The Day After (Quay)

[Marcus Telcontar]

The morning sun was breaking through coulds as the ennormous storm broke up. The sounds of a city comingto life and accessign the damage could be heard. water was still everywhere, but even with this remarkable event, the top news stories were about the spectacular fight at the Senate Medical Centre.

Soem distance away, at a small bar named Dexter's, the doors were for once shut and locked. A sign on the door announced there will be no service today.

Upstairs in the secret rooms, 13 bone weary, battered and bruised people slept. A medic that Marcus trusted completely went around, attending to wounds and also to the brave woman whom had suffered the most in the fight.

Downstairs at one of the booths, one man who should have been asleep, was staring out into nowhere. His shirt was off, revealing the bandages and cuts, one of his biceps bound tight, but still showing there was blood there. An not entirely handsome man, he was fairly hairsuite and bearded, looked about 40ish. Dark hair and brooding eyes. He looked like he had been through a few fights in his life, which was true. It was also a life much longer than anyone would realise, for he was no human.

Right now tho, he was feelign every one of his 160 years. Tired, puzzled, confused... yet.... even through all of that, he felt a glow of joy that had not been present for years. A sense of wonder that the Galaxy could still pull such a fast one on him.

"Hey buddy? You okay?"

Marcus Elessar, one time Grand jedi Master and now, Lost Jedi, glanced up at his friend, Dexter Jettster, a huge 4 armed alien. "Doing okay. You?"

"Hehehe. Closed today. Private booking"

"Really?" Marcus asked.

"Yeah. Under the name of Elssar?"

Marcus frowned. "I did?"

"No, but you will. You'ld be wanting to celebrate tonight, wont ya?"

Celebrate? The thought hadn't crossed his mind, so bemused and shocked he was. "Well...."

"Sure you will buddy! Hey, I be seeing what your thinking. Dont worry, you'll want to after you got some sleep"

"I Don't know if I can sleep. I just..... " he shrugged and raised his hands. "I dont know what to think"

"Hehehe. Sure you dont now. Tell ya what, want a hotdrink?"

"Yes... yes that would be great. And ummm..."

"Yeah?"

"Make the booking" he grinned

--

The cup was starting to get cold as it was cupped in Marcus' hands. He took a sip of the nearly empty cup, thoughts far away and not noticing as someone came up. His attention was grabbed by a slight cough and when he saw whom it was, his thoughtful expression broke into a slight smile, as he indicated for the other to take a seat opposite.

"I dont beleive we have formally been introduced. Marcus Elessar"

[Quay'Na Rakai]

Quay'Na's life had changed, it had been a long time coming. She wasn't exactly sure when the change had occurred, but here she was in the upstairs of a diner among many people, bruised, tired, aching. But, something called to her, silently. Not even consciously hearing it, but feellng the need to go downstairs. She picked herself up slowly with a low groan and tested the muscles in her legs to make sure they would even carry her. The Padawan had no problem and moved towards the door on silent feet.

Moving down the stairs, she made her way to a...latter. Yeah, it was the way down to the diner, the secret way. Quay'Na took a deep breath and slowly made her way down the latter and through another door into a kitchen area. No one was around, so she quietly made her way through and into the dining area and suddenly stopped.

The breath caught in her throat as she saw him again. It was him, there was no denying it. The Lost Jedi Master.

Quay'Na took another deep breath and cleared her throat, He looked up at her, she cursed herself inwardly for not having cleaner clothes and then shook the thought from her mind as she saw him...smile. He nodded for her to have a seat across from him.

"I don't believe we have formally been introduced. Marcus Elessar"

Quay sat down and felt a somewhat nervous anticipation, though her mind was clearing a bit more. She was ready for anything and hoped to God he wasn't going to attempt to kill her. The thought of that damn dream reminded her of his actions and she'd seen some of them the night before. But, at this moment, if he pulled out his sword to test her, she was dead. The Padawan was too damn tired to move.

"Quay'Na Rakai..." She paused for a second. "Scott. It's good to finally met you in person, Master Elessar."

