The Last Sith, Part Three

Welcome to Part 3 of my (so far) only foray into Star Wars fanfiction.

The disclaimers yet again:  Mara McCuniff is a a copyrighted character of Traci Briery.   Star Wars, Jedi, Sith, Yavin, Dantooine, Coruscant, Yoda, Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Mace Windu, et al, are copyrighted characters and terms owned by George Lucas, Lucasfilm, and 20th Century Fox.  I ain't gettin' no money from this, folks.

"Oh, no, Master Jeel," she said quickly. "The Force actually carries it for me; I only use my hand to guide it. See?" she said, then let go to reveal that the bag was floating. Jeel smiled and nodded.

"Clever," he said. "As you wish. But I only asked because you keep lagging behind by a few steps, and I wondered if… Oh. I see."

"What is it?"

"You were taught to keep several paces behind me, weren’t you?" he asked.

"Er…. Uh…." Mara stammered. "By tradition-" Jeel held up his hand and shook his head.

"There’s no need for that," he said. "When you’re with Master Orn, I’m sure he expects it, but you’re with me for the day. I don’t even remember half of those kinds of traditions, let alone follow them."

"But… But Master Orn…"

"With all due respect to Master Orn, for far be it for me to criticise ANYone’s training, I felt a bit.. stifled in his presence, for lack of a better term. Spent all that time trying to remember my best manners. But I’m sure he did teach you the tradition that, when in the presence of a Master Jedi, you follow his or her lead. Correct?"

"Yes, of course he did, Master Jeel," she said.

"So my ‘lead’ is that, for starters, you walk beside me," he said, and waited patiently for her to take the steps forward that would bring them side by side. "Excellent," he said. "Now we’ll be able to hear each other while walking to my ship."

"And second," he said, and reached over to snatch her bag from her hands. She was surprised, but did not reach out to take it back. "You let me carry this for you," he finished. "It’s the least I can do, since you’re the one helping me."

"It… The honour is all mine, Master Jeel," she said.

"Ah, you’re just saying that out of tradition," he said with a wink.

"Oh, no!" she said quickly. "I-I truly AM honoured to help! I enjoy repairing things! It’s my pleasure to-"

"Calm down, all is well," he said. "I was making a small joke. Don’t tell me he never allowed you to have a sense of humour?"

"Uh… Er…."

"Never mind, I think you’ve answered my question," said Jeel. "Shall we continue, then?"

Along the way Mara had to remind herself at times not to lag behind his steps. A lifetime of training was not easily dismissed by a short walk into town, but she did want to please this new Jedi Master. So far he was shaping up to be as different from Master Orn as a Jedi could possibly be, which confused her. She had always been told that a true Jedi was of the most serious disposition. Jocularity only got in the way of communicating with the Force, according to Master Orn. Perhaps this was her problem; she was not serious enough in her meditations and studies. But then, Jeel obviously had a playful side, and yet was a Jedi Master and not the eternal padawan that she wondered if she was doomed to be.

"Orn tells me that he found you on a moon of Yavin," said Jeel at one point, snapping her back to the present.

"Um… Um, yes," she said. "I don’t remember as much as he does, of course, since I was very young, but I do remember that I had no home to go to. I… don’t remember my parents."

"That’s an awful thing," said Jeel. "So you were an orphan?"

"I must have been, since I don’t remember my parents," she said. "Oh… please forgive me. I didn’t mean for that to sound disrespectful."

"It was?" said Jeel, and shrugged. "Didn’t notice it. Go on. What made him think that the Force might be strong with you?"

"I don't remember myself, but he said that he saw me playing a game of chance," she said. "We threw dice at a wall and bet on which numbers would come up.  There were some other children that accused me of cheating, and chased me for it. I don't remember if I really was cheating, and if so, how, but I remember being chased.  I was very frightened."

"You poor thing," said Jeel. "It sounds like you might have been unconsciously using the Force, then.  To move the dice in your favor, or 'see' the outcome?  The Force can manifest at a very young age, such as it did for you."

"Yes," she said. "Master Orn tells me that I was the youngest padawan that he knew of.  And... I think I was moving the dice to the numbers I wanted.  Huh!  I remember that now.  Of course, I would never use the Force to do that now."

"Don’t be too sure," said Jeel. "At times it's useful to use the Force to nudge things in our favour."

"Use the Force to cheat?" she said in apparent shock. "How could such a thing ever be justified?"

"The universe is not as black or white as you may have been trained to think," said Jeel. "There are times when… Ah, but we’ll discuss that some other time, perhaps. I’ve interrupted your story. You said that they chased you?"

"Er.. yes," she said. "There was one boy - I forget his name - who was larger than the others. He tried to hit me, but I ducked."

"As though you could sense it coming, eh?" Jeel asked with a smile.

"Yes," she said. "And... it's still very hazy, but I remember that Master Orn was suddenly there, and he sent them away.  Now I know that he used the Force to do that, but at the time I thought it was magic."

"Obviously your meeting was not by chance."

"No," said Mara, suppressing a smile. "I was afraid of him at first, though. Oh, no, I shouldn’t have said that. Please don’t tell him I said that. He’s so concerned with my controlling my feelings."

"I won’t say a word," said Jeel. "But tell me: does he have reason to be concerned?"

Mara looked over at Jeel as they walked, then looked straight ahead. "It is… difficult for me, sometimes," she said finally. "Not that I’m overwhelmed by my feelings. Far from it. But I do have them and… I think that’s what concerns Master Orn the most."

"We all are," said Jeel. "Humans are a passionate species. Our feelings can run hotter and deeper than others at times. That’s why maintaining that balance is so much more difficult for us."

"I wish it weren’t," said Mara. "But it seems so easy for Master Orn."

