[Ask] Rite of Passage

CJ Solo

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Saana sat in the open space on board Master Kai's ship that he often used for training exercises on the road with her in the past and other padawans that had travelled with them. She sat cross-legged, her hands rested lightly on her knees and her eyes were closed as she meditated. It had become a morning and nightly habbit; in the morning to energise herself and prepare herself for what challenges the day may bring and in the night to have time to reflect on the days events and contemplate any conflicts to clear her mind before sleep. It was a garaunteed moment of quiet and peace that she might not otherwise have. This morning, what she prepared herself for was the coming trial that Master Kai had mentioned to her.

The location of this trial was a moon, according to Master Kai, and from his description there was not a lot there. Saana had read a little about the tradition of the Knight trials of the Order in the past, which was not much. The trials were never quite the same from one Padawan to the next and generally they were not talked about much. Still, she could not help but wonder what challenges she would have to face; just what kind of challenges could possibly exist in an abandoned temple on a moon with little to no life. Despite these questions she had, she knew there had to be something there otherwise they would not be going there. Master Kai, she knew, would not lie to her let alone tease her about something of this nature.

One other thing lurked at the edges of her thoughts, something she had put aside until this was finished; until she was a Knight. The kiss Master Kai had given her. As much as it had stirred emotion in him, it had stirred emotion in her as well. It had been unexpected, but pleasant. What she had not quite understood, though, was why her. She had seen more than one Jedi flirt with him on more than one occasion. Zabic had had feelings for him, she had sensed it in her. What she was further uncertain about was, what came next. Saana had not had any romantic involvements with another before and this fact made her feel a little awkward. It was something that would have to wait, at least for now.

Saana's meditation was interrupted by the ship alert; the one that announced the point of dropping from hyprspace was coming up in the next ten minutes. The togruta opened her eyes, took a deep breath and let it out, and then rose to her feet. Moving with quiet steps, she moved through the corridor of the vessel that would take her to the cockpit. Once she was there, she slid into the co-pilot's station and waited for Master Kai. He knew where it was they were going and so she would let him handle the landing.
 

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With a deep breath, Kai knew it was time to take Saana to Galtea's moon, where the hidden and ancient Jedi temple still remained buried underground. There she would face the trial of the temple. Kai knew not what she would face or how similar it would be to his trial; he knew that the Force tested everyone differently. The young master was curious how his apprentice would face the trials and what exactly it was she would face that day. He knew better than to dwell on it too much, but it did become a recurring thought, if only in passing. It was with this knowledge, that it was time for Saana to face her test, her final trial before she could be considered for knighthood, that Kai took her aboard his personal ship, and they took off for the far edge of the Galaxy.

Kai remained in meditation for most of the trip there, as he told Saana to do once they were safely away in hyperspace. Even through the night he hadn't slept at all, he simple meditated on the Force, feeling it and calling on it. There was no doubt in his mind that Saana was ready for the trial, but he did worry what she would experience in there might affect her in subtle ways, or cause her to face issues that she didn't even know she had. It was something that Kai had to recognize and face with his own trial.

His mind briefly wandered to the moment they shared on his ship not too long ago after Saana had just finished constructing her own lightsaber. The kiss he had given her, the moment they had shared, it felt like the realization of something long since brewing. While he cared for Saana like a brother easily, he felt like there might be something more there for a while, he was simply too concerned with ruining what they had to act on it. Though, he was thankful he did, because it became clear he had stirred emotions in her and he realized that it was very likely that Saana felt the same way about him that he felt for her. It brought a smile to his face, made him happy. While he had been close to others before, especially students, students he loved and cared a great deal about where they often took on parent or sibling like relationships, with Saana it was different. Maybe he was simply willing to risk it for once. In any case, Kai had determined that he'd rather have her face her trial before he took any further steps on any possible romantic relationships, though nearly every fiber in his body told him to act now.

