A new beginning on Jakku

Serenity watched as air disappeared then turned to Master Anto. She had the feeling that he was displeased or disappeared in her. She could not blame him; she had completely lost control. Perhaps she was not meant to be a Jedi after all. Her gaze fell to the ground at her feet. Part of her missed the trees of her forest home. As if testing the waters she tentatively ask “ what now Master Tyandas”. She half excited him to send her away or at the very least reprimand her.

Anto looked his new apprentice up and down. They hadn’t had much time to talk ever since they first met, and this was the first time they were actually alone and could speak freely. He could see that she expected something, and her slightly hunched figure and lowered head suggested she thought a lashing was incoming. He wanted to tell her about all the faults she’d made, reinforce the lessons that she could learn from them and show her the right path. But as he started putting all that in words he realised that he didn’t know the girl in front of him at all. The force had brought them together, and he’d only learned her name because someone else used it in his presence. He had to know who she was before he could start teaching her.
“Now, I think, we talk. Come.”
He turned around and went into the ship, into the common area where the crew could sit and spend time together, eat, play games or even do physical activities. He instructed Serenity to sit down on one of the couches and walked over to the kitchen area and brought something to drink for the both of them.

Talk about what? She wondered.“ I’m not talking about master Paren.”She said as she accepted the drink. She looked at it for a moment. It was a force of habit for her to be carful. She had to be for so many year. Besides she did not know the Jedi master. “ were you trained back when there was a Jedi temple.” She asked. Curiosity getting the better of her. She also took a sip of the drink she had been handed.” You know I have not trained properly in two years” she said. That stamens there made it clear that her original master died around two years ago.

Anto gave the girl a friendly smile. He’d expected to ask her about who she was, her training and what her image of the Jedi path was, but she’d beaten him to it. Curiosity was a fine trait after all, and whatever he had planned could wait for a while.
He told her about what it was like to be trained at the temple, in a time when the order was at the height of its power, when he had one of the biggest libraries in the galaxy at his disposal and people from worlds he’d never even heard of called on the Jedi to settle disputes or act as impartial judges. Once Anto himself had gone to a small moon to act as a judge in a local contest, a sort of manhood ritual where the young boys had to perform several feats of bravery and physical proficiency. Anto was just a padawan then, but judged as fairly as he could and the people seemed satisfied. Afterward heäd asked his master why the Jedi would take on such a job, and was told that it was a tradition for the people to invite a Jedi to judge their contest, and every year someone answered the call. Some sent padawans, but sometimes even notable masters would fly out for the honour. No job was too small, and the order was plentiful.
After finishing his story, Anto became silent and contemplated for a moment.
“I reckon they will have had to make do without judges for a while now.” He said, and drank from his cup slowly.
As he set his cup down, he forced a smile and looked at Serenity. “Maybe we’ll visit them sometime. But now I am curious to learn more about you. Tell me… Who are you?”

Serenity thought for a moment who was she? “ i-i don't know, I was really young when I was brought to that planit. Master Peran is the only person I can remember.” she said. She told him of the times they went hunting in the forest and of long hours of training. She finally told him of the vision she had seen in the hall as she and Ria were headed to meet the admiral.” Master, why would the force show me when master Peran and I first meet?” she asked.

Anto thought about his answer for a short while, rubbing his chin contemplatively.
“If I say that the Force doesn’t have a will, does that make sense to you?” He was going to pause and let her answer, but Serenity’s visible confusion told him that it would possibly make it worse to let her try and figure it all out on her own.
“It is common for people to give things traits and personalities. We can say things like the wind shifts to blow us in the face, or a piece of furniture standing in our way, when in reality these things only act according to the rules they are given. The force isn’t unlike a stream, that runs between pieces of land according to gravity. It cannot suddenly turn and run back up the mountain, because that goes against the rules it must obey. The Force is the same, it does what it does according to its rules. We may not understand these rules fully, and some of us can manipulate the Force just like you can change the flow of a stream by building a dam or digging a new path. We don’t even know why some people are born force sensitive and some aren’t. My point is, the Force didn’t want you to see you old master, because it doesn’t have a will and cannot want anything. Instead, something in you called out for him, and the force listened and answered. I’d take that as a good subject to meditate on. I cannot tell you what inside you called out, nor why or for exactly what. Only you can figure that out.”.

Serenity looked at him for a moment it made sense but it also did not. “ but what about the living force? Master peran one said it was the will of the force that I was his apprentice.” she said still not totally trading what he was saying.

She was quiet for a moment thinking. Then suddenly burst into tears. “ I was not strong enough….the inquisitor…” she started between sobs. The story’s she had shared up into this point were for the most part happy. She had enjoyed learning about the Jedi force. She had wanted to protect people so that the horrible war that led to the war destruction of the Jedi would never happen again. But now that had disappeared behind the pain and gilt she felt. “ It should have been him, who lived” she muttered. She was completely blind by her emotions, unable to see why Peran had been so quick to protect her. She had been on her own after he died. She was alone lost. She didn’t not train much after she lost her master. The reminder of him was too painful.

