Part 1 - Force Fulcrum

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Iovita Regnis had never before been summoned to the Dark Council on Drumond Kaas, and as a low ranked Sith only recently arrived from Korriban, she felt intimidated by the masked and shadowed faces of the Sith Lords seated above her. This abrupt summons greatly perturbed her and she wondered if she was to be punished for an unknown misdemeanour, or perhaps she would finally learn who her Master would be.

“Sith Iovita Regnis,” one Lord spoke, and his voice was low and sepulchral, as if echoing from a grave.

“Yes, Lord,” the pale haired Sith replied as she tried desperately to control the fear coursing through her young and slender body.

“Is it true that you have dabbled in the Light?”

Iovita’s heart sank. Her shameful secret was revealed. This would surely merit her immediate death.

“Yes, Lord,” she replied, her voice strained with fear.

“At least you are honest about your error,” was the dry and rasping response. “You are young and we see much promise and potential in you and there may be a way which you can be redeemed.”

Iovita took a deep breath, “Lord, I can, I will redeem myself.”

A silence fell upon the Dark Council, and then another voice spoke, a woman’s voice, cutting, and sharp like a honed blade.

“You must immediately travel to the Daxian system. On the second planet from its star is a Republic listening post. There you will find a Jedi Knight. His name is Aule Tanamon. Your mission is to kill Aule Tanamon and be redeemed, or be killed in turn.”

Iovita’s mouth grew dry. She was expected to kill a full Jedi Knight? It was clearly a death sentence delivered by the Republic instead of the Dark Council.

So be it. She would play their deadly game. Perhaps she might even win and survive.

“Go now,” the first voice spoke again. “There is an apprehended Republic ship docked at the spaceport. Its flight computer has been programmed to take you to the Daxian system. Once you have disembarked, the vehicle will take off again and return to orbit above the planet. There is a hand-held transmitter on board the ship. If you are successful in killing the Jedi you may signal the craft to land. If there is no signal within twenty-four hours, the ship will automatically return to Drumond Kaas.”

Iovita Regnis could do nothing else except turn towards the door where two burly guards had appeared, their hands resting menacingly upon their blaster pistols. She could try to overpower them with the Force, but how long would she last as a fugitive within the city. Her life would be measured in minutes or perhaps hours.

No, the only thing she could do was submit and hope that the universe was kind and that she would be able to defeat a powerful Jedi.

The Dark Lords watched silently until she left, and then the first speaker spoke again.

“It is done. What happens if she survives and returns?”

“She is incarcerated,” replied the female voice. “Agreement was reached. The prophetic vision from the Voss mystic Sana-Rae was explicit. Both Iovita Regnis and Aule Tanamon were named as Force Fulcrums – points upon which the universe turns. She thought that we would celebrate such knowledge, but we cannot afford the overturning of the established order. The fact that the Sith is Light-aligned only makes our decision easier.”

“What about the Jedi Aule Tanamon?” another faceless voice asked.

“His fate lies in the hands of the Republic,” replied the first speaker. “There has not been two Force Fulcrums in countless generations. If we Sith were to directly interfere and kill one, the repercussions within the Force would be impossible to comprehend. No, they must meet, and one must die at their own hands. There is no other way.”

Part 2 - A Duel on Daxia-Two

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Although the dusty red atmosphere of Daxia-Two camouflaged the descent of the Republic shuttle from mortal eyes, the ever vigilant electronic scanning devices at the base had tracked the ship long before it had entered the planet’s atmosphere.

Jedi Aule Tanamon sat on a boulder with his back to the distant Republic listening post and thought about the short but cryptic message that he had received only hours before from Tython.

That the Jedi Council received Imperial messages from diplomatic channels was not an entirely uncommon event, but personally directed ones to an individual Jedi from the Dark Council were rare indeed – and the Jedi Council had taken a long time to reflect upon the message before it was finally forwarded to Aule, with a brief instruction from the Jedi Council – ‘Kill the Sith. But be Wary – Suspect a Trap’.

Aule was plenty wary. He hadn’t got to be a Jedi Knight by rushing foolishly and heedlessly into unknown situations. He replayed the message in his mind – “Two Force Fulcrums have been named. Aule Tanamon, Jedi Knight is challenged to a duel against an opponent of the Dark Council’s choosing.”

‘Force Fulcrum’, even the Jedi Council could not or would not enlighten him further on that aspect of the message, leaving him in the dark. So be it. If he was to endure this duel, then at the very least he would choose the time and place. The time – now, the place, a dusty clearing on a red plain that was littered with boulders and pockmarked by ancient asteroid craters. It was close enough to the base for medical aid, yet far enough away to not indicate an advantage. After all, there were ancient rules concerning the times when Jedi met Sith in formal duels.

A stilling quiet and a sudden puff of dust from a nearby crater indicated that the shuttle had honed in on his location and landed.

Idly Aule wondered who the Dark Council had chosen as their representative. Not a ranked Darth, for the ancient rules demanded equality in battle – but someone up and coming, someone equal to him in power, experience, and reputation, one of the minor Lords for sure. Like for like, Dark against Light. Sith Warrior against Jedi Knight.

Aule stood and shrugged off his robe, it fell to his feet, settling like a dark-grey shadow on the rust red soil. Beneath the robe he wore just a simple white linen tunic wide-belted in at the waist, with trousers of soft leather, and sturdy yet comfortable brown boots. His dark blonde hair had been clipped helmet short during his last stint of deep space operations, but the trademark thin Jedi braid fell down from his right temple to rest upon his shoulder. Intelligent bright green eyes looked out from a face marred by sun and scars. It was the face of a man who, despite the fact was only in his early thirties, had seen far too much of the galaxy for his liking.

Unhooking his light sabre from his belt, Aule stood relaxed and balanced in his stance as he waited for his opponent to appear. Reaching out, he began to draw the Force into himself, and at the same time cataloguing in his mind every aspect of light, sound, wind, rock and dust around him, for each element might be called upon during the height of battle.

The sound of hesitant steps intruded upon his focus, and he looked up and across the clearing. For a moment he could not believe his eyes, and then suddenly and against all his training, he collapsed into mirth and laughed and laughed at the sight of the young and slight figure before him.

Then and with a visible effort he controlled his emotions, banished his laughter and reached again for peace and tranquillity.

“You...you are my duelling opponent?” he asked incredulously. “Surely the Dark Council mocks me. Mocks this ancient rite?”

The young woman pushed back the hood of her dark robe and for the first time Aule saw her clearly. He was right in his first estimation. She was young, too young, possibly a decade his junior – an apprentice only. If she had been Jedi then she would have still been on Tython training as a Padawan.

The second thing he noticed was her eyes. She had eyes of the deepest blue, the sort of blue reserved for gemstones, or the deep ocean. A man could indeed drown in those haunted eyes...

A sudden wind shifted across the clearing moving both dust and robes, and the woman reflexively lifted her hand to brush away a strand of her long ash-pale hair that had worked its way free of her braid, to fall upon her fine-boned face.

With the Force he searched for the ravages of the Dark upon her and found none. What he did find was something entirely unexpected.

Suddenly and clearly he understood why she had been sent to this place. He also understood what he was meant to do and why, in good conscience he could not do what he had been commanded to do both by the Dark Council of the Sith, and by his own Jedi Council.

From time to time Jedi Aule Tanamon was a killer, but he was no executioner.

He sheathed his light sabre back into his belt and turned to pick up his discarded robe.

“Go back to Drumond Kaas, girl,” he said. “I will not fight you.”

Suddenly he heard the unmistakable sound of a light sabre being activated.

You’ve got to be kidding me, he thought, and in one fluid motion he leapt through the air to the woman, knocked her backwards to the dusty ground, and planted one booted foot gently upon her throat.

“I said, I...will...not...fight...you.”

Her light sabre fell from her hand and lay humming upon the ground.

“Then kill me now,” the woman replied quietly, obviously and evidently resigned to her fate, “for I am already dead.”

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Part 3 - Death of a Sith

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“You know I can’t do that,” replied the Jedi. “I am forbidden from harming the innocent and the unarmed, and you – are both.”

“Then let me arm myself...” was her reply as her hand scrabbled in the red dust for the discarded light sabre.

“No,” he said, and moving his foot from her throat, he kicked the weapon away out of her reach.

“Come on, get up,” he said, stepping back and holding out his hand to her.

She lay in the dust and thought for a moment, and then suddenly reached up and grasped his hand. His grip was firm, strong and warm and a pleasant shiver ran through her body at the contact. It had been a long time since the woman had touched the flesh of another living being.

She glanced at her light sabre, now lying hard against a boulder.

He followed her gaze, “Leave it there. You no longer have need of it.”

“Now,” he said, “how about we introduce ourselves?” He grinned in real amusement, “I’m certain you know my name already, but let me tell you myself in my own words. I am Jedi Knight Aule Tanamon, born on Coruscant. My mother is Talia Tanamon, my father is Mikel Tanamon. Neither are Jedi, I am the first force-sensitive to be born into my family.”

He gestured to her to follow him, and picking up his dark grey robe from the ground he shook the red dust off it and shrugged back into it. Then he returned to his original boulder, and leaned back upon it, his keen green eyes never once leaving her face.

“I...I am Iovita,” she said haltingly, unsure of anything now.

“A pretty name,” replied Aule, “too pretty for a Sith. Surely you aren’t just Iovita? Or did you spring fully-formed out of the ground on Korriban?”

The beginnings of a smile hovered around Iovita’s lips at that, “No, of course not. I am Iovita Regnis. My family...I don’t know anything more about them other than the family name. I was taken from them on Drumond Kaas when I was a young child and found to be force-sensitive.”

The Jedi frowned at that, “I have heard that Sith training requires breaking and remaking. Yet, even after all that time and all that happened to you, you did not embrace the Dark?”

She started at that, “You know?”

He smiled, “Of course, the Light radiates from you like the gentle warmth of the sun. I just wonder why you were allowed to stay on Korriban, continue with your training, even allowed to live given that you are so strongly Light-aligned.”

