Jedi Rising... (ATTN: Ava, but AW)

They say the force surrounds and penetrates all things. They say that indeed, it binds the galaxy together. On a smaller scale, it is often said that among those strong in the force, the jedi, connections often form between master and student, connections that amount to a near-physical bond... Maybe... Maybe that's why I was warned off when almost everyone else was led into the trap... Maybe that's why I survived when almost every other jedi was killed.

My name is Meric, jedi knight of the planet Togoria, and this is my story...

How I came to be where I am is a very long and a very involved story, so I will summarize it for you. I was born on the planet of Togoria, a planet of cat people ((Yes. It's an actual planet in the Star Wars universe. XD) with a matriarchal society. Unfortunately, my parents fled not a week later as a civil war threatened to engulf the planet.

The transport vessel they fled on was damaged in an ion storm and crashlanded on the wookie homeworld of Kashyyyk (Cash-ick). The wookies, being naturally distrustful of outsiders sent a party to investigate, and there the found me, cradled in my dead mother's arms. I wasn't unscatched, with a single cut across my forehead, but otherwise I was unhurt. SHe on the other hand... Let's just say it wasn't pretty.

The leader of the party, the wookie Zaalbar decided to adopt me as his own (Since he and his lifemate had never been able to have children oftheir own). He took me home to his village of Rowookrorrow, and there I grew.

I grew up alongside other wookies and always thought of myself as one of them. They had a great respect for nature and legends say that in the past, they had been able to speak with the trees and plants of their world. Now, that communion was all but forgotten.

Even so, I loved nature and so I would often spend time by myself, away from the village.... Not very smart considering how dangerous our world was. But... There was something else about me, something that set me apart from the wookies in more ways than just my appearance. I seemed to commune with nature far better than my peers, and sometimes... In the night, I could hear whispers among the trees, and in time, I learned to whisper back.

It was this... Communion which caught the attention of the jedi council. Several jedi, with Jedi Masters Mace Windu and Yoda among them, travelled to Kashyyyk to test me. When they felt the strength of the force within me, they asked my adoptive mother to allow me to travel with them to Coruscant to train in the jedi arts.

She was reluctant at first. Wookie families develope very strong ties with individuals in them, but Master Windu finally convinced her...

And so I began my training. I trained alongside the younglings first at Master Yoda's instruction. Then, when I was old enough, Mace Windu took me on as his padawan, or apprentice. I trained alongside Anakin Skywalker, who became a close friend of mine, perhaps because he too was so different from the others. (Never before had a togorian been considered for jedi training, let alone a native of Kashyyyk.)...

It seemed like everything would turn out just fine for all of us... And then came the Clone Wars.

The devastation was terrible; The deaths too numerous to count. No planet escaped the destruction as the clone armies of the Republic fought the seperatist droid armies. Even Anakin, powerful as he was, lost an arm in the first battle of the war.

And it wasn't long before the war reached Kashyyyk as well... Three years after the fighting began, the war had reached its peak. My homeworld was in danger. Master Yoda decided to lead a batallion of clone troops to Kashyyyk to push back the droid armies.

As he left the council chambers, I intercepted him. I asked him to allow me to go along.
"Far too dangerous for you, this will be." Master Yoda had replied, "Experience, needed is."
"But Master Yoda..." I begged, "Kashyyyk is my homeworld! I have to defend it. And besides, I know it better than any of the other jedi. Please... Let me help."
Yoda was reluctant, but eventually agreed. And so that is where we found ourselves.

The battle seemed to be going well, with the wookie leaders Taarful and Chewbacca leading the charge against the droids. And then I felt it... It wasn't anything I could explain. In my time as Master Windu's apprentice, a bond had developed between us, seeming to link us across the galaxy, a bond in the force.

I didn't know what it was, but suddenly pain coursed through my body. It felt electrical... sharp... And then... Nothing. I didn't know how... But I realized Master Windu was gone. He had become one with the force.

It wasn't long after that Master Yoda began to cringe. He had trained so many jedi and established so many bonds. He could feel their pain and suffering as across the galaxy they were slaughtered. I ran toward him, attempting to aide him when I heard it, "Execute Order66."

Two clones strode toward Yoda with guns raised. He seemed to be offguard. But right at the last moment he lept into the air, activating his lightsaber and decapitating them. The wookies, shocked at what was happening, rushed him off, and I followed...
---

As I rushed back toward Coruscant in the small ship Yoda and I had taken to Kashyyyk, questions whirled through my mind. What was going on? How could it be so many jedi were being slaughtered? Something had gone terribly wrong.

I switched on all radio frequencies to try and contact someone, anyone, to make sense of all this. And then I received the signal ordering all Jedi back to the temple. I was about to head that way when I heard something.

"Meric..." It was a voice.
Trying to ignore it, I travelled on.

"Meric... Listen to me!" It sounded familiar.
"Meric... Run! Hide... You cannot help now."

I looked around, "Master Windu?"

"The Jedi are being slaughtered Meric. Your destiny lies along a different path, and the galaxy will need you before the end. You must hide."

