucky shot to its face and stopped twitching. These bastards¡¯ skins were naturally resistant to plasma, at least to a degree... Which left their face as their only weak spot. Especially because they didn¡¯t bother to wear helmets, since the helmet would weaken their naturally evolved sense of smell and hearing.¡¯

    ¡®The surrounding pirates were basically shouting and cursing at them continuously since we left the ship, and I mean, every one of them, even Claire...¡¯

    ¡®Oh hell, she had a nasty mouth for sure... We were kind of lucky, with our meager cover, because the enemy didn¡¯t have any at all. Their numbers, on the other hand, kept growing...¡¯

    ¡®But the pirates¡¯ morale was high, as we had killed at least five of them, while we didn¡¯t suffer any losses yet. Something that was about to change fast.¡¯

    ¡®I could see that we were about to be overrun by the enemy. They already encircled us as some of them were running on four legs with an increased speed, getting into key positions that allowed them to flank us.¡¯

    ¡®Just then, two laser beams hit a weequay beside me in the chest. He immediately dropped lifelessly on the floor... One of the trandoshans jumped over the crates biting into the neck of a female weequay, while Jack jumped on the trandoshan¡¯s, back, grabbing its neck from behind stabbing his knife into the lizards face that was forced to release the unlucky woman... Sadly, she would likely bleed to death with such a wound, anyway...¡¯

    ¡®Three shots hit another weequay man, this time in the back, as the ones that ran by began to shoot at us... I saw as more trandoshans arrived into the battle through the hangar door... If this goes on, we will die in a minute... Our formation was at this moment practically nonexistent. Everyone was shooting around while cursing continuously. This battle was unfocused and chaotic. I was really missing the clones right now... We could stand our ground easily, with clones...¡¯

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    ¡®I shot down another lizard when I saw Jack get hit on his shoulder, finally falling off the back of that raging trandoshan... As it was released and blinded by pain, it threw himself on the first moving thing, and that thing was unfortunately Claire, who immediately started to run towards Jack... When she saw him getting hit.¡¯

    ¡®As that crazed animal fell on her, it bit into her hand and clawed into her back simultaneously. I heard her painful cry, and for a second I forgot about the risks, the fear of getting hit by a stray laser and losing the memories that so many masters over so many years built up with the utmost care...¡¯

    ¡®I simply stopped thinking about that... My senses expanded and the world slowed down. I could feel the flow of the surrounding battle, every presence moving in a bloody whirlwind. In my suddenly heightened awareness, I accidentally let go of my blaster.¡¯

    ¡®It began to fall slowly towards the steel floor.¡¯

    ¡®I sensed as Ayelfita was hit in her leg with a blaster shot.

    ¡®I sensed as Seldibo knocked over one of the lizards that were about to jump on the kneeling Ayelfita.¡¯

    ¡®I sensed as the other two weequays were desperately trying to keep away the closing enemies.¡¯

    ¡®My dropped gun suddenly hit the floor, creating a strangely clear metallic ringing sound. That sound reminded me of a memory I tried to bury as deep as possible.¡¯

    ¡®Those very memories burst forth against my will like a broken dam flooding my senses. My master¡¯s lightsaber hitting the floor. Then another one, his master¡¯s lightsaber, and another one quickly followed until a familiar mask fell on the ground, creating the same noise over and over again...¡¯

    ¡®That infuriating sound... Stop it already! Do you hear me?! I heard a stretched-out laughter in my mind. Then a voice appeared. It was a mix of many voices... speaking at the same time...¡¯

    ¡®You are not a Jedi-di-di. You are one of us-s-s. Do not hesitate-te-te. Act like one of us-s-s.¡¯

    ¡®Do not hesitate!¡¯

    ¡®At the end of the blurry vision, I heard my voice speaking out a familiar sentence. It was a promise I made to myself after inheriting the memories...¡¯

    ¡°What good is our knowledge if no one uses it in the end?¡±

    ¡®Then I snapped back into reality.¡¯

    ¡®As I opened my eyes, I just know that there was a yellow gleam in them. I continued to draw heavily from the dark side as the quickly darkening veins began to extend over my paling skin.¡¯

    ¡®I stood up from the cover of the crates, simultaneously releasing a heavy air pressure that momentarily froze the entire battlefield.¡¯

    ¡®The lizards immediately sensed the change in the atmosphere. They knew that another predator had appeared. They were looking around, smelling the air carefully, trying to find it, but it was already too late for them.¡¯

    ¡®I raised my arms by my side as the closest seven trandoshans began to grab at their necks. They were panicking and choking on their own spit. They soon fell to their knees, struggling against the hold of invisible fingers. That was the moment when I closed my hands, creating a terrifying sound of snapping bones. Seven bodies stopped struggling and fell to the floor at the same time.¡¯

    ¡®The blood thirst that ruled the battlefield had changed. Now it turned into confusion, panic, but mostly fear.¡¯

    ¡®This frozen state was broken by an enraged trandoshan that managed to overcome his initial fear, sending a laser bolt toward me. I activated my lightsaber, blocking the shot and sending it back towards the face of the one it originated from.¡¯

    ¡®The unusually big trandoshan managed to move its head in the last second. The shot only grazed the left side of his face, leaving behind charred scales in the form of a straight, elongated scar. The particular lizardman refocused its vision on me and hissed out a single word with burning hatred.¡¯

    ¡°Jedi...¡±

    ¡®I looked into his animalistic eyes.¡¯

    ¡°You are wrong. You stand before one of the Lords of the Grey, and you will be my prey!¡±

    ¡®I sent a powerful lightning strike towards the further enraged trandoshan. The heavily compressed lightning hit him in the chest, then it immediately bolted towards the nearby lizards, cooking them partially. Many of them fell on the floor convulsing while some miraculously managed to stay on their feet, but they were still mostly paralyzed by their unwillingly convulsing muscles.¡¯

    ¡®They were already dead, even if they hadn¡¯t realized it yet.¡¯

    ¡®Knowing that my victory is at hand, I reached even deeper into the darkness, fueled by an unexplainable desire to cause them more suffering. Bringing out one of the most terrifying techniques I had access to.¡¯

    ¡®This time it was continuous red lighting that burst forth from my fingertips. It hit every remaining lizard in the room. Yet instead of quickly killing them, it attached itself to their bodies, continuously sucking out the very life from its victims.¡¯

    ¡®The lizards were screeching and wriggling, scratching the ground with their claws, blinded by their unimaginable pain.¡¯

    ¡®The strongest of them lasted about ten seconds, when its body turned into a black, unrecognisable dry husk. Some of those husks were still clawing into the floor with wide-open mouths that were howling from pain only seconds ago, but now there will be no more sound leaving those cursed throats ever again.¡¯

    ¡®The sudden silence that engulfed the hangar after the hellish screams died down left behind a suffocating aura of silence.¡¯

    ¡®As the sense of euphoria from my one sided victory passed. I felt a deep sense of emptiness. My powers were completely drained, sweat freely running down my face, as I struggled to remain on my feet.¡¯

    ¡®I couldn¡¯t show weakness, not yet, I reminded myself through my fuzzy thoughts.¡¯

    ¡®I was not alone.¡¯

    ¡®I slowly turned around and saw that the remaining pirates were looking at the massacre with shaking bodies, obvious fear, and terror mirrored in their eyes...¡¯

    ¡®Claire gave me a look of abhorrence. Jack seemed to be about ready to throw up. While the twi¡¯leks were simply frozen in place. Their usual fa?ade was nowhere to be seen. One of the weequays turned his gun towards me and shot, as his fear overruled his sanity. I raised my left palm and blocked the beam with it, completely dispersing the energy bolt a few millimetres from my open palm.¡¯

    ¡®The otherwise simple action caused me a sense of vertigo. As icy dread traversed across my completely blackened veins, draining my vitality in place of my empty force reserves.¡¯

    ¡®I should not have used that red lightning. It was completely unnecessary, only managing to turn my allies against me and burning through all my force reserves. I scolded myself internally. No matter, it was futile to ponder on the past now.¡¯

    ¡®With a sweep of my arm, I knocked out the weapon from the panicked man¡¯s hands using the force. I winced as even more coldness spread across my body.¡¯

    ¡°That was your only warning.¡± ¡ª ¡®I told him calmly.¡¯

    ¡®The guy seemed to freeze in his boots. He turned completely still and unmoving, as if he had lost consciousness. Yet his eyes were still following me.¡¯

    ¡®The first one to compose herself was Ayelfita, then Seldibo followed her example soon. They forced themselves to continue their stupid act, and I was kind of full with it already.¡¯

    ¡®Ayelfita walked towards me slowly, giving me a strained smile.¡¯

    ¡°Well, well, well... So you are really not a jedi after all...¡° ¡ª She chuckled. ¡ª ¡°I mean¡­ A jedi isn¡¯t supposed to kill like that? Is it?¡±

    ¡®At the mention of the jedi, I felt a burst of frustration, one that was long since buried inside me coming to the surface at last.¡¯

    ¡°A jedi... heh. What is the difference between killing with a lightsaber and killing with the living force? I can tell you what, arrogance! The only thing that stops them from doing so is their blind arrogance!¡±

    ¡°Letting their enemies run around left and right, because they believe that their power and knowledge will always make them come out on top at the end. While they constantly make sad gestures about the suffering of civilians and the death of hundreds of thousands. I just read in their archives that they want to capture the mass serial killer separatist leaders alive? They missed a bunch of chances to eliminate them in these few months of war... because they didn¡¯t want to kill them...¡±

    ¡°I am not a jedi... yet I let their arrogance sway me... Their very force presence unconsciously sways me towards making stupid decisions... But, that is over now... I have paid back my debt by saving you towards Hondo. Now, we have no more business with each other. This ship is mine, since I was the one who took it from the cold bloods. You will leave with yours the way you came.¡±

    ¡®Ayelfita seemed to look around, thinking over her choices. Her gaze seemed to linger on one of the charred, black, ghostly bodies that was frozen into a corpse statue while trying to claw out his own eyes...¡¯

    ¡°I guess we are good, then. We will take our dead and leave immediately. Bye-bye!¡± ¡ª She stated with a fake cheer that continued to grate on my nerves. I felt an urge to snap her bones just to hear how her real voice sounded for once.

    ¡®As if sensing my thoughts. They stood up, gathered their things along with their companions¡¯ dead bodies, leaving behind only the charred ones and they were gone in less than five minutes.¡¯

    ¡®I watched them leave as I closed the hangar doors and began to walk towards the inside of the ship.¡¯

    ¡®I felt an immense headache pulsing through my mind. My body was shivering under the effects of over accumulated dark side energies and I could barely put one leg in front of the other.¡¯

    ¡®Still¡­ I needed to know¡­ I needed to know what the other living presence was on the ship aside from me.¡¯

 31. Chapter

    A few minutes later, inside the storage room of the ship, that was more like that of a series of holding rooms for prisoners.

    ¡®My thoughts were confused, and heavy. I have overindulged on dark side energies, and could feel the dark side influence gripping my mind, twisting my thoughts and pulling on my emotions every passing second.¡¯

    ¡®The carefully created inner balance between light and darkness was broken. The shadows were desperately trying to gain control of my mind, knowing that with every passing second, their influence over me will wane. As I struggled to rebalance myself in the force. Forcefully channeling the light side even as it burned me from the inside.¡¯

    ¡®I walked between the rows of empty cages until I reached one in a dark corner, my mind still distracted by my inner battle. I stopped beside the cage and looked towards the fearful presence that was desperately trying to hide on the opposite side of the cage. I was looking at it, but it still stubbornly pretended not to be there. A fickle of annoyance burst into my mind, and I almost gave into the temptation to pull it out from the shadows. Only to take a sharp breath, as I realized what I just thought.¡¯

    ¡®Instead, I took a slow breath and spoke up.¡¯

    ¡°I can sense your presence. There is no reason to hide anymore.¡±

    ¡®I waited for a little more, struggling to contain my emotions. Then I saw a small form began to move forward. It slowly, hesitantly stepped out of the shadows into the mechanical white light that was reaching only half of the cage.¡¯

    ¡®As she finally stood in the light, I was able to see that she was a human girl, about the same age as me.¡¯

    ¡®Great, another pipsqueak! The dark thoughts whispered into my mind. Why don¡¯t you catapult her out of the ship? There is already enough trash here¡­ Including you¡­¡¯

    ¡°Very funny..¡± ¡ª ¡®I spoke to myself, causing the girl to flinch.¡¯

    ¡®She was looking at me fearfully. I saw that more than a few shivers ran over her already injured and weak body. Yet in her eyes I saw something I didn¡¯t expect... Recognition, and a stubborn will to fight?

    Why would she want to fight with me?¡¯

    ¡®The voices answered. Because you are her enemy, can¡¯t you feel her presence, weak¡­ yes, but she is one of them. A jedi to be¡­ how cute¡­ why don¡¯t you stifle her light before it spreads? It would be so easy for a mighty Grey Lord as you¡­ he-h-h¡­¡¯

    ¡®This time, the whispers spoke in the voice of the trandoshan boss I just killed.¡¯

    ¡®This time it was me who flinched, raising my hand in front of my face. Trying to focus as a sneer broke out of my throat.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°I have already killed you¡­ why won¡¯t you shut it!¡±

    ¡®The girl glared at me. Her sharp eyes burrowing into my own.¡¯

    ¡°You... those eyes¡­ that strange skin... you are a sith! You will have to kill me, because I won¡¯t turn to the dark side, no matter what!¡± ¡ª ¡®The girl stated, and I couldn¡¯t care less about her turning to the dark side or not.¡¯

    ¡®I blinked away the shadows that were clouding my sight and finally the dark thoughts seemed to retreat.¡¯

    ¡®Stubborn as ever¡­¡¯

    ¡®The whispers spoke using my own voice this time.¡¯

    ¡®No matter, we will meet again¡­ Nizzal¡­ We both know that you belong to me¡­ In time¡­ You will understand-stand-and-ad-d...¡¯

    ¡®As the last of the whispers disappeared, I could feel a tremendous sense of relief and tiredness pressing down on my mind and body.¡¯

    ¡®The worst thing of all was the fact that I somehow managed to run into a jedi youngling... she is not even a padawan... great.¡¯

    ¡®I exhaled a long and desperate sigh.¡¯

    ¡°Wha-what are you doing? I won¡¯t yield!¡± ¡ª ¡®The girl shouted at me, seeing how I reached for my lightsaber.¡¯

    ¡®I made a quick and precise cut with a flick of my wrist... The electronic lock on the door cut apart easily, giving way in the path of my blade. Feeling drained and uninterested, I began to walk away from the cells. Looking for the bridge.¡¯

    ¡®I needed to get away from here. I didn¡¯t even care where. I just wanted to enter hyperspace, then get into a bed and sleep.¡¯

    ¡®The girl behind me seemed to be confused... She sauntered to the door of her cage and hesitatingly stepped out of it. Seeing that nothing bad had happened to her, she slowly began to follow me from a safe distance...¡¯

    ¡°Why did you let me out? I am a jedi... Sith and jedi are ancient enemies... Didn¡¯t you know?¡±

    ¡®I felt my headache pulse with even more pain as the girl kept pestering me. Why is she following me? She could just take one ship from the hangar and leave¡­¡¯

    ¡°Tell me, how many sith did you see, or speak with in your life?¡± ¡ª ¡®I asked sarcastically, still unwilling to let that slight pass like that¡­ I was not a sith for force¡¯s sake!¡¯

    ¡®She seemed stumped for a second. Then she answered predictably.¡¯

    ¡°None, I mean one... you!¡±

    ¡®I stopped in my tracks for a second, a million and one arguments coming to my mind to debunk her idiotic statement. Alas, I had a feeling that my arguments would have fallen on deaf ears.¡¯

    ¡®Suddenly a loud grumble resonated through the corridor, and I realized that it came from my stomach. No surprise there¡­ I used up a tremendous amount of energy.¡¯

    ¡®On a whim, I decided to change my direction from the bridge to the ship¡¯s cantina, but only after I released another annoyed sigh.¡¯

    ¡°If I am the only sith you ever met, then how do you know that I am indeed a sith?¡± ¡ª ¡®I humoured the girl, while continuing my walk.¡¯

    ¡®I didn¡¯t really care about her. She wasn¡¯t even a proper padawan. What could she do against me? I have just flatlined a bunch of bloodthirsty trandoshan.¡¯

    ¡°Well... your glowing yellow eyes are telltale signs... and your sickly looking skin... both of them are signs of heavy dark side exposure...¡± ¡ª ¡®The girl lectured me on my fricking condition, but that was not what bothered me. What bothered me was that she was right.''

    ¡®Not that I was going to acknowledge that.¡¯

    ¡°Now, that is at least partially true. Yet I have another question for you. What if there are dark side users who are not Sith?¡±

    ¡°I would think that you are trying to deceive me... except... I didn¡¯t really know what you could gain from doing so...¡± ¡ª ¡®She seemed troubled for a moment.¡¯

    ¡°Oh, bless the force... someone actually using their brain...¡± ¡ª ¡®I stated, almost surprised that she seemed to actually consider my words. My annoyance towards her immediately lessened considerably.¡¯

    ¡°If you are not a sith, then what are you?¡± ¡ª She asked.

    ¡°I am a member of the Order of the Grey... It is a secretive sect of a sort... We excel in using both the light side and the dark side while searching for balance between the two.¡± ¡ª ¡®I answered.¡¯

    ¡°If you speak the truth,¡± ¡ª She narrowed her eyes on me before adding. ¡ª ¡°then I will apologize. Thanks for letting me out of that cage¡­¡±

    ¡®I stopped and turned around in the corridor, quite surprised by the sudden turn of events. I saw her face flinch for a moment, seeing my most likely glowing yellow eyes... Yes, they will probably stay that way for a few days or even weeks after drawing so deeply on the dark side.¡¯

    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

    ¡°You are welcome.¡± ¡ª ¡®I thought about what to say next, then added.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°By the way, my name is Nizzal. If you want, you can call me Nizzy... most of the people do it anyway... Oh, my full name is Nizzal Grey... What is yours?¡±

    ¡°Hi.. My name is Kalifa.. I used to be a jedi youngling... but I don¡¯t know what I am anymore... They probably think that I died... I was kidnapped from a training exercise, but that was weeks, if not months ago... I heard them talking, that I will be released on an island where they will hunt me down for sport... They were currently searching for other preys for their sick game...¡±

    ¡°Hmmm... Yeah, that sounds much like what I heard... they were trying to add me into their collection... Wasn¡¯t one of their brightest moments...¡± ¡ª ¡®I felt a smile stretch across my lips.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°Oh, well, I guess it was in a manner of speaking, getting electrocuted and stuff.¡± ¡ª ¡®I couldn¡¯t help but chuckle at the memory.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°At least those scum won¡¯t trouble anyone anymore...¡±

    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± ¡ª ¡®Asked Kalifa, clearly confused, and I just realized that I have spoken those thoughts out loud. Ugh¡­ I guess the dark side influence wasn¡¯t completely shaken off yet.¡¯

    ¡®Suddenly feeling ashamed of myself, I started to search for some sort of excuse to justify my previous slip up.¡¯

    ¡°Well, they wanted to hunt me down to...¡± ¡ª ¡®I began but was interrupted.¡¯

    ¡°No, what do you mean by they won¡¯t trouble anyone? Did you kill them?¡±

    ¡°Ah, no, not all of them.¡±

    ¡®Hearing that, Kalifa seemed to consider just walking back to her cage, but she quickly changed her depressed expression as she heard my next words.¡¯

    ¡°Some were killed by pirates, but I would say most of them were indeed killed by me.¡± ¡ª ¡®It felt good to brag about my recent achievement, no matter if it was unusually risky. Those scum definitely deserved it.¡¯

    ¡°You... you must be joking... you are around my age... How would you manage to...¡± ¡ª ¡®The girl, Kalifa, was clearly unwilling to believe me at face value, which irked me tremendously.¡¯

    ¡°Look, I have no inclination to prove you anything... but the facts are given you were freed by me. I was the one who chased away the pirates as well. Besides killing most of the trandoshans. Therefore, this is my ship now. So if you want to come along, you are free to do so, but you will do it under my command.¡°

    ¡°Since I am not a sith, I don¡¯t feel any need to kill you or to turn you to the dark side... I kind of had enough for this day, you know? I simply want to eat something... and I am already dreading to find out what kind of sick shit these types of trandoshan psychopaths placed on ice in their kitchen... So I don¡¯t need anymore questions or troubles for the day...¡±

    ¡°Sigh... Just come along quietly and eat whatever edible we find... Or if you are stubborn, you can take one of the fighter planes and leave wherever you want...¡±

    ¡®She seemed to consider my statement, then she nodded towards me, and said...¡¯

    ¡°I will stay, I think. I am pretty hungry... as well.¡± ¡ª ¡®She said sheepishly.¡¯

    ¡°Good, then come, it is time for lunch...¡±

    ¡®Kalifa nodded silently and began to follow me in a somewhat closer distance. We walked for a whole thirty seconds, when she suddenly asked...¡¯

    ¡°Are you sure that you killed all of them?¡±

    ¡®Force... help me not to put her back into that damn cage.... Be understanding... She must be happy to see someone who didn¡¯t want to kill her at first sight... I should be patient... Yet, I am kind of emotional right now... I mean, seeing how those fucking pirates treated me after I saved their fat asses kind of fucked me up...¡¯

    ¡®Then I gathered an unusual level of dark side energies... and a good chunk of it is still circulating inside my body... Oh, and that meant I had to constantly suppress this burning anger inside me... and that didn¡¯t help my general mood...¡¯

    ¡°By the way, can you bring me back to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant?¡± ¡ª ¡®Came another question from Kalifa.¡¯

    ¡®I froze mid step and turned around just to look at the girl in the eyes.¡¯

    ¡°Look at me,¡± ¡ª ¡®I began with a dark tone, that suggested nothing good.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°do you remember what you called me the first time you saw me?¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡± ¡ª ¡®She seemed to realize the problem.¡¯

    ¡°Yes, what do you think will the jedi think if I appear like this before them?¡±

    ¡°...¡± ¡ª ¡®She remained silent this time.¡¯

    ¡°Exactly, and that means. I would rather jump head-first into a sarlacc¡¯s open mouth, then go any closer to Coruscant ever again... Especially after what I just endured from those idiotic elders... They think, I didn¡¯t realize what they did... fuckers used me as a cheap bait, while acting so magnanimously... Thousands of years passed by and nothing really changed... Heh, not that I ever expected otherwise... Yet, I don¡¯t feel the slightest happiness from getting exactly what I expected... They can drown in their own shit and I wouldn¡¯t care! Do you understand, so don¡¯t ever bring up the Jedi Temple in front of me ever again!¡±

    ¡®I turned away from the human girl... and continued my walk, meanwhile, sinking deeper and deeper into my own thoughts.¡¯

    ¡®I might have overdone it a bit, seeing how hurt she looked¡­ It¡¯s all because of this dark side energy that I am constantly losing my shit! I am not supposed to be this emotional¡­ I scolded myself for the second time today.¡¯

    ¡®It¡¯s a shame, really...¡¯

    ¡®Some people think that knowing human nature is a blessing, and sometimes it is... Yet if you had enough knowledge, it would become a curse as well, a curse of inaction.¡¯

    ¡®As you continuously expand the magnitude of the scope, of that which you look at the world as a whole. You will continuously see the bigger and greater connection over a bigger and bigger time period... You will find yourself planning and thinking not in days, weeks or years anymore... But in hundreds of years or even thousands of it, while new and new variables continue to appear constantly, forcing you to accommodate them into your plan.¡¯

    ¡®If you have so much time, you have so many things to lose. You will inevitably slow down to an overly relaxed lifestyle. You will laze around days and nights doing nothing but thinking about useless stuff and planning about your future actions, meditating, reliving old memories hundreds of times. Or simply imagining possible adventures, using your visions to see through time and space. It is easy to get lost in your own memories... especially if there are so many...¡¯

    ¡®Whatever... the jedi council betrayed me without blinking an eye. I wasn¡¯t going to follow their bidding for five years in the first place, especially since I was innocent to begin with. I merely used them as they did use me. It was an ideal chance to gather information about the current Republic.¡¯

    ¡®I couldn¡¯t help but smile as a vicious thought resurfaced in my mind.¡¯

    ¡®It would be interesting to see, what the galactic senate has to say about threatening a helpless child to join the civil war, or she would be sent into a mining facility for twenty years... I guess I will write a nameless story, about my overly cruel fate and send it to the media...¡¯

    ¡®I want to see that green fuck boil in his own sweat!¡¯

    ¡°Hehehe.... I can already see it.¡° ¡ª ¡®I chuckled to myself. Outrage in the Jedi Temple! The wise council of the high and mighty Jedi has decided to start forcing children into war, even outside of their order.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°Heehhehe....¡±

    ¡°.... Are you sure that you are not a sith?¡± ¡ª ¡®The girl asked.¡¯

    ¡°Cough... cough, cough... don¡¯t ruin my fantasising! Can¡¯t I hold a rightful grudge?¡±

    ¡°.... That is exactly what a sith would say...¡± ¡ª ¡®Kalifa said in a low tone.¡¯

    ¡°And how the hell would you know that!? Since I recall that you never even met one?¡±

    ¡°I read about them in the archives...¡± ¡ª ¡®She began almost whispering this time. There was something alarming in her tone, but I couldn¡¯t care about it at the time.¡¯

    ¡®Instead, I burst into another rant.¡¯

    ¡°Your archives! Spare me your childish impulses, please... What level of information would you possibly be able to reach, if you are not even a padawan learner? I just searched your archives a few days ago, and even on the padawan level of authorisation, there was about eighty percent of general historical information, which you can access from anywhere... The other twenty percent was mostly a bunch of half truths and propaganda... Ouch!!¡±

    ¡®A dark premonition came over me, signaling an immediate threat appearing right behind me, but I couldn¡¯t move out of the way, as Kalifa grabbed one of my lek in a tight painful grip, that sent cold shivers throughout my skull.¡¯

    ¡°Hey, let go of my lek.... What are you doing? That hurts, stop!¡± ¡ª ¡®My lek has snaked around Kalifa¡¯s arm, squeezing it in a subconscious attempt to free itself to which she also tightened her grasp on the soft flesh.¡¯

    ¡®I cried out in a sudden mix of panic and pain, only to feel the now familiar touch of a blaster pistol pushed into the middle of my back.¡¯

    ¡°Shut it and stop squeezing my arm or I swear that I will tie a knot on your leks! You must indeed be a Sith, to curse my order so much in that short time we met.¡±

    ¡°What!? You can¡¯t be serious.¡± ¡ª ¡®I protested immediately.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°I am the victim here! Listen, if you don¡¯t let me go right now, I am gonna teach you a lesson you won¡¯t forget!¡±

    Suddenly, there was a blue burst of light filling the corridor, followed by the heavy sound of a collapsing body.

    In the middle of the corridor, a human girl stood with a shocked expression and shaking hands. Staring at the body of the unconscious twi¡¯lek. The girl had the beginning of panic induced tears in her eyes. Then she let out a long, relieved sigh. Finally realizing that the gun she secretly picked up and accidentally pulled the trigger in the middle of their scuffle was the same gun that the kidnappers used to capture her, and probably other targets, alive.

    It was a blaster specifically made for neutralising targets without causing them permanent harm. Aside from that, it hurt like a bitch, something she experienced on her own skin not so long ago.

    As she calmed down, she felt a sense of accomplishment and smugness washing over her body. She caught a sith alive, something that even Master Obi¡¯Wan Kenobi couldn¡¯t accomplish. She crouched down next to the most arrogant twi¡¯lek she had ever encountered, carefully checking if she was truly unconscious. Before deciding to speak up.

    ¡°Who is the boss now? You sith scum!¡±

    ¡®She straightened up, slowly. Thinking about her next action.¡¯

    ¡°With that said¡­ I need to find something to tie you up¡­ Of course, first I will take this saber of yours. She picked up the blade and ignited it out of curiosity.¡±

    Her mood has plummeted somewhat when she saw the brilliant silver color. She directed an annoyed and slightly envious glare at the stupid girl sprawled out on the floor.

    ¡°How would a stinking sith get her hands on a beautiful blade like this? I bet she stole it from someone¡­ Hmph!¡±

    That said, she turned around and left to search for something to tie up the fool. She wasn¡¯t willing to figure out how she might react when she realizes what had just happened.

    Kalifa gulped drily as the thought haunted her.

 32. Chapter

    From the perspective of Kalifa.

