Storinal: Breathe!

[Jeseth Cloak]

2 Years and 6 Months After the Battle of Endor...



Since leaving Ilum (http://www.sw-fans.net/forum/showthread.php?t=17116), Jeseth had searched relentlessly for any trace of the Jedi Master, Liam Jinn. The process had been painstaking. In the first few months, due to the injuries he had sustained at the hands of the late Jedi Knight Kelt Simoson, he had been unable to do anything but browse Imperial public records, and due to the antiquity of his ship, he had been forced to do so from close proximity to Imperial planets. The only mention of Jedi Master Liam Jinn hadn't even pertained to him directly; it had been about his daughter, Dae Jinn. It would do though, since she would surely know where Jeseth could find him... and in the end, she would tell him.

Fortunately for Jeseth, Dae had been much easier to locate; her trail had brought him straight to Storinal (http://www.sw-fans.net/forum/showthread.php?t=17045). He wandered the planet's central spaceport, dressed in traditional Jedi garb with his two lightsabers gently swinging from his belt. He held the most recent image of her that he had been able to procure. "Have you seen this woman," Jeseth asked again and again, only to find that most people replied with a shrug or shake of the head.

"I've seen her," said one passerby at last. "She ran by and nearly knocked me to the floor. She was heading that way," he added, motioning towards a wall that was singed and cleaved, "but that was hours ago."

The damage was obviously the work of a lightsaber and ment that either Dae was reckless and armed, or that someone who had been chasing her was. Either possibility was cause enough for Jeseth to proceed cautiously. He drew his hood over his head, masking his face in shadows, and began to walk through the streets following the path of destruction. Then he saw her.

Dae was laying on the floor, barely breathing, burned and ravaged by the blade of a lightsaber. There were strange markings scrawled across her body. Jeseth crouched over her and pulled back his hood, his jaw-length brown hair falling forward along the sides of his fair face. His red eyes surveyed Dae, and then scanned the surroundings shadows. It seemed that they were alone... at least for now.

"Are you Dae Jinn," he asked her, "daughter of Jedi Master Liam Jinn?" His voice was laced with concern - concern that she might die before telling him what it was that he needed to know. To Dae however, it must have simply seemed as if he truly cared.

[Dae Jinn]

I cracked one eye open, just a slit of light coming in. A man is kneeling over me, dressed in Jedi robes. Am I dead?

Ow. My whole body is racked with pain, and I shut my eyes again. He's asking me if I'm Dae Jinn, about my father. I barely nodded my head before the world goes quiet and I'm out again.

[Jeseth Cloak]

She looked as if she had stopped breathing. Wake up, Jeseth screamed in her mind, but she didn’t move. He leaned closer to her and waited to hear or feel a breath escape her... nothing. “Deshet,” he demanded in his native tongue, lips drawn back in anger. He pressed his palms over her sternum firmly. Blue tendrils of energy rippled around his fingers and then ripped through her body in one loud crack! His lips and skin lost what little color they had left, and then her eyes opened again. “I’m Jedi Master Jeseth Cloak,” he told her, his voice tired and low, “I’m here to help you, but I need you to stay awake.”

He scooped her up and carried her back to his ship. His arms burned from the effort of it all. Dae looked as if she was barely hanging on. “Here,” he said, shoving a white pill into her mouth. “It’s bacta, to help the healing along, and something to numb the pain.” His hands were shaking. “What happened to you?”

[Dae Jinn]

"I..got attacked. By some freak alien..."

I painfully swallowed the pill. He had settled me in a chair, I noticed his hands were shaking. He said his name was Jeseth Cloak...I couldn't remember him from the Temple. I couldn't remember a lot of things, I was too busy trying to stay awake.

"Why are you helping me?"

[Jeseth Cloak]

I don't remember him from the temple, her thoughts echoed faintly. Jeseth could hear them. "I knew your father once, before the Clone Wars and the Empire. You're the only chance I have of finding him," he answered. His perceptive eyes were surveying her wounds. "You're fortunate that whoever did this to you was more interesed in watching you suffer than watching you die. Where's your lightsaber?"

