CHAPTER EIGHT
--Adega system--
Toah Jarsan let out a sigh as his ship exited hyperspace and came before the planet of Ossus, current home of the Jedi. It hadn't been that long since he last visited Ossus, having gone there with Jaden Korr after discovering Relin Druur. But he had not encountered any of his old friends while there, having taken extra care to avoid them.
Now, of course, he had no choice. He knew he would have a slew of questions to answer as soon as he set foot in the Jedi Temple. He was not sure if he was prepared to answer them, but he would have to nonetheless.
As Toah directed his ship towards the planet, he suddenly sensed a dark presence. Glancing out the viewport, he saw another ship jumping out of hyperspace, heading for Ossus as well. The ship, sleek and black, bore strange markings on it. Moving his own vessel to get a better view, he saw exactly what they were.
Sith markings.
His eyes narrowing, Toah gripped the controls and accelerated faster towards Ossus. He knew he could not confront the ship head on, lacking proper armaments, but if he could warn the Jedi in time, perhaps he wouldn't need to....
--Ossus--
Odan Murk frowned to himself, sitting cross-legged in the meditation chamber. His leathery, wrinkled eye lids slowly opened as he awoke from his trance, unsettlement in his eyes.
He sensed a presence. A presence he had not felt since....
He prodded around with the Force and his eyes went wide with shock. His heart skipped a beat.
Master.
Uncrossing his legs, the Weequay Jedi Master got to his feet and headed out the chamber, moving quickly with purpose.
So it's come to this, he thought to himself. So be it then.
Unhooking his comlink from his belt, he raised it to his lips. "This is Odan. I've found Serpriss."
Silence at first. Then, the person on the other end said, "Where?"
"He's just arrived here on Ossus. And I don't think he's alone."
"What?! What is he--" There was a loud sigh. "Forget it. Just get rid of him as soon as possible."
"But if the other Jedi notice?"
"It won't matter. The time is nearly right. By the time they discover you, they will already have other things to worry about."
"Understood." Odan then slowly grinned to himself. "It feels good, doesn't it? To be this close to victory."
"Yes. Yes, it is."
* * *
Anakin Solo stepped out into the gardens of the Jedi Temple, wiping the sweat and grease from his brow with a dirty rag. The humid air outside did not make him feel any cleaner, but he needed the fresh air too much to care.
Out in the Ood Bnar Garden, he saw that he wasn't alone enjoying the peacefulness. To the left he saw the mysterious Relin Druur speaking with Masters Kam and Tionne Solusar. Just behind them, Masters Narrakar Von and Dalus Nurn were training a group of initiates in lightsaber stances and maneuvers.
To his right, he saw a somewhat shaken Natia Dorn sitting with a concerned Sadi Karria, the latter putting a reassuring hand on the red head's shoulder. In front of them, a pair of young boys play-fought with two sticks, laughing as they pretended to slice each other's hands off.
And then, up ahead, he saw her.
Tahiri Veila stood alone as she admired the fluorescent flowers of the garden, her golden hair glowing in the sunlight. She wore nothing on her feet, enjoying the feel of the grass between her toes.
Anakin hesitated to approach her. Years ago, just before the Imperial Sith War, he and Tahiri had been best friends, training together under Master Ikrit. Then the Sith attacked and Ikrit was killed while aiding the New Republic on Vinsoth. Tahiri had taken his death the hardest and she left to finish her training on Tatooine under Master V'almarok. Anakin did not see her again until after the Glorian War had ended, and even then she still seemed a bit distant.
He wondered if he was at fault, if he had done something to push her away. If he was being honest to himself, he hadn't done much in ways of reconnecting with her; he more or less gave up after the third attempt, which had been nearly two years ago now. He also wasn't sure if the reason for why he rarely saw her was because she was avoiding him... or because he was avoiding her.
After taking a deep breath, Anakin started walking towards Tahiri. It wasn't until he was no more than six feet away from her did she turn to look at him, her green eyes meeting his blue ones. For a pressing moment, neither said a word, each searching the other's face in an attempt to get a read on them. Eventually, Anakin couldn't take it anymore and he broke the silence.
"Hi."
Tahiri did not respond right away. Anakin sensed that the simple greeting had taken her aback somewhat but, to her credit, she did not let it show. Keeping her eyes on him, she said in return, "Hi."
The awkward silence returned and Anakin was already started to hate it. Come on, Solo, he scolded himself. You're thirty-one now. You're a karkin' adult. You should know how to talk to women.
As he fumbled for the right thing to say to her, he blurted out a generic question to stall. "How are you doing?"
She shrugged, locks of blond hair bouncing off her shoulder. "All right, I guess. Not great, but not awful."
"Yeah, me too." He shifted his feet, still trying to conjure up the Solo charm he should have inherited from his father. His siblings never seemed to have any problem chatting up people of the opposite sex; why did it have to skip out on him?
Realizing that Tahiri was still waiting for him to say something else, he decided to just get to the point. "I'm sorry," he muttered.
"For what?" she asked, an eyebrow raised.
"For... for...." He ran a hand through his hair. Was it the humidity or his nerves that was making him sweat? "For pushing you away. Out of my life," he clarified.
Tahiri said nothing, though the look on her face invited him to elaborate.
"When Master Ikrit died... I should have tried to comfort you. I mean, to my recollection, I did... but I should have tried harder. Because when I saw you again on Kashyyyk after over ten years... you were a completely different person." He put a hand behind his neck, rubbing it awkwardly. "And... and I kind of blame myself for that. I... I wasn't a good friend to you when I should have been, when you needed me the most, and... I want to apologize for that."
At first, Tahiri simply stared at him, her face difficult to read. Then, she said, "It's not your fault, Anakin."
"Yes, it i--" Before Anakin could finish, she put a finger to his lips, suddenly closer to him than she had been earlier.
"No, it isn't," she repeated firmly. "People change all the time, Anakin, and friends can grow apart over time. We were just not exceptions."
"I suppose," Anakin murmured, taking Tahiri's hand into his own. "But that doesn't mean friends can't grow back together, does it?"
"I suppose," Tahiri echoed him, looking somewhat unsure. "But can we?"
Anakin allowed a small smile to tug at his lips. "I'm willing to try. Are you?"
Tahiri continued to gaze up at him, still holding his hand. Then, she smiled back. "Yes. I am."
* * *
"All right, you two, break it up."
The two youthful Jedi trainees immediately broke their kiss and shot looks mixed with embarrassment and irritation at Master Noran Raun, who was leaning against the door frame.
"This is a Jedi Temple, not a matchmaking academy," he said wryly. "If you really want time to yourselves, then book a flight to Naboo or something."
Disgruntled, the couple moved away from the balcony they had been making out at and went back into the temple, brushing past Noran. Rolling his eyes, the Jedi Master stepped onto the balcony and leaned against the railing, staring at the forests of Ossus.
No sooner had he done so than he heard the roar of starship engines and looked up to see two vessels appearing in the sky, both making their way for the Jedi Temple.
Well, he thought, looks like things are about to get interesting.
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