The Rebel Faction

Lono quickly said farewell to his uncle before eagerly wishing to be on his way, in hopes of finding his mother.

"Can we go to the Cafe?"

He wanted to go to the cafe, in hopes that he would find his mother there. However, within just a few seconds, the boy changed his mind.

".. Nevermind, I don't really want to go there... you decide. I'm.."

Lono frowned, though he had not tried to eat much of his meal with Cole, he still did not have any desire for food.

".. I'm not hungry. I'd rather find mommy."

Kahn stared at Amalia, wondering if he'd heard her wrong. The Jedi Master made no move to try and hide the shocked expression on his face, looking rather like a deer caught in the headlights. As her words sunk into his brain, he momentarily forgot about why he was there, forgot that the woman standing in front of him was not the same as she'd been months ago; all of it left his mind, as her words forced memories to the surface of the Jedi Master's mind. Memories of the ways he'd lost loved ones before, the way Death always seemed to claim them before their times. . .

Jabba's palace, his own screams as little more than a toddler reaching his ears, as his birth mother was ripped apart viciously by Jabba's pet rancor, the Hutt's deep laughter echoing in his mind. . .

Sitting in the Jedi Temple, meditating- then suddenly reeling back, his eyes flying open, gritting his teeth in pain as he felt a great disturbance in the Force, as though part of him were being torn away. Moments later, a Padawan gave him the message the Force had already alerted him to- Hanna Skywalker, his wife, had died when the ship transporting her suffered mechanical failure and exploded. Not only did he lose the love of his life, but the two unborn children- his children- that she'd been carrying inside of her.

And now. . .now, Amalia was telling him that he was going to lose her, too. His Master, his best friend, the woman who'd took in a frightened child and helped him grow into a young Jedi Master . . .she was telling him she was going to die, leave him alone again. . .

NO!

The denial rang clear and resonating through the Force; Kahn wasn't sure if he'd even thought to keep the thought to himself, and he didn't really care.

"Amalia. . .what. . .how?"

Without bothering to consider the consequences of his actions, still forgetting the changes his Master had undergone, Kahn reached out through the Force, letting his presence watch over her, searching for some injury he'd missed, some kind of fatal illness he hadn't noticed before- probing as far as her mental shields would let him in, trying desperately to find out what was wrong.

He found nothing, not anything he could sense at least.

"I don't understand. . ."

Kahn met her gaze now, his own confused, worried- and, quite frankly, terrified.

The three walked in silence for quite a few minutes, words seeming to fail each of them.

Amalia barely kept to the here and now as she walked back toward the shuttle. Her steps were forced, though neither Kahn nor Jensen could see it.

Despite the extra Jedi material the rested over her own garments, the woman still shivered as she walked along, each stepping feeling a bit more heavier than the last.

Amalia finally broke the silence, starring off toward the direction of the awaiting shuttle as she spoke.

"... I'm already there.. dead, I mean. I can't stop thinking about what is going to happen. The more I think about it, the more empty I become."

Turning her gaze to Kahn, she centered her forthcoming words onto him.

"Forgive me, I did not mean to upset you so, nor Jensen. It's just.. It's just that I.. sometimes things happen, drastic things. There are things in life that you can't always prepare for... and I.."

She sighed, trying to gather her words as she slightly wrapped her arms about her waist while continuing to walk.

".. Well.. what waits for me on Naboo.. is one of those things. Maybe what I said is not easy for you to understand right now, but when everything is said and done, you will understand. It's just not something I can explain right now."

The shuttle came into view; Amalia allowed her feet to stop just a few feet short of the shuttle as she turned to Kahn whom had also stopped walking when Amalia called to him.

"Please stop for a moment, Kahn."

There was a moment's pause as Amalia firmly caught the Jedi Master's gaze.

".. I know what awaits me on Naboo, as does Jensen; however, you do not. I can't look into your eyes and tell you of what awaits me back there, I just can't. I am.. too ashamed. Though things are very difficult for you to understand right now, I want you to promise me something else. I want you to promise that no matter what happens you won't forget the principles and teachings that I have passed on to you."

Amalia bit down on her lip, unsure of how everything would be perceived by the Jedi when everything was said and done.

