Tython: A Place of Origins

"I'm the only survivor from my class, too."

Wei, of course, meant the Jedi Purge. But oddly enough, he wasn't that bitter about it anymore. It was the deaths of his family that drove him to drink now.

"It's not surprising that your training would be so cutthroat, though. Empires have risen and collapsed throughout galactic history, and nearly all of them were like that. The Sith were in charge of those Empires back then, and before their so-called "Rule of Two" people looking to become Sith would come in droves to slaughter one another for the sake of power."

Wei shrugged. "I never understood the fascination with power. Why not be content to live a simple life? Fighting to gain power, then fighting to keep it. Never made much sense to me."

***********

"Wei, is it true you're a cripple?" One of the younglings asked him.

"Cripple?"

"Yeah, I heard the Jedi Masters say you were crippled. What's that mean?"

"It means," a Padawan piped up, "that he's handicapped in some way. His growth is stunted. But that's ok. Master Yoda has his gimer stick, but he's as powerful a Jedi as they come."

"But Wei doesn't have a stick. How is he stunted?"

Wei had never felt so small.

"It doesn't matter," the Padawan said. "Now, come along. it's time to practice. Everyone get a ball, and we will drill pushing it to each other using only the Force. This skill is very important, because it will help you retrieve something that is out of reach. For intsance, if you ever find yourself disarmed and can't reach your lightsaber, you can use this ability to call it to you. Please, go ahead and try."

Wei got into position and turned on his lightsaber.

"No lightsabers, Wei. It's not time for that."

Wei grew anxious. but he was supposed to always have his lightsaber. "But I was told to always have my lightsaber on when I drill."

The Padawan wasn't impressed. "Off. Now."

Wei gulped, but extinguished the saber anyway. As the blade disappeared back into its hilt, Wei's mind retracted back into his skull. The ball stood in the middle of the floor between him and his partner.

"Now Wei, I want you to pick up the ball with the Force, and float it to your partner."

Wei reached out a hand and silently pleaded that the ball would move. It didn't budge. The little boy scrunched his face up tight and concentrated on the ball. He pictured it in his mind as he was taught to do, but still it would not lift into the air.

"Wei, you've been practicing this all month. I was told you're pretty good at it. Don't get discouraged. Take a deep breath and remember, There is No Emotion. There us Peace."

Wei tried for five minutes, and yet the result was the same. No longer able to bear the stares of his fellows, Wei drew his lightsaber, and pressed the button. There was the ball! He could find it after all! Wei felt his fears melt away. The ball floated into his partner's waiting hands.

"Sorry. I know no lightsabers, but I just couldn't do it!"

The Padawan said nothing. "I see. Crippled."

"That's how he's crippled!" The Youngling from before said. "Wei Wu Wei is a Force Cripple!"

Wei had never felt more ashamed.

"I probably wouldn't have lasted long in your training, to be honest."

"I think you would surprise yourself," Iscandar responded, running her fingertips along the wall as she ascended.

"Many Inquisitors are not Force Adepts at all. Zey are trained to investigate signs of Adepts in 'iding. If some are found... zen zey send in zeir troopers and engage from distance."

As she finally reached the top, she saw the walkway which had once ringed the great domed room had fallen into ruin. Pieces were missing, and some sections looked as if they were ready to fall at a moment's notice.

One corridor led back, making a turn and obscuring its end from her. She didn't want to leave, and have Wei disappear on her.

Several rooms were darkened, or open to the elements from collapsed sections of the roof, had been rooms for training and instruction, as far as she could tell.

There was no way to get across to her quarry, save by cutting her own path through a wall. With a breath of frustrated irritation, she pondered the quandary laid before her.

How could she get to Wei before he fled?

Wei stopped at the end of the walkway. He looked around, and noticed Palara's pathway turning away as well. Now was his chance! But again, Wei felt like he shouldn't just run off. He was here for a purpose, after all. He made an effort to clamp down on his frustration.

"There is no emotion, there is peace," he said to himself.

Then Wei did something he hadn't done in a very long time. He sank to his knees, shut his eyes, and started to meditate.

"There is no emotion, there is peace," he repeated silently.

It didn't matter if Palara found away to reach him. She would be dealt with when she got to him. Wei had to get his mind past the fact that he was being pursued and get the job done. So, he began to handle his emotions.

He was afraid. This woman from the Empire found him, and was trying to catch him. If she succeeded, he would be imprisoned or executed. He didn't want that. He had to find whatever it was his father died for. Because his father died for his sake. Wei had to be brave for his family's sake. So their deaths wouldn't be for nothing. Very slowly, he started to let go of his fear. After all, once before he was a brilliant lightsaber fighter. He was becoming so again.

