The hole in the hillside is small but I can feel it stretching far below ground and expanding into vast caverns and a maze of tunnels. There is a dank musty breeze wafting up from the bellows of the planet, and it tells of something monstrous hiding in the depths of the earth. I am hit with a ferocious pang of apprehension and I freeze before the darkness.
Teppa steps into the opening, behind Diola, her hand happily resting on her lightsaber and I feel that she revels in the darkness and wretchedness of this planet. She turns back, smiles all so loving as if nothing in the universe is wrong, and extends her hand towards me. How can I do anything but take her hand? She knows that I will come to her and follow her wherever she goes. I clasp her delicate soft hand and allow the darkness to swallow me.
The three of us make our away down into the earth. We have no need for light, the Force will guide us, but I do wish that we had a light. I would feel much better if we could have at least a little light, but perhaps it is better that we do not alert the monster to our location. There is something down here, I am quite sure of it, some evil creature that feeds on darkness.
We are far below the surface now and the air is moist and stale. The smell is over whelming and I feel us drawing nearer to the creature’s lair. Suddenly, Diola halts and I crash into Teppa who ran into Diola. Is it only now that he sense the presence of the beast? Suddenly, he disappears and I can no longer feel him. I feel Teppa’s hand against my chest and then she disappears as well. I want to call out but if I do, surely the beast will be awakened.
Suddenly, I feel myself being lifted into the air but it is not by the physical means of a monstrous beast. I can’t breath and in this musty cave it is almost a relief. I feel my life slipping away when suddenly out of the darkness a see a beam of blue light cutting through the air and then halted by the instantaneous appearance of a green beam. In the illumination of the lightsabers, I see Teppa take another swing at Master Diola, as I fall to the rough, rocky ground.
I stared him down, I could feel his surprise and confusion and I knew that I could use it to my advantage. I had the upper hand and I would cut him down. Diola was strong and he put up a good fight, but I was stronger. I could hear his words echoing in my head as I struck Diola’s shoulder, searing the flesh. Passion is strength; he had told me so many times.
Diola swung at me and the strength of his blow told me that he knew. Our blades crackled and hissed as we locked together, and then I released my passion. I pushed Diola away and he flew through the air, hitting his head against the rocky cavern wall. He started to get up but I reached out with the force and pinned him down. I picked up his lightsaber and pocketed it as a trophy. I had the strength to defeat a Jedi Master; this was a moment to remember.
“It was you all along, it wasn’t him,” Diola wheezed.
“I’m only doing what I have to do to protect him,” I replied and with a whir of my blade I plunged it into his heart.
Diola didn’t cry out, he didn’t even tense up, he just died. His death hadn’t been as satisfactory as I had imagined, but at least now he couldn’t hurt Ayani. Ayani was safe and he would live. No one would know what had happened here. We could never return to the Jedi Temple because they would only try to kill him again, but that didn’t matter because we would be together and our love would not be denied.
I felt Ayani moving and rushed to his side. I helped him up and he leaned gratefully on me.
“Where is Diola?” He inquired.
“It’s okay, you are safe now,” I told him and started to lead him back up the tunnel.
“What do you mean?”
“Diola was ordered by the Council to kill you.”
“No, he was my master, he would never…” Ayani pulled away from me.
“I couldn’t let him do that, Ayani. I love you so much and I could never live without you.” I reach out and touch his cheek.
He took my hand away from his face and held it firmly. “What did you do, Teppa?”
“There was no other way, he was going to kill you!” I insisted.
Ayani dropped my hand and fell to his knees. I felt him shaking and I heard him whimpering. There was so much fear inside of him, too much fear. I knelt down beside him and embraced him and whispered over and over that I loved him.
“You killed a Jedi Master!” he gasped, still shaking. “You killed my Master, he was like my father, and you….” He shivered. “Why would he want to kill me? Why would the Council order that?”
“They don’t trust you and they think you’re dangerous,” I answered and ran my hand gently though his hair. “I don’t think so and the Jedi aren’t always right. Sometimes, they misjudge and are narrow minded.”
“We can never go back,” he whispered and felt his tears against my cheek.
“It doesn’t matter!” I tried to encourage him. “We have each other and nothing else matters!”
Ayani nodded and we both stood up. “Yes, we have each other.” Then he kissed me and took my hand. “There are foul creatures in the shadows, let’s leave before they find us!” And we started back the way we came at a brisk pace.
A cool breeze rushed across the balcony and tugged in a frenzy at her brown robe as she stared vacantly at the blur of lights and movement below her, oblivious to the wind’s molestation of her dark locks. She closed her eyes and she could see the darkness swarming around the couple, she could feel their confusion and passion. They were so close to the edge, in fact it might be too late.
Daanase breathed in sharply and it was almost as if she could reach into their souls from so far away. They were hurting and afraid, especially the boy, but in the girl there was something different, it was something that Daanase had never seen before. There was strength and a passion that was strangely disconnected from the darkness that clouded them. She could feel no darkness in the girl’s soul.
Her mediation was so deep that she did not hear Master Brey calling her name and did not even feel his presence until he placed his hand upon her shoulder. Daanase Avoosi gasped as if surfacing from a long swim and turned abruptly towards him.
“Are you alright?” he asked, even though he knew that she wasn’t.
“There was a disturbance in the Force.”
“Was there?” he asked, startled. “Do you know what it was?”
Daanase shook her head. “All may not be well on Handuur. The presence of the dark side is too strong and I fear that something terrible will happen.”
“Then we should go,” Evren immediately decided.
“No, you will stay,” she corrected and started to walk away.
Evren reached out and grabbed her hand. “I am not letting you go back there alone, don’t think that I forgot what happened the last time that we were there.”
“I am a much stronger Jedi now,” she replied firmly and pulled her hand away. “There is no need for both of us to go, you can stay and inform the council as to where I’ve gone.”
Brey puzzled and eyed her suspiciously. “Have you told me the truth? Why do you want to go there alone?”
“I told you that it isn’t necessary for both of us to leave,” she replied tersely.
“In that case, I’ll go and you stay.”
“No,” Daanase replied firmly.
“Fine, then we’ll both go, what are you afraid of?”
