The Darkening: Chapter Two

To be a star, you must shine your own light, follow your own path, and don't worry about the darkness, for that is when the stars shine brightest

She is running through the woods, and can feel someone or some thing chasing her. Every fiber in her body is screaming that she needs to escape, needs to run, to flee. She needs to find a safe haven before whoever, whatever, is chasing her catches her.

She throws her hands up to keep the limbs from scratching her face or poking out her eyes as she crashes through yet another grove of the trees that surround her. From behind her she can hear the snap-hiss and steady hum which signals that whatever is behind her is catching up to her, is nearing her.

Crashing through another grove of trees, she finds herself in a wide open clearing. Muttering curses under her breath she starts running to the other side. As she nears the middle of the clearing, she sees the shaft of light which has her so frightened directly ahead of her. Turning to the right, she sees another, and another to the left. Spinning to the face the direction she came from, she sees a fourth and final shaft of light coming out of the woods.

She sinks to her knees, the tears which are a physical manifestation of her intense fear flowing freely. As the humming from the shafts of light grows louder and closer, she squeezes her eyes shut, blocking the view of those damnable things, yet she can still hear their hum.

She lowers her head, covering her face with her hands, as a sob wracks her body. Absently she notes that the pitch and tenor of the hum has changed, and she instinctively knows that it is because the shaft of light is being swung, and just as instinctively she knows that she'll be at the receiving end of it.

As the shaft of light connects with her, she can feel a searing pain through her shoulder and down her back. She can smell the cloying sickly sweet scent of charred hair and flesh. Then she hears the change in pitch from the second shaft of light, and then the third, and then the fourth.

And Jysella sits up in her bed, her screams still echoing in the small confines of her room. Her eyes wide as she looks around her room, noticing the small details that the moonlight reveals as her breathing and heart rate slowly return to normal. After a moment, she pulls her knees up and rests her forehead on them.

The sudden knock at the door causes her to jump once more. And she looks toward it as it slowly creaks open, her mother's voice coming from the slowly widening crack. "Jys? You okay honey?"
"Yeah mom, it was just a nightmare."

Her mother is fully in the room now, sitting on the foot of her bed, and Jysella can't help but be envious of her mom. She still sees her mother as the epitome of beauty, that level of competent sexiness and outright perfect frame which Jysella believes that she will never be able to reach.

"I thought Jedi weren't supposed to dream."

Jysella rubs her face once more, still trying to calm down fully. "No, Jedi aren't supposed to dream usually, but when we do, they're good ones."

Mirax looks out into the hall, and leans her head towards Jysella slightly. "I think you've just been working a bit too hard, why don't you and I go visit your grandfather on the Errant Venture for a few days? We can get spoiled on the diamond level to no end."

Jysella smiles at the thought of getting away, of getting free from her studies and free from the girls in her classes. "Sounds great mom. Please can we?"

Mirax smiles at her daughter. "Of course we can. We'll sneak out and take Whistler and the Skate."

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Corran and Luke are standing on the landing platform, watching the Pulsar Skate as she lifts off and heads towards space. After a moment, Corran turns from the shrinking ship to look towards Luke. "What can I do for you this morning Master?"

Luke looks towards Corran. "Can't I just come see a friend and a student off as they leave planet?"

Corran laughs. "Maybe, if you had any spare time. No, there is something you want to talk to me about, and you don't want it part of the official Council records."

Luke laughs at this. "You know me too well. Yes, I actually wanted to talk to you about Jysella."

"Is there something wrong?"

Luke shakes his head, and glances once more to the small dot that is the Pulsar Skate. "No, nothing is wrong. It is just that some of the other girls at the Academy are teasing her, calling her names, and similar things, and I don't think she is handling it very well."

Corran nods his head. "I'll talk to her when she gets back."

Luke smiles. "Thanks Corran."

As Luke walks away, Corran watches the ground, a slightly angry glint appearing in his eyes as he looks up and frowns at Luke's back. After a moment, Corran turns and looks towards the sky where the Pulsar Skate disappeared. His green eyes search the heavens for any sign of the Skate turning around, and then he drops his gaze as he heads back towards the Temple, mentally reviewing the lesson he is to teach today.

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Jedi Master Jacen Solo is standing against the wall, watching his apprentice as he dodges the various bolts from the five training remotes. Ben's movements are flowing and dynamic, not quite what Jacen is expecting. He searches for the word that best describes how Ben is performing and his eyes narrow as he realizes that Ben is showing off. Jacen frowns as he realizes that Ben is not putting everything he has into the exercise, so he walks over and picks up another of the training remotes. Setting the remote's power level high enough to leave a nasty burn, he launches it. Then he does it again, and again.

He smiles as Ben lets loose a slight scream of pain and shock, as one of the higher powered bolt gets through his defenses. "You must focus Ben. When you choose to fight, it is no longer a game."

Ben's voice comes through gritted teeth. "Yes, Master."

Jacen turns back towards the training remotes and activates four more, setting each at a different power level. Then smiling, he turns back to Ben. "You must learn to use your abilities to their utmost Ben. Your focus cannot be in a small sphere around you, nor directed at a single enemy."

Ben jumps, catching a stinger on his blue blade, as three more lands where he had been standing. Landing in a crouch, Ben pushes with the Force, knocking the remotes away from him, giving himself a second to breath.

This is when Jacen jumps in.

With a motion that is both silent and quick, Jacen is before Ben, his saber thrumming as it slashes downward towards Ben's head. Ben barely manages to get his own saber up and in a block before Jacen's slams down into him. Then Jacen drops low, and swipes Ben's feet out from beneath him, dropping Ben to the floor. Jacen smiles and jumps out of the way as the training remotes come in, firing their stingers at where Ben is laying.

Ben pushes himself into a back flip with the Force, narrowly being missed by the stingers. He lands in a crouch, and looks around for his saber as one of the remotes comes in. He glances towards his Master, noticing the smile on his face, as he reaches into the bin of training remotes again. Without hesitation, Ben reaches out with the Force and pushes Jacen away from the training remotes, and then calls his saber back to his hand. Grinning again, he jumps up, and grabs one of the remotes, and disables it, allowing it to drop to the floor. Then he blocks another two stingers with his saber.

A quick glance at Jacen, shows that he is standing once more, and going towards the bin of remotes. This time, Ben reaches out and drags the bin to the far side of the room and at the same time, throws his saber in front of his face, blocking the bolt.

A stinger fires, and strikes Ben in the small of his back. He cuts off his cry of pain, and grabs the remote with the Force and throws it into another one. When they collide there is a crunching sound, and a puff of smoke comes from them both as they drop to the ground.

"Enough."

Ben looks up towards Jacen, and slowly works on evening out his breathing. Jacen walks closer to him, his face a mask of disappointment. "You lost your temper."

"Yes Master."

Shaking his head slightly, Jacen turns from him. As he nears the door he stops, and speaks without looking back. "Control. You must learn control."

"I'm sorry Master. I am trying."

"I know. Clean up in here, and then you are free for the rest of the day."

"Thank you Master."

Then as Ben begins to put the remaining trainings remotes back into the bin, Jacen leaves the training room.