"Well, you’re not him," said Jeel. "And I’m not my like old master, either. Fortunately he learned to ignore my jokes."

"Yes, I noticed that you do tend to… Forgive me, Master Jeel," she said. "It’s not my place to make comments about a Jedi Master."

"Oh, and we were doing so well, too," said Jeel. "Say whatever you wish to me. And if it makes you feel better, I order you to say whatever you wish to me."

Mara looked at him in surprise, then failed to suppress a smile, and then a laugh. "You’re ordering me to speak my mind?" she giggled. "Er… yes, Master Jeel. You DO have quite a sense of humour."

"It’s my way of fighting the dark side," he said. "Evil hates jokes. Too much joy. It gives me a wide berth."

"I can see that."

"So Master Orn brought you to meet the Council, did he?" he said. "To gain their permission to be trained?"

"Hm? Oh, oh, yes, he did. I don’t remember much about it. They asked me a lot of questions and had me demonstrate things. One of the tests reminded me of the dice game. I was supposed to describe some pictures they had without seeing them."

"And obviously they approved of you." He flashed her a wide grin, which she saw, but this made her look away.

"I have served the Force and Master Orn ever since," she said. "I… do hope to face my trials soon and become a Knight. But I must first learn to communicate better with the greater Force, and to learn patience."

"If you’ve trained under Master Orn all your life, you MUST’ve learned patience," said Jeel, then was chagrined by her perplexed look. "I’m sorry," he said. "That was uncalled for. I’m sure he’s been a wonderful teacher for you."

"There’s no need to apologise, Master Jeel," she said. "It would be uncalled for me to correct you. It is true that he has been, if nothing else, very… demanding. I have tried all my life to live up to those demands. And yet he says that I’m still not ready for my trials. Oh, no, I’m doing it again. Patience, Mara, patience!"

"It’s not a bad thing to have goals," said Jeel. "Don’t worry; you’ll take your trials and pass them. I can sense a long future for you as a Jedi."

"Can you sense when I will pass them?"

"Not at the moment," said Jeel. "But it feels sooner more than later. That’s all I can sense."

"Thank you, Master Jeel," she said. "Even that is a comfort to me."

"Well, I hope you can be comforted by fixing this wreck of mine," he said. "There she is," he said, and pointed at a small, custom-built ship parked just outside of town. Mara nodded in seeming approval and followed him the rest of the way. At the airlock, Jeel punched in his code and stepped back as the door unlocked itself and moved aside to allow entry. Mara followed him inside. He set down her bag of tools against a wall and gestured at various instruments and equipment.

"Not a whole lot to it, as you can see," he said. "I bought it used, then added to it bit by bit. Other people doing most of the work, anyway. As I told your master, fixing starships is not a strength of mine."

Mara took her bag and opened it up to reveal a large collection of neatly-arranged tools and instruments. She removed her most common tools for engine repair first. "The Force willing, fixing your ship will prove to be one of my strengths," she said.

* * *

It did not take her long to spot a few possible causes for Jeel’s engine problems. She wasted no time busying herself with those repairs. Jeel made various offers of assistance and replenishments, but she politely refused them all with an earnest "Oh, no, thank you, Master Jeel" before continuing her work. Even so, he set down water for her to sip at throughout.

"How goes it?" he asked after she replaced one of the access panels to the stardrive. She held up a burned chunk of metal and wires and sighed.

"Fortunately, I can repair your ship," she said. "Unfortunately, you’ll need a new one of these, and I don’t have one. You’ll need to purchase one in town."

"Ooooo," said Jeel, biting his lip. "Is it something expensive? Uh… what is it, anyway?"

"Hm? Oh, this is a polarizer," she said. "I don’t think they cost very much."

"Well, let’s get it right now, then," said Jeel. "Is there anything else that should be replaced?"

"Um…." she said, looking back at the access panel, "Perhaps I should finish examining the rest before we go into town. See what parts are worn out."

"Excellent plan. In this it is I who am your humble servant," said Jeel with a smile and a wink. "You tell me what I need, and I’ll get it."

"Oh, no, Master Jeel, you would hardly be my humble-"

Both of their attentions were drawn to a flashing light and soft beeping on the ship’s console. "Stay where you are," said Jeel. "I’ll answer that." He switched off the communications signal and picked up the transmitter. "Jeel Kumba."

"Orn Taga," said the deep rumbling voice at the other end. "Forgive the intrusion, but I was wondering if my padawan has been able to assist you."

"Mara is here now," said Jeel, "And has been able to assist me beyond my expectations."

"Excellent," came Orn’s reply. "When will the repairs be affected?"

"I don’t know," said Jeel. "Mara?" he said, handing the comlink to her.

"Master," she said. "I think it may be a few more hours. Am I needed at home?"

"No," said Orn. "Your duty today is to assist Master Jeel. See to it that the ship is spaceworthy again."

"Of course, master."

"I’ll call again in a few hours. Out," said Orn, and the click at the other end indicated that he had already turned off his transmitter. Jeel replaced his transmitter into its holder and turned around.

"Looks like we’ll be together a while, then," he said. "I insist on repaying you for this."

"Oh, I couldn’t accept compensation," she said. "Master Orn-"

"Master Orn doesn’t need to know."

"What?? M-Master Jeel, with all due respect-"

"Calm yourself," he said, "Let me finish. I’m not asking you to disobey your master or be deceitful. But I personally don’t think it’s right to watch you do all this work and give nothing in return. I don’t see how even Master Orn could be offended if we had something to eat in town. Please at least accept that small offer of payment."

"I…" she started quietly, then took another breath, "I accept your offer," she said more forcefully. "Thank you, Master Jeel. But… If Master Orn asks me directly, I must tell him the truth."

"Of course."

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