As the fear eased away, he could still feel that he was angry. Angry at Palara? No. It wasn't her fault his family died. She didn't give the order. It was whoever pulled her strings that made that happen. He was angry at the Empire--a faceless, vague opponent. He was angry at an institution, an organization. One far too big for Wei to take down on his own. It made him impotent. Better to not be angry at all. The Empire was still his enemy. As was Palara. As was her superior. One day Wei would meet whoever stood at the helm of the Imperial Inquisitoriate. But it wouldn't be that day. And until then, Wei would be patient. Not angry.

Palara was only doing her job. Wei would move forward, like a river. When Palara appeared, like a boulder in his path, he would find a way to flow around her and continue to his destination. That was all that mattered.

Wei couldn't hear his pursuer anymore. He couldn't hear the animals outside. Even the clamoring in his head were quiet--for the moment. There was only peace.

There! There it was! The thing he was looking for! Somewhere in the inner reaches of the Temple, was an assembly area. A large dais stood against a wall, decorated with an equally impressive statue of a Jedi warrior with hands clasped around a lightsaber hilt. The Jedi statue stood feet apart, lightsaber pointed at the sky, and held high above its head. At the top of the statue, the thing would be there.

Wei stood, feeling blood flow back into his aching legs. How long had he been kneeling? And where was Palara now?

It didn't matter. He had his goal. Now all there was left to do was to reach it.

Palara stopped, seeing a crumbling hole in a wall and entering into a large domed room.

A dilapidated table lay in the middle of the room, chairs situated around it's semi circular circumference. The feeling of peace was palpable here, as if Light were a part of the very fabric that made up the matter in this room. The air was heavy with its scent.

She walked up and placed her fingers to the table, her steps echoing lightly in the full emptiness that surrounded her.

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It hurt so much, a building pain that she couldn't contain any more.

He looked at her with eyes that sent chills down her spine. It was the look she could see on a serial killer before he struck the blow that ended her life.

He led her through the palace to her master, where he sat with his family at the table. They looked up at them with surprise, and the governor paled.

The Inquisitor placed the cylinder in her hand.

"You can only move on after this," he said, his voice reverberating in her bones. The hiss of the activation of the lightsaber resonated into her belly, as if the blade of red light sucked out her hate and fury and helplessness to make itself. She moved to the governor's wife, who was looking her with sense of bruised indignation, and swung the blade, severing the woman's head easily, too easily.

Her arms continued to move; as the children stood to run they were stabbed, and she sliced the table in half and watched as it slammed down on another's legs. She stabbed into the governor's belly and pulled down and up, slicing him in half.

She was no longer angry, but empty.

Atrapes smiled.

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She stepped away from the table and turned, seeing no way out of the room other than the hole she had used before, she stepped out, and for the first time noticed a ledge that stuck out from the wall.

Making her way around the room on the ledge, she caught sight of Wei standing and moving off, out of the room, no longer looking, or feeling as lost as he had before. She doubled her efforts to catch up.

Wei ran towards the target with all the speed the Force could lend him. The Force nudged him to the left. He banked sharply, sending debris flying as his feet sought to gain purchase on a floor strewn with loose rubble. Through the door, then through the room and beyond a hole in the opposite wall. He was back on Palara's side. Things would heat up soon if he didn't hurry.

He flew down the hallway. He could almost see the end!

Palara's boots hit the floor of the second level, causing a small cloud of dust to rise from the impact; she ignored the accumulation of years' worth of absence, and extended her senses, searching for Wei.

She found him, and he was much stronger in the Force than she'd remembered him being only a short time ago. Time was of the essence.

She opened her eyes and followed her instincts, running rapidly through the halls of the dead Temple, and found herself catching glimpses of the man, though he had a considerable lead on her.

She pushed herself harder.

Wei barreled down the hallway towards the statue. The large grey stone figure showed only it's midsection through the doorway, but once the former Jedi emerged onto the balcony, the statue seemed to loom over Wei, looking down at him from its great height.

Moss smeared the statue's robe. Ivy climbed its legs. A bird's nest perched in the cook of its elbow. The statue looked worn and weather-beaten. Kind of like how Wei felt.

Wei looked at the lightsaber. As he followed the blade's length to its point, the bright sun shone into Wei's eyes, making him blink. It was up there. The lightsaber was the key to solving his father's puzzle.

"When has a lightsaber not been the key element in solving my problems?"

*******************

"You mean I can't use the Force without my lightsaber on EVER?" The little Wei asked.

"I'm afraid so," the Miralukan replied. "I'm sorry we didn't tell you. All the masters knew. We just wanted you to not feel singled out. But I can see that our efforts were in vain.

