Star Wars: Secret of The Force

Chapter 17

Kara wasn't used to this much waiting. She understood why she wasn't needed down on the surface. Like Czar, her life hadn't been easy, and she had done everything possible to make it better. Even though she was only twenty, she'd been through a lot. Her parents had died fifteen years earlier fighting in a civil war on her home world of Naboo. Left orphaned, Kara had been enrolled in to schools by the then queen Padme Amidala where she had excelled at her studies. Kara's interest had always been in flying ships, and so attended an academy where she had learned to fly freighters. Life had looked up a bit for her then. She flew all kinds of goods and people across the galaxy. Eventually, she had been discreetly employed by Orion, Czar's master, although she didn't know that at the time. Kara and Czar hadn't taken long to reach an agreement, she would fly him anywhere and provide him a home, he would avoid any and all trouble. It hadn't taken the two of them long to become friends, or for the nightmares to start. After Czar had revealed himself, she had been left uneasy, but due to their friendship she was more than willing to help him. Kara understood what the force was, even why people studied it, what she didn't, and may now never understand, was why it existed. The Empire had spent the last two years telling people that the Jedi had betrayed the republic. Kara doubted it. She may be quiet on a lot of things, but this wasn't one of them. It was Jedi who had saved her homeworld during that war. Although she trusted him, Kara was worried about what Czar was trying to achieve. Hiding the holocron was one thing, but trying to learn more about it? The Inquisitors would want anything he uncovered. Czar would probably know that the Inquisitors were likely playing with him, and he very likely had a plan to avoid being backed into a corner. Kara had seen what they could do up close, and Czar knew he couldn't beat the two of them. She sighed, feeling a sudden wave of sadness at the possibility of her friend dying for this crusade, and forced that feeling away. As she sat thinking, her holocommunicator beeped. She activated the call and Godar appeared. Kara smiled in relief. "Godar, are you, Brody and the others all ok?" she asked. The bothan nodded. "Since you and Czar departed many of the Imperials have left as well, we're all ok, some are shaken up or have minor injuries but nothing more... sadly child, this isn't a social call, someone has come around asking questions about Czar!" he said. Kara was suddenly tense. "Tell me more, quickly!" she said. Godar started to explain, and she grew more and more nervous with every word.Lena was staring. Her master, if she could call him that, noticed. "Normally I'd encourage the staring, but we need to be quick!" he said firmly, but kindly. Lena snapped herself out of it, and the two carried on going forward. "What was this place...?" she asked. The two of them were in a temple, Czar had told her that it was a Jedi Temple, one of the first. After that though, he hadn't shared much. "A long time ago it was a Temple the Jedi used as both an outpost and a school, Force Sensitive beings from this part of the galaxy were normally brought here to be trained. Its not like that anymore, also, be careful, these temples can be tricky..." he said. Lena wondered what he could possibly mean by tricky. "So you think you'll find something here?" she asked. Czar hadn't been particularly forthcoming, but Lena understood and respected that, she had lied to him after all. Czar shrugged. "I'm looking for answers, you're just here so I can keep an eye on you" he said. Lena felt the sting of that one. "You don't really trust me, do you? Even before you knew I was lying you didn't trust me... so why have you brought me inside what must be sacred ground?" she asked. The answer was quick. "There's a rule to survive kid, Trust no one! And I brought you because its better to have you here with me so I don't have to go looking for you if you get kidnapped!" he said. Lena sighed. "Whats it going to take for us to get along...?" she decided to ask. Czar finally replied. "Honesty, and the truth of who you're working for" he said simply. Lena sighed. She shouldn't have even asked. "So, what do we do now?" she asked as they kept walking. Czar's expression was invisible under the helmet. "We keep moving and we keep searching" he said. Lena nodded, and like Czar, she took the Lightsaber from her belt, activated it, and used it to light her way. As they carried on, she felt something prickling inside her. Czar noticed. "I sense it as well, remember, this world is strong in the force, not just this temple" he said. Lena sighed. "Some suggestions on what to do would be nice!" she shot at him. Ahead of them, Czar indicated a small clearing out to her, it was better lit than where they were. "Come on..." he said. When they got there, he motioned her to sit down in a cross-legged position. "Place your hands on your knees and meditate, don't