A Mother's Touch

TRY, TRY AGAIN

 "Again!" The Stranger's voice reverberated across the ocean waves and rippled uncomfortably through Osha's mind. His disappointment resonated like a tuning fork, the pressure of causing a migraine. She extended her hand and caught her saber as it returned to her from the failed attempt to strike an object. The damaged hilt rattled, still needing to be properly repaired by reseating the kyber crystal within the housing chamber.

With a hitch in her breathing, Osha stood on the edge of the causeway as the tide rolled in. The incoming waves crashed against the rocks with a notable roar. Thirty meters away from her, hovering above the rough surf, a moss-covered rock hovered over the churning waters. For the last three hours, she had struggled to throw her saber at it and strike it. With each failed attempt, the Stranger bowed his head, sighed through pursed lips, and repeated a single word: "Again."

Struggling to calm her mind, Osha took a deep breath. Rather than give up and admit defeat, she ignited the lightsaber and threw it. The throw was accurate, angling toward the stone, but there was not enough power to propel the blade all the way to its target. She was too exhausted. Even her attempt to summon the faltering lightsaber back to her hand failed miserably.

The saber disengaged and fell, plummeting toward the ocean surface. Before it could be swallowed by the sea and lost in the depths, the Stranger extended his hand and recalled it.

"Why bother saving it?" Osha stared at the rocks beneath her feet through the blur of tears. "It's just a reminder of him."

"This lightsaber belonging to your former master has no meaning, unless you continue to give it a definition," the Stranger said. "But the crystal and what you did to it...that is special, Osha, and not something you want to lose. Again," he whispered, his eyes hidden beneath the shadow of the dark bangs covering his face. "Only this time, we'll make it interesting." He took the lightsaber from his belt and handed it to her, holding onto the damaged one.

"What are you doing?"

"What do you think I'm doing?" he replied.

Osha licked her lips, her mouth suddenly dry as she took the hilt from him. The weapon was unique, unlike any lightsaber she had ever seen with a hidden emitter that allowed it to be split into two weapons.

"You're still connecting to the Force the way the Jedi taught you." The wind shifted and brushed aside his hair.

She nodded, repeating aloud what he said to her before the start of each lesson. "It's conflicting with what I know to do."

"Bury what your old master tried to teach you." Tilting his head to the side, he jutted his chin toward the hovering boulder. "Use what you know, Osha. The power within you that has made you...you."

You're with me...I'm with you. Always one, but born as two. As above sit the stars. And below lies the sea. I give you you... You give me me... Osha remembered the rhyme she and her twin Mae used to recite when they were together as children. Despite the horror of what the Stranger had done, killing Jecki and Yord and massacring a team of Jedi, he was the only one who had given Osha the choice to be herself, with no judgment, especially in the aftermath of Sol's betrayal and his death.

Osha glanced down at the black hilt in her hand. It felt lighter than Sol's lightsaber, intimate and familiar. Igniting the weapon, she let the aura of the crimson blade cut through the coil of nerves preventing her from succeeding in the exercise. She stared at the rock hovering over the water and threw the saber, guiding it.

Unerringly, the lightsaber cut through the stone, but before the pieces fell, she spread her fingers and redirected the lightsaber back in an arc to cut the halves into even smaller pieces, before recalling the blade to her hand.

The Stranger tried to hide a grin beneath his bangs, but it was difficult to disguise his pride. "So what was different?"

Osha shrugged. "I didn't want to lose your lightsaber?"

Accepting his saber from Osha, he stared at her, not satisfied with the answer, as he returned the weapon to his belt.

"I let go," Osha said, looking up at him, tears in her eyes. "I let go and listened to my mother's lessons about the Thread," she relented. "I imagined a thread attached to the saber and my hand. With a tug, I could move the lightsaber wherever I needed it to go." As she took her damaged saber from him, their fingers touched. She felt his fingers lingering between hers with a reassuring squeeze.

"Again," the Stranger said. He raised three rocks from the ocean's depths. The glint of ocean water glistened from them in the waning light of the sun.

More confident in the teachings of her mother, Osha ignited her lightsaber and threw it. Thinking of the connection with the Thread, she brought down the first rock and arced toward the second. The abrupt ignition of a second saber startled her.

The Stranger's lightsaber arced across the horizon and deflected her saber. Osha pulled back to avoid the collision, missing the second stone. She held onto the saber through the Force and sent it spiraling toward the third stone. But the Strangers lightsaber came back around in relentless pursuit. There was no avoiding him.

Prepared for the bump, Osha rebounded and pulled at the Thread like a puppet master. She cut through the third rock, sending it back to the depths, and summoned her saber to return to her hand.

Squinting into the sunlight, the Stranger made no effort to hide the smirk on his face. "You really must teach me that."

"Why? Why did you do that?" Osha demanded, pointing to the second rock, hovering untouched above the water. "I finally get the hang of it, and you do that?"

He smiled, drawing his lower lip into his mouth. "You must be prepared for the unexpected, Osha. An opponent will not discuss terms with you before, during, or even after a fight. If you want to live, you've got to be the last one standing."

"Your enemy will not warn you before they attack you," Osha said. "That's what my mother used to tell me when I was a child."

"A mother's touch," the Stranger replied with a tilt of his head. "There's nothing like it. Women tend to make the best masters and teachers. Something about their ability to nurture that exceeds the practical. Their teachings go deeper and last longer..."

His voice trailed off into a memory where Osha could not follow, but she sensed the turmoil of his emotions. Signaling the end of the training session, the tide moved in and the water level rose. The surge threatened to submerge the causeway and strand them on the wrong side. Osha stepped from the edge with dampened boots. "I'll get dinner ready."

"That won't be necessary," the Stranger said. "We need supplies. I have two mouths to feed now." He raised his chin, cocking his head back with a grin. "You up for a trip to Nar Shaddaa?"

Osha's eyes brightened. "I'm going with you?"

"I need to pick up a new generator, too. I could use the help."

"No gunrunning?" she teased, pretending to be disappointed.

"No gunrunning." The Stranger chuckled, brushing by her to walk in the direction of the ship. His eyes were narrow with a mischievous glint. "But while we're there, I need you to stay close."