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supersaiyanjedi14 · 1 year

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Jedi June 2023

*This was originally meant for Week 4 (Focus/Gathering), but a linty of life factors led to me scrapping my plans for participating this year. However, this fic is one I was determined to pump out, so I can still say I took part in this year's Jedi June. Enjoy!*

*SPOILERS for Jei Survivor

“Clear your mind. Let yourself submerse into the world around you. Become one with the plants, the stones, even the air.”

The young woman heard her master’s words with her mind rather than her ears. The exercise was after all meant for her awareness beyond her physical senses. Taking deep breaths, she reached into the Force. The scent of fresh air filled her nostrils, but this sensation was quickly overpowered by all she sensed beyond it. It was far more than just seeing or feeling what was around her; she was what was around her. She was the breeze blowing by, she was the towering cliffs and bottomless gorges, she was the trickling water in the ponds and streams, she was the grasses and bushes and all their roots, she was the very warmth radiated by the sun’s light, she was…the pair of hands excitedly pulling on her head.

Snapped out of her mediations, Kata Akuna let out a groan as she turned to face the interruption. The tails of her headband were currently gripped in the mits of a young girl no older than seven, her deathly pale skin and dull green eyes sharply contrasted by her bright red hair and toothy grin. Upon seeing that she had caught the elder’s attention, the girl started giggling like a caffeinated bogling, seemingly unaware of what she had just interrupted.

“Hylana,” Kata scolded, trying to find a proper blend of her frustration and amusement of her “sister’s” antics, “I can’t concentrate when you yank on me like that.”

“It was BeeDee’s idea” the girl argued back, prompting an indignant series of warbles from the small droid trailing behind her.

The man next to Kata let out a chuckle. At thirty-seven standard years, Cal Kestis’s face bore the signs of his strenuous years. Between his constant battles with the Empire, his efforts to maintain the Tanalorr sanctuary, not to mention fatherhood, his face was as weathered as anyone would expect. Regardless, he still wielded the energy one would expect of any Jedi, as the rigorous training he had subjected her and the other impromptu initiates to would attest.

“Did he now?” Cal asked as he rose to his feet. “And I’m sure he would only have given you that idea if all your chores were done for the day, right?”

“Yep!” Hylana replied almost immediately, her smile big enough to swallow a freighter. “Does that mean I can go play in the grotto now? Please?”

Cal sighed. Kata knew that Hylana would milk her wrapping around Cal’s finger for whatever it was worth. Kata didn’t want to say Cal and Merrin spoiled their daughter, but it was undeniable that they would let her get away with things none of the other trainees could ever dream of trying.

“Alright,” Cal relented, ruffling Hylana’s fiery hair, “But only if BeeDee and Kata go with you. And you need to be back by dinnertime, okay?”

Hylana perked up and rushed over to the older girl. “Can you come with me, Kata? Please, please, ple-“

“Hold your banthas,” Kata laughed. Seeing as meditation was out of the question for the moment, she got to her own feet. With her cargo pants, loose green tunic, bandana and the blaster rifle she slung over her back, she looked more like a bounty hunter than a Jedi apprentice. Not that anyone would dare suggest she was any less a Jedi for it. Kata had dedicated herself to her studies harder than anyone else on Tanalorr. Ever since she had first met Cal all those years ago, she had been dedicated to learning everything she could about the Jedi way; as well as how to prevent that way from being deformed.

Kata may have been young at the time, barely older than Hylana was now, but she still remembered her first trip to this sequestered world. More importantly, she remembered what her father had become. She clung onto her loving memories of her father as tightly as she dared, but she knew she could never truly forget what Bode Akuna’s obsession had turned him into. Focus was a critical part of being a Jedi, honing your senses and instincts so as to best heed the will of the Force. But that focus could not come at the expense of the big picture or how your actions affected the world around you. Obsession had turned her father into a murderer, blinding him to how he was harming others, herself included, even as he fought to protect her.