And that was the last time I ever heard my master's voice.

---
To make a long story short, I went into exile, watching as the galaxy around me was transformed by the empire and its leaders, the emperor Palpatine, also known now as Darth Sidious, and his apprentice... My former friend, Anakin... Darth Vader.

But the reign of the empire was never a truly peaceful one. Rebel armies arose, small and and lacking experience though they were... There were three of the largest ones which formed the rebel alliance, led by: Mon Mothma, General Garm Bell Iblis, and Bail Organa of Alderaan.

I enlisted in this alliance as a soldier and pilot. I fought alongside human and alien, determined that the sith would never have full rull of the galaxy.... But it seemed our efforts were doomed to faliure. THen... Then Luke Skywalker, the previously unknown son of my former friend entered the picture... And the rest, of course, is history....

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PRESENT DAY:
The victory celebration on Endor seemed to last for an eternity, rather than hours. Meric stood alongside his fellow rebels, beaming with pride. It was done... Finally... The sith were destroyed and he knew his fellow jedi could rest in peace... But he still could not.

He turned away from the campfires and ewok huts, away from the laughter and cheering and singing, journeying instead into the secluded darkness of Endor's thick jungle.

The starlight that broke the through the forest canopy illuminated his figure as he walked slowly along. His gold fur was wet with perspiration. His snowy mane he tied behind his head in a ponytail.

Meric wore simple clothing, a brown vest that let show his muscular abdomen, and a pair of similarly colored workpants covered his lower half. He wore no shoes, since the pads of his feet were naturally leathery. In a concealed pouch on his back, he carried his most prized posessions, his lightsabers.

The forest sounds comforted him as he thought of his homeworld. He knew that it would take time, but the wookies of Kashyyyk would soon be free from their slavery. The New Republic that was to be established would treat them all fairly.

Meric looked about. He could smell the perfumes of dozens of exotic plants. He could hear the whispers of the trees and the calls of nocturnal animals. He could feel the wind brushing across his face.

His thoughts turned to what now... The Jedi were gone. With Luke Skywalker, he was the last. But.. Despite what Grand Moff Tarkin had once said, the jedi flame had not gone out of the universe. No... He and Luke would not be alone for long. "As long as one jedi remains in the galaxy." he muttered to himself, "There will be more."

A rustling behind him caught his attention. It seemed to be emanating from the path back toward the village. He turned around, grabbing a single lightsaber in his right hand, "Who's there?!"

Over and over. That's how it went. Over and over, like a broken holo-projector. The memories. The sounds. The thoughts. Stuck in a loop, forever turning.

She'd watched her mother die, had begged and pleaded to go back for her, but the rush of bodies had carried her along. Her last glimpse had been of her mother's outstretched hand before a portion of the icy wall had crumbled behind them, entombing the woman forever.

From Hoth, she'd been lifeless, lost. No one among the rebels paid attention to her. Why should they? She was some punk Corillian kid, parentless and alone. Besides, what would they have known if they had found out about her father?

A Captain in the Emperor's deadly military force. A man of name and rank on the second Death Star. One that had no need of a daughter, no need of a wife. Still, she's sought him, hoping either to reconcile or be able to close out that chapter of her life.

On board a Mon Calamari vessel, she's hidden, terrified. When the ship had begun to rock under the barrage of weapon fire, she'd run, trying to seek shelter, to seek reassurance. At one point, a portion of the bulkhead had exploded, metal shrapnel cutting deeply into her left shoulder blade, leaving her weak with pain and fear. Yet, somehow, she'd managed to find her way to an observation window.

Just in time to see the end.

With a brilliant flash, the Death Star was gone. And her father with it.

Somehow, in her heart and soul, she knew that he was gone, just as her mother was. She felt it. Bloody, weak, full of unholy rage, she made her way to one of the transport vessels leaving for Endor. She wanted out, off, away.

She wanted to understand.
---

Running a shaky hand through her short, unkempt dark red hair, she made her way through the trees. Her left arm hung limply, almost unusable, in the makeshift sling she'd made of her sleeve.

The trees offered no refuge. They only served to amplify the sounds of revelry from the village, to reflect the firelight into her eyes. Besides, she needed medical attention. Soon. She'd have to go back, loathe as she was to do so.

Stepping out onto the path, she stumbled over an outstretched root, falling to her knees at the edge of the trees.

"Who's there?!" a voice called in the dark.

Panic swept her mind briefly as she yanked a blaster from her hip with her right hand, not moving from her position on the ground.

"I could ask the same thing," she called back, pointing into the darkness.

Meric did not answer right away. Instead, his feline eyes took in the image of the girl for a moment. She appeared frail, as if this war had taken as much a toll on her as the rest, if not moreso due to her youth. Yet the Togorian jedi also sensed something in her. There was a power in her, hidden by all of her anger and sadness though it was.

He stepped into the light so that she could see him. "Do you fear me, young human?" he asked. He stretched out his free hand toward her, and in an instant the blaster was torn from her grip. As if pulled by a tractor beam it gracefully floated to his hand. "Do not let fear control your actions, young human," he warned, "and never point a blaster where you do not intend to shoot."

