::Entry 10 – The Ryatt Trails and Sunny’s Conquest

For a change of pace, yesterday I took Sol with me to the Wookie planet of Kashyyyk. It had been awhile since I had gone and I was quite excited to be back in the jungle wielding Legacy again.

On trips like this I was accustomed to using my X-Wing “Akasha” but Sol hated space travel and informed me that she would probably get sick if I took her up in a fighter vessel. With this in mind, I readied my Yacht and launched into Corellian space. When we were in orbit, I took Sol to the upstairs bedroom and asked her to nap to avoid the sickness of flight. “No master, I think I will try a bit of meditation.” She said and I left her to it and went back down to the cockpit to rush us to our destination.

It had been awhile since I had flown the Yacht and the slow responses of her movement felt foreign to me… also she was decked out to be a Playboy’s party ship… reminiscent of days past when I was wilder. The yacht had housed Charity, Sakura and a few other ladies in the past, before I had become serious with my studies in the Force. I smiled in memory of the parties, the innocent flirting and the other things that had gone on within her bridge but I quickly blinked it all away in concentration on the present. I was to be married, lusting for that former life would bring me nothing but unhappiness. “Yes”, I thought, “I am going to have to do some rennovations on this craft.”

When we arrived on Kashyyyk, I took Sol with me to introduce her to all my Wookie comrades that I had made on earlier trips.

I was quickly reminded of unfinished business and Chekurra suggested that my apprentice should be tested on the Ryatt Trails. This seemed like a good idea to test Sol so we traveled there around midday. By evening, she had done the majority of the trail’s hardships and was beaming with excitement and anticipation for the last. At one point during our routine rest periods, I sensed a strength in her that almost exceeded my own… it was a frightening thing, the way she was growing.

Sol had always been a gifted soldier, in the past she was one of the “legends” sung about by survivors of that time of unrest. I recalled her, myself and many others who achieved martial valor during the time of the Imperial crack down. Knowing all these things made her growth easier to take than it normally would be to me, it seemed unnatural but I realized that Sol was a powerful Jedi who was simply coming into herself… it was akin to having a bit of amnesia and having a friend along to show you holo-albums and old trinkets to jar your memory back until you were yourself again.

As her master, I was that “friend”, reminding her of the intricacies of the Force, helping her remember that she isn’t a scared girl but a limitless warrior of a woman… she thanked me often for this. It was all clear on the trails… she would take on three, sometimes four adversaries and put them down fast using some of the methods I had taught her… but a lot of it was her own. A dark thought had gripped my mind… with bringing one so strong, close to me, what if something happened and I lost her to the inevitable? She would probably possess the strength and mental lock on my emotions to strike me down… fast.

You may ask why I think on these things, these negative scenarios so much… but it is an old habit I have kept from old codes and scriptures… “assume the worst so as not to be slighted should they come true. Meditation on death should be performed daily. Hold those dear to you at arms length to give space for your sword to clear…” I think you see my point. Old habits, old ways that have kept me alive all these years.

Sometimes I would drift off, only to be woken by a delicate kiss from Sol, or she would brush my arm lightly… I wonder if she knew how dark my concentration was sometimes? I glimpsed a bit of it in her that evening on Kashyyyk, Sol was a Valkyrie of justice for the Wookies. But she shocked me when she didn’t use discretion or judgement when it came time to helping… she only acted, and she acted quickly. It was my doing and I knew it, I saw then that I would have to explain to her the balance of my combat method and the means behind it. I hoped it was not too late…

At times I would step out of the fighting to observe my padawan and to make sure she was keeping her emotions in check. She seemed to have it under control until the last trail mission when she and I were cornered by the dreaded Katarn. “Rest a bit love” I had said, “I think it is waiting for us to make the next move…” before I had finished, she had rushed into the beast and had it severely wounded with the legendary “Saber Dervish” technique I had shown her. It was amazing to see my padawan defeat the monster but it was a rash move that was the trademark of our fighting style… if she was angry it would have been too late to save her.

Fearing the worst, I rushed in behind her and turned her to face me, “Sol how do you feel, right now, at this moment?” I asked. “Master, the fear is gone, I have none… I feel calm and happy!” With this, she kisses me with gusto and points at the dead Katarn, giggling. I sighed in relief of it all and feigned delight to her, had she known how worried I was, it may have changed her mood.

We stayed for a few hours and then in the night Sol and I snuck into the Starport to head back to Tyrena. I didn’t want to alarm our Wookie friends with the sudden departure, so using the Force to cloak our presence, we breezed into Kachirro and unto my Yacht for the homeward flight. “Sunny, I wish you could appreciate the beauty of space… it is one of my first loves. I cannot imagine you missing out on it” I said to her as she sat looking at me to avert her eyes from seeing the stars in hyperspace. “I know love, but maybe that is something else you can teach me to do.” She said and I happily agreed.

Sol’s strength is making me evident that her time as my Padawan will not be a long one. I admitted as much to her after the Katarn incident but my willingness to show her the full extent of what I know is still something I am struggling with. She is indeed worthy of learning, but I fear for what it could turn her into… For instance, a person like Ihareo would be a good student for such things because of her darkly tainted soul, but Sol was very much of the light. These are things I need to meditate on -=Raf out.

Alone on The Grey Path – A Jedi’s Journal is a fan-fiction written by Greg “The Dragon” Dyer of 3godkings.com. No unauthorized copying of this work is allowed unless the copying is accompanied by a visual and relative link back to 3godkings.com with credit made to the author.