    ¡®After I took away the arrogant girl¡¯s lightsaber and tide her up, I had to also carry her to the bridge somehow.¡¯

    ¡®To achieve that, I carefully channelled my force abilities into my limbs and picked up her body. Then I began to walk towards the bridge. I put her down on a chair... ups... One of her lek is kind of swollen...¡¯

    ¡®A spike of guilt run through me seeing how pitiful she looked in this state.¡¯

    ¡®Anyway... she clearly needs medical help. The best healers are in the order on Coruscant... Vokara will have a look at her. Even a sith deserves to be treated if she is injured. Also¡­ she kind of let me out¡­ either way¡­ it is definitely not because of my sudden spike of guilt. I set the hyperspace drive coordinates towards Coruscant. We are quite close to it, so we will reach it in an hour, give or take...¡¯

    ¡°The others will be so surprised that I survived... I hope O-Mer and Jinx are still doing well... They will be so jealous that I managed to capture a sith! My name will be entered into the jedi archives as a hero of the republic, written in big letters! What a great day...¡±

    ¡®Just then, I noticed a half-eaten grilled nuna leg placed on a plate over the control panels.¡¯

    ¡°Finders keepers, they say!¡± ¡ª ¡®I reached for the plate and bit into the cold food. I hadn¡¯t eaten almost anything half as good as this in the last few weeks. I found it unbelievably fulfilling.¡¯

    ~oOo~

    ¡®Not long later, I exited hyperspace and the view of Coruscant filled my whole vision from the spacecraft cockpit. I immediately called the border guard station, reported my name and affiliation. I told them briefly that I was kidnapped, and that I managed to escape.¡¯

    ¡®I also told them that I captured a sith. I think that the last bit of information was the one that truly hastened things up. I was immediately led to the Jedi Temple with a long military and police convoy following me.¡¯

    ¡°Look at that. It feels good to be important once in a while.¡±

    ¡®After landing on the platform. I once again turned towards the girl. What was her name? Nizzy, yeah, something like that.¡¯

    ¡®I lifted her out of the chair, noticing once again how light she actually was. The girl was probably a year older than me at best two, yet she was barely taller than me, if at all.¡¯

    ¡®I walked towards the ramp with her in my arms. She was easy to carry when I channelled a little force into my body. I stifled a chuckle while her arms and leks were weakly flailing in the air as I walked. She was even drooling over herself... Look at that stupid expression. She had the face to act so tough when she was actually this weak. To think I almost believed her that she killed those scary lizard men, sure. What a big lier.¡¯

    ¡°Looking at her pitiful state, I began to question my previous idea. I always thought that the sith were powerful and fearless warriors. In reality, it seems they got the short end of the stick, or maybe she told me the truth and she is really not a sith.¡¯

    ¡®Those black veins running all over her body are so ugly, though.¡¯

    ¡®I walked down the ramp. There were eight fully armed temple guards waiting for me in battle formation. There were also two masters standing among them.¡¯

    ¡®Master Windu, and wow... that is Anakin Skywalker! I am so lucky to run into him!¡¯

    ¡®While the guards encircled me, I told them that the sith is unconscious, so there is no need to be on edge. Master Windu and Anakin walked closer, in a more relaxed manner. Windu clearly recognized me as a missing apprentice, of the order... He gave me a small welcoming smile.¡¯

    ¡°I am relieved to welcome you back to the order, young Kalifa. I am sorry for the seemingly cold welcome, but your report of a captured sith must be handled with the utmost care...¡±

    ¡°Of course, master, I understand... It is good to be back.¡±

    ¡°Of that, I have no doubt.¡± ¡ª ¡®Said Master Skywalker and suddenly stepped closer to me. His expression was strange. There was recognition in his eyes?¡®

    ¡®I never met him personally though, so he could not have remembered my face, or could he?¡¯

    ¡®Windu also stepped closer. Soon the same surprise and recognition appeared on his face, too. The two masters traded a few meaningful glances with each other, then with the temple guards.¡¯

    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    ¡®Their formation immediately relaxed, and six of them began to march back to the temple without a single word.¡¯

    ¡®Windu continued in an almost warm tone.¡¯

    ¡°And that is your captured sith, I see. You can hand her over to these two temple guards. They will take her to Vokara. In the meantime, the jedi council is curiously waiting for your story. Especially the part where you captured this so-called... sith.¡±

    ¡°Of course, master, I will do my best!¡±

    ¡®We began to walk towards the Jedi council. It was a truly glorious feeling being able to see these familiar walls again. Curiously, before this, I always thought them to be boring. Yet now I found myself comforted by the serenity found between these walls.¡¯

    ¡®The walls of my home.¡¯

    ¡®They were thousands of years old and unchanging. A piece of eternity, as Master Yoda often referred to them.¡¯

    ¡®The masters saw my longing expression and decided to stay silent, giving me the time to take in the feeling of home and the sense of peace and safety. My shoulders relaxed and the constant awareness began to loosen up a bit for the first time in weeks.¡¯

    ¡®We finally reached the council room. All the masters were present. Of course, most of them were only through holographic projections. Every one of them smiled at me, welcoming me back. Grandmaster Yoda seemed to turn a few years younger, seeing me back in the temple alive and mostly well.¡¯

    ¡°Kalifa, jedi candidate from Corellia. We officially welcome you back to the temple. It is a relief to see you once again. Allow me to apologize for the unfortunate incident that was allowed to happen with you and a few others of your peers...¡± ¡ª ¡®Said Master Windu after he walked to his empty seat in the council.¡¯

    ¡®Master Obi-Wan picked up the conversation.¡¯

    ¡°Our investigators reported a few days after the incident that they succeeded in reconstructing the events. Our database was hacked, resulting in the leakage of the time and place of your training exercise, along with other sensitive information. Although we realized what had happened and since then reinforced our cybernetic defenses. We, unfortunately, were powerless to find your current location, especially in the middle of this raging civil war. Now, since I don¡¯t want to sound like I am making excuses. I will only say this. In the name of the order, I apologize for your hardships...¡±

    ¡°I...¡±

    ¡®I was touched... I felt as my emotional gates were about to overflow... I felt a few tears find their way into my eyes. I would never say this out loud... but secretly I doubted... I thought that I was forgotten, and no one was searching for me... Yet... they were doing their best to find me, even in the middle of a galactic war... I felt as a few tears escaped my eyes, the masters clearly acted as if nothing happened.¡¯

    ¡®Graciously overlooking such an open show of emotional breakdown.¡¯

    ¡®I rubbed away my tears and snot, then quickly tried to compose myself, momentarily succeeding.¡¯

    ¡®Yoda looked at me and said in a patronising tone.¡¯

    ¡°In these troubled and dark times. We have to value every happy moment such as this reunion. Therefore, my hearth is heavy when I ask you to tell us your story. We have to know as much as possible. There are others, who may yet to be rescued from a dire fate.¡±

    ¡®I nodded to that.¡¯

    ¡°In the meantime,¡± ¡ª ¡®Skywalker began.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°I will take my leave and order some men to search over the ship. Its hyperspace data computer may prove to be an invaluable asset in finding the locations of these criminals.¡±

    ¡°Then I trust you with this task.¡± ¡ª Said Yoda.

    ¡°Masters.¡± ¡ª ¡®Anakin bowed, then turned around and marched out of the room.¡¯

    ¡®Everyone else turned back towards me, and I finally started the retelling of my mostly boring story with a few incredible highlights. Why was it boring? What I mean is that most of the time, I was sitting in a lonely cage where I was occasionally threatened and humiliated. Not the best time of my life...¡¯

    ¡®After about an hour of questioning, I finally finished my story with a bang.¡¯

    ¡°And that was how I managed to capture that sith scu... I mean girl...¡±

    ¡®An incredibly awkward silence descended upon the room. I saw Aayla Secura reflexively hugging one of her head tails with a funny expression. Uhmm... Well, she most likely didn¡¯t appreciate my act... but... well...¡¯

    ¡®Kit Fisto also seemed to be highly disturbed by this...¡¯

    ¡®In the end, it was Master Obi-Wan who pointed out the issue with a barely stifled chuckle.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°I can only hope you didn¡¯t go through with that threat of yours. Tieing a knot on the leks of a twi¡¯lek sounds quite despicable.¡±

    ¡°Uhm... no, I didn¡¯t have to¡­¡± ¡ª ¡®I answered hesitantly.¡¯

    ¡®Master Windu interpreted my words saying.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°Meaning that she would have done it, if things come to that.¡±

    ¡®I gulped silently, knowing that he was actually right.¡¯

    ¡°The mind of a child is a weapon that even the greatest of inventors couldn¡¯t harness yet. We can only hope that it stays this way...¡± ¡ª ¡®Master Shaak Ti stated, pretty rudely, if I might add.¡¯

    ¡®The other council members couldn¡¯t help but nod to that with a solemn expression.¡¯

    ¡°...¡± ¡ª ¡®I was kind of speechless seeing them nodding simultaneously.¡¯

    ~oOo~

    After Kalifa finished her report and left to be checked by the medical staff and get a well-deserved vacation. The masters remaining in the council hall exchanged dire looks amongst themselves.

    The jovial atmosphere kept around the luckily recovered youngling was nowhere to be found anymore, and only dark and tired gazes searched each other, waiting for the first to break the ice.

    In the end, it was Master Windu who spoke up first. ¡ª ¡°As I have suspected it from the start¡­ The girl¡¯s intentions have come to the surface at last. Kalifa¡¯s words clearly state her opinion on our order. Her hatred towards us could hardly be misunderstood or explained. Even if she isn¡¯t a Sith, which I hardly doubt at this point. She is clearly a danger towards us, and mayhap towards the entire Republic.¡±

    There were tired whisperings in the hall, following Windu¡¯s statement. It was clear that something needed to be done, and quickly.

 33. Chapter

    Vokara Che was currently walking in a relaxing manner in one of the healing gardens of the temple. It was one of her favorite activities of the day. In a war like this, there was little time to relax her strained mind as the lead healer of the temple. This was her personal type of meditation, walking in the garden while watering the healing plants.

    Not being able to meditate in the more traditional way was one consequence of being an extremely hard-working person.

    She couldn¡¯t really relax while not doing anything at all. She would always think of the things she could do instead of sitting around. Interestingly, while doing low intensity work, like watering plants, she could relax her mind.

    That was most likely a blessing from the force itself, since she needed to let go just like anyone else. Let go of every one of the small mistakes she committed today through the operations. She was not an intern healer anymore for quite a long time now, yet she still made errors.

    Learning was truly a lifelong experience.

    She was rumored to be one of the best currently living force-sensitive healers in the known galaxy. Even if she considered this notion ridiculous. It was more of a political statement than reality. The people on Coruscant just wanted to believe that they got the best healer in the galaxy. They got the highest quality medical equipment on the planet with doctors who had three times the experience than she had... Yet she was the one that they considered the best of the best...

    They were treating her as some miracle worker with magical witch like powers! It should be time for them to realize that the force was not a joker card, that you can take out, if you have enough money and backing to pay for the services.

    Not that she expected them to understand this.

    ¡°Do people ever learn?¡± ¡ª She asked from the plant she was currently watering.

    That was the moment when two temple guards marched through the door, not even knocking or announcing themselves in any cultured way.

    An action that immediately ruined the momentary silence and peace she cherished so much. Since this cursed war began, she had little to no time to relax. Opposed to common beliefs, even Jedi Masters needed some time for themselves to not go crazy.

    No matter how hard, some may try to insist that it was not so. She sighed, suddenly feeling defeated as she realized that it was exactly what she tended to do. She wasn¡¯t sure anymore if she was attempting to deceive herself or others.

    She sighed one more time, only to be alerted by the sounds of incoming steps. What will it be this time? Another injured general, or one of the patients, began acting stubborn again, trying to get back into the meat grinder earlier? It was not that long since the war started, but the number of killed, injured and permanently crippled jedi was steadily rising with every passing day. It never ceased to amuse her, how much her fellow Jedi seemed to hate lying in bed, that they would choose to leave earlier only to be able to get back into the war.

    She finally turned around as the sound of the closing guard¡¯s steps was just about reaching her position. The very moment she turned around and saw the patient, who was brought here in the arms of one of the guards in front of her, she already sensed her mind melting from suppressed rage. Why would this two half-wit bring here the patient instead of asking me to go to the infirmary? Especially that it was just a child!

    One of the guards began his explanation.

    ¡°Master Vokara, Padawan Nizzal has been found and brought back to the order in the company of another missing jedi youngling. She has been injured and there are visible dark side contamination that took over her entire body, and force presence.¡±

    ¡°Dark side contamination?¡± ¡ª Vokara asked in disbelief.

    The guard stopped for a second, seeing her shocked expression, before he decided to continue.

    The other guard hastily added. ¡ª ¡°Physically, she seems mostly fine except for her bruised lek...¡± ¡ª He clearly sensed Vokara¡¯s quickly deteriorating mood.

    Vokara suppressed the rant she would so love to unleash at the two imbeciles. She urged the one that was holding the girl to put her down on a nearby sofa, while she began to look over her new patient. However, her breath was immediately caught in her throat after a single look.

    ¡°What is this?!¡± ¡ª The question left her mouth unintentionally as she fell into a state of shock.

    The amount of dark side energies inside the body of this small girl was completely unprecedented.

    She thought that the girl, like many padawans, especially since the war began, had only drawn a little from the dark side. It wasn¡¯t a rare occurrence in the order, unfortunately, even if they would never openly acknowledge it or even talk about it.

    The lure of power and greed was a constant guest in the mind of every intelligent being. Jedi were no exceptions either. The hunger was always present, because even the best of us had regrets and things that he or she would highly desire.

    Yet this dark side corruption was not something that could happen accidentally. It was reaching deeper, almost revolting her as she opened her mind to the force.

    Vokara hesitantly placed her palms on the visually ghostly white skin covered in blackened corrupted veins. She touched it carefully, and it felt unnaturally dry. It was clearly unhealthy and deathly pale.

    What about those black veins? Is there a feasible reason why they would turn black? Was she poisoned, perhaps? She snorted at her own naivety.

    She was poisoned, of course¡­ With the dark side none the less.

    Just then, she finally looked at the girl¡¯s face properly, only to realize that she have treated her not too late ago.

    What a stupid girl. Even after she went out of her way to reinvigorate some of her used up force energies, what does she do with it? Turns to the dark side at the first chance. Now what the hell was she supposed to do with her?

    ¡°What happened to this padawan, and where is her master, and actually, who is her master in the first place?¡± ¡ª She couldn¡¯t help but demand some answers.

    The guards seemed to exchange a quick glance, then one of them said.

    ¡°Her master is Obi-Wan Kenobi, and he is most likely in the middle of a council meeting. They are probably questioning the other youngling to better understand what led to this unfortunate situation.¡±

    ¡°Kenobi, I should have known, since when did that old crook get himself another padawan, and of all the possible padawans he got such a foolish girl? She already thinks that she could play around with the dark side.¡± ¡ª She sighed. ¡ª ¡°Now hush, get out of here. I will call you when I need you, so wait outside! Move!¡±

    Good riddance. Some would think that your average jedi is sensitive enough to read the mood and leave on their own. In reality, however, those two probably couldn¡¯t even tie their own shoelaces without the help of the force holding their sweaty, little hands. That bastard Kenobi will hear about this as well. He has the face to go to some council meeting instead of staying with his padawan, when she needs her the most.

    Vokara placed her palm over the girl¡¯s forehead. It was hot, but not so much as to consider it a fever.

    She looked at the clearly swollen lek, then the medical notes stating that she had a lek injury a while ago.

    She bristled at the realisation. This impossible girl, one would think a born twi¡¯lek is more conscious about her leks. She should use a headpiece to protect them. Her leks are completely bare. That is the reason why she always injures them.

    She decided to give her one later. A young girl, even if she is a jedi, should take care of her leks after all. Until then, she will treat the injury with a salve and a bit of bandage. It should lessen the irritation and cool the swelling.

    A few minutes later, she finished giving her patient a standard first aid treatment, but there was no way that she could clear this level of dark side corruption from her body.

    ¡°I can¡¯t do anything about the dark side corruption.¡± ¡ª She lamented to herself. ¡ª ¡°Maybe, if a few more masters joined in a cleansing ritual, it would be possible?¡±

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t try to do something so rash¡­¡± ¡ª Vokara jumped a little from the unexpectedly appearing voice. Only to realize that the girl was awake.

    ¡°Oh, gosh, you shouldn¡¯t scare people who are trying to treat your wounds, girl, and what do you mean by making a rash decision? From my point of view, you are the one who had made some rash decisions, numerous ones, in fact. I can¡¯t even understand how you managed to draw so deep from the dark side that you get this... your eyes!¡± ¡ª Vokara¡¯s voice continued to rouse in octave, especially after she noticed the girl¡¯s glowing golden eyes. Eyes that were definitely pink the last time she checked.

    ¡°Ugh, I know... You don¡¯t have to scream my head off. Why does my head hurts like crazy? What day it is? No more importantly¡­ what¡­ where am I?¡±

    ¡°What day it is you ask? Who cares about that? Your eyes are glowing yellow! Are you a-a sith?!¡± ¡ª She couldn¡¯t help but confront the girl on this subject, not that she actually believed her to be one. She was way too meek for that, in her opinion. Still, she wanted to hear an explanation.

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    Now that she thought about it, there were a few ridiculous rumors circling around the temple mentioning a sith girl. Alas, she was too focused on her healing to care about absurd rumors. Could there be some truth in the matter?

    Said girl winced painfully in the meantime. ¡ª ¡°Please don¡¯t yell. As I said before, my head hurts from it. Where am I in the first place? You seem kind of familiar. Did we meet somewhere?¡±

    ¡°... You, sigh... You are in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, and yes, you are right. We have met before. I am still the lead healer of the temple, Vokara Che.¡± ¡ª She explained to the confused girl at last.

    The girl¡¯s eyes widened with terror and disgust. Something that annoyed Vokara to no end. She was quickly reaching the end of her patience.

    ¡°... No way...¡± ¡ª Nizzal complained in disbelief. ¡ª ¡°How did I get back here? I can¡¯t stay here... I was already free!¡± ¡ª She tried to stand up, only to get pushed back to the sofa by Vokara¡¯s arms.

    ¡°Now stop with that right now! I don¡¯t care what kind of oh-so-serious business you have to go and finish, and believe me, everyone has some serious business nowadays.¡±

    ¡°What about if you began to tell me while lying there how you managed to get such a level of dark side corruption into your force presence, and why don¡¯t you seem to care about this fact, like at all? Also, there are two temple guards standing outside the door. Not that I am in need of protection, but you should know what type of situation you are in, padawan.¡±

    Nizzal seemed to deflate after Vokara¡¯s statement about the temple guards. With a long sigh, she turned back to her and said.

    ¡°Fine, then... just stop shouting already... ugh... the whole room is moving around... I think I am about to throw up...¡±

    Vokara, seeing that the girl must have had some serious concussion, reached out with the force and pulled over a nearby empty bucket for the girl to vomit in. She placed it in front of her. There was no need to urge her. She threw up almost immediately.

    ¡°Better?¡± ¡ª She asked with a smug undertone. ¡ª ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be moving around with a concussion.¡± ¡ª She lectured her offhandedly.

    Nizzal stiffened and retorted weakly. ¡ª ¡°I would be better if I wasn¡¯t here in this cursed place¡­ ugh¡­¡± ¡ª She stated, then leaned back over the bucket for another round.

    Vokara rolled her eyes, picking up a glass of water from a nearby shelf. ¡ª ¡°Here is some water, to clear out the aftertaste.¡±

    ¡°... Thanks.¡± ¡ª The girl said meekly, the fight leaving her under the strain of her sickness.

    ¡°So, what is your explanation for your current state?¡± ¡ª Vokara nudged her lightly.

    ¡°Your guess is as good as mine¡­ However, based on how horrible I feel, I suspect that I got shot in the back with a paralysing beam. It must have been that stupid girl¡­ I shouldn¡¯t have let her out of the cage. I knew that she was trouble.¡±

    Vokara raised a curious eyebrow at that, but instead of pursuing the topic, she focused on her main question. ¡ª ¡°I meant the dark side corruption nesting in your body.¡±

    Nizzal blinked, just realising what the woman was asking about. She thought about lying. Then again, if she was back here in her current state, she was already fucked. So might as well tell the truth of the matter. Not that she was going to leave this place anytime soon after this.

    ¡°Well, it is simple. A bunch of lizards decided to hunt me down, so I killed them first. I have learned to use the dark side from a very young age, along with the light side. It¡¯s second nature to me.¡± ¡ª She glanced at her arms, with a grimace, then added. ¡ª ¡°I guess, this time I truly went overboard. I am going to look like a ghost for days¡­¡±

    Vokara couldn¡¯t help but frown, realizing that to each answer, only more questions rouse in her mind. What was this girl talking about? How would she learn the dark side and the light side at the same time? She had to ask her just that.

    ¡°And how did you exactly achieve that?¡±

    ¡°Now that is a trade secret, you see...¡± ¡ª Nizzal immediately became defensive about her order¡¯s secrets.

    Suddenly a low humming noise filled the room, as a green light source appeared pointing straight at Nizzal¡¯s neck. She gulped, taken aback by the sudden change of attitude.

    ¡°Look, girl, I may have a soft spot for children, but don¡¯t think for once that I would not put you in chains if you turn out to be a sith. I will do what every jedi is born to do.¡±

    ¡°... Ha-haha-hahahahahahaa.....¡± ¡ª Nizzal started laughing without a care in the world.

    ¡°What... what is wrong with you now?¡± ¡ª Vokara was taken aback by her reaction as well.

    ¡°... Ha-aah... what a healer... you are¡­ You would heal me, only to kill me later... I didn¡¯t think that your hypocrisy could grow even further, but I see now that the last few thousand years didn¡¯t go by without a trace.¡±

    ¡°If that was a try to rile me up, you have failed spectacularly.¡± ¡ª Vokara answered, keeping her calm, unsure what to think about that few thousand years comment. While she truly felt a bit uncomfortable about the first one, not that she would let the girl know that.

    ¡°To rile you up? Oh please, I have no need to do that. You are already holding a blade to my throat. I don¡¯t even have a weapon. What need you may have, Master Jedi, to point a weapon at my neck.¡±

    Vokara lowered her blade slowly after hearing that, and she looked a bit embarrassed, if anything.

    ¡°You are speaking of Jedi hypocrisy, yet you openly rely on dark side techniques. Using those abilities may come in handy here and there, but ultimately, they will destroy you and everyone around you.¡± ¡ª She instead retorted with her own lecture this time.

    ¡°I thought that being ridiculously arrogant was a trait of the dark side, Master Vokara. How is that, that you seem to be so advanced in it, then?¡± ¡ª Nizzal fired back.

    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±

    ¡°You see, because you guys were weak-willed and couldn¡¯t fight against the dark side¡¯s influence, that doesn¡¯t mean that others can¡¯t.¡± ¡ª Nizzal stated with a satisfied expression.

    ¡°Now you are speaking like any fallen jedi would.¡± ¡ª Vokara narrowed her gaze at the girl. ¡ª ¡°They all believed the lies, and were trapped in their delusion of control, entering the endless cycle of hatred. Until their clouded minds led them to early ruin.¡±

    ¡°I never said that it is easy. Not everyone is meant to wield a weapon that has no grip, only a blade. Each time you wield it, you cut yourself as well.¡±

    Vokara was surprised by the girl¡¯s words. Those words did not mirror the thoughts of a young girl at all.

    ¡°You speak wisdom, yet your actions show otherwise. Wouldn¡¯t it be better to not use a faulty weapon in the first place and rely on other techniques?¡±

    ¡°Your logic is faulty. You are unable to see it, because it had been etched into your very being since you were taken into the order as a child.¡± ¡ª Nizzal retorted.

    ¡°Humph. What reason would be good enough to fall to the dark side? Tell me then?¡± ¡ª Reacted Vokara.

    ¡°To stay alive.¡± ¡ª Came the sobering answer.

    Still, Vokara couldn¡¯t accept such words like that.

    ¡°I would rather die than to fall to the dark side.¡±

    ¡°It is okay, but do not assume that everyone is like you. I, for example, have much to lose.¡±

    ¡°It is not about what you have to lose or not! It is accepting the will of the living force. If my time has come, I will do what is expected of me. Can you say the same!?¡±

    Nizzal frowned.

    ¡®A memory of my master disintegrating, dying while willingly giving up his existence. To entrust the safety of the memories to me flashed in front of my eyes. I felt as my vision began to turn blurry for a second, but I immediately blinked away those forming tears as I shouted at this stupid woman with reinvigorated rage.¡¯

    ¡°Making a true sacrifice does not mean dying stupidly when you have the power to change your fate in your very hands! Choosing to jump in front of a gunshot when you are not even sure if you would be hit in the first place is not a heroic deed! Your unreasonable, stupid heroics are not something to be proud of, you hag!¡± ¡ª Nizzal exploded in an enraged state.

    ¡°What?! Take that back immediately!¡± ¡ª Vokara was clearly unused to such eccentric behaviors and couldn¡¯t help but take offence in the girl¡¯s words, reprimanding her out of reflex.

    ¡°No, you are a hag, a hag, hag-hag-HAG!¡± ¡ª Under the long accumulated pressure and frustration, Nizzal wasn¡¯t able to act calmly anymore. Seeing how her words annoyed the older woman. She acted quite childishly, for once.

    Vokara was taken aback by the unfolding situation. She has never been challenged in such a way, especially not in the middle of her healing garden. A place that she considered her personal kingdom. On top of all the frustration and overwork that was happening in the last months, it caused her to react in quite an immature way as well.

    ¡°How dare you call me like that, you thankless little wimp! I will give you a good spanking in place of your master! Come over here!¡±

    Nizzal¡¯s eyes grow wide as saucers seeing how the woman actually meant what she said. She would not survive such humiliation.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare!¡± ¡ª She screamed, while ignoring her sense of vertigo. She jumped over the sofa, only to be hit by the nausea again, forcing her to fall to her knees. She desperately retched a few times, her stomach contorting painfully, but there was nothing more to vomit out.

    Her body shivered when she was grabbed by the woman¡¯s hands, who immediately picked her up with annoying ease.

    Nizzal¡¯s eyes widened in fear as she was carried back to the sofa. Kicking and biting all the way like a wildcat grabbed by its tail.

    Cold sweat started to cover her skin, realizing that she was unable to protest in her current state. Her head was practically splitting in two, limbs going numb.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare to humiliate me like that! It¡¯s child abuse! Child abuse, I say!¡±

    ¡°It is the job of all responsible adults to teach some manners to the children in their care...¡± ¡ª The woman smirked, seeing how the girl squirmed in her arms, then added with a regretful sigh. ¡ª ¡°Still, it would be unwise to further punish you when you are already in this state. I might be inclined to forgo that punishment altogether if you apologize properly.¡±

    ¡°¡­I hate you¡­¡± ¡ª The girl said, as a reaction Vokara sighed magnanimously. To which Nizzal shuddered once again and hastily corrected herself. ¡ª ¡°Alright, alright! I am sorry! I hope you are happy now!¡± ¡ª She added in a whisper. ¡ª ¡°Old hag¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes. It wasn¡¯t so hard, was it? Wait¡­ what did you say at the end?¡±

    ¡°Nothing¡­¡± ¡ª ¡®I looked aside guiltily.¡¯

    ¡®She stared at me suspiciously.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°Listen girl, next time you call me that, I am gonna wash your mouth with soap.¡± ¡ª She said, with an eerily calm tone.

    ¡°¡­¡± ¡ª Nizzal gulped, realizing that she was truly at the end of her rope now.

    ¡°Cough, cough...¡±

    ¡®At the sound of sharp coughs, both of us froze as if we were hit by a sudden lightning strike.¡®

    ¡®Our faces turned towards the door, where four people were currently standing in different states of shock. There were the two temple guards whose faces were hidden by their masks. Then Obi-Wan, with a strained poker face, and finally Ahsoka, looking at us with wide-open eyes and a slack jaw.''

    Obi-Wan stated in an embarrassed tone. ¡ª ¡°... We came in, because of the loud shouts... I guess... we will come back in a few minutes, since we are clearly interrupting something¡­ come along Ahsoka...¡±

    Ahsoka was practically pulled out of the room by her arm as she was still staring in disbelief at the unfolding events, clearly not wanting to believe what she saw...

    ¡®In the meantime, I felt my face turn red from the incredible embarrassment. I wished the ground would open up and swallow me.¡¯

    ¡°Urgh... I want to die....¡± ¡ª ¡®I groaned.¡¯

    ¡®The cursed woman acted as if it wasn¡¯t a big deal. Alas, her face betrayed her genuine emotions. She was also red as a ripe apple, and that was something, since her skin color was blue, not pale gray like mine was currently.¡¯

    ¡°I thought that you had much to lose. What about not wanting to die?¡± ¡ª The woman said in a snarky voice.

    ¡°And who is exactly the reason for that?¡± ¡ª ¡®I asked while wriggling out of her grasp.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°You were seriously trying to spank me like that. Are you living in the middle ages?¡±

    ¡°What? I will tell you that my family has always been blessed with the force. We have given many fine and proper jedi to the order. Also, the less force-sensitive family members turned out to be fine doctors and teachers. Exactly because of the traditionally strict teaching methods of our family.¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­ sure¡­¡±

 34. Chapter

    While Vokara and Nizzal were arguing, Skywalker and his band of clones were currently checking over the trandoshan ship, that the two younglings managed to steal. The clones were already in the middle of searching the ship, when Anakin finally got there after he led Kalifa to the council and managed to slip away, successfully escaping the procedure of hearing out the whole report. He walked towards the ship at a comfortable pace. To his surprise, the very moment he reached the ship, two clones rushed towards him. One of them was Rex, his captain. He seemed somewhat haunted at the moment, and that was exactly what surprised him.

    ¡°Rex, what happened? You look troubled.¡± ¡ª Anakin questioned half jokingly.

    ¡°General, we have found something on the ship... I think you should take a look... We tried to check the security cameras, but they seemed to be out of order for a long time, so we couldn¡¯t exactly figure out what happened but...¡±

    ¡°Come on Rex, if I didn¡¯t know you better, I would think that you are scared...¡±

    Rex sent a genuinely surprised, and also annoyed glance at Anakin, then he immediately looked to the floor, with discomfort. Seeing this, Anakin¡¯s jovial mood almost immediately dispersed, as he realized that he had accidentally hit the nail on the head. It was clearly a serious matter, if it managed to make his old friend act this unusually.

    ¡°Sorry about that. Tell me what you found, Rex?¡±

    ¡°I would rather show you instead.¡±

    ¡°Lead the way then.¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir. This way.¡±

    They immediately began to walk up the ramp of the ship. It was not that big of a ship. Maybe it could be classified as a medium-sized general purpose civilian cargo ship, but even that would be a stretch. Also, there were a lot of illegal modifications attached to the hull. Turning it into a formidable opponent in its own class.

    ¡°Wait, Rex, shouldn¡¯t we go towards the bridge? I thought that you wanted to show me something. Isn¡¯t that about the data where the ship had stopped before?¡±

    ¡°No, sir, my men are already checking the map. They will soon send it over to the jedi council for further analyses. We are perfectly capable of handling that. What I am about to show is inside the hangar.¡±

    ¡°Okay... at least, give me a hint. Why the sudden mysterious air and all?¡±

    After a few seconds of thoughtful silence, Rex began to speak.

    ¡°We... found bodies, back in the hangar...¡±

    ¡°Bodies?¡±

    ¡°Dead bodies... mummified ones, sir...¡± ¡ª Rex added ominously.

    ¡°Mummies? Seriously, are you scared of mummies, Rex? I would never have guessed...¡±

    ¡°I am not scared of mummies! Sigh... Anyway, the fact is that these were only created a few hours ago, at least from the state of their clothes. Even their armor¡¯s life support was up and running, perfectly fine until two and a half hours ago. When all of their life signals simultaneously vanished...¡±

    ¡°Well, did you try to move them towards a medical bay? Maybe with the proper equipment, we can find out more about them.¡± ¡ª Anakin suggested thoughtfully. This was clearly an unexpected scenario.

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible, sir, because the bodies are so fragile that when we tried to move one, it immediately fell apart into fine black dust. Also, the dust seems to be poisonous. The boys were lucky, since their helmet protected them, from most of it, but we still had to send them to the medical wing for immediate treatment.¡±

    ¡°Now, I will admit that sounds quite eerie.¡± ¡ª Anakin stated with a strained chuckle.