Wei felt sad. He also felt angry. "I'm a cripple!" He screamed. He sniffed a little, and then the tears started to fall down his face. "I can't do anything without my lightsaber! Any of the other Younglings can, but not me! I'm a wierdo! What good can I be?"

"A great deal of good, you can be."

Wei whirled around to face the source of that gravelly voice. "Master Yoda, why did you keep this secret from me!" The little boy ran over to the oldest member of the Jedi Council and grabbed the elderly being by his robes. "It isn't fair! I didn't mean to be like this! I didn't even know!" Wei sobbed into the green Jedi's shoulder.

"Ok, it will be, little Youngling." Yoday gave the boy a comforting pat on the back. He never could help being amused that the toddlers could cry on his shoulder without having to be picked up. "Remember the Jedi Code. There is no emotion, there is peace."

Wei took a big gulping breath. "But I don't feel peaceful!"

Yoday nodded. "Of course not. Troubled, you are. Confused. But this is not the end for you, Wei Wu Wei. When your mind is at peace, the answer you will see. Remember the pond in the garden. When still it is, your reflection you can see. When troubled and stirred up it is, only the thrashing water is there."

Wei took a few deep breaths. He let go of Master Yoda. Then he took a step back, and with a face full of anguish, drew his lightsaber and turned it on. The caretaker took a gasping breath and moved to restrain Wei. Yoday glanced at the Miralukan and as if by telepathy, the Miralukan nodded like he understood and stopped.

Wei stared hard at the lightsaber. He listened to its hum. He swished the blade across the air to see how it changed. The blade's light blurred across Wei's vision, and the hum changed pitch, but it stayed steady. Constant. Peaceful. Could Wei be like the lightsaber blade? A source of light that was steady and constant? He smiled in spite of himself.

"I do like my lightsaber," he said.

Yoda said nothing, but simply nodded his head.

"And lightsaber classes are the most fun," Wei continued. "When I can hear the hum, I can feel everything going on, even in the other places in the Temple. Other Younglings can't do that as easily as I can when I have my lightsaber."

Wei reached a finger under his glasses to rub his eyes. "When my lightsaber is on, I'm faster than the other Younglings, too. They have to work harder at it." He sniffed. Then he wiped his nose on his sleeve. "I guess I can just be good at lightsabers. If this is all I can do, then I might as well be the very very best at it. Right?"

Yoda nodded again. "Your training will begin, Youngilng. Soon, a Padawan you will be. In a few more weeks, your new Master will arrive. Take the time to study hard. See the Chief Librarian, Jocasta Nu, for lightsaber holos. Learn much, young one. And remember, There is no Emotion. There is Peace."

*********************

Wei took a deep breath. He could hear Palara's footfalls growing louder as she neared the balcony. Wei pointed his lightsaber at the statue. He could reach it. He would reach it.

He retreated to just inside the hallway, then took a running start. His lightsaber hummed as his arms pumped. He reached the crumbling guard rail, planted his feet on a stone support, felt his legs coil beneath him, and then he was airborne. Wei's feet pedaled in the air as though he were still trying to run away from his pursuer even as his free hand reached out for the statue, desperate to catch hold of its weather-worn surface.

His hand slapped the cool stone statue's forearm. Wei's hand clutched at the enormous Jedi. His feet scrabbled to find purchase. He was slipping. The former Jedi took one look at his lightsaber. Wei hated to wound the statue so, but he needed to do something, or else he would fall a fatal distance to the ground. He reversed his grip on it, and plunged the blade into the stone Jedi's arm. He began to pull himself up. The stone turned orange. It began to slag. But he was almost there!

Wei clambered onto the Jedi's forearm just as the lightsaber cut through the stone. He turned to see where he had just come from. What a distance!

"I guess the Force is still with me after all."

There! He was standing, but she was gaining... gaining...

She gasped as he jumped, and she ran through the guard rail and hung suspended in mid-air for a nanosecond; but that's all she needed. An arm lashed out and gripped another part of the guard rail, holding on for dear life.

She looked up, and over to the statue which dwarfed the room they were in, and saw Wei sliding down himself before stabbing his lightsaber into the stone and using it to pull himself up, leaving a scar in the statue's arm.

Her handhold crumbled, and she threw up her other hand, barely grabbing onto another part of the rail before it gave way completely and she fell to her certain death.

Shifting her weight, she began to pull herself up, though it would take some time; she could already feel the strain on her arms and shoulders.

Wei saw Palara stumble and fall. She held onto the balcony's ledge just as he had held onto the statue earlier. She was climbing back up, but it was slow for her. Wei put her out of his mind. He had some climbing to do.

After a quick study of the stone lightsaber, he discovered that it was canted forward just a bit, and not sticking straight up as he first imagined. So, Wei bit the hilt of his lightsaber, then started to climb. The blade felt hot on his face, and blinded his right eye, but he continued. He needed that hum. It' allowed him to gain strength from the Force.