Anto scooted a bit closer, he wanted to embrace the crying girl, but also felt that they didn’t share that kind of trust yet. He reached out a meaty hand and placed it on her shoulder.
“Master Peran was a brave man, he gambled his life on your survival. His selfless sacrifice is what being a Jedi is all about. We protect the helpless, be it our own padawan or a planet enslaved by aliens.” He paused, getting a bit too into a pep talk for the situation.
“It is good to mourn your loss, cry out your sadness. But keep his deed in your mind as an example of what a Jedi can be.”

“ I have to become a Jedi. I don’t want anyone else to suffer like that again. If I become a Jedi I’ll be strong enough to protect those who can’t protect themselves.” She said looking at the Jedi master finely. She took her lightsaber from her belt and held it out to Anto so he could inspect it, he held it close to his face to see all the details clearly. The hilt was silver in color; it had flowers and small animals carved into it. The carvings had been done by her and had great detail. It was pretty clear that she cared for life of all kinds. “ Master Paren said that the Jedi keep peace. But I have to wonder how did the war break out there had to have been a peaceful solution. Fighting can’t be the answer to everything can it?” She asked confused.

Anto was stunned by the question. Had master Peran managed to train this girl without mentioning the users of the dark side? He realised his eyes were wide from amazement and blinked a few times to regain control of his face and handed the lightsaber back to Serenity.
“Fighting is indeed not the answer to everything” he said, but not in his normal, calm tone, and revealed the he hadn’t yet thought the answer all the way through. “But let’s just say that sometimes people just don't want peace. But let’s have the war and why and how as another talk. It’s a pretty big subject and I feel we have more pressing issues.” He emptied his drink and made sure Serenity had done the same, took the cups and placed them back into the kitchen area.
“We are sadly a bit low on funds and supplies at the moment. We’re going to have to get refueled and stock up on food and water before we leave Jakku, or else I’m not certain we’ll make it to another planet.” He said gravely, knowing full well that his own dwindling supplies were below his margin of error, and that they would now have to feed Serenity as well.
“And of course, we must check your training and see what you’ve forgotten these last few years. With some luck we might even get to do both at the same time.”

Serenity let to her feet excited for a chance to see a new world. ” What are we waiting for lets…” she trailed off. Looking about the room suddenly. Confusion crossing her face. Something in the force though she did not know what it was.

” Am I crazy or do you feel it to” she said. There was a reason they were on this planet and more than just to get Ria home. There was something else that was supposed to happen. That serenity had no idea if she was interpreting her feeling right or perhaps she was paranoid. ” i- I might just be afraid” she said a little embarrassed by the possible explanation.

“No, I feel it too” Anto said, dead serious. There was a definite something there. Like the feeling you get late at night, that someone might be watching you. He’d been distracted by Serenity’s story and questions, he was quite surprised that he hadn’t sensed it as soon as they landed. He would not have sent Ria away so easily then, but she’d be long gone by now. Without a word he got up and walked out of the ship, Serenity following him much like a scared dog would. He stopped just a few steps outside the door and looked out over the desolate wasteland. Empty.
“Well, the best way to test one’s abilities is with live exercise after all..” He said as he turned to face Serenity.
“We should at least investigate what’s going on and it’s not close enough for us to see it from here. So we’ll have to find it. It’ll be a perfect way for you to hone your skills with the Force.”
He took a minute to walk her through how to sense the disruption more clearly, how she should focus on it like a target, dive into it with her mind and she should feel it reaching out to her, then she’d get a direction at least.
“Do you think you can manage it? Lead the way.”

Crystal Nodded she closed her eyes and focused on the feeling as she had been instructed to do so. “ It can't be,” she said, opening her eyes. She took off in a dead spirit suddenly. Something really bad is going to happen and i think there is another jedi here” she called as she ran. Anto ran after her, his longer legs providing enough speed to catch up.
“Keep focused” he said between breaths “if you lose track of it…” “...It’ll be harder to find again”.
Before long they both sprinted up a sand dune, peddling almost futilely against the sand that just seemed to want to fall away. With legs burning from the strain, and faces burning from the sun they finally managed to get up top and saw a town on the other side.
Pausing a second to take in the vista and get his breath back, Anto was once again left behind as Serenity sped ahead.

She headed straight toward the town following the disturbance in the force with Anto trying his best to keep up in the crowd without drawing too much attention to himself. It was not long before they were in the middle of a market tipe area with a canteen nearby. “ it's here somewhere I can feel it,'' she said.
“Stay with it” Anto whispered to her with eyes searching for possible threats. He’d been attacked in public for his lifestyle too many times to relax even on a backwater desert planet. “Give in to it, let it draw you to it like a moth to a flame”. She wandered the area with her hand on her lightsaber. The words of her old master rang in her ears “ your lightsaber is your life don't lose it”. She had never been around so many people it was a bit distracting and hard to concentrate. She eventually notice the girl with a lightsaber. “There master by the mandalorian” crystal said.

She did not know much of the galaxy being isolated and all but she did know what mandalorian armor looked like. Her old master showed it to her when she was younger. Anto almost had a heart attack. At first he didn’t believe her, thinking that the dry desert air and sun had made her mistake a stormtrooper for the fabled warrior clan. But as he followed her finger he saw it to, as clear as day. A Mandalorian warrior in full armour right in the middle of town. Like he’d stepped right out of a history book. He was so stunned by this that he didn’t do anything to stop Serenity from walking up to the warrior and what appeared to be his companion.
She approached the girl carefully. “ excuse me but are you a Jedi?” she asked.