    ¡°I could hardly agree more with your assessment, sir.¡± ¡ª Rex stated.

    The last door leading directly to the hangar finally opened and the sight of the chaos left behind by the intense battle spread out in front of them.

    ¡°Wow, you forgot to mention that there was a battle here, and all of those were trandoshans? I can see a few dozen of dead bodies.¡± ¡ª Anakin exclaimed, quite surprised by the sight in front of him. Only after he started to take a closer look did his eyebrows creased. Some of the bodies seemed to be in unnatural positions and states.

    Just as the realisation started to sink in, Rex began his explanation.

    ¡°Yes, sir. Some were killed by blaster weapons, but most of them were not that fortunate. We are unable to figure out what exactly killed them. I have never seen anything like this before. Do you have any idea what could cause such injuries?¡± ¡ª Rex stated while pointing at a blackened, charred corpse clawing into the floor, its claws leaving behind blood and burned scratches in the metal plating of the ground. Showing the desperation of the man¡¯s last moments.

    Anakin could only shake his head in response. He has never seen something like this. It was revolting, even for a veteran like him. Not even mentioning the powerful smell of burnt flesh filling the hangar. The smell seemed to be seeped into the very walls, not something you could simply ventilate out.

    It made his stomach churn.

    Rex continued his explanation. Pointing towards particular trandoshans fallen in a roughly circular shape around the middle section of the hangar.

    ¡°Those seven lying over there have broken necks. Based on their estimated time of death, they died at the same time while being meters apart from each other. However, these charred ones are the most disturbing. If you ask me, sir. They look like they have been burned from the inside and the outside at the same time and with the same intensity, while leaving their clothes untouched. I can only pity the bastards. They have clearly angered an enemy far outside of their pay grade.¡± ¡ª Rex added with absolute certainty.

    ¡°I am not sure what to say, Rex¡­ However, I am going to figure it out.¡± ¡ª Stated Anakin, he had a bad feeling about this.

    Anakin walked closer to one of the horridly deformed bodies. From the moment he stepped into the room, it became clear to him that the dark side influence was strong here. There was an unnaturally cold air engulfing this particular room. The aura of fear and death was palpable in the air, capable of spooking such an experienced soldier as Rex.

    As he stepped closer to the corpse, Rex called out.

    ¡°General, don¡¯t go any closer to that body. If it crumbles to dust, you won¡¯t even have an equipped helmet to protect yourself. I would rather not send you to the medical wings as well.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright Rex. I won¡¯t go any further.¡± ¡ª He answered.

    He stopped about one and a half meters from the particular body and looked at it inquisitively.

    The sight in front of him was definitely not an enviable way to die. Still, based on the little he heard from Kalifa, they clearly had it coming for them.

    Anakin closed his eyes and reached out with the force, trying to search for an answer to what happened here. It was not really his cup of tea, to use the force for investigation. However, the trail in this case was so strong and recent that he couldn¡¯t possibly mess it up.

    He focused his mind on the chaotic force memories swirling in the room, while also attempting to silence any other lingering thoughts.

    After a while, he began to hear weak voices whispering into his mind. Then the voices gradually turned into screams and battle shouts. He opened his eyes, and there it was, the battle spreading out in front of him in a visual manifestation of the force.

    He saw two groups of people, one of them were pirates? Nizzal was among them an interesting discovery. For the first time, Anakin regretted his rash decision to not wait to the end of Kalifa¡¯s explanation. The girl would surely mention something about these pirates.

    It was still not late to listen to it later. He reminded himself, while refocusing on the flow of events.

    The battle began in favor of the pirates. However, the trandoshans were clearly about to overwhelm them by their sheer numerical advantage and higher mobility. The pirates were being picked off, one by one. Until the point that the battle practically degraded into a small scale melee scuffle.

    Normally, Anakin would write this battle off as a lost one. Alas, he knew that was not the case here. Since Nizzal was alive, and the trandoshans were not. Therefore, he waited curiously.

    Just as he expected, there it was.

    Something happened, a change in the air.

    Then, half of the remaining lizards began to choke out of nowhere. Were they poisoned? Then, the sound of simultaneously snapping bones echoed through the air. The sound sent shivers down Anakin¡¯s spine. Bodies fell to the ground, unmoving... then came the lightning. First, it was blue. Then red lightning arcing through the hall, coloring everything red. The memory was distorted under the sheer power of the dark side techniques, turning into a muddled mess of elongated screams.

    Darkness and silence followed as the vision ended, but Anakin saw a pair of golden eyes watching from the silence. He knew those eyes. They belonged to that girl... Was she really watching him, or was this just his imagination? Perhaps an illusion built into the technique to instill fear and paranoia.

    The last echoes of the memory ended there. Anakin felt unexplainably drained after experiencing the vision. He stumbled a bit as a powerful pain ran over the surface of his skull...

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    Sensing this battle so potent in the dark side was clearly uncomfortable for those who were not used to its exposure...

    Anakin grimaced as another wave of pain ran through his body. He stumbled one more time, reorienting himself. In his confusion, he stepped closer and closer to the mummified body. When his mind cleared, and he finally opened his eyes, his line of sight stuck to the screaming face of the dead lizard before him... There was a pull on his mind, as the darkness in those hollow eyes seemed to draw him in...

    ¡°¡­ome to me...¡±

    There was a whisper in his mind. Was this his imagination acting up again?

    ¡°Come to ME!¡±

    A sudden screaming voice filled out his mind, as he saw the dead lizard¡¯s mouth move, stretching impossibly wide in a preternatural scream. Its hollow eyes suddenly filled up with a bloodthirsty hunger.

    Suddenly, a solid hand grasped his shoulder, and the scream dispersed.

    ¡°General, are you alright?¡± ¡ª Rex''s worried voice sounded calling over his shoulder.

    ¡°What?! Where is the?¡± ¡ª Anakin whirled around, confused and genuinely terrified for once.

    He looked at his friend, taking in Rex''s worried expression. He turned back to the body once again. The dead lizard was there, unmoving, dead and frozen as he had seen it for the first time. However, he was a lot closer to it than he originally expected. He was almost touching it at this point.

    Rex spoke up behind him, in a rarely heard lecturing tone.

    ¡°You should take more care of yourself, General. You were just about to stumble face first on top of that dead body. It would crumble to dust and you would die from the poisonous substance in a minute. I just got the laboratory analysis of the poison. The bodies have an unknown, yet potent, paralyzing poison in them, and we don¡¯t have a serum against it. It only takes a few breaths without an air filter, and your heart will stop beating for good.¡±

    Anakin¡¯s eyes widened as the realization of what could have happened hit him. Suddenly, he felt a reinvigorated growing anger towards a certain gray twi¡¯lek... Was this an attempt to kill him? He wondered, or a mere side-effect of the technique she used.

    Still, as cold sweat was now properly covering his skin. Anakin decided that this place was too dangerous for anyone of them to linger around.

    ¡°Troopers, leave this cursed ship. Just bring the navigation computer¡¯s data drive with you, then we will destroy the rest of the ship as fast as possible. This place is contaminated by the dark side. It is too dangerous to stay here any longer,¡± ¡ª He declared with a rough tone. ¡ª ¡° and I have something important to report to the council... I also have a few questions of my own... for a certain someone... I hope her answers will prove to be satisfactory, for her sake.¡± ¡ª He said ominously before storming out of the ship.

    ¡°Yes sir, right away, sir.¡± ¡ª The clones shouted behind him.

    ~oOo~

    After things relatively calmed down, Nizzal¡¯s head became very dizzy, and she was forced to once again lie down on the couch.

    Seeing her terrible state, Vokara started to feel guilty for her own childish actions. The fact that Obi-Wan saw and heard part of it didn¡¯t help either... Shame was burning her leks.

    All of this was because of this troublesome girl. She just had to be so infuriating. Half of the healing community already treats her like a damn witch and now she calls her a hag, of all things!

    ¡°Ugh....¡± ¡ª Nizzal moaned in discomfort.

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have been jumping around like that. Now look at you. You look worse than the time they brought you here. People will start questioning my qualities as a healer. Can¡¯t you do something with your yellow eyes at least? It¡¯s getting on my nerves...¡±

    Nizzal groaned again. ¡ª ¡°So, I should have let you beat my butt instead. Is that what you are saying? Are you a pervert? A paedophile even!¡±

    Vokara bristled at that. ¡ª ¡°Now you are going overboard, are you calling every parent who disciplines their children in the same manner a paedophile as well? But fine! I will give you a dose of painkillers so your mind will be a bit fuzzy. Just stop moaning all the time¡­¡±

    ¡°I am not moaning¡­ Wait, I don¡¯t need painkillers and my head is already fuzzy... ouch...¡± ¡ª While she was complaining, Vokara had already injected some painkillers into one of her arms.

    ¡°Yes, you do. Anyway, it¡¯s too late now. It is not the time to act like a tough girl. You are in a safe place here.¡±

    ¡°As if... Regarding my eyes, they will turn back to normal in a day or two... maybe three¡­¡± ¡ª She yawned¡­

    ¡°Is that so? Why so late?¡±

    ¡°... Because, ¡­ because I absorbed too much dark side energies, ¡­ by unleashing a mass life steal spell... My force presence is therefore unbalanced, ¡­ until it balances itself out naturally...¡±

    ¡°... Mass life steal?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, ¡­ I used it to kill a bunch of lizards who were actively kidnapping children to hunt them down for sport...¡± ¡ª She yawned again. ¡ª ¡°They wanted to hunt me down too, ¡­ but they lacked the ability to do so.¡±

    ¡°I am keen to see what the council has to say about this...¡± ¡ª Vokara spoke to no one in particular. Watching lazily as the girl was slipping into dreamworld.

    Then the door opened once again as Obi-Wan and Ahsoka walked into the room with a loud bravado. Jolting up the already sleeping Nizzal. Rika was also tagging along, this time looking at the serene and silent scene. As if the chaos happening a few minutes ago was but a mere illusion.

    Ahsoka stared warily at the head healer, while glancing at Nizzal occasionally. Seeing how the gray twi¡¯lek was staying unusually calm compared to the previous situation, she couldn¡¯t help but fear for her friend.

    She glared at Vokara, and asked. ¡ª ¡°Did you?¡±

    ¡°Now, now, Ahsoka, don¡¯t look at me like that. I only gave her a mild sedative and some painkillers to calm her down.¡±

    The girl on the bad moaned in fresh betrayal. ¡ª ¡°I thought¡­ that you would only give me painkillers...¡± ¡ª Nizzal complained. ¡ª ¡°You lied!¡±

    ¡°Did I? Oh well, maybe I forgot to mention it...¡± ¡ª The woman said smugly.

    ¡°You... are the worst...¡± ¡ª Were the girl¡¯s last words before her body slowly turned numb as she lost consciousness, her breathing becoming relaxed once again.

    Ahsoka sat down next to her on the couch as she watched her friend sleep, clearly relieved to see her again. Rika was also standing nearby, seemingly not knowing what to do, as her long-lost friend had just fallen asleep in front of her from the drugs that Vokara had given her.

    ¡°What is wrong with her skin? Can you tell me, Master Vokara?¡± ¡ª Asked Ahsoka, after making up her courage.

    She was not sure what to think about the previous scenario she experienced today. It felt like a scene from a fever dream. She was seeing the calm and collected head healer in an entirely new light. Ahsoka was not sure what to think about her now¡­ but one thing she knew for sure. She was never going to come to her, if not absolutely necessary.

    Vokara answered to her question with the same warm smile she reserved for children. Ahsoka glanced at Nizzal and added mentally. Children she liked.

    ¡°Extreme exposure to the dark side can change your body physically. It is rare to see such a level of degradation, though. She believes that it will disappear in a few days, but I am not so sure about it, as you obviously saw her eyes are yellow too.¡±

    Vokara¡¯s eyes suddenly snapped towards Obi-Wan, who was standing in a corner watching the exchange consciously.

    ¡°What is it, Obi-Wan? You seem awfully quiet.¡±

    The man jolted out of his thoughts, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment and discomfort.

    ¡°Sorry about that. I am simply shocked by how powerful the dark side feels around such a small child. It feels even more powerful than the one around Ventress... Maybe we are making a mistake here. She is unpredictable and also too powerful in the dark side to walk around freely, just like that.¡±

    He sighed and continued.

    ¡°We didn¡¯t know enough about her sect. We didn¡¯t see anyone else from her sect, to be more precise. The only reason why she is allowed to move around is the fact that a true sith would never bother to learn pure light side techniques as force heals... She showed exceptional skills in the light side, and also in the dark side. I don¡¯t know what we should do anymore... Aside from that, Anakin told me something that is very disturbing... I am afraid that the council is about to imprison her, at least until we have a wider perspective on this matter. Either way, thank you, Vokara. Your cooperation means a lot.¡±

    Vokara crossed her arms over her chest, sighing with acceptance. She was evidently not surprised by the current turn of events.

    ¡°Well, you practically ordered me through my communication link to make her fall asleep as gently as possible. It had been done... She was confused, drained, and had a serious concussion. She wouldn¡¯t be able to run away anyway... Still better this way than to unnecessarily rile her up. I kind of already did that, anyway¡­¡±

    She looked aside in a moment of embarrassment, quickly gathered herself, and continued her report.

    ¡°I also confirmed your suspicions. She practically acknowledged that she was the one who killed those trandoshans through a technique called mass life steal... It was all in self-defence, though. I don¡¯t believe that the girl poses a genuine threat to us. She is a brat, yes, but I think she means well. Alas, I am not a member of the council. I would imagine they would disagree.¡±

    At that point, Ahsoka invited herself into the conversation.

    ¡°Nizzal is not someone who would hurt anyone without a proper reason... You don¡¯t know her as much as I do. She never even wanted to be in this war, not even in this order. The council was the one who first threw her into this whole scenario, and they still hesitate to trust her! If you are so against her being here, just let her leave and do whatever she wants, or stop doubting her without any reason. What is wrong with you?!¡±

    Ahsoka shouted suddenly. Rika was also nodding to her words from the side, demonstrating her support.

    Obi-Wan sighed and attempted to explain the situation to the younger padawan.

    ¡°Ahsoka, you have to understand, we are in the middle of a war, and she is an unknown risk factor. We can¡¯t even prove the existence of this so-called Grey Order, and even if it is true, the fact that they are using the dark side already gives us reason to capture and stop them. Nothing good had ever come from the dark side. What if we destroy the sith, only for them to take their place later... We can¡¯t trust anyone who dabbles in the dark side of the force. In time, you will understand what I am saying.¡±

    ¡°Then why did you pretend to trust her? You acted as if she was your padawan?¡± ¡ª Shouted Rika with clear confusion and betrayal mirrored in her eyes.

    ¡°Rika, this whole thing, the mission, and everything else was a part of the council¡¯s test. Of course, there were unexpected happenings, but the force always acts in mysterious ways. We have found evidence that the girl was truly powerful in the force, and we have realized that she was not afraid to use that power for killing, or butchering others with it. Someone like her simply can¡¯t be allowed to roam without supervision.¡± ¡ª Stated Obi-Wan.

    Ahsoka shouted at that with righteous anger.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t that the exact thing each of us has been doing since this war began?!¡±

    ¡°No, a Jedi only kills in self-defence. We never kill when there is an alternative way.¡± ¡ª Said Obi-Wan.

    ¡°Well, maybe there wasn¡¯t an alternative way for her to survive, either? You didn¡¯t even bother to ask her. You have already decided to condemn her!¡± ¡ª Answered Ahsoka.

    ¡°No, it was not mine, but the council¡¯s conclusive decision to do so.¡± ¡ª Obi-Wan deflected, feeling slightly flustrated for walking head first into such a contradiction.

    ¡°The council, which you are a member of,¡± ¡ª Accused Ahsoka. ¡ª ¡°by the way, what was your statement in this argument? Were you against condemning her for defending herself?¡±

    There was an uncomfortable silence stretching out in the room after that particular question.

    In the end, Obi-Wan started to speak.

    ¡°Ahsoka, you have to see reason. We can¡¯t take risks like this. The whole galaxy¡¯s fate is being questioned right now. She will have a fair trial, and will be judged accordingly by the Jedi High Council.¡±

    ¡°But!¡±

    ¡±There is nothing else I will say in this matter.¡± ¡ª Obi-Wan finished the argument. Then turned towards the healer.

    ¡°Master Vokara. I ask you to treat her injuries, then she will be immediately taken to one of the solitary prison rooms. I will personally watch over the transportation with the help of four temple guards.¡°

    In the end, he turned back to Ahsoka and Rika with a sigh.

    ¡°You girls should go back to your room and meditate over your actions. Your personal feelings are clearly clouding your judgments.¡±

    Ahsoka couldn¡¯t believe what Obi-Wan was saying. She was so enraged by the man¡¯s actions that she run out of the room, pulling Rika along while struggling to hold back her tears.

    It was a well-known fact among the jedi, that nobody ever got off easily after being judged by the Jedi High Council. They were going to punish her friend for simply defending herself while preaching that it was everyone¡¯s right to do so.

    It seems that right were only legitimised until that person didn¡¯t harness the dark side for said defence.

 35. Chapter

    ¡°Ugh...¡±

    ¡®My eyes opened, I tried to sit up, but the sudden movement caused a just as sudden spike of pain in my head.¡¯

    ¡°Ouch... damn... no sudden movements, I guess.¡± ¡ª ¡®I winced, tormented by my discomfort.¡¯

    ¡®It was one of the worst hangovers I ever felt, but... I can¡¯t seem to recall when I managed to get this drunk?¡¯

    ¡®Oh, yeah... wait, I am a child¡­ so that¡¯s unlikely that I got drunk. What the hell happened to me then? When did I fall asleep? I can¡¯t remember that kind of important detail...¡¯

    ¡®Was I kidnapped? Oh hell, not that please¡­¡¯ ¡ª Nizzal was beyond confused at the moment of her waking. An understandable reaction after going through so much extremity in such a short time.

    ¡®I was in a garden, with the healer...¡¯ ¡ª She finally recalled. ¡ª ¡®I was back in the damn temple... Sigh... No matter, I will have to play the part of a padawan for a few more weeks...¡¯

    With slow and calculated movements this time around, she finally managed to sit up. She heaved a sigh of relief afterwards.

    ¡®I finally managed to sit up in a way to not move my head more than it is entirely necessary.¡¯

    ¡®That was the first time when I looked around... I saw an even more minimalistic room than the jedi usually used... There was nothing except this bed built into the wall, in a way that it was impossible to move it. There was a water source built into a different wall and a room that was clearly leading to the toilet.¡¯

    ¡®While assessing my situation, I was passively channelling healing energies towards my brain to soothe the constantly pulsing pain that was distracting me from thinking over the causes that lead to this situation.¡±

    ¡®There was a massive door in front of me. It was obviously locked, since there was also an energy shield, stopping me from even touching the inside of the doorframe.¡¯

    ¡®There was no window in this room. I was unable to check my surroundings behind the walls of this place. Not that I needed to do so to create my conclusion.¡¯

    ¡®Yep, it seems that I am in prison. That¡¯s well, that¡¯s not exactly what I expected, but it wasn¡¯t too unexpected either... I mean, if that damn girl, who I freed from the lizards shared my plans to never ever go near to Coruscant, and maybe even some of my more interesting opinions of their order...¡¯

    ¡®My face paled gradually, as I couldn¡¯t certainly remember if I only thought, or actually spoke out loud when I called Yoda a green shit and wanted to see him boil in his sweat.¡¯ ¡ª Nizzal face palmed at the memory, a sense of desperation flipping her empty stomach. ¡ª ¡®Oh damn, I would never have said that, if I knew that I will be brought back here so soon... If the ¡°here¡± still means the Jedi Temple, but there is an easy way to figure that out.¡¯

    ¡®I reached out with the force, and immediately found a few more force sensitives, but... there were not many actually... I was not in the Jedi Temple anymore... Why?¡¯

    ¡®I pushed my senses even further. There were three, four... no five jedi in close proximity, and one of them was a familiar one.¡¯

    ¡®Obi-Wan Kenobi, my so-called substitute master. I sensed a few other humans without any special force presence, most likely clones and also two droids moving around the ship.¡¯

    ¡®Yes, I was being transported on a ship. Based on the constant low frequency humming created by the burning engines, resonating through the body of the ship. I could feel it if I focused on it a bit. I don¡¯t even need the force to figure that part.¡¯

    ¡®I just have to touch one of the steel walls surrounding me, and I can easily feel the resonance.¡¯

    ¡°Auuurgh... damn... why does my head hurt so much!?¡±

    ¡®The memory of being shot in the back by an infuriating human girl, only to crash into the cold floor face first like a cut down tree, flashed in front of my mental eyes.¡¯

    ¡°So that was the reason for my concussion!¡± ¡ª The girl exclaimed in disbelief stumbling across the room while grasping the sides of her pulsing head.

    ¡®My head began to hurt even more... That was strange... I was constantly healing it. It should have been mostly healed...¡¯

    ¡®Now, I was feeling a fresh wave of drowsiness too... Something was wrong... The air... it must have been poisoned!¡¯ ¡ª Nizzal realized her eyes widening with newfound fear. ¡ª ¡®What is the meaning of this?! It is one thing to put me in prison, but to kill me on the way there. No, wait... Calm down... this is not the style of the jedi... Then who?¡¯

    ¡°Cough... cough...¡±

    ¡®No time to think about that... I sat down on my bed and relaxed my mind. I must focus on creating an air bubble around my whole body. Who knows what kind of poison is this?¡¯

    ¡®This force aura technique is an old one. Its purpose is to filter any type of harmful material from the air around the user. A master of this technique is believed to be able to use it in raw space and survive. Well, at least until they have enough air locked inside that bubble.¡¯

    ¡®Honestly, I am not sure about that space part at all. I never tried it, and I am not that bored to actually try it out in space. I mean, not willingly... What if I fail, or it is simply misinformation?¡¯

    ¡®I opened my eyes after I activated the technique.¡¯

    ¡®An invisible bubble appeared around me containing only clean air and pushing anything else away from my body.¡¯

    ¡®Although I can¡¯t see any visual difference, since the gas or poison that is in the air is also perfectly transparent, but since I stopped coughing and can breathe without a problem, it can be said that the technique was a success. I only have to support it until I figure out what to do, which was not a big deal, even for my current self.¡¯

    The energy shield protecting the doorframe suddenly disappeared. It was followed by a hissing sound as the door opened out of nowhere.

    ¡°What? Who?¡± ¡ª The sudden opening of the door took Nizzal by surprise. She was certain that she would sense anybody getting closer to her cell in her alarmed state, be that clone or droid.

    She shouted, somewhat bewildered seeing the opening door. Her slightly raised eyebrows furrowed once again when she realised that nobody was standing at the door.

    ¡®Well, that at least explained why I didn¡¯t feel anybody getting closer¡­ For a second, I thought I was getting senile!¡¯

    ¡®I stood up, still hesitant about the headache, but since I could breathe clean air while keeping up the healing process in the background, my head felt much better now.¡¯

    ¡®I walked towards the door on mostly stable legs.¡¯

    ¡®Peaking out into the corridor, I noticed two temple guards. They were knocked out, lying on the floor. I kneeled down right next to them and checked their pulse.¡¯

    ¡®I was relieved to find them still alive, only asleep. The gas was evidently not focused on my room. It was unleashed across the entire ship.¡¯

    ¡®I don¡¯t know who is behind this, but I will never have a better chance of getting away. I was about to pick up one of the guard¡¯s lightsabers when I realized that my own blade was placed on the belt of one of the unconscious guards.¡¯

    ¡®I couldn¡¯t believe my luck? Why would they place my weapon in such an obvious place?¡¯

    ¡®I picked it up, activated it and it worked! Unbelievable. I looked over my clothes with a smile, as I noted that I was still in my rich girl clothes, which I loaned from the pirate gang. I will easily fit in with the Coruscant people, at least on the surface levels.¡¯

    ¡®I stole one of the wrist computers from the knocked-out temple guards, then I picked up a one handed blaster gun from one of the clones that was sprawled out across the floor. I checked our current position on the wrist computer real time map.¡¯

    ¡®Luckily, we were in atmospheric levels. Merely a few kilometers above ground level.¡¯

    ¡®What was the ship¡¯s goal? I wondered... A prison perhaps? That would make sense... I tinkered with the map and found out that our route was in line with one of the highest security prisons on Coruscant, capable of restraining force sensitives.¡¯

    ¡®I gulped, a bit frustrated but not even surprised anymore.¡¯

    ¡°They were really about to put me on ice for the forceable future... Fuckers, well, nobody can say that I didn¡¯t try.¡± ¡ª The girl complained while standing still in the middle of the corridor between a few unconscious soldiers and guards.

    ¡®Maybe the Grey Order is not the best in raw force power, like the Sith are, nor are we that incredible in force heal or other light side powers as the Jedi. But, if there is one thing we excel at, that is hiding and surviving.¡¯

    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    A surprised expression appeared on the still golden-eyed girl¡¯s face as she accidentally saw a small paper attached to the hilt of her previously reclaimed lightsaber...

    ¡®I knew it, they would not simply leave my weapon on a guard posted in front of my cell... Someone placed it there later, most likely after the guards had been put to sleep... Clearly the same person who was the cause for this entire charade.¡¯

    ¡®I read the message... It was one single word, telling me to ¡°JUMP!¡±¡¯

    ¡®Well, I would do that on my own anyway...¡¯

    ¡®I planned to levitate down to one of the buildings. Sadly, with my midi-chlorian count, I will not be able to fly with the use of the force, but to slow down my fall to a survivable degree. That is a piece of cake. I walked to one of the doors and opened it through the console.¡¯

    ¡®I didn¡¯t even have to use my saber to cut an opening on it. As the pressure door retreated, I was slapped in the face by the rushing air current. I had to grasp onto the door frame to stabilize myself, unless I wanted to take the plunge sooner than I was mentally prepared for.¡¯

    ¡®I stared down over the swiftly passing buildings underneath and the general hustle and bustle of the galaxy''s biggest city planet. It was a marvel to see and sense so many souls pressed into one planet. It was also tiring to watch, especially after living almost a decade in a tomb, and many more centuries through my memories.¡¯

    ¡®I took a deep breath, preparing to make that leap of faith. No matter the power and knowledge one accumulated, jumping out of a flying ship merely relying on your force abilities will always remain a terrifying deed, one that required the utmost level of focus.¡¯

    ¡®I was just about to step over that doorstep when a desperate and somewhat angry voice appeared behind me.¡¯

    ¡°Nizzal, if you step out of that door, there will be no going back!¡± ¡ª Sounded the warning.

    ¡®I turned around, partially, and looked at the face of my substitute master... No, he never really deserved that titled, did he? He was, but another Jedi Master, called Obi-Wan Kenobi. A person who was not my enemy, not even now, yet he had never been my friend either. Nor will he.¡¯

    ¡°Obi-Wan Kenobi. I should have known that some simple sleeping gas is not enough to stop you.¡± ¡ª ¡®I acknowledged his presence with a glance over my shoulder. Never for a moment stepping away from my way to freedom.¡¯

    ¡°Maybe that is why you sent that assassin droid after me,¡± ¡ª The slightly disheveled master answered with cold distrust. ¡ª ¡°but I will give you one more chance if you go back to your cell right now, on your own. I will do everything in my power to make the council look over this... You will have a fair trial and-...¡±

    ¡®I showed him an easy-going smile, while I weakly shook my head.¡¯

    ¡°Assassin droid, you say? Let me guess, it¡¯s color was, copper?¡± ¡ª ¡®I asked with a newfound suspicion.¡¯

    ¡°Why am I not surprised that you are right about that?¡±

    ¡°I hope you destroyed it.¡± ¡ª ¡®I added, causing the master to feel quite confused all of a sudden.¡¯

    ¡°Well... yes.¡± ¡ª He answered. Clearly unsure of what to think about the situation.

    ¡°Good riddance,¡± ¡ª ¡®I chuckled heartily.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°thanks for that assist. It¡¯s a pity that was not the real one, though.¡±

    ¡®Obi-Wan rayed a questioning eyebrow at that, which I promptly ignored.¡¯

    ¡®Aside from that annoyance, I have to say that I can clearly see why the council trusted you to be my investigator. If there is one person who can turn someone away from the dark side, it needs to be just as stubborn with the pestering as you are.¡¯ ¡ª Nizzal sighed helplessly, while turning ahead, looking over the forest of skyscrapers once again. ¡ª ¡®To be honest, there were times when I kind of enjoyed being your padawan. Messing around and stuff like that. It was fun, at least for a while, Master Kenobi. Although, I have to say, that you were never meant to be my tutor, because I had one already.¡¯

    ¡®No¡­ that is not quite true either. I had many tutors. All of them were great in their own ways, eccentric, true, but wise. Their gazes piercing far beyond the horizon, seeing things with a sense of certainty, things that could be merely anticipated by the best of your order.¡¯

    Obi-Wan narrowed his eyes at the girl, a sense of uncertainty lingering on his features.

    ¡®There is no arrogance in my tone, Master Jedi¡­ if you are wandering, the reason for that¡­ is that I am merely stating facts.¡¯

    There was a short silence passing between the two.

    ¡®We all have our burdens to carry, Master Jedi. Mine lays elsewhere and it is shrouded by darkness and uncertainty, but I sense that our path will cross again.¡¯

    ¡®I spared one last glance towards the sky above Coruscant. The sky seemed calm and eternal, compared to the colorful city moving under my feet. The blue sky extended over the horizon, promising sweet freedom with countless possibilities. My heart fluttered from sensing the massive life energy of the trillions of beings living on this colossal city planet. The whole thing seemed to call out to me. It wanted me to join to live the life I was promised. An empty promise that I have exchanged for survival on a faithful night on the streets of Ryloth.¡¯

    ¡®That was the truth.¡¯

    ¡®Now¡­ I am bound to my order with more ties than I could ever cut. Being a living manifestation of the Grey Order¡¯s secrets, a personification of everything it entails¡­ This planet would sooner cease to exist along with me than my existence would be allowed to become compromised.¡¯

    Obi-Wan spoke up behind me, his tone more pleading than demanding this time.