Hearing the ship's alarm go off, he made his way to the cockpit where he saw Saana waiting for him. Smiling at her he sat down into the pilot's chair and took hold of the controls. "Alright, you can drop us out of hyperspace when we're ready." He commented giving her a sideways look. A minute or so passed and he nodded back at her, "Okay, drop us out!" Once they were out of hyperspace he would pilot the ship to where the temple was. The moon was desolate, and hard to find any distinguishing landmarks on it, but he knew, he could find it. Landing the ship a stone's throw from where he knew the entrance was, Kai handed Saana an environmental mask. "You'll need this until we get inside the temple." He said as he headed for the boarding ramp.
 

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The cooperative working of the ship had become a common place. Saana had at first been nervous about flying the ship, but it had been something she had quickly gotten over as her confidence in her ability grew. Now she sat next to Master Kai once more after he had finally come in and took the pilot's seat. Her eyes were on the controls and her hand on the levers for the hyperdrive. On his singal, she pulled back on the levers, disengaging the hyperdrive and engaging the engines. Saana ganced up momentarily at the moon ahead of them.

The togruta's attention shifted when Master Kai spoke and offered her the environmental mask. Saana accepted it from him. "Is there no atmosphere out there? She followed him towards the boarding ramp as she put the mask on in its place. It did not take long and soon they were stepping off of the ship. Her golden eyes glanced around the inhospitable surface. Why had Jedi chose to build a temple here? In a place that could not sustain life. In the end, her attention focused on Master Kai once more waiting for him to lead the way to the temple.
 

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As Saana asked him if the moon had no atmosphere, Kai snickered and shook his head. "Of course there is an atmosphere, but unless you're telling Togrutas can breathe methane or whatever it is that the atmosphere here is composed of you'll want the mask." Walking off the ship and onto the barren surface of Galtea's moon with his breath mask on, Kai signaled his friend and apprentice to follow him closely. There were random tufts of stunted foliage growth over the otherwise barren sand, glistening in the late evening sun's rays. The structure itself in the immediate area, appeared as no more than a eighty meter wide dome-shape protrusion, and was covered by a thick layer of ground erosion.

Nearby, there was a low mound made of sand as high as it was wide. This was where Kai led Saana. Pushing away some of the sand exposed an ancient and weathered stone with carved runes. Pressing the rune caused the sand to suddenly open, and in the blink of an eye they were sliding down a pitch black tunnel. Saana, being a Togruta, would be able to sense the closeness of the tunnel with her montrals. After several seconds of bouncing, and very uncomfortable sliding, the pair were finally deposited into a large and dark room. A few seconds passed before a warm and ghost-like glow filled the room with no discernable source, it illuminated it enough for the pair of Jedi to see their way around.

Looking to Saana, Kai took a deep breath before standing up and offering her his hand to help her up. Removing his breath mask he gave her a half smile. "Here we are, we should be find now without the environmental masks. What do you think so far?" He looked at Saana before scanning the room which had several thick stone pillars, all of them were covered in the same ancient runes. The runes covered the floor and ceiling as well. After a few more seconds they all began to glow as well with a dim ghostly blue light. "This is your trial Saana, you have to go on from here by yourself; I will wait for you."
 

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Saana glanced around as they exited the ship, breathing steadily into the mask. To just look at it, you would not realize that the air around you was deadly toxic. When Master Kai moved forward towards what looked like a dome lazily rising out of the ground, she followed curiously. When she realized that he was brushing sand away from something, she stepped forward and bent to help him how ever much she could.

When a rune of some sort was uncovered, she straightened again only for Master Kai to press it and send them sliding down a tunnel. There was a small gasp of surprise from her, but she took it in stride as they bumped along. It was easy to tell, even in the dark, just how narrow the tunnel was. It was as though it had been purposefully made to be only as big as it needed to be to allow passage through it, even if it was not on your feet. Then it came to an end, and she could tell that they had exited the tunnel and were now in a much more open area. It was not immediate, but a few moments later illumination spread through the area in the form of glowing light that she could not readily tell where it was coming from.

