The Other Side of Grace 8

The trip back from Tatooine went quickly. Uncle Vahlek was a great travelling companion and I was glad of his presence. We reached Coruscant in the early evening and landed on the pad close to my own flat.

“Do you have a place to stay the night?” I asked.

“Yes, with you.” He said matter of factly.

We walked through the halls to my Imperial Palace home and when we entered he whistled. “You live in style.” He said. “This is very nice.”

I shrugged. “Tea?” I asked.

“Not yet. Show me this library of yours, lei’lei.” He said shucking off his long coat and setting down his bag, and pulling a small satchel across his shoulders

We walked through the quiet dark halls. There was no one around and we did not speak. I unlocked the library door and we walked in. Nothing had changed, nothing had stirred. The dust had not been disturbed since my last visit and everything was still in place.

I turned on the small wall lights and watched as my uncle wandered around looking at the stacks and their contents.

“You were given this library?” he asked quietly.

“Sort of, yeah, I guess.”

“Where is the book shelf, the one you said that covered the wall panel that leads to the stairs down.” he asked.

I led him to it and watched as he studied the book shelf, its contents and the wall carefully. I had never seen him so intent before. It was as if he could soak up every tiny detail and later he would be able to recite them exactly.

“Help me move this.” He commanded, so I did. The bookshelf was made from a very old heavy wood and it was full. Moving it was not as easy as it sounded but in the end we managed to shift it away from the wall. I watched as my uncle closed his eyes and with the flat of his hand moved over the wooden panels of the wall. After five minutes he stood up and nodded.

“Lei’lei, do what I just did, but open up, drop your blocks and use the force.” He said. He moved aside to let me stand where had had stood and I did the exact same thing he had done with his hand. As he had suggested I used the force to see and to my surprise I found something.

With my fingertips I touched the one place on the wall that had felt different from all the rest and with a soft snick, the panel slid open. I looked at uncle Vahlek who grinned. He drew a small torch from the satchel and before I could think to protest he stepped into the secret passage leaving me to follow. It was exactly as he had said. We made our way down an incredibly long flight of stone stairs and as we descended I noticed the air began to smell less and less fresh. The light from uncle Vahlek’s torch was surprisingly bright. As we walked downward he stopped for a moment to let me see how the tunnel had been constructed.

“The first part was built but I wager the lowest parts will have been carved from the planet’s bedrock. We will have to go down a very long way.” He said. His voice was muffled sounding.

I didn’t like this place at all, I didn’t like the smallness of it, the stale air or the fact that my ears reacted to the pressure change in the air but we kept on going. When we came to the bottom there were two paths. We took the left one.

“Touch the walls.” My uncle said. “What do you sense?”

“Nothing, no memories.” I said in a whisper. “This place is dead. No one has been here in years.”

“Good.” He said and we kept walking. The passage way was large enough for him to walk upright in but narrow enough that I felt constantly on the verge of panic. I did not like this dark enclosed place.

He sensed my agitation. “Don’t worry, lei’lei, this place has been around for a very long time it is not going to collapse now.”

‘Breathe, just breathe, child.’ Master Kjestyll’s voice whispered in my head. I fought the knot of fear building up in my solar plexus and kept on walking. It had not occurred to me to question what we were doing or why.

The tunnel sloped slightly downward and then eventually evened out. I felt as though we had walked for days but when I mentioned this uncle Vahlek said. “No, we have been walking for about an hour. The dark and the unknown makes time stretch out, seem longer.”

We kept going until I noticed that the way had begun, ever so gently, to curve upwards and when we came to stairs I knew that we had reached the end of the tunnel. The steps up were well worn and as we climbed upwards I noticed fresher air, there was ventilation here. I brushed the tunnel wall with my finger tips but there were only faint echoes and no vivid memories. About half way there was a hand rail to hold onto. I gripped it tightly, hoping it would tell me more, give up its secrets and stories of who had made this place, who had used this place but my psychometric gift was fickle and not easily called up. It came when it wanted to and not the other way around. I almost bumped into uncle Vahlek when he stopped short in front of a door.

“Do the same thing you did in the library, find the lock. It will be force activated.” He told me. I drew a deep breath and did as he asked. There was power on this doorway and it radiated like sunlight. I let my thoughts slide away and followed the source of the warmth. I didn’t know how I opened the door but it swung away from us with a soft click.