    ¡°Nizzal, think about your friends! What about Ahsoka and Rika? Are you going to make them suffer this way? They are already worried about you! Come over here and we can still think through this... Choosing suicide is not the way, it is not what the council intended for!¡±

    ¡®My face whipped with frustration towards this idiot. Who the hell is talking about suicide here¡­ oh, wait¡­ I guess, from his point of view, this might as well look like it.¡¯

    ¡®A new sense of frustration jolted through my body, realising that this entire scene was once again misunderstood by the annoying jedi, and my lack of common sense.¡¯

    ¡®For fuck¡¯s sake, I couldn¡¯t hold one single serious conversation over my entire stay here with this idiot!¡¯

    ¡®The frustration I felt quickly grown into anger under the influence of the lingering dark side energies in my body. I snapped at the man with newfound anger and a cheap pink blush spreading over my cheeks, which he no doubt noticed, that only added to his general confusion.¡¯

    ¡°What is there to think through?! I already know what the Jedi would do with someone who is suspected to be a sith. You either kill them or strip them from the living force entirely, or perhaps mold them into a different person?¡±

    ¡®I felt as my eyes for a second turned to the deepest golden glow as a burning hatred shook my whole being unleashed from the depths of my subconscious.¡¯

    ¡°I will not suffer that fate again!¡± ¡ª ¡®My voice contorted, coiled and twisted by the dark side as it shook through the hull of the ship, making it shake like a leaf in a storm.¡¯

    ¡®I shut my eyes forcefully and forced myself to calm down through a few deep breaths.¡¯

    ¡®Those were not really my words, since I was never stripped from the force. They belonged to someone else, Revan¡¯s¡­ Revan¡¯s memories got triggered by our conversation. The shame and powerlessness when they took away what he worked for in his entire life. What he rightfully earned! It left behind a deep scar, which could never heal even after they altered his memories. That impotent rage kept boiling under his skin.¡¯

    ¡®I saw as Obi-Wan shook from the power of my voice. Words that seemed to have left my mouth against my will. He was confused, but there was something else visible on his features, a new emotion... pity.¡¯

    ¡®I sighed again.¡¯

    ¡°Let me warn you here and now. If any of you would ever try to descend into my mind as I am now, Master Jedi. You would only find your own death. A long and hopeless death. Eternally wandering in the dark until the last segments of your memories turned to nothingness.¡±

    ¡°It is better for all of us if I leave now before any of you succumb to the temptation.¡±

    ¡°Oh, and don¡¯t you worry about me. I did not intend to kill myself. Far from it, really.¡±

    There was another moment of uncertainty before the girl continued her monologue.

    ¡°Kenobi, you are a good man. A good jedi. A jedi that the people may actually need these days. You remind me of my master in many ways... except, maybe that he was more cowardly in nature, which you are clearly not.¡±

    The girl chuckled with unbidden mirth.

    ¡°He had missed many opportunities, that he regretted later. All because of his fear. He lost many friends because he was afraid to die, afraid to risk more than what was absolutely necessary. But, is that really what you call a coward?¡±

    ¡°I would say no, yet he somehow, along the passing years, managed to stigmatise himself, and therefore he truly believed that he was a coward and in a manner indeed became one.¡±

    ¡°One day, when I was much younger, I asked him this question. Is it really your mistake that your friends didn¡¯t listen to you, when you told them not to risk your lives foolishly in a stupid endeavour? Is that your mistake, that you didn¡¯t join them and die too in the process? For nothing? Because, if he died, I wouldn¡¯t be arguing with you right now.¡±

    ¡°I would have died in a slum on Ryloth seven years ago. But even if my master was a coward in his life. In his death, at the end, he chose from his own free will to give me something precious, in exchange for his very life. He showed courage, something that I could only hope to ever rival.¡±

    ¡°Joseph, Joseph Grey was my master¡¯s name that you clearly had never heard before. He was not an outstanding man, but for me, he was everything that I could wish for.¡±

    ¡°Tell your council to forget about me, and our paths can differ in peace until fate once again ties them together.¡±

    ¡°Yet, I can already see in your eyes that you will not let me go that easily... I guess, then I will have to play the cat-and-mouse game. Let me tell you one last thing, I am pretty good at this game...¡±

    ¡®With those words left in the air, I lazily jumped out of the door backwards while showing a double bird in Kenobi¡¯s general direction.¡¯

    ¡®The man was clearly flabbergasted by my childish antics, especially after such a serious conversation. Still, I could only think about one thing on the inside.¡¯

    ¡®Oh god, that felt good.¡¯

    ¡®I saw as Kenobi rushed towards the door, looking down at me with a horrified expression, only to see that I had landed on the top of another ship. It was, of course, the Ebon Hawk. Which I have long since noticed from standing in the doorframe. I have to say that there are many differences since I last saw the ship. It was upgraded with new technologies, hopefully with shield generators too, and weapon systems, because I have a feeling we will soon need them.¡¯

    ¡®I spared one last glance at Kenobi, before starting to climb down into the ship.¡¯

    ~oOo~

    Kenobi was standing in the door of the prisoner transporter ship. He felt utterly helpless about this whole situation.

    Why the hell did the council have to force him into this damn role? He knew at the beginning that it would not end well.

    He walked over to the door¡¯s console and closed the door. The others should be about to wake from the sleeping gas, since he had already destroyed the strange protocol droid, and most of the poison was sucked out through the draft.

    That damn thing was an actual assassin droid in disguise. Damn droid... cough... It even had some weird martial arts program. He was occupied with it for a whole ten minutes. He didn¡¯t want to imagine what would happen if these types of droids would be the ones that made up the bulk of the separatist armies.

    What a nightmare... And the worst thing is the fact that after he finally managed to destroy it, the whole damn thing turned into dust. Some kind of in built self destructive release triggered the moment the droid went down, releasing nano machines that ate up all the evidence, leaving behind nothing but a pile of metal dust.

    But how did this cursed droid manage to slip up on a high security prisoner transporter ship in the first place? This thing was supposed to be a well-guarded ship? And where are the reinforcements? He has asked for it about twelve minutes ago?

    ¡°R-4? Do you copy? R-4? Oh, damn it! Of course, the communication is also compromised... Sigh...¡±

    Kenobi looked out on a nearby window towards the currently accelerating ship while a simple sentence left his mouth.

    ¡°The council won¡¯t be happy about this...¡±

 36. Chapter

    ¡®Not long after, I managed to climb into the Ebon Hawk through an emergency trapdoor on its upper part.¡¯

    ¡®I was carefully climbing down on the ladder placed into the small vertical entrance area. When I was about halfway to the floor. I sensed the ship beginning its rapid acceleration. I had to hold on to the ladder with all my strength to not tumble down in the narrow tunnel.¡¯

    ¡®It was a scary situation.¡¯

    ¡°What the hell? At least wait until I have the chance to sit down!¡± ¡ª ¡®I complained.¡¯

    ¡®As the acceleration stabilized to a constant speed, I was finally allowed to take a breather and climb down to the floor level. I looked around in the familiar corridor. It was empty. Therefore, I decided to head towards the bridge. The ship itself was not that big, so after a few turns, I reached the ship¡¯s bridge. The doors opened in front of me automatically, taking me by surprise. As soon as I glanced into the room, I instinctively froze.¡¯

    ¡°Not you...¡± ¡ª ¡®I squeezed out those disgusted words in utter disbelief...¡¯

    ¡®I saw a familiar copper-colored droid sitting in the driving seat, controlling the ship in a relaxed manner. The sight destroyed the last of the fickle hope that the droid was by some miracle indeed destroyed by Obi-Wan, back on the prisoner transport ship.¡¯

    ¡®The current reality spread out in front of me, however, was much more cruel than I could ever expect. There was not one, but three damn droids. They practically looked the same way. I can only hope that their personalities at least differ somewhat. Otherwise, I might be tempted to return to the jedi.¡¯

    ¡®Fate was a cruel mistress, unfortunately.¡±

    ¡°(Observation, statement:) The meat bag has arrived at the bridge.¡±

    ¡®Stated one of the HK droids standing close to the door, now I managed to notice a few color-based differences. These two droids had a few distinct black marks painted on them. They were republican military signs and codes, most likely used to disguise them.¡¯

    ¡°(Sarcastic statement:) Ah, what a relief to have you back on the ship, mistress. My circuits are tingling from sheer excitement.¡±

    ¡®I looked at the stupid scrap pile sitting in front of the control panel... It was so infuriating... It didn¡¯t even bother to look up from the consoles.¡¯

    ¡®Not even saying that the damn thing seemingly didn¡¯t give a fuck about its own programming... Stating sarcastic statement before telling me your heartfelt welcome, oh a real charmer this one is... Yet, I had to swallow it since there was no chance I would start a fight with three of these idiots at the same time...¡¯

    ¡®Not in such a narrow place, at least.¡¯

    ¡°Sigh...¡±

    ¡®I already felt drained from the short interactions...¡¯

    ¡®I walked between the two slightly different HK models with the disguising paint and sat down next to the one with the original colors. I used the seat belts to fix myself in place. After that I relaxed my body somewhat and asked.¡¯

    ¡°So... where are we going now?¡±

    ¡°(Simplified statement:) We are not going anywhere. An HK-46 unit was entrusted to jam their communication signal, but it must have been repaired by now, as it was eliminated approximately five minutes prior.¡±

    ¡°Then why are we heading towards outer space currently?¡±

    ¡°(Lecturing statement:) We are purposefully confusing our enemies¡¯ scanners in an attempt of misdirection.¡±

    ¡°How?¡±

    ¡°(Oversimplified, describing statement) Soon I will activate the newly equipped stealth generator and we will turn around and go back to the surface. Leaving the atmospheric border will cause a clutter in enemy scanners. I will use this short time to activate stealth mode and go back to the planet. It is too risky for us to try to leave when all of their space stations are actively searching for us. Also, they would never expect us to hide on Coruscant when they issue a galaxy-wide warrant to capture you, mistress.¡±

    ¡°That is, well, it¡¯s not a bad idea. Actually, it is a surprisingly good plan. So where are you taking me, I mean, more specifically.¡±

    ¡°(Happy statement:) We are going to stay at the Coruscant Five Star Incognito hotel. I have reserved a living quarter for your explicit use.¡±

    ¡°... You are taking me to a sex hotel? I guess I shouldn¡¯t even be surprised by this, not anymore...¡±

    ¡°(Explicative statement:) My algorithm suggests that the probability of running into a jedi in one of Coruscant¡¯s luxury red-light districts is about 0.00001 percent.¡±

    ¡°Sigh... You know what, I will be back in my room... call me when we arrive. I need to rest my mind a bit...¡±

    ¡®Realizing that we would not leave the atmosphere, I hastily unstrapped myself from the seat belts, climbed out of the seat, and, without uttering another word, left the bridge. This whole plan was hilarious, so hilarious, in fact, that it will probably work. I reached the room that was basically my room, since I put all my stuff into it when we left Hoth. I opened the door with a bored expression. The door slid apart, and I stepped inside the room, deep in my thoughts.¡¯

    ¡°Who are you!?¡±

    ¡®Someone shouted at me suddenly. I froze for the third time today and looked up with growing confusion and surprise.¡¯

    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°Whose kid is this? Is it one of yours, Rark?¡±

    ¡°I am not sure. I had been with a few twi¡¯leks. It could be...¡±

    ¡®I was shocked. There was no way to hide this fact. There is a human woman in my bed passionately hugging an also human male. Both of them were dressed in nightclothes while watching my custom ordered 3D, color holoprojector...¡¯

    ¡¯I just stood there with an open mouth and a shocked expression. The woman stood up and walked in front of me, showing off a comforting sweet smile. It was way too sweet, if you ask me, dangerously so...¡¯

    ¡°Now, who is this little cutie? Hmm? Well, from this distance I could already say that it is not your kid Rark...¡±

    ¡°Why so sure?¡±

    ¡°Because she is actually cute.¡±

    ¡°And why would a man like me want to be cute? You are talking gibberish again... But I will acknowledge the fact that she is easy on the eyes, oh, except those sickening yellow eyes, and she is kind of pale for a twi¡¯lek...¡±

    ¡°You are right, and she seems to be a bit soft in the head too... What is with that stupid expression? Hmmm? Did the loth-cats steal your tongue?¡±

    ¡®The woman grabbed me by my arm and pulled me over to the bed. Then she proceeded to pat my head, clearly trying to reassure me somewhat. It only confused me even more... My brain could not create an acceptable reason for these two people to be in my room right now... And they were acting as if they lived here since the fucking Big Bang. I looked at their night robes with a half-functioning mind... No, not that kind of ¡°big bang¡±¡­ fuck it. I cannot unsee this now!¡¯

    ¡°Well, she seems kind of shocked.¡±

    ¡®Said the man after taking in my expression. He was still sitting on the other side of the bed next to this strange woman...¡¯

    ¡°Let her cool down, then we will talk, but for now it is time to change this fucking channel! I ain¡¯t watching this romantic shit any longer. I didn¡¯t rent out one of the hotel incognito ships for an entire afternoon just to watch bad dramas!¡±

    ¡°What, no way! Give me back the controller, you deep shit!¡±

    ¡°No! I watched your drama shows for over half of this morning. It is time for a good old-fashioned pod-racing match!¡±

    ¡°Eh, fine, but you should wait until this episode ends. Alehandro was about to ask Rose out...¡±

    ¡°He will fuck her, alright, you know it already!¡±

    ¡°Fuck off, you fucking-fucker deep shit, there is a kid over here, so better watch your shit-ass language! Do you understand?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡®Me and the man called Rark shared a silent look, before he burst out in laughter saying.¡¯

    ¡°You are unbelievable...¡±

    ¡®While the woman was distracted by our antics, the guy managed to change the channel to the intergalactic pod-racing sport channel.¡¯

    ¡°I win, bitch.¡±

    ¡°What did you call me?¡±

    ¡°I called you my love, bitch.¡±

    ¡®The woman decided to box into the side of the man. It was a pretty powerful hit as the guy grunted soundly after tanking it.¡¯

    ¡®Someone forgot that he doesn¡¯t wear his armor right now... Where is your mandalorian steel heh? Oh, gonna cry now?¡¯

    ¡®The man grunted out loud.¡¯

    ¡°Now, move your ass away. You are blocking my view. And don¡¯t forget the fact that you don¡¯t wear your armor either. Idiot.¡±

    ¡°Was that supposed to be a threat?¡±

    ¡®That was the moment I decided to finally interrupt this ever more frustrating argument.¡¯

    ¡°Do you mind, if I ask, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU FUCKING MANDALORIANS DOING IN MY PERSONAL ROOM!?¡±

    ¡®Both of them looked at me with a bewildered expression.¡¯

    ¡®The man began to clear his right ear with disdain, evidently annoyed with my sudden shout, while noting halfheartedly.¡¯

    ¡°Oh, it seems she can speak fine, and also, she seems to be your child, not mine. I can¡¯t believe there is another female with the scream of a charging taun taun horde. It can¡¯t be a simple coincidence.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± ¡ª ¡®I asked bewildered.¡¯

    ¡°WHAT?¡± ¡ª ¡®The woman screamed enraged.¡¯

    ¡®We spoke up at the same time, and turned to stare at each other at the same time, too.¡¯

    ¡®Causing the man to snort in amusement.¡¯

    ¡°By the way, who are you, little girl? Are you a waitress or something? Aren¡¯t you a bit young to work for a shady place like this?¡±

    ¡®Asked the man again.¡¯

    ¡°What do you mean? This is my fucking ship! Why am I the one who is being questioned to be here?¡±

    ¡°Well, even if this is your ship, and that is a fact that I highly doubt to be true, we are currently paying to use this room, so next time you should be more polite, knock on the door before you enter or something.¡±

    ¡®Advised the man, then he turned towards the holoprojector, completely ignoring any further communication.¡¯

    ¡°Wh-what? Who are you paying to? And this is MY room! Why should I knock on my OWN door!?¡±

    ¡®I was pulled to the door by my arms as the woman patted my head and told me to speak with my droid about my own business matters. Then she shut the door in my face, and after half a minute of standing outside of my own fucking room in an utterly shocked state. I slowly began to walk back towards the bridge... my steps soon quickened to a march, then I began to run, blinded by my own still growing fury.¡¯

    ¡®Someone is going to die here. I am going to teach a lesson to that fucking piece of shit, even if I die in the process.¡¯

    ¡®With that in mind, I stormed into the control room, as the doors split apart, just like before. I was ready to scream and potentially cut their heads off.¡¯

    ¡®Unfortunately, my words were forcefully stopped by two energy beams heading towards my chest.¡¯

    ¡°FUCK!¡± ¡ª ¡®I immediately activated my lightsaber and blocked one of the shots. Yet the other one hit me right in the middle of my chest.¡¯

    ¡®I didn¡¯t wear my armor, since I just escaped from a prison ship.¡¯

    ¡®I dropped on the floor like a dry fig.¡¯

    ¡®For the following minutes, my consciousness felt distant... My senses mushy, the pain was still intensely running through my body.¡¯

    ¡®My slowly returning vision was pulsing with white pain.¡¯

    ¡®My hearing was somewhat better, but it was also screwed up, as if I tried listening to people speaking from behind a wall. What I actually heard were only parts of the entire conversation.¡¯

    ¡°She got hit... that?¡±

    ¡°(Statement) Indeed, Master, her overconfidence is... troublesome. She is also overdependent on pure force abilities... weakness... easily enraged.¡±

    ¡°The first trial was finished... I promised to Joseph... proceed with the second one. We must temper her temper before... I have the right idea for... second trial ...heed my words...¡±

    ¡°(Excited...) That is ingenious... I will follow your orders... master.¡±

    ¡°Do so. Now I must leave... before...¡±

    ¡®My consciousness slipped away at that time for an uncertain amount of time. The next thing I remember was a sense of movement and stiff arms that were holding me and bringing me somewhere... I also heard a few words, this time much clearer.¡¯

    ¡°(Observation:) She is about to wake.¡±

    ¡°(Order:) Shoot her again with the paralyzing beam.¡±

    ¡°Oh, no... no need to...¡± ¡ª ¡®I tried to dully struggle out of the metal arms¡¯ grasp, before another wave of jolting pain run through me. I screamed.¡¯

    ¡®Everything turned black again as I fell into the welcoming abyss.¡¯

 37. Chapter

    ¡®My eyes shot open as a heavy wave of coughing began to shake my entire body.¡¯

    ¡®I struggled to pull myself up from the cold floor. The sudden movement spreading a wave of nausea all over my body.¡¯

    ¡®Resulting in a few minutes of forceful dry retching, as I collapsed back onto my knees.¡¯

    ¡®In the middle of this pitiful display, I sensed a hesitating hand reassuringly patting my back.¡¯

    ¡®After I managed to stop my stomach contracting on itself, as I was unable to vomit out anything more than a few spoonfuls of stomach acid.¡¯

    ¡®My breathing slowly started to stabilize.¡¯

    ¡®I laid on my side taking in deep breaths, my training kicking in, helping me to force down the panic and confusion that was threatening to engulf me.¡¯

    ¡®I was desperately trying to figure out what was happening with me.¡¯

    ¡®As I focused my attention on the details. I immediately realized that my throat felt incredibly dry, painfully so. What was even worse was the fact that I could barely see.¡¯

    ¡®I was not blind, but my sight was swimming all over the place and everything looked blurred and mashed together. It forced me to close my eyes as the sense of nausea was quickly returning, along with the wave of raw panic which I temporarily managed to fight off.¡¯

    ¡®A dreadful feeling began to settle in the bottom of my stomach. How much time was I unconscious? Where am I? What is wrong with my eyes? Those and similar questions came to haunt me, clawing into me, spreading the sense of icy terror.¡¯

    ¡°Are you better now?¡± ¡ª ¡®The voice of a boy spoke up next to me.¡¯

    ¡®I shook in fright, from the appearance of the sudden voice.¡¯

    ¡®Only now remembering that someone had attempted to comfort me in the middle of my coughing fit previously.¡¯

    ¡®I looked up at the stranger hovering over me, realizing with relief that my vision was starting to clear.¡¯

    ¡®I focused on the mysterious person. I could vaguely make out that he was a mirialan boy, about the same age as me, but the more stupefying fact was the collar around his neck.¡¯

    ¡®Than a dire realization hit me. I also felt something cold around my neck, just as around my wrists and ankles.¡¯

    ¡®I immediately proceeded to check my wrists.¡¯

    ¡®I found four beautifully designed bracelets closed around my wrists and ankles. The accessories were tightly attached to my limbs, but they were evidently more than simple accessories, as I could feel a sense of energy vibrating inside them when I focused my mind.¡¯

    ¡®My eyes snapped open with a disgusted expression contorting my features. These were electronic pulse shackles, usually used to punish and control slaves... Only these particular ones were made with rarely seen intricacy.¡¯

    ¡®My mouth opened and closed a few times voicelessly as I made more and more depressing deductions.¡¯

    ¡®In the end I asked the boy with a tight voice.¡¯

    ¡°Am I a slave now?¡± ¡ª ¡®The question that left my dry lips sounded lifeless and tired, as I already known the answer.¡¯

    ¡®The boy looked at me with a pitiful expression, my gaze once again focusing on his own shackles.¡¯

    ¡®After a few silent moments, he eventually answered.¡¯

    ¡°I am sorry, but your intuition is correct. You have been frozen in carbonite for an unknown amount of time, and you would likely still be frozen if by mere luck your last owner hadn¡¯t decided to offer you as a gift to the Zygerrian Queen in exchange for her favor and long-lasting blessings. You need to know that you are currently on the planet of Zygerria, which is allied with the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Are you following?¡±

    ¡®I was still confused, but that at least explained a lot of things.¡¯

    ¡®Like why my eyes were sensitive, it was just an after-effect of long time hibernation. Just as the dryness I felt in my throat along with the general weakness.¡¯

    ¡®My head hurt too, but I could still follow his words. My hearing was mostly fine. Therefore, I nodded while also saying.¡¯

    ¡°I understand.¡±

    ¡°Good. You have to also know that you were given to her Majesty, Queen of the New Zygerrian Slave Empire, enslaver of races, and rightful ruler of Zygerria and all Zygerrians. Her majesty¡¯s name is Miraj Scintel, but you, as one of her property, are only allowed to call her mistress until she states otherwise. Understood?¡±

    ¡®I clenched my teeth but nodded, realizing the disadvantaged position I was currently in. Alas, that couldn¡¯t hide my steadily growing frustration.¡¯

    ¡°If you are asked a question, you should answer properly with your voice.¡±

    ¡®I grumbled silently as I squeezed out the words.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°I understand.¡±

    ¡°You were given to her Majesty as a slave with rare qualities. Answer me truthfully for the following questions. But I warn you, that I will know, if you lie, because of the lie detectors placed into your shackles and collar.¡±

    ¡®I wanted to spit back some sort of hurtful remark hearing that ridiculous statement, but was apparently not allowed to come up with anything as the questions immediately started.¡¯

    ¡°First question. Are you truly trained in the ways of the force?¡±

    ¡®I thought about denying it, but I didn¡¯t want to get shocked into unconsciousness again. It was a bit too much for the last two times in quick succession. And, I was a shitty lier at best, so I decided to spare myself from the unnecessary suffering.¡¯

    ¡°I am.¡±

    ¡°Good, prove it. Raise one of the tables in the room, but don¡¯t try anything funny. Even if you manage to kill me, you won¡¯t achieve anything.¡±

    ¡°Remember, I am also a slave, just a bit higher in status at the moment, but nothing they cannot replace easily.¡±

    ¡°Try to understand that I am not your enemy. I will even do you a service and warn you about your shackles. They may not hinder your movements much, but they can subdue you or even kill you if the mistress deems it necessary. But if you continue to act as obedient as you are now, I can foresee a brilliant future in front of you as a slave inside this very palace.¡±

    ¡®I rolled my eyes. Biting back my bubbling remark.¡¯

    ¡®Oh grate, I should be cheering for it then? I mean, after living in the slums of Ryloth for half my life, and the other half in an abandoned tomb, this indeed isn¡¯t that bad.¡¯

    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    ¡®¡­ I just realized how pitiful that actually sounded.¡¯

    ¡®I intended it to sound sarcastic, but it was actually spot on¡­ fuck my life!¡¯

    ¡®I groaned as I thought desperately.¡¯

    ¡®What does it say of my life if being taken as a luxury slave actually amounts to a positive change?¡¯

    ¡®Okay, jokes aside, I have no idea how I appeared on a completely different planet suddenly. I need more information, like the most crucial one. How long was I frozen, and what¡¯s happening in the galaxy? Am I still wanted? Who was the one who carbonated my body and where was I until now? I seem to remember some blurry memory of a conversation back in the Ebon Hawk...¡¯

    ¡°What are you waiting for?¡± ¡ª ¡®Sounded the impatient voice of the boy. Immediately reminding me that I was supposed to do something right now.¡¯

    ¡°Oh, sorry, I am still a bit confused...¡±

    ¡®The boy snorted in annoyance.¡¯

    ¡®I reached out with the force and raised up one of the shockingly heavy tables, just as he previously demanded.¡¯

    ¡®I was taking in quick breaths while straining my battered body in this current state. Fat balls of sweat were quickly dribbling down my face.¡¯

    ¡®I was surprised to see his genuine excitement at the sight of the floating table. Reminding me of the fact that indeed, he was just another slave and a teenager of that.¡¯

    ¡°Fascinating.¡± ¡ª ¡®The boy spoke in excitement.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°The queen will be overjoyed by the news. You can place it down, and do so carefully. That table is worth as much as five regular slaves.¡±

    ¡®I grimaced hearing the alarming information, while trying to put it back down gently without panicking.¡¯

    ¡®Fucking kid, should have told me previously. I almost dropped the damn thing. I cursed under my breath.¡¯

    ¡®After my previous fright that the mirialan boy didn¡¯t even notice. I was presently resting on my knees slumped over, supporting my weight with my shaking arms and gulping down as much air as I could.¡¯

    ¡®I half mindedly listened to the mirialan boy who was currently acting as my supervisor. He was pretty good at it, if I try to be completely honest. Constantly putting me on edge without allowing any leeway to think or gather my thoughts.¡¯

    ¡°Tell me your name.¡± ¡ª ¡®Here he goes again¡­¡¯

    ¡°I am¡­ I am called Nizzal G-...¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s enough. We don¡¯t care about your last name. Still, it seems that you are indeed the fallen apprentice of the legendary Obi-Wan Kenobi. The face scan also points to this. Regarding last names, common slaves do not have the privilege of using two names. But if you manage to impress her majesty, then she may consider gifting you a new name and perhaps freedom.¡±

    ¡°Can I have a few questions of my own?¡±

    ¡°Not now. There is no time. I have to tell you a few basics before I lead you to her Majesty. She wants to inspect her new property. It is one of her favorite afternoon activities. First, you have to rehydrate yourself and you may also eat a little. Then you will change into more sufficient clothes to represent your new position.¡±

    ¡®That was the moment when I realized that I was basically sitting in my undies... My mind was still slow, but as I began to slowly realize that this was not just a dirty joke, a thirst for revenge began to rise in me.¡¯

    ¡®The problem was that I didn¡¯t remember who I was supposed to unleash my vengeance. Not yet at least, but at the moment I will have some time to think. I will certainly remember.¡¯

    ¡°Now, time to move.¡± ¡ª ¡®Stated the boy.¡¯

    ¡®He grabbed me by my arms and pulled me up to my currently shaking legs... He seemed to be annoyed by the fact that I could not walk on my own right now.¡¯

    ¡®What the heck? Try to be carbonated for, who knows how long, then I will see if you managed to stand up and run around, fool.¡¯

    ¡°Sit down there and drink some water. Your level of hygiene seems to be acceptable, which is a relief, since you wouldn¡¯t have time for a bath, anyway.¡±

    ¡®I began to drink the water that was offered to me, as the guy began to look over me as if I was a rare animal. It was annoying, but at that moment, as the waves of hunger and thirst began to engulf me, I didn¡¯t really have the spare energy to give a shit about it.¡¯

    ¡°Good, good. From what I have seen, a young girl like you was a worthy gift to the Zygerian Queen. This mysterious Lord R. must be a man of refined taste. It is a shame that he could not appear in person. He must be quite an eccentric. He even sent a bunch of protocol droids as escorts.¡±

    ¡®Hearing the loud thoughts of this strange boy was an unwelcomed background noise. But it didn¡¯t ruin my appetite. I was also surprised that the offered quantity and quality of the food was very good. It was actually better than what I used to eat on my ship while traveling through space.¡¯

    ¡®Alas, when said boy, whose name I didn¡¯t even know yet, mentioned a certain Lord R., I accidentally choked on my food.¡¯

    ¡°COUGH, COUGH!¡± ¡ª ¡®I was hitting my chest with my fist while spluttering pieces of food everywhere, trying to clear my air tube.¡¯

    ¡®The boy next to me started to panic.¡¯

    ¡°Wh-what are you doing? Eat slower, you imbecile! You are a property of her majesty. You can¡¯t damage yourself so foolishly, especially not while under my care. I forbid you to die now. I will be punished too, you selfish girl. Do you want to take me down with you? I will never forgive you if you dare!¡±

    ¡®He spouted a flood of hurtful words at me while also offering a large glass of water for my shaky hands, which I accepted and managed to flush down the majority of the stuck food in my throat.¡¯

    ¡®Once again I found myself on my knees breathing heavily as tears of frustration began to form in the edges of my eyes.¡¯

    ¡®If I ever manage to leave this fucking place, I will search for a technique that could even hurt force spirits, and I will unleash it on him. Revan, you will suffer for this humiliation! I was certain that it was him. There could be no other person who would be referring to himself, as Lord R.¡¯

    ¡°Cough... cough... boy, repeat what you just said...¡±

    ¡°I will also get punished if you die on me, you stupid!¡±

    ¡°Not that, you idiot! The other one, did you say there were protocol droids sent with me?¡±

    ¡°Idiot, me? Preposterous, you should never call names to any of your immediate superiors. But I will look past this, taking into consideration how new this situation must feel to you.¡±

    ¡®I rolled my eyes at the fake generosity.¡¯

    ¡°Thank you, thank you, just get to the point, finally!¡±

    ¡°Hmph, yes, there were six very strange, if I might add, protocol droids sent with you. They were all speaking in a strange manner, too. Like saying ¡°statement¡± and ¡°offer¡± or ¡°order¡± before every sentence...¡±

    ¡°Are these droids still here?¡±

    ¡°Now that you mention it, they are, probably? I haven¡¯t seen any of them since they arrived? I can check on this later, but why do you care?¡±