At Master Kai's encouragement, she removed the breathing mask and looked around. "This is a Jedi temple?" It would be a lie to say she was not impressed with the place with its massive columns and the carved runes everywhere. The togruta took notice that the runes themselves soon began to glow. "What are the carvings? What do they mean? Saana waited for the answer before she passed him the breathing mask. She felt apprehension creep over her at not knowing what to expect, and that she would be doing it alone. It was not as though she had not ever gone on a mission without Master Kai, or even alone. She had gone to Kashyyyk alone, faced a sith and come back from it unharmed. But in those instances, there was a goal; a task that had to be completed. Here all that waited ahead was the unknown.

Saana looked to Master Kai once more and managed a smile. "You better be." She had looked forward then and finally stepped into the field of runes and stone columns.
 

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Nodding back to Saana when she asked if this was a temple, "It is, it's much larger than what we see here. This is a... trial area of sorts of I suppose. A place for the ancient Jedi to face themselves and the Force itself." He stated as she looked around. Kai could see that she was taking note of the glowing runes carved into the surfaces of the room. When she asked him what the carvings meant he simply shrugged. "They're in an ancient language. There were similar inscriptions in the Temple at Tython. I've been trying to learn it for years, but it's slow work, and I've only gotten bits and pieces, nothing that makes sense. Could be a history or the description of the purpose of this place... I honestly don't know."

For a moment Kai could sense the apprehension come over Saana as she realized she didn't know what to expect this time. He thought about reaching out to her. To touch her shoulder, to reaffirm his trust and faith in her, but this time he couldn't. This was her test and she needed to face it alone without his help or guidance. Smiling back at her and giving her a playfully jovial expression he shrugged, "Would I really leave you here? All alone?" He snickered as she walked through the room.

Eventually, Saana would wander her way out of the room, the glow of the runes moving with her so she was always illuminated. The way they moved it was almost like they were guiding her to a destination, with her and in front of her, like the Force or some other entity was trying to deliberately guide her on a certain path. With a few more steps Saana would exit the entrance chamber, a thick stone slab covered in runes would close behind her, fast enough so she couldn't dodge back in. As it closed, Saana would feel something different, and possibly unsettling; she would feel the absence of Kai's presence. It would be like he disappeared completely. She would feel alone.

Kai felt this, too. But he was expecting it to happen, as it had happened on his first trial here. With his eyes closed, Kai thought to himself aloud, "Ever onward, Saana, don't look back. Have faith in yourself and trust in the Force. I know you can face this trial and overcome it. You've proven yourself, now just confirm what we both know. That you are a Jedi Knight."
 

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Saana had left Master Kai with a bemused smirk before she had turned for the last time and proceeded on. The Togruta continued to consider the runes, how their light moved with her and what their meaning and purpose truely was. She also mused over how it was not simple to tell if the lighted runes were guiding her where to go or if they were in fact following her. All those thoughts vanished, though, when she heard the sound of stone grinding on stone. When she turned sideways to look back, she saw the rune covered stone door as it boommed closed. Then she frowns faintly, not at the fact that the door had closed likely sealing her in but more so that she could not sense Master Kai's presence any longer. Briefly, a panicked thought crossed her mind that something could have gone wrong, tht she could be sealed in and the chamber beyond was filling with the deadly atmnosphere. She pushed that aside, however, if something had gone wrong Master Kai would know what to do. The Togruta padawan took a deep breath and released it slowly before turning away from the door and continueing forward
 

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Sitting on the floor of the antechamber, the young Jedi Master began meditating on the Force. He wouldn't be able to help Saana in there; they were completely cut off from each other, both physically and through the Force. She would have to rely on her own skills and abilities as a Jedi to face the trials on the other side of that great stone slab. Meanwhile, for the Togruta Apprentice facing her trial, the lights would move forward with her for a few more minutes, no doubt an eternity in the completely silent, nearly pitch dark, and lonely corridor. Then after she had moved far enough ahead, the glowing runes would fade until Saana was bathed in complete darkness. She would have to rely on her abilities with the Force and her own racial echolocation not to bump into the walls of the corridor.

