Meditating in the Dark

[Jairdain]

[member="Dune Rhur"] never answered her question before the computer beeped indicating they had arrived at Ilum. Jairdain reached out through the Force to get a feel for the planet below. She knew it was a frozen, almost wasteland of a planet.

There was little life there-wild animals, nothing sentient that she could sense really. To get a more accurate idea though, she would need to get closer.

"Master Dune..."

Her voice trailed off as she tried to find the words for what she wanted to ask.

"What is expected of me here?"

 

[Dune Rhur]

"We have come so that you might construct a lightsaber," he told [member="Jairdain"] as they approached. Closer now the planet's atmosphere swirled with clouds over vast fields of snow and ice. It was glacially beautiful and seemed to shimmer in starlight.

Exactly what she'd see or find he didn't know. Not beyond the ancient Temple's remains. Still here after untold centuries and preserved by the cold. Not even Palpatine could wholly erase it though he did so the coordinates.

Yet Jedi had found the world once again so deep in the Unknown Regions. It'd taken years and the will of the Force. Whereas Jairdain and Dune had only taken mere days. Still the journey had been long.

Conversation had been sparse and short. He'd wanted this young human to spend much time meditating on her thoughts and feelings. It was crucial she be in touch with herself and the Force here. Her future might ride on this day.

Closer now he banked the craft into the upper reaches of atmosphere. Gradually they descended at a shallow angle into thick wisps of white. In a few moments they emerged into the skies of Illum. Grey skies that swirled with gentle snow falling.

 

[Jairdain]

As they got closer to the surface. Jairdain could feel how ancient this place was. The grounds of the old temple shone with a luster of power, left over from the days of the past. She could almost see what it would have looked like in her mind. As it was now, the whole are was covered in glass like ice and almost leveled to the ground.

For it being such a barren planet, there was a surprising amount of life. Anything from small creatures like squirrels to large wampas and everything in between.

"I know this will be an experience only I can go through as each one is different from what another would go through.
What was yours?"

The journey had been calming and peaceful, Jairdain was in touch with herself and Force. While she knew why she was here, she didn't know what she needed to do. The Force would guide her like it had in the past, she trusted it completely.

[member="Dune Rhur"]

 

[Dune Rhur]

The Bith considered the question for a long moment. It brought him back nearly two decades ago in his life. Things were different then and simpler. Or so it seemed when he understood less.

"There were several of us then," he said as if far away "Friends, Knights and Masters."

"One of us, she was lost briefly," Dune went on "She'd encountered a local gorgodon in the caves. I...I rashly charged in without thinking."

He smiled while remembering.

"i was lucky to not be eviscerated. It was fortunate that all it wanted was to eat. Rations were sufficient instead of us."

He was quiet as he brought the shuttle in to land. The touch down was especially soft on the snows of the world. Dune worked quickly and confidently to power down the engines. With that done he sat back and sighed.

Memories.

[member="Jairdain"]

 

[Jairdain]

The shuttle opened before her, the freezing air rushing in and it felt like it was trying to steal Jairdain's breath. She had never been anywhere that was so cold. Knowing what the elements could do here though, she prepared and wore extra layers of clothing under normal clothes. Stepping out into the frigid air, she took a deep breath. Allowing the Force to guide her steps, she picked a path through the snowy plains.

No animals approached her, but she knew they were there and they were aware of her. Even the normally hostile cats left her alone. Maybe it her aura of peace that made them not approach, like they did not want to disturb it or cause it to break.

After a long trek, Jairdain felt the call to turn. She turned and continued into some caverns. If she could see, they would have been pitch black and all natural. Any water that was there was frozen with the rest of the planet. She did not need any light, so brought none with her. Going deeper into the cavern, she felt a new sensation wash over her and a vision in her mind.

She was home again, on Eraton. Her family welcoming her home from her year of studies at the school again. They brought her inside and told her to stay with them. She was old enough now that if she didn't want to return to the school all she had to do was say and she could stay with her parents.

The day passed with Jairdain in this vision. When it started, her movements had stopped and the cave had woken up around her. Little spiders had crawled out of hidey holes sensing new prey. They had started to weave a web around her, slowly working together to bind the young Jedi on her quest. She would provide food for the spiders for a while.

In her vision, the summer holiday passed and the new school year was upon her. Wanting so much to remain with her family she needed to decide if she wanted to continue in her education or stay with them. This was the last time she saw her family alive, before she had been banished along with the rest of her class. If she stayed, would it still happen? Would her people still be alive?

Knowing what she knew now, Jairdain needed to make the decision and the train that would take her to school was going to come tomorrow. Her choice needed to be make. If she could go back in time, would she change her destiny? Climbing into her bed in the vision, Jairdain knows her answer. The next morning with tears on her face, she bids her parents goodbye, knowing this will be the last time she sees them. The Force had guided her then and there was nothing she could do to change her past. The Force will guide her now and in that she trusts fully.