“Well done.” He said softly and he went first.

We were in a small room tucked away in a subbasement. Nothing had been here for many years. A thick layer of dust covered everything. I followed uncle Vahlek as he walked with a certainty that told me he knew exactly where he was going. All around me I felt the whispers of long dead ghosts. This place was huge and empty. It scared me.

“These rooms were mostly used for storage.” Uncle Vahlek told me as we headed out into a main hallway. “The dormitories and the living quarters are two floors up, the archives and main library two floors above that. The great council room was in the center tower.”

“How do you know all this?” I asked as we walked up a stairwell.

“I spent some time here on and off.” He said vaguely. “This way.” He held the door open for me and I walked into a hallway that was a lot larger, and more airy than anything I had seen up until this point.

“Jyrki lived here; he was just a small boy then.” I whispered. “He told me about the night that the 501st swept through with Anakin Skywalker and killed all the Jedi who were here, including the children.” I shivered, knowing now that Anakin and Lord Vader were the same person. I had not wanted to even think about this, not wanted to imagine that the man I worked for, for some reason cared about had mercilessly slaughtered children.

Uncle Vahlek looked at me but didn’t comment.

“Why did you come here, Zte’sa?” I pressed breaking the awful silence.

“I sometimes contracted to work for the Jedi,” He said stopping for a moment to look around, “Before and during the Clone wars.”

I followed his gaze, began to stretch out with my own small force talents to try and grasp the scope of the building we were in but I couldn’t. “How big is this place?” I asked.

“Huge and it’s very old, close to over four thousand years old. It has been modified and built on many, many times. It used to be beautiful, full of light. There were fountains and extraordinary gardens.” He said. We kept on walking, passing smaller corridors, heading up small stairwells, and closed doors. Suddenly without rhyme or reason I felt drawn to go left.

“Wait, lei’lei?” Uncle Vahlek hissed and tried to grasp my arm but missed.

I didn’t answer but just kept going. I didn’t need the torch’s light, even in the dark I knew the way. I almost ran until I reached a set of twisted, shattered glass doors. The room was large and full of broken furniture, small box like objects, decayed pieces of fabric, feeding bottles and various amounts of ruined machinery, including medical droids. There were dark stains on the floor and the walls. I walked into the middle of the room and looked around as my uncle, who had followed me, shone the torch about. I knelt down and touched the nearest bit of broken furniture. Images shot through my head violently and I gasped with the pain of it.

“This was a nursery.” My uncle said putting his hand on my shoulder. His touch brought me back to the present.

“They shot babies. They killed each and every one.” I whispered. I felt sick. “They were screaming and crying but the soldiers didn’t care. How could they do this, how?” My skin pricked with cold sweat and I desperately fought the urge to vomit.

Uncle Vahlek caught me by the arm and tugged me to my feet. “Come on. This room is not a good place for you to be and there is nothing you want to know here.” He hissed trying to drag me out, but I fought him. I had been led here for a reason and if I left now I wouldn’t come back.

I shook free from his grip and walked about the rubble and the mess. No one had been here in a long time. I picked my way around the objects that lay tossed and scattered around, casually brushing my hand against them. I was looking for what had called me to this place. Some sent me memories and others held their secrets too tightly for me to see. Everything was a jumble until my fingers brushed the back of an over turned rocking chair. The vision sent me to my knees as it coursed through me. My mother had often sat in this chair. I saw her there, rocking small babies, whispering to them, laughing and even singing. The chair gave up these secrets willingly. She had longed for a baby of her own, saddened that she would never have one. I saw her as clearly sitting in the chair with a tiny Twi’lek baby in her arms. She was in the middle of telling the baby a story when someone burst into the nursery. She had looked up and as she had absorbed the news that war had been declared and that armies of clones were to be used against the droid armies of the separatists. Suddenly all the babies began to cry as if they could sense her distress. The vision faded and I came back to the present with uncle Vahlek squatting down at my side.

“Are you okay?” He asked.

I nodded. “Yes.” I told him but I wasn’t so sure about that. I wiped the tears from my face. I had not even realized I was crying.

Shakily I got up and followed him out of the room. We kept moving and I made sure not to touch a thing. We found the library after only another fifteen minutes. I was surprised that most of the holo files were still in the stacks. The library was, for the most part, still intact. I looked around and sighed. Part of me yearned to just stay here and search through everything. All this information, all this data it was enticing.