talk, don't focus on anything else, trust only in the force!" he said. Lena did as she was told. "Open your mind to the force!" he instructed. Lena did so, and strangely, she felt everything else around her fading. Something started to appear in her mind's eye, blurry, clouded, but definitely there. She heard voices and saw someone in Mandalorian armour, but she had no idea who it was. "RUN! BOTH OF YOU RUN! NOW! I'LL BE RIGHT BEHIND YOU!" she heard. She recognised Czar's voice but without his helmet. Blaster fire seemed to be everywhere, buildings were on fire and everything was chaos. Stormtroopers and Purge Troopers were chasing innocents, many of whom were trying to board ships that looked like they were going to take them to safety. The scene shifted, it showed someone in some sort of room, facing off against someone. She couldn't make out either figure. A deep rumbling, robotic voice could be heard. "Tell me where I can find the holocron and I promise your deaths will be quick!" was another. Lena focused harder, trying to see the figure. The vision shifted and showed her a torgruta and the female Inquisitor. "You betrayed me Barriss! You betrayed all the jedi!" the torgruta said. Lena could now she was female, surrounded by a bright light. Lightsabers clashed against each other, both combatants fighting acrobatically, both trying to kill the other. White and red light violently clashed against each other. Only now did Lena see that the white lights were Lightsabers. At least she thought they were Lightsabers, she couldn't exactly be sure. The duel happening around her was huge and as she tried to see more, once again the vision shifted. The female Torgruta was smiling at someone, but she couldn't see who. "My name is Ahsoka Tano" she heard and the vision shifted again. "Surrender to the Dark Side and I promise you and your friends will live!" said the voice of The Eleventh Sister. The vision showed something else, a figure holding a pair of blue Lightsabers, duelling multiple enemies so someone, or more than one being, could escape danger. "Get them out of here now! The Jedi must live on in you!" the sounds and visions were fading the more she tried to focus on them. The deep evil and robotic voice from earlier in the vision was back again. "Tell me how to open this holocron, and I shall spare your life!" it said. Lena felt cold as it spoke. She heard one last voice. "Remember my padawan... trust only in the force!" it was then closed off by cold, loud breathing. She had no idea what could possibly breathe like that, before she could hear it again; the visions and voices faded, and she found herself panting for breath. Czar quickly removed his helmet. "What happened?" he asked. Despite his distrust, possibly even dislike, she could see he was concerned about her. Lena collapsed to the floor, confused and delirious. When she eventually caught her breath, she looked up. "I don't know... just need a moment to put myself together..." she said, her confusion showing. She felt cold, and she was shivering violently. She tried yet again to pull herself together. The cold disappeared slightly. "Alright, here, drink this" he said, and passed her a canteen of water. She took it gratefully and drank several deep gulps, before stopping and panting. When she indicated she was finished, Czar took the canteen. He studied her, but said nothing else. He was briefly examining her, checking she wasn't physically injured, but was saying nothing. He seemed to be letting her decide if she spoke about whatever had just happened or not. Eventually, he looked up, satisfied she wasn't hurt. The visions were still playing back in her head. "I... I don't want to talk about it" she said, politely. Czar nodded in understanding and put his helmet back on. "I won't make you then, the Jedi viewed meditation as a private thing... a padawan would only speak to their master if they needed guidance" he explained. Lena glared at him. "You've never once said that you're my master, you just taught me some basic sword fighting and nothing else" she shot at him. "No, you're not my padawan, I'm just explaining how the jedi viewed something, sorry that wasn't clear!" he said. Lena could see she had upset him, and so decided it was best not to reply. She sighed, and indicated she was ready to continue. The two stood, and continued walking into what had been the Jedi Temple. Lena mentally slapped herself. Her impulsive nature clearly made Czar believe that she wasn't worthy of becoming a Jedi. Regardless of her passing his test by opening the holocron in the temple vents, she had failed any others he'd been setting. Although she was trying not to show it, the visions had rattled her. She desperately hoped it was just a nightmare, the temple playing tricks on her. It was quite likely that it was, but there was no way to be certain without asking Czar. She'd rather avoid a conversation on this topic as much as possible. Lying hadn't been her original plan, and if anything, she had lied by omission. On