TITLE: Dark Sacrifice  34/36

AUTHOR: Cara & Quintus

E-MAIL:  [email protected]

RATING: PG-13

CATEGORY: Pre-TPM, Jedi Apprentice, Original Characters

ARCHIVE: Yes. Please keep headers intact.

DISCLAIMER: Star Wars is the property of Lucasfilm Ltd. No copyright infringement intended, no profit is being made from this fiction. All original characters and story belong to the authors. 

FEEDBACK: Constructive feedback appreciated.

TIME FRAME:  Pre-TPM @ 1-2 years

SUMMARY:  When Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan join a diplomatic mission to the planet Sahmly II, they uncover a strange vergence in the Force, centered around a young padawan whose actions may determine far-reaching changes in the Jedi Order. Obi-Wan’s decisions about the padawan could save the boy's life, or drive him to the power of the Dark Side.

DARK SACRIFICE

By Cara & Quintus

Chapter 34

Windu was clearly irritated. He glanced at Yoda, who maintained a stony silence, but frowned and rubbed his chin with a green hand. Rancisis looked down his nose and said nothing. Yaddle appeared disconcerted by the question.

Windu finally sighed and shook his head. “Nothing. Nothing at all was achieved. If anything the boy might have learned some light saber techniques, nothing more. There is your admission. Is that what you want, Knight Yeriamman?”

“The Force didn’t stop to ask what I wanted,” Yeriamman replied, “I was a bystander who elected to care when no one else would. The failure of the Hajradurama-Dushiko bonding is on your head more than it ever will be on mine, my Masters.” Yeriamman took a deep breath. "Some good did come of it, however. I doubt Ak'ra Dushiko will ever be the same. If you intended him to learn humility, and compassion, then you have succeeded. But at what cost?" Yeriamman finished quietly.

Yeriamman looked from Windu, to Jinn, to Yoda, who rested his arms on his chair, eyes closed, frowning in intensity as if weighing the energy in the room and the words spoken, and lastly at Depa.

Depa nodded agreement, hoping to encourage Adin. The other masters present glanced at one another uneasily.

Depa cleared her throat, drawing attention to herself. “Fellow Masters, if you wish to continue to review this particular matter, I will not stand in your way,” she said, opening her hands, “however, at the expense of being argumentative, I will remind you that the Council of First Knowledge advised us not to pursue a bonding between Dushiko and Hajradurama, which really should have been enough advice and input on the matter.  They advised patience. We failed to heed that advice, and we find ourselves in a collective predicament. While perhaps irregular, Knight Yeriamman acted for the well being of a padawan, and in a backhanded way, Master Dushiko also. If you do not wish to commend Knight Yeriamman, so be it, but at least dignify established facts so that we may move on to other matters. Do not compound one mistake with another. The matter is done; let it remain done.”

Yoda opened his eyes and sighed softly. His eyes rested on Depa, who nodded, then on Yeriamman. “Decision I have made. Master you will be to Hajradurama, Knight Yeriamman. Bonded to him you are… without our approval. An impasse you have created. Resolve this, we must.”

"There is a solution, if the Council pleases," Yeriamman said.

"Enlighten us, you will."

Yeriamman nodded. “Assign Remii two masters. Myself and Master Dushiko.”

“You know the Code forbids anything but the one-student, one-master model,” Windu said tiredly, rubbing his forehead.

“Very well,” Yeriamman said. “Return Hajradurama to the Temple and see if your headache goes away, Master Windu. I can almost guarantee it will multiply threefold.” Yeriamman shook his head. “Remii is a unique child, and what worked for other padawani in the past will not work for this one. You wanted a True Healer, now you have one. The problem is how to train him, and also keep him alive long enough to do the Order some good. Your instincts were right; the boy needs to know how to survive outside the Temple, and Master Dushiko does have much to teach Remii…" Yeriamman looked around the silent Chambers. "But I feel that I may also learn much from the Weapons Master. Likewise, Remii and Dushiko silently hunger for more knowledge of Jedi lore and philosophy. It is something I can teach them, and in teaching, I will strengthen my own knowledge. It is a pairing that makes sense, however much it may go against the Code. The Code served us well for many hundreds of years… but we must look to the future.” Yeriamman paused to stare each Council member in the eyes. "I did not ask for the gift of foresight, my Masters, but I gladly serve the Council with its visions. I stand by what I foresaw. The Code will disappear, because its very use will endanger lives. Do not cling to the past at the expense of the future. Remii is bonded to both Master Dushiko and myself. It is the will of the Force. Do not make the boy choose. He has suffered enough."

Eyes blinked around the chamber. Yoda and Windu looked at each other; Windu nodded. Other masters nodded approval around the chamber, including Rancisis. It had been many centuries since the Council instituted the ‘one-padawan, one-master’ policy. It had been a rule that had not been broken in Yoda’s own considerable lifetime.

Depa hid a smile. Here is a graceful exit for the Council.

“Your opinion on this unusual arrangement, Master Jinn?” Yoda asked.

Jinn frowned in concentration. He nodded slowly. “I think it is the most elegant solution, Master Yoda. Yeriamman is correct, to make the boy choose would cause untold suffering for all involved. He has been through enough. Difficult situations call for difficult solutions. Hajradurama will learn martial discipline and weapons from Master Dushiko, and Jedi philosophy, Force-control and manipulation from Master Yeriamman. If the boy is that important to the Order, I think the Order should commit to what is admittedly an unusual instruction regimen.” Jinn looked at Yeriamman. “The Knight's actions were admirable, given the strange circumstances. I cannot fault any Jedi for obeying the will of the Force."