A minute would pass, then another. The darkness would remain. Then out at the far end of the corridor, a light would appear. Distant and faint, but it would appear to be natural daylight shining through. It wouldn't appear to be the light of Galtea's sun, instead a light all to familiar and all to alien on this hospitable moon. If Saana moved towards it (it was really the only way she could go) she would soon find herself bathed in the warm light of her home Shili. Stepping forward she would find that she had exited a cave from a cliff. Ahead of her, above the tall grass, she would be able to see long stacks of dark, almost black smoke reaching high up into the cerulean blue sky.
 

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As Saana followed the lights, she found herself wishing she had through to bring something to write with in order to copy down the runes as she followed the light. For a few more minutes, she followed them along the tunnel and seeing no evidence yet of where the passage was taking her. Then, abruptly, the light was gone. This gave Saana momentary pause as the knowledge of her disconnection from Master Kai and that she did not know where she was going came back to the forefront of her thoughts. After that moment of hesitation, though, she pushes onward using her natural senses and her senses in the Force to make her way in the dark.

It was some time later that the darkness once once more pierced by light. At first, it was faint enough that it did not hurt her eyes nor did she need to squint her eyes. The togruta padawan was not sure what could be generating the light, however, and moved forward with more caution. As she moved close, the light grew brighter and bigger, and soon she realized that the light was a warm natural light like that from a planet's sun. Though, the light could not have been from the sun of the system that they were in. Finally, she stepped out into the light and found herself stepping out of a cave. Saana looked around, noting the cliff face that the cave was set into, the sky, the sun and the expansive rolling field of tall grasses. She was on Shili, but how was that possible?

Dozens of thoughts shot through her mind to rationalize what happened to her since the moment of the stone slab closing behind her, what might have happened to Master Kai. Saana frowned then and soon realized that it was not so much her thoughts that she was frowning at, but another detail her eyes had settled on; columns of dark, almost black, smoke. Was that fire? Saana pushed aside her thoughts and questions as she broke out into a run, plunging into the tall grasses. She ran as hard and fast as she could for several minutes it seemed before she bursted out of the grasses.

Before her was a clan village, one not so diffrent from her own that she had left and it was burning. For the briefest of moments, the sight stunned her, but quickly she was moving into action again. Saana had been able to see the bodies of the dead from where she had been standing and now all she had to hope for was to find survivors. The togruta moved swiftly through the burning village, some buildings easier to get to than others while there were those that were too hot with blazing fire for her to even get near. Just as she had began to think there had been noone who had survived, she had found a severely wounded and whimpering child. Saana pulled the boy out away from the burning buildings and set to seeing what she could do for him. It was bad and though in the back of her mind she knew she did not have enough of what she needed to save him, she tried with a grim determination.

Despite her efforts, the boy exhaled his final breath. Though everything she had learned told her that death was not the end for him, that he would return to the Force, Saana felt the stinging threat of tears in her eyes. This was not her home village, yet what she had been able to see beyond the burns and other wounds, he could have been a brother to her. Saana leaned over to cradle his still form hoping that in the very least she had brought him some relief from the pain and suffering before the end came.

A raspy voice rose up in a chuckle behind her. "Too late, Jedi, but predictable."

Saana released the boy's body, letting it slump gently back to the ground before she shifted to look in the direction that the voice came from. There was not much she could see of the creature beyond the dirtied and bloodied dark robes it wore other than the scalely leathery skin that revealed itself. "You did this? Why? Who are you?"

The creature laughed in that raspy voice again. "Who am I...? Why I am the bringer of death to this village.. and those before it." The creature sneered. "I knew it would draw you out Jedi... It always does and now you'll join all those you failed to save." At the creature's side, a crimson bladed lightsaber snapped to life.

Saana grimmaced, finding a piece of truth in the creature's words. In a way, she had failed; her golden eyes looked to the boy once more. She then rose and turned on the creature, launching at him as her own lightsaber springs to life. The two engaged in a long, intense, fight. At first, Saana held angry, guilty thoughts towards herself and her inability to have saved anyone. And at that time, it seemed that the creature would overwhelm her and take her life as well, but as reason and control crept back into her mind, the battle shifted away from that outcome and into her favor and eventually the creature's defeat. She stood there once it was over dirty, sweating and breathing heavily from the exersion. For a moment, she closed her eyes and eventually she opened them again to see the form of the creature dissolve into a pool of shadow and fade away...
 