A shadow fell over her face, “The trainers did seem to be especially cruel to me. I thought...well, I didn’t think it was because of the Light, I thought I had hid my secret well. I just thought it was part of the training. But now...looking back, to the others they did not seem as cruel.”

He nodded at that, “It makes sense; however, why the Light? What compelled you to the Light when all around you were embracing the Dark side of the Force?”

She shrugged, “There was no other path for me. The Light called to me and I followed.”

He fell silent at that, and then finally he spoke. “If not for the accident of your birth on Drumond Kaas,” he mused, “you would have gone to Tython because it seems to me that you are a natural Jedi. Did you never think of trying to get away to follow your true path...?”

She shook her head, “There was no opportunity, also the penalty for treason – and yes, the Sith would have seen my leaving as treason, would be a painful death. Perhaps they thought they could still turn me.”

“Perhaps,” he agreed, “but looking at you, and even knowing you only for these few moments, I dare say that they would have had more success in turning the sun dark.”

She laughed at that, and the change in her face and demeanour was immediate, like a withdrawn and closed flower opening finally to the sun.

The Jedi Knight was astounded at how truly lovely the young Sith was, and a secret and contained part of him itched to immediately fly to Korriban and personally make all those Sith instructors suffer pain beyond their comprehension and to pay for their torment of her.

He patted the boulder, an invitation for her to sit next to him. She hesitated for a moment only, then with a resigned shrug, gathered her robes to her and settled herself on the boulder.

He turned to her. They sat so close now that he could now see a sprinkling of freckles across her pale skin, and the thin white lightness of a long-healed scar that ran from her cheek to her chin.

He had to physically stop himself from running a finger gently along the length of that scar.

“So,” he said, reluctantly gathering his wits about him, “What was the plan hatched by the Dark Council? We were to meet and fight, and what then?”

“I was to kill you, then signal to the shuttle,” and she took from a deep pocket in her robes the small transmitter, “and return to Drumond Kaas. If...if the fight were to turn out otherwise, the shuttle would remain for twenty four hours and then return to Kaas. On the journey here, I tried to overwrite the automated programming but I was unsuccessful.”

He held out his hand for the transmitter, silently she dropped it into his palm.

He studied it for a moment, and then in one fluid movement, hurled it at a nearby boulder, shattering the device into a dozen pieces.

She looked long and hard at the broken transmitter lying upon the dusty red ground, and then looked at him.

“I assume you have a plan?”

He nodded, “You will have to die.”

She made as if to jump up and run, but his hand fell heavily upon her arm, keeping her seated.

“You misunderstand me Iovita, I did say that you will have to die, but it doesn’t mean that you will be dead.”

“I...I don’t understand. How can I die and yet not be dead?”

His voice then grew low and soft, and Iovita had to bend her head almost to his to hear him speak.

“You will need to die to the Empire. Not far from here is a cave...it is at the base of a collapsed crater. I use the cave for when I need to get away and meditate. In the cave is a survival kit with food, water, stims and other basic medicines, as well as a simple bedroll. I will take you to this cave and you will need to stay there until my time at the base is over. It will be for a few days only, no more. Once that time is done, I will take you in secret to my ship and we will fly together to a place where you will be safe and far beyond the Empire’s reach.”

“Where?” she asked simply.

“With trusted friends,” was his reply. “You don’t need to know anything more. Just know that I will protect you.”

“Why...why are you doing this for me?” was her bewildered reply, “I am an enemy, a Sith. You could just walk away now and let me die of exposure, die of thirst or starvation. I am nothing to you.”

“Not nothing,” he said, “and although I’m still not entirely sure why I am doing this, I do know that it feels right in the Light to do so. Trust me.”

Her blue eyes brimmed with unshed tears, “I have no other option. I must trust you.”

Then against his better judgement, and against all his training and teachings, he leaned in and kissed her gently on the lips.

For a moment the kiss lingered, and then both he and she pulled away. She startled, as if the universe did not make sense any longer to her, and he, musingly, remembering the softness of her lips and the taste – of her.

“You are a strange Jedi,” she said at last.

“And you are an odd Sith,” was his response.

For a moment they just sat and looked at each other, and then simultaneously they laughed. He grinned, “Did you not feel the ground move, Iovita? Not just us, but the universe itself is still trying to work out what just happened.” Then his face grew solemn, “for my plan to work there must be a little pain on your part. Forgive me.”

He took a small blade from a pouch on his belt and as quick as thought, took her hand and ran the razor sharp blade across her palm. Instantly blood welled and dripped from her hand, the drops staining her pale robe scarlet.”

Pain crossed her face and she looked up at him with questions in her eyes, “Why?”

“This,” he said, and getting up he walked to her discarded light sabre and brought it back to where she sat upon the boulder.

“Grasp it with your bloodied hand,” he instructed her.

She did as he asked, and she saw that the bright silver of the weapon was now marked with her blood.

“Now place the weapon on the ground.”

The light sabre fell to the ground from her bloodied hand.

Untying a scarf that was knotted about his neck, he pressed the fabric into her palm. “That will stem the bleeding for awhile. I’ll treat the wound properly once we get to the cave.”

She stared uncomprehendingly at the bloodied weapon, “I still don’t understand.”

“Your ‘death’ has to look real. When I return from the cave I will take your light sabre and make arrangements for it to be returned to Drumond Kaas. When they receive it they will know that you are dead for no living Jedi or Sith willingly gives up their light sabre.”

She nodded, “I understand now,” then she gave him a searching look. “Is my future to be on Tython and trained as a Jedi?”

He shook his head, “No, even though in the past some Sith have become Jedi, to be honest they are never fully trusted or accepted. Also, I fear that if the Jedi Council were to know that you still lived – well, they would not be pleased that I acted against their will, and news of your survival might well make its way back to the Dark Council, which would unnecessarily imperil you.”

“So I am to be neither Sith nor Jedi, neither fish nor fowl,” she said finally, staring at the bloodied light sabre, as if saying goodbye to it and to her old life. What will become of me?”

He smiled at her, “I think it is time that you carved your own path, and allow the Force to guide you in your choosing. Just know this. I will not abandon you to your Fate. We will walk the same path together for awhile. That future at least is clear to me.”

She stood and her back imperceptibly straightened, “So be it. Now where is this cave that you speak of.”

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Part 4 – The Cave

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The light of day was already drawing to a close on Daxia-Two when they turned away from the boulder-rimmed clearing.

Iovita glanced across at the distant Republic listening post, the buildings low and almost hidden on the horizon.

“Will they not be looking for you, scanning for you?”

He shook his head, “They are used to my absences.”

“What did you tell them about my shuttle?”

“Only that it came from the Jedi Council and to pay it no heed,” was his reply. “I could not in good conscience tell them anything else. Come,” he said, taking her good hand, “it’s this way. Mind your step as it can be treacherous.”

Slowly they picked their way across the uneven ground. Iovita’s eyes soon attuned to the darkness and she was able to thread her way through the maze of large boulders and low hillocks without mishap.

After what seemed like an hour or two of walking, they came to the lip of a dark crater.

“Down there,” Aule said, pointing to a deeper darkness. “I’ll go first, you follow me in. I’m not sure if you can see it, but the base of the crater has collapsed into a natural tunnel complex and my small cave is just inside the opening where the air is still sweet.”

He let go her hand and carefully picked his way down the unstable slope of the crater. Iovita followed him down, her natural agility and balance keeping her upright as the red dust and small rocks and stones moved under her feet.

At the bottom, he turned and smiled at her.

“All good?” he asked.

She nodded.

“In we go then. Mind your head,” he added.

He ducked down as he clambered into a low cave opening, confidently feeling his way around the rocks. Suddenly there was a flash of light as a battery-powered lamp was lit, and Iovita saw Aule kneeling next to a small stash of supplies and a neatly folded bedroll.

The Jedi deftly shook out the padded roll and indicated that she should sit on it.

“I need to attend to that hand of yours,” he smiled at her, and his even white teeth gleamed in the lamplight. “We can talk for a bit if you wish. I’m usually away meditating for many hours so I won’t be missed yet.”

Iovita sat and rearranged the folds of her robes close around her against the growing chill of the night. She watched as he took the bloodied cloth away and sprayed her hand with an alcohol-based ointment. The pain was sharp but she bore it resignedly. Mutely she pushed the sleeve of her robe up so he could apply the hypodermic needle of a stim to her arm.

“All good?” he asked again as he turned to put the kit away.

“Yes, did you train as a Healer?” she asked.

He looked back at her in some surprise, “I did actually. I had planned to be a Jedi Sage, but ended up choosing to be a Knight instead. However, the early lessons in healing stuck. How is it that you know that?”

“Your touch,” she explained quietly, “you seem empathic and have a gentle touch.”

He laughed, “That’s the first time I’ve been told that. Usually people take one look at my marred face and they don’t stick around to find out about the rest of me.”

“No wife or girlfriend?” she asked thoughtlessly.

“Not allowed,” was his brief reply.

“Of course, I had forgotten,” she stared at him. “Despite my striving for the Light I think I would have made a poor Jedi for I was passionate once.”

He glanced curiously at her as he levered himself next to her on the bedroll, “Once? Not now?”

“The beatings taught me stoicism,” she replied, “which I guess was the opposite effect of what my trainers were trying to achieve. Instead of lashing out in hatred and anger to fuel the Dark side of the Force, I simply withdrew into myself, divorced myself from the agony.”

Aule didn’t know what to think.

“Scars?” he asked at last, when the silence had grown too heavy between them.

She nodded, “Both external and internal.” She touched her face, “one scar only there, but my back – well, it shows a roadmap of past pain.”

Aule mumbled an oath under his breath and putting one arm about her, pulled the woman close to him. For a moment they sat together, sharing warmth and companionship then awkwardly she pulled away.

“Isn’t this...closeness against the Jedi teachings?” she asked him.

“Yes, and no,” was his cryptic response. “We are told to not grow attached, not to fall in love, but when we are taught the Healing arts...it is hard to not feel empathy and compassion for another.”

She did not know how or why the words slipped out, but they did, “So is this what you feel for me? Just compassion?”