[Dae Jinn]

"Lightsaber?"

My brow furrowed, and I shook my head. "I don't have one...too risky. I don't know where my father is, if he even survived all that..."

I coughed, wiping a bit of blood from my mouth. "I haven't seen him since I left the Temple."

[Jeseth Cloak]

Jeseth’s eyes briefly betrayed his frustration. How could she not know where her father is, he thought to himself! But her response did ring of honesty... “He survived,” Jeseth said, “and you will see him again; we both will. You however, need a weapon. You’re the daughter of a Jedi Master.” Jeseth detached one of his two lightsabers from his belt and held it up before Dae. Her eyes were a bit swollen. “Can you see it? This lightsaber has helped to uphold the rule of law in our galaxy for more than one-hundred years. It’s guarded peace, and passed judgement.” Upon hundreds, Jeseth thought to himself in a moment of silence.

It blared to life with a vicious hiss, crimson light flooding the dimly lit cabin of the ship. It’s hot blade hummed steadily. “It’s yours now,” Jeseth said as he moved the lightsaber around, and then deactivated. It made a desperate gasping sound before it faded away. He dropped it into one of her badly bruised hands. “You’ll learn to defend yourself, and others, when the need arises." Now, he thought to himself, tell me you'll help me find your father.

[Dae Jinn]

I jumped as the saber activated. After what had happened to me, it wasn't the most pleasant of sounds, even if it was now "my" weapon. I hadn't used a saber in forever. I held the cold metal cylinder loosely in my hand, not really wanting it there.

"How do you know my father survived? What proof do you have?"

[Jeseth Cloak]

Jeseth closed his eyes and reached out through the Force. Yes, he was sure of it; Liam was still alive. "If he had died, I would have felt it. Your father is alive," he responded. "Will you help me find him?" He stood and took a deep breath. "I need you to say that you will. After I leave here, I intend to turn myself over to the Empire; I've run for too long. You're truly my last hope." Deliberately - subtly - Jeseth forced conviction into her thoughts, clearing away the uncertainty and fear. "Please find him."

[Dae Jinn]

I swallowed hard, then nodded.

"I'll help you, but I'm not turning myself, or my father, over to the Empire."

Sighing heavily, I shut my eyes. My entire body ached and burned, and I just wanted to sleep. "Can I rest now?"

[Jeseth Cloak]

Jeseth nodded, and mere seconds later, Dae was sound asleep.

By the time she came to, twelve hours had passed her by. It was midday and the air inside of the small ship was warm and stale. Her wounds were dressed tightly with white cloth. Jeseth sat just across from her, his back pressed against a wall, one leg drawn up against his chest and his arms folded atop his knee. His dark red eyes were trained upon her. “Good morning,” he said as he slowly got to his feet. “I hope you don’t mind, but I bandaged your wounds while you slept.”

Jeseth could feel her apprehension, and desperately wanted to set her mind at ease. Her trust was imperative to turning Liam to his cause. “I won’t turn your father over to the Empire. You have my word on it, as a Jedi.” He placed a hand on top of her head reassuringly. “Now, it’s time.” His hand slipped away from her head as he made his way to the ships hatch and opened it. It hissed as it fell away, letting in a stinging amount of light. “You have to go.” He stood by the doorway, waiting for her to limp over. A feeling of foreboding suddenly washed over him.

“Remember your lightsaber. Something tells me you're going to need it."

[Dae Jinn]

"Wait a second..."

I squinted hard against the bright light shining in, seeing nothing but a sillouhette, the sun making a halo around him. I got up slowly, saber in hand, and thrusted it in his direction.

"I haven't used a saber in years, there's NO way I'm using one now. Why don't you just put a big sign on me that says "JEDI"? You may have a death wish, but I certainly do not."