Uncle Vahlek must have read my mind. “You have a perfect memory for direction, right? You could find this room again if you came back on our own?” He asked.

“Yes, I could find it again, but I don’t know if I want to.” I nodded. “This place is filled with bad memories and I think I got what I came for, at least for now.” I looked at him.

“Well, I haven’t.” Uncle Vahlek said. “Come on.” and then he walked through the huge library to a door tucked away behind the stacks. It was locked.

“Open it.” He said. I glanced at him. There was a thread of urgency in his voice and no mistaking the command behind the request.

I closed my eyes and concentrated, my hand hovered above the lock mechanism. The door opened to my touch with a gentle, almost apologetic sound.

“What are you looking for?”

But he didn’t answer me instead he brushed past me into the room and looked around. Suddenly I was very afraid and all the hair on the back of my neck stood on end.

“Zte’sa, we should go.” I whispered, rubbing my arms to ward off the cold.

He ignored the request and went deeper into the smaller room, which was full of storage units and shelved data. I followed him but the sensation of being watched, being hunted only got worse.

“We need to leave.” I tugged at his sleeve. “Now!”

“Wait, go out and stand watch.” He told me. There was a thread of steel in his voice and impatience. I stood a moment too long and he turned on me. “Lei’lei, get out of this room. I will be very fast, trust me.” There was a ferocity in his eyes I had never seen before and I backed away leaving him to do what ever it was he had come here to do. I could hear him moving softly about but I couldn’t see what he was doing and the sensation of danger grew worse and worse. It was a darkness pressing against my mind. It hurt to breathe and panic surged through me.

“Zte’sa, please, we need to go now!” I hissed at him sending a mental push he could not ignore.

He came out of the room two minutes later holding something wrapped in a cloth which he slipped into the satchel slung across his neck. He closed the door and told me to lock it. I did, my fingers trembled violently. He took my hand in his and led me through the library in a different direction from the way we had come, down a small set of stairs and through a labyrinth of hallways. He had turned off his torch and we were completely in the dark. It would have been unnerving except he knew his way around and I could sense where I was. Our footsteps echoed about the empty space, sounding too loud, too urgent.

I stumbled over some unexpected rubble. To steady myself I braced my hand against the wall only to be assaulted with visions I didn’t want. Images of small children running for their lives smashed into my head, terrified, older children who were trying to defend the smaller ones, the sounds of screaming and blaster fire. I gasped and cried out but my uncle did not stop. Instead he tightened his grip on my hand and pulled. We were almost running through the dark hallways, down stairwells and through corridors until we were back at the entrance to the underground passage.

“Touch the door. Has anyone else passed this way?” he was not out of breath or even breathing hard but my lungs ached with fear and I could not speak.

I didn’t think to argue with him and did as he had asked. The last memories the door held were of him and me. I shook my head.

“Quickly.” He whispered and when the door had closed behind us he made me lock it the same way I had opened it.

As swiftly as was possible we made our way back through the long dark tunnel, up the never ending stairs to the library in the Imperial palace. I half expected the Emperor himself to be waiting for us like a decrepit old rancor as we stepped into the cool, dimly lit room but it was empty. I shut the wall panel and we slid the book case back to its original position. There was no way I could hide the disturbed dust so I disturbed the dust all over the place, until I was sneezing and coughing so much I couldn’t breathe.

“Lei’lei, stop.” Uncle Vahlek said gently, catching my hands in his. His touch was calming and made me realise I was on the verge of hysteria. He pulled me away and we left the library silently. I made sure the lights were off and the door was locked.

In the quiet of my flat I heaved a sigh of relief and the overwhelming fear I had felt began to subside. I dug out the bottle of brandy, one of Thrawn’s gifts that had been delivered to me shortly after I had arrived back on Coruscant and poured two generous glasses. My hands shook as I carried them from the kitchen to the living room and handed one to my uncle.

“Is there something you want to tell me?” I asked. Now that I was back in the relative safety of my own space my fright was quickly replaced by anger.

He accepted the brandy and took a thoughtful sip from it. Then with a sigh he opened the satchel and he drew out what he had taken from the room off the temple library and uncovered it.

I just stared. Wrapped in the cloth were two small crystal cubes and several data cards. “What are they?” I asked, pointing to the cubes.

