Last Leg

[Vuthari]

SH-113
Ord Mantell City
Ord Mantell

The warehouse was rundown and in disrepair. All of the windows had been blackened. Natural light had not touched the duracrete floors in years. The property used to be an old mining depot, but the equipment had long since been plucked away. Trash littered the floor, except the center a circular area had been cleared out and cleaned of refuse.

These were the conditions that the Jedi Master expected. When he left the Galactic Alliance, he knew it would be a tough road and hard work…but the writing was on the wall and the Jedi within that organization would never truly understand what it meant to be a Jedi. Some had persevered despite the conditions, but he did fear for the Galactic Alliance. The whole idea of a “Council” was no council at all—it was Leah throwing her emotional weight around without regard for anyone around her…and that was dangerous. This was an endangerment to the Jedi he had been entrusted with. It was with a heavy heart that he left that organization, but the Jedi “Masters” were a failure…including him. They were all flawed to a point of ineffectual and harmful. But the examples given by the Masters were not the examples he wanted his Padawans to follow. Vu’thari was unsure if he would ever rejoin the Galactic Alliance again. He had hope…hope that there would be changes in the leadership and changes of hearts, understanding for the Jedi’s place in the galaxy—but he was not holding his breath. Such changes required much of the Jedi “Masters”, but they were laden with so much guilt, anger and stubbornness...Vu’thari was just not sure anything would ever change. It would be business as usual and they would lose more and more Jedi to the Dark Side, which meant more evacuations and nothing to build on. He truly hoped this would not be the case…

One bonus to having a small group was security. Vu’thari has always been paranoid about secrecy and security—that is what happens when you lived in the heart of enemy territory, Nar Shaddaa that was controlled by Imperial Hutta. He was not sure if that would still be the case soon…he truly hoped that their efforts in Hutt Space would case Imperial Hutta to become independent. Regardless, he would teach his padawans to adapt and blend in. He wasn’t worried about Prax or Kae’Leigh—they both grew up in Nar Shaddaa. Ayasha was now keenly aware of how to blend in—she was a quick study. However, Ayasha’s apprentices would have to learn how to operate with subtlety and guile. Vu’thari would make sure this training happened quickly.

The twi’lek left the decision up to the Jedi Knight he trained and the padawans he was responsible for if they wished to follow him down this road to producing the next generation of Jedi. They would be cut off from the Galactic Alliance, no longer having their resources…and would be completely on their own. Much to Vu’thari’s surprise, they all wanted to go with him and Ayasha, all except for Alexander. But that was a decision for Alexander and not Vu’thari…

Kae’Leigh Tameris…she was one of the first Padawans Vu’thari took under his wing. The young, twi’lek slicer had come so far in her training and mindset, but the exiled Jedi Master had to be certain of her emotional state, which fluctuated like the wind. If she could not get her emotions under control, he knew she would never pass the Jedi Knight trials. Simply more time had to be given to this, more than lightsaber training, techniques of using the Force, or her heart—all of those areas were appropriate for a well-trained Jedi Knight, but ebb and flow of her emotions were the biggest concern to Vu’thari.

The Jedi Master sat on the floor with his legs tucked under him, on his knees. His hands were resting lightly on his thighs and his eyes were closed. The twi’lek’s garb placed him as a spacer with leathers, a sidearm, a high-collar jacket and other trappings not befitting a Jedi Master. Thoughts of the past and the future raced in and out of the Jedi’s focused mind. But he slowly cleared all of those thoughts away. It was time to do what he was meant to do: train the next generation of Jedi…and train them the right way.

As his mind was emptied, he heard the door being activated and could sense the blue twi’lek enter the space…

@EmilyHuene

 

[Kae'Leigh Tameris]

A lot had changed for Kae'Leigh Tameris in the recent year of her life. First, she found a new partner in crime that she hoped would bring her in the big bucks. Then, she found out she was a Force sensitive. It ruined any plans she had of becoming some infamous pirate slicer. Instead, she found herself choosing the good side of things and deciding to become some hero. It was a total one eighty for the blue skinned Twi'lek. She never once thought in a million years she'd join up the rebel alliance and become some freedom fighter. If this Twi'lek came to the younger version of herself she wouldn't believe it.

And truthfully that's what happened. When she learned of her Force sensitivity she was given a vision of the future. She saw herself as the Jedi Knight she was today. She still couldn't believe it had happened. Just a few days ago she was a failing Padawan unsure of whether or not she wanted to stay with the Galactic Alliance or follow her mentor into exile. She had been painstaking decision and up until then she was in constant turmoil within herself. Her mentor had dropped a metaphoric bombshell on them while the rebels were evacuating the system Savereen. Go figure, as soon as she finally goes to see the faction's base they pack up and leave.

