Star Wars: Hidden Fates

Chapter 7: The Padawan Returns

"Let go of your attachments, Trinity-Sky. You're a Master; you should know better." Bastila Shan looked at her with concern. "I know I said it was fine yesterday, but I realize now I was wrong. Let's get this message sent to Coruscant." She sensed Trinity-Sky's deep concern for her Padawan.

"Right. Leilani isn't worth leaving the Order and forfeiting the way of the Jedi." Trinity-Sky briefly meditated to shift her mentality and feelings. It was not common for a Jedi to adapt to fully complying with the code so quickly at any age.

"No Jedi is devoid of feelings. There are acceptable ones and unacceptable ones. We can do what we want, but it comes at the cost of the Council's respect." Bastila gave a reassuring look to Trinity-Sky.

"Viewing is different from feeling. I view Leilani a certain way, but I do not feel attachment."

Bastila tinkered with the device they had gotten from the Twi'lek smuggler. "It will take some time for this machine to locate Coruscant. I would give it a few hours before we see results."

Meanwhile, Leilani was climbing through the air ducts, looking for her lightsaber. Everything Thoro had put in her mind swirled around, distracting her from hiding her negative emotions and the mental damage Thoro caused her.

Thoro was using the Force to sense Leilani's pain to locate her. She was angry and wanted to kill Leilani, imagining her fear-stricken face as she pushed her to the ground. Thoro savored the thought of Leilani finally paying for her treachery.

Leilani found the room where her lightsaber was. She grabbed it and noticed explosives. She had an idea to create a distraction for her escape, even as negative thoughts plagued her mind. Infusing the bombs with the Force and her troubling feelings, she made her way to a supply room and set them off, giving herself ten minutes to leave.

Thoro was blinded by the trap, sensing negative feelings from two locations: one from Leilani and the other from the bombs. Thoro picked poorly, heading towards the bombs. She deactivated them, but Leilani had already escaped.

"Do you sense a strong aura of feelings like worthlessness, insignificance, and lack of purpose?" Trinity-Sky stepped out of the apartment, concerned someone might need their help.

Bastila, exhausted and nauseous from hours of concentration, finished setting the device to deliver a message to the Jedi Council on Coruscant. "I do, and it's coming this way. Go investigate, but be careful if it's a trap."

Trinity-Sky left her lightsaber behind as a precaution, removing parts of her Jedi outfit to blend in. She wondered if the negative presence was coming from Leilani.

Leilani made her way into the undercity, entering through a manhole. Cold and dizzy from her feelings, she stopped running and began walking. It didn't take long for her to succumb to the coldness and dizziness, fainting on the spot. Her gray cape covered her lightsaber hilt, hiding her identity as a Padawan.

A few minutes later, Trinity-Sky found Leilani. Relieved that her Padawan was alive, she felt a disturbance from Leilani's feelings while fainting. She took her back to the hideout. "Thoro's psychological damage greatly harmed Leilani. It's going to take me some time to undo it." She put Leilani on a bed and covered her with a blanket, feeling partly responsible.

"That should be long enough for the message I just sent to the Council to get back to us." Bastila looked at Leilani, feeling slightly sad. "It's disturbing how effective Thoro's power is against a newbie Padawan. Masters and Knights can be just as affected, but the damage is horrific for a Padawan."

"It's a miracle she came out alive." As she awaited Leilani to awaken, Trinity-Sky used a datapad to formulate a plan to help heal Leilani's internal turmoil caused by Thoro.