some level, she knew Czar understood that she had done so to survive, or to avoid being treated like a child. She knew that he wouldn't have done the same thing, but the difference was that he'd had a lifetime of training. He was a formidable fighter against foes other than Inquisitors or if he decided the terms in which to fight them. She was willing to bet he may even have had The Eighth Brother at a point where if there hadn't been help, he might have retreated. Although her force skills weren't great, Lena could tell that she was well in the realm of speculation. She also sensed czar's unease. Even before the vision she had been trying not to think of him as her Master, it seemed clear he had no interest in taking a student. She wasn't sure if that was because he didn't feel up to it or something else. Czar was striding ahead like a man with a purpose, and in Lena's eyes, like a Jedi Knight. "I always wanted to join the Jedi Order... I wanted to feel like my life meant something... well, anything better than growing up on a backwater planet" she said, trying to make friendly conversation. "What planet?" he asked. "Thebeska, its just a world covered in dust and dirt" she answered. Czar shrugged. "You're born where you're born, if you weren't found, its probably because you moved around a lot!" he said. His tone wasn't unfriendly, but Lena needed to make him trust her. "Look, I know you don't approve of what I did, but are you really saying you wouldn't have done the same?" she asked. She stayed silent, and he shrugged. "Not when I was among friends after they had saved me several times" he said simply. Lena sighed, and she carried on. "You didn't have to help me" she shot back. she bit back her impulsive nature. "You chose to help me on Raxxaann, I can only assume you did so for more of a reason than giving me the cold shoulder!" she said more respectfully before he could reply. He shrugged again. "I'm not giving you the cold shoulder because you lied, I'm giving you the cold shoulder because you went into battle, joined a rebellion you shouldn't even be fighting for, as a kid!" he said. Lena breathed in, and exhaled the anger. "So did you!" she said protested. "I was trained, and I never wanted to be there, you weren't trained and you wanted to be there to find a teacher, that's what you put yourself at risk for! There's a difference between the two of us! War isn't a game kid, sooner you learn that, the better! None of what we're doing now is a game!" he said. His harsh tone did cause Lena to stop and think. He was right, she had been selfish and there were other ways of learning more about the force. She did think he was being harsh by thinking that she only ever viewed this all as a game. "If I had told you the truth, would you have chosen to train me? You didn't show me who you were until you had to, so what makes you different to me?" she asked. Czar shrugged, sighed, and thought about his answer for a few moments. "Maybe I would have, maybe I wouldn't, I'm not someone who's looking for a padawan! And, the reason I'm different to you is because after I saved all those people, I had no chance at living out the rest of my life! You? You had the chance at a normal life..." he explained. Lena thought over his words, and realised he was correct. "You really think this mission ends with your death?" she asked. Czar sighed, and thought over the answer to her question carefully. "More than likely, I accepted that as soon as I took it on..." he said. Lena didn't reply. She wondered if Kara knew. Lena doubted she would allow czar to go into this if he knew it was a suicide mission. Czar clearly had no fear of death, Lena was wondering what he was afraid of. She knew he had nightmares of his own, she could sense them in the brief few moments of sleep he had gotten in Hyperspace going from one destination to the next. She'd never tried to find out what the nightmares were, she just knew she could sense his fear, his pain, through the force. Kara hadn't shared much about Czar, but she had said that he was a good person during one of those times. She also refused to shed any light on the nightmares of her friend, despite her clear concern for him. Lena sighed. It was difficult to know if replying to Czar's comment was a good idea or not. Using the force, she summoned a piece of rock with the Jedi crest to her. She looked at it, and it seemed out of date, but the message of hope still seemed to be there. She sighed and realised that the light was fading again. She took the Lightsaber, activated it, and used it as a light once again. She followed Czar, allowing the piece of rubble to drop, and it hit the ground. The temple kept going for miles, the darkness was surrounding them constantly, once again, Lena felt cold. She wasn't sure if it was the abandoned state of the temple, the weather, lingering effects of the vision or something else. As she walked, she found herself thinking on it again. She didn't know what to think, very little could unnerve anyone like that, at least