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"Very good, Saana, very good. You have learned to overcome your anger, to calm yourself, and the ability to maintain control like a Jedi should." Kai's voice echoed out from behind the Togruta Padawan. If Saana turned around to look at him she would see that Kai was indeed standing there, appearing just as he had only minutes earlier in the temple on Galtea's moon. There was a smile on his face, a proud smile, as he extended a hand towards her, beckoning for her to join him. "You have gained much power and skill in the Force. You have learned to control it like your own wild emotions, learned to focus on peace and serenity, on the calmness of a moment, the Will of the Force. You are as much of a Jedi as I am."

Grabbing her hand, Kai pulled Saana close into a tightly wrapped hug. Rubbing his hands up and down her back the moment would feel oddly calm and at peace as the winds swept over the plains. Feeling her warmth against his body, he smiled at her, resting his head on her shoulder and against her neck. A minute passed before he pulled away and adding, "I'm so very proud of you right now! You will become a master in no time at all, I'm sure of that."

Taking a step back, Kai grinned at Saana before reaching into the voluminous layers of his Jedi robes and pulled out a strange looking device shaped like a pyramid. In truth, it was a holocron, it's shell made of a black metal, and it's lattices made of some sort of Jade crystal that glowed warmly deep inside. Looking into Saana's golden eyes, there was an odd, almost alien look to them. "Look what I found in the temple! It was in one of the side passages. When I found it I opened it to see what was inside, and what the gatekeeper showed me blew me away! I knew I had to show you immediately. Inside this holocron, Saana, is the key to defeating the Sith, and true power."

His grin had turned a little more devious, a little more deceitful, a little more mad as the Jedi Master continued on, his voice, his tempo quickening. "The gatekeeper showed me what it would take to win this war to defeat the Empress, it's not that hard to do, only you and I can do it though. It requires both of us working together. We're the only two Jedi strong enough to attempt it, only two close enough to each other with a strong enough bond to see it to its conclusion. All we have to do is what this holocron says and we'll be able to destroy the Sith and all that follow them forever! The galaxy will finally know peace! Doesn't that sound wonderful!"

"C'mon Saana, you just need to touch it!"
Kai said as he tried to grab the woman's arm.
 

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Saana's gaze swept over the scene as the rest of it lingered, but it tore away to glance back as she heard Master Kai's voice. The Togruta smiled then and went to him, taking his hand. Her arms wrapped around him as he took her into an embrace, her eyes closing as his hands rubbed her back. It was a wonderful, peaceful, moment. "I would not have made it this far without your help, without the things you taught me."


WHen he pulled away, she just shook her head, a small grin on her lips. He was always saying things like that. It was true, perhaps, one day she would be a Jedi Master, but she had not even become a Jedi Knight yet. Her golden eyes watched him as he removed the pyramid shaped device from his robes. It was beautiful in a way, the glowing color of jade set against black. Then Kai, or what appeared to be Kai, began to speak again and her gaze lifted to meet his. There was something there, something out of place, even alien.

"...True power..?" That was not something that Kai ever talked about, at least not in this way. As Kai's expression began to shift, becoming more mad, the situation felt less right. "No... I do not believe you. It takes more than two to stand against darkness to defeat it, it takes all to stand against it." A peaceful galaxy was a wonderful idea, a beautiful vision, but she knew it was oe that could not so easily be accomplished. Saana pulled her arm back and away from Kai, taking a step back away from him. "No, I will not touch it. You are not Master Kai."
 