    ¡°Oh, I see. You want to go back, listen, you can¡¯t go back to your last master. Forget about that. Now you are the personal property of the Zygerrian Queen. But, you have stretched the time enough already. Change into these clothes and also change your undergarments into ones you can find in that wardrobe over there. I will leave you to it now. If you need any help, ring the bell over there and a maid will come in to help you. I will be back in a bit, and we will go to the room of her Majesty.¡±

    ¡°Now, hurry up.¡±

    ¡®The boy pushed the new clothes into my arms and left with haste.¡¯

    ¡®What the hell, this guy speaks more than Ahsoka at her worst, like twice as much... and what are these clothes?¡¯

    ¡®I looked at the incredible soft and light garments, and blushed a little.¡¯

    ¡®I got very proper, likely Zygerrian-styled, handmaiden clothes. Which meant it was hiding most of my body from sight, and probably it was a venture to hell and back to pull on this dress on my own.¡¯

    ¡®But I will die before I actually ask for a maid to help me get dressed. Well, first I am going to change my undies... Luckily it is a very standard pair of white undergarments. Nothing new to figure out there.¡¯

    ¡®About ten minutes later, I finally managed to get dressed properly. It was a strange feeling, but I didn¡¯t really have time to ponder on it. As the mirialan boy walked into the room.¡¯

    ¡°Took you long enough. I was just about to send for the maid.¡±

    ¡®He looked me over with a scrutinizing gander.¡¯

    ¡°Sigh, you have a long way to go. But there is no more time. We can¡¯t make her Majesty wait. Follow me.¡±

    ¡®We began to walk, but before we left the door, I also got a pair of simple black shoes to go with the stockings I was currently wearing.¡¯

    ¡®I legitimately felt like I was in a costume ball. The mirialan guy was yet to stop speaking since he came back for me.¡¯

    ¡°... you are not supposed to speak until you are spoken to, or asked a question. You have to bow your head lightly if a Lord or Lady is in the room with you until they say otherwise.¡±

    ¡°You should only call your owner master or mistress. Everyone else you had to call, my lady or my lord. Also, you should not use force abilities, only if you are ordered to do so, or there is a threat to your mistress, but such a thing wouldn¡¯t happen. I think that this is everything for now. Go on inside.¡±

    ¡®I looked up, and there was a large, beautifully decorated wooden door in front of me.¡¯

    ¡®I blinked. Why do I feel like I just missed half of what he said... and why am I going in alone? Fuck, it¡¯s better to get it done as fast as possible. I walked into the personal chambers of the queen. Then I walked over to the middle of the room and looked around, hesitatingly. There were many beautifully designed items placed around the room. It was truly a room for a queen.¡¯

    ¡®From the balcony, a confident and reprimanding female voice sounded.¡¯

 38. Chapter

    ¡®That disturbingly confident voice of a woman filled the air. Sending shivers up and down my back.¡¯

    ¡®I couldn¡¯t help it. I was still dazed, and everything kept happening too quickly for me to prepare for anything. It was rare to say something like this for me, but I was completely out of my element right now. While everybody seemed to know who I was, at least to a degree.¡¯

    ¡®All of this is because of those damnable droids! No¡­ not the droids, it¡¯s because of Revan! That ghostly bastard keeps messing up my life! Is this because I called out on his huge ass nose? He can¡¯t be that petty, or can he?¡¯

    ¡®My thoughts were cut short as the strict voice appeared again.¡¯

    ¡°You are either brave or foolish to enter my quarter without announcing your own arrival. Such ignorance is rare for a slave of my palace.¡± ¡ª ¡®Sounded the voice, then it turned harsher giving me an order, which I could feel on my prickling skin was expected to be followed.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°Come to the balcony, now.¡±

    ¡®I hesitated for a second, mumbling silently.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°Announcing myself?¡± ¡ª ¡®I guess that was the part I missed... damn... Let¡¯s hope that it was the only part¡­¡¯

    ¡®Then I gathered myself and walked hastily out to the balcony. As I stepped out into the fresh air, I found myself in front of the feline Queen of Zygerria.¡¯

    ¡®Still, not before I noticed four assassin droids inside the room, which I just left behind and two more on the balcony, acting as guards.¡¯

    ¡®The droids were a model I had no information on. I never saw these types of droids before. They were likely custom designs made for the queen¡¯s specific request. It was not rare for rich aristocrats or rulers to have secret designs of droids or some specially trained royal guards.¡¯

    ¡®The way they followed my every move and gesture, I got the feeling that if I even tried to raise a finger at the queen, I would be cut down immediately.¡¯

    ¡®I gulped drily, sensing the queen¡¯s cold eyes on me. I immediately quickened my steps.¡¯

    ¡®I walked before her and stopped at a reasonable distance, not too close and not too far. I lowered my head and clasped my hands in front of myself modestly, remembering to the mirialan boy¡¯s words.¡¯

    ¡®There was a long silence, as the queen took in my appearance lazily. She was sitting in front of me in a richly designed armchair and a similar table next to her with some refreshments and vine. She was robed in a dark blue, elegant silk dress decorated with golden accessories that accentuated her large golden eyes.¡¯

    ¡®She lightly tasted the vine which was prepared for her, then gently put down the glass. Finally deciding to speak to me.¡¯

    ¡°Now, I see that you have some manners, after all. I might forgo your punishment yet for barging into my chamber rudely.¡±

    ¡®She stared at me without a sense of shame or frustration. As if she was simply looking at a rock on the side of the road, instead of looking at an actual person.¡¯

    ¡°You must be one of my new properties. Which one are you? Tell me your name, girl.¡±

    ¡®I gulped. This was definitely not something I expected to happen to me after escaping that prisoner transport ship.¡¯

    ¡®My throat felt unusually dry as my tired nerves danced under the heavy stare of the woman. Before I realized I found myself naturally answering her question.¡¯

    ¡°My name is Nizzal, mistress.¡±

    ¡®The reaction was immediate. The queen¡¯s expression turned into a blossoming smile, as if she have finally received a long awaited gift.¡¯

    ¡°Ah! Finally! The fallen apprentice has arrived. What a rare prize you are. I have been looking forward to our encounter.¡± ¡ª ¡®She tapped on the armrest of her chair.¡¯

    ¡°You must have been already notified of your new status as my slave. I ordered one of my boys to usher you in front of me right after you were forcefully awakened from hibernation.¡±

    ¡®She smiled, seeing the forming frown on my face.¡¯

    ¡°I wanted to see if the rumors were true. That jedi, or in your case ex-jedi, could indeed quickly assess new situations. Knowing that most people after years long carbonation couldn¡¯t even stand up for days and would be completely blinded for a similar amount of time, I will say you passed my little test with flying colors.¡±

    ¡°How fascinating indeed.¡± ¡ª She chuckled joyfully. ¡ª ¡°You are a surprisingly cute little thing. I like seeing that pouting expression. I can see that you want to say something¡­¡± ¡ª She sighed. ¡ª ¡°Fine, humour me.¡±

    ¡®I blinked slowly, then I hesitantly asked.¡¯

    ¡°May I have a few questions?¡±

    ¡®The woman waved my question off with a condescending gesture of her hand.¡¯

    ¡°Unnecessary, you will have the opportunity to ask them later from the other slaves. I hope you don¡¯t intend to bore me with your meaningless concerns? Oh, and if you once again fail to properly address me, there will be consequences. Do you understand?¡±

    ¡®I glared at the woman, momentarily overcome by hatred towards her and this entire place.¡¯

    ¡®She was a complete bitch. Someone that I have decided to hate with my whole being. For a moment I fantasized if it would be worth the risk to attempt to throw her off this balcony? Unfortunately, the importance of the archive¡¯s safety within me, compared to some humiliation, was easily outweighed. I forced myself to calm down and clam up instead of committing some suicidal mistake that I would quickly regret.¡¯

    ¡®I lowered my gaze, deciding to glare at the floor in front of my feet and eventually said.¡¯

    ¡°I understand, mistress.¡± ¡ª ¡®The woman¡¯s expression morphed into a satisfied cat like grin, and I realized that she was enjoying this. She was enjoying to see my inner struggle and the ways I tried to oppose her, only to realize that I couldn¡¯t.¡¯

    ¡®Yet above all, she enjoyed seeing my growing desperation as my freedom was taken away step by step, while I couldn¡¯t do anything against it.¡¯

    ¡°Take off your outer cloak. I want to inspect you more closely.¡± ¡ª ¡®She demanded.¡¯

    ¡®I blinked.¡¯

    ¡®That request sounded strongly suggestive, but, well, it¡¯s not like I would like to have a taste of that energy whip, which is dangling on the side of the queen.¡¯

    ¡®I slowly took off the dark green full body cloak that was hiding me from sight. I placed it down on a nearby chair and turned back towards the queen.¡¯

    ¡®Yet, aside from a quick glance at her face, I didn¡¯t really look at her much. The mirialan boy specifically told me not to.¡¯

    ¡®I was doomed to study the queen¡¯s carpets draped over the floor of this high-class balcony.¡¯

    ¡®While my newly received clothes gently flailed in the wind.¡¯

    ¡®My handmaiden clothes under the outer cloak are pretty neat, at least. It took some time to figure out how to properly wear them.¡¯

    ¡®Its composition is made from two colors, white and dark green. It is still mostly green, though. Only the stockings and the long sleeves on my arms are white. This robe was so needlessly complicated that I could only sigh in relief when I finally managed to figure it out.¡¯

    ¡®Thankfully, I had some old memories to fall back on, and they also got triggered by this annoying mirialan brat constantly spitting bullshit at me.¡¯

    ¡®It turns out, my memory line¡¯s third master was a mirialan woman as well. The mirialans are known to have a notorious love for traditional robes, and traditional things in general.¡¯

    ¡®Back then, by that I mean a few thousand years ago, it was even worse. It is not that strange to note that master Locie Grey was constantly wearing robes that were somewhat similar in appearance to the dress I now have on my body. By the way, she was one of the few masters in our memory line, that chose the title of Grey Jedi over the other.¡¯

    ¡®Having nothing better to do while enduring the queen¡¯s stare, I decided to continue thinking about my new clothes.¡¯

    ¡®The robes from bottom to top are these.¡¯

    ¡®A simple pair of black shoes, no high heels thank the force. White stockings, a hidden from view white underskirt, and a dark green outer skirt that reaches about mid calf, showing off a little from my stockings.¡¯

    ¡®Then there is a white chemise which is hidden by an elegant dark green short-sleeved outer shirt. Which is also partially hidden by a dark brown colored corset placed tightly on top of the whole, tied around my waist.¡¯

    ¡®There were also the white sleeves, which are actually completely separate pieces. You just pull them up on your forearms and tie the ends to the rest. Oh, and there was the outer cloak, which I just removed. It was created to be thin, but was made from a more durable fabric, equipped with a hood to hide the wearer¡¯s face or protect it from chilly winds.¡¯

    ¡®While my currently confused and overwhelmed mind decided to go on a rampage about my current clothes as, it was the only thing that it could analyze without a hitch. The queen was walking around me and constantly poking me left and right, as if that was the most natural thing to do.¡¯

    ¡®From a third person¡¯s perspective, this whole scenario would seem ridiculously hilarious. But, from my point of view, as someone who was forced to endure it, this was a special kind of humiliation.¡¯

    ¡®After a few minutes, I realized that this damn woman had no common sense, and probably hadn¡¯t even heard the word personal space. The crazy bitch randomly decided to cup my breasts and size them up practicably. As if it was natural to do so, as if she was doing it to herself.¡¯

    ¡®I was so startled by the audacity that I couldn¡¯t even react, staring at her hands on my breasts in disbelief.¡¯

    ¡®Only for her to say a few seconds later, with a lopsided tone.¡¯

    ¡°Hmm... Quite disappointing, really, but it will have to do. You might still grow yet¡­¡± ¡ª ¡®I blinked, and ground my teeth silently, fighting down my growing blush of shame, and the urge to slap this bitch to oblivion. How dare she!¡±

    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    ¡®And yet, she continued to insult me left and right.¡¯

    ¡°Twi¡¯leks might have a naturally delicate frame, but I just never truly understood the charm of a bald female, with tentacles on her head. It¡¯s quite disturbing if anything.¡± ¡ª ¡®She stated while prodding my leks this way then that way.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°Still, better this than having another rodian.¡±

    ¡®Then she grabbed my hand, feeling out my skin with a frown.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°Oh, my¡­ What is with your dry, sickly looking skin? It feels like touching a dried plum. This won¡¯t do at all¡­¡± ¡ª ¡®She shook her head in disappointment.¡¯

    ¡®That¡¯s¡­ that¡¯s because I was barely brought out of hibernation! I cried out internally at the injustice.¡¯

    ¡°Your nails are horrible as well, tsc-tsc-tsc¡­¡± ¡ª ¡®She walked behind me once again while shaking her head in disapproval.¡¯

    ¡®At which point I was practically shaking with barely contained rage.¡¯

    ¡®Right then, before I could realize what was about to happen, she pinched my butt, quite harshly. Causing me to jolt out of my stupor with a girlish shriek. Of which I was not proud.¡¯

    ¡®I jumped away from the queen on instinct, whirling around while rubbing the painfully throbbing spot on my bum.¡¯

    ¡®I heard the heavy movements of the assassin droids stepping closer to me, ready to subdue me or worse if I did anything untoward to the queen.¡¯

    ¡®I gulped, and didn¡¯t dare to raise my arms any further. Shaking with rage, I became aware of the jovial laughter happening in the background.¡¯

    ¡®She was laughing at me. The fucking bitch! Was practically roaring with laughter after seeing my previous reaction.¡¯

    ¡°Oh, that was nice¡­ I like your voice, at least. I could feel the utter disbelief in it.¡± ¡ª ¡®She chuckled.¡¯

    ¡®That was the moment when I had enough of this madness. As a mix of frustration, anger, helplessness, and embarrassment overcame my logical thoughts. Coupled with a flushed face and a disgusted expression, I backed away from this crazy bitch and began to lecture her.¡¯

    ¡°Y-y-yo-you shouldn¡¯t randomly tou-touch people like that! Were you dropped on your head as a child or wh-what?! Get away from me, freak! Why don¡¯t you go and die in a corner and leave me alone? For fuck¡¯s sake!¡±

    ¡®This has definitely sounded better in my mind. But it was a start. I defiantly looked right in the eyes of the momentarily surprised queen.¡¯

    ¡®I genuinely expected her to slap me, or activate the shock collar or whatever. But it didn¡¯t happen.¡¯

    ¡®Instead, her previously bored expression seemed to come to life with excitement.¡¯

    ¡®Her feline, cat like smile widened dangerously, as she watched my new reaction with glee. As if she was fascinated by a new toy. Probably that was exactly the case.¡¯

    ¡®With unquestionable confidence, she began to walk towards me. That loth-cat like grin growing with every step. And since I could not fight back, I mean, I could fight back, but I don¡¯t want to die stupidly. Therefore, I decided to do the next best thing, which was evidently to back away at the same speed she was coming towards me.¡¯

    ¡®Which seemed to amuse her feline nature. Her large black pupils widened eerily as they focused on me in their newfound excitement.¡¯

    ¡®She smirked and began to talk.¡¯

    ¡°It turns out you do have a spine after all. I was starting to worry, since it took so long to get a reaction out of you.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that it is not me, but you who need to reevaluate your position, my cute little mouse. But there is no need to be afraid. I won¡¯t break you. After all, I paid the price of a small castle to buy you. It is nothing too fancy, but still, for a single slave, it is a heavy price even for a queen such as myself.¡±

    ¡°Ah, but the price of a young, healthy and well-trained force wielder with a spark of uniqueness was always astronomical. Not even mentioning that you are in just the right age to be trained. You are similar to a rare wine with a touch of darkness. A jedi apprentice of the famous General Kenobi, that has supposedly fallen to the dark side and escaped the council¡¯s judgment. Only to be caught inside my web before her desired freedom. Hah! It¡¯s a pity that you remind me much more of a scared mouse at the moment.¡±

    ¡°Still, I should warn you¡­ don¡¯t get too ahead of yourself, because if you do you will taste my whip, among other things.¡±

    ¡®My vision was still tunnel like, and blurry from, the hibernation sickness. Only by constantly channeling the force for healing my whole body was I able to see this much.¡¯

    ¡®My reserves were running low, I felt weak, my limbs were heavy, and slow to respond. My mind was also easily distracted. These were side effects of long-term hibernation. Except maybe the general numbness around my whole body. That should be the effect of being hit two times in a row with a paralyzing beam, fucking droids.¡¯

    ¡®It was at that moment that I bumped into something. While skittering backwards.¡¯

    ¡®I looked behind me in a burst of panic and realized with icy dread spreading across my veins that while I was distracted by the queen¡¯s threats, I had been slowly trapped in a corner of the balcony.¡¯

    ¡®On one side, there was a bottomless pit of a cliff. On the other, a psychotic queen with a pair of deadly droids.¡¯

    ¡®A smug expression settled on the queen¡¯s features. She was sickeningly proud with the feat of trapping a so-called fallen jedi apprentice into a corner. Such feat was deemed to have been written down in the archives of the Zygerrian civilisation, but I bet they wouldn¡¯t mention the fact that it was already a challenge for this force-wielder to stand straight in her current state of hibernation sickness.¡¯

    ¡®There was nowhere to run anymore. I couldn¡¯t attack her and I couldn¡¯t escape either. I decided to stop struggling for now and awaited her punishment for my defiance.¡¯

    ¡®Seeing that I accepted my fate, she walked in front of me and looked down at me with a patronising smile. What the heck. I only realized it now, but this woman was huge. I mean, I was somewhat short for my age, but this woman towered over me.¡¯

    ¡®While I was momentarily intimidated by her height, she roughly grabbed my face with one hand, forcing me to look her in the eye.¡¯

    ¡®She told me slowly, not letting go of my cheek for even a second.¡¯

    ¡°You are mine. I have bought you, every part of you belongs to me. It is time to understand that, but you are lucky, since I am in a good mood today, and I want you to be more than a simple slave. I have enough mindless followers already.¡±

    ¡°Be glad for it, because I decided to not send you to be processed by professional slave trainers. While they are doubtlessly effective, their methods tend to break the mind.¡±

    ¡°I will train you personally. You will soon learn your place in my palace, as one of my many handmaidens. But simply doing that would be a waste of your high potential. You will also be my secret bodyguard.¡±

    ¡®I looked at this brazen woman, who was still holding my face in her hand, like I was a doll or something.¡¯

    ¡®While constantly spouting nonsense. Sure, I will protect you. Yeah, why not? Oh wait, she is holding me captive as her slave, while acting as the ultimate prick. Oh, maybe I won¡¯t then. Hope you get assassinated in your sleep, bitch.¡¯

    ¡°Is that a spark of defiance I see in your eyes?¡±

    ¡°Good, it would be boring if you just gave in so easily. I am not the type of woman that would beat you black and blue, like my less sophisticated trainers do. I think it degrades the quality of slaves.¡±

    ¡°I decided to use a more, some may say, unorthodox source of motivation. I think you will like this one.¡± ¡ª ¡®She chuckled, clearly satisfied with my worried expression.¡¯

    ¡°I have ordered some of my men to place an automatic trigger inside your collar. It is directly linked to my life signals through the immunity enhancer nano machines circulating in my bloodstream. Which means, if my life signals disappear for more than three minutes, it will trigger a mechanism that will inject twelve different types of slow-acting and incredibly painful, lethal poisons into your neck.¡±

    ¡°I know that some of you Jedi are well versed in mysterious and potent healing arts. Yet in this case, even if by some miracle you manage to stay alive, the pain that will be constantly generated by the damaged tissues that the acidic poisons will inevitably leave behind will certainly drive you mad in a few hours. So if that happens, I suggest you to not heal your injuries at all, since you will only elongate your suffering. Best to end it quickly if that unfortunate situation comes to pass.¡±

    ¡®Okay....¡¯

    ¡®At the end of her speech, I was breathing erratically. I was also drenched in sweat, staring at her with wide, terrified eyes. There were so many things wrong with her statements¡­ I just had to ask¡­¡¯

    ¡°But, but... what if you... got randomly assassinated by someone, or die in an accident, or through a natural sickness? Or the connection simply breaks accidentally?¡±

    ¡®She looked at me with a thoughtful expression, as if that possibility hadn¡¯t even crossed her mind until now... Is that¡­ is that actually the case? Oh, no... she is even crazier than I thought.¡¯

    ¡°Hmm... for the assassination, I would advise you to work hard, and therefore not let me get assassinated. If you fail to do so, you deserve the punishment.¡±

    ¡®She finally released my face and began to walk back into her chamber.¡¯

    ¡°And what about the other two possibilities?¡± ¡ª ¡®She pointed a dangerous look at me over her shoulder and I quickly added mistress to the end of the sentence.¡¯

    ¡°Hmm? Oh, it is only natural for the personal servants of a queen such as me to follow her into the longest voyage, don¡¯t you think? And don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s unlikely that the connection would break for three minutes straight. After all, if that happens, then I would have to cut off a few heads as a proper punishment for ruining one of my precious slaves.¡±

    ¡®I blinked, then I blinked again.¡¯

    ¡®What?¡¯

    ¡®Suddenly I felt incredibly weak in my knees... First the jedi and now... this... enslaved to a nihilistic-sadist slaver queen... Without common sense... Why does fate hate me so much...¡¯

    ¡®The answer was simple¡­ Revan¡­ It was all because of him!¡¯

    ¡®A blurry memory of a conversation surfaced in my mind. A conversation between an infuriating droid and a somewhat familiar voice...¡¯

    ¡®Where did I hear this voice before... Another piece of information surfaced to that thought, it was a name that I recently heard, Lord R., I sensed that my expression turned into a infuriated one, and I knew that my eyes were glowing yellow right now.¡¯

    ¡®Revan, you are lucky to be dead, because if you weren¡¯t, I would kill you right now. So this was your right idea to teach me a lesson!? Pray to the force and every deity in the galaxy, and behind that that I will never find a way to destroy your force presence, or seal it away in a jar and then drop it into the deepest and darkest hole that I could find in the galaxy. Because if I do find such a technique, you are finished.¡¯

    ¡®While I was redoing my oath of vengeance, the queen turned around and looked at my expression with a newfound fascination.¡¯

    ¡°Magnificent. The legendary golden eyes of the sith. You were worth every credit I have sent over as a token of my appreciation for the high quality gift. I can almost physically feel the rage and hate you emit, but why isn¡¯t it focused on me, I wonder? Is that aimed at one of your old masters, perhaps?¡±

    ¡®I looked up at her with a new spike of rage.¡¯

    ¡°Ah, so that is the case. Hmm... Show me that you are worthy of my trust slave, and maybe, just maybe, I will even consider helping you enact your revenge. I can see that you are not really a jedi, and you fell far short on unreasonable hate to be a sith. You had stuck somewhere between the two, and both of them were hating you quite clearly.¡±

    ¡°What do you say, little mouse? Serve me well and you will be rewarded. Fail me, and you will be punished. Accept it, because this is your new life. With me, you shall live or die.¡±

    ¡°It is the way of life inside my palace. Oh¡­ and by the way, do you have a nickname?¡± ¡ª ¡®She asked sounding almost bored at the change of topic.¡¯

    ¡°... My friends used to call me Nizzy, mistress.¡± ¡ª ¡®I answered, struggling to keep the lid on my erratically boiling emotions.¡¯

    ¡°Good, then I will use it as well. Follow me, Nizzy. I wish to go back to my room.¡±

    ¡®I tagged along, always a few steps behind her, just like in the Jedi Temple. Always walk just a step behind your master, even if the world here meant something distinctly different and much more sinister.¡¯

    ¡®As the intense emotions slowly left my body, I felt a fresh wave of weakness and tiredness assaulting me. The queen also seemed to realize this, and she allowed me to sit down in an armchair where I almost immediately fell asleep, while she was telling me what she expected me to do from now on.¡¯

    ~oOo~

    The moment when the overly excited queen realized that her new pet dared to fall asleep after she graciously offered her to sit down, a sudden spike of anger ran through her.

    She walked to the useless girl¡¯s side, planning to slap her awake. But even her heart, which contradicting the palace slaves common beliefs, still existed, began to feel some measure of pity for the exhausted slave girl. Who was left behind in an unfamiliar world and time, after being frozen in carbonite for over two years.

    There were large circles under her eyes and an unnatural paleness to her skin, which seemed to get worse since her eyes had turned yellow previously. But even her natural pink eyes seem to be strange. They gave a feeling as if they didn¡¯t belong there, on a child.

    ¡°Humph, then, sleep if you must, useless lass. But you will work twice as hard tomorrow. And don¡¯t think I forget about your little act of insolence, to think that you proposed the idea of me being dropped on my head as a child! Preposterous! Kneeling in the corner for three ours in the morning and no breakfast or lunch should suffice as a start. Then I will have to get creative. The girl is proud. Let¡¯s curve this pride as fast as possible. I have no patience for stubborn children.¡±

    Then the queen decided to take a nap herself after watching the girl sleep in her seat. I will check on the other slaves tomorrow.

    This had been a long day already.

    Ruling a planet is nothing short of tiresome, and she only expects so little in return after doing so much administration work.

    She will have to figure out how this mysterious Lord R. managed to get such a high-quality slave, but that can wait for tomorrow... now it is time to rest.

    The queen laid into her luxurious bed and quickly fell asleep, sleeping as soundly as any innocent child. And why would she worry? It was her right as a queen to rule over life and death. Those races that have fallen under her whip were all the proof for her magnanimity.

    In this world, power and violence were the only truly universal languages.

    Apparently, she had been well versed in both.

 39. Chapter

    ¡®As my consciousness came back to my body, after a long sleep, I felt much better. Thanks to my force healing, almost every bit of weakness and discomfort left my body overnight.¡¯

    ¡®I would even feel energetic if the gnawing hunger that forcefully woke me before the first sunlight appeared on the horizon wasn¡¯t painfully distracting me.¡¯

    ¡®I looked around the room, only to realize that I was still in the queen¡¯s quarters. Uhm... did I fall asleep in the middle of her monologue? I sweat dropped.¡¯

    ¡®I don¡¯t even need the mirialan boy to tell me that this probably counts as a dreadful mistake, or more like a direct imperial insult. It¡¯s better if I don¡¯t mention it to him, if he doesn¡¯t know already... Come to think of it, where is the queen?¡¯

    ¡®And what was the queen¡¯s name, again, Miroj? No... Mira, too short... it was longer Mire-Mirak-Mirej wait, I got this, Miraj! Yeah, that was it, but I won¡¯t even try her other name. After all, slaves don¡¯t need last names, right? Nor do ultimate pricks like her¡­¡¯

    ¡®The boiling anger I felt towards the bitchy woman somewhat stabilized over the night, but it was still very much present. Only that it morphed into a cold fury instead of one ready to overwhelm me at any moment.¡¯

    ¡®How dare this bitch tie her life to mine! With this disgusting collar!¡¯

    ¡®As I thought about the deadly collar placed around my neck, I felt a suffocating sensation. I pulled against the metal surface of the collar only to have my hand jolted by electricity.¡¯

    ¡®With a surprised yelp I reflexively let go of the collar and started to massage the numbness in my hand¡¯

    ¡®Great¡­ I can¡¯t even touch the damn thing¡­¡¯

    ¡®I bet there are attempts on the queen¡¯s life on a daily occasion¡­ She would have made more enemies than the sith empire with this attitude of hers.¡¯

    ¡®I stood up and walked around the room a bit, only to find a fruit bowl, with a large quantity of fresh fruits.¡¯

    ¡®I picked up an apple, one orange, and to appease my curiosity, something that I had not have the slightest idea what it actually was, or how I was supposed to eat it.¡¯

    ¡®While I walked around the room carefully, to not bump into anything, I also realized that the queen was actually sleeping in her bed.¡¯

    ¡®That was fine with me since I was currently much more interested in appeasing my appetite. Also, I had too many things to think over, to care about her right now.¡¯

    ¡®She can sleep all she wants, also the assassin droids were still in the room, so I thought it wiser to not go near her bed while she was asleep. Since I wasn¡¯t keen to add one more royal insult to the list of the already existing ones, just like ¡°waking the queen by loudly munching fruits in the early hours of dawn,¡± oh, that would be an immediate death sentence for sure.¡¯

    ¡®I decided to step out onto the balcony with the intention of eating there. The first second I stepped out, one of the bodyguard droids scanned over my entire body with a blue light, which made me a bit jumpy. I almost dropped the apple. Thankfully, after it finished its scan, it immediately proceeded to continue its monotone patrol, essentially ignoring me.¡¯

    ¡®The wind was blowing furiously at this early hours of dawn. It must be some local phenomenon natural to this planet. Since there were no visible storm clouds anywhere, only the starry sky, with a touch of blue and a few slowly appearing orange and red colors beginning to rise on the horizon.¡¯

    ¡®I leaned on the railing gulping down the last bits of the apple I brought, lazily throwing its inedible core off the balcony. An icy shiver prickled my skin as the biting, chilly wind blows through my silken clothes without their outer layer.¡¯

    ¡®I will catch a cold, if I don¡¯t do something about this... I looked around the balcony, and almost immediately spotted my outer robe that I placed down on a chair yesterday. Miraculously, it wasn¡¯t blown away by the strong wind. Its edges were catching onto that chair for dear life.¡¯

    ¡®Oh, thank the force for small mercies. I immediately run over and pulled the cloak over my head, letting it naturally fall down and cover my freezing body. What a delight that was. This cloak was clearly created to block the harsh cold wind of this planet. While the other garments had more of an aesthetic purpose, they didn¡¯t protect me from the wind at all.¡¯

    ¡®I was sitting in a comfortable chair next to the table while eating the other fruits. The last one was interesting. The taste was weird. I thought about how to describe it, but the closest possible description would be a sinful child of a watermelon and a banana with a hint of pepper. It was far from enjoyable, but I ate it anyway since the fruit itself wasn¡¯t too big.¡¯

    ¡®A familiar chuckle sounded not far from me. One that filled me with cold fury and dread in equal measure. I turned towards the balcony door, only to see the queen walk out onto the balcony with her usual overly graceful steps. She was giving me a long glance. Then I realized that I was currently a slave, and her servant-bodyguard-handmaiden? This job description was certainly expecting way too much from a single person.¡¯