He turned to her and his smile was mischievous, “What else can it be for am I not a Jedi?” then his hands reached out to tangle in her long braided pale hair and they kissed again. This time they did not pull away or apart, and the hours slipped by as she finally rediscovered her hidden passion. They both knew little of love, but what they knew was enough for them.

The stars moved, Daxia-Two turned and the night was almost over when he finally dressed himself.

“I will return,” he said, gazing at the woman lying atop the bedroll. “Tonight, but in the meantime rest. There is food and water here. I have duties awaiting me, but know I will return.”

He flashed Iovita a quick smile but she saw now that love shone in his green eyes, and then he was gone into the early morning light.

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Part 5 – Departing Daxia-Two

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A pale red dawn was suffusing the sky of Daxia-Two when Iovita, her now grubby and dusty robes swirling about her, made the final dash through the boulders to the clearing where Jedi Aule Tanamon’s small star-ship was located.

As soon as she reached the vessel, a door at the side cracked open and Aule’s face, unfamiliarly marked by worry, appeared.

“You’re late,” said Aule, as he extended his hand to help her clamber into the ship.

“There was a patrol,” she explained. “If not for the Force warning me, I would have walked straight into them. Luckily I was able to find cover in time.”

“They didn’t see you?”

She shrugged her heavy cloak onto the floor, “No, at least I don’t think so. I thought you said that they didn’t patrol.”

He shook his head, “I’ve never known them to....”

Suddenly he stopped and put a finger to his lips.

Quickly he beckoned her to follow him. Picking up her cloak, she silently she moved with him to the forward section of the ship. He reached up and unhooked a ceiling hatch, pulling it open

“Up there,” he whispered, “If you lie flat you should be able to easily fit in the space. Stay quiet and still until I tell you all clear.”

She nodded, and with his strong hands gripping her waist, he lifted her up. Awkwardly she levered herself into the warm, dark space. As she settled herself into the confined area, she could hear the hatch click shut behind her.

Moments later there was a muted rap on the nearside cabin door, and she heard the sound of muffled voices.

“Jedi Tanamon?”

“Yes?”

“Can I speak with you?”

She heard him moving about below her, and then the low hiss as a main cabin door opened.

“Is anything the matter, Commander? I’m about to begin my pre-flight checks.”

“It’s probably nothing it’s just that one of our people picked up a heat signature about twenty minutes ago. Were you outside your ship before?”

“Yes, I had forgotten some supplies that I had stashed in my meditation area. I just went back to retrieve them.”

“Ah, okay, that would explain it then,” said the voice, now tinged with relief, “for a moment I thought we had Imps creeping about.”

“On this barren rock?” Aule replied, humour evident in his voice.

“Unlikely hey,” said the voice. “Nothing here except rocks, dust, and us; and then in ten days time it will be back to rocks and dust.”

“Is this base closing down?” said Aule, a note of surprise in his voice.

“Yes, got word from Coruscant overnight, assets are being redirected elsewhere. There is simply no need to have a base here. Supply ships will be coming in ten days to dismantle and remove everything including us.”

“Well, good luck with the deconstruction. I’m off to Alderaan now, visiting friends on my layoff.”

“Half your luck,” replied the voice, “safe flight Jedi Tanamon.”

“You too Commander, May the Force be with you.”

Iovita listened as with a heavy clang the main door shut, and then she heard Aule’s footsteps grow nearer. There was silence for a few minutes, and then light flooded into her space as he opened the hatch.

“Are you okay to stay up there a little longer,” he whispered. “I want to clear this planet first.”

She nodded.

“Good, it won’t take long, a few minutes only. Just have to finish my pre-flight checks.”

The hatch clicked shut again, and darkness dropped on her again like a stiflingly heavy cloak. Below she could hear Aule moving about, and then shortly after, the ship shuddering and juddering as he activated the main engines. The shuddering was quite apparent in her close confinement and she felt light dust falling upon her exposed arms. Then the tone of the engines suddenly changed to a dull roar, and she felt her stomach drop as the ship lifted off the ground. Then a clank as the undercarriage was retracted, and a heavy pressure as the star-ship quickly climbed away from the surface.

Moments later, light flooded her space again as the Jedi Knight re-opened the hatch. Holding out his arms he smiled at her.

“Come on dusty, time to say goodbye to Daxia-Two.”

Iovita half-pushed herself out of the hatchway and allowed herself to fall and be caught in Aule’s strong arms. For a moment he held her close against him, and then he turned back to the visual display of the rapidly receding planet.

“I used to think it a sad sort of place,” he mused, “just rocks and dust, but now...well, I have other nicer memories of Daxia-Two,” he looked back at her and winked.

Catching his look Iovita blushed, clearly remembering the nights that they had spent together in the cave in intimate and loving embrace.

“I will remember it too,” she said simply, smiling gently at him. “I thought Daxia-Two was going to be my grave, but instead it offered me an unexpected new life.”

She gazed at the rust-red planet, “So where now? I overheard you saying something about Alderaan...”

“Yep, got friends there, and don’t worry,” he added, intercepting her nervous look, “you’ll be fine. My friends have an isolated holding well away from the capital and I plan to hide you there. I think you’ll like them, Dalen Isay and his partner Mairi Aurelian. Dalen trained with me on Tython back in the day, and Mairi is the last descendant of the little-known House Aurelian.”

“Another Jedi?” Ioviata said surprised.

“Ex-Jedi,” Aule corrected her, “he left the Order a few years ago after...well, there was a bad accident in deep space and he wasn’t the same since. So the Council effectively gave him an early retirement on compassionate grounds. He’s Mairi’s right-hand man now and they farm their holding together. A good man and true, but unsuited now for conflict.”

“Will you tell them the truth about me?”

He nodded, “there are no secrets between Dalen and I. He may not truly understand the situation, but I know that because of our long friendship he’ll help us.”

“Then I will trust you,” Iovita replied. “Because ever since I met you, you have not given me any cause to mistrust you.”

He moved close to her and their lips touched briefly, and he smiled wryly, “you must have brought all the dust on Daxia-Two on board with you. Up the back of the ship is my sleeping quarters and in one corner is a steam shower. Clean up there and I’ll find a tunic of mine you can wear – although to be honest it would sit more like a dress on you. The ship is on auto-pilot, but I have to get back to navigating soon to get through a nasty asteroid belt. I’ll join you out the back once we’re clear and I’ve plotted a course to Alderaan. It will take about two standard days to get there so we’ll have plenty of time to get to know each other even better...” he grinned cheekily and Iovita blushed again.

“Go on,” he said, giving her a gentle shove, “shower time because to be honest I can’t tell what part of you is red-dust and what parts are blushes.”

Laughing softly, Aule settled himself in the command seat, his attention immediately focused on the instrument panel and the visual display.

Iovita, smiling, turned to explore the rest of the small star-ship and locate the steam-shower that her lover had told her about.

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Part 6 - Alderaan

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Iovita sat in the co-pilot’s seat and secured the safety belt across her hips. The picturesque landscape of Alderaan unfolded before her as Aule as expertly piloted the small star-ship over a high mountain range and towards a blue river glinting in the late-afternoon sunlight.

“Over there, love,” he said. “That’s Dalen and Mairi’s holding there.”

Iovita leaned forward in her seat and glimpsed in the distance a small cluster of white buildings surrounded by a patchwork of brown and green fields.

“It’s still early spring,” he explained. “They will have already done their late winter planting and once the warm weather and the spring-rains come, those fields will be bursting with green life.”

“I don’t know anything about farming,” Iovita admitted. “The food comes from the processors and that’s all I know.”

He glanced across at her and grinned, “Well you’ll be learning a lot more pretty fast. There are no idle hands on the Aurelian homestead – yes, they have droids for the heavy manual work, but they do a lot of the farming themselves the traditional way. Dalen said that it keeps him grounded and too busy to brood.”

“You never said what happened to him,” Iovita asked.

“I’ll tell you another day when we have more time,” replied Aule. “Just take my word that it was bad – he almost died in deep space. Anyway, we’re coming in to land now. You got your gear together?”

She glanced back at her filthy robes bundled up in her dusty cloak, “yes, such as it is.”

He smiled and squeezed her hand, “I reckon that you look much better in my tunic. I’ll talk to Mairi, she’ll get you sorted for clothes.”

Aule turning his attention back to the controls, quickly and efficiently landed the craft on a small landing-pad next to an ageing shuttle. The constant subdued roar of the engines immediately faded away to a silence broken only by the tick..tick...tick of cooling metal.

Iovita glanced out through the window and saw two figures emerge from the nearest white stone building – a man tall, lean and tanned in his mid-thirties with closely cropped dark hair and a neatly trimmed beard speckled with early grey. The woman appeared to be a similar age, but smaller and stouter with pixie-cut blonde hair. Both were dressed in plain labourer type coveralls that she had seen field-workers wear in the past.

Aule grinned and waved at them through the window. Pushing down a lever, he opened the main hatch door and immediately fresh and fragrant air touched with hint of snow wafted into the cabin.

“Come on,” the Jedi said, “time for introductions.”

Barely had they exited the ship when Aule was enveloped in a bear hug by the other man. “Aule! It has been too long my friend...two years since I last saw your ugly face!”

“Agreed, it has been too long!” replied Aule grinning, returning the hard embrace. “You have not grown prettier either, and where did all that grey hair come from?”

Dalen laughed and smiled back at the small blonde woman standing by his side, “Ah Mairi, she works me too hard.”

Then he held Aule at arm’s length and studied him carefully, “I see more battle scars marring that face of yours, but you seem...happier than the last time we met, settled.”

“And you are as perceptive as ever my friend. I am happier, content now as I have never been before.”

At Aule’s words Dalen’s eyes slid across to Iovita. “Aule messaged us ahead of your arrival. You are Aule’s friend come to stay with us?”

Iovita nodded, suddenly feeling very shy.

Aule beckoned Iovita forward, “Iovita, these are the friends that I have told you of; Dalen Isay and his wife Mairi Aurelian. Dalen and Mairi, this is Iovita Regnis.”

“You are most welcome,” Dalen said as he held out his hands and took Iovita’s hands in his own.