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In an instant Kai's expression changed from one of open, welcoming, and temptation to one of anger, hate, and disappointment. His eyes turned from grey to a sickly, corrupted yellow, his skin became pallid and grey. Lunging forward at Saana, the Padawan could see that this was simply a manifestation of the malicious shadow as the Kai doppelganger lost form and shape, becoming something black and shapeless as its "hand" reached out to grab her. Just as it was about to touch her it faded into nothing, and Saana was alone for the moment. Then the ground fell out beneath her.

This wasn't a landslide or a sinkhole, the ground beneath her feet and within reach simply ceased to be. Saana would find herself falling into an imperceptible blackness. Her senses would tell her that nothing was nearby. She was alone in the middle of nothingness, falling to who knows where.

Suddenly, Saana hit solid ground. It wasn't a hard landing, it felt like falling on one's backside from a standing position. For the moment there was no light, a moment passed and Saana was bathed in a warm light. The light grew until she saw the same figure she had slain earlier, it was standing, lightsaber drawn and held to the throat of a person. It was Kai, he was hurt and wounded, disarmed, and looking helpless. The dark form grinned maniacally and laughed, its cackling voice echoing off unseen walls. "You have a simple choice, Saana. Become my apprentice, learn the secrets of the dark side, or lose your friend and mentor! If you join me he will live, if you do not I will kill him here and now before you can react! What is your choice?"
 

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Saana wanted to look away as the visage and form of her friend and mentor began to shift and change, but she did not. A part of her mind was confused; uncertain of what was happening. Then the thing lunged at her and she jumped back instinctively, but just as the thing's hand was about to reach out and touch her, it faded away into nothing. She huffed out a breath and she looked around, the scene unchanged. Then suddenly she was falling.

Involuntarily, she let out a small cry of surprise as the ground beneath her feet suddenly no longer existed. The togruta was plunged into darkness, different than that which she had walked through before. This darkness was expansive. There were no walls, no walls, nothing that she could sense. Her heart raced a little faster at the thought of falling through darkness for eternity. Then, she landed. It was not a harsh landing nor was it overly ungraceful or graceful. A small grunt escaped from between her lips as she hit the ground as though she had just landed on her backside.

Saana straightened even as the darkness lingered, trying to peer into the darkness only to see nothing. Then, there was a warm white light from somehwere that washed over her. She was not the only one the light touched, however, as she saw the scaley humanoid that she had fought, standing there as though nothing had happened to him. More than that, his lightsaber was out, active and at Kai's throat. "Master Kai..." She took a single step forward, but then hesitating as the creature shifted, threatening to sever Kai's head from his shoulders. Her gaze was intent on Kai even as the creature spoke; accept darkness or sacrifice Kai's life. Eventually, she forced herself to look away, a pained look in her eyes, to look at the creature for a few moments as though she was considering it, then finally to Kai once more.

"Death, yet the Force." Saana whispered the words to herself.

The togruta stepped towards the creature and Kai. "I would take his place, but I will not join you." The words were spoken softly. The idea of losing Kai was painful, but she had no doubt that he would not want to see her give into the darkness.
 

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There was a pained, pleading look in Kai's eyes as Saana stood there, like he was trying to tell her to make the right choice, though he dare not say it with a blade held to his throat. As the Togruta looked back, when their eyes met, Kai would be able to see the resolution in her gaze and know that she wouldn't disappoint him. His expression changed to one of regretful relief. As Saana spoke the words that would condemn her master and friend to death, Kai closed his eyes expectantly. Without a word the creature decapitated Kai, his head came off in one smooth motion, and there it hung by a tuft of hair from the creature's hand. It stood there staring at Saana, waiting for her to act, to see how she would react. From somewhere in its maw it began cackling, laughing maniacally, hysterically. And then it was gone, returning back to the Shadows.

There was a howling of air as everything went dark again. Then, quietly she would hear Kai's voice like a whisper on the wind. "You have passed the final test my Padawan. Go forth and claim your prize and return to me a new person."

The soft glow returned, the corridor was illuminated again, and she would be able to see a room ahead of her. In the middle of the room there was a low pedastal, its surface was covered in the same runes that the rest of the surfaces of the temple were. On the pedastal there was an item, and Saana would feel drawn towards it, like there was some special connection to her through the Force. The item was an ancient looking dodecahedron, its surface was covered in gold and ruby-colored crystals. A soft warm red light glowed from within. A short walk away, Saana would feel Kai's presence again as the doorway opened, and there her master waited in meditation. Waiting.
 