[Marcus Telcontar]

His smile, tho small, was warm and genuine.

"Been quite night, has it not? You look about as tired as I feel. I can't sleep, not yet. too much to think about"

"I am pleased to meet you in person for the second time. Yes, you have met me before, tho not as I am now. I seem to recall you were a pretty fair dancer. And..." he held up a hand, styming her reply and enjoyign the look on her face, "I am in your debt. For what you did at the Medical Centre, I would gladly repay many, many times over. It seems my wife chose her Padawan well this time. So.... what would you have me do? Is there anythign you want?"

[Quay'Na Rakai]

Quay's jaw dropped as she stared at him for a few moments as she remembered dancing at the Rose De'jour ball. That was him!

She shook her head as she attempted to clear all the muddled thoughts that were speeding through her mind, this was so overwhelming.

Is there anything you want? Quay'Na blinked as he asked the question. There was only one thing she wanted.

The Padawan nodded. "Yes, Master Elessar. There is one thing that I want." She took a deep breath and calmed her mind. "I wish to be placed in your tutelage. I wish to become one of your Lost Jedi, Master Elessar."

Now, she waited while her heart beat a thousand times a minute, it seemed like an eternity.

[Marcus Telcontar]

"Ahhh, yes, if I remember right, you did mention somethign liek that in that dream Land. And I said... your actions would prove you worthy? After tonight, how can I refuse? And I doubt your Master would refuse as well."

"Willingly, I will do this, Quay. I even think you know what your getting yourself into"

"So... like to tell me about yourself, and what you know?"

[Quay'Na Rakai]

An utter sense of relief came over her. It was the one thing that she had wanted and had felt that the Lost was truly where she belonged.

She winced slightly as he reminded her of the Dream land time.

"Well, first off I am married now. But, I don't live with my husband, except on the weekends and I see him here and there during the week. It's a secret marriage that I had kept from the Jedi, one that they would not approve. But, I love him and that's just how it is."

She paused for a moment and then continued. "I have an identical twin sister that was part of the Jedi, but she left to pursue other opportunities. She's opening a new club, which I'm helping her out with. I do hope that neither of these things will be a problem, Master."

[Marcus Telcontar]

"Oh no, no prolem, as long as you realise how secret the Lost truly are. But, I think you do know. so, I dont think this'll be an issue"

His smile warmed even more at the words of married.

"Are you married? really? Whom to? And if you dont mind me asking, why must you keep it a secret from the Jedi? Not that I really worry. Is he not exactly doing things legal? I'd have no problem with that, it's not like we bent and broke every rule tonight"

[Quay'Na Rakai]

"Your secret is safe with me, Master Elessar." She told him with a happy smile. "My husband's name is Anthony Scott, he's in the shipping business and yes, some of his work is done illegally. But, that's not really why Iv'e had to keep our marriage a secret...he's also a..." She paused. "He's a darksider, but he loves me and I love him. We understand that even as our paths may lead different ways, we can still love each other and make our marriage work."

And the fact that he's a vampire. The thought rambled through her mind, before she even realized what she was thinking, but it was too late to try and block. Deep down, Quay hoped her new master missed that little bit of information, but she doubted it. He was too sharp for that.

[Marcus Telcontar]

"Dark Sider... well, even if I did lead the Council for a while, that doesnt bother me. A Dark Sdier in love means there's a...."

A vampire?

Nah....... no such thing. Even if Miranda had been convinced that's what she had been, Marcus didnt believe Undead could possibly exist. Must be some hapless Hemophiliac. Well, like that bothered him. Not.

