Fic: Heart of a Jedi II

[valandhir]

And here is the second chapter.

Chapter 2 – The shards of war

“He taught me how to kill a man,
he taught me how to try,
but he forget to tell to me,
how an honest man should die.”

(James Fenton: Out of the east)

Dawn was about to begin, when Kyp was ready prepping his X-Wing for the journey. The short time that had went since his conversation with Exar Kun seemed much longer to him, mainly because of the amount of work he had covered since. He was just stuffing a small bag filled with his emergency gear into the X-Wings small compartment, when he felt an agitated presence approach. Before turning he knew who had come and tried not to scowl. “What is it, Corran?”

The Corellian Jedi stopped a few paces away. “I wanted to see for myself if it’s true.” He replied.

Kyp nodded dismissively. “It is. I am going to find a cure for Jaina, which means I am leaving here in less than an hour. Don’t even think of giving me any of the crap Jag did.”

Corran frowned. “As much as I appreciate that you are finally putting someone else first before your monstrous ego, Kyp, I can’t accept the measures you are taking. I felt that presence less than an hour ago, and contrary to others here, I do know who it was.”

Kyp shrugged. “Sorry to disappoint you, but smashing his statue with your X-Wings lasers did not kill him. There is no death, there’s the force, remember?”

“I figured as much myself. But the presence – his presence – was near you and here you are, embarking somewhere secret. Have you even stopped one moment to THINK what you are doing here?” Corran’s eyes mirrored slight anger and disgust. “No, I’d think. You just don’t care what you are doing.”

“I do care, believe me, Corran, I do.” Kyp’s voice sounded strange, serious, but cold. “And you got one thing right: the important person here’s Jaina. It doesn’t matter what happens to me, or you for that matter. It’s all about her, but that’s something which won’t fit your thick Corellian skull easily. So get off the landing pad and let me start.”

Corrans vicious reaction took Kyp by surprise, as he nearly smashed him against the X-Wing. “Now listen, Durron. To me you are a murderer, who did not deserve forgiveness. I don’t care how you justify your actions this time, or what you pretend to do, should you ever turn again, harm any person again, you’ll have to answer me.”

Nearly effortlessly Kyp slid through Corran’s grip and let him nearly stumble when he found his hands empty. “I have no time for arguing with you, Horn.” He replied rather coldly. “Take your righteousness elsewhere.” Without another word he climbed into his ship and began launch preparations.

***

Malachor V rose out of dark space like a dark, glowing spot, a beacon of death, shining across the river where all live ends. Or such thoughts crossed Kyp’s mind as his X-Wing reverted into realspace. “Whoa, slow down, Screecher, give me that data again.” He ordered his R4 as the first readings flashed across the X-Wings main monitor. Again the data scrolled along, slower this time. Kyp read it twice, still puzzled by what he saw. “Looks like the planet came apart, but how could it retain an atmosphere, when it’s all in pieces?”

Kyp looked out of the viewport, as if his eyes should convince him that the readings were right. What he saw was strange and awe-inspiring all in one. The planet of Malachor V had come apart long ago, broken in somewhat seven huge pieces and a lot of smaller ones, it still retained gravity and an atmosphere. Some power kept it where it was, creating a strange planet of junks. It holds the galaxy together. The words flashed through Kyp’s mind. He blinked, had this been his thoughts, or the disembodied voice of another Jedi? The person he had embarked to find? “Give me more readings on the planet, Screecher.” He commanded.