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The pained look in Kai's eyes caused her heart to ache further.It was what she had to do, though, it was the right choice. He would not really be gone from her; he would be there in the Force. Despite the emotion there in his eyes, she did not look away. The togruta wanted to remember his eyes if this was the end for him. Saana's breath caught in her throat when he closed his eyes and she looked away. She did not want his severed head to be the last she saw of her Master, mentor and dearest friend.

Saana remained standing there as the creature cackled maniacly. She would be lying if she were to claim that she did not feel anything, but she knew she could not act on any of those emotions. To do so would be to forsake everything that he had taught her, it would forsake him. The padawan startled a little, looking around as the wind howled, the scene vanished and she was in darkness once more. Then it came to her ears, the sound of Kai's voice. "Master Kai?" Had it all been a part of where ever she was and he was in fact still alive? As though in answer to her question, illumination returned and she had to squint her eyes a little against it as they adjusted.

Once more, before her, was a corridor whose surfaces were covered in those same runes. Saana followed the short corridor to the room at its other end. In there, she saw the pedastel that also was covered in the same runes and held on its surface an object covered in red and gold colored crystals. It seemed to glow with an inner light, but on further reflection it was more than just light; it was energy, the Force perhaps, calling to her. Feeling drawn to it, Saana approached the pedtastel and picked up the device carefully. It was a few minutes that she stood with it there in her arms before she moved on to the rest of the corridor on the other side of the room.

When she came to the corridor and stepped into it, she paused as once more she could feel the familiar presence of Master kai. "Master Kai?" She proceeded onward until she came to where he was. So much relief washed over her in that moment and she went to him. Placing the device down, she knelt next to him and wrapped her arms around him; even if it was undignified for a Jedi.
 

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Kai felt Saana's presence approach, and when she entered back into the antechamber he opened his eyes. Watching her approach, he smiled at her. His smile was one of a pleased mentor, and a delighted friend. His eyes spoke of his pride and happiness to see her. As she knelt down before him, he was rather surprised to see her embracing him, but that didn't stop him from wrapping his arms around her and hugging her back. "Good to see you, too," he said, expressing what they were no doubt feeling for each other at the moment, "I guess this means you passed the trials! That's good, that means you've finished."

The master held onto his friend for several long seconds, holding her tightly in an embrace. Finally, he released her and reached out to grab her red hands. Giving each one a little squeeze he smiled at her before continuing on. "I have something for you. I recently traveled to Shili with another Padawan to attend to some personal matters and while I was in the market I found something I wanted to give you when you passed your trials..."

As he let go of her hands he reached into his robes and removed a small black case he had kept on hand. Holding it in his hands, he placed it on the ground and removed the lid. Inside was a very ornate, and beautiful Akul-tooth headdress, the kind that the Togruta of Saana's world wore. Showing it to her, he took special care to show her one of the beaded cords that hung from it. "This is shows that you are a Padawan." He remarked placing the piece on her head, adjusting it so it fit perfectly to the contours of her face. Then, with one swift and firm motion, Kai deftly removed the beaded cord from the headdress. "Saana Tai, as your Master and Councilor of the New Jedi Order, I know pronounce you as Knight. Rise, and join your fellows as one."

Kai was smiling as he said this, standing with her. Wrapping his hands around her lithe form again, Kai hugged his friend and former student. "Now, we're equals. You have shown that you know what it means to be a Jedi Knight. Congratulations, my dear Saana, you've deserved this." Pulling back slightly, he looked into her golden eyes before leaning in to give her a tender, passionate kiss.
 

CJ Solo

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Saana was not sure if he understood the depth of those words for her right then; good to see you too. Whatever had been in there, whatever had been testing her had used his visage to try to decieve her and then it had seemingly killed him. Yet, she had not realized the extent of the affect the idea of losing him would have had on her until then. It was not something she wanted to experience again. "Yes, good to see you." She got the words out just over a whisper before she reluctantly pulled away from him.