“They were called holocrons, data storage crystals designed by the Jedi.” He picked the left one up and held it out to me. “These two I found under your mother’s name.”

I sat down hard on the floor. I did not take the offered cube form his outstretched hand. “You knew you’d find them?”

“That was the records and recording room. I knew what to look for.” He was not telling me the whole truth; he was hiding something, being evasive. It was the very first time I could remember ever sensing a lie from him and I didn’t like it, it made my skin crawl.

“Who are you, Zte’sa? Why do you know these things?” I whispered suddenly afraid of him.

He held my gaze for a moment, seeing my fear, reading my thoughts and then he sighed and placed the two small cubes on the table. “I don’t know if you will need a password to open that or not, certainly you will need to use your gift, holocrons were force activated. Most of the things in the temple were force activated, which is probably why much of it still stands.”

“You are lying to me and you won’t answer my questions. Should I be as scared of you as I feel?” I asked looking into his pale eyes. I expected anger but only saw sorrow there and that scared me more.

“It is not so much about lying to you, lei’lei, as it is about not telling you the entire story. I am trying to protect you.” He said. That was the truth. “What frightened you so badly in the Temple tonight? What did you sense?” he asked.

I shook my head. “I don’t know. I felt something, a presence, something dark and malevolent. It pushed at me, tried to crawl inside of me.” I shivered at the memory. “We were not alone and what ever it was, it was evil.” I said remembering the terrible need to get the hell out of that place. “You know so much about everything, but you are not force sensitive are you?”

“No, thank the stars I am not blessed with that terrible gift.” He said wearily. He sipped at the brandy and sat back. Suddenly, I realised he, too, had been scared. He ran his left hand through his long hair and dust flew off it, back lit from the small lamp in the corner it almost looked as though his head was glowing. White dust dancing about his white hair, the image almost made me smile. I wanted to ask what he had been scared of because I had always thought him fearless, invincible but instead I bit my tongue. I didn’t really want to know the answer to this question at all.

“We stirred up old ghosts, lei’lei.” He said as though he read my thoughts. “Many innocent beings died horribly in that place. Their voices linger.”

“What is on the data cards?” I asked nodding to the satchel at his side.

“Personal information I would rather not have lying around for anyone to find. While reading a holocron requires force sensitivity to be opened, data crystals can be sliced.”

“You won’t actually answer my questions will you?” I said.

He gazed intently at me. His eyes which were pale to begin with almost appeared as translucent as the dust. “If you push I will, but I’d rather you didn’t.”

I didn’t know what to say. I was tired and frightened. He must have sensed that and he continued. “I swore a blood oath to protect you, with my life if necessary.” he said. “But there are secrets and they need to be kept.”

“Is that why you came back here with me?” I asked

“Partially.” He said.

“You came back to enter the Temple, but you needed me to do that didn’t you.”

“You always were a clever girl.” He said.

“You used me.”

He leaned forward and gave me a look that sent shivers down my spine. “Would you have preferred to go into that place alone?” he asked very quietly.

I shook my head.

He sat back and sighed deeply. “I wanted to be sure you were safe.” He said and that was the truth.

“You think that Jyrki might try something again?” I asked after a long silence.

He leaned forward and gave me a small, tight smile but his eyes were as cold and dead looking as Kerest had been. I shivered. “Jyrki Andando should know better. I wanted to be certain this time you came home to no surprises.”

I snorted. “This place isn’t home, Zte’sa.”

That made his smile soften and the hardness vanished. “No, of course not.”

I looked at the holocrons and went to pick one up. My uncle watched me carefully. The first cube sat in my palm and while I felt a faint buzz as though a slight current ran through it, the cube did not give up any secrets.

“Nothing?” he asked. I shook my head, put it gently back down and picked up the second one.

I gasped as I felt it come alive in my hand. The holographic image that appeared was that of a young girl. She stood straight and tall, with her hands clasped behind her back. I glanced at my uncle and felt a lump in my throat when the holographic image began to speak.

***Today is a big day for me. I am to be taken on as a Padawan learner. I was scared that this would not happen because I am almost eleven now and Keito told me that if none of the Jedi wants to take you as a student by the time you are thirteen then you must leave the Temple. I would be scared to go, this is my home, but now I don’t have to worry about this because now I am to be the Padawan of Master Ilmari Tane. I am glad; I like him a lot, he smiles and even laughs sometimes unlike some of the more serious Masters I have seen.

