A Few Quiet Words (drjakesnake)

A slight breeze kissed the courtyard, and silvery hair blew with it, until it was thwarted by its own length. The owner of the hair, Jedi Padawan Lana Kindari, sat cross-legged on a stone bench, in a half-attentive meditative trance.

The Echani Padawan would often slipped into these periods while meditating, she just had so much to think about and so many decisions to make. Should she become a Sentinel, a Consular? Should she even stay in the order at all?

These disturbing thoughts were sometimes alleviated by losing herself in the presence of her own saber. The "weapon" was not weapon at all, it was an extension of herself. The Cyan blade was in no way a sign of the Jedi, not dark or light. It was her, part of her unique being in the force, and it mattered not if she chose to serve the High Council with it.

The High Council.

Not her favorite people by a long shot. The very masters who she had always looked up to and idolized, had interrogated her, all but directly accusing her of falling to the dark side. Their narrow-minded ways were foolish, choosing not to recognize a difference between non-Jedi and Sith.

The words stung her very heart. Non-Jedi, Is that was she was? Had she really fallen so far as to be considered a threat to the Council and the Republic?

No.

Her own mind's answer to the question almost escaped her now pursed red lips. No, she hadn't fallen so far. She was still a Jedi, the Council still allowed her that title.

However, Lana wasn't stupid. She knew the Council would still be watching intently, and soon they would send one of their own, or one who met their critiques and standards for a "Dedicated Jedi."

Stop it now Lana, these thoughts are causing anger, and you know what anger leads to...

The words ran through her mind. It wasn't healthy to think these things, to think ill of the High Council. Ultimately, the Padawan decided that it was in her best interest to simply not think of it.

In order to distract herself, Lana used the force to take the hilt of her lightsaber off of her belt and levitate it a foot from her face. She felt the presence of the saber, sensing its conjunction with her thoughts and feelings.

The Echani girl opened her eyes and gazed at the beautiful, albeit utilitarian metallic canister. This prompted her to think about sparring, and how she probably needed to practice up. The real reason that she wanted to practice, which she knew deep down in her ever-hardening heart, was to distract her from the events of the past month. Nowadays, it was the only thing save for meditation that gave her any sort of peace.

Lana contemplated hopping off of her cool perch and making her way to the Training rooms, but something stopped her. Some slight tug or indication in the force prompted her to stay. So, she obeyed.

She recalled the lightsaber to her hand, which she used to deposit it on her utility belt, which held other useful items essential to Jedi survival and functioning, not that she really needed all of it here in the temple. One could never be so sure.

As it turned out, the tug was fruitful, or so she thought. The padawan reached out with the force, like a blanket covering the surrounding area. She sensed every major life force in the vicinity.

There was a lost small presence, a youngling most likely, who was feeling very confused. A larger presence, probably a knight, which was below her on a sub-level, who was meditating or some such. Then, there was a presence far stronger than any of the others.

She guessed that it was a master or a senior knight, casually taking a stroll around the Temple. No, that wasn't it. This presence had purpose and determination. It neared, and Lana opened her pale eyelids to allow her physical senses to detect the presence.

Council Member Kaiven Te'Bass was walking toward her. As she realized this she went cold, as he was present during most of her questioning. However, she didn't recall him asking a single question, and she appreciated that. As a result, she loosened up a little. She wasn't surprised when the master stopped and spoke to her.

"Lana, I'm feeling lonely seeking some conversation. Would you honour an old man with your time?"

His words were kind. Flowing from his masked face softly and smoothly, not sharp and penetrating like the High Council Members as they questioned her only a fortnight before.

She thought about her response, but not before smiling pleasantly and changing her demeanor to a much more friendly attitude.

He could have easily been sent to keep an eye on her by the council. Or Not. The though occurred to her that the man may have just been being polite to a girl who had had a rough couple of weeks.

Regardless of his intentions , Lana kept up her smile as she politely responded to the human.

"Greetings Master Te'Bass, It's a pleasure to see you, as always."

A nice enough greeting she told herself. Although she may not care for the council, they were just that, the council, and would be respected nonetheless. After a brief pause, the padawan answered his question.

I would be honored by your conversation, though I hardly think you are elderly Master. What is it that you wished to discuss.

She secretly hoped that the middle aged master wouldn't bring up her absence and pseudo-trial, as she wasn't to keen to talk about it.

He nodded as he sat down next to the young Echan woman. He looked across at her, smiling, even thought it was behind his mask. Some people told him you could see a smile in the eyes, and he hoped that she could see it. To know that he was not here to push subjects, or to harrass, interrogate and intimidate.

He reached out with the force, touching her being to try to get a read of her thoughts. It was just as he had expected, she did not want to discuss the past. It was no matter to him, however, he wished to talk about his own past, and Lana's future.

"Do not fret, Lana, I have no intention of discussing the past. The past is, after all, the past. It does make us who we are, granted, but it is our decisions for the present and future that define us." He said, looking away for a moment at the end.