Coming out of her vision, Jairdain feels like she's been bound by something. Moving her hands, she feels the webs of the many spiders on her and them crawling over her clothes. For a moment, she went into panic mode, if they had bitten her, she might not make it back. However, the spiders had not finished making her into a cocoon and when she moved they scattered away. She took several calming breaths, brushed as much of the webbing off that she could feel and continued on deeper into the cavern.

Staying way more aware now, nothing else bothered her vision and a small sliver of light in the Force guided her to a single crystal. Manipulating the stone around the crystal, Jairdain picked it out of its socket and started her trek back to the shuttle and Master [member="Dune Rhur"].

Her return journey was peaceful and gave her time to think about her vision. She knew that if she had remained with her parents, those spiders would have killed her or the cold of the planet. She would not be making this walk back or have any future in a head of her.

 

[Dune Rhur]

Dune waited that day for [member="Jairdain"] in the shuttle. This was her journey and he could not do this for her. He watched her go in silence into the swirling snows. All he could do was wait.

When she came back with the setting of the sun he felt a surprising amount of relief. He hadn't known himself to be so worried. When Dune sensed her return he waited at the foot of the boarding ramp for the young human. The biting cold wind whipped his robes but his focus was elsewhere.

He couldn't make out but her form yet he knew her to be troubled. The visions often did that to one who journeyed into the caverns. The Bith had seen it and even experienced it. The Jedi road was never easy.

 

[Jairdain]

Jairdain made her way back to the shuttle in one piece but very, very cold. Even with her extra layers of clothes, the cold of the planet had seeped in. She hoped she didn't get frost burn, but doesn't feel that she did. The day taking its toll on her, she stumbles to the foot of the ramp and next to [member="Dune Rhur"]. She reached into one of her pockets and took out the small crystal she had acquired that day. Looking up at Dune, she gave him a small smile.

"I think this is why you brought me here and..."

Her sentence left unspoken, she walked up inside the shuttle to see if she could find some hot chocolate or something warm to drink.

 

[Dune Rhur]

He saw the crystal in her hand and smiled. No words were exchanged as he followed her up the boarding ramp then sealed it against the cold. Tea was prepared by the Bith and he threw a blanket over her shoulders. She wasn't done just yet.

Dune served the tea to both of them and sat opposite her in the passenger cabin. It wasn't very spacious but it was more than enough room. The Bith let her drink some of the warming beverage before he spoke.

"You've done well but the task isn't yet complete. There is no great hurry but finish your tea, @Jairdain. there is more work to be done."

He suited his own words by sipping the beverage.

 

[Jairdain]

Sighing gratefully, Jairdain accepted the warm blanket and tea from [member="Dune Rhur"]. She remained silent for a while, still thinking about what had happened to her in the cavern below the surface of Ilum. She had asked him what happened when he came here and heard his story. Should she tell him hers or was it something to be kept to oneself?

Sipping the tea slowly, allowing it heat to warm her core, Jairdain sat back and would have looked at Dune if she could see with her eyes.

"The life of a Jedi, the work is never done is it?"

 

[Dune Rhur]

"No," he replied sympathetically "Generally not."

A Jedi had purpose to their entire lives. That meant seldom would there be time for oneself. That was the cost of one's gift with the Light. In Dune's opinion it was a price worth paying.

He slid a hand into his robes and rummaged around. A moment later he emerged with some components. The delicate electronics needed for a lightsaber. He placed them into [member="Jairdain"]'s free hand.

"You are going to need these."

He went to a cupboard built into the bulkheads and retrieved certain other components. He turned to face her and grinned.

"These too."

 

[Jairdain]

Her tea cup empty now, Jairdain moves it off to the side. [member="Dune Rhur"] placed a few small items in her hand and moved away from her. She heard him rustling around in a cupboard and when he was done, she felt some humor coming off him.

"You know I have no idea what to do with these?"

Using her hands, she ran her fingers over the different components, trying in her mind to figure out what they do. No amount of research could have prepared her for this day, but Jairdain had a clue as to what needed to be done.

 

[Dune Rhur]

"I don't expect you to," he replied "That's why I'm here."

He hadn't known exactly what he was doing close to 20 years ago. Apprentices didn't know the construction of a saber until they did it themselves. But they knew the basics and that was enough. Or so he was counting on it.

"You know the basics of your training saber. Any instructor worth their post would teach you."

What she held in her hands was little different than the parts of any lightsaber. That she couldn't see it all was of little relevance. Jedi could disassemble and reassemble their own weapon by feel.

"What you're holding is little different from what you trained with for years. Follow my instructions and listen to the Force. You will do this well."