A small smile quirked one corner of the Togruta's lips as he spoke, giving her hands a squeeze. "You went without me?" She might have continued with the jest except that he continued speaking. He had gotten her something? Saana blinked once, surprised by that. In a way, he had in fact given her a lot of things but none of it was tangible, material. She watched with an intent gaze as he produced the box and then opened it. Though she did not say anything, at a loss for words, her astonishment was evident in the slight widening of her eyes and a small parting of her lips. She marvelled at how beautiful and ornate it was, yet she had to wonder just how long he had been holding onto it and keeping it hidden from her. There was one strand he showed to her which he deftly removed from the head dress no sooner than he had put it into place. She was a Knight.

At first, Saana just stared at him. There was a bundle of emotions that swirled through her that she was attempting to get her mind around. Even as her mind was working, the togruta got to her feet with his help. She felt his arms wrap around her again and she rested against him, a part of her wanting to cry just in that moment. No tears came though as they seperated enough to look at each other again. "Now who is going to keep an eye on you?" Saana smiled a little and, then, he kissed her. It took a moment, but she slowly returned it.

When the kiss broke naturally, she stopped to pick up the gold and ruby object that had been sitting on the pedastel. "This was there, before I found you."
 

Ral

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Breaking apart from the embrace and the tender moment, Kai looked at Saana, laughing lightly at the comment she had made before. Touching her cheek gently he smiled, "I think you can still do that." He said softly. Watching as she stooped down to pick up the red and gold object she had returned with, he started to grin. "It appears this temple is a wealth of ancient treasures. This is not the first time it has offered up a holocron to those who have passed through its trial successfully."

Taking out his own tetrahedral holocron from his robes, Kai moved it next to the large dodecahedral one. The faint glow emitted from deep inside both warmed brightly. Chuckling to himself, Kai shook his head, "It seems this temple, and the Force, know that we have a special connection, because they've just given us a pair of holocrons which are also connected in some way. Now, isn't that something?" Kai's voice was clearly one of amazement and excitement, he had never seen anything like this before and was more than eager to see what sort of information and secrets the new holocron would contain.

Inhaling, Kai looked at his companion and his friend and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Alright, let's get going. I think that's all the temple has to show us now... besides, I have something in mind to Celebrate your promotion to knight! C'mon!" The Jedi Master smiled at his former Padawan, placing a hand on the small of her back as though to lead her out of there. "Getting out of the temple isn't so hard... this place has an odd sentience about it. I'm not sure if it's the Force or something else, but it shows us only what we need to make us better Jedi. Then it lets us leave."

After proceeding through one of the doors into a dimly lit corridor, it would probably seem to Saana that Kai knew a lot of secret doors and passageways. Turning to his red-skinned friend, he looked into her golden eyes and asked, "So, how do you feel? I'm sure there are somethings you're just dying to talk about."
 

CJ Solo

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Saana watched s Kai produced his own holocron and brought the two close together. Both objects seemed to glow faintly with light as though reacting to one another; something she would have never expected to see from holocrons. Could they be connected to each other somehow as Kai suggested. "How would two holocrons become connected to one another? Constructed by the same person?" There were so many potential questions.

The togruta glanced around once more as Kai placed a hand on her back. She felt the gentle press of it as he encouraged her forward and after a few moments she allowed him to guide her out. A part of her wondered if she would see this place again, if she would ever learn anything more about it beyond what it had given her already. Maybe the holocron itself would provide answers to those questions. "I wish I could study the place, learn more about it and the Jedi that must have been here at some point."

As they moved through the corridors, she noted that Kai seemed to be rather familiar with all the places she had not noticed before. "How well do you know this place exactly?" Saana looked at him as he posed a question of his own. The togruta then shrugged a little. "I am not really sure, right now. It is all still a bit overwhelming." She paused a moment, then, considering. "Have you ever talked about your experience?"
 
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