He paused for a moment before he spoke, "I don't intend to preach, or to bore, but I actually wanted to discuss my past and my experiences. You see, once upon a time, I was in a very similar situation to yourself. I despised the Council, and had no faith in them for quite some time."

He looked down for a moment before saying, "To some degree, you remind me of myself." He reached out, placing a hand on her shoulder, attempting to comfort. He was aware that his skills in this area were far from good, but he would always give it a shot. "My first master turned to the dark side. It is due to her, that I have the scars that I wear my mask to hide. It is different, but in many ways similar. To me, the master I had died the moment she turned to the dark side."

He removed his hand from her shoulder, returning it to clasp the other, hidden inside the sleeves of his robes before he continued, "When I was brought back here, I blamed the Council for not realising sooner. I blamed them for not taking action. Then I came to a sudden realisation. The Council have to do what is best for the Order as a whole, as horrible as this sounds, they can't go protecting every one person. I wish it were different. Every day, I am forced in my role to make decisions I regret. Will you forgive me for my part in what happened?"

He looked straight at her again, staring into her eyes this time, "If you can forgive me, Lana, I am sure I can help guide you down a path of fulfillment."

OOC: It's Lana, not Lara. just a small problem
Also, really sorry about quality, but time and energy are currently scarce for me right now, but I promise to do better in the future. The end is especially bad, because I was interrupted halfway through writing this. If I left anything un-addressed or forgot something, assume Lana warms up to him a bit and agrees with most of the things he says. PM me if there are any major problems.

Lana scooted over a bit on the bench, her rump rubbing against the cold stone, in order to make a bit of extra room for her visitor. Making the masked man sit on the edge of the bench in discomfort would simply not do. The padawan then allowed the slightest of smiles to grace her lips in an attempt to appear flattered by the presence of the councilor. In truth, she didn't know whether to feel flattered, wary, or insulted by the sudden visit.

She didn't feel any resentment or distrust from the human, and he seemed friendly enough. Whether or not she knew it, at that moment Lana decided that he was indeed, not a threat at all. She may have even liked him... time and only time would tell.

Lana let the man speak, but before he did so she couldn't help but notice sincerity and kindness in his voice. The silver haired woman even lowered her mental defenses a little, just enough to let the High Councilor touch her thoughts and sense her vibe.

"I don't intend to preach, or to bore, but I actually wanted to discuss my past and my experiences. You see, once upon a time, I was in a very similar situation to yourself. I despised the Council, and had no faith in them for quite some time."

The Echani padawan held eye contact with the other Jedi as he spoke, soaking up his words with her ever absorbent ears. She never knew this. It was almost strange, a High Councilor who had despised the Council?

Really?

Was all she could say as she looked down at the bench, then up at the sky, her icy blue irises finally returning to meet those of her companion. It was more of a surprised statement than a question, but Master Te'Bass must have understood that, for he continued speaking.

"To some degree, you remind me of myself."


Her further awe was interrupted by a tensing of her muscles as the human touched her shoulder, she almost jumped but soon realized that he was attempting to comfort her. He wasn't doing half-bad. For once in a long time, instead of distress and sadness she felt curiosity, a rare visitor to her emotional spectrum nowadays.

"... If you can forgive me, Lana, I am sure I can help guide you down a path of fulfillment.


What?

The question echoed through the cavernous chambers of her mind as she pondered his words. He, a High Councilor, was asking she, a mere Padawan who had nearly betrayed the Order to forgive him?

She had never held contempt against any single member of the High Council, just the institution itself. No matter how hard she tried, she simply couldn't hate any of the Council members, particularly Master Te'Bass.

Yes Master, I forgive you. Though I feel the need to inform you that it isn't, and never was, that my...disdain was never directed to you, or any of the individual Council members.

Thank you for sharing your story with me. I think I understand what you mean, about the Council and all. I suppose I was so absorbed with my own grief...



The words she spoke were true, yet she couldn't help feel a little more than irritated at the Council and the Order. However, this man was showing her care that only one had before. Gervar. The very mention of his name brought pain to her chest, her old master's thoughts eliciting a wave of grief and sadness inside of her inner being.

Lana realized that she had not answered the master, her mixed emotions distracting her thought process. The second question hit her blindside.

Fulfillment, did the good master actual mean that he could help her finish her training? Did he wish to take her own as a Padawan?

After the tragedy on Rodia, Lana had lost much of her confidence. Recently, she had slowly been recovering, and even she realized that her abilities in diplomacy, telepathy, mind-reading, force persuasion, and force senses were substantial. However, even with these strengths, she did not feel worthy of apprenticeship to a Council member, much less the revered Master Te'Bass.

Surely Master, you do not mean to take me on as an apprentice? Or help me undergo the trials? I am grateful and all, but I hate to be a burden, especially with the war going on...

The surprised, now anxious pale, young woman's words came out flustered and confused, giving away her awe.

If he was suggesting what she thought, she had truly made a grave mistake judging the Council the way she did. Perhaps they weren't all so bad after all...

