Gray Jedi Ch. 4

Gray Jedi Ch. 4

“There it is,” Malik said, pointing at the star map.  “I’ll program our route to the Dagobah system.”

“Excellent,” Serra replied.  “Oh, incoming transmission from Alderaan, encoded.”

“I’d bet that it’s Bail Organa.  Put it on screen.”  As his face appeared on the monitor, Malik said, “Senator, I apologize for our abrupt departure.”

“Think nothing of it, Malik.  I had anticipated something like this might happen.  I’m just glad you two made it out without issue.”

“Thank you for everything.  Your hospitality was so gracious,” Serra said.

“It was our pleasure.  And, I hope you don’t mind but… last night I had a crew of my men board your ship.  They restocked your supplies and filled up your fuel tanks.  That should last you for a month or two, with any luck.”

“Wow… that’s very generous of you, Senator,” Malik said in surprise.

“It is the least we could do for you.  Again, you will always be welcomed as friends on Alderaan.”

“Thank you, sir.  We’re breaking contact now.”

“Very good.  Oh Malik, one last thing.  Have you considered what to name that ship of yours?  It’s frightful bad luck to be flying a ship without a name, you know.”

“Well, in my experience, there’s no such thing as luck.  Still, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt.  Thank you again.”

“You are quite welcome.  Organa out.”

“We will have to find a way to repay his kindness,” Serra mused.

“Yeah… I’ll think on that.”

They continued on for a few minutes in silence, until Serra asked a question that had been bothering her.

“I know Master Yoda said he was not angry, but… do you think he’d expel us for what we’ve done?”

Malik smiled.  “I doubt it.  What could he expel us from?  He himself said that the Jedi Order is finished.  No, I think he just wants to be sure that we have thought this through and that we proceed in our relationship in a healthy way.  One that will not lead to the Dark Side.”  Rubbing Serra’s arm, he continued, “No matter what disagreements we may have with him, Master Yoda will always be a friend to us.  I have no doubt of that.”

“I hope you’re right…” Serra sighed.

*****

The ship lurched as it exited hyperspace, arriving at the Dagobah system in the Outer Rim.  The large, green planet loomed ahead of them, and both Jedi got the same feeling: this place was strong with the Force.

“Wow… so much life down there.  I’m not finding any civilizations or urban areas, though.  Master Yoda could literally be anywhere on the planet,” Serra said.

“I imagine that’s why he decided to hide here.  Nobody would come look for an old Jedi Master out here,” Malik grinned.  “Still, we’ve felt his presence in the past.  If we channel the Force together, I bet we could pinpoint his location.”

Serra placed the ship back on autopilot for their approach and turned to face Malik in the chair beside her.  The two joined hands, closed their eyes, and sunk into a deep meditation together, reaching out with the Force.  It was quite difficult, but after almost ten minutes, they finally picked up a faint sign of familiarity on the surface.  Malik concentrated with his all while Serra resumed control of the ship, following his directions.  After tracking Yoda’s presence across the planet, they landed on the surface beside a large, swampy lake.

“Nice landing,” Malik commented.

“Thanks.  This fog doesn’t make it easy.  Can you imagine how lost we’d be if we had just decided to land and look for Yoda once we got here?!”

“I know.  At that rate, we’d only find him if he found us.”

Grabbing their packs of supplies, the pair exited the ship into the murky world stretching out before them.  Malik saw a pair of Jubba birds flying through the trees overhead, and could have sworn he caught sight of a Dragonsnake just beneath the surface of the nearby lake.  As the couple began their explorations, a group of glowing fireflies swarmed near them.  They at first paid them no mind, but an ethereal voice soon caught their attentions.

Young Jedi… traveled far you have.  Come.

“Yoda…” Malik breathed.

They spoke not a word, simply following the glowing bugs as they illuminated the path before them.  Soon, they came upon a strange yet welcome sight: an E3-standard starship lifeboat.  Both knew that Yoda had to be nearby.