In his hands Iovita felt warm strength and rough calluses from years of hard toil.

Dalen’s eyes widened at her touch and he shot Aule a searching look.

“You are very welcome,” murmured Mairi to Iovita in a low and gentle voice. “Come Iovita, let us go in and let the men catch up. These are your only clothes? Let me find you better ones than Aule’s old tunic and also show you your room and perhaps after that we can talk for awhile of things that yon men would find tiresome?”

The two men waited silently for the women to go into the house.

“Iovita is a Light-aligned Sith,” murmured Dalen, as he drew his friend aside. “What exactly are you up to Aule?”

Aule smiled easily, “Just following the demands of the Light, Dalen.”

“Then you better tell me the whole story because your message was brief and not very informative...”

It did not take long for Aule to update Dalen with the events of the last week.

Dalen shook his head at the end, “so you two were supposed to kill each other, and in the end...you fell in love. Oh, I know you deliberately left that bit out of the story but it is very obvious to anyone who has known you as long as I have. However, I’d like to know why you so quickly abandoned the Jedi code?”

Aule grinned ruefully, “Truly it wasn’t planned. I think it began with empathy for her situation and then it quickly grew into love – especially after how she trusted me so totally and implicitly. You know, I think I might well have been the first friendly face that she has seen in years. Iovita might have been Sith but emotionally she is very fragile, despite her connection to the Force. To be honest I don’t know how she survived this long under her cruel masters. You should see her back Dalen. It’s more scar tissue than unblemished skin...”

“The Force has certainly given her strength and resilience,” Dalen replied carefully.

Then he paused before adding, “Did you also know that she is carrying a child – a very young one, less than a week old, but still I felt the spark of life within her.”

Aule turned to his friend, his green eyes shining with joy, “She has quickened so soon?”

“Is it yours?”

The Jedi Knight nodded.

Dalen’s breath hissed out through his teeth, “You walk a perilous path my friend.”

“I know, but do not tell her yet. She will no doubt realise in time that she is bearing my child. Do you know if it is a son or a daughter?”

“Too early yet to tell, I only know that a child is growing within her.”

Dalen scratched at his beard, “Mairi and I, well we tried but – after the last miscarriage, what can I say other than nature at times can be very unkind. Mairi will be thrilled to have a youngling in the house. She did so want children of her own.”

“I am glad for her,” Aule said simply, “be glad for us too Dalen, it may not be a lawful path we walk, but I’m absolutely certain that it is the path that the Light chose for us both.”

“I understand. So how long will you stay with us my friend?” Dalen asked.

“A month, if you are agreeable? Good...after that I must return to my duties and obligations on Tython, but I will return to check on Iovita and the child as often as I can get away and without rousing suspicions from the Council.”

Dalen nodded, “What is it exactly that you want us to do?”

“Just keep her safe and hidden from both the Empire and the Republic,” said Aule. “Iovita bears some slight resemblance to Mairi so perhaps she can be passed off as a long-lost relative?”

“That might work,” Dalen replied, nodding, “although Mairi would need to agree to the plan first. You do understand that Iovita will need to have a new name, for the name Iovita Regnis would arouse too many questions here on Alderaan. For it is a name with no connections with any of the Houses.”

“What do you suggest,” asked Aule.

“I will suggest to Mairi that Iovita and her child should bear the name of House Aurelian,” replied Dalen. “Iovita can pick her own first name, but after today there should be no link back to Iovita Regis. As far as the galaxy is concerned, Iovita Regnis died on Daxia-Two.”

“A sound plan,” agreed Aule. “Now tell me, how did the winter plantings go?”

The two men wandered off speaking of farming and other matters.

--

-------

“What do you know of the term ‘Force Fulcrum’?” Aule asked Dalen as the two men sat at the dinner table. Behind them, the two women worked quietly in the background, organising bedding for the guest quarters.

Iovita turned her head briefly at the sound of Aule’s voice. She was quickly settling into the quiet serenity of Mairi and Dalen’s house, but the questioning tone of Aule’s voice intrigued her and blankets in her arms, she paused in her task to listen to him speak.

“Force Fulcrum? No, I’ve not heard of it before. What was the context?” Dalen replied, as he leaned back in his chair, his long clay baccy pipe resting gently in his hands.

“Something the Council said, that two Force Fulcrums had been named, and that I was challenged to a duel.” Aule shook his head, “it’s been playing on my mind since I heard it because I’m certain that I’ve heard or read the term somewhere, sometime in the past but I can’t recollect where or when.”

Dalen puffed meditatively on his pipe, “Well, a fulcrum is a support about which a lever turns, so I suggest that whoever, or whatever those fulcrums might be – we can ascertain that they are force users, and that somehow they are important and they influence others or cause change.”

His dark eyes flicked back to Iovita, “I am guessing that young Iovita there is one, otherwise why else would she be sent away to be ritually killed in a duel. ‘If’ she is one, and I’d bet next season’s alma crop that she is, then there is something about her that has so alarmed the Dark Council that they ordered her death.”

Aule leaned closer to his friend and spoke quietly, in a low undertone, “I don’t understand. She’s force-attuned, but not strongly – if I had wished to kill her then it would have been an easy matter. You said earlier that she possessed a strength and tenacity, I agree with you there, but what is it about her that would make her a fulcrum? I mean, she is rather ordinary...” he chuckled to himself, “not ordinary in attractiveness, because she is rather lovely, but ordinary in her knowledge and use of the Force.”

Dalen shrugged, “I don’t know. Perhaps it is something she may do in the future, but you forget something my friend. The Jedi Council said that there were two Force Fulcrums. I ask you, why were you chosen for this duel? Why were you both supposed to duel to the death?”

It was Aule’s turn to shrug, “I’ve no idea. The doings of the Jedi Council are beyond my understanding. I just do what they tell me to do.”

Dalen put his pipe down and stared at the other man, “Do you know what I think? I think that you are the other fulcrum and by one fulcrum killing the other would cancel out the importance of what you and Iovita both are. That there has to be two Force Fulcrums in order for change to happen.”

“If you are right, and I’m not saying that you are. I wonder if that was why the two Councils allowed us to meet?” pondered Aule. “Perhaps they knew that we were one day fated to meet, decided to force the issue via a duel, assuming that she being Sith and me being Jedi we’d just automatically kill one another.”

Dalen barked a short laugh when he heard that, “So much for the plans of the two Councils....”

Aule stood suddenly and paced the room, then he noticed Iovita standing by with questions in her eyes and he smiled reassuringly at her, his expression saying ‘Don’t worry’.

He walked back to Dalen and flopped back in his chair, “So we’re both still very much alive and, if this prophecy pans out, one day we’re both going to do something that will change things? Is that what you think will happen?”

Dalen nodded, “...and going by the actions of both Councils, whatever you do will have far-reaching effects, perhaps touching even the entire galaxy itself.”

“Damn, you do know how to unsettle a fellow, Dalen.”

Dalen stood and laid a hand on the other man’s shoulder, “Don’t let it consume you, Aule. Just live your lives together. If more is fated to happen, then it will happen. If not then you’ve probably gained more than most denizens of this sad universe.”

He paused and looked across to Iovita, standing still with blankets bundled in her arms.

“Aule,” he said in a low voice, “just remember that you two have already done something together, created something together...something that both Councils did not foresee and certainly did not expect.”

Aule’s head shot up at that and his gaze rested hotly on Iovita, who immediately blushed and hurried into the guest room with her load of blankets.

“Knowing this...guessing this, you still wish to guard her?” Aule asked quietly, turning back to his friend.

“Of course, I have given you my word. Besides, I bear the Jedi Council little love after what happened in deep space and if I can help stymie their machinations,” Dalen laughed again and there was a note of old pain in his voice.

Aule nodded and the two men hugged.

“Come now my friend,” said Dalen, as he moved to close the front door of the homestead. “The night grows old and we have much work to do tomorrow. A farmer’s day begins early and I fully expect you to help me with my chores tomorrow.”

------------------

To be continued....

Part 7 - The Visitor

-----------

Veeta gently picked up the baby from the cot and walked over to her favourite bench seat which sat under a large old flowering tree. Sitting down, she rearranged her robes so that little Ael could nurse at her breast.

On the other side of a low stone wall she could see her eldest daughter training with Aule and Dalen in a nearby grassy field. Dressed in a light blue tunic and soft leather breeches, Sulis was barelegged from the knees down, and her tanned arms, legs and feet showed that she had spent more time outdoors in the fields, than inside at her books.

As Sulis gracefully flowed through the series of practiced movements, her long white-blonde hair which had worked free of its customary braid, whipped around her unsmiling face, revealing the degree of control she was exhibiting.

Veeta knew that although Sulis was only twelve years old, her training in the Force was progressing well under the experienced eyes of the two former Jedi Knights.

“She’s a natural,” said a voice behind her.

Veeta looked up and smiled at Mairi, “Yes, Aule wants Sulis to go to Tython when she turns thirteen. He says that she is far advanced in the Force for her age and that the Jedi masters would happily take her on as a Padawan.”

Mairi sat down with an audible groan, “Oh these knees of mine give me endless grief,” then she sat back and watched the training with Veeta.

“Will Aule give her his light-sabre?” she asked finally.

Veeta shook her head, “It seems that she will be given her own at Tython as part of some ceremony, but she has trained enough with Aule’s weapon to know how to use it safely and well.”

“And what do you think Iovita...are you happy for your eldest daughter to train as a Jedi?”

Veeta laughed, “I haven’t heard that name in over twelve years. That name belongs to another life, not this one.”

Then she sighed, “I would have preferred to keep her close to me, but she is so strong in the Force that she would fret if she stayed here. No, Tython is her future.”

“So, what about those two?” Mairi asked, pointing up to where two identical pale-haired girls climbed and played happily in the branches of the tree above where the women sat.

“We don’t know. The twins are only seven. Aule tells me that they are Force sensitive too, but he wants to wait a year or two before he and Dalen begin their training. Aule says that he wants them to have as long a childhood as possible.”

“A sensible plan,” mused Mairi, “especially as how the training has changed Sulis so much.”