(( Fixed them up. Hope I got them all. I also have to apologise for the same issues. My inner Kaiven is being quite stubborn at the moment >.< ))

He could feel her emotions change rapidly. She felt awe, confusion, shock, anxiety... It was almost a cavalcade of the emotions that Kaiven would expect from a young woman who had just been told she could have one of the highest ranking Jedi in the Order to learn from. After all, that is all he wanted to do - to teach, to train and to guide. Not to mould, not to direct, but to guide as she found her own path. After all, to him, that was the meaning of being a Jedi. To find your own path.

"Yes, Lana, I mean exactly what you are thinking. I am offering to take you as my Padawan. I personally think I would be well suited. Although I was a Guardian, now that I have had to, shall we say, grow up, since joining the Council, I have learned many diplomacy, force and investigating skills that would make me feel more like a Sentinel."

His eyes ran over her for a moment before he continued, "After all, I had been informed your aspirations were more to the combination of the force and martial abilities."

Once again he smiled behind his mask before he said quietly, But we are forgetting something. This is an offer. It is solely up to you if you want to accept it or not. All I will say, is be aware that I am a member of The Blades, and this will have great bearing on your life also."

"Yes, Lana, I mean exactly what you are thinking. I am offering to take you as my Padawan. I personally think I would be well suited. Although I was a Guardian, now that I have had to, shall we say, grow up, since joining the Council, I have learned many diplomacy, force and investigating skills that would make me feel more like a Sentinel."


The irony of the situation was extremely clear to Lana, as it was quite ironic indeed. A member of the High Council, the group most responsible for her anguish in the past weeks, was asking her to be his apprentice.

If the scenario had played out in a different way, the Echani may have laughed at the thought. However, today no laughter would ever escape the clasped pink lips of the pale-skinned padawan. But deep under the awe and confusion, buried so far under all of the mixed emotions, was the feeling of excitement.

Lana had heard about Master Te'Bass before, though she had never really met him. The masked human was well respected in her eyes, though she never could have dreamed that he would be sitting next to her, offering her a position as his Padawan learner. She would finish her last years as a Padawan under the watchful tutelage of one of the most renown Jedi in the Order.

"I see..."

The icy blue-eyed girl said softly contemplating the choice that was laid before her by the force.

Should she take him up on his offer? If she did, then maybe she could be trained into a fully fledged Jedi Knight. Perhaps, a young padawan may address her as master. With this reality, she could dedicate her life to the light, and do her absolute best to protect peace and democracy in the Republic.

On the contrary, if the young woman didn't take him up on his offer, she might have been assigned a master, or sent to the Service Corps, or perhaps even forge her own destiny...

But somehow, something was calling her, telling her to take Master Te'Bass's offer. Perhaps it was the force, or maybe it was just her own will. Whatever this force was, Lana obeyed. Though still, she felt deep inside, that this was the right choice, and that she needed direction and further instruction in the beauties and mysteries of the force.

She heard Master Te'Bass's other statements, of which she took a particular interest in the latter.

The Blades. She had been thinking a bout the force for a while now. They were brave enough to defy the Council, yet the bravery was aimed at the protection of the Republic, not at war and victory. This is what interested Lana so much about them.

Within the past few weeks, she had done a good deal of reading. One such subject was the Revanchist and the Mandalorian Wars. She believed that the Blades were different from Revan's armies because they sought justice and perseverance, not victory and revenge.

Although she never really thought about joining them, Lana did agree with their philosophy. That the Sith must be combated if the Republic were to survive. Now, just a foot or two from here sat her chance to do join the defense against the Empire, and the Sith.

All of her confusion and doubt had been washed away with the sudden realization that Master Kaiven Te'Bass was chosen by the force to be her master.

"In that case Master Te'Bass, I accept your offer, and wish to learn the ways of the light from you alone.

She paused for a second, but her to-the-point nature couldn't contain itself, and so she politely added,

"So, where do we start?

Although outwardly she appeared cool and calm, the Echani woman was excited, almost the same feeling she had felt when Gervar had chosen her as his padawan.

It was completely as he expected. For whatever reason, the force had drawn him to the young woman sitting before him, and it had now guided her to say yes to his offer. He bowed his head slightly as she spoke, acknowledging and accepting his offer.

He could almost feel the excitement radiating off her. It was like she was emitting an immense amount of heat from her being. To be honest, it started to get the adrenaline running in Kaiven's veins aswell. It had been a while since his last Padawan, and he was determined to make sure that this one was as successful as could be possible.

"Well, Lana, we have two options. I need to join the Blades on Seraphim, however, I have also recently had a spice feud in the lower levels brought to my attention that needs dealing with. I leave the choice to you as to which we do next." He said quietly. In his opinion, it was not fair for the master to have the whole say. They would decide their course of action together.

"We are now a partnership. We do things together, so we decide together." He summarised to her.

(( Sorry it took so long - internet issues. Sorry it's not the greatest, either. ))