[Jeseth Cloak]

Jeseth couldn’t help but laugh at her sudden outburst. “Yes,” he said, “you’re very right. I couldn’t expect you to make much use of it in a fight, could I? Well, let’s remedy this serious problem.” He took a few steps into the ship, cracked open a small panel in one of its walls, and drew a small, spherical droid from inside it. “This is called a remote,” Jeseth said as carried it out of the ship. Dae followed him, lightsaber still awkwardly in hand. She watched Jeseth activate the droid and place it into the air. It hummed soothingly and rolled from side to side, maintaining a low altitude, hovering level with her eyes.

“Activate your lightsaber,” Jeseth commanded her, “now.” The droid’s gentle hum was gone. It was now emanating a threatening hiss. “The Jedi of the Old Republic used remotes to train in the ways of the Force. You’re to deflect its attacks using your lightsaber.” The droid fired a low energy plasma blast, striking one of her bandaged arms.

[Dae Jinn]

"OOooooowwww."

I rubbed my arm. It shot another blast, and I could barely dodge it. I hit the button on my saber, and after a pause, the blade hissed to life. I held it out awkwardly, not knowing exactly HOW I was going to do this, but not wanting to get zapped either. It made me wish I'd trained more as a youngster...Another blast, another stingy shot to the arm.

"You know, for a supposed Jedi, you're not very helpful."

[Jeseth Cloak]

Jeseth held up a hand, signaling to the remote that it was to halt its attacks. She was, apparently, much less talented than her father had been... but that could change, in time. "Close your eyes," he said, "and let the Force guide you. Feel it flowing through you." As she attempted to follow the instructions, Jeseth considered how to better encourage her. He could sense the momentum building up inside her. He dropped his hand, letting the remote know that it was time to resume its attacks.

It began to dart from side to side, hissing loudly as it went. "Don't try to follow the sound of its movements; feel it's movements..." He watched her expectantly. It was difficult not to expect great things, her being the daughter of a Jedi Master.

[Dae Jinn]

"Gee, no pressure, huh." I muttered, closing my eyes and reaching out with the Force. I couldn't help but take a teeny tiny peek at his thoughts -- thoughts of my father, and how unlike him I was. Had my eyes been open, they'd be rolling.

I concentrated on the droid. trying to "feel" it's movements. It's not like a living thing, something that has thoughts and emotions that I could grab onto and use. This hissing was getting louder, and I knew it was going to fire off a shot. I moved the saber in front of me, and a little to the left. Fingers crossed, hoping that I'm right about this...The blast just barely hits the saber, which in my opinion, is better than it hitting me.

[Jeseth Cloak]

"Excellent! Now," Jeseth called out to her, "destroy it." He waved his hand to the remote, and it's hissing suddenly became whirring. "The blasts will be significantly more potent this time, so I'd suggest you succeed." His eyes grew bright with anticipation. "And Dae," he added, "petulance is unbecoming of a Jedi." He felt the jolt of surprise that ran through her. Yes, in time she would come to realize, that peering into the mind of others, often meant that would be peering into yours. The fact that she had been able to do so at all though, showed amazing potential.

The remote whirred and fired a volley of fierce blasts.

[Dae Jinn]

A smirk crossed my lips. I hit two of the five blasts, one missing me and two nicking my right arm. I swung my saber downwards, hitting the droid. Not quite slicing it in half, but damaging it enough to shut it up, dropping with a clink on the ground. I resist the urge to clap my hands and say yeah, instead deactivating the saber and giving him a half-grin.

[Jeseth Cloak]

"Perhaps," Jeseth said, "you're more like your father than I first thought." He picked up the remains of the remote, examined them, and then tossed them back on the ground. "I'm glad to see my old lightsaber will be put to good use." He placed an encouraging hand on one of her shoulders and said, "you'll be fine."

Jeseth made his way up the entry ramp and into his shuttle. "Dae," he said as he spoke to her one last time, not bothering to turn around, "don't forget your promise." The shuttle's ramp lifted slowly behind him, then sealed tightly over the entry hatch. Dust kicked up as the ship's engines roared to life. Dae watched the shuttle climb into the planet's atmosphere and then vanish, leaving behind a burning trail of blue light.

His final destination was a remote sector in the galactic core (http://sw-fans.net/forum/showthread.php?t=17194).