Wars Amongst the Stars: Rebellion: Vol. 2

Chapter Three

About a day later her ship 'lands' on Alderaan. It's more of a crash landing than a soft landing. The ramp opens slowly, clanging on the ground. Keen makes her way about halfway down, before her knees buckle, and she slides the rest of the way to the ground.

"Ari," Bail Organa greets the Jedi.

She half-smiles up at the Senator. "Oh, hey Bail," she mutters, tucking her hands behind her head. "What brings you here?"

"To the spaceport, on Alderaan, the planet that I'm the viceroy of."

Ar'iabel makes a face, "Right. Well, Viceroy, care to give me a hand?"

"I thought perhaps you were planning on having a nice nap here, on the ground."

"As tempting as that sounds, this ground is just a little hard," she says, pulling her legs up to her chest, "You really need to consider getting some softer ground."

Senator Organa rolls his eyes, tugging the Jedi to her feet.

"Why are you here?"

"To train Leia," Keen replies, cooly.

"What I mean," Bails starts, through clenched teeth, "is why you flew your ship, like this. You could've killed yourself!"

She points a finger at the Senator, as the two make their way to the palace "Funnily enough, Kenobi said the exact same thing."

The viceroy sighs, "Maybe you should've listened to him. Or perhaps you should have listened to Ahsoka, and the Rebellions med-droid, and stayed in bed."

Keen shrugs, as the duo walks through the grand doors of the Alderannian palace. "Either way, Bail, I'm here. I believe it's time for Leia to learn the truth. Not that her father is Darth Vader, but at least that she's a Jedi."

Senator Organa's face, which had paled when she mentioned Vader, goes back to it's impassive look. "If you think it's best. But first, why don't you go and get some rest, I'll send a med-droid in–"

Once again, the Jedi waves a finger in the viceroys face. "You even think about sending in a med-droid, and you'll regret it. I will rest though, maybe shower. You wouldn't happen to have some Alderaanian tutor robes lying about would you?" At the Senator's questioning look, she adds, "It would make sense, I will, technically, be her teacher, and it's better than a Jedi, in Jedi robes, training her."

"Fair point. I'll see what I can find. You can stay in the same chambers as before. I'm assuming you know how to get there?"

"Course I do Bail, Jedi have an excellent sense of direction," she sputters indignantly, taking off down the northeastern corridor.

Without looking up from the hologram he had opened in front of him, he calls, "Other way, Ari."

The Jedi Master turns on her heel, (almost falling over), and starts off in the other direction. "I knew that! I was simply making sure you did."

*Later that day*

Keen, still incredibly stiff, opens the door to her room, to find a droid standing at the door. "Um, hi?"

"I was instructed to give you these," it states, shoving some robes in her face.

"Ah, thank you."

"The viceroy would like to speak to you as soon as possible."

The Jedi nods at the droid, before she pulls back into the room.

Minutes later, she's strolling down the hall, for Bail's office. She knocks lightly on the door, it almost immediately sliding open. Keen smiles, stepping through. "How are you feeling, Ari?" Bail asks, not even looking up from whatever he's working on.

"Bail, as I've said before, I'm completely fine."

The Senator looks up at her, "And I still don't believe you. All the same, you came here to train Leia, I may as well introduce you two." Bail climbs to his feet, walking toward Keen, and the door. "I told her I had a new teacher coming, but I didn't mention the Force or any such thing."

Keen follows the viceroy through the labyrinthian palace corridors, they make many turns, go up and down various staircases. At first, the Jedi tried to memorize the path, but after the fifteenth right turn she gave up. "I'm going to need a map just to find my way around this hulking place."

The viceroy glances at her, out of the corner of his eye, a small smile just barely visible, "I thought Jedi have an excellent sense of direction?"

"Oh, shut up," she grumbles. The duo stop in front of a tall door, Bail knocking lightly.

"Leia?" he calls.

"Come on in."

"Hello, dearest," the Senator says, just after the door opens. He pulls his daughter into a hug. "You remember the teacher I mentioned?"

"Yes," the girl hesitantly responds.

"This is her. Ar'iabel Quinara. Ari, this is my daughter, Princess Leia Organa."

"A pleasure, your highness. I understand that your father mentioned me. I'm not here to teach you any boring history lessons or anything."

The princess looks at her, confusion clearly painted on her face. "Then why are you here?"

"Have you ever heard of something called the Force, Princess?"

"Yes," Leia responds, quickly. "My father has told me stories of the Jedi of old. How they used the Force to promote peace and justice throughout the Galaxy. About their lightsabers, and battles in the Clone Wars."

Keen glances at the viceroy, who had sat down in a chair a little ways from the door, with one raised eyebrow. He merely shrugs in response. "Yes, the Jedi wield the Force, but as in everything, there is an opposite. The sun has the moon. The land has the sea, and the Jedi have the Sith. The Sith wield the Force, for evil. You, your majesty, are extremely strong in the Force."

Leia's eyes widen, "I'm what? How do you know?"

Slowly, the Jedi Master reaches into her bag, producing her sabers. She ignites them both, showing the Princess. "I'm a Jedi. One of the only ones still around. I was trained in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, and I was there when it was destroyed." Ar'iabel sighs, "And, I'd like to train in the ways of the Jedi, but only if you'd like. It may just be the thing to tip the scales in the Rebellion's favour."

The Princess glances at her father, a silent question behind her eyes. "Leia, if I didn't trust Ar'iabel, I would never have brought her here. I cannot make this decision for you, it must be your own."

The Alderannian princesses gaze drifts back to the Keen, her eyes meeting the Jedi's. "If you really believe I can help. If you think I can learn; that I can be a Jedi, then yes. Yes you can train me."