"... There's a chance of redemption. It's what I do - there's other dark siders I aim to turn one day. But I will not pressure you to do the same. so... tell me about yourself. I hardly know anything about you, yet I think you know more about me than just about any being alive. True, that is not much, but you have found out I exist and you found me. And you want soemthing to stay awake for a bit longer? You must be as burnt out as I am, after events like tonight"

[Quay'Na Rakai]

"That'd be great, Master Elessar." Quay answered. "Hmmm, more about myself. Okay, I was adopted, my real name had been Halindra Le'Kray until I was brought to the Rakai family. Not long ago, I found this out when my real father, Cordell and identical twin sister, Yasmin located me. I was quite shocked to say the least. I also have a younger sister on the Rakai side, Cheyanne. She did reside on Corellia at the manor my adopted father, Jerib gave her. But, now since dropping out of the Naval Academy there, she's a pilot for hire." She took a sip of a cup of stimcaf that was placed in front of her by a rather large being. Quay'Na smiled at it and nodded. "Thank you."

"In turn, I was also given a manor on Naboo, it's quite lovely to say the least. I really don't know much about my birth mother and my adopted one, Jescenia...well...she was horrible." A memory flashed through her mind of the night Jescenia died. The kidnapping, the torture and finally the escape. Quay remembered the struggle between them with the blaster and then heard it go off. Then, there was that damned explosion that her friend Ace and she had barely escaped from, but her mother...had been buried in the rubble.

The Padawan shook the memory from her mind. "She died and...well, I just don't like to talk about that one."

Quay'Na paused again as she thought of more information. "My strongest link to the Force is in the animal kingdom. I can telepathize with and control animals, which I usually don't control them, I merely ask for their help. Gets me further, faster."

[Marcus Telcontar]

"Yes, I know abut your abilty with animals. Stig told me about Quay-Hawk. Rather got my interest up, because there's not many can truly speak to them. He was rather disappointed you couldn't get him a crunchable birdie"

He laughed, but then looked up at the ceiling. Oh man, was he feeling tired. Bone weary like few times before.

"Tell me, what other aspects of The Force do you know? and dont ask what I can do, right now I could hardly raise enough concentration to move a spoon. What a night, I'll be glad when I can sleep. Too much on my mind tho right now - I think you can understand why"

[Quay'Na Rakai]

It was strange to see him in this aspect, he was at peace in a way. Not angry, ruthless or wanting to kill her, which was a change from what she had remembered from her dream.

But, then again, he had been kind towards her at the ball.

This was alright. Yeah, it was. Quay'Na knew deep down she would learn a lot from him. It finally hit her....she was now his Padawan. Her mind was boggled for a few moments as it sunk in and it didn't help that she was exhausted herself. Mentally and physically.

"Yes, Master I can understand why you would have a lot on your mind." She nodded and said no more on the fact of his daughter, Arwen. In time, if he wanted to talk about it, she would share all she knew.

Quay grinned at his comment about Stig. She really liked Stig.

Other aspects....hmmm.

"Balance and agility are my second strengths. My lightsabering is alright, I'm getting better. Telekenesis is not a stronghold for me, healing is beyond me if not in the animal kingdom. Hmmmm," she thought a bit more and as tired as she was, she knew she'd probably leave something out. "Oh, I can now telepathize beyond animals, thanks to Master Helenias...oh, and she did show me her Force Pike, which I really liked. I need to get me one of those." Her voice perked up a bit as she spoke of the weapon.

[Marcus Telcontar]

"Oh good Lord, not another one" he mocked sighed. "Next your going to wear red armour too? I'm sure Helenias has a set that will fit you"

He thought for a moment - "Maybe that's not a bad idea. That would be a good disguise after all and if your truly agile... that's something for the near future. Part of yur training is armoury, because most of us do wear it"

Because it was digging into his hip, he paused, taking out the lightsabre he had rebuilt from Athona. It was the same type of dual handle long, hilt in the centre. The lower section was indeed the primary from Athona, the new secondry being new and his creation, with the same latent powers and protection. An altogether impressive weapon, one that would take a lot of experience to weild. He put it on the table, the dull surfaces shining slightly.

[Quay'Na Rakai]

"Red armour? Now that would be cool." She answered with a tired smile and then she saw his sabre. "Wow." Was about all she could say.