Veeta nodded and a cloud passed over her face, “Aule says that he regrets starting her early in her training. Sulis used to be such a happy, laughing child, but she has taken the Jedi code to heart now and every day she disciplines herself mastering her emotions.”

“Well, the twins certainly have no problem showing their emotions,” laughed Mairi. “Most of the time I can hear them coming before I see them – they laugh and shout so much.”

Veeta turned to the older woman, “You don’t mind?”

Mairi shook her head, “Not at all. Your girls have brought much joy and energy to our household...and here come Sulis and our husbands.”

Veeta glanced across to see her eldest daughter walking back with the two older men.

Aule, seeing his wife look up, indicated that he wanted to talk to her.

“Well, it looks like training has finished early today and Ael here hasn’t finished her feed,” said Veeta with a slightly exasperated smile.

Deftly she disengaged her youngest daughter from her breast, rearranged her robes, and popped a pacifier between Ael's open lips.

“Now don’t you fret, little Ael," she said. "Your lunch will soon resume. I just have to see what your father wants.”

“I’ll take her for you,” Mairi offered, holding out her arms to the child.

Veeta smiled her thanks and placed the young baby into Mairi’s arms. The older woman gathered the child to her, rocking her and crooning under her breath.

“What’s up Aule?” said Veeta standing, as Aule leapt over the low stone wall.

Aule pointed into the distance where a slight dusty smudge on the dirt road indicated a solitary speeder, “We have a visitor. It might be an idea to get the girls inside and out of sight. You too Veeta – I know it’s been almost thirteen years, but we have so few visitors and none unexpected.”

“I’ll go in too,” said Mairi, “and help keep the twins quiet. Sulis, can you call your sisters down please.”

“Sure thing Aunty,” replied Sulis, and putting her fingers to her mouth, let out a loud whistle. Immediately branches rustled and the twins jumped down onto the soft and springy grass.

“Lunch?” they asked in unison, as they brushed leaves and twigs from their hair and clothing.

“Soon,” said Sulis, “but how would you girls like to play a game of Silent Hide and Seek inside first.”

“Really!” shrieked Sul, the elder twin by a matter of minutes, “It’s been ages since we played that game. Come on Shee, race you to the house!”

The twins ran inside, Sulis swiftly on their heels.

The two women followed the children inside.

“Any idea who it might be?” asked Aule as he and Dalen watched the speeder get closer to the holding.

“No idea,” Dalen replied. “But I’m not perceiving a threat.”

“Nor am I,” said Aule, stroking his short blonde beard.

The two men walked away from the house and to where the dirt road terminated at the stone wall which marked the boundary of the house and garden. Aule, with cat-like grace, leapt up on top of the fence to get a better look, while Dalen leaned against the metal gate.

Five minutes later the speeder pulled up at the gate and the driver, dressed in a padded flight suit and wearing a silvery-reflective full-faced helmet turned off the vehicle and for a moment, sat and gazed silently at the two men.

“You are a long way from the Capital, stranger” said Dalen. “Are you lost?”

“You are Aule Tanamon,” the driver said looking up at Aule, ignoring Dalen’s question.

Aule nodded.

Dalen straightened and gave the stranger a hard stare, “I’m Dalen Isay the co-owner of this holding. I ask you, what business do you have here?”

The driver, unclipping the helmet, eased it gently off his head.

The two men stared in astonishment at the strange alien who stood before them.

“I thought I knew most of the alien races,” mused Dalen, almost to himself, “but your kind is unfamiliar to me.”

“Voss? If I’m not mistaken,” said Aule suddenly, jumping to the ground from the stone wall. “Now what would a Voss Mystic want with me?”

“You are perceptive,” said the alien in slightly mechanical tones.

“And you lady,” replied Aule, “are a long way from home. I am here, now answer Dalen’s question. What business do you have here, and what do you want of me?”

“Lady?” Dalen asked Aule in an undertone. “However can you tell?”

“Voss females have skin with hues of red and they have blue eyes. Their males, blue skin with red eyes,” Aule replied quietly to his friend. “I remember reading about them on Tython, years ago.”

“You are correct,” replied the Voss. “My name is Sana-Rey and I have come all the way from Voss to Alderaan because I have seen you, your wife Iovita Regnis, and your four daughters in a number of visions. I have come to tell you of those visions.”

Aule visibly started at that.

“The Voss Mystic smiled at him, “Do not be alarmed. No one else knows of your wife’s presence here. Once I am gone your secret will remain with me. I give you my Sacred Promise and my word as a Mystic.”

“Then I guess you should come in,” replied Aule coolly. “However, know that if you break that sacred promise of yours, the galaxy will not be large enough for you to hide from me.”

“I now understand that their lives would be in peril,” replied the Mystic. “I will not make the same mistake again as I did thirteen years ago.”

Aule started again in surprise.

She put a hand up to forestall any further questions, “I will speak further when your wife is present.”

----------------------------

To be continued....

Part 8 - Visions and Portents

--------------------

Veeta looked up when the homestead door opened, for she had only just put Ael down to sleep. When she saw her husband’s scarred and weather-beaten face smile grimly at her, a tight ball of tension began to knot within her belly. Reflexively she picked up Ael and held her close against her breast, the sleeping child grumbled at being picked up, but immediately settled again with the scent of her mother embracing her.

Sul and Shee, sensing their mother’s tension, came out from their hiding spots and stood behind her, pale identical faces peeping fearfully out from behind her plain brown robes.

Only Sulis stood alone before her mother and sisters, defiant, her training staff in her hands, even at age twelve she instinctively moved to protect the vulnerable.

“Easy girls,” Aule said, “we have a visitor. She means us no harm.”

Veeta subtly relaxed and Sul and Shee inched their way out from behind their mother’s robes. Sulis changed her stance from a defiant one to a guarded stance.

Aule smiled approvingly at his eldest daughter. She would make a fine Jedi Knight.

The door opened fully and Dalen entered, following behind him, a strange figure with mottled red skin and luminuous blue eyes. At the sight of the alien, Sul and Shee shrank back behind their mother again.

“Her name is Sana-Rey, and she is a Mystic from Voss,” said Dalen, his introduction short and curt. “Mairi, can you join me outside for a bit – this, ahem...lady, has words for Aule and his family.”

“Please stay,” said Veeta, “I’d like you to hear what she has to say.”

Aule nodded, “You and Mairi are like family to us. There will be no secrets here.”

“Very well,” Dalen replied. “I admit that I am interested in finding out what has brought a Voss Mystic to our humble homestead.”

Aule moved to stand next to his wife, and Mairi joined her husband.

“I am sorry for causing you so much fear and dismay,” the Mystic said. “It was not my intention to alarm you, but I felt that it was my responsibility to make amends for my error thirteen years ago, and also bring you news of my latest Visions.”

“You said something about that,” Aule growled. “What sort of mistake did you make?”

“May I sit?” Sana-Rey asked. “My journey has been long and I have not rested or refreshed myself since I arrived at Alderaan this morning.”

“Of course!” replied Mairi, immediately moving to get the Mystic a chair. “Please forgive us for forgetting our responsibilities as host.” She shot Dalen a reproving look, “Dalen, can you boil some water for tea.”

Dalen’s face flamed red with embarrassment, “I am sorry, my wife reminds me that I am a poor host. Sit down Sana-Rey, refresh yourself and then tell us your story.”

They fussed around the Voss for a few minutes, then once they were all seated and settled with mugs of steaming tea in their hands, the Voss began to speak.

“Thirteen years ago I went to visit the Republic on Coruscant, and the Empire on Drumond Kaas. I went to them with the message that I had been gifted a Vision that pertained to both the Republic and the Sith Empire. In my Vision I saw two hooded and cloaked figures. One figure was clearly Jedi, the other I knew to be Sith. In my Vision their faces were obscured by their hoods, but two names came into my mind – Aule Tanamon and Iovita Regnis. They stood at the centre of the galaxy and around them the stars moved as in a stately dance. I knew then that two Force Fulcrums had been born and that the galaxy would be altered by their actions.”

She paused and took a sip from her tea before continuing on.

“I thought that the Republic and Empire would celebrate such a momentous event, but in my naivety I failed to understand that those who cling to power will do whatever it takes to hold onto that power. So when I heard word of the death of the Sith I was much troubled for I knew that I had been unwittingly instrumental in causing her demise.”

She glanced across at Veeta and Aule and her eyes pleaded for forgiveness.

Veeta shrugged, she did not hold grudges against events so long in the past.

Sana-Rey nodded, she understood. Then she went on, “I was granted another Vision. A Vision that refuted the news I had heard.”

“What was your vision?” Veeta asked quietly.

Sana-Rey took a moment to respond and her mottled red face blushed brighter with embarrassment, “I saw you both clearly and fully for the first time – you were entangled in a loving embrace and from both of you the Light streamed out to encompass the galaxy.”

Aule cleared his throat, “Yet you said nothing to the Republic or the Empire about your vision.”

Sana-Rey nodded, “You are correct. I asked for counsel from the Three who guide and guard the Voss, and they advised me to keep my knowledge a secret.”

Sana-Rey’s eyes flickered over the three girls and the infant in Veeta’s arms, “I now see the fruit of your embrace, and I know my Vision to be true.”

“I still don’t understand this Force Fulcrum thing,” Veeta said. “Are you suggesting that we are still Force Fulcrums because frankly I don’t believe Aule and I have done anything to alter the galaxy...”

“You are correct,” interrupted the Mystic, “you are no longer Force Fulcrums for I have been gifted further Visions. These Visions specifically involve your four daughters.”

“What! All four?” Aule moved startled to stand by his wife and daughters’ side.

The Voss nodded, “if I might continue?”

“Of course, my apologies Lady Sana-Rey.”

The Voss took a deep breath and in a low voice she intoned, “Daughters of the Light, all four are weapons forged by two Force Fulcrums, and Force Fulcrums they in turn will be.”

She turned first to Sulis, and stared deeply into her fierce green eyes, “Aquilae Sulis. Hammer of the Republic, she is the hawk in flight. She will rock the galaxy to its core. The man who heals will stand resolutely by her side but in time he will fall away.”