He opened his hand again so that the blaster merely laid in his palm. As he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, the blaster seemed to float right back to the girl, as graceful as before, though this time it was more like it was carried along by a soft wind current, not pulled. It landed with a soft clatter in front of her knees.

She let out a sharp cry, part protest and part fear, when the blaster was ripped from her without even being touched. The feline's features were cut in shadows and waves from her vantage point, casting dreadful images in her mind. But his voice belied an inner calm that she could only ever dream of knowing.

The blaster clattered to the hard ground, bringing her out of her reverie. A look of disgust crossed her features as she looked down at it, clearly trying to decide whether or not she would pick it up again.

"I had every intention of shooting you," she snapped, forcing herself to her feet and kicking the blaster away. "And don't call me 'human' like that. It sounds derogatory. I have a name."

She forced her head up, glaring through vivid green eyes at the creature standing before her. Inside, though, her reserves were failing her.

He did not seem offended in the least by her claim. He'd been shot at, and worse, by foes far more skilled than this poor urchin. Besides, she didn't really seem hostile at all. He could sense her fear, her pain. He could sense the rage she held buried so deeply within herself. She had suffered heavy loss, like many of the rebels.

He reached back behind his back and slid his lightsaber back into its pouch. "Forgive me, for that certainly was not my intent." he said, offering a slight bow, "I am Meric, son of Zaalbar, Jedi Knight of Kashyyyk. To whom have I the honor of speaking?"

To whom indeed. Surely she was the child of jedi, or at least Force sensitives. Although all creatures and living things exhibited some kind of connection to the Force, not all of these had a strong enough connection to manipulate it, to hear it speaking to them. Those who possessed innate talent but no training had been defined by the Jedi as "Force sensitive." Meric felt sure this was true of the girl. The power he felt in her was one he had not felt in a very long time, at least not when he was outside the company of his friend, Luke.

"Kalshyyk?" she said, puzzled. "But you're not..."

She stopped herself sharply. She'd settle her curiosity later. For now, she needed help. Taking a breath, she moved onto the path, locking her knees in an effort to stay upright.

"Avadedra... Hetarra. Daughter of Atdana Hetarra, of Corilia. I've got no title, so speaking of 'honor' is laughable."

She eyed his clothing, eyes tracing what little of his figure she could see in the darkness.

"Jedi, huh? You lot are less impressive in real life."

A sharp pain in her left shoulder stole her breath, leaving her gasping and grasping at her wounded arm.

Meric raised an eyebrow. The girl was a Corellian? That explained a bit of her attitude anyway. The people of Corellia were well-known for their oft roguish behaviors. The jedi had experienced this first-hand in his dealings with General Han Solo, though these were brief. Coming from this girl though, it was rather humorous.

He was about to respond to her quick, although not as one might expect. However, her gasp and grasping at her arm interrupted him.

Although he wondered what had happened to her, he would figure that out later. For now, he stepped toward her. "Here... let me help you." He knelt down onto one knee so that he was at her level (For you must realize that he was taller than the average human... at least half a meter taller.). Closing his eyes, he reached out toward her and placed a hand on her shoulder. His healing skills were not his strong point, but he could at least soothe her pain for now. Proper medical care would have to be administered at the medical freighter that still hovered over the forest moon.

He closed his eyes and stretched out with the Force. In his mind's eye he felt as if he was exploring inside the girl's arm as so many had often explored the vast reaches of the Galaxy, finding pain centers and cutting the signal from her brain to those points. The arm would soon feel numb, but the effect was only temporary.

Her first instinct was to pull away, to remove herself from this creature that she knew nothing about, but the hand on her wounded shoulder was tender, caring. Her second instinct was to lean into the touch a little, to draw the comfort that it was offering.

"What-?" she said as her arm began to tingle slightly before the pain ebbed. "What are you doing?"

She pulled away from him, running her right hand through the dry blood on her shoulder. Her left arm was now numb from the fingertips up.

"What did you do?" she demanded, backing away, glaring at Meric.

Meric didn't flinch when she pulled away. Instead, he stood up and brushed the dust from his trousers, seeming hardly phased by her reaction. "I've used the Force to cut the signal from your brain to the pain centers in your arms." he explained, "In lesser terms, I've numbed the pain. However, the effect is temporary. It should last until we can get you to the Medical Freighter and have one of the med-droids look at it."

Although his tone was soft, it didn't leave any room for argument. She needed attention to her arms, and even with full bacta emersion (a treatment which she would likely detest), it was unlikely the damage to her arm would ever fully be repaired. Unfortunately, he could not tell for sure.

For the moment, he turned and walked back toward the gathering. There would be a Lambda-class Imperial shuttle nearby that would allow them to leave the Forest Moon. His feline eyes contracted as the fire's light came into view. It looked as if a few Rebels were still lingering, but the majority had probably returned to the Capital Ships for the night.