There will be a ceremony tomorrow afternoon and then everything will be official but Master Tane came by the library today to speak with me and let me know of his decision and to ask if I was happy with it. When I said yes, he gave me this holocron and told me to start keeping a diary of everything. He said that I would be glad I did, a way to remember everything I am going to be taught. He said it was a good first lesson…remembering the path that was to find the path that will be. I don’t understand what he means by this but I will do as he asks. So this is my first entry. My name is Akali L’uanna, I am ten years old, I was born on the planet of Naboo but I don’t remember it. I have been told that my mother was from Naboo but my father was from Kiffu. I have no memories of them because I was taken from my family to the Temple when I was just a baby. I am going to become a Jedi. I am so excited. ***

The entry ended. Before anything else could crop up, I put the little cube back on the table and the holographic image disappeared. I stared at the holocrons for a long time and said nothing. I wasn’t exactly sure what to say.

“Well, it appears you will have the chance to get to know your birth mother a little better after all.” My uncle said, breaking the silence.

I nodded, biting my lip.

“Hide them well, lei’lei. They are precious.”

“Did you know they were there?”

He shook his head. “No, but I hoped.” He told me. “You need to connect with your lineage somehow and as much as you seem to dote on Darth Vader he is not the be-all and end-all of how the force works. I don’t want to see you end up like him, twisted and angry all the time.”

“You don’t like him?”

Uncle Vahlek shook his head. “That is neither here nor there; I just don’t want to see you get hurt. There is more than one side to how the force works. I know, I used to work for the Jedi, spent a great deal of time with some of them, talking with them, watching their ways. This Sith teaching that the Emperor and Vader seem so keen of having you learn is not the only way.”

“For someone who isn’t force sensitive, you seem to know an awful lot about it all.” I said sharply.

“Information is the most valuable asset a person can have.” He said cryptically. He brushed dusty hair back from his face and lay back against the couch, his eyes closed. “I’m getting too old for this nonsense.” He sighed.

I just stared at him for a moment and then got up. “I’ll get you some bedding. I hope the sofa is okay, I don’t have a spare bed.” I told him.

“Lei’lei…” He began and I turned to look at him. “That was well done tonight.”

“No it wasn’t, it was stupid!” I shot back. “We should never have gone there. Terrible things happened there and that place is haunted by evil and sorrow.”

He stared at me for a moment then said. “Just remember that when you go back, then.”

I made a face and went to get the bedding, by the time I got back he had already stretched out and was asleep. As I placed a blanket over him I knew in that moment that as much as I feared him, as much of a mystery as he was to me, he was a part of my family and I loved him dearly.

I thought that I would lie in bed awake for hours but as soon as I tucked myself between the covers I fell asleep and if I dreamt I never knew it. When I awoke the next morning uncle Vahlek had already gone. The holocron cubes were till on the table where he had left them. I picked them up with a cloth so that I wouldn’t have to touch them again and hid them in the box I had bought to keep my precious things in. The box was kept tucked away in a secret place. I showered, ate breakfast and went to work as though nothing had happened. The day passed without and major incidents and I had spent most of it sorting through the news I had missed while I had been on Tatooine. In the afternoon I had gone to a Memorial service and after that I came home. When I got back I found a tiny holotransmitter with a message waiting for me.

-Lei’lei, I know you have questions and I know you are scared. I am sorry if I added to this last night, but you do not need to fear me. I swore to protect you and that is an oath I cannot and will not break. I would beg you not to go back to the temple and never speak of it to anyone, not even to the man whose token you wear, but I know that you are stubborn enough, or perhaps young and foolish enough not to listen to me. There are some things, some secrets which should never be revealed. You were right when you said there is much evil in the temple but it wasn’t always that way. Once it was a place of great learning and of much joy. While I have wanted to go back there for a long time for myself, I truly did not want you to be alone when you ventured in there as I knew you would have. You are far too curious to let something like that be. Call it killing two wamprats with one shot. We will see one another soon enough, don’t be surprised and don’t give everything away either. Watch yourself, lei’lei. I fear for you. Jyrki has not done with you yet and you let your emotions for him get in the way. Just remember if you need anything I am here for you.
Zte’sa Vahlek -

I sat and stared at the holo message as it repeated itself and then turned it off. I was tired and he was right, I was scared and because I didn’t want to think about any of these things any more did what I always did to take my mind off what ever was bothering me, I re read Thrawn’s letters then answered his last one. I had news to tell that did not involve midnight raids on the old Jedi Temple.