Then the Mystic’s eyes fell upon Sul whose deep blue eyes grew as round as dinner plates when she realised that the alien was going to speak about her.

“Invicta Sul. Wrathful is she. The mightiest shall fall to her blade and Unconquered and Outsider shall be her names. The smiling man will deceive her but will earn his redemption and her love.”

She turned then to the other twin who again dived behind her mother’s skirts, then peeked out curiously at the strange alien.

“Feyra Shee. She is the dream walker and bearer of spirits. She will sit as one with the Dark Lords and yet never be one of them. She will be loved by two but choose only one.”

Then the Mystic smiled as she looked upon the sleeping baby, “Vindicta Ael. The Force has not chosen her yet her name will be Vengeance and she will hunt her prey across the galaxy gaining great renown. A warrior-born will stand by her side and she will wear his ring.”

Sana-Rey closed her eyes, “it is done. I have told you all that I know. I am tired now, is there some place that I may sleep before I return again to Voss?”

Aule and Dalen exchanged glances, but Mairi, the exemplary hostess was the first to speak, “of course, I will make a bed for you directly. Please follow me.”

The other adults waited until the Voss had left the room, then Dalen was the first to speak, “Phew, what did you two make of all that?”

Aule could only shake his head bemused, but Veeta was livid, “the mystic said that Shee would sit with the Dark Lords. I forbid it Aule. I will not have any of my daughters trained as Sith!”

“Hush love,” he said, gently hugging both her and the baby. “It is likely that she misread that vision. Besides, you know that I will never allow any child of mine to become a Sith. I would die first before that happens.”

“As would I,” said Veeta firmly. “If they must be trained in the Force, then at least let them be trained on Tython where I know they will be treated fairly and well.”

Then her attention turned to the child sleeping against her chest. “Poor little Ael, I have suspected for awhile that the Force did not move within her. What will become of her, Aule?”

“If the Voss is correct,” Aule replied, “then she too will make her mark on the galaxy, just like her sisters, although to be honest, I would be far more content knowing that she grew up to be a small-holder here on Alderaan with a husband and a brood of children of her own.”

“Still,” Dalen said, “whatever happens will be years away. In the meantime put what was said aside and enjoy your children as they are – innocent and unaware.”

“Dalen, you speak words of wisdom,” replied Aule smiling with relief. “We will remember what was said, and more importantly, we will put what was said to the side. Whatever the galaxy plans for us, we will still have years of joy ahead of us as a family.”

-------------------

To be continued....

Part 9 – Endings and Beginnings

--------------------

“Mama, what’s happening?” asked Shee as she hurriedly stuffed clothing into a bag. “Are we going on a trip?”

Veeta looked up and gave her a worried smile, “Yes darling, we’re sending you both to Tython, but we need to leave now. Your father wants us to board his ship as soon as possible. Make sure Sul has her clothes packed too.”

“I’m already packed,” replied Sul as she appeared at the homestead door. “Papa sent me to help you.”

“Oh my clever girl,” said Veeta, gathering Sul to her breast for a quick hug. “If you can help your sister with her packing we’ll be able to get away in no time.”

Veeta watched the twins quietly work together, and then steadying herself, walked quickly into the other room where Mairi was waiting by the banked fire. Veeta’s gaze immediately dropped to her youngest daughter Ael who was sitting on the floor playing quietly with her toys.

“It’s all arranged then?” she asked the other woman.

Mairi nodded, “yes, I’ll look after Ael while you and Aule get the girls to Tython. The Empire is beginning to make moves on Alderaan and for the moment it’s no longer safe for you force sensitives to remain here."

“I wish Dalen was here to look after you both,” worried Veeta.

Mairi gazed out of the window at the garden in full spring bloom and at the white gravestone nestled amongst the bright flowers, “I wish that too,” she replied, “sadly he went before his time, but we’ll look after each other won’t we Ael?”

The young girl looked up and tears filled her eyes, “yes Aun...Mama.”

“She remembers,” said Veeta proudly, bending to lift her youngest daughter and hug her tight. “I promise you Ael,” she said quietly, gazing into her deep blue eyes, “your papa and I will be back soon to collect you, but right now we need to take your sisters to a safe place where the enemy can’t reach them.”

“I wish I could come with you,” the girl sobbed, “I shall be so lonely.”

“I know my darling Ael, but Aunt Mairi will look after you and perhaps you can help her with the spring planting.”

Ael nodded and turned back to her toys.

“Don’t worry,” Mairi said, hugging the other woman, “she’ll be safe. There is nothing here that will interest the Empire.”

“I know, otherwise we’d be taking her with us too,” Veeta kissed Mairi on her weathered cheek. “Aule will be fretting to get away. I must see if the twins are ready.”

“Go,” Mairi said, “we’ll come out to see you off. Return when it’s safe to do so.”

“Believe me, we will,” replied Veeta fervently, “it may take a few weeks or perhaps a few months, but we will return! The Empire will eventually move on and turn their attention elsewhere and then Aule and I will come back and help you with the farm.”

Veeta walked outside and watched as Aule help the twins load their gear onto the star ship. It seemed like only yesterday that they had arrived on Alderaan, but in fact seventeen years had passed, and it was five years since they had sent their eldest daughter to Tython for training. Sulis had visited the family six months before and Veeta had marvelled at how quickly she had grown into a beautiful young woman. She had watched Sulis sparring with Aule, showing off her Jedi training to her parents. Sulis possessed an intensity of focus now, a steely determination that brooked no opposition. Veeta guessed that Sulis’ career would take her well beyond Jedi Knight – maybe one day she would even earn the title Master.

As for the twins, their training in the force had only recently begun and of the two Sul showed the most promise. During Sulis’ visit Sul had hung off her older sister, listening to everything she said and watching everything she did. Perhaps Sul would one day walk in her father’s footsteps and be a Knight too. Shee, on the other hand, found it difficult to access the Force. For awhile Veeta had doubted her earlier appraisal that she was force sensitive, but occasionally the Force did manifest, but it appeared in a way that Aule or Veeta did not understand. Veeta hoped that the trainers on Tython would steer Shee into her right and proper path.

Going back into the homestead Veeta collected the remainder of the bags and walked out to the small star ship.

Aule turned to her and smiled tightly, “Ready?”

She nodded and passed him their bags.

He looked up and saw Mairi walking towards the ship, little Ael’s hand in hers.

“Time to say our goodbyes,” he said, his voice rough with unshed tears, if we leave it too late then the Empire might track our flight back to the farm.”

“That would be a disaster,” Veeta agreed. “Come on, let’s do this. The sooner we’re gone the sooner we can return.”

Aule walked over to Mairi and gave her a tight and wordless hug, then bending down, he kissed his youngest daughter on her forehead, “be good” he instructed her, “and help your Aunt. We’ll be back before you know it.”

“Yes papa.”

Aule took from his neck a medallion pendant that he habitually wore and gently hung it around Ael’s own small neck. “If you get sad, just hold my medallion in your hands and the memories will come. When we return you can give me back my pendant. Deal?”

Ael nodded her bright head and clasped the pendant in both her hands, “like this papa?”

Aule nodded proudly, “like that my daughter.”

Then the twins walked over and with tears streaming down their cheeks they briefly embraced their little sister and then Mairi, and then ran back into to the star ship.

Finally Veeta gathered Ael in her arms and held her close, humming quietly into her hair as she had done when Ael was a tiny baby.

“Veeta,” Aule said quietly, “we need to go.”

“I know...are you sure we can’t take her with us?”

“No, she will be well protected here.”

Veeta straightened and placed her daughter’s hand in Mairi’s, “look for us as soon as it is safe to return.”

Then waving goodbye, she and Aule entered the star ship and within moments the small ship had lifted off and climbed rapidly into the cloudless blue sky.

Mairi turned to the little girl, lifted her up and kissed away the falling tears, “come my child, how about we organise supper for ourselves?”

-----

Alderaan’s sun was barely a speck among a host of other stars when Veeta returned to Aule.

“They’re sleeping now?” he asked his wife.

“Yes,” Veeta replied, “I gave them both a mild sedative as they were still very upset about leaving. They’ll sleep for a few hours and will feel better when they awake.”

He looked about him and smiled briefly, “you and I here...this certainly brings back memories...”

Veeta glanced up at the ceiling hatch and smiled softly as she remembered hiding there.

“I was so young back then,” she mused, settling herself into the co-pilot’s chair. “I truly believed that my life was ending when in fact it was actually beginning. Now it’s time for the twins to start on their own life path and be trained in the Force.”

“I did not message ahead to Tython,” Aule said quietly, “with the Imperial forces so close I did not dare advertise our presence. When we are closer to Tython I’ll send a message to the Jedi Council.”

Veeta nodded and closed her eyes, “I feel tired too, I might sleep for awhile too, it was...difficult leaving Ael behind.”

Aule leaned over and kissed her lightly on the lips, “It was the right thing to do. Go on, you sleep, I’ll rouse you when the twins are awake.”

----

Veeta woke suddenly as the ship shook under her, she looked around, disorientated.

“What’s happening?!”

“We’re under attack,” Aule said tightly, “they just came out of nowhere. The ships must have been cloaked or something because nothing showed up on the scanner and I sensed nothing. One moment nothing, the next moment they were here.”

Veeta’s heart sank, “Imperials?”

“I don’t know. I don’t recognise the design of the ships. They could be Mandalorians, could be raiders, they could be Imperials.”

“How far are we from Tython?”

“Three hours,” was Aule’s terse reply, “we’re too far away to call for help.”

“Can we get away?”

He shook his head, “we’ve no hope, there are at least five ships bearing down on us”. The star ship rocked again and Veeta could smell the acrid scent of smoke and suddenly lights started flickering on the main control panel.

“We’re hit,” Aule said bleakly. “That last burst shorted out the electrics to navigation and life support, and there is a fire somewhere on the ship.”

Veeta stared aghast at her husband.

“We’ll get the girls,” Aule told her, “and put them into the life pod. Then I’ll set the main engine to overload.”