Avadedra watched him get up and walk away. Force? Wait, that was familiar. Where had she...? Her mother. Atdana had told her stories about the Jedi Knights and all their exploits.

"Hey, wait!" she called, forcing her legs to move as she stumbled after.

Now that he'd found her, there was no way she was letting him out of her sight.

"Master Meric! Wait for me! I don't even like med-droids! Does it have to be a droid?"

Meric stopped to allow the girl a chance to catch up. He found it amusing how she could go from a hostile Corellian to a scared little girl in a matter of moments. Clearly, she would need to learn to control her emotions. However, that could come in time.

"It does not." he said once she reached him, and then he continued on, keeping a pace slow enough that she could keep up. "There are a number of rebel doctors onboard the medical frigate, former imperial medics some of them. The Empire had as much an anti-droid bias as it had an anti-alien bias."

Of course, never having lived directly under the empire's control, such biases had never affected him. However, he'd seen what happened to others, like the Wookies on his homeworld. During his exploits for the rebellion, he had seen Wookies chained, beaten, killed or "put down" as the Empire preferred to call it, and he'd seen worse than that.

It was when he thought of these abuses that the Jedi Knight found it hard to not give in to his anger. A part of him thought it would be worth it to fall, if only it meant destroying those who committed such atrocities. However, another part knew better, knew that though he might fall with the best of intentions, he would become that which he despised most, that against which he had sworn to stand.

He broke from his reverie as he and Avadedra reached the shuttle. The Lambda-class shuttle sat quietly, like a hulking predator that waited for its prey. Its port and starboard wings were in a folded position, standing straight up along with the ventral maneuvering fin. The body of the shuttle was roughly square-shaped but for a semi-triangular cockpit that jutted out in front. The boarding ramp was lowered, causing the ship to look as though it was ready to swallow whatever came along. Without hesitating, Meric stepped up the ramp and into the interior of the shuttle.

Avadedra followed, staggering slightly from time to time. She followed him around the crowded village, the bright firelight assaulting her eyes.

"I've seen what droids can do when their programming goes crazy," she said, keeping her head down, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other. "It's never pretty."

Moving up the small incline into the shuttle, she finally lost her balance. Slumping sideways, she let out a small sound of disbelief when the soft light from inside the shuttle settled across her arm. The skin was a pale and caked with blood. The pain was starting to rise in it again, making her vision swim. She could only imagine the amount of damage that had been done, but as the bulkhead had struck her in the back, she would never be able to see it.

"M-master Meric," she said. "Please... help me..."

Sensing the fear and pain that suddenly began to lance through the girl, Meric trotted back down the ramp. He took her gently in his arms, cradling her like a baby, and carried her into the cockpit.

Although the shuttle appeared bulky to the outside observer, most of the interior was taken up by the cargo hold. Unfortunately, there had been no time to take the luxury of turning the cargo hold into sleeping quarters, so any sleeping had to be done in the dimly-lit cockpit. The cockpit itself had absolutely no lights within except for the various buttons on the forward control panel and the running lights throughout. The transparisteel canopy was tinted, but it allowed a fair view of the outskirts of the Ewok village.

Meric sat the girl in the co-pilot's chair and fastened her crash webbing. "Try to calm yourself." he said softly, taking his own seat, "Close your eyes... Take a deep breath... Let the pain flow out of you." It would be a minor test, one which would let him determine if she had sufficient skill...

In the meantime, he continued the pre-flight sequence he had begun before her cry for help. Within a few minutes, the roar of repulsorlift egines filled the forest. The small shuttle lifted from the ground. As it rose higher into the air, the two side fins tilted downward, appearing almost like wings on some avian creature, or the fins of a fish. As soon as the craft had climbed high enough above the treetops, Meric switched to the craft's ion engines, and the two rocketed through the Forest Moon's atmosphere, soon entering orbit around Endor. It was here that the rebel fleet waited, as well as the remains of the imperial fleet.

She tried to concentrate on Meric's words, letting her eyes slide closed as she melted back against the seat. Turning inward, she tried to still her mind, to think past the pain. The nerve endings around her wound were screaming now, the pain rising again. Tears leapt to her eyes as she tried harder, sinking farther into her mind.

"Breathe... breathe... breathe..."

The calm, steady voice of her mother drifted into her mind. Avadedra bit back a sob, tears sliding from beneath her closed lids. She cradled her wounded arm closer to her stomach as the shuttle rumbled to life and lifted away from the ground. She felt the changing altitude, noticed every shake and tremble the old shuttle adjusted, the wing fins opening to greet the expanse of space beyond the atmosphere.

Her mother's mantra resounded in her ears as her body relaxed little by little. Her battered and weary spirit found a moment's respite, and the rest of her seemed to follow along. The pain in her arm faded slightly, no longer making her head rattle and pound.

Releasing a pent up breath, she opened her eyes. All around the small shuttle, debris floated like discarded and broken toys. Ahead, the Rebel Fleet was gathered, ships with blast marks and holes in their hulls. Imperial vessels were nearby, no doubt occupied by Rebel forces now. As the Mon Calimarie vessels grew larger through the cockpit windows, Avadedra suddenly felt very small and insignificant in the scheme of things. Tears threatened again, but she choked them back.