Mia e’Tekari,

I apologise for not writing sooner, I had hoped that I would get a chance when most of the court and essential office staff relocated to the Retreat but that was not the case. Instead I came back from my trip home to a mountain of work and a very annoyed Lord Vader, among other things.

Have you heard about the death of Admiral Amice Griff? Did you know him? His fleet was supposed to be a blockade against the rebel fleet but something went really wrong. Of course, what the news didn’t say was that he managed to come out of Hyperspace right on top of the Executor. It was the Executor’s shields that destroyed Griff’s fleet, vaporized them instantly. Lord Vader was furious when told me what really happened. Well, told isn’t exactly the right word I’d use, more like exploded about it. He explained in more detail than I really wanted to hear how Admiral Griff’s fleet manoeuvred the rebels so that they could only go through a really dangerous area marked by unpredictable stellar flares from a rogue star. It had been planned that by driving the rebels into this area they would be caught there and be easily captured, but that wasn’t the case. The rebels were able to get through this passage and escape.

Lord Vader said that to lead the rebel ships through this part of space safely must have taken someone with powerful force abilities and he suspected it was the same kid who managed to blow up the Death Star. He also said that it was Griff’s own blind ambition that led to the destruction of the Imperial ships and men. If he had done what he was supposed to, which was to stay put and continue to be a blockade he’d still be alive.

So now the Death Squadron is under the command of Admiral Ozzel. The Executor command has now been handed to Captain Piett who was formerly on board the Accuser. I have only ever met Admiral Ozzel once, at one of the palace functions. He struck me as a bit of a pompous snob and I heard some of the junior officers go on about him being not terribly bright, wondering how he ever actually made Admiral in the first place.

Firmus Piett, on the other hand, is an interesting man, though very quiet and quite unassuming. I spent some time talking with him last year at one of the smaller functions, a promotion or something, I can’t remember any more. We spoke mainly of the perils of coming from an Outer Rim world. He was born on Axxila, a place he described as Coruscant turned inside out. He was very kind to me actually at an event where I knew hardly anyone and was, for the most part, if not ignored then shunned. We had a good laugh about that and we decided that people generally come in two categories when it comes to Lord Vader, those who hate him and everyone around him to the point of totally ignoring them or those who fawn over anyone or anything having to do with Lord Vader in the hopes of currying some sort of favour. Typical of such a quiet, thoughtful man, he has a wickedly sharp sense of humour.

I was shocked when I heard all this news and, as you can well imagine, it has turned things here a little upside down. To put it bluntly, it’s been a bloody mad house. There was a memorial service for Admiral Griff and the men who lost their lives today and I went because it was held in the Palace in the main hall. I was a bit surprised at how few people outside of the relatives of those who perished were there. Maybe it would have been better attended had the court been here and not on Naboo, as it is right now, even the Emperor was a no show. I thought it a bit strange that His Eminence did not attend personally but rather had a holographic message played. It was very sad actually, because so many family members lost someone they loved and it brought back a lot of painful memories.

Admiral Griff leaves behind a wife and three sons, they came all the way from Corellia to attend the service, but they kept distant and were surrounded by their own friends so I didn’t get to pass along my regrets to them in person. They were very upset. It was extremely hard to be there and when I laid flowers upon the memorial stone I was given some really dark looks from most of the people there including Admiral Griff’s family. From the whispers I heard, they blame Lord Vader for this incident not Admiral Griff, even though Lord Vader wasn’t the one who jumped out of hyperspace into an unsafe area. I went to the service as a sort of courtesy but I don’t think I’ll attend any more, they are just too sad and I don’t like the feeling of being associated with the bad guy. And this wasn’t even Lord Vader’s fault. Isn’t it possible to actually check your hyperspace exit point to see if it is free and clear? I thought that the nav computers had some sort of built in collision guard?