".. I don't want you to forget everything I taught you, just because of what you might see.. I don't want you to be.. disappointed in me."

Abruptly Amalia turned away from him to finish off the rest of the distance toward the shuttle.

Just before stepping onto the shuttle she turned her brown eyes back to Kahn.

".. Don't forget who I am inside.. okay?"

As she looked to him, the tiniest miniscule of hope reached Amalia's face as she finally stepped onto the shuttle and out of the Jedi Master's sight.

The Jedi Master stood, motionless, as he watched Amalia board the shuttle, his clear blue eyes meeting hers for a fleeting moment, his head tilting in a barely perceptible nod before she disappeared from his view. He took a few steps back, enough that the ship could launch without his proximity hindering the procedure. As it ascended into the air, he watched, his facial expression completely blank, neutral.

Only his eyes betrayed the emotions smoldering inside. He was hurt that Amalia didn't think she could tell him whatever fate she believed awaited her on Naboo; that after all of these years, when they'd shared nearly everything, she would choose to shut him out now. Now, when she'd spoken of her own death with such certainty, and then refused to explain further.

Her death.

The very thought of losing his Master triggered a sharp pain in the Jedi Master- pain that was only intensified by the memories of the others he'd lost to death.

Fear.

Intense fear, bordering on terror. Fear he knew was just as dangerous to him as any opponent he might come up against. Fear that Kahn couldn't even find the strength to push it very far away- it remained inside of him, clear in his gaze; fear that could very well cripple the Jedi Master.

And he realized this too. Kahn was no fool; he'd dealt with fear and anger before, and he knew that they were more than capable of awakening the Darkness inside of him again- the small hints of the Dark Side that had never left him, that probably never would leave him.

Despite knowing this, the Jedi Master couldn't seem to control his feelings, not beyond keeping himself from screaming after the shuttle; just the thought of losing Amalia, being alone, and unable to stop it, left him with a feeling of helplessness that, combined with the fear, might have paralyzed him.

I could never be ashamed of you, Master. . .

He watched, as the shuttle became little more than a spec in the sky, unable to stop the plea that came as both a whisper from his lips, and an unintended message via the Force.

Please, don't leave me. . .

A breeze caused the Jedi's robes to shift, and reluctantly, he turned and made his way to his own shuttle, setting the coordinates for Naboo as though in a daze, wondering if this were all somehow a dream, a nightmare. . .his world seemed to be crumbling around him, when the whole reason he'd come to Jomark was to try and put the pieces back together.

Kahn leaned back into the pilot seat as his shuttle rose into the air, struggling to rein in his feelings, to act like the Jedi Master he was supposed to be- the Jedi Master Amalia had shaped him into.

Amalia, not surprisingly, collapsed into silence yet again as she eventually took a seat beside Jensen.

She had taken her time in getting toward the front of the shuttle, her thoughts dwelling on Kahn and what she had said to him.

She wondered if the man had taken to understand her words.

If he truly knew what was meant within her death.

... That her soul would no longer remain as he had once felt it.

I will be with you.... always.

She'd let her mind reach out to him no more after that. There was nothing more she could have told him.

She would live with his pain, of not knowing.. of being shut out.

It was the only way... He could afford to see the truth for himself. She did not want him to hear the truth from her, too much pain for her to handle.


Though Amalia's gaze had been centered elsewhere as Jensen spoke to her, being occupied with her private thoughts, she had heard him address her; even though she had failed to see his own moment of hesitation.

"Alright.."

Her brown eyes had quickly diverted toward his face as she answered Jensen. She was surprised at how well he kept to being composed, even though she was sure he was close to falling apart on the inside just as much as she was.

The strong yet well composed behavior made her smile on the inside, reminding her of someone dear to her back on Naboo.

She wondered how the woman was doing.

As Amalia stood up, her right hand came to firmly grasp Jensen's right shoulder as she squeezed his shoulder softly,

".. Thank You.. for coming with me.."

Slowly her hand brushed off and away from his shoulder as she moved to walk toward the back of the shuttle.

She paused rather quickly, having only taken three steps before looking back at Jensen.

"I won't forget what you've done for me.