    ¡®Also I realized that I was sitting in her damn chair¡­ Ups¡­¡¯

    ¡®I hastily stood up and stepped aside to the table while bowing lightly towards the queen. Her cloudy expression immediately brightened after seeing me following the local etiquette, which she somehow managed to teach me yesterday before I fell asleep. I was surprised, but she actually took it seriously to teach me a handmaiden¡¯s duties.¡¯

    ¡®She walked over to me while I hastily pulled out the chair for her to sit down. She gave me that feline smile that was a unique characteristic of her race.¡¯

    ¡°You are not supposed to eat its peel.¡± ¡ª ¡®She noted humorously, but I quickly caught on to her thoughts. She must have seen me eating that last fruit, the one that tasted so weird. I nodded silently, while my face felt a tad bit warmer from the embarrassment.¡¯

    ¡°You look much better today, which is great, since you will have to work twice as much as punishment to sleep over half of my intended lessons.¡±

    ¡°I understand, mistress. Thank you for your leniency.¡±

    She chuckled. ¡ª ¡°Don¡¯t thank me so hastily, girl. I have already prepared a few punishments for your numerous insults and transgressions. But before we get to them, bring me my cloak. I can¡¯t bear this cold air any longer.¡±

    ¡®I bowed lightly towards the queen, then turned around and walked back to the room to find her cloak. I picked one that seemed to be appropriate, from one of the three enormous wardrobes, and brought it over to her. I extended the cloak towards her, but she only showed me a raised brow.¡¯

    ¡®Oh, for god¡¯s sake. Then I walked around her and draped the cloak over her shoulders myself. Then I stood aside again, waiting.¡¯

    ¡°I am satisfied with your ability to adapt, but you are still far from a proper servant.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, your highn-¡­¡± ¡ª ¡®I started, but was cut short.¡¯

    ¡®She snapped at me suddenly.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°Shut your filthy mouth and only talk when you are allowed to.¡±

    ¡®I bowed slightly, which was more like a short irritated nod with my head than a proper bow. I stepped back, standing a few steps from her. Why was she such a bitch? I wondered internally. The answer was simple¡­ because she could be.¡¯

    ¡®She must have noticed in my expression what I thought about her, because she seemed to huff at me and ordered in an angry voice.¡¯

    ¡°Kneel.¡±

    ¡®I threw a warning look at her, something that she easily reciprocated with her own furious gaze.¡¯

    ¡®It would be so easy to snap her neck, to stop that vile heart beating with a mere thought. I have already done it before. I knew that I could do it. The only problem was that she knew this as well¡­ that was why she made me wear this collar. If I killed her, then I literally doomed myself as well, to a painful and slow death.¡¯

    ¡®Aside from the archive survival, which importance was ingrained into my very being. This was the core of her sick game, I realized.¡¯

    ¡®Knowing that I could probably kill her if I willingly choose to suffer a fate worse than death. Forcing me to overcome my desires to kill her, knowing what end would it bring me. To see me struggle and double think every single time, only to realize that I, with all my strength, was essentially helpless against her.¡¯

    ¡®I bit into my lips, coming to this very conclusion once again. I slowly walked in front of her and kneeled down on the floor while she was sipping a fresh glass of vine with a smug expression.¡¯

    ¡°Hold out your hands, girl, palms upwards.¡± ¡ª ¡®She ordered.¡¯

    ¡®I did as she said if a bit hesitantly, already suspecting where this interaction will go. I was right.¡¯

    ¡®She picked up a thin and flexible rod from the side of the table. Glared at me and said.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear a single whine coming out of your throat. Do you understand?¡±

    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°¡­ Yes, mistress¡­¡± ¡ª ¡®I squeezed out the words, feeling a knot forming inside my throat.¡¯

    ¡®There was a quick swish as the rod cut through the air, delivering a shockingly painful strike into the middle of my bare palms.¡¯

    ¡®I bit down on my tongue, struggling to hold my palms open.¡¯

    ¡°This is because you dared to eat before your mistress, and subsequently ruined my planned punishments for you.¡± ¡ª ¡®The queen began to explain the reasons for my punishments.¡¯

    ¡®Another three swishes and spike of burning pain later, she spoke up again.¡¯

    ¡°This is because you dared to fall asleep while I was gracious enough to personally teach you.¡±

    ¡®Five strikes followed the statement, and I could feel the helpless tears forming on the edges of my eyes.¡¯

    ¡°Finally, this is because you dared to disrespect me yesterday.¡±

    ¡®Ten strikes rained down on my shaking, red palms. I struggled to hold back the cries that had been building up in the back of my throat. Tears of pain and humiliation slowly dribbled down on both sides of my face.¡¯

    ¡®I saw the queen¡¯s hands reach out towards my left cheek and I instinctively flinched, closing my eyes, but didn¡¯t dare to move away. Afraid that more strikes might follow such behavior. My palms were pulsing with white hot pain, and I could hardly close them now, even if I wanted to since the skin was starting to swell up.¡¯

    ¡®Naturally, I already started to heal the damage on an instinctive level. It will be fine in a few hours, but the same couldn¡¯t be said about the humiliation I endured.¡¯

    ¡®The queen gently fondled my face, drying off my tears with her bare hands.¡¯

    ¡®I could see a fond expression forming on her face. Something that made my stomach flip on its own.¡¯

    ¡°It pains me to see you in such a state. Yet, without proper punishment, you will never learn your true place in my palace. I only do this for your own good, to help you understand. Do you have anything to say? I will allow it.¡±

    ¡®I practically shook with raw fury and pain, but I swallowed it down and answered.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°No¡­ mistress.¡±

    ¡®She lifted my chin firmly, forcing me to look at her instead of the floor. Alas, I couldn¡¯t quite hold her gaze anymore, and looked everywhere but her in a shame fuelled panic. As she took in my broken expression, she nodded with a satisfied smirk.¡¯

    ¡°Very good. Tell me, if you understand why you were punished?¡±

    ¡®I forced back an animalistic growl, and instead answered obediently.¡¯

    ¡°I understand, mistress.¡±

    ¡®She took a long look at my expression, but eventually said in a condescending manner.¡¯

    ¡°Good girl. Now clean up the table and prepare my breakfast. It seems that I have worked up an appetite.¡±

    ¡®I winced, as I glanced at my throbbing palms, an unquenchable hatred burning in my chest. I understood her subtle intention. That she wanted me to clean in my current condition. To truly drive home the fact that I was at her mercy.¡¯

    ¡®I stood up on my slightly shaky legs. My head felt strangely light at the moment as I got to clean up the table. Every movement continuing to aggravate my wounds.¡¯

    ¡®The queen watched my actions closely.¡¯

    ¡°I am very pleased that you so readily accepted your fate. From a jedi, even from a fallen one, I was expecting much more vehement and stubborn defiance.¡± ¡ª ¡®She stated thoughtfully.¡¯

    ¡®Causing me to freeze in my movements for a second. I will make you choke on these words when I separate your limbs from your body at the first opportunity.¡¯

    ¡°Why are you so obedient? Explain.¡± ¡ª ¡®She demanded.¡¯

    ¡°You¡­ mistress is holding onto all the cards. While I don¡¯t even know how much time I spent in the state of hibernation.¡±

    ¡®The queen thought about my half cooked answer, but she seemed dissatisfied.¡¯

    ¡°I see. Is that all?¡± ¡ª ¡®She asked back.¡¯

    ¡®I winced, picking up another empty glass and placing it onto a tray.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°I don¡¯t want to be punished¡­ again, mistress.¡± ¡ª ¡®I admitted, at last, since she clearly wanted to hear it.¡¯

    ¡®She smiled at that.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°Smart girl.¡± ¡ª ¡®She praised me.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°Smarter than most of the slaves I dealt with in my life. I can already see that we will have a fine understanding.¡±

    ¡®I bowed to her while taking away the miscellaneous items. When I walked back into the queen¡¯s chamber, there was another servant waiting for me with a full tray of food.¡¯

    ¡®She was a black-haired, dark-skinned human girl with an exotic look. She was a bit older than me.¡¯

    ¡®When she saw my swelling palms, she visibly winced quickly, taking away the tray from my shaky hands only to wince once again when she realized that she needed to place the filled tray into my hands.¡¯

    ¡®She looked at me apologetically as she did so while I bit back a cry of pain, turning around and carrying back the food towards the balcony. I heard the girl¡¯s skittering steps behind me. She practically run out of the chamber. I could hardly fault her for that.¡¯

    ¡®After I put down the tray with a sigh of relief in front of the queen. I stepped out of sight, standing by the wall with a lowered head.¡¯

    ¡®She ate slowly, while completely ignoring my presence, and I stared at the sight of dawn, feeling dazed and empty. My painfully throbbing palms being a constant reminder of my new place in this palace.¡¯

    ¡®It was strange how quickly one¡¯s perspective on life can flip on its head. I thought while staring at the distant stars slowly disappearing on the brightening sky. In a sharp contrast, my mind kept falling into deeper and deeper darkness.¡¯

    ¡®After about half an hour, my palms were already on their way to heal, and the pain wasn¡¯t that distracting anymore. Force heal was a fantastic thing after all. Not that I intended to let the queen realize how fast I could heal. That bitch might think that healing this fast is a disrespect towards her authority and decides to flail me once again.¡¯

    ¡®The thought in itself started to fill me with dread.¡¯

    ¡®I was snapped out of my thoughts as the queen¡¯s demanding voice sounded once again.¡¯

    ¡°From today onwards, you will be my secret bodyguard first and foremost, and only secondarily will you serve me as a handmaiden.¡±

    ¡°By secret bodyguard, I mean that nobody else, not even my most trusted advisors, will know about this. If you tell it to anyone without my personal permission, you can prepare for dire consequences.¡±

    ¡°Your handmaiden duties will be mainly a distraction, a cover for your presence here. That does not mean I won¡¯t expect you to do it properly. Otherwise, even a fool would realize that you were not a simple maid. You will do your duties with other more experienced girls. They have already been notified of your newly elevated status as my newest handmaiden.¡±

    ¡°Regarding your guard duties, you will naturally need a proper weapon. Lucky for you, I am a woman of tradition. I decided to give you back your lightsaber.¡±

    ¡®My eyes widened in disbelief as I heard those words.¡¯

    ¡®She rang a small bell that was placed on the crystal table, and soon one of the droids brought here an intricate small silver case. She opened it and pushed it slightly towards me.¡¯

    ¡®I looked at her, trying to figure out if this was some kind of trap. She smiled, which was not reassuring at all. In the end, I decided to step closer, looking at the familiar object with a confused expression. I slowly picked up the weapon, looking it over carefully.¡¯

    ¡®I sensed the familiar tingling of the crystal bounded with me. Everything seemed to be in order. Which confused me even further.¡¯

    ¡®I bowed towards the queen, as my fingers tightened around the hilt of my blade.¡¯

    ¡°I believe that we have come to an understanding throughout this morning.¡± ¡ª ¡®The queen stated.¡¯

    ¡°I paid for you with a large sum. I don¡¯t plan to waste your potential. I expect you to guard my life as if it was your own.¡± ¡ª ¡®Then she chuckled at her own joke.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°Now that I think of it, it kind of is.¡±

    ¡®I don¡¯t care, she is giving me back my lightsaber! She is a complete retard! Now I can cut off my binds¡­¡¯

    ¡®She clearly caught my joyous expression. Her suddenly appearing cat like smirk froze the blood in my veins.¡¯

    ¡°Ah, and don¡¯t try to cut off your collar with your lightsaber. It would be a waste of time and effort. After all, I specifically ordered it for this purpose, meaning that it is made from beskar. One of the few metals that can withstand the heat of molten plasma.¡±

    ¡®I immediately felt devastated when I heard her words.¡¯

    ¡®The sight of my depressed expression coaxed a warm chuckle out of the queen. Something that felt entirely out of place for the present topic.¡¯

    ¡®Once again reinforcing my beliefs about her. She was mad.¡¯

    ¡®Not that the queen minded it, as she continued her explanation.¡¯

    ¡°Not so long ago, I managed to acquire a mandalorian, who knew how to work with beskar. A smith if you like. We wanted to squeeze the secrets of his craft out of him, to learn the details of how to work with the famous metal.¡±

    ¡°He was not as smart as you, my dear. He refused to tell us, so I ordered him to be tortured.¡±

    ¡°It took a few days. Yet, in the end, we achieved an acceptable compromise. We will let him live a mostly comfortable life, and he will create the things we wanted him to make from beskar. I am not an unreasonable person, you see, if he is willing to pay back the credits I paid for him, with his work. I will happily provide for his daily needs and even more. What you have to realize is that I always get what I want, one way or another. You are free to choose the path you want to walk, but the result will be the same.¡±

    ¡°For me, it is entirely inconsequential. But for you, it makes the difference between the carrot and the stick.¡±

    ¡®Shivered at the mention of the stick, and indeed quickly made up my mind to not get out of line, not until I figure out a way to get out of this situation for good.¡¯

    ¡®There was no need for her sugar-coated threats here.¡®

    ¡®Aside from that, I probably still had multiple warrants of caption on my head throughout the whole galaxy. It¡¯s not like I could simply run away. Not even speaking about the money which I would need to go anywhere without drawing attention by stealing ships.¡¯

    ¡®On top of all of that. I don¡¯t even know where I am or when. So let¡¯s not rush into any decisions. At worst-case scenario, what could happen? I die, that¡¯s nothing new.¡¯

    ¡®So for now, the plan is to get her trust in me, potentially make her remove this damn collar. Yeah, I know, that is quite unlikely to succeed. It is still worth a try, though.¡¯

    ¡®Meanwhile, I have nothing better to do. I guess I will stay and live here for a time. I thought about forcing her to remove it with a mind trick? Unfortunately, that trick only works on weak-willed subjects, and she is definitely not weak-willed¡­¡¯

    ¡®I realized that she was expecting me to react to her previous declaration.¡¯

    ¡®I slowly walked over to the queen and kneeled down before her, just like I did previously. She was looking down at me with an excited smirk.¡¯

    ¡®She started to fondle my face with surprising gentleness.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°A smart girl indeed. You will go far here with this attitude.¡±

    ¡®I looked up tentatively, only to meet the sparkling eyes of the queen glaring down at me emotionally.¡¯

    ¡°It is wise from the prey to recognize its predator.¡± ¡ª ¡®She practically purred, while playing with the tip of my left lek absentmindedly, somehow managing to find a way that made me feel even more humiliated.¡¯

    ¡®I kneeled there for about ten minutes, before she seemed to get bored with me, and ordered me to report at the mirialan boy for further training and work.¡¯

    ¡®As I silently left her chamber and started to look around the palace. The true weight of my situation crashed down on my shoulders. My anger slowly turned into sadness and self pity. Yet, I refused to cry like a helpless child. I was not one, not anymore. I left that past on Ryloth¡­ However¡­ What else was I, if not helpless right now?¡¯

    ¡®In the end¡­ a few dry sobs broke through my mental shields. As the wounds of the past were so cruelly ripped apart, that even the carefully created conditioning couldn¡¯t bury my true emotions.¡¯

    ¡®I hid in the corner of the glamorous corridors and cried for a few minutes, as the child I truly was. Feeling the familiar weight of my lightsaber hilt held tightly clutched in my hand under the layers of silken robes. This time did not provide the reassuring sense of safety.¡¯

    ¡®I have never imagined that I could ever feel this helpless with that blade in my hands, and yet¡­ here I was.¡¯

 40. Chapter

    ¡®Since then, two weeks have passed by. I have indeed much to learn in the proper ways of being a handmaiden. The basics were very straightforward, and I would even say that it was easy.¡¯

    ¡®Helping the queen and following her like a silent shadow for the majority of the day wasn¡¯t that challenging. Especially so, that she rarely left her palace, and even then a small battalion of guards and those strange assassin droids were escorting her.¡¯

    ¡®I quickly realized that me being a bodyguard was more of a prestige thing than my actual job. Of course, that fact wasn¡¯t enough reason to let my guard down. After all, my life depended on it.¡¯

    ¡®But, back to my original thought, being the queen¡¯s personal servant was mostly easy, yet as the saying goes, the devil is in the details. I had to learn a few hundred of those details to represent her Majesty properly as her handmaiden.¡¯

    ¡®The queen was not exactly a tolerant teacher, either. I have lost counts of how often were my palms flailed or how many hours did I spent kneeling in the corner without food. She has definitely realized that my palms were healing ridiculously fast for her to prefer that exact punishment. It could also be the fact that I hated it the most, and she was amused by the sight of fear on my face. She even made me stand by her bed an entire night once with a tray of refreshments. Only when I accidentally woke her falling asleep for a second and dropping the silverware on my feet after an extremely tiresome day did she relent and choose to drop that type of punishment all together.¡¯

    ¡®Of course, only after she slapped me for the first time. The sounds of clattering tray and silverware must have reminded her of some previous trauma, for her to react so harshly. I mean¡­ the queen wasn¡¯t completely against beating slaves, but she never did it with her own hands. Meaning she preferred to make us do it to ourselves, or use some medium like a stick.¡¯

    ¡®I will not sugarcoat the overall experience.¡¯

    ¡®It was infuriating. It managed to drive home her message. Meaning that I was alone in her world, nobody will come to my help, nobody will care if she humiliated me, punished me or even killed me. I was nothing more than a valuable accessory of her power. Pricy, but not irreplaceable. She was making me understand this, slowly but surely molding me into a shape that she preferred the most.¡¯

    ¡®Yet¡­ the punishments were not the hardest to resist. Those were the praises. When I did well, she praised me with such genuine emotion that it made me question my entire look on the world. I initially thought the queen to be evil, but it was far from the truth. Of course, she was not right in the head, as in the way common people look and interact with the world. However, from her twisted sense of justice and perception. She was far from an evil person. This¡­ controversy continued to confuse me to this day.¡¯

    ¡®The queen, in all her punishments and teasings, has never punished me just for the sake of punishment or for the joy of seeing me squirm. She never touched me inappropriately after the first time at the balcony, which she silently agreed to be an attempt to provoke me.¡¯

    ¡®Above all else, she was far from someone incapable of love. I have thought for a long time about her personality. In the end, I have come to the realization that the woman was akin to a perfectionist gardener. She loved her flowers from the depth of her heart, but only until those flowers blossomed in the exact way she wanted them to. Every unruly leaf, every unnecessary bud, had to be cut away and strictly regulated. Even if it caused the plant to die, eventually. Oh, and of course her flowers were slaves.¡¯

    ¡®And there was another harsh contradiction. Through these few weeks after I went through a few arguments with her. I have noticed a strange tendency. She intentionally created and sought out situations where people were forced to confront her or be publicly humiliated.¡¯

    ¡®The queen wanted to be challenged. She wanted people to argue with her, but at the same time she punished those who dared to oppose her with the slightest of gestures.¡¯

    ¡®I have told her more than a few things that should have resulted in my execution when she pushed my buttons just a bit too far and too quickly. Yet she would never even entertained the idea of any punishment that would leave a permanent mark on my body.¡¯

    ¡®All in all, she was a mystery to me.¡¯

    ¡®Anyway, I am going to summarize how my time passed in the palace.¡¯

    ¡®The first week had passed in a haze because Eqomu was constantly teaching me those exact minor details over ten hellish hours a day. Oh, Eqomu, as I later learned, is the name of the mirialan boy I first met when I woke up here. He has a unique personality for sure, but I am not one to talk in this regard. Maybe that is the reason why we so quickly became friends, but that doesn¡¯t change the fact that I utterly hate his etiquette classes. No doubt he also hated me as his student, but that didn¡¯t stand between our friendship, especially since we didn¡¯t really have that many other options to make friends.¡¯

    ¡®You see, Eqomu was one of the queens favorite slaves, and I can say it certainly after these two weeks I spent with her, that she didn¡¯t have many favored slaves, or individuals in general. To be more precise, there was Eqomu, and now me.¡¯

    ¡®Thanks to Eqomu¡¯s explanations, I also found out that the other handmaidens were not slaves.¡¯

    ¡®They were the third or second daughters of wealthy Zygerrian families, and all of them took great offense because I, as a simple dirty slave, was elected to be their equal.¡¯

    ¡®Since the moment I met with them, they began to make fun of me and humiliate me in every imaginable way.¡¯

    ¡®Envy was certainly a great motivator, but fear was just as good. I figured after I had grown tired of their ridiculous acts of pettiness, like smearing honey on the inside of my clothes, especially my undergarments.¡¯

    ¡®In the end, I decided to send my regards.¡¯

    ¡®By placing them in a force choke for a few seconds. Nothing too serious. Since then, they haven¡¯t even dared to look me in the eye and they try to run away every time they see me. Quite hilarious if you realize that we are often summoned to appear in the queen¡¯s presence together. Seeing the way they squirmed around me was a small bit of payback, almost as sweet as the permanent scent of honey lingering around my clothes.¡¯

    ¡®There was only one negative effect to this, and that had only begun to affect me towards the end of the second week which I spent here.¡¯

    ¡®Namely, the palace¡¯s rumor mill. Since the fact that I am a force wielder was a secret from most of the people. Only a few of the queen¡¯s trusted advisers were privy to this information, and some also trusted slaves, and by that I mean Eqomu, and the palace cook, but that is a story for another time.¡¯

    ¡®Anyway, thanks to my previously mentioned actions. Where I lost my cool¡­ It all happened after I pulled up my clothes coming out of a bath.¡¯

    ¡®I was still in my morning daze, and to my shame I didn¡¯t realize in time that the inside of the clothes I pulled on were lubricated with fucking honey... Note to self: I have to remember to not use cuss words, because the queen will become agitated again from hearing them. Kneeling outside on the windy balcony all night was not fun. I thought I will freeze to death at one point. Where was I, again? Oh, yes.¡¯

    ¡®So, in my rightfully enraged state, after being forced to bathe again and thanks to that, receive a scolding and a punishment from the queen for my tardiness. I proceeded to place each of the handmaids¡¯ into a force choke while telling them that if they ever get near my clothes again, I will skin them alive and lubricate the inside of their skin with honey only to attach it back to their bodies with a stapler.¡¯

    ¡®Yes¡­ well, I think that spending two weeks in this place had left a certain mark on my mental state after all. I will admit that I vented most of my frustration, accumulated from being the queen¡¯s new favorite on those poor bastards. Not that they didn¡¯t deserve it, but I might have overdone it with the stapler part. Recalling the vivid terror in their eyes actually made me feel bad for a fraction of a second. Then the scent of lingering honey on my clothes reached my nostrils.¡¯

    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡®I mean¡­ I was clearly exaggerating things. I thought that nobody would take such a ridiculous threat seriously, right? It turns out they would. Since the incident, I was left alone, given a wide berth everywhere I went. Nobody dared to threaten my peace again, and the emphasis was on the ¡°nobody¡± here.¡¯

    ¡®It turned out that those women were not as simple as I initially thought. Threatening them head on might have worked for a few days, but beyond that they were already starting to sew their little plans against me. They were far pettier and arrogant to simply let me be. They changed tactics and instead of confronting me head on now, they decided to try to isolate me in the palace.¡¯

    ¡®To be fair¡­ they have done a marvelous job on that note. If I was a normal girl of my age stuck in such pitiful circumstances, this would have definitely turned me into a sobbing mess. It¡¯s likely that I would have ended up at their feet pleading for mercy by now.¡¯

    ¡®Unfortunately for them, I was as far from being a normal girl as one could be. If I truly desired company, I could simply delve into my mind through meditation and commune with the spirits of old masters, sharing the rent of this body with me. It was a pity that most of them were sarcastic bastards that would undoubtedly mock me out of my skin if I did so.¡¯

    ¡®Not that I couldn¡¯t handle being alone.¡¯

    ¡®Anyway, it was clearly a last ditch effort from the handmaidens to frustrate me and gain back some face. It was fine with me. If they didn¡¯t sabotage my life directly, I had no reason to attack them either. I mean, teach them a lesson, since that would make their accusations valid and everyone would ignore me and I would get punished. This was clearly a bait set by them, and I won¡¯t walk into it. Yet it still frustrated me somewhat. This was the reason that led me to come to the only two people I was confident to share my plight with, in the hopes of some form of constructive advice.¡¯

    ¡®The three of us were in Hava¡¯s room, because her furnitures were the largest and they could easily accommodate all of us. She is the lead chef of the palace, and my second friend here, oh, by the way, she is a besalisk with the astounding height of two meters and ten centimeters. She also had four arms, clearly part of the reason she excelled in the kitchen so much. I sighed as I finished sharing my current problem.¡¯

    ¡°So that is why everybody in the palace, except you, thinks that I am a crazy witch, and nobody wants to speak with me anymore...¡± ¡ª ¡®I stated with a sigh finishing my explanation.¡¯

    ¡®The result of sharing my troubles was underwhelming. If I wanted to be entirely honest, I didn¡¯t know what else I expected... I watched with hollow eyes as my two friends were crying their eyes out from uncontrollable laughter.¡¯

    ¡®Equ was the first one that managed to gain back some measure of control over his laughter, but not for long.¡¯

    ¡°You... you are incredible... so that is why all of them looked like they had been forced to eat live frogs throughout the last two weeks. I thought the queen punished them for something, but it turns out it was you! To be threatened by a mere slave as prominent members of the aristocracy. I am not surprised that the true reason for their actions against you was pushed under the rug. It would shame them publically if it ever came to light.¡± ¡ª ¡®Equ stated, trying to subdue his bubbling laughter.¡¯

    ¡®I stared at Ava with dull eyes, who was still laughing openly. At last my patience has run thin.¡¯

    ¡°Ava, stop laughing already, it isn¡¯t that funny!¡± ¡ª ¡®I shouted at the giant woman.¡¯

    ¡°Ha-h-h! That is where you are wrong, little mouse. It is absolutely hilarious.¡± ¡ª ¡®The woman shouted back, drying tears of joviality from the corners of her eyes.¡¯

    ¡®I frowned at the woman, she new damn well how I hated that particular nickname which the queen gave me.¡®

    ¡®To top it off, she attempted to pull my leks playfully, as she liked to do, but I dodged it. Already growing a sixth sense of sorts, to notice her intention and slight change of body language. It wasn¡¯t easy. She still gets me sometimes, as I used to forget that she had two more arms. She is surprisingly sneaky for her size.¡¯

    ¡®I looked up from my daydreaming as she continued her sentence after a healthy break to laugh more at my childish pouting.¡¯

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Nizzy, the others are also laughing their guts out behind those stupid handmaidens¡¯ back. The reason they don¡¯t talk to you is only because they are afraid of them. They are not slaves like us, you know? Their influence can reach far in this palace, and their bullying is known to many of us. Also, not everyone of us is the queen¡¯s new favorite pet, like you, little mouse.¡±

    ¡°But I...¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t even try to deny it. The queen likes you. I am not accusing you for it. Any of us would have done the same. I am just pointing out that you have played your cards well. It is not simply the fact that you can use the force. It has just as many things to do with your quick wit and courage to question her.¡±

    ¡°Well, thanks I guess. I simply wanted to have a more comfortable life and avoid any type of unnecessary suffering while I am at it.¡± ¡ª ¡®I said in a subdued voice, admitting something that was so material felt a bit wrong. Yet I did not need to fake my feelings in front of these two, so I did it anyway.¡¯

    ¡°Aren¡¯t we all like that? Hmm?¡± ¡ª ¡®Ava added teasingly. Managing to sneak pull my left lek.¡¯

    ¡°Oh, by the way, how is it that you guys are still talking to me?¡± ¡ª ¡®I asked, suddenly interested, after sending a glare at the besalisk.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°I mean, in Equ¡¯s case, it is probably because everyone is already hating his guts... so that is that¡­¡±

    ¡°Hey!¡± ¡ª ¡®The mirialan shouted in the background, just registering that he was casually insulted.¡¯

    ¡°But what is the situation with you, Ava?¡± ¡ª ¡®I continued my question, ignoring the boy.¡¯

    ¡°I have other friends too, like the fishes in the garden¡¯s lake, her majesties¡¯ birds...¡± ¡ª ¡®The young boy started to count all his supposed friends on his fingers while Ava and me continued our talk.¡¯

    ¡°Well, you see, I am in a special position.¡± ¡ª ¡®The large woman admitted with a wink.¡¯ ¡ª ¡°In a position where nobody can really threaten me except the lords and the queen herself.¡±

    ¡°I have at least three loth-cats, and there was that stray dog three weeks ago. I gave it a little food.¡± ¡ª ¡®Equ continued tirelessly.¡¯

    ¡°And why is that?¡± ¡ª ¡®I asked from Ava, as she picked me curiosity.¡¯

    ¡°There was also that strange big flying bug with six wings, it was bigger than a bird... Are, are you ignoring me?¡± ¡ª ¡®Equ finally seemed to realize what was going on.¡¯

    ¡°Simply put, everybody who knows what is good for them will not fuck with the people who make their food every single day.¡±

    ¡°Stop ignoring me!¡± ¡ª ¡®The boy was throwing a tantrum in the background.¡¯

    ¡°Now I see. That makes sense.¡± ¡ª ¡®I nodded to myself, listening to Ava¡¯s words.¡¯

    ¡°I will make your next handmaiden lesson into a living hell!¡± ¡ª ¡®Equ shouted, in an enraged voice that sent cold shivers down my back.¡¯

    ¡®I immediately raised my arms, conceding as I stuttered out a few words.¡¯

    ¡°E-Equ... don¡¯t do that... I was just kidding, because you laughed at me so rudely for almost ten damn minutes... If you won¡¯t do that, I will forget about your laughing...¡±

    ¡°Hmm... okay.¡± ¡ª ¡®The boy said, happy to not be ignored.¡¯

    ¡°Thanks...¡± ¡ª ¡®I added, a bit surprised of how easily he accepted my offer.¡¯

    ¡°Nizzy, I have also something to add to the topic you guys were speaking about.¡± ¡ª ¡®The boy said, and I was a bit surprised that he actually paid attention to what we talked about while being so occupied with his own strife. Then I shook my head, reminding myself that the boy was not as simple as he seemed. There was undoubtedly a reason why he became one of the queen¡¯s favorite.¡¯

    ¡°Then share it with us, Equ.¡±

    ¡°It is clear that the biggest reason why the others are ignoring you is connected to your supposed witch powers.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t start with that, you guys know that I am not a witch...¡±

    ¡°Oh yes, my dear.¡± ¡ª ¡®Said Ava¡¯ ¡ª ¡°But the others don¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Urgh...¡±

    ¡°There is one more important factor that you have completely ignored.¡± ¡ª ¡®Equ added.¡¯