Anyways, she'd been invited near around the same time to travel with a different Jedi master to a planet called Ilum. It was a frozen tundra that Kae'Leigh had not been expecting. She'd even dressed in all her warm clothes and still felt like her lekku would fall off. But in those icy caverns Kae'Leigh had another epitome. The first was when Vu'thari took her to her home land, that she'd never set foot on previously, and started her training. In her alone time she came to the realization she did not want to be a criminal. She wanted to help people who couldn't save themselves in the way she'd wished someone had saved her and her parents when she was an infant.

This new revelation she couldn't wait to tell Vu'thari about. She'd not only gotten her Kyber crystal but had yet another vision of the future. One that would shock the pink skinned Twi'lek for sure. Soon after this life changing vision she left the cave -with some struggle- and returned to Master Luy and his Padawan. From there she was instructed to build her saber and duel with him. But the Kae'Leigh who'd come out of the cave was not the same one that went in. The version of Kae'Leigh who started this adventure had doubts, she had questions, she believed she was a failure. This new Kae'Leigh had a purpose. Suddenly everything that had once fogged the girl's mind was now clear and understood. Kae'Leigh had no problem drawing on the Force and proved herself to Master Luy that she was capable of learning their teachings.

And just like that he anointed her as a Jedi Knight. Kae'Leigh had no idea he could just do that. Wasn't that supposed to be done by Vu'thari? He was her technical master after all. Did he have that right? Maybe things were different now that time was a factor. Or maybe it was because some of the Jedi were at odds with one another due to their leaders going into exile. Either way, Kae'Leigh didn't much feel like a Knight and so she left Ilum to seek out her true master to see if she had really passed the test. She felt his aura the moment she landed on the planet. She couldn't explain why, but she knew now to stop questioning all the hows and whys. The Force could not be explained rationally. All it took was a trip to inhospitable temperatures to learn that. Still, the feeling gave her warmth that she wished she'd had back then. She had no issue with direction and headed right for her Jedi friend and ally.

The woman that would come to Vu'thari was so different he might not recognize her at first. Even looking at her face to face he'd see that she was different. She had a certain look in her eye that finally had that confidence he'd been hoping she would master. She was the first of his Padawan but the slowest to learn. Now she was here asking to be given the title of Knight. No doubts, no hearsay. She wanted the official thing. She'd set her Silver Bullet down in a far off hangar so as to not arise any suspicion, then walked the rest of the way to the abandoned warehouse Vu'thari had asked her to meet at. When she crossed through the door, she dropped her long gray cloak that had been previously hiding her identity, race, and clothing.

The woman standing before him was wearing an outfit he'd not yet seen, save for the vision they'd shared on Kashyyyk. Her pilot jacket and leather pants were gone, now replaced by a black suit that had special duraplast plates woven into it, much like his own armor. The armor zipped up in the front and came all the way down to her ankles, but not before tucking into heavy duty boots. She still wore her utility belt which was currently lacking with the additional pouches. Over her head was a simple leather headdress common to their people that wrapped around the ears and held her lekku in place. On her left shoulder was a heavier looking duraplast plate that had adorned in the leather a symbol of an eagle surrounded by some sort of angelic light. Vu'thari would recognize the body of the piece as a hawk, for Kae'Leigh's last name translated in Basic was: Lighthawk. It was the one thing she knew in her language of Ryl; she still had no one to teach her the language of her people.

So now here she was, standing just as she was then in the vision with pride in her stance, and her Brylark saber hilt resting gently on her hip. Before she'd left for Ilum, Vu'thari gave her a piece of the bark he and the Padawan he was with received on Kashyyyk; this was after Kae'Leigh fled from them. As the wood was harder than most metal, it was a difficult challenge for Kae'Leigh to mold just right. She was good with her hands and figured it out, but she had to get the tools from Dio's shop; this of course after the fact they'd told them the truth about themselves. The saber base itself was made almost entirely from the wood as a sort of sleeve. The inner parts she had to buy and collect, a few she had to make herself. Then, over the wooden hilt were blue metal brackets to assist with the grip and also hold the ignition and power output switches together in one place. The crystal on the inside -which still purred with a faint energy all its own- was blue in color; blue like Kae'Leigh.

"Hello, Master," the girl would say. Vu'thari might note this was the first time she'd actually called him that. Up until now she'd merely called him by his name and always addressed him to others -when he wasn't around- as her mentor, not her master.

With her left hand she'd reach behind her back and pull out the saber that once belonged to Vu'thari's grandfather, then offer it up to him. Kae'Leigh let the Force flow through her as she was trained to do and the saber lifted from her hand and gently over to his. There was no shakiness to it that there usually was when she tried this trick. She handled it as effectively as any other Jedi might. Controlled and steady. She then lowered her hand, and with her other, pat the newly formed one on her other hip.

"I won't be needing that one anymore."