For all she had sought to emulate, Kata knew that she would eventually find her own struggles with such things, no better exemplified than the youngling running off with BD-1 scampering at her heels. Kata loved Hylana like a little sister, just as much a doting part of her life as her parents and Greez, and she knew she would do anything within her power to keep her safe. This was no abstract of course; Tanalorr’s status as a refuge from the Empire had demanded an obscene amount of security precautions, and discovery was both a very real danger and something they had had several serious close calls with. The first time Kata had been forced to take a life had been when Inquisitors had attempted to seize the Forest Array, and she and Cal had had to silence them to keep the colony and newborn Hylana safe. The one she had fought had threatened unspeakable things once he made his way through the Koboh Abyss, things that haunted her nightmares. Obviously she feared what may happen to those she loved, but she also privately feared what lengths she may go to keep them safe. How much would she be willing to sacrifice? How far would she go before she stopped?

A giggle broke Kata’s thoughts. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the intrusive thoughts aside and started jogging down the path. Now was not the time to be fretting on what-ifs. Now was for exploring the beautiful crystal grotto alongside her little sister. She made her way down a winding path until she reached a short cliff face, just in time to see BD-1 latch himself onto a cable that led right down towards the cavern entrance. Hylana caught onto the little droid and began to slide her way down. Kata was at the edge of the drop by the time Hylana reached the bottom and turned up.

“Hold on, Kata!” the little girl called up, “I’ll send BeeDee right back up!”

“No, it’s okay!” Kata called back. “I’ll take my own way down. Go on ahead, just don’t go too far!”

“Okay!” Hylana giggled as she and BD-1 took off. As much as Kata liked zipping around on the droid, and knowing that it was the faster way down, she found her personal route far more fun. Turning towards one of the ravine’s walls, she opened with a sudden sprint followed by a powerful jump. What followed next was a series of downward slides, heel kicks off walls, dynamic flying flips, and traversing a multitude of natural handholds she had all but memorized by now. Initially she had required a grappling cable to reach the most advantageous spots, but now all she needed to do was call upon the Force. It took several minutes to reach the bottom, but by the time her feet touched the bottom, she had completed an acrobatics course that would have made even the birds blush. Wiping the sweat off her brow, Kata made her way down the tunnel where the grotto lay. She was just turning her mind to the mesmerizing crystal growths of the caverns when she heard something unexpected. It was Hylana’s voice.

And another, unfamiliar one.

“-re’s a landing pad near the temple you could have used.”

“I probably should have, but my ship was acting up. That’s a pretty weird nebula I had to fly through.”

“Everyone says that first time out. My daddy had some issues too.”

“Your daddy sounds very interesting. Could I meet him?”

Kata’s mind went blank, then raced. Hylana talking to strangers was troubling enough, but a stranger who had flown through the Abyss? Had neglected to dock with the land at the blatantly obvious landing pad? Was lurking around in the caves? And he was asking about Cal? Alarm bells started ringing in her mind. She broke into a run and burst into the grotto.

“Hylana? Who are you talking-“

Kata stopped mid-sentence. Any other day she would have been enamored with the beautiful crystal formations that grew on the walls in a rainbow of colors, reflecting off the shimmering pool of water at the grotto’s center. But Kata ignored all that. Her eyes were focused on Hylana, who was sitting on a boulder playfully kicking her feet. Then she snapped her attention to the figure sitting across form her on another rock, a figure dressed in a black tunic and cloak- and seemed to burn in the Force.

In her experience, people dressed all in black with a strong presence in the Force only meant one thing; trouble.

“Hylana, get back!” she barked. Kata swung her blaster from her back and leveled it on the stranger, who immediately threw up his hands.

“Whoa, whoa!” he said in a startled and now clearly masculine voice, “easy there.”

Hylana was on her feet and running up to Kata in a heartbeat. But instead of jumping behind her legs, the girl stayed in front of her. “Kata, wait! It’s okay he’s friendly.”

“Hylana, back!” Kata repeated. She forced her way between Hylana and the stranger, her weapon trained on him like a hawk sensing it’s prey. “You, drop the cloak and whatever weapons you have. Now!”

“Alright,” the stranger said slowly, “let’s just stay calm. I’m not going to hurt anyone, I promise.” As he spoak, he undid the clasps of his cloak and let it slide off his shoulders.

Kata finally got a good look at the face of the black-clad man. He was human, somewhere around her own age, though with a lighter skin tone and short dark blonde hair. Aside from the color, his clothes were fairly nondescript, just a normal tunic, trousers and boots. What certainly wasn’t standard was one of the objects he removed from his belt and laid on the ground. A roughly 28 centimeter metalic cylinter with a set of ridges on one half leading up to a narrow-necked flattened emitter on one end.