"Wise your words are, Master Jinn," Yoda said. "The will of the Force must guide us, therefore, master you will be, Yeriamman." Yoda closed his eyes, and his green ears swiveled slowly.

Yeriamman gave a small smile. “Remii's training will be difficult in ways that I do not think anyone expects, least of all Hajradurama. He does have heart however, which should hold him in good stead whatever the difficulties.”

“You believe he will recover then?”

“I believe it with all my heart,” Yeriamman said firmly. “I have seen a future with Remii in it, and that vision has not changed despite Sahmly Two.”

“What of the injuries inflicted by the Dark Jedi?” Rancisis asked. “You tell us his condition is exceedingly poor.”

“The Temple Healers inform me that he will recover his physical health, although those injuries will leave visible scars,” Yeriamman said, “A type of poison was inflicted by the native Sahmlian feline’s saliva and damaged the skin. As far as the impact of torture at the hands of the Dark Jedi, that remains to be seen. Remii is to be brought out of the coma Master Jinn placed him in this afternoon. Mind Healers will begin working with him immediately, as will I. As will Master Dushiko. I have faith in Remii. He will unquestionably be changed by the experience, but it will also make him stronger.”

“Keep us informed, you and Master Dushiko will, about Apprentice Hajradurama’s progress,” Yoda said, opening his eyes.

Yeriamman bowed his head to Yoda. “Yes, Master.”

“What of these Dark Jedi that you encountered on Sahmly Two,” Rancisis asked. “Were they Sith?”

“Master Yeriamman encountered these Dark Jedi personally, as did Master Dushiko,” Jinn said, deferring on the matter. “My padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi, also encountered them, however, given that he has never met Sith before, I cannot say that his insights would be particularly useful in comparison, apart from rote description.”

Rancisis nodded. “Understood. We appreciate Apprentice Kenobi’s testimony and we salute the courage and wisdom he demonstrated on Sahmly Two.”

“I will pass that message to him, Master Rancisis,” Jinn said.

Rancisis nodded. “Your opinion, Master Yeriamman?”

Yeriamman frowned. “I believe your question really is, ‘was this Dark Jedi Master a Sith Lord?’ My answer is, no, I don’t think he was. I do not have any evidence tying this Dark Master or his Apprentice to any specific Dark Side tradition. Having encountered the wraiths of several Sith Lords after securing various Sith artifacts on various worlds, my impression is that this particular Dark Master was an Itinerant. He was obviously trained somehow, somewhere, by somebody and we do know that both men are unknown to the Jedi Order. This is obviously a conundrum that will likely remain unexplained unless some additional unforeseen information presents itself. There is another conundrum I am unable to fully explain.”

“What is this conundrum you speak of?” Jinn asked, frowning.

Yeriamman turned toward Jinn. “If this was an Itinerant Master with an apprentice, his timing – his arrival on Sahmly Two and subsequent attempts to influence fighting among the Sahmlians – was unusually prescient. Why Sahmly Two? Why that particular timeframe? Neither Master nor Apprentice were from species that lived in proximity of Sahmly Two – quite the contrary actually. There are other worlds with other domestic problems and with much greater population density than Sahmly Two. If the Master were out for planetary domination – a not very difficult task for Dark Jedi – Sahmly Two still would not make an attractive target. Having eliminated this motivation, I am left with the idea that the Dark Master wanted to use Sahmly Two as a laboratory with which to train his Apprentice. This theory also seems wanting, given how competitive the relationship between Dark Masters and Apprentices can be. Nevertheless, Padawan Kenobi’s insights into the Dark Apprentice mentions that while they were roughly equal in combat abilities, the Dark Apprentice exhibited questionable decision-making and Force-control, which is a small amount of evidence supporting the ‘training theory’. We do have the Dark Master’s ship. I do not know if any further information will be found in its computer banks.”

 “Our technicians are dismantling the ship as we speak," Windu said, "There is little of use in the computer, apart from what appears to be an itinerary of stops made by the Dark Master and his Apprentice. There are also some files that are quantum-encrypted, which will be virtually impossible to decrypt. Our technicians are working on this also, but progress may take years.”

“Your points about the origins of this Dark Master and his Apprentice are well taken Master Yeriamman,” Rancisis said. “We will meditate on this issue further. You did well to dissolve the Dark Master’s spirit from Sahmly Two before returning to Coruscant. Our Agri-Corps staff will work with the Sahmlians to cleanse the Dark Vergence from their world.”

Yeriamman nodded thanks to Rancisis. Depa smiled openly.

“Enough we have discussed the matter of your apprentice, I believe,” Yoda said. “The matter is behind us. No additional business have we today. Master Yeriamman, attend me please.”

Depa rose from her seat as the other Masters made their way toward the exit. Jinn smiled, reached up and squeezed Yeriamman’s broad shoulder. Yeriamman reached for Depa’s hand and pulled her into a hug.

Depa laughed. “Congratulations, Adin, my student. Now a Master – and teacher to my nephew.”

“Remii is a good-hearted boy,” Yeriamman replied. “I think he will be a compassionate man- and a fine healer. He will certainly save many lives, this I have seen.”

Depa felt her humor disappear, replaced by immense sorrow, enough to be felt by both Jinn and Yeriamman. Depa grasped Yeriamman’s arms. “Teach Remii well, Adin. Do teach him well.”

Yeriamman nodded gravely – he knew what his master was talking about – they had seen visions of a terrible future together. “I will. You have my bond.”

Depa nodded. “We will talk later,” she said, following Rancisis out of the Council Chambers.

--Continued in Chapter 35-