[Marcus Telcontar]

"It was a wedding present from Helenias. The base with the hilt is over 4000 years old. The upper part I replaced. I dont know where she got the thing, but considering she was an Imperial Royal Guard, I suppose she had acces to all sorts of Jedi artifacts that Palpatine possessed. This, I suspect, Palpatine would have missed greatly for it's no ordinary sabre.... it has Jedi arts placed on it the likes that like hasnt been seen for millenia! Have a look if you want - it's a superb weapon"

[Quay'Na Rakai]

It wasn't like any sabre she'd ever seen as she reached over and picked it up. It was heavier than her own sabre and she knew it would be a very difficult weapon to wield, just from it's shape and weight. "This weapon is amazing, Master Elessar. Truly amazing."

Over four thousand years old some of this unique weapon was, now that was something else as well. Unheard of to her until just now.

"Mind if I turn on the blade?"

[Marcus Telcontar]

"Sure, go ahead"

[Quay'Na Rakai]

Quay'Na nodded as she stood up and out of the way. It was heavier than she thought and held it with both hands. With a deep breath, she pressed the button that she assumed was the on switch. Her eyes widened as she heard a very strange sound as a blue blade appeared.

"This is nice." She told him. As she looked over the blade, the color began to shift and she noticed a few buttons. "Why's it doing that? What's all the extra buttons for, Master?"

[Marcus Telcontar]

"It's shifting, because the blade senses you are a Jedi. It's a sign that the blade will not harm you - can not harm you. The Jedi arts upon it means that no Dark Sider can safely handle it. It's power is only unlocked by the creator and those he wishes to know. If you were a dark Sider, you wold be a smoldering set of ashes. Even if you mentally attacked it, you would be destroyed"

"The buttons are modes of usage On the lower grig, there is off, 1 and 2. 1 fires up the blade, 2 allows for the colour shift, which, because the frequency changes, means it will cut cortoris. At the top of the upper grip, you have other buttons - length adusters and the A button."

His eyes were alive, keen for her to try the A button out.

"When you use that, you will see something very few Jedi in the existance of any Jedi Order have heard of, let alone seen. The power resets and.... go on, try it out"

[Quay'Na Rakai]

Try it out.... Where had she heard that before, oh yeah right before she got her hand caught in the cookie jar.

"Okay, here goes nothing...." She held the blade away from doing anyone harm and pressed the button....

Instantly, the sabre blade changed from the normal blade and into the 'Flamesabre' mode.

Quay'Na had never seen anything like it, she could only imagine the look on her face. "Oh, frell..." She was stunned to say the least. As she held the blade in front of her. "I've never seen anything like it, Master."

It had to have been the most awesome thing she'd ever seen.

[Marcus Telcontar]

"It's a wonder isn't it" he said, also staring at the flickering blade of flame, "it's also frightening to be on the wrong end of. The art of the flamesabre has been lost for so many eons, but a friend of mine helped me find out how to build one. This is a genuine Flamesabre, made with the rarest of light sabre crystals - the blade as you see burns air instead of stops the interaction between the blade and the atmosphere. Better shut it down, extended use burns the focus lens out"

"I think it's the only one surviving from a batch of five a Jedi Master made millenia ago. Over the years, I guess other Jedi Masters have treasured it and made modifications, to the weapon you see here. I often wonder who had it before me and how long ago it was. Soemtimes, I imagine an ancient Jedi's hand is on it as I weild it. Which is poetic I guess, in me there's power and knowledge like hasn't been for so long. Some said I'm the most powerful Jedi of the age"

He accepted the sabre back.

"But you know, power, knowledge means nothing in the end. What is it? It's all about where your heart is at"

He glanced upstairs.

"Tomorrow we leave for Trilith. And then maybe, we'll go to Ukio. You should see both of those places quay - trilith is beauty, it is full of the Light Side of The Force. Ukio.... is my dream, the reason I do this. One day, I want to live on Ukio and be a nerf herder, like a friend of mine. I want to be able to watch the sunset with Helenias and.... my family"

My family...

"I never thought I would ever see the possibilty that might happen"

[Quay'Na Rakai]

"Sounds like a dream to come true one day, Master." I acknowledged with a smile. "I, too wish to be with my husband and one day have a family. Out of the regions of the city and back into the essence of nature. Back to the domain where I belong."