Veeta nodded grimly, immediately understanding his intent.

Hurrying back to the sleeping quarters they lifted the sleeping children and carried them into the tiny life pod. There was room only for two in the compartment, and Veeta and Aule buckled the children securely into the sturdy chairs. Working quickly, Aule set the life pod beacon to the republic frequency and activated it. Gently they bent down and kissed their children goodbye.

“May the Force protect them – their lives are now out of our hands,” said Aule softly as he led a sobbing Veeta out of the pod and turned the heavy handle on the door to securely lock it.

Veeta, coughing from the dense smoke and with tears streaming down her face walked back with Aule through the darkened ship to the engine room.

“Ready?” he asked her quietly.

“No...but there’s no other choice is there?” she sobbed.

He shook his head sadly, “we had a good life together you and I. Just remember what the Voss mystic told us. The girls will live and love and have full lives. We just have to hold onto that knowledge in the minutes that remain to us and pray that the Force will keep them safe.”

Turning, he set the engine to overload, and then pulled another lever.

“The timer is set, the engine will overload in three minutes and the life-pod will release in one minute. Come, my love,” Aule said with a loving smile while leading Iovita back to the sleeping quarters. “For three minutes let us imagine we are on Daxia-Two and it is again our first night together...”

----

“The Republic star ship is on fire, my Lord,” said the Mandalorian captain, “shall I send another burst to finish it off?”

The Sith Lord standing by his side shook his head, “no, the fire will do the job. Look, over there, a life pod has released from the ship.”

The two men watched as the tiny engine on the life pod flared briefly into life, sending the pod spinning out and away from the dying star ship.

Minutes later the star ship exploded in a flash of brilliant white-hot light.

“Did you want me to pick up the survivors, Sir,” asked the Mandalorian captain.

The Sith Lord nodded, “yes, I would like to question the occupants. Pick the pod up directly and bring any survivors to me.”

Darth Marr stared at the dark wreckage of the republic ship and the distant life pod, there was a mystery here and he was determined to get to the bottom of it.

----------------------

To be continued...

Part 10 - Darkness and Light

-------------------

“My Lord, I think you should come here,” said the Mandalorian captain.

“What? Is there a problem?”

“You might say that...” was the cryptic reply.

The armoured Sith Lord shrugged and followed the Mandalorian to the loading bay of the Mandalorian cruiser.

“I wasn’t expecting much when I opened the life pod door,” the Mandalorian captain said in an offhand voice, “I thought perhaps SIS given the fact that the star ship was out in deep space by itself. But I didn’t expect this...”

He stood aside so that the Sith Lord could look inside.

Darth Marr peered inside the small pod and saw two girl-children secured into the chairs and seemingly both fast asleep.

“I tried to rouse them, but I think they were given a sedative,” the captain explained. “I don’t know what to do with them.”

The Sith Lord stared at the girls, his enclosed and helmeted face impassive.

Finally he spoke, “They appear to be twins, and there is something about them...a memory of someone I saw once. I cannot recall the details of the memory just yet. It’s no matter. I should space them, but let me first check to see if they are force-sensitive.”

Leaning over he touched the nearest girl, "I can sense the Force strongly within her. She may be useful. I’ll send her onto Korriban. Put her into my shuttle, Captain.”

“Yes Sir! What about the other one?”

Darth Marr moved his armoured body around to the other chair and briefly touched the other twin on her forehead.

After a moment of silence he shook his head, “I thought...for just a moment that the Force lingered in her too, but if it exists then it will be difficult to rouse and she will fail at the trials. I have no need of her. Feel free to space her or keep her, Captain. It is your call.”

“I’ll keep her,” replied the Mandalorian quickly, “my wife on Drumond Kaas has been pestering me to get a new slave for our household. She will be young enough to train.”

Darth Marr nodded, “Very well. I’ll take the force-sensitive girl and the other one can go to your household.”

“I wonder who their family was?” the Captain mused aloud.

“Whoever they were, they are dead now,” Darth Marr replied dismissively. “It is likely that Republic shuttle was headed to Tython to bring these children to the Jedi training grounds there. We do not need more Jedi being trained against us...” then the Sith Lord chuckled, adding, “I’ll take this girl and she will instead become a weapon against the Republic.”

------

“Sulis, you are required immediately at the Grand Master’s chambers called out Initiate Meik as he ran up to her.

Sulis turned from the training dummy, sheathed her vibroblade and stared at the young Cathar. “Did you say Grand Master Satele Shan?”

“Yes, and I’d not keep her waiting!”

Sulis nodded and walked briskly back to the Jedi Academy. As she straightened her clothing all the time Sulis’ mind was churning with questions.

Sulis had only met the Grand Master once when her father had brought her to the Academy five years earlier. She knew that she had kept her nose clean during that time and was regularly in the top ten rankings amongst the other initiates so she doubted that she had done anything wrong. Suddenly it occurred to her that the reason for the summons might be that she was to be promoted to be a Padawan under a Jedi Master.

Hurrying up the stairs and into the Jedi Temple Sulis paused long enough to smooth her pale hair away from her face.

“The Grand Master has sent for me,” Sulis said as she walked up to the cowled and robed Jedi guard outside the Grand Master’s chambers.

“Name?”

“Initiate Sulis Aurelian,” Sulis replied.

“Yes, I have been informed. You are to go right in,” he said as turned and opened the door behind him.

Sulis walked down a small corridor and to a closed door.

Gently she knocked upon it.

A woman’s voice called out, “Come in.”

Sulis opened the door and hesitantly stepped inside. The Grand Master was seated behind a large mahogany desk and by her side stood another Jedi, an older man in traditional robes. His cowl had been thrown back to reveal a worn and weathered face. Sulis guessed him to be in his fifties. He was of her father’s generation.

“I am Initiate Sulis Aurelian. You wished to see me Grand Master?”

The petite dark haired woman looked up and smiled at her, “Yes, come on in Sulis. Please sit down,” she indicated a chair which had been placed in front of the desk.

“Now Sulis,” the Grand Master said as soon as the young Jedi Initiate had settled herself. “We’ve just received a rather strange message from Alderaan and we were wondering if you could help us understand it.”

“I’ll do my best Grand Master,” Sulis replied.

The Grand Master looked searchingly at Sulis’ face, “The message we received came from a woman called Mairi Aurelian. Now, I was of the understanding that Mairi Aurelian was your mother, but she claims to be your Aunt. Perhaps you can tell us what your exact relationship to this woman is – and mind Sulis, I want the truth.”

Under Satele Shan’s piercing gaze Sulis could not dissemble. “She’s not my Mother, Grand Master, nor is she my Aunt. She is a friend of my parents, and my mother and father and my sisters lived with her and her partner Dalen Isay for many years. You could in a way say that my family was adopted by Mairi and Dalen.”

“Ah,” mused the Grand Master almost to herself, “I then assume that your real father is Aule Tanamon, the ex-Jedi who brought you here for training?”

“That is correct Grand Master,” Sulis replied quietly.

The Grand Master nodded to the other Jedi, “Yes, Aule was always very strong in the Force, much more so than Dalen. It would make sense that a daughter of his was a proficient.”

Satele Shan turned back to the young woman, “How old are you now girl?”

“I’m seventeen, almost eighteen, Grand Master.”

“Hmm,” the other Jedi spoke for the first time, his voice rough, “do you recollect that almost eighteen years ago we sent Aule Tanamon to Daxia-Two for a duel.”

“I remember,” replied the Grand Master.

“Do you remember the name of the Sith he was to kill?” the Jedi spoke again.

“I remember,” the Grand Master said.

“What is your mother’s name?” questioned the Jedi, turning to Sulis abruptly.

Sulis glanced back at the Grand Master who nodded.

“Her name is Veeta, Master Jedi,” Sulis replied.

“Nothing else? No other name?”

Sulis shrugged, “I have only ever known her as Veeta...but, occasionally I have overheard father and mother speaking quietly to each other, and sometimes when he thinks no one is listening he calls her Iovita.”

The Jedi nodded to Satele Shan, and for a long moment they stared consideringly at Sulis.

Sulis stared back in some consternation at the two older Jedi.

What was going on?

Finally after the pause had grown too long she asked, “Please Grand Master, what was the message from Mairi? Has something happened back home?”

The Grand Master cleared her throat, “Initiate Sulis, it seems that a week ago your parents left Alderaan with two of your sisters. Apparently their intent was to bring your sisters here for training...”

“Yes, that would make sense, the twins, but a week ago...” her voice trailed off.

The Grand Master looked sadly at the young woman sitting in front of her, “I regret to say that your family did not arrive. Mairi Aurelian contacted the Jedi Council to ask what had happened because Aule promised to call her as soon as he arrived on Tython.”

Sulis felt blood drain from her face and she struggled hard to retain her composure, to reclaim the peace and tranquillity of the Jedi Code.

“Grand Master, please tell me what happened to my family?”

The male Jedi spoke and his gruff voice now held a hint of softness, of sympathy, “A week ago a Republic SIS scout ship picked up a distress call from deep space, five hours out from Alderaan. The call was brief in duration, but he was able to ascertain the bearings before the call was unaccountably terminated. He arrived at the location an hour or two after he recorded the call. He said he found nothing except floating debris which he marked on his charts as a navigation hazard. An analysis of the debris indicated that it was from a Republic vessel. He then checked Republic logs of all incoming and outgoing ships. Nothing came up as missing on that day. He then checked all logs of all outgoing ships from Alderaan. Only one left that day, pilot and destination unknown.”

Sulis said not a word, but tears began to flow.

The Grand Master rose to her feet and walked to where Sulis sat, silently grieving.

Gently she placed a hand on Sulis’ shoulder.

“Say with me the Jedi Code, Initiate Sulis...”

With tears streaming down her face Sulis intoned the familiar words, “There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is the Force.”

With her fingers, the Grand Master gently wiped away Sulis’ tears, “Remember Initiate Sulis that your mother, your father, and your two sisters are not dead, they are now at one with the Force.”

Suddenly Sulis sprang to her feet, “Little Ael, my baby sister. She lives still. She is on Alderaan. Whatever will happen to her?”