There would be time for that weakness later. For now, she had to hope that she didn't lose her arm for good.

Although Meric's greatest skills had to do with living things, plants in particular, he was, like most jedi, a more-than-competent pilot. Cooly and easily he guided the craft toward the medical freighter.

The medical freighter was actually an old Nebulon-B frigate, modified extensively so become a field hospital for the alliance. It was not, to say the least, the most beautiful of the rebel ships. Designed by Kuat Drive Yards for the empire, Nebulon-B frigates were designed for effiency, not for aesthetic comfort. The front section resembled a large T with various blisters and small branches along its sides for extra water, communications, main sensors, and the bridge, as well as a small set of turbo-lasers for encounters with starfighters (TIE-fighters in particular). The upper after portion of the T contained the surgery bay where Luke Skywalker had received his prosthetic limb. Connected to the main command section by a long tube, the drive section was the second significant portion of the ship. In addition to containing the ship's deflector shield generator, the rear drive section was also home to the engineering area, the main power generator, and the ships seven massive ion engine.

Ignoring all this, Meric piloted the shuttle toward the freighter's mid-section. A small docking tube near the command section would allow him to dock with the freighter in spite of not having a docking ring.

Even while the ship was in transit, Meric kept one eye on Avadedra. At seeing her successfully complete his test, he allowed a smile to slide across his muzzle. However, he quickly turned his head so that she would not see.

Soon, they had reached the docking tube. Meric adjusted the shuttle so that it easily slid into place under the docking tube. A metalic clang told him that the tube had attatched to the shuttle's top hatch. "You did well, Avadedra." he said, getting up from his seat, "It seems you have talents that even you do not know."

The girl struggled to free herself from the seat and climbed to her feet, gripping it tightly to keep her balance. Looking up, she offered Meric a small smile, her eyes glassy with pain and exhaustion.

"You know," she managed, moving back toward the cargo hold carefully, "since it seems that you'll be around for a while, you can drop the formality. Everyone calls me Ava, anyway. It's just easier I guess."

The cargo hold may as well have covered the expanse of the entire galaxy for all Ava could have cared. She lowered her head, concentrating on placing one foot in front of the other toward the lift. She sensed Meric nearby, and she got the itching suspicion that he was watching her. Torn between breaking down and sobbing like a child, and living up to her reputation as a fierce independent, she forced herself forward, the simple movements draining the last of her reserves.

"If I live through this, I never want to see the bulkhead of another Mon Calamari ship," she groaned. "Ever!"

Meric chuckled softly. He had to admit even to himself his amazement that she could maintain a sense of humor even with whatever danger she was in. "You might be surprised." he told her, "Now that the emperor is dead, the Mon Calamari can begin converting some of their cruisers back into luxury liners, and you just may want to fly on one of those." It was true. The Mon Calamari were a natural peaceful people. Their powerful cruisers had originally been glorious passanger liners used for taking passengers on tours of the galaxy. It had been the empire's invasion of their world that had necessitated the cruisers' conversion into the formidable weapons of war that they were.

Soon the two had reached the lift. It resembled a long cylinder with half concealed by the shuttle's wall. A single white doo slid back when Meric and Ava approached. The chamber inside was mostly hollow except for a small control panel which sat in a recess in the wall. As soon as Ava had entered, Meric pressed a few buttons on the glowing panel. The airlock slid shut behind them and the above hatch opened. Soon, the lift rose, taking them into the heart of the Nebulon-B frigate.

The walls of the frigate were, like many military vessels, bleached white, while the floors were a combination of white panels with black strips running along either side. Rectangular panels along the walls concealed storage spaces for various bits of equipment. Somehow though, the frigate felt sterile to Meric, more lifeless than any other starship on which he'd travelled. It was a very uncomfortable feeling.

As they made their way toward the medical bay, Meric's eyes swept back and forth. There were a few human and alien doctors and crewmembers wandering the halls, performing various duties. However, as late as it was, the majority of those they passed were long, cylindrical cleaning droids, as well as a small assortment of boxy mouse droids that were no higher than the bottom of the Togorian jedi's ankle.

Ava melted against the right side wall the moment she was out of the lift. Leaning heavily upon it, she followed Meric down the corridor, shying away from some of the droids they came across. The pain in her arm was reaching blinding levels again, but she sought to quell it, to fight it back into the furthest reaches of her conciousness. If she collapsed now, she's never get back up.

The air in the frigate felt thick, rattling in and out of her body in short pants. Her clothing clung to her like a second skin, caked in sweat, mud, and blood.

"Right... left... right... left..."

"Mom..." she whispered, keeping her eyes focused on Meric's broad shoulders.

She stopped, her last ounce of reserves failing her. Turning, she pressed her back to the wall and let her eyes slide closed. Her knees buckled and she slid down the wall, folding herself protectively over her wounded arm. The strength seemed to be ebbing from her entire body, and she let herself go with it.