[member="Jairdain"]

 

[Jairdain]

Jairdain set the items down on the table and took from Dune the others he offered her. Again she ran her fingers over them to see what they looked like. These too she set on the table in front of her and folded her hands in her lap. For a moment, she just gazed at them through the Force and turned her attention to Dune.

"I think I'm ready, Master Dune."

Again focusing on the puzzle of what would become her lightsaber, she waited for him to continue.

[member="Dune Rhur"]

 

[Dune Rhur]

He began to guide her through the assembly. It was slower-going without sight and yet it still happened. Touch and the Force could and would make it occur. There was a very simple logic to the way it was done.

Everything flowed together almost organically. Perhaps it was organic given that one needed to tap into the Force. To not do so would be to make a poor imitation. The energies were crucial in the process as he reiterated this to @Jairdain.

"You can feel how I have laid out the components," he went on "Feel through the Force too."

 

[Jairdain]

[member="Dune Rhur"] deftly laid out the pieces Jairdain would be using to construct her lightsaber. Her first and hopefully last as she didn't want to come to this planet again if she didn't have to. When he was done, he told her to feel how he had laid out the components. With both her hands and the Force.

So as not to misalign the items, she reached out to feel each piece and it's placement on the table. Some items were obvious in their use, but others not so much and all the little electronics just boggled her.

She pointed to the ones she knew the use for and raised her eyebrows at the other.

"I'm not sure where to start."

 

[Dune Rhur]

"Then start at the beginning, [member="Jairdain"]," he told her as if it were a riddle.

He took her hands carefully in his own and placed them at the pommel. With that he explained the role of each piece in succession. Each time he bade her to move her hands along the components. She would come to know them well in the years to come.

At the crystal he had her stop.

"The crystal is the heart of the blade. The heart is the crystal of the Jedi. The Jedi is the crystal of the Force. The Force is the blade of the heart. All are intertwined: the crystal, the blade, the Jedi. You are one."

The mantra was very old. Masters had told this to their students and their students became Masters to repeat it. Dune told her this and instructed her to repeat it in her mind. It would focus her thoughts for the task.

"Now centre yourself, reach out and touch the blade with both Force and hand. See it in your mind's eye. Know it is happening and let the Light guide you."

 

[Jairdain]

[member="Dune Rhur"] took the time to explain what each part did that was in front of her on the table. Allowing her more time to feel each one. To connect both physically and through the Force with them. This blade was going to belong to Jairdain and only to her. When they came to the crystal, the life of it gently pulsing in her hand he stopped her. She heard him speak, coming from deep within him, a mantra probably just as old as the Jedi code.

Any doubts Jairdain might have had were gone now. She followed Dune's instructions and calmed her mind, allowing the Force to flow naturally, guiding her as she reached out to place the items together to make her hilt.

The little electronics went in with the power source, connecting to the activation switch which fit into the pommel. A small wire like cage attached to the end of the silver tube and into that the crystal locked into place. Once Jairdain felt it to be complete, she looked at her finished lightsaber and then at Dune with a half a smile.

"It is done."

Her voice was clearly starting to show the strain of the day, but with the support of the Force, Jairdain felt energized and not at all worn out.

 

[Dune Rhur]

Dune watched the Force encompass [member="Jairdain"] and her lightsaber. Her hands fed the energies into the crystal as she worked in silence. It took time as the young woman carefully assembled the pieces. Faint clicks were audible as they went into place.

He nodded his approval. There was but one more thing.

"Kneel, Jairdain," he told her with sudden sternness. The Bith rose to his feet and unhooked his own lightsaber. He waited with his expression neutral. As if a judgement were to be passed....

 

[Jairdain]

Setting her new lightsaber down on the table, Jairdain rose and then kneeled when [member="Dune Rhur"] requested her to do so. She pulled the bottom up slightly so when her knees settled on the bulkhead, no clothing was under them that might interfere when she went to stand up again.

While she was unsure of what was going to happen, Jairdain trusted in both Dune and Force, nothing was going to harm her.

The neutrality coming off Dune was odd, but she made no comment on it and waited on her knees for what he was going to do.

 

[Dune Rhur]

He cast his gaze down on her as if a judge. To someone who knew Dune his expression would be unrecognizable. He studied [member="Jairdain"] without a word for several long moments. The Bith's large, dark eyes appeared to look inward and much as out.

At last he nodded. The decision had been made. He lit his lightsaber and raised it in a single hand as if to strike. The Bith brought it down.....

And he stopped the momentum two centimeters from her left shoulder.

"By the right of a Master," the Bith began the ages old formula "By the will of the Force."

He brought the azure blade across to her right shoulder.

"I name you Jedi, Knight of the Dominion."

Dune let the blade linger a moment before he pulled it up.

"Rise, Jedi Jairdain Ismet."