The other Jedi spoke quickly, “Is she force-sensitive?”

Sulis shook her head, “No...”

“Then she should remain with Mairi Aurelian,” the Grand Master replied. “However, with the Empire making moves on Alderaan it is best that you remain here until it is safe to return to see your sister. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure that your sister is watched and comes to no harm.”

Sulis nodded, serenity again enveloped her.

“Go now, you are excused from your duties for twenty-four hours. Take the time to meditate and make your peace with the Universe.”

Sulis nodded and turned and left the room.

The Grand Master and the other Jedi watched until she had gone, then Satele Shan returned to her seat and sat down with a sigh.

“Heavy news indeed Master Orgus Din, Aule Tanamon was a good man and a fine Jedi Knight,” she said, and then she paused and studied the older man’s face. “What are your thoughts about the girl?”

“She will bear close watching,” the Jedi Master replied carefully, “In case her mother’s worse instincts manifest.”

“She is among the top of her class,” said Satele Shan, “a natural Jedi.”

“I am not surprised with two force-sensitive parents. Although, I do not recollect a time that the Jedi Temple was gifted with a child of a Jedi and Sith.”

“It has been a long time since you have taken a Padawan, Master Orgus Din,” said Satele Shan suddenly, and a smile was in her voice.

“That is true, it has been a long time,” he agreed.

“Perhaps you should consider the girl,” mused Satele Shan, “especially given the Voss prophecy about her father and mother.”

Master Orgus Din nodded, “Yes, I will consider her, in a year or two when she has completed her training. In the meantime I will watch her, study her progress and see if she strives for the Light or the Dark.”

“Yes, we will watch her,” Satele Shan agreed, “for I see in that one great promise and potential.”

----------------

To be continued...

Part 11 – Pushing Back

-----------------

“You’re just a dirty, filthy slave and a ‘pub to boot, “sneered the boy as he pelted Shee with rocks and pebbles.

Cringing, Shee held up her arms and hands to protect her face from her attacker, most of the stones fell harmlessly aside but still, the ones that struck stung and she felt blood dripping down her arm.

“Dirty filthy ‘pub,” the boy sang out, encouraged anew by the sight of her blood.

Her face impassive, Shee refused to cry out, to let him see how much he hurt her.

“Talon! Come here son,” a voice suddenly called out, and the rain of stones ceased as the boy ran back to his father.

“Talon, that girl is not worth your time. One day you will be a proper Mandalorian hunter and you will have fit and proper prey. Do not concern yourself with a mere slave.”

“But father,” the boy whined, “I do not like how she looks at me.”

“Girl! Come here,” the voice was hard and imperious.

Turning to her tormentors, Shee steeled her face into submissive impassivity as she walked back to her master.

“Yes, Master.”

“You are not to look at my son. Your eyes should always turn to the ground.”

“Yes, Master.”

He grasped her chin cruelly and turned her face up to him, “That tattoo you have been branded with is to remind you that you are now and always ever be a slave, and a slave has no worth. Do you understand girl?”

“Yes, Master.”

He released her chin and then hit her across the face with a sudden stinging blow. His sharp ring cut her skin cruelly and blood immediately flowed from a wound that had opened up across her cheek.

“Remember that!” he laughed.

Then his eyes grew hard and he pointed to the metal slave collar about her neck, “One day I will not be so soft on you and you will know the true meaning of pain.”

Turning, he put his arm around his son’s shoulders and led him away. “Come Talon, it is time that you returned to your training.”

Silently Shee watched them go, then as soon as they were out of sight she ran as fast as she could to the most distant corner of the small estate where a spring bubbled its way out of a rock crevice to form a deep pool. Plunging her face and arms into the cold water, she gasped at the pain, but with her fingers, she scrubbed at the cuts, cleansing them until the blood stopped and clotted.

Sitting back on her heels she willed herself not to cry, for that would mean that they had won. Shee knew that the moment that they saw tears they would not stop until she was dead.

But doing so was so, so very hard.

Quickly, silently she crept away to her hiding place – a cave that she had found hidden in a rocky cliff near the spring and behind a dense thicket. At thirteen she was almost too big to squeeze through the narrow crack, but once she was inside, there was room for her to sit or move about.

It was six months to the day that she had awoken alone in a locked and unfamiliar room, her family and twin sister gone.

She had been unceremoniously told that her family was dead and that she was now a slave of the Empire, her owners, a cruel family of Mandalorians. She did not know then who these Mandalorians were, but she swiftly learned. Oh, how quickly she learned. The mother and father both doted on the boy they called Talon, and he was the cruellest of the entire family, for he went out of his way to make Shee’s life a misery.

At fourteen, Talon was big for his age, and Shee being small, slender and slight, was an easy target for his taunting. At least she comforted herself with the fact that at sixteen he would be sent away for more formal training – however, Shee was uncertain if she would live to see that day.

‘Shee,’ a whispery voice slowly intruded into her thoughts.

‘Shee,’ it came again, a little stronger this time.

Shee started to feel a little scared for the voice did not seem to come from outside but somewhere inside her little cave and she was clearly alone in her hiding place.

‘Shee...daughter...’ came the voice again.

“Papa?” Shee whispered disbelievingly.

‘Yes, daughter, I am here,’ the voice came again, stronger still.

“But you are dead?”

‘That is true, I am dead, but through the Force, I can bridge the chasm of death and come to you,’ the voice said.

Shee twisted her head around, but all she saw was darkness and a sliver of fading sunlight that shone through the crack.

“I can’t see you,” she cried.

‘Use the Force,’ said the voice of her father, ‘try hard, my daughter. Concentrate on my voice. Search within for the Light.’

“I don’t know how,” cried Shee in frustration.

‘I believe that you have your mother’s sensitivity to the Force,’ the voice said gently, ‘but you also have my strength in the Force, even though for a long time you have been unconsciously suppressing it. You need to use your emotions my daughter, I don’t know how to do it for you, but you must try. Perhaps try using your memories,' he suggested.

Closing her eyes, Shee relaxed and allowed her hidden and buried memories to finally seep out.

She remembered the new raw grief of losing her papa and mama. Then reaching back in time she remembered the halcyon days on the farm on Alderaan. Of watching Sulis sparring with her papa and uncle, she remembered too tiny Ael feeding at her mama’s breast.

Finally, painfully, reluctantly, like tearing a scab off a freshly healed wound, she remembered her twin Sul.

At that memory, her tears, for months suppressed, began to freely fall and Shee burying her head in her hands sobbed aloud with grief, hurt, separation and loneliness.

As she cried she became aware of a warm presence by her side and she opened her eyes to see the ghostly image of her father smiling sadly at her.

“Papa!” she cried out in joy and reached out to embrace him, but her arms touched nothing for he was insubstantial as mist.

‘I am a Force ghost,’ he explained gently, ‘which means that until your own death we must remain physically separate, but remember this, I will always be here with you. You will never again be alone.’

“Is Mama here too?” she asked, searching about in the darkness with her eyes.

He shook his head, “your mother has become one with the Force and has Gone On. Before our spirits were parted I promised that I would watch over you girls. I’ve tried so hard to contact you my daughter, but today has been the first time that I’ve been successful.’

“What about the others?” Shee whispered fearfully, almost afraid to ask.

‘All live,’ Aule replied, ‘I’ve watched but not contacted Sulis. She is a young woman now and is training hard to be a Jedi Knight. Soon she will be leaving Tython and will carve her own path across the galaxy.’

“Ael?”

‘Remains in the care of your Aunt, she has not yet been told about what has happened, but when she is older and better able to understand, then she will be told.’

“Sul?” whispered Shee, for the very thought of her lost twin sister was like a dagger to her heart.

The voice became grave, ‘She is on Korriban, training under the Sith. She is growing rapidly in the Force, but the way has been hard for her and I’ve not yet been able to contact her...she believes that you are dead, and her heart is growing dead and cold too. I fear that she may fall to the Darkness.’

“Oh, Sul,” sobbed Shee, “I must find her, help her.”

Aule Tanamon nodded, ‘what I am about to say to you is probably the most important thing that you will ever hear.’

Shee dried her tears with the back of her hand, leaving grubby smudges across her face, “I am listening, Papa,” she replied quietly, listening hard.

‘You must leave this place, Shee, for your sake and for your sister’s sake too. You must leave and go to Korriban and find your sister and bring her back from the precipice upon which she stands.’

“How will I do that Papa?” she asked, touching first her neck and face, “look at me. I wear the collar of a slave and I am marked as one too. I cannot leave this place.”

‘There is only one way my daughter, you must make these people...these monsters who hold you in servitude, fear you. You must learn to use the Force against them so that they will send you away forever.’

“But Papa, your Jedi code?”

‘Forget it,’ he said abruptly, ‘peace and tranquillity will not save you here. Use your emotions to fuel the Force for if you don’t, then not only will your sister fall to Darkness, you will die here at the hands of that boy Talon. The Force has revealed to me glimpses of two potential futures. One leads to your death here, the other leads to a bright and glorious life-path. Choose the latter, my daughter. But...’ and his voice trailed away for a moment, ‘take care not to also fall to the Darkness. Keep the Light inside you and bring your sister back too. It is a difficult path my daughter, but I have seen a future where it will happen.’

“Yes, Papa.”

Aule Tanamon turned his head as if he was listening.

‘Those people...those Mandalorians will be looking for you soon my daughter but I want you to return here in a day or two and I will begin your instruction in the Force. Until then my Shee, give those monsters no hint of what has transpired here. Do exactly what they tell you, but remember, one day soon you will leave here and in time things will get better for you. Keep that knowledge in your heart always.’

“I will Papa, and...I miss you so...I wish I could touch you, hug you.”

‘I wish that too my daughter, but at least we have this small contact...’

Aule turned again, his voice urging her to go, ‘quickly, they are beginning to look for you and you must not be found in this place.’

Shee scrambled to her feet and hurried back to the narrow opening. Turning she smiled and waved goodbye at the ghostly image of her father, then squeezing through, left the cave and ran back to the distant buildings of the estate.

-------------

To be continued...