The second readings looked even more dire than the first ones, for between the junks of rock, masses of ships were adrift. A fleet of dead ships, trapped inside the gravity of the dead planet. Kyp began steering his ship towards that strange graveyard. The wreckage of a battle fleet, smaller craft and shreds of blasted ships, floated in the darkness of space. Sometimes one of the floating pieces would catch a beam of light from the far sun, and reflect it back towards Kyp’s ship. A small, blinking, light; shining only for a moment, than vanishing again. Like fame, Kyp mused, these lights shone only for one moment, but seen from afar enough they shone for eternity. Sometimes he asked himself if it was the same for the remaining Jedi. Had their light only shone for one brief moment, now to fade, just to be seen or remembered from afar? Kyp exhaled and let go of the morbid thoughts, as another message of his droid flashed onscreen. “Yes, I see it R4.” He replied while scanning through the lines. “Looks like General Antilles is about to annoy another Vong Warlord. It’s a little off, thanks to the force. We’ll have to be as silent as possible.” Kyp wasn’t overly nervous, for the fact that General Antilles battle group was involved in yet another skirmish with the Vong in this area, didn’t mean that this system was doomed. Not yet, General Antilles wasn’t known for losing battles after all. Determined he started his descend into the debris that went by the name Malachor V.

***

The place were he had set down his X-Wing resembled a canyon. But Kyp wasn’t fooled by it, he had landed on a massive piece of junk, stuck between two others, thus creating a creepy landscape. “You came exactly to the right place.” He suddenly heard Exar Kun’s voice through the force.

Kyp gave a snort. “I was wondering where you would be.” He said. “No ghostly appearances this time, I see.”

“I can’t come too close to this place.” He heard the faint reply. "There is a hole in the force there, can’t you feel it?”

Kyp stretched his senses in the force and suddenly became aware, that the centre of Malachor V’s gravity wasn’t visible in the force. There was nothing, a dark, ugly nothing that seemed to eat away at him.

“Careful, young one. It’s dangerous to come too close. Stay focused.”

Startled Kyp began shielding more consciously. “I am not sure what frightens me most: This hole out there, or you worrying about me.” He said aloud. It was good to hear his own voice in this creepy place.

“Why is it, that we get disgusted when a person that we hate, cares about us, young one?” was the enigmatic reply.

Kyp jumped out of his fighter, checking the area. “Last time you cared ended rather bad, Exar. So let’s skip the sentimental stuff and come to the part where you tell me what’s next.”

“Surely. I can’t stay with you for long, so listen carefully. You will follow the ravine you see descending in front of your ship. When you reach the ground, look for a broken droid, an astromech. It’s beyond repair, but it contains data you need. Reactivate the holographic core, and upload file “TRI – 89 AK” into your datapad. View it there. It contains data about the person you seek, remember the face so you can identify him. Then descend further. Somewhere down there his ship lies and his perished comrades. He died either because he never managed to return to the ship or because he found no help there. Whatever it is, go on, find him and see that he stays alive. When this day – standard time – is over, you can leave the planet with him.”

The voice had grown very faint in the end. “Hold on!” Kyp called. “You said he died, do you mean he is already dead? Will die?” His voice echoed from the rocks, but there was no answer. Kyp sighed. “So I am on my own, let’s get started.”

***

Climbing down the ravine was tricky, but Kyp had done a good deal of such hike’s on his Jedi missions, and reached the ground rather fast. It was dark here, the light of the far sun, was blocked by rocks and ship’s hulls in high orbit. Nevertheless he saw a broken droid standing between some boulders. He seemed to have escaped from a nearby cave and broken down here. Carbon scoring and scratches marked the battered surface. Kyp bent down before it, and began examining the astromech. “I’ve never seen one of your series before.” He murmured, while poking around the insides of the little droid. “You are definitely old, and no standard issue I have read about.” Eventually he found the memory core that contained the specified file. He loaded it into his datapad. “So, let’s have a look whom I am searching.”

To Kyp’s astonishment the file was a hologram. When it came to life he saw a hall, that looked very much like a council hall to him. Five humans were seated in a semicircle, three men, two women, all clad in Jedi robes. A forth one entered the picture and walked towards them. “This he is.” A voice whispered inside Kyp, while the first woman in the hologram began speaking.

“Do you know why we have called you here?”

One of the men added: “As Revan summoned you, so have you come full circle to return to the Jedi.”