Meric tried to hurry her along as fast as he could without pressing her too much. Even though time was of the essence, too much exertion would make things even worse on her. Even as the med-bay came nearer he kept an eye on her. She seemed to be slowing down.

Then, all at once, it happened. She muttered something he could barely hear and then slumped. At once, panic raced through him. He closed his eyes just long enough to use a Jedi calming technique and shunt it aside. Reacting in fear would not help Ava now. He knelt down before her and placed a hand on her head, closing his eyes. He could feel her, but her life was draining away quickly. "Hang on, Avadedra" he thought.

He gently scooped her up in his arms again and carried her quickly toward the medbay. The clear transparisteel doors slid aside as he approached, only returning to place after he had passed through the entryway.

The feeling of the medbay was even more sterile than the rest of the ship, but here at least Meric could feel the lingering energies of those who had been in this room. Their echos rippled through the Force just as a ripple spreads through a pond when a stone is dropped into it. The ripples linger even after the rock is gone. A few injured rebels lay on bio-beds along the walls of the chamber. Screens above their heads displayed their status for medical officers, although med-droids would normally use their own scanners for diagnosis. A few of these droids stood nearby, monitoring displays, conducting tests, checking on the patients.

Without a word, Meric took Avadedra over to one of the bio-beds and laid her gently on its smooth surface. A moment later, a bi-pedal medical droid trundled over to assist. "Allow me please." it said in a deep, mechanical voice.

The droid was 2-1B, the very same droid that had taken care of Luke Skywalker's hand prosthesis. Its shape resembled that of a human with thin, pipe-like appendages.. Its feet had been manufactured relatively large, however, for stability. The lower half of his torso was covered by reinforced transparisteel, while his upper half was manufactured from some other metal, the exact designation of which Meric was unsure. Numberous liquid-carrying tubes ran throughout the droid's body, carrying medications if patients needed them. His face was skull-like, and his eyes looked rather like glowing radiation hazard symbols.

Meric bit his lip. Avadedra needed medical attention now, but he didn't want to go against her wishes. "No, thankyou 2-1B." he answered, "She has requested a humanoid doctor."

"But sir, if she does not receive immediate attention, she will not survive." was the droid's response.

Meric nodded. He knew it well. "I would like to honor her wishes even so." he answered.

The droid went silent for a moment. Meric wondered if he had been deactivated, but a moment later, 2-1B spoke again, "Doctor Bindo is on his way."

Meric raised a brow. Bindo... He'd heard that name before... Where... And then it hit him. Jolee Bindo had been a member of the old Jedi order, over four thousand years before the fall of the Republic. Could his name really have survived so long?

Within moments, a dark-skinned man with short, curly black hair and a goatee stepped into the room. "Spitting image of old Jolee himself." Meric thought. The doctor moved over to where the Jedi and the girl stood. "Sir, this is the patient." 2-1B announced in his unemotional way. He raised an appendage to point to Avadedra.

Not saying a word, the doctor bent down. "She should have gotten medical attention long before now." he said, examining her body, "2-1B, I will need your assistance." He looked up at Meric, "Meric, you're going to have to leave the room for the time-being. Let us hope the Force is with us."

Meric nodded, saying, "May the Force be with you," and turned to leave the room. Avadedra was in the doctor's hands now... and in the care of the Force.

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((Note: The following was written by me at Avadedra's request. I am by no means violating RP rules))

Indeed, it seemed the Force was with Avadedra, for at that moment, the young Corellian girl knew nothing of what was happening to her in the waking world. Instead, she found herself elsewhere. Walls of white surrounded her, with long gray cables and tubes running along their length just below the ceiling. Steam flowed around dim glow panels above her head, providing the corridor with a diffuse light. A few metal panels along the ground provided traction. The air was chilly, but not deathly cold. Avadedra was confused. How could she have ended up back at Echo Base on Hoth?

Still not realizing her dire situation in the waking world, she made her way toward the command center, hoping it would contain some answers. When she arrived, she found the command center as it had been before the Imperial assault that had taken her mother, but it was, like the rest of the base, abandoned. The control panels and status screens along the walls still shimmered with glowing lights. The holographic tactical screen in the middle of the room still shimmered and hummed, keeping track of movement outside the prerimiter of the base using sensors that had been placed by several Rogue squadron pilots, including Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and Wedge Antilles. However, all the chairs were empty. All headsets sat on the panels, silent. "Hello?" Ava called, feeling more confused by the minute "Where is everyone?

She decided to check the hangar bays where the rebels kept some of their starships, along with their snowspeeders. However, no sooner had she opened the door to head in that direction, than she let out a loud gasp and stumbled backward.

A tall, intimidating figure in a black suit stepped forward. His heavy footsteps were accompanied by the sound of mechanical, labored breathing. His entire body was suited, his face hidden behind a mask. She could practically feel his lifeless eyes boring through her. Never before had Avadedra felt so frightened... but then, the reaction was natural. She had never met him personally, but she had heard enough to recognize Darth Vader, dark Lord of the Sith.