Kata’s girp on her blaster tightened a bit. The last time a powerful Force-sensitive with a lightsaber had approached Tanalorr, Kata had had the fight of her life on her hands. If this guy was anything like that…

Kata stopped herself mid-thought. As the stranger rose to his feet, hands raised again, she tool several deep, calming breaths. It was good to be vigilent, but not paranoid. An inability to trust others had led to her father’s descent into darkness, and assuming the worst could only lead to so many outcomes. She thought backto what Cal had just been telling her and let the Force speak to her. She focused on what had actually happened so far. The man had cooperated fully with her. He had not harmed or endangered Hylana in any way. And as she took in his demeanor, she probed his mind for his intentions, anything that even resembled ill will. Nothing.

Kata wasn’t foolish enough to take a gut feeling at face value, but the Force was basicially waving a sign in her face; this man is no threat.

Slowly lowering her weapon, she genstured to the lightsaber on the ground. “Nice stick,” she quipped. “Where’d you get it?”

“I built it.” the stranger answered, still making no further move towards her. “If you want, I can tell you the exact details of the construction.”

“For now,” Kata breathed, “let’s just have you tell me your name and what you’re doing here.”

The stranger gave a reassuring smile. “My name is Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight. I heard rumors of another Jedi who survived the Emperor’s purges and was operating a refugee colony concealed in a nebula. I’m hoping to rebuild the Jedi Order and I’m hoping to gather as much of the remnants of the Jedi tradition as I can.” He let out a sigh as he continued. “So much was lost all those years ago, and starting from scratch is daunting. If this Jedi is here, I could really use his help.”

Kata regarded him. “Interesting story,” she reasoned. “One we’ve heard from a few would-be visitors on occasion. Not a lot of success.”

The man- Luke, apparently- chuckled. “The Laterro running the bar said much the same thing.”

Now it was Kata’s turn to snort. “That’s Greez for you.”

Hylana peaked around Kata’s legs. “If he’s a Jedi, we should take him to Daddy, right?”

Luke smiled at the girl’s comment. “I take it her daddy is the Jedi in question.”

Kata thought for a moment. Common sense would have said that being this transparent with a complete stranger would be stupidity of the highest order.

The sense she relied on, however, was neither common nor so cynical.

“I would hope so.” Kata remarked. Reaching for her blaster again, she gripped a thick cylinder latched to the underside of the barrel. Detaching it with a slide, she turned it in her hand for a moment before holding it up and thumbing a button on the side. With a snap and a hiss, a shining beam of green light shot out of the end, letting off a soothing hum as its emerald hue filled the grotto. “Who else do you think taught me how to build this?”

Luke regarded Kata’s lightsaber with awe, and his face turned into a look of satisfaction and relief. Kata could pick up on what he was thinking without even needing to use the Force. He was trying to gather what little remained of an order that had faced attempted extermination for over two decades, and now he had found one of the best leads he could hope for. Reaching down, he collected his cloak and lightsaber. “Would it be okay if I were to meet him?”

“Well-“

“Yeah! Yeah!” Hylana’s cheering echoed through the cavern. “You have to meet Daddy! And Mommy too! They can tell you all sorts of cool things! Right Kata?”

Kata looked from Hylana to Luke, and her mouth turned upwards into a genuine smile. “I guess you can come up for now.” She said with a hint of mirth. She then looked down at the little droid. “What do you think, BeeDee?”

BD-1 warbled for a moment, the rapidly shot off a string of affirmatives. He seemed to think that Luke was true to his word. As BD finished beeping, a different set of electronic noises came about. BD ran off behind Luke, and Kata followed his path to find a blue and white R2 astromech droid rolling into the grotto. Humored smirks adorned the humans’ faces as the two droids shared a spirited conversation in binary.

“That settles it,” kata said with an air of finality. She shut down her lightsaber, reattached it to her blaster, then slung the whole thing over her shoulder. “Let’s see what you think of Tanalorr, Luke Skywalker.”

Luke smiled, patted his droid on the dome and gestures towards the path leading back to the temple. “Lead the way.”

@jedijune

#star wars #jedi june #jedi #luke skywalker #cal kestis #kata akuna #oc hylana #bd-1 #r2-d2

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