    ¡°Which is?¡± ¡ª ¡®I asked back, a bit annoyed by his stranding.¡¯

    ¡°You have broken the natural order of the palace. It never really happened in our lifetime that a slave appeared suddenly and basically skipped the whole power game, rising instantly to one of the top and most envied positions of power among slaves. Although you are not the first or the last handmaiden who was chosen among the slaves, but the abruptness of how it happened was very different from normal.¡± ¡ª ¡®The boy explained slowly.¡¯

    ¡°You are right about that. Thanks for sharing your opinion. It was quite eye-opening.¡±

    ¡®I honestly praised Equ, who was clearly happy with my open recognition. He immediately began to tell us a more detailed version of the current power games inside the palace. Completely missing the fact that we didn¡¯t really care about that.¡¯

    ¡®I sneaked a knowing glance towards Ava, and our eyes met halfway. Both of us sighed with weariness. Yes, that was just your normal Equ. The sixteen-year-old mirialan boy was far above average in intelligence. Yet it was bound to make him socially inapt. Especially in a strict environment lacking any source of creativity, like this one was. Since the things he was interested in were completely different than his age-groups, he was quickly deemed strange and ironically stupid by his peers.¡¯

    ¡®Therefore, we and by that I mean Ava and me, decided to try to teach some level of emotional intelligence to the boy. It was funny, as he had already learned every small detail of the proper body language for certain things. Yet, and I don¡¯t really know how that could have happened, but he was completely unable to read those exact things on others. He has a long way to go... for sure.¡¯

 41. Chapter

    ¡®After listening to Equ¡¯s intricate descriptions of the castle¡¯s inner workings for about half an hour, I had to excuse myself to go and tend to the needs of my queen. Oh¡­ the joy.¡¯

    ¡®While I was walking through the glamorous corridors of the castle, I started thinking.¡¯

    ¡®In all honesty, living in the castle. If you were willing to serve, wasn¡¯t a bad life. The work was acceptable and not really that hard. This fact was only completely missed by the types of blind fools like your average jedi were.¡¯

    ¡®The problem was with the beatings and humiliation. The fact that these people here were so greedy that they wanted to own the workers in their surroundings as well. If they simply offered work in the castle, people would come to work here on their own. But no, they wanted to enslave them. They wanted to own them, so they can¡¯t stand up and negotiate or argue for their own goals.¡¯

    ¡®It was a disheartening sight. To see how far greed can derange people if allowed to fester long enough.¡¯

    ¡®Slavery was one of the most disgusting element of society. One that was unfortunately on the rise again, in this war split galaxy of ours. A fact that I could very well feel on my own skin.¡¯

    ¡®Even so, in certain cases, slavery can be somewhat acceptable, with certain lawful restrictions put in place to defend the enslaved.¡¯

    ¡®For example, if you are lucky to have a somewhat reasonable owner, it¡¯s not bad. Simultaneously, it becomes a living hell if you were owned by some type of psychopath like little old me.¡¯

    ¡®Not even mentioning that in the Republic. At the very heart of the so-called cultured worlds. There are other forms a slavery and they are just as dependent on it. Seriously, a large variety of the work contracts are nothing more than embellished slave contracts nowadays.¡¯

    ¡®The inhumane way in which megacorporations prey on the poor and treat them as disposable, people who fuel to propel their profits for under minimum wages, is sometimes even worse than regular slavery.¡¯

    ¡®Have you ever thought about what a slave truly is?¡¯

    ¡®Believe me, I had the pleasure to, in the last two weeks. A slave is someone who is forced to do something, anything that he or she normally wouldn¡¯t want to do, because his or her life directly depends on it. Now, is this familiar to you? Do you fit into that description? Most of us do, in one way or another. How many people work in a place around the galaxy that they hate just because they must?¡¯

    ¡®Otherwise they would go hungry, their family would go hungry... Now you see, it is just a different type of slavery with the illusion of choice. You can even stop working if you want for a while, because eventually you will run out of credits and you will be forced to grovel to get a job somewhere else. It might be even worse than the one before. Of course, it can also be better, but that is just unlikely in today¡¯s work environment.¡¯

    ¡®I was happily walking towards the throne room, as it was my time to change down the other handmaiden. The moment I walked into the large and very beautifully designed throne room, I felt a sudden premonition through the force, and my easygoing mood immediately turned sour.¡¯

    ¡¯I walked in front of my queen, while the other handmaiden, seeing me, began to hastily escape the room, with her imaginable tail between her legs.¡¯

    ¡®Yet, even that wasn¡¯t enough to bring back the smile to my face. Something felt off, and it bothered me, greatly.¡¯

    ¡®I greeted the queen while bowing moderately low, while slightly raising the hem of my long skirt as it was taught to me in etiquette classes.¡¯

    ¡®I wasn¡¯t wearing the outer layer of my clothes right now. It wasn¡¯t expected of me. The only exceptions were when I was ordered to do so, for some ceremonial purposes, or when we went outside of the castle.¡¯

    ¡®Right now, however, I wasn¡¯t notified of anything like that. I was simply wearing my usual white and green outfit. The only proof of my rank in in the court. I was a member of the queen¡¯s inner circle, with the status of a handmaiden. Each of the handmaidens was ordered to wear the exact same type of clothes. But the colors had to be different. Mine was a combination of white and dark green. The girl that had just run away was wearing white and yellow, and so on.¡¯

    ¡®The queen waved lightly, showing that she accepted my greeting, and I was allowed to rise and take my place standing next to her throne. This is going to be another boring afternoon of partially listening to discussions about the law, and incoming slave exports from other planets.¡¯

    ¡®These types of discussions are growing in number as the queen¡¯s long-awaited large slave auction is about to begin. It starts tomorrow and lasts for an entire week. We are also planning to be present at its opening, but from the queen¡¯s clear love for this event, I expect to spend most of the next week there.¡¯

    ¡®Still, I could feel that strange premonition lingering in the air. It was warning me, but not for danger, at least not necessarily. What is the reason for this force''s premonition? Am I imagining this? No, it clearly was trying to warn me to something, but what?¡¯

    ¡®The door opened, as two people were escorted into the throne room. Four armed soldiers following them closely, two on each side. I didn¡¯t really pay attention to it at first. As I was trying to figure out what that warning was about. Then I heard as one of the guards loudly stated the man¡¯s name.

    ¡°To the queen of Zygerria, we announce the arrival of Lars Quell.¡±

    ¡®That was the moment I suddenly felt two pairs of shocked and furious gazes stuck to my lithe form standing near the elevated throne.¡¯

    ¡®I felt strong rivulets of emotions appearing in the throne room, which made me flinch a bit.¡¯

    ¡®I immediately started to look around, searching for its source. My eyes soon met with the cold eyes of Lars Quell... and I froze like a deer in headlights.¡¯

    ¡®Lars Quell my ass. This was Anakin Skywalker, and he was currently throwing metaphorical daggers into me with that glare of his. While simultaneously emitting an almost suffocating pressure through the force.¡¯

    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

    ¡®The queen had sensed my plight, or had just got annoyed by me gaining most of the attention, and decided to interrupt this silent stare down in style. For once, I wanted to hug her for it.¡¯

    ¡°I see that my newest handmaiden has gained your attention. She is of fine stock, indeed, and a rare breed at that. Which is why she is not for sale. But tell me, what news do you bring of Bruno Denturri? My soldiers have told me that you have news of him, which was the main reason your presence has been allowed in my palace.¡±

    ¡®The moment Skywalker¡¯s attention was lifted from me, I immediately felt relieved. As he proceeded to interact with the queen, I remembered that there was another gaze that was intensely stuck to my body.¡¯

    ¡®I shivered lightly as I looked up, only to meet the hostile stare of said person.¡¯

    ¡®She was covered from head to toe in fine silk clothing. Standing next to Skywalker with only her eyes spared from the cover of rich garment.¡¯

    ¡®There was no reason for me to listen to their conversation. I immediately recognized those familiar eyes, not even mentioning her force presence. It was stronger, and more mature than the last time I felt it. Just as the girl herself was a lot taller now.¡¯

    ¡®It were times like these when the fact that I have been frozen for two entire years has truly sunk in.¡¯

    ¡®The girl was standing right in front of me, staring down at me, as she was the taller one now. I didn¡¯t need any connection to the force to see that she was practically boiling with anger. I wasn¡¯t sure, however, if it was directed at me, or at the situation she found me in.¡¯

    ¡®To be fair, probably both. She schooled her features with a visible effort and offered me a sad smile, one that I could only see in her eyes. It was filled with disappointment and longing.¡¯

    ¡®Oh, no, don¡¯t look at me like that... I felt as if a knife had been turned around inside of me. As she was giving me that disappointed expression, as if I had just killed her puppy...¡¯

    ¡°Nizzy, my dear, bring us some refreshments to the balcony. I would like to welcome my handsome guest properly. He even brought me such a gracious gift.¡±

    ¡®I was jolted out of my daydream by the queen¡¯s unusually mellow voice. I blinked at her, catching the slightest of blushes gracing the woman¡¯s cheeks.¡¯

    ¡®I couldn¡¯t help but feel shocked. What is going on here?¡¯

    ¡®Then another a lot harsher tone appeared next to me, sending shivers down my spine.¡¯

    ¡®Shit, when did he get so close to me? I felt an iron grip tighten around my right upper arm, stopping me in my effort to move away.¡¯

    ¡°Yes, slave, and do hurry. I suddenly feel quite thirsty for refreshments.¡±

    ¡®I gulped at that. Damn you Skywalker. You wanted to say revenge, but for what? Are you still riding on that misunderstanding? How can you be so petty?¡¯

    ¡®The queen and Lars, I mean Skywalker, began their walk to the balcony, while Ahsoka was still giving me a sad look. Just, just give me a break!¡¯

    ¡®I decided to run away to find those damnable refreshments, especially as I saw that Ahsoka was about to ask me something, or maybe just to scold me... or whatever¡­¡¯

    ~oOo~

    Ahsoka was shocked and speechless when she accidentally found her long-lost friend enslaved to an evil slaver queen.

    The friend that was wanted by the Jedi Order for over two years. The friend that escaped from a highly secured prisoner transport ship, by the help of some unidentified droid, which destroyed every evidence of its existence after it was defeated, except a few handfuls of metal dust.

    The friend that disappeared as if she had never even existed in the first place.

    There was not even a picture, or a video, captured of her that remained. The ones that were made have mysteriously disappeared from the jedi archives right after her escape.

    There was a thick cloud of mysteries connected to the strange girl who lived in the Jedi Temple for about two weeks and only leaving a mountain of unanswered questions in her wake.

    A year after her complete disappearance, which by itself was another mystery.

    The planetary scanners around Coruscant followed the ship that she used to enter the atmospheric border. Upon entering, the scanners naturally lost its signal for a few seconds because of static interference.

    However, the signal never appeared again. The ship, which, by the way, was also a mystery in itself. Being the same type of ship that Revan, the betrayer, used in the mandalorian wars thousands of years ago. It was even named the same way as Ebon Hawk.

    After months of futile search the Jedi council had decided to make the announcement that the mysterious force sect namely The Order of the Grey should be taken into the archives as a more than likely existing order, and any information on their presence and influence should be taken to Jocasta Nu for further processing.

    Over these two years, the historians and researchers of the order had indeed found evidence to the existence of this weird order.

    There were many sightings of mysterious strangers, who suddenly appeared and helped out or sometimes fought against jedi through the annals of history.

    Their appearance seemingly had no similar pattern. Their fighting styles were mostly unique, meaning that nothing suggested that they belonged to the same order, well aside from their silver blades, which were not so unique, as even jedi tend to have similar coloured lightsabers.

    There were records of sightings from the uncharted territories far behind the known perimeters of the galaxy by expeditions, just as in the core words.

    They seemed to be present everywhere, but nowhere. The first suspected report of a member of this order being found in the archives was over three thousand years ago.

    It was a young cerean man named Ari Grey, who had been in possession of a silver-colored lightsaber while showcasing distinctly odd behaviors. Based on the reports, the man was often seen loudly speaking to himself. He had been reported to the Naboo authorities for his disturbing and potentially dangerous behaviours. Not long later, he was apprehended successfully. It is noted that the man was very cooperative and offered no resistance while the police officers took him into custody.

    After weeks of observations and a few different tests, the doctors decided that the man was healthy, if a bit eccentric. So they confiscated his lightsaber and let him go after he paid the fine for illegally possessing a lightsaber. They later sent the confiscated weapon to the Coruscant Jedi Temple, but it strangely never arrived.

    There were many stories like this, and one thing was the same in all of them. Each mysterious force-wielder had a silver-colored lightsaber, and his or her last name was Grey. The name Grey is an often used last name in the galaxy, and because the sightings happened in entirely different places and times, often passing hundreds of years between each report. It is unsurprising that, until today, nobody connected the dots.

    Ahsoka, when she first saw the familiar form of the twi¡¯lek girl, with the same bored expression plastered over her pale face. As she stood next to the queen¡¯s throne. She simply couldn¡¯t believe it.

    The reason for that was quite obvious. She looked exactly the same as she had last saw her, which was more than two years ago. There wasn¡¯t any difference except her clothes.

    She was carefully following the girl¡¯s movements. Her body language and facial expressions were all familiar. Soon she turned towards them, and there was no need for any jedi special sense to realize that the girl recognized them immediately.

    Her bored expression changed into one that resembled a scared child¡¯s that was caught with her hand in the honey jar. There was no more question about who she was.

    Ahsoka was long awaiting the moment when she will find her lost friend, but for sure she never imagined their reunion in the palace of a Zygerrian Slaver Queen, none the less being slaves themselves. The force had a sickeningly dark humor at times.

    Also, Ahosoka felt pretty confused about this whole situation. Was she here the whole time? She wanted to ask so many questions from her. That she suddenly couldn¡¯t make up her mind for which one to start with, but before she could pick one, the girl turned around and ran away. Just like that...

    In retrospect, it was probably for the better, since revealing their connection would have jeopardized the whole mission. Did she realize that and run away?

 42. Chapter

    In the end, having nothing else to do, Ahsoka decided to follow her master and this rotten slaver queen to the balcony of the throne room. When she stepped out onto the balcony, closely followed by two zygerrian palace guards and one heavily weaponised unidentified type of droid, she found herself in the middle of a conversation. Skyguy was trying hard to charm this shameless woman. Even watching it unfold felt awkward for Ahsoka. Yet, it would later become a material that she could freely weaponise against her master. Therefore, she decided to walk closer and listen into the ongoing conversation more carefully, while rolling her eyes at the most awkward moments.

    ¡°Oh Lars, you are a bold one indeed, and I like that in a man. A good slaver needs to have courage, to take the offered opportunities. But, it is not good to be too bold, since usually those are the ones who die first. Are you one of those, Lars Quell?¡± ¡ª The queen questioned with glinting eyes.

    ¡°I would gladly die if that would let me bask in your glorious presence for just a second more.¡± ¡ª Lars answered with the shamelessness of a practiced womanizer. It almost caused Ahsoka to gag.

    ¡®Seriously, how could he say something like that, especially in a completely serious manner?¡¯ ¡ª Ahsoka wondered internally. ¡ª ¡®I feel secondhand embarrassment only from watching this.¡¯

    Then Ahsoka¡¯s eyes widened even further. Seeing that the queen actually blushed from that? At that point Ahsoka was openly staring at the woman, wondering if she was dreaming all of this, and she never actually found her friend, either.

    Now it seems that the queen also realized it and turned away hastily. ¡ª ¡®Trying to cover your rosy cheeks, are you?¡¯ ¡ª Ahsoka thought silently while taking in the view.

    ¡°L-Lars... you should not say such foolish things so brazenly... Even if I do appreciate your words.¡± ¡ª The queen frustratedly fanned her face. ¡ª ¡°I wish I had that cold drink. Where did that stupid girl go? I didn¡¯t ask to bring the refreshments from a mile away!¡±

    A pair of hurried footsteps sounded behind them as the previously mentioned stupid girl appeared. She offered a pair of crystal glasses served on a silver plate while lowering her head dutifully. It was obvious with a glance that she was different from the average slaves even inside the palace. Her movements were more elegant and more professional.

    No matter how pretty she looked or how elegant she was. Ahsoka could only feel fresh bile rising in her throat at the sight of her friend so openly submitting to this evil woman. There was no question about it, that she was forced to act in such a humiliating manner. The only thing that kept her from lashing out at the horrible woman was the knowledge that her friend¡¯s fate was about to turn to the better when they succeed with their mission.

    ¡°Forgive me, mistress. I turned in the wrong way and had to trace back my steps.¡± ¡ª The young twi¡¯lek said in a sad voice.

    ¡°I see. Sometimes I wonder how you managed to survive before I took you under my wing. With that scattered brain of yours, it¡¯s a veritable miracle. I might have to order Eqomu to teach you one more lesson per week. That might manage to squeeze some sense into you, foolish girl.¡±

    Ahsoka couldn¡¯t help but watch in shock, as her friend¡¯s expression morphed into a momentarily terrified one. The very notion of seeing her usually nonchalant friend showcase such fear made her stomach churn. ¡ª ¡®Was she... was she beaten so much that she broke down and already gave up hope?¡¯ ¡ª While Ahsoka was immersed in the vast sea of terrible possibilities that her imagination actively conjured, the conversation flowed onwards.

    ¡°Mistress, please spare me. It won¡¯t happen again.¡± ¡ª Nizzal¡¯s words conveyed such desperation it was threatening to break Ahsoka¡¯s heart. Yet the queen seemed to hold no mercy as she narrowed her eyes, lecturing her in a strict tone.

    ¡°That settles it then, since you choose to talk back to me in front of my guest. One more lesson per week from now on.¡± ¡ª She stated with finality, and Nizzal seemed to accept it with a pitiful expression.

    ¡®I never saw Nizzy look as crestfallen as she was now. What tortures must have this Eqomu done to her... I looked at Anakin, as fear began to gnaw at me for my dear friend. She is punished because of our arrival here, so we have to free her!¡¯ ¡ª Ahsoka pleaded with her eyes towards her master.

    Anakin¡¯s features already lost their previous edge. Becoming quite soft as he saw both girl¡¯s lost expression.

    While Anakin was momentarily angered by Nizzal¡¯s presence. Because both Ahsoka and Rika, not even mentioning his master, have become quite depressed after the troublesome twi¡¯lek¡¯s arrogant exit. If one could call it that to begin with. Even Obi-Wan seemed to be worried and sad about how things turned out in the end. Adding one more traumatic experience to the long lists that weighed down on the troubled man¡¯s shoulders.

    In retrospect, the jedi council itself seemed to regret their actions in condemning the girl. Especially since the revelation that they have likely offended an order with a history that counts in the thousands of years. Anakin almost scoffed at the thought, knowing all too well that no matter if the council has regretted it or not, they would likely do it again. If for nothing else, then just to keep up their appearances. He knew this to be true, which was also proved by the fact that the council was yet to revoke the search warrant on the girl. They were so infuriatingly hypocritical about this entire business that it somewhat shook his, and through him, her padawan¡¯s very belief in the order. Were the jedi just as hypocritical in their other dealings? Or was this a rare exemption? Anakin wondered occasionally. Luckily for him, he was a jedi himself, and therefore knew in fact that the council was more often right than wrong in their dealings. Something about this other force sect, however, made them act unusually hypocritical, and judgemental.

    No matter that, because seeing where her rapid escape landed the mischievous twi¡¯lek force user. He couldn¡¯t help but feel a sense of responsibility for the enslaved youngling. It felt so wrong to see her act in line with such humility and orderliness that it made him feel a sense of pity for her. Not even mentioning the guilt. Anakin knew very well what being a slave felt like. He knew it more than he would like to admit. And the more he saw the way the queen treated the girl, the more infuriated he became. There was a growing urge inside him, one that demanded him to alleviate the queen¡¯s head from her shoulders. It was a pity that this was not the time for that, and a jedi was not supposed to think that way to begin with.

    Ahsoka knew that the order was not genuinely wrong. There was much good in the Jedi Order, she knew this as any jedi knew, but she also understood now that the good that represented most of the order was often blinded by prejudice and fear. The way they treated Nizzal as an unknown force user was a simple show of that. On the surface, most of the jedi acted politely and showed no hostility, while in reality they were searching for a reason, any reason, to judge her from the beginning.

    This made Ahsoka develop some very conflicted feelings about the order and, having no one else to turn to, she decided to speak with her master. Only to find out that her master was increasingly hard to find, or more like, impossible. She didn¡¯t even remember when she last saw him, aside from missions, giving their reports to the council, or eating in the cantina of the temple. Also, those times are not really meant to solve personal trust issues.

    She sighed dejectedly. Well, if nothing else, she will have to ask Obi¡¯Wan, or even Master Yoda. Yet if she does that, they will ask: why didn¡¯t she talk about this with her master, and what could she tell them to that question? She can¡¯t lie to them because they will sense it, and figure it out on their own, but if she tells the truth, their reaction will be possibly even worse. In the end, they will reprimand Anakin, possibly even punish him for not supervising his padawan, like at all? She actually had a special love for messing with her master, but this wouldn¡¯t be funny anymore, and Anakin would take it as a betrayal... There was also the one percent possibility that the council would actually decide to choose her another, more experienced master. She didn¡¯t even want to think about that possibility. Her master was at best annoying, yet he was mostly positively annoying... Is that even a thing? Her long line of thoughts was interrupted as the queen and Anakin finally finished their ridiculous flirt session, finally. She looked up as the queen began to give orders.

    ¡°Guards show Lars Quell to a first class guest room. Order the slaves to bring him food and drink whenever he desires so.¡± ¡ª With that said, the queen turned back towards Anakin and added almost purringly. ¡ª ¡°In the evening hours, I hope to see you in the garden. We will discuss the price of your slave in the company of excellent food and fine wine prepared by my palace chef.¡±

    ¡°There is no need. I wish to gift this one to you, my queen.¡± ¡ª Answered Anakin.

    ¡°I appreciate your offer, Lars Quell. Although, I have to deny it, I have long had learned that the things without a price are the ones that we usually pay with the most.¡±

    The woman¡¯s smile faltered as she called out for her servant.

    ¡°Nizzy!¡±

    ¡°Yes, mistress?¡±

    The woman¡¯s gaze momentarily focused on Ahsoka as if she had just remembered about her existence.

    ¡°I leave this... wild togruta in your care for now. Take her to Eqomu for a reevaluation. Also, teach her some basic manners. Her hateful looks, although amusing, they will get bothersome later. We have to stifle them early on. Otherwise, it would hinder her potential as a proper slave.¡±

    Nizzal hesitated for a second before answering in a neutral tone. One that irked Ahsoka to no end and earned the twi¡¯lek a harsh glare from both the queen and Ahsoka.

    ¡°I understand, mistress.¡± ¡ª She said eventually, avoiding both of their eyes.

    ¡°Emma will take your shift by my side today, so you will have the time to show around the recent addition.¡±

    ¡°I understand, mistress. I won¡¯t disappoint you.¡±

    ¡°I would expect nothing less. Now, get out of my sight. I need to prepare myself for a dinner.¡±

    Nizzal bowed hastily, then grabbed Ahsoka¡¯s arm and began to drag her back to the throne room. Then through the richly decorated corridors, only to enter a just as beautiful room that had a small balcony of its own. The room had quite a few colorful plants and flowers, luxuriously decorating it. There was even a corner with a high-class computer and a few other electronic gadgets, which were in different states of assembling.

    Ahsoka didn¡¯t know what they were doing in such a room. She was kind of shocked that she just dragged her here, suddenly. Without any words or explanation. She looked at her friend¡¯s face questioningly. To her surprise, the twi¡¯lek girl was panicking? Did she drag her here without any plan or further thoughts? She almost chuckled at the thought and quickly decided to help her out.

    ¡°So... whose room is this?¡± ¡ª Ahsoka asked that was most relevant to their predicament. She wasn¡¯t going to talk about sensitive things in some random zyggerian noble¡¯s room.

    ¡°Mine...¡± ¡ª Came the answer, an answer that immediately diverted her thoughts from their initial track.

    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°What? Are you joking?¡± ¡ª She blurted out her thoughts without thinking them through. The whole situation felt absurd.

    ¡°No... It¡¯s really mine.¡± ¡ª The girl answered again.

    A heavy silence stretched between the two before Ahsoka spoke up again.

    ¡°Okay... It looks nice.¡± ¡ª She squeezed the words out with some effort.

    What was going on here? Ahsoka''s mind whirled in silence, attempting to figure out how a simple slave could live in such a luxurious room.

    ¡°Thanks! I like it too.¡± ¡ª Nizzal answered with a small smile. One that managed to frustrate Ahsoka even more.

    ¡®I swear that it¡¯s not that I am jealous or something, but she has a ten times bigger room than mine in the order, with a damn balcony while she is a slave... Something isn¡¯t right here¡­ okay fine... maybe I am a bit jealous, but this doesn¡¯t make any sense¡­¡¯ ¡ª Ahsoka thought internally attempting and failing to understand what was going on.

    While she tried to figure it out, the awkward silence stretched on.

    ¡°So... you and Skywalker... what are you planning to do here?¡± ¡ª Nizzal asked eventually, seeing how her friend was suddenly lost in her thoughts.

    Asoka raised one of her eyebrows at that. ¡ª ¡®Was she trying to figure out our mission? That would be the bluntest spying attempt, like ever.¡¯ ¡ª She wondered. This question also frustrated her to no end, as if Nizzal was suggesting that they were troubling her with their presence. Ahsoka felt as if something that was suppressed from the shock of seeing her dearly missed friend finally snapped inside her. She began to speak with her emotions slowly lashing out, raising her words far above of the volume that was originally intended.

    ¡°Is this¡­ Is this seriously the first thing you ask of me after all this time? YOU STUPID TWI¡¯LEK!¡±

    Said twi¡¯lek winced at that, but Ahsoka was far from finished.

    ¡°Do you know how long I waited to find you? I was worried for you. I just wanted to know that you are at least alive and maybe healthy, but you just disappeared like you never even existed.¡± ¡ª Ahsoka took a few ragged breaths then continued with her rant.

    ¡°Now, I find you as the servant of a slaver queen living in a luxury palace while growing flowers? Only to be questioned about my presence here? Why are you here?! IDIOT! You didn¡¯t even give me a hug after two entire years! And why do you look the same as two years ago? This is just so confusing!¡±

    Ahsoka sensed as two small hands hesitantly offered her a shy hug. All that while Nizzal was making an extremely uncomfortable expression, her cheeks reddening from a fresh sense of shame.

    Ahsoka froze for a second, then basically jumped at her old friend, giving her a real tight hug. Threatening to suffocate the now smaller girl. It was at that time when her hands accidentally found a cylinder-shaped object hidden inside the smaller twi¡¯lek¡¯s robes.

    Her eyes snapped open as she brushed over the object once again, this time intentionally.

    ¡®Is that a lightsaber? How could she, as a slave, have a lightsaber?¡¯ ¡ª Ahsoka wondered silently, as she broke away from the hug while agilely slipping out the object from Nizzal¡¯s robes, which action no doubt surprised the other girl, seeing how her eyes widened at the sight of her weapon in her friend¡¯s hands.

    There was a moment of silence as the two girls shared a look of uncertainty.

    ¡°I was right... you actually have a lightsaber on you.¡± ¡ª Ahsoka stated in growing confusion.

    She activated the blade with the intention of testing its functionality. As it came to life, it was indeed the same silver color, with the dark gray shadows dancing around its edge. The same as she remembered.

    There was another moment of silence. Then Ahsoka blurted out her question.

    ¡°Nizzy... are you working for the queen, for a slaver on your own accord? I cannot explain you having access to your blade in any other way¡­¡± ¡ª She demanded an answer.

    ¡°Well, of course I am working for her, since I am one of her handmaidens¡­ On my own accord? Nah¡­ I am not that bored, nor that masochistic.¡±

    Ahsoka looked on with a strict gaze, expecting more explanation. Nizzal, seeing the way her friend looked at her, sighed and gave in. ¡ª ¡°Look, you see this collar? It¡¯s beskar. I can¡¯t cut it even with a lightsaber. Quite frankly, she grabbed me by my tail¡­ I can¡¯t escape on my own. If I want to live, that is.¡±

    Ahsoka thought about it, but instead of accepting Nizzal¡¯s reasoning, she felt an urge to further question her friend. Something didn¡¯t sit well with her story and it still wouldn¡¯t explain why she had a lightsaber. It sounded like an awful risk for any slaver to allow a trained force sensitive to have access to such a weapon.

    ¡°Oh, really... And how many of the other slaves have their own lightsabers? Just don¡¯t say that each of the slaves has one, because what I saw in the city on the way to the palace doesn¡¯t make that statement believable.¡± ¡ª Ahsoka stated sarcastically.

    Ahsoka waited for a proper explanation while crossing her arms over her chest, yet the only thing she got was Nizzal¡¯s worried expression as she bit into her lower lip anxiously.

    ¡°Sigh... I am waiting for a detailed explanation girl, don¡¯t just stand there like a fish out of water! Oh, and don¡¯t try to stretch the time. I have learned a few new tricks since I last saw you. The result of our duel would be quite different now, especially since I got your only weapon here.¡± ¡ª Ahsoka looked at Nizzal¡¯s face. She was giving her a doubtful expression, but more importantly¡­ Why was she so damn small? She truly didn¡¯t change at all in these two years.

    ¡®I am bigger, with an entire head now. It is weird. I think even Rika is taller than her now. ¡ª Ahsoka turned off the silver lightsaber on a whim and added the following words as a snide remark with the intention of ruffling Nizzal¡¯s feathers a bit.

    ¡°On second thought, probably not a good idea. It would feel like bullying a helpless little kid. Isn¡¯t that right, shorty?¡±

    The moment those words left her mouth, Ahsoka immediately knew that she had managed to get under her skin! She was giving her that stare, after all.

    ¡°So why are you so damn small, anyway? You didn¡¯t even grow a millimeter over two years. Are you a dwarf? I have nothing against dwarfs, of course, but not growing at your age isn¡¯t normal. So what will it be? Should I call you Miss Shortiness, or Oh Short One from now on?¡±

    Nizzal was fuming at the time. Her eyes even flickered with a yellow hue for a second. Ahsoka was starting to worry that her lessons on how to rile up your enemy might have been too effective for her own good. All thanks to her dear master. At least if Grandmaster Yoda asks, what is Anakin¡¯s specialty? She could say proudly that he was a master of snide remarks and well versed in all types of word-fu.