Vader took a few steps toward her. Avadedra backed up, but soon, she tripped over the seat behind her. "L-l-lord Vader!" she stammered, "Wha- What do you want?" Vader didn't respond. Steeling herself, Avadedra stood up. "Tell me what you want!" she demanded, feeling bolder. Vader still didn't answer. The only sound was his labored breathing. Finally, Avadedra could stand it no longer, "ANSWER ME!" She shouted.

There wasn't an immediately-audible response from Vader. Instead, he reached his black gloved hands up and pulled off the top of his mask, then the front. Avadedra braced herself for a horrifying image, but what she got instead was a surprise. Vader's face, his real face, was that of a young human, no older than his late twenties. He had long, curly, brown hair that ran to the base of his skull. His eyes were the brightest blue Ava had ever seen. "My name," he said, "is Anakin Skywalker, and I have come with a message for you, Avadedra Hetarra."

Avadedra's eyes widened, "What do you mean 'you're Anakin Skywalker?' I recognize you! You're the dark Lord! The Emperor's personal henchman! Besides... How do you know my name?"

"No... I am not Darth Vader." came the reply, "That was a path I chose, and a path I walked until very close to the end... But my story is unimportant. What is important, Avadedra, is this... Your path is at the moment of change. You have walked down a single path for as long as you remember, yet now, two choices stand before you, or perhaps more... That is for you to decide."

Avadedra's head hurt. She felt more confused than ever, but Anakin went on, "The Jedi had their numbers devastated due to Vader's... my actions. Now, it has fallen to my son, Luke Skywalker, to rebuild the order. He cannot do this alone, however... More must come to help him. Jedi Meric, my old friend will be one, but you... you must be another."

Avadedra started to object. Surely Anakin was mistaken. She didn't have any kind of Jedi ability, and certainly no one in her family had it. How could she be a Jedi?

"You are wrong." Anakin told her, "The Force runs strong in your family, just as in mine. Your mother had it, as did your grandmother. You have Jedi ancestors, and now, you can carry on their traditions. The galaxy needs the Jedi... Listen to Meric. Let him be your guide... to the ways of the Force."

And with that, everything went black. A sharp pain indicated to Avadedra that she was awakening.

-----

Meric sat by Avadedra's bedside now. It had been a few hours since Dr. Bindo and 2-1B had finished surgery, but now, it would be up to her to decide to return to the waking world. He hoped she would. She had a lot of potential... he could see that.

Pain.

There it was again, white hot and burning in her bones. After the coolness of the imagined base, Avadedra's body felt feverish. Struggling, she reached out, searching the darkness that surrounded her. She had to get back, she had to return. He had answers! He knew so many things she needed to hear! It didn't matter that he bore the guise of the Dark Lord, he knew things!

"No!" she screamed, thrashing about. "Wait! Come back! Don't leave me alone! What do I do? I can't choose! I can't! I'm... I'm just a kid! Please! Come back!"

Her entire body shuddered with spasms, her eyes flying wide open, vacant for a moment before she focused on the glaringly bright ceiling above her. Her right arm shot up, fingers outstretched, trying to grasp something.

"No!" she choked out. "Please, no! Come back! A-Anakin! Don't go!"

With a sob, she fell back against the bed, suddenly sensing that she wasn't alone. Feeling along the side of the bed blindly, she felt along empty air for a moment before her fingers came in contact with soft, supple fabric. Tangling her fingers into the cloth, she dragged her head to the right, tear filled eyes finally focusing on Meric.

"H-he wants me to choose," she rasped, tears falling. "Anakin... told me I have to choose. What does he mean, Meric? What do I do?"

Meric was glad to see she was awake, but even he had to admit how startled he was. Anakin had said something to her. "Anakin?" he questioned, "Anakin... Skywalker?" Luke had told him how the dark lord, Vader, had finally met his end, before the young Jedi had gone off to build a funeral pyre for his dead father. Could Avadedra have really seen a vision of him?

Meric leaned back in his seat, scatching the underside of his muzzle thoughtfully. "We all make choices in life, choices which affect our lives, and the lives of those around us." he explained, "In some small way, we all shape the galaxy... When I first met you, I sensed that the Force was with you, strongly... On the way here, you managed to call on a Jedi relaxation technique to calm yourself, purely by instinct. It took some effort, yes, but you did it nevertheless... So perhaps the choice that is now before you is this..."

He opened his eyes and leaned forward. Although not angry, there was a deathly-serious expression on his face. "Avadedra, you have it within you... to become a Jedi, like Luke Skywalker, like me..." he told her, "but the choice must be yours alone. Only you can decide if that is the path you wish to walk... It is not an easy one, and there will be many trials along the way, but in persevering, you will find even your smallest actions have significance, purpose... You will be able to make a difference."

Relaxing her grip, Avadedra drew her right arm back to the bed, clutching at the light blanket covering her. Slowly, wincing, she raised her left arm.

"I can tell," she said slowly, "that my arm will never be the same." She curled her fingers experimentally. "My fist already won't close. And see? It trembles, weakens. I feel a pain in my shoulder that wouldn't be there if I had gotten here in enough time. That tells me that something is still not right. Sure, I might be able to do some things with it, but it won't be the same."