I am glad you were not upset by the whole Grand Ball thing. It was quite strange to attend it, to be honest. When he wasn’t arguing with the likes of Admiral Harkov or GA Tigellinus, or dancing with flirty young courtesans, Zaarin spent most of his time talking about the new TIE designs they are working on, the adding of hyperdrive and shields to them to make them a far more effective against the rebel ships, the x-wings. The lecture he gave me about the work he is doing was one of the highlights of the evening, which tells you everything you need to know about the event. What I found interesting were the constant barbs about you that both Zaarin and Tigellinus kept spouting. Neither of them likes you very much. It irritates Zaarin to no end that I appear to prefer the company of ‘the Emperor’s pet Alien’ over him. Some people just don’t get it, you know? Zaarin can ask me out all he wants I still would rather trek through the jungles of Myrkr with you than have dinner in the finest restaurant with him. Tigellinus, on the other hand spent the entire evening practicing his disdainful look. He is, for the record, an awful dancer and he has bad breath and for the life of me I can’t figure out exactly what it is Tigellinus actually does in the Empire as work. In the end it was Shiv and the gang who saved the evening for me. They acted as guardian angels, saving me from the pomposity of boring Grand Admirals who just love to talk about themselves. Shiv and Tygra took me home and I was grateful for the chaperone service.

Thank you so very much for the two beautiful books you sent. I took them with me to Tatooine on the hopes that I would have some quiet time to read them but that was not the case. My family had other plans. We celebrated Boonta Eve in great style and I was too tried the next day because I stayed up all night talking with my Uncle Vahlek. He was helping me sort through some stuff that was on my mind.

Just before I left Coruscant to fly out I received a data message from Jyrki. It was short and cryptic but it would seem he has not quite finished with me yet. I spent a lot of time talking with uncle Vahlek about this because Jyrki’s note scared me more than I had ever thought possible. My uncle even travelled back to the Core planet with me. Normally, I would have complained about the babysitting, but I was just grateful to have him along and I guess he knew this. He isn’t usually the type to interfere or poke his nose in my life.

He’s a bit of a mystery, my uncle. He has a past he won’t discuss and begs me from asking about it in such a way that I cannot help but comply. Sometimes I wonder what it is that he hides because every now and then I get a feeling of terrible sorrow from him. He tucks it away very well and I don’t pry but sometimes people’s emotions are so powerful that they can’t stop them from leaking and I pick up on it even when I am not trying.

Anyway, I promise I will read the books you sent. They will take my mind off the trials coming up in a few months. Master Kjestyll does his best to calm my fears about it but I am nervous. It is one thing to have a private trial with one’s master as the judge and quite another to test against another student from another school while being watched by goodness knows how many. I am not overly big on the audience thing.

Your description of Chiss policy and tactics on defence was very interesting but if the Chiss do not make the first aggressive move then you seem to have violated this rule because if I remember correctly it was you who initiated the first act of “aggression” with me. Not that I mind, but it does seem contradictory to what you told me. I suppose this is your subtle, rebellious nature coming into play? I also have to wonder then if ‘frisking me for concealed weapons’ comes under pre-emptive strike? I must admit that your defences are impressive but surely you are aware I do have some interesting counter measures of my own. As I recall the last time I used them you were somewhat taken by surprise. I do agree that this skirmish would be far more fun in person than on paper. You put it so aptly the last time we fenced verbally. I do enjoy the linguistic challenge of exploring an alien tongue. So far your follow through efforts have been offensively weak, or is this your way of trying to put me off guard? My experience in these kinds of battles is very limited and as you have by now surmised you have the tactical advantage. So if you want a worthy opponent, you will have to educate me, something I doubt you will mind as I think you secretly enjoy teaching and are especially fond of the ‘hands on’ approach. So, yes, I do believe you answered my question adequately; the next question would be, are you up for this little rumble? I am quite curious about your next move. On that note I think I will end this before I get myself into trouble I can’t get out of.

I am enclosing a data card that has a holo-vid from the Boonta Eve celebration. Bel took it for me so I would not get lonely. I made you a copy, I thought you might enjoy seeing everyone again as well as the fireworks that were shot over Mos Eisley. We were all up on the roof of the house watching them and we had been drinking zuffi all day so be warned, the recording is pretty silly. I think the only two people you won’t recognize are Nate and Zte’sa Vahlek. Nate is the one with shaggy brown hair and my uncle is the one with long white hair.

It’s late and I am tired so I will end this now. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Mera’ta’llath’Ia,
Merlyn

When I had finished writing the letter I folded it and stuck it in an envelope with the data card before I could change my mind. I turned on the holonet to watch the late news and promptly fell asleep on the couch.