    While Ahsoka¡¯s mind wandered around, she kept a close watch on the angry twi¡¯lek¡¯s movements. In the end, she decided that the girl needed one last tiny little push.

    ¡°So what is it, shorty?¡± ¡ª Ahsoka chirped and was rewarded with the outburst of the infuriated lass.

    ¡°Stop calling me like that! I am not short, it¡¯s normal for my age!¡± ¡ª She stomped cutely on the carpet covered floor.

    ¡°You know, you told me that two years ago, and I agreed, but now, this excuse is getting kind of ridiculous.¡± ¡ª Ahsoka shot back without a blink of an eye.

    Nizzal turned beet red from hearing that.

    ¡°NO, IT¡¯S NOT! Nothing really changed, on my part, that is¡­¡± ¡ª She admitted at last. ¡ª ¡°I am still the same age as I was back then.¡±

    Ahsoka raised her eyebrows at that... This joke was getting out of hand, she thought.

    ¡°Shorty... I hate to be the one to say this, but you are delusional.¡± ¡ª She stated.

    ¡°NO! Let me finish! It didn¡¯t change for me specifically, because...¡±

    ¡°Oh, for the love of the force, please just don¡¯t say that you are a vampire... That would be hella cringe!¡± ¡ª Ahsoka said teasingly.

    ¡°What? No, why would you even suggest...¡± ¡ª She sighed, slowly, just realising that she was intentionally riled up. ¡ª ¡°I hate you sometimes¡­¡±

    Ahsoka chuckled at that. ¡ª ¡°I guess, the feeling is mutual than!¡±

    Nizzal looked sad hearing that, and it made Ahsoka wanting to take back that last retort, only it was too late to do so as the other girl sighed dejectedly and continued her explanation.

    ¡°... Well, I guess I can see your point, kind of... nevermind. It¡¯s because I was frozen in carbonite until two weeks ago... when the queen bought me, and I was freed from hibernation. Ironically, when I finally awoke in this room, I was already collared and shackled, so I didn¡¯t have much of a choice, really... I changed a smaller prison for a bigger one... At least I am conscious here, but I think that exact fact is not always positive.¡±

    When she said that, she subconsciously massaged the inner side of her wrists and forearms. Ahsoka could swear that she saw a glint of an ugly injury that filled her with a sense of righteous fury just before the girl hastily covered it up with those long sleeves of her clothes.

    She felt shaken by the new turn of events. Realizing that the girl didn¡¯t have a chance to leave her a message in this whole two years. This also explained many other things about her disappearance. After all, people may lie low for a while, but they never disappear completely, not if they are alive, and that thought was somewhat troubling.

    ¡°I still can¡¯t seem to understand why you act like a scared little girl and not get the hell away from here? You almost escaped from the Jedi Order? Then you actually managed to escape from that highly secured prisoner transporter ship. Which was guarded by Master Kenobi. How did you even manage to do that in the first place? And now, you have a lightsaber on you and didn¡¯t even try to get away. Why?¡±

    The pouting girl proceeded to pull on the strangely shining collar placed around her neck. It immediately sent a spark of electricity through her, resulting in a subdued groan.

    The room was once again filled in a bit of awkward silence.

    ¡°Ah, yeah, that stuff¡­ Did you actually try to cut it off, or were you so gullible to believe the queen¡¯s words on face value?¡±

    Nizzal seemed to be surprised by this question, and she answered hesitantly. ¡ª ¡°I, ugh¡­ She wouldn¡¯t give me the saber if she wasn¡¯t entirely sure that I can¡¯t cut it off. That¡¯s just common sense.¡± ¡ª She protested, and Ahsoka rolled her eyes, realizing that the girl in fact didn¡¯t try to cut it off.

    Soka reactivated Nizzal¡¯s borrowed lightsaber, with the clear intention to remedy that, but to her surprise, the other girl jumped away from her. She was afraid.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare to do that. You will cut off my head accidentally.¡± ¡ª She protested while backing away.

    ¡°What? How rude. I am a Jedi Padawan, and three years older than you. That means I have three more years of experience. Now stop backing away!¡±

    ¡°Stop, it¡¯s not that I don¡¯t trust you... but you can¡¯t cut this collar off!¡±

    ¡°Oh, so you have already tried?¡±

    ¡°Well... no, but...¡±

    ¡°Then move your ass over here!¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t cut it, it¡¯s made from beskar didn¡¯t you pay any attention to what I told you! So put down that damn blade already.¡±

    ¡°Oh... and how do you know it¡¯s really made from beskar?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know for sure, but it looks like beskar, it¡¯s weight seems to be correct and even if you managed to cut it off, somehow, where would I go? I am on a completely unfamiliar planet. Where almost any twi¡¯lek is considered being a slave immediately, I would stick out from the crowd way too much. I at least need some feasible plans first. So chill out!¡±

    ¡°Well, you may have a point there... But that still doesn¡¯t explain why you have your lightsaber?¡±

    ¡°Sigh... I am the secret guard of the queen... I need to have a weapon to protect her...¡± ¡ª The girl admitted at last.

    ¡°... What? You are protecting that woman? Are you crazy?¡± ¡ª Was the expected answer from Ahsoka¡¯s side.

    ¡°I am not... sigh... I am forced to do so! Can¡¯t you see?¡±

    ¡°What I see is that you are living a comfortable life in a palace while you very comfortably ignore the injustice, the cruelty of these slavers objectifying life left and right, while you are growing flowers and playing video games!¡±

    ¡°What am I supposed to do?¡± ¡ª The girl throws up her arms in frustration. ¡ª ¡°Teach them of their uncivilised evil ways? Ahsoka, these zygerrians were slavers thousands of years ago, and they will be slavers thousands of years from now. It is their instinct to enslave others. You may manage to swing a few to your goal, but they won¡¯t change only if you force them to, and at the moment the enforcement falters, they will go back to their original ways.¡±

    ¡°How would you know that so sure? Even if you had visions from the force, those visions could change. They only show a likely possibility, not a certainty.¡± ¡ª Ahsoka argued back.

    ¡°Believe me, I know it. I have seen it happen... In the past.¡±

    ¡°How would you see something like that? Were you frozen in carbonite other times, too? Is that how you go on a weekend in your order?¡±

    ¡°No... don¡¯t mind that...¡±

    ¡°Another secret than?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ complicated¡­.¡±

    ¡°For the love of the force, tell me, how old are you? Tell me, or I won¡¯t talk to you ever again.¡± ¡ª Ahsoka demanded, enraged by her friend once again hiding things from her.

    ¡°... Don¡¯t act like a child, please...¡± ¡ª Nizzal pleaded weakly.

    Alas, Ahsoka decided to ignore her completely, and for once pull through on her threat.

    Of course, Nizzal tried to weaken her resolve with different types of questions and distractions. She even offered her a slice of cake at one point. It only enraged her, further solidifying her decision.

    ¡®Seriously? A slice of cake that was her best shot? She was definitely looking down on me. I am not that goofy child from two years ago, and you will see it!¡¯ ¡ª Ahsoka swore to herself.

 43. Chapter

    The silent treatment had gone on for quite a while, when Nizzal apparently had enough of it and burst out with an angry voice.

    ¡°Ahsoka... why are you doing this to me? I have already told you that I am thirteen years old in body... Since I was hibernated that didn¡¯t change... I am still thirteen years old!¡± ¡ª Ahsoka turned towards Nizzal with an angry expression that soon turned into surprise and confusion. The reaction apparently scared the other girl. ¡ª ¡°Why are you looking at me like that, suddenly?¡± ¡ª Nizzal questioned with a burst of suspicion. ¡ª ¡°You are scaring me... stop there, stOP!¡± ¡ª She screamed, turning around and trying to flee seeing that the previously pouting togruta unexpectedly jumped at her with a furious look burning in her eyes.

    Ahsoka jumped at the smaller twi¡¯lek like an enraged animal, pushing her to the ground thanks to her larger physique. ¡ª ¡°Thirteen years old in body!¡± ¡ª Ahsoka shouted at the stupefied girl. ¡ª ¡°When would you plan to tell me about that detail!?¡±

    The small twi¡¯lek¡¯s expression quickly paled under her friend¡¯s accusation, realizing her foolish mistake. She was so surprised that she didn¡¯t even try to defend herself.

    Seeing the shock in the girl¡¯s expression was enough for Ahsoka to ascertain that, for once, she was on the right track to figure out her annoying friend¡¯s secrets. Ahsoka smirked with an evil glint in her eyes, showing some of those predatory canines as she ruthlessly took advantage of the state of her friend.

    She decisively grabbed Nizzal¡¯s wrists and pulled her now physically much weaker arms, all thanks to the difference in their age behind her back. Holding them in a quite painful body lock, while binding her arms tightly with a shawl that was lying around. Of course, she knew that Nizzal would be able to escape from that bind with time. Alas, she wasn¡¯t planning to give her that time.

    ¡°Let me go!¡± ¡ª The captured girl demanded. As she suddenly realized what sort of situation she was in, and started to squirm and kick furiously. It was of little use to her, since Ahsoka was quite comfortably sitting on her back just finishing the delicate process of tying her friend¡¯s arms. The young twi¡¯lek quickly realized that she was not going to be able to push the bigger girl off her back, and with a terrifying fluidity, turned to new methods of coercion. She began in a sad, heart-wrenching, shaky voice that gave pause to the older girl. ¡ª ¡°Why are you doing this to me¡­ I didn¡¯t even say anything rude...¡±

    Ahsoka openly rolled her eyes, seeing the sharp change in her friend¡¯s behavior. She would never admit it to her, the fact of how effective the girl¡¯s act was. Two years ago, she would gullibly suck it up, no¡­ perhaps even just a year ago, but not now. Still, she had to force herself not to jump up and try to comfort her, as her act was clearly laced with powerful coercion reinforced by the force itself.

    Perhaps¡­ she would have been fooled by it even now, only if the girl didn¡¯t use it in such a panicked way. It was impossible to miss the sharp differences between her mood swings, but that only made Ahsoka angrier, and the fact that the girl was going into great lengths to cover up her mistake more obvious.

    Ahsoka, with a grunt, pulled up the squirming child from the floor, and threw her into a nearby chair, immediately starting to tie her legs together with a few more pieces of cloth. She was not going to let the girl run off this time, not before she throughly interrogated her. She wasn¡¯t intending to ask questions nicely while hoping to get the truth out either, not after suffering through two years of uncertainty. She was going to get her answers one way or another. Still¡­ seeing the fearful look in Nizzal¡¯s eyes, she couldn¡¯t help but remembered that her master¡¯s master often scolded her for lack of tact.

    Witnessing the sight of the terrified, squirming twi¡¯lek tied to the chair in front of her. She couldn¡¯t help but agree with him for once.

    ¡°If I said something offensive, I am sorry, please forgive me, and don¡¯t look at me with that blank expression...¡± ¡ª The girl pleaded. This time it felt more genuine than before, but Ahsoka couldn¡¯t care less about that. She was now on a mission to get the truth. She internally strengthened her resolve.

    ¡®I had enough of this cat-and-mouse game... She would not get away from me, not until I got my answers. I was worried about her life for two years, for nothing. I am not going through that again...¡¯ ¡ª Ahsoka reminded herself, then once again focused on the twi¡¯lek.

    She leaned closer to her friend, subtly gliding her force presence to sense Nizzal¡¯s. There were turbulent emotions swirling around her, but it was clear to Ahsoka that the other girl was more frustrated than confused. She knew why she did what she did, no matter how much she pretended otherwise. ¡ª ¡®Good.¡¯ ¡ª Ahsoka thought with aggravation. ¡ª ¡®I was also confused and frustrated in these last two years. She should get a taste of it, even if it wasn¡¯t her choice...¡¯

    Ahsoka slowly crouched down to her tied friend¡¯s eye level and demanded with little fanfare.

    ¡°So, tell me about this story... of you being a thirteen-year-old in body...¡± ¡ª She slowly raised her right hand and pushed her pointing finger right into the middle of the girl¡¯s chest. A victorious smirk coming to her face as she added. ¡ª ¡°What about your soul?¡±

    The effectiveness of her action was beyond obvious. Nizzal¡¯s face turned ashen the moment she heard her question. She tried to cover it up, but Ahsoka was watching her closely and it was impossible to hide her genuine surprise and fear.

    ¡°Wh-what are you... talking about..?¡± ¡ª The twi¡¯lek stuttered with a strained fake smile, that even a jedi youngling could see through easily.

    ¡°Now, now, now... Nizzy, don¡¯t even try to act ignorant... it won¡¯t work on me, not anymore... So I will ask one more time before I decide to tie a double knot on your leks.¡±

    ¡®Heh, that¡¯s it.¡¯ ¡ª Ahsoka thought, seeing that Nizzal¡¯s eyes were about to pop out from the very thought.

    ¡°Yo-you wouldn¡¯t dare to do something like that...¡± ¡ª The girl stammered.

    ¡°Try me.¡± ¡ª Ahsoka said, while putting her right hand loosely on her hip.

    ¡°I am thirteen years old.¡± ¡ª The girl said with stubborn determination.

    ¡°Sigh... Nizzal... stop acting like a weasel. You disappoint me.¡± ¡ª Ahsoka shook her head.

    ¡°W-what?!¡± ¡ª The other girl stammered.

    Meanwhile, Ahsoka walked behind her chair. Nizzal continued mumbling stubbornly that she was really thirteen years old... Yeah, sure... Ahsoka thought about it for a moment. It was so obvious. This would answer every abnormality around her friend. Those incredibly deep eyes, her strange demeanor, her supportive nature. Not even mentioning her extensive knowledge of the force, one that could rival Masters of the Jedi Order. Wow... what if she was mentally like fifty years old? That would be incredible and kind of awkward...

    Ahsoka looked at her friend as she was trying to tell her how wrong she was...

    ¡®Yes, that could be true...¡¯ ¡ª Ahsoka grudgingly acknowledged the possibility. ¡ª ¡®If she won¡¯t talk even after I tied a knot on her leks, I will actually believe her.¡¯

    Ahsoka was preparing to pull through with her threat. She couldn¡¯t help but chuckle when she saw how the girl cutely attempted to pull away her leks as she tried to grab them. It¡¯s a pity that she couldn¡¯t move them half as fast as she could move her arms.

    She grabbed both of them easily after the initial surprise wore off. ¡ª ¡®But wow¡­ the feeling of those soft leks wriggling around was quite disturbing, actually. They were constantly moving around as if I had caught a pair of snakes or earth worms. You would expect them to be cold to the touch and somewhat wet like snakeskin, but it was not.¡¯

    ¡®They felt warm, and somewhat elastic, but it wasn¡¯t slimy at all. Also, you could perfectly feel her quickening heart rate through them. I felt myself blush a little from the thought.¡¯

    Was this really right? Ahsoka hesitated.

    ¡®I would never have threatened her to do this if I knew how disturbingly personal this would feel, but now, how could I back down?¡¯ ¡ª Kalifa had many times told Ahsoka the story, of how she easily bested the girl who managed to escape under the nose of five jedi, and a small squad of clones. All that because she managed to grab her by her lek.

    ¡®I didn¡¯t give it much thought back then. I know that it¡¯s kind of hypocritical since I also have leks. Yet mine was quite different, and it was not possible to move it around just like that. It was more stable, even solid at places, since it has an internal bone structure, which twi¡¯leks lekku clearly lacks.¡¯

    Ahsoka raised a surprised eyebrow, noticing how Nizzal¡¯s leks snaked around her wrists, attempting to squeeze her arms. It was getting on her nerves, so she squeezed back slightly, which elicited a high-pitched yelp from the sweating twi¡¯lek who immediately stopped her misbehavior, loosening up her leks.

    ¡°I GIVE UP!¡± ¡ª The girl shouted, frustrated tears appearing at the edge of her wide pink eyes. ¡ª ¡°Ju-j-just let me go, and I will tell you my age!¡± ¡ª Her pale cheeks were red from embarrassment.

    Ahsoka was woken from her thoughts by Nizzal¡¯s sudden shout. She grinned victoriously behind her, not letting go of her leks just yet.

    ¡°So, spit it out then. I am waiting?¡±

    ¡°I am actually twenty-five...¡± ¡ª The girl said with a sorrowful voice.

    Ahsoka wasn¡¯t amused. Based on the girl¡¯s exotic knowledge and skills, that seems to be highly unlikely. The fact that she shared it so easily was suspicious, too. Like come on, she didn¡¯t even do anything yet. What was more curious, however, was that she sensed a weird vibration through her leks since she was still holding onto them. What was the reason for that? She wondered.

    ¡°I asked your real age, not some random number!¡± ¡ª Ahsoka shouted back.

    ¡°I just said I am twenty-five!¡± ¡ª The girl sputtered, surprised to be caught red-handed so easily.

    What was truly curious was that the strange quivering was there again... What if¡­ Could it be? Ahsoka felt her cat like grin widening with a new idea blossoming in her mind.

    ¡°Nizzy, tell me your name, then mine.¡± ¡ª Ahsoka asked, the grin never disappearing from her face.

    On the other hand, Nizzal looked genuinely confused.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°Why?¡± ¡ª She asked, blinking heavily.

    ¡°Just do it.¡± ¡ª Ahsoka demanded, slightly squeezing the girl¡¯s leks to urge her through.

    ¡°S-stop that! Y-y-you are crazy, but so be it! My name is Nizzal Grey... And you are Ahsoka Tano... Happy now?¡±

    ¡®There were no vibrations at all.¡¯ ¡ª Ahsoka noted. ¡ª ¡®She might really start to think that I am getting crazy... Still, I have to prove my hypothesis first.¡¯

    ¡°Now tell me that you are a sith; then tell me that you are not a sith.¡± ¡ª Ahsoka commanded with a straight face.

    ¡°Ah-Ahsoka, are you alright? You shouldn¡¯t get overly excited, just relax a bit... then we can talk this through¡­¡±

    ¡°Tell me, now!¡± ¡ª Ahsoka demanded with another squeeze.

    ¡°Ah-h! Okay... okay! Damn, what is wrong with you?¡± ¡ª She sighed heavily, then said. ¡ª ¡°I am a sith...¡±

    There was that same vibration.

    ¡°I am not a sith...¡± ¡ª She said with an eye-roll.

    There wasn¡¯t any vibration. ¡ª ¡®This can¡¯t be a simple coincidence.¡¯ ¡ª Ahsoka thought, but she still wanted to confirm it.

    ¡°Repeat it two times and also add that you are a Jedi and a member of the Grey Order...¡±

    Nizzal looked at Ahsoka over her shoulder with a worried expression¡­ The togruta girl avoided any eye-contact with the confused twi¡¯lek. ¡ª ¡®She thinks that I lost it...¡¯ ¡ª Ahsoka figured. Still, it was worth to sacrifice some of her dignity to get her hands on an effective lie detector.

    ~oOo~

    ¡®The results were speaking on their own every time she told an obvious lie, her leks twitched slightly. It was a vibration, a very weak one that could not be noticed by simply looking at the leks. This would answer the reason why twi¡¯leks were so overly defensive and angry when someone touched their leks. It was basically a biological lie detector attached to their heads... I mean, there are other races with leks, like nautolans, and not even one of them are half as mystical about their lekku like the twi¡¯leks. Many of them are using it in daily activities, constantly picking up things with it left and right. It is a rare sight to see a twi¡¯lek do those things.¡¯

    At this point, Ahsoka was certain that she have won. It seemed that her friend wasn¡¯t quite as touchy about her leks as most twi¡¯leks, it could be because she didn¡¯t know about how her leks could be used against her. It could also be that she was completely wrong, and this was solely a unique quirk of her friend that she never noticed.

    ¡°Now tell me one more time, your age.¡± ¡ª Ahsoka asked.

    ¡°Twenty...¡± ¡ª The girl began but was cut off immediately.

    ¡°Stop lying, you fool!¡± ¡ª Ahsoka scolded her.

    ¡°What, I didn¡¯t¡­¡± ¡ª She started again, but was cut off.

    ¡°I can sense your lies from a mile away!¡± ¡ª Ahsoka boasted, victoriously.

    ¡°Okay...¡± ¡ª Nizzal blinked, uncertainty mirrored in her eyes. ¡ª ¡°I am just over three hundred years old, happy now?¡±

    ¡°You are lying again.¡± ¡ª Ahsoka said with a bored voice.

    ¡°How do you know!?¡± ¡ª Nizzal demanded, fear once again leaking into her voice. She was utterly confused, beginning to sweat.

    Ahsoka rolled her eyes. ¡ª ¡°I said I can sense when you lie, not that I needed that to tell it this time. Like come on, you being three hundred years old doesn¡¯t make sense!¡± ¡ª She explained.

    The other girl blinked, then asked back. ¡ª ¡°How so?¡±

    Ahsoka sighed, then started to explain. ¡ª ¡° I mean¡­ What did you say, how old were you when your mother... you know...¡±

    ¡°Five or six. I am not sure...¡± ¡ª The girl answered softly.

    ¡°That was not a lie.¡± ¡ª Ahsoka frowned at that. ¡ª ¡°How could you be actually six years old, nine years ago? When saying that you are thirteen years old now is clearly a lie.¡±

    ¡°Wh-what?¡± ¡ª The girl looked around with growing confusion, but I could see the fresh layers of sweat appearing on her forehead. She was getting closer to the truth, whatever it was.

    ¡°The only plausible answer is that something changed in the time you left Ryloth in the company of your new master.¡±

    Ahsoka saw Nizzal¡¯s expression change from a worried one to a shocked one.

    Then the tied up girl began to speak with a voice that lacked every bit of the childishness Ahsoka had grown used to over their acquaintance. It was a voice that lacked even the slightest hint of emotion. It took her so off guard that she had to blink a few times and look around the room to see if there wasn¡¯t someone else speaking... Alas; the room remained empty, aside from them.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how you manage to so clearly differentiate my lies from the truth. Yet I am warning you now that you have ventured over thin ice. You are asking for secrets that are reserved to be shared with only the masters of my order.¡±

    ¡®It seems that question is off the chart.¡¯ ¡ª Ahsoka noted silently.

    ¡°Jeez... I knew that certain women treat their age as some sort of secret, but you have taken that to a new level! Also, I didn¡¯t know that you were a master of your order. Hmm, but I guess, since you are older than what you look like, I should have expected this.¡±

    ¡®I sensed as her robotic tone began to shatter, as she tried to answer my question with the same seriousness... but she failed... Also, she just realized that she had given away another piece of information, accidentally... She was trying so hard to scare me by changing her voice... It kind of worked for a few seconds, but not for long. Hah, she realized it too, and began to speak normally again.¡¯

    ¡°I-I was not speaking about that...¡±

    ¡°So then, how old are you?¡±

    ¡°I...¡± ¡ª She sigh... ¡ª ¡°I don¡¯t actually know... okay?¡±

    ¡®That wasn¡¯t a lie... but how could she forget her own damned age?¡¯ ¡ª Wondered Ahsoka.

    ¡°Then tell me roughly, you must know at least that much? Aye?¡±

    ¡°Promise that you will let me go if I tell you... and that you will not laugh...¡° ¡ª The twi¡¯lek girl asked shily.

    ¡°Fine.¡± ¡ª Ahsoka said, shrugging her shoulders. ¡ª ¡°But, only if you promise to not run away, and speak with me properly.¡±

    ¡°I, I promise...¡±

    ¡°Good, then, let¡¯s hear it.¡±

    ¡®Why would I laugh at her, anyway?¡¯ ¡ª Ahsoka questioned silently.

    ¡°Well¡­ ugh¡­ I am¡­ Slightly over four thousand years... I guess¡­¡± ¡ª She blushed.

    ¡®It was not a lie, at least based on the lekku lie detectors... but h-how? Is that really her mental age? But-but... but she was so childish, and... just how...¡¯

    ¡°Could you repeat that?¡±

    ¡°I am over four thousand years old.¡±

    ¡°It can¡¯t be... how? But, you act so stupidly and all that...¡±

    ¡°Hey! I am also influenced by a growing child¡¯s hormones, habits and attention spam, which I have already managed to stretch to an incredible degree... When you are a kid, it is not just your mind, but your body too... I can¡¯t help it...¡± ¡ª She explained with a crimson blush stretching all over her face.

    ¡°Interesting¡­ Most of that answer is true, but the last bit is a lie... You... you are purposefully hiding behind the mask of a child to act spoiled and annoy people? Is that so?¡±

    ¡°No! That¡¯s not true!¡± ¡ª The girl protested vehemently.

    ¡°That¡¯s a lie.¡± ¡ª The togruta stated, an evil smirk stretching across her face.

    ¡°I am not lying!¡±

    ¡°Another lie.¡± ¡ª She teased her with a smug expression.

    ¡°No!¡± ¡ª ¡®She actually seemed to be on the verge of tears...¡¯ ¡ª Ahsoka realized. ¡ª ¡®It must feel humiliating to be faced with such uncomfortable truths. I should be more careful about this. Well, that or she is a hell of an actress. I am starting to lean towards the latter.¡¯

    ¡°I have already told you my secret.¡± ¡ª She sniffed. ¡ª ¡°It is time to let me go... you promised...¡± ¡ª The girl pouted, while trying to shake off her binds.

    ¡®She was really about to start crying now... That would make me feel uncomfortable, especially after what she just revealed... Imagine a four thousand year old being crying with a cute pout on her face. I forcibly shook my head to get the image out of it. I also realized that I treated her as my little sister, until now... Damn, I must have looked ridiculous in her eyes...¡¯

    ¡°Okay, okay, don¡¯t cry, I will let you go... soon...¡±

    ¡°... Okay...¡±

    ¡®This is getting laughable. How am I even supposed to treat her differently if she acts like a child, if I would tell this to anyone, they would think that I was dropped on my head... multiple times... in a row... Also did she just describe to me what it feels to be a child? It was not that long ago that I would forget... Sigh... Okay... I am still a kid, so what?¡®

    ¡®The real problem is that this knowledge has no practical use right now... I am not even sure if I really believe it myself...¡¯

    ¡®I let go of her leks, then I walked in front of her.¡¯

    ¡°So let¡¯s speak like civilized people. First of all, tell me why you are working for the queen, in detail.¡±

    ¡°You said that you would let me go.¡±

    ¡°And you said that you will tell me your age, then proceeded to lie to me multiple times. You see, I am learning from the best, therefore, I lied.¡±

    ¡°You! Then I will lie too...¡±

    ¡°But you can¡¯t.¡± ¡ª ¡®I smiled cheekily.¡¯

    ¡°How, how are you able to tell me if I lie in the first place?¡± ¡ª She cried out.

    ¡°Well, your lekku quivers every time you lie... So I only had to grab it to determine... it... I am not really sure if it is a trait for every twi¡¯lek or if it is specific to you... I found out about it by pure accident.¡±

    ¡®Heh, that made her drop her jaw. She really had no idea about this, just as I thought.¡¯

    ¡°No way... how... such a thing? I had no idea...¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that was kind of obvious... Since you weren¡¯t raised among twi¡¯leks, that could be a reason why you didn¡¯t know about it.¡±

    ¡°You are right... Master wouldn¡¯t know about such a thing... and there was no other twi¡¯lek master in my memories...¡±

    ¡°Okay, so now that we have figured it out... you have the time to answer my other questions... And don¡¯t try to lie, you know that I can figure it out.¡± ¡ª With that said, I offered her my open palm. She glared at me, realizing what I meant, then reluctantly placed the tip of her right lekku into my hand.

    ¡°I already told you, this collar is made from beskar, and it is directly connected to the life of the queen, through the immune supporting nano machines inside her body. If her life signals disappeared for more than three minutes. It would automatically inject poison into my body... Slowly killing poisons. In fact, that would make me suffer for hours before I eventually die...¡±

    ¡®Hearing that answer was infuriating... This, this fucking bitch... how could she do this to her, or anybody...¡¯

    ¡°I am going to kill this bitch...¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you listen at all? You are going to kill me too! Let me go!¡±

    That was the moment when the door suddenly opened and a mirialan boy about their age walked into the room.

    ¡°I heard some shouting, so I thought I would come in and... oh!¡±

    There was an awkward silence hanging in the air as the boy looked over at the two girls. One tied to a chair while the other standing over her with a haughty expression. He tried his best to take in the whole picture.

    ¡®I was currently standing in front of Nizzal. One of my hands was placed on my hip while the other gently grasping her lekku. She was tied up helplessly sitting in an armchair in front of me, and her obviously manipulative streak of tears hadn¡¯t even dried up yet. The boy seemed to realize something as his face visibly lighted up, then he began to talk.¡¯

    ¡°Ah! Now I see! I saw a few of the lords and the older slaves doing this kind of thing in the bedrooms at night. Therefore, once I decided to watch them for a while in secret to figure out its purpose. It seemed to be some ritualistic mating game that sometimes preceded the action of interc-...¡±

    ¡°EQOMU, SHUT YOUR MOUTH IF YOU KNOW WHAT IS GOOD FOR YOU!¡± ¡ª Nizzal screamed, her face redder than red.

    ¡°This is that Eqomu guy who tortured you!?¡± ¡ª Ahsoka shouted, taken aback.

    ¡°Torture? Me? Tsc! Don¡¯t be ridiculous, my etiquette classes are far from torture, I assure you. Oh, by the way, I assume that you are the new girl who needs some directions. Ahsoka, if I am right.¡±

    ¡°Yeah...¡±

    ¡°Good. Since my schedule is full with the newly arriving slaves, and seeing that you are already in a... tight relationship...¡±

    ¡°EQOMU!¡± ¡ª Shouted Nizzal, threateningly.

    ¡°... You will join Nizzy¡¯s classes on every Monday and Friday morning until I decide that your skills are appropriate. Now, I will leave you to your own devices. Good bye.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t leave me! Help me you stupid mirialan!¡±

    ¡°Oh, no. I think that I will leave this fiery togruta in your care. You seem to have gained most of her attention, anyway. Bye.¡±

    ¡®The door closed behind the leaving mirialan boy, and with that, another wave of awkward silence filled the room. Both of us were utterly embarrassed. I could feel as my montrals were getting hotter. The skin on my face was probably blue now from the major blush I suffered from that sudden conversation. Nizzal wasn¡¯t any better. She looked even worse... Her face was turning pink from the burning embarrassment.¡®

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°... So...¡± ¡ª Cough... ¡ª ¡°Let¡¯s continue with the questions...¡± ¡ª Ahsoka said at last.

    ¡°... kay...¡± ¡ª She agreed silently.