She lowered the arm gingerly and turned her head back to meet Meric's level stare with her own stony gaze.

"I'm only sixteen, Master Meric. Sixteen, and I've lost both parents and most of the use of my left arm. You speak of trials and perseverence. You speak of this... Force... and about the Jedi. An ancient race of beings that supposedly died out long before I was born. But... if this... all of this... wasn't a test... Have I passed, if it were?"

Meric looked down, but he reached out a hand and placed it on her good shoulder. "Jedi are wise, Avadedra," he answered, "but even we do not have all of the answers. I can't tell you wether this was some kind of test. I know only that life itself is a test, one we will both fail and pass many times. I lost my own master, long ago, and he was the closest thing I ever knew to a father." It was the truth. Meric had been barely over six months old when the Jedi Council had taken him to Coruscant for training. He had never known his true, Togorian parents, and he had barely known his Wookie parents.

He looked up at her again. "Only you can decide whether you pass the test." he told her, "You know in your heart what you must do. I can guide you, but I can't make your choices for you... I can't pass your test for you."

He drew his hand back, letting her alone with her own thoughts. He knew he hadn't answered her question as she would have liked, but as he'd said, he had no answers... just as he had no answers as to why bringing balance to the Force had required the destruction of most all Jedi and the subsequent rebuilding of the order.

Using her good arm, Avadedra pushed herself into a sitting position, cradling her left arm into her stomach and drawing her knees up. Hugging her legs, she rested her cheek on her knees and looked at Meric.

"Before my father left to join..." she cut herself off abruptly. "Well, before he left, I heard him and my mother talking one night. I heard her telling him about the Force, about how she felt it and could do things. He got upset, told her that she was crazy, that she shouldn't go around talking like that. That anyone who could even be considered Jedi would be in danger. That's why they were all dead. He told her to squash any latent talents I might show, to keep me from developing if I inherited any of her abilities. They fought, so I hid. I never saw him leave, never got to say goodbye."

She blinked slowly, lost in memory.

"I didn't know what they were talking about, but I set out to learn. If it was something that scared my father, but made my mother proud, was it really wrong? And if it was my heritage, if there was a chance I had something good, why should I hide it? I never got the chance to ask, because my mother got swept into the war. She tried to leave me on Corellia, but I snuck onto her ship. By the time she found me, it was too late to turn back. We followed the Rebel fleet from place to place for a few years, until... until Hoth."

Turning her head, she rested her chin on her knees and focused on the opposite wall.

"I want to learn," she said in a hushed voice. "Because... it's all I have left of my mother. The only thing she gave me that was worth anything. But... I'm afraid. Terrified, really. I've never been given a choice, and I'm so afraid of messing up... Anakin said he walked a path. That path made him Lord Vader, right? I don't want to end up like that. I want to learn. I would like you to teach me, Master Meric. Only if it's you who teaches me. Listen to Meric. Let him be your guide... That's what he told me."

She fell silent, her eyes sliding closed once more as she collected herself, stilling the stinging feeling in her fingers. She knew what she had to do.

Meric listened to the story. So it was true then. Her mother had been Force sensitive... Perhaps she had even received some Jedi training from somewhere. Avadedra's story made it sound that way at least.

Listening further, he could at last understand from where much of her bitterness and her sadness came. He could identify.

"I will train you, then." he promised, taking her good hand, "But this, my first lesson, you must always remember. A Jedi's strength flows from the Force, but beware anger, fear, aggression... They are of the dark side. If ever you choose to walk that path, you will do so alone... It is a place I cannot guide you, for I cannot go there myself. Once you start down that dark path, it will forever dominate your destiny..."

As if to illustrate his point, he told her Vader's story, how he had been but a young slave boy on Tatooine, until meeting with two Jedi named Qui-gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi. It had been Qui-gon who first sensed the boy's remarkable force talent, but shortly after, Qui-gon was killed in combat against a sith named Darth Maul. Obi-Wan, Qui-gon's apprentice, took over his training. Anakin had grown strong, showing himself a hero in the Clone Wars, even falling in love with a beautiful woman named Padme. The two had married, against Jedi tradition, in secret. However, because of this union, twins were conceived, twins that would later have a roll in saving the galaxy: Luke Skywalker, and Leia Organa-Skywalker. It was Anakin's fear of losing Padme that caused him to betray the jedi. It was his fear of losing her that caused him to begin to fall... In his anger, he struck her down, and in his hatred, Anakin died... The rest of the story she knew, how Luke Skywalker had come into the picture, but what she did not know is that he had saved Anakin. His love for his father had been enough to bring Anakin back. Anakin had turned on the Emperor, throwing him down a shaft into the Death Star reactor, destroying him. But in so doing, Anakin sacrificed himself.

"Anakin did return to the light in the end." Meric concluded, "But because he chose to walk the Dark Side, he caused much pain, and suffered even more pain. He became that which he despised, and it was only because of his love for his son that he was redeemed..."