in her experience. Deciding there was little to nothing else for it, she reached out with the force, hoping for answers. She started to mutter quietly. "I'm one with the force and the force is with me... I'm one with the force and the force is with me" she kept muttering. Slowly, something came to her, not answers, but something else, something she couldn't describe. The cold started to disappear, and she felt more in tune with the force than she had before. It lasted only briefly, but it was comforting. The two carried on in silence, and Lena found herself looking around. Even in ruins, this temple was something. Not in beauty, its destruction had taken most of that away, but in scale. It was a symbol of what the order had once been. There was no small part of Lena that wished the Jedi Order hadn't been betrayed and had kept this level of glory. Lena had heard about some Jedi being hypocrites, letting power get to their head. She shrugged and kept moving. She wasn't sure what to think. Lena opened her mind to the force again, and started to sense past events. Younglings being trained, building their first Lightsabers, being knighted. "You feel it don't you? The events of the past" Czar said. Lena closed her mind, and nodded. "Yeah, that normal?" she asked. Czar nodded. "If the force energy surrounding a place is strong enough" he said. Lena considered this. There were a few suspected Jedi sites she could visit, but that would be hard. As they walked, Lena decided it was worth a try. "I'm sorry for lying to you..." she said. "About my age I mean" she added. Czar said nothing, but she knew he'd heard. The two kept walking, and they finally reached what must have been a library. "An old Jedi Archive, but where are all the books or bits of data...?" she wondered aloud. "They were taken during an exodus, its why they're all on coruscant" Czar answered. Lena looked along the shelves. As she studied them, she noticed that some areas of dust weren't as thick as others. "Can the wind get in here?" she asked. Czar shrugged, confused. "Possibly, I wouldn't know for sure as I've never been here before, and I've seen the slightly disturbed dust too, could have been when you were meditating?" he asked. Lena considered it. Such a thing could be possible, at least she thought so. She kept looking. "So if this place is empty, how do you learn more about the holocron you took from Coruscant?" she asked. Czar seemed to be getting to that. "Orion, my master, believed that there some sort of world between worlds that existed. He stated there could be multiple entrances but not where any of them were!" he explained. Lena thought it over. "Ok so you think one of them is here?" she asked. Czar didn't shrug, for once. "Possibly, problem is, he never learned what the portals actually looked like, he was relying on guess work. The good news is, this wall" he pointed. "Looks different to the rest, so, even if its not the entrance, there is something to hide behind it!" Lena edged closer. "So how do we get in?" she asked. Czar deactivated his Lightsaber. "Like so, I think" he said, and started trying to lift the door with the force. When no progress was made, Lena followed Czar's example, deactivated her own Lightsaber and tried to help Czar lift the wall. There was no luck. "What if lifting isn't the answer?" she asked. Czar considered the suggestion. "There could be another way..." he said. He walked over to the wall and placed his hand on it. Lena watched eagerly in anticipation. The wall started to rumble, and a small doorway opened that would allow a humanoid being of average height to get through. Czar entered, and Lena followed. Inside, they found old writings, some on flimsy, but it seemed like a special kind that hadn't decomposed over time. The room was much more intact. "The Librarian's sanctuary..." Czar muttered. He started to pour over the writings. "Look for anything regarding portals, strange doorways or a world between worlds" he instructed. Lena quickly started searching for anything that met the criteria Czar had set out. After an unclear amount of time, she found something. "Look, right here, its not much, but Jedi scholars for years were convinced that there was possibly something that allowed someone to change key events in time. Save people from death or cause others to die early..." she said. "The Jedi were searching for a long time, and although there was evidence suggesting they were correct, they never found anything to solidify their theories..." Czar finished reading. He looked at Lena. "Nice work" he said. If he hadn't been wearing a helmet, Lena would have been convinced he was smiling. "I'm guessing that's good news?" she asked. Czar nodded. "I'd even be willing to speculate old jedi seers would have wanted this to help with crafting their prophecies, when they couldn't find it, they gave up searching" he said. Lena didn't ask what Czar meant by prophecies, she already knew, and she didn't like the answer, especially if what her vision had been, was the future...!