The man who stood before them, Kyp estimated he would be rather tall, even as this was hard to tell in such small holograms, stood calmly at their words. His long black hair brushed his shoulders, his gaze was fixed on the five masters assembled here. “ You have called me here to answer for my crimes on Malachor V. But I came because I chose to, not because you summoned me.” His voice was deep, a rich baritone, vibrating even from the recording. Fascinated Kyp watched the events that enfolded before him.

“Why did you defy us?” the first man, an elderly master, asked. “The Jedi are guardians of the peace and have been for centuries. This call to war undermines all that we have worked for.” A jolt ran through Kyp. He had no exact idea what they spoke of, but this Jedi, the man he was seeking had went to war a long time ago. Against the will of the Jedi council it appeared.

“Is Revan your master now? Or is it the horror you wrought at Malachor that has caused you to see the truth at last?” the first woman inquired.

The man in the centre of the hall stood still. He seemed calm, yet bearing a heavy burden, that overshadowed all he did and said. But his voice was strong and resilient. “You were not at Malachor, and you will never understand. The truth is the Mandalorians had to be stopped, or countless more would have died.” His words carried so much conviction, that Kyp was on his side at once. This was right the argument he and Luke were having for years now.

“You refuse to hear us. You have shut us out, and so have shut yourself to the galaxy. We feel that your true understanding of what happened at Malachor V will only happen in time. And it cannot happen here, near the battlegrounds where you fought. You are exiled, and you are a Jedi no longer. There is one last thing. Your lightsaber. Surrender it to us.” The voices of the Jedi Masters were stern, their eyes cold, when they pronounced their sentence. Kyp saw how the exiled Jedi spun around, thrusting his lightsaber deep into the centre stone of the hall before he left. Only the five Masters remained there, talking on, after a while.

“Much defiance in that one.” The blonde on observed.

“You were correct, Kavar. When he was here I felt it. It was as if he was not there, more like an echo.” The woman said, nodding. “The war has touched the youngest of the Order. Many of them have lost themselves in battle against the Mandalorians.”

The second woman, all clad in white, spoke for the first time. “We have not lost a Jedi this day. You felt it... he has lost himself. He is no Jedi - he walked Revan's path, but he was not strong enough.” Her voice was cold, grim it seemed to Kyp that secret hate radiated from it.

“I fear it is our teachings that may have led Revan to choose the path he did.” One of the men sighed.

“We are not the ones who taught him.” The white clad woman insisted.

The other woman shook her head. “We take responsibility, Atris, not cast blame.”

“The choice of one was the choice of us all. Revan's teacher intended no harm. And Revan had many teachers since.” Master Kavar added thoughtfully.

“Yet they all stem from the same source. Her teachings violated the Jedi Code and lead all who listen to the dark side, as they did the exile.” Atris voice became even colder.

“You are wrong. The dark side is not what I sensed in the exile. Surely the rest of you felt it as well. That emptiness we felt... he has changed.” One of the other Masters sternly said.

“Whatever that wound was, it was of the dark side. We should not have let him depart. He will simply join Revan again, or perhaps worse.” The woman in white seemed grim yet arrogant, Kyp disliked her at once.

Master Kavar spoke softly, when he answered Atris: “What would you have be done with him, Atris? Be mindful of your feelings. This is not Revan who stood before you. This one walks a different path.”

Atris voice became dreamy. “Malachor V should have been his grave. You saw it in his walk, and in the Force. It was as if he was already dead.”

“No, not death. Many battles remain for that one, if what we have seen is true. But the future is a shifting thing, and he cuts like a blade through it.” Kavar’s voice grew defiant. Kyp began to suspect he defended a pupil, and exiled pupil that was.

“We should have told him the truth. A Jedi deserves to know.” The other woman sadly whispered.

“Perhaps in many years, we will call him before us and explain what happened to him and how he may be healed. Until then, he must accept his journey.”

The hologram ended in a flicker of static. It was hard for Kyp to return to present time. This short window into some distant past had fascinated him greatly. “So you went to war, and in the end they cast you out. They thought you should have died here.” He said in low tones. “Did you return here? To die?” He rose and began to climb on, down the ravine.