“Welcome, my friends,” came a gravelly voice from the ship.

“Master…” Overcome with relief at seeing their Grand Master again, Serra dropped her bags and dashed forward, wrapping the old Jedi in a warm hug.  “Master Yoda, you’re alive!”

“Heheh, yes yes Serra, alive I am.  Pleased I am that survived the attack on the Jedi Temple you did.”

“Well… I almost didn’t.  I have Malik to thank for that.”

“Of course.  Malik, how wonderful it is to see you again.  Ah, but most rude I am being.  Please, come into my home.  Sit down, relax you must.”

“Thank you, Master,” Malik replied, stepping into the makeshift hut with Serra.  Though it was cramped for the two adult Jedi, neither of them cared as they sat on the floor of the vessel.

“Master, I feel you’ve chosen a great place to hide,” Serra said as Yoda joined them.  “None of the Empire’s agents would ever think to find you here.”

“Indeed, Serra.  Full of life, this place is.  And it also possesses other… unique qualities that enable my exile.”  Taking a seat on the small cushion along the wall, Yoda continued, “Now then, Malik tells me that fallen in love you two have.  Tell me of how this happened.”

Though she at first hesitated, Serra could sense no hostility or anger in Yoda’s voice, helping her to be more at ease.  “Well, we’ve had strong feelings for each other for some time now.  We’ve always been a good influence on each other, after all.  Malik provides that logic and reason when I become brash and emotional, and I remind him never to back down on something he believes in with his all.”

“Yes, noticed this the Council did.  Please continue.”

“I guess everything came to a head when Anakin attacked the Jedi Temple.  We knew he was trying to get to the beacon to set a trap for all the Jedi off world, so I moved to intercept him.  But Master Drallig was right… he was too much for me.  He would have killed me after crushing my body under a pillar, had Malik not come along and resuscitated me.”

“I see.  And how did you manage this, Malik?”

“Serra’s heartbeat was slowing by the second.  She needed a jump-start.  I didn’t know what to do at first, but a reflex appeared to happen in those moments, and I saved her by using… Force Lightning.”

“Hmm… and what then?” Yoda asked, seemingly unfazed by the revelation.

Serra said, “As you could imagine, being brought back from the edge of death by the man I harbored a secret love for was too much.  The moment I saw Malik’s face, I lunged forward and kissed him.  I… couldn’t have stopped myself if I had tried, Master.  After that, we escaped Coruscant and went on the run together.  She took a deep breath and continued, “Since then, we have become… intimate.  We have made love on several occasions.  Master, we are certain that we want to spend the rest of our lives with each other, no matter how long we may have left.”

Yoda paused for a few moments before replying, “A dangerous path you could be walking.”

Malik answered, “Yes, but in truth, no path is safe anymore.  Not with the rise of the Empire.”

“Ah, quite right you are.”

“We believe this to be the will of the Force, Master.”

“Mean that do you, Malik?  Or merely an excuse do you make?”

“We do mean that.  Before we joined our bodies for the first time, we reached out with the Force.  We were desperate for any sign that we were doing the right thing.  At that time, we both felt a tremor in the Force, pushing us together, rather than apart.  That is no coincidence, Master,” Malik said.

“Perhaps… right you may be.  Yet great care you must take.  A powerful emotion love is, capable of both good and evil.  If your love leads to jealousy and fear, down the path to the Dark Side you may stray.  Tell me, afraid to lose each other  are you?”

The couple peered into each other’s eyes for a few moments, holding hands tightly.  Serra replied, “We do not wish to lose each other… but we accept that we will at some point.  The fact is that we do not know how long we have left, be it decades, years, or mere days.  What we do know is that, no matter how long we have left, we want to spend that time together.”

Malik continued, “At some point, our lives will end.  As you’ve always said, death is a natural part of life.  When that happens, we will cease to be anything at all, except one with the Force.  Until then, we will do as much good as possible, which I believe we can do together.”

“Hmm… genuine I now know your love to be.