"Show me, Iscandar," Atrapes murmured lowly. His voice still carried, and even drowned out the whirring of the droids around them. "Show me that your focus does not waver."

He swung, the red of his lightsaber cleaving a swath through the dim light pervading the room.

She dodged, and ignited her own lightsaber, and with a flourish, destroyed two droids.

Atrapes didn't wait, but pivoted, his lightsaber swinging in low and fast. She jumped and spun, deflecting three blaster bolts from the droids, and landed behind her teacher. She swung.

Atrapes blasted her back with a gesture of his hand, waving it as if swatting a fly. Only then did he turn, a look of satisfaction adorning his features.

"Good. Again."

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She'd almost managed to get her leg onto the ledge, but the flooring collapsed and fell, leaving her position even more precarious.

She looked back and up, noticing that Wei was making good time as he clawed his way up the statue. She frowned, and breathed deeply through her nose and out her mouth, focussing on the tempo of her breathing and allowing the Force to bolster her flagging strength.

With slow, easy movements, she began to swing, and each time she put more energy into the movement, until at last with a mighty lift of her legs, she flipped, landing back onto the ledge.

Looking up, she set herself, and leapt from the ledge to the statue, intent on capturing her prey.

Wei was halfway up the saber's blade when Palara landed neatly on the statue. "And to think I had a hard time with it. Crippled indeed!" he muttered. Or at least out of practice. But Wei had no time to think about it.

The former Jedi spat the weapon back into his hand. He could keep his grip with just one hand, but climbing was going to be a slower--and more dangerous--affair. He looked up at his destination, then back down at Palara. He didn't have to defeat her. Just hold her off. As long as he was moving up, he was still winning.

"Soresu, don't fail me now!"

Wei started to scoot along the steep angle of the sculpted lightsaber, keeping the blade of his own weapon pointed back down at his would-be captor. Just a little bit further, and he could claim the first piece of the puzzle. He would not be deterred.

She landed firmly on the statue's arm, and let herself breathe, letting her nervousness fall away in the face of her mission.

Wei was climbing the stone blade of the statue's lightsaber, and Iscandar grimaced. She would rather not have to climb it, especially with Wei ready and waiting for her.

She turned towards the head of the statue instead, and took a running leap up, leaping from stone fold to stone fold to the Jedi's shoulder. Once there, she was troubled with the moss covered hood that obscured the face of the Jedi whose statue this was.

Palara looked quickly back at Wei, and backed up to the edge of the Jedi's shoulder, and took a running start, before jumping. It was a good jump, but not enough; as she began to arc downward, she ignited her lightsaber and pushed it into the stone, making quick cuts, and waiting for the hot scarring to cool; she used the handholds to make good time to the top of the statue's head and found herself looking down at Wei, though she was panting heavily.

She looked up, hoping to see what was so important at the top of the lightsaber.

Wei scowled up at Palara. That was unexpected. What was she doing up there? Though, he had to admit, cutting handholds was brilliant. But Wei didn't have that luxury. at the top was what he needed.

He saw her gazing at the tip of it, as though searching for what he was after. He couldn't let her get to it first. He continued to shimmy up the statue. He didn't take his eyes of Palara, lest she get the drop on him and attack him unawares.

Seconds felt like minutes. Finally, he reached the top. There, in the tip of the saber, was an odd little piece. It was shaped like a sort of feather. He could almost recognize it. It was there, in the back of his mind.

*****************

"The symbol of our order, this is," Master Yoda told the little Wei. A lightsaber between two wings."

"What's the symbol's meaning?"

Yoda gave a gravelly chuckle. "When find that out, you do, tell me you must."

He had it. Now he could go. Wei jammed the piece into his pocket, then started fishing for his commlink. He could hoof it back to the starfighter, but at this point Wei figured it was probably more expedient just to have R4 bring the ship to him.

"R4! Lock on to my Comm signal and come find me! I'm in a bit of a pickle and could use a lift!"

Inquisitor Iscandar closed her eyes, blinded by the sheer brightness of the light streaming in through the massive hole in the roof above them. Holding a hand up for shade, she gasped, seeing an old fighter hovering there in front of her.

"Sergeant!"

"Yes, Inquisitor."

"Ze Jedi, 'e is escaping. Mark 'is trajectory."

"The ship is repaired. Homing in and coming to pick you up, Inquisitor."

Iscandar shut off her lightsaber and lifted her bracer, firing another tracer onto the Jedi's ship. This time, she wouldn't lose time triangulating the position of the beacon.

"Inquisitor Iscandar, out," she said, fighting a smile as she watched Wei escape.