Quay'Na stretched her aching muscles before taking a seat again. "Trilith, sounds like a place I could really like. As does Ukio, I've never been to either place and it'll be a very nice change. I think, I was born to be out in nature and I think my first master knew that. She had me out in the wilds everywhere."

Quay took a deep breath as a memory of her first master flashed through her mind and she smiled. "I miss that."

[Marcus Telcontar]

"Yes, well Coruscant is a soul destroying place, unnatural and tainted. Can you feel all the paina dn anguish, the hatred and the sorrow? The Greed and the corruption? It's as if Coruscant exists solely to highlight the suffering and the evil int he Galaxy. Any vice, anything can be done here. But, unlike some, if I had my choice it'll be the scum in their towers I'd remove. Down below in the sub street levels... there real life. Real beings. Genuine ones too. I wish they could be somewhere else other than this cesspit - "

He caught himself about to launch into his usual tirade, the hints of passion and anger at the injustice down that the senate and the Jedi just stood by and watched and in some cases even promoted.

"- and I shoud be quiet now. I'm tired, more tired than I think I ever have been. Maybe now I should sleep. Maybe I'll do a walk around and see.... how everyone is" he said, rather lamely, covering the rather strong urge to check precisely one room and one bed. One where the greatest surprise of his life was sleeping. He could hardly believe it was all real.

[Quay'Na Rakai]

Unfortunately, there would be no rest for Quay'Na today. Too many things to do, many good-byes to say at the Temple. Today would be her last day there and she was sure it would be an emotional one to say the least.

She nodded as she downed the rest of her drink and stood. Man, she was tired. "I need to go for a while and get my things packed at the Temple and say some good-byes. I probably won't be back until after nightfall."

[Marcus Telcontar]

"I think we all will be awake by then - if not, Dexter will let you in"

It also occured today was a fairly turbulent day for Quay as well, but for somewhat different reasons. She had done what she had wanted to do, fouind the Lost Master and was about to walk out of her old life, into a totally new one. In many ways, that was what was happening to him too - so much had changed in the blink of an eye.

"I know what your leaving behind Padawan - the road that myself and Xazor Elessar have gone done is one that has a hard beginnig. You are brave to put your footsteps on that path. But..... you have done much already to prove you are strong enough to walk it. I owe you much, Padawan, more than I could say. I will help and guide you to the best of my ability. If you need anything, need a place to be, I will give you one. Just ask for it and I shall give it to you. The Lost too, is much like a family - rremember that"

He stood as well.

"If you want, send your belongings to Land Pad 94, there's someone there by the name of Slazenger who will get them to my starcraft. Then come here and celebrate.... life. New life. For yourself and others. Will you do that?"

[Quay'Na Rakai]

"Yes, I shall do that, Master and I shall never forget what you have done for me as well, accepting me into the Lost." It was one of the things she had hoped for over the past few months and now that she had just become part of them, it was stilll quite unbelievable.

I've finally found my home. She thought silently, as she turned to go and then stopped herself for a moment.

Anthony.. Quay turned and faced him again. "Ummm, I've one more question before I leave. I'll need to see my husband this evening before I come back. What can I tell him about this, Master? Can he know that I have joined you? He'll want to know where I am, if I'm not with the Order."

No more secrets from him, oh God, I could not bare it. The darkest thing that she had hidden from him, from everyone was still deep within her and only four people knew of it and they had sworn to secrecy.

[Marcus Telcontar]

"Let me meet him and I'll judge what he can know. For now, if he was to know that your with a Bounty Hunter will be enough - I dont want him to know of the Lost and of me until I can be sure he can be trusted. But if you ask again tonight, I might answer differently.... I'm so tired, I'm not thinking right. I think that I need to sleep"

[Quay'Na Rakai]

Quay nodded. "Very well, Master. I'll see you tonight, then."

The Padawan gave him a bow and then slipped back into the kitchen and out another door into the morning light.

With a deep breath she felt content now with her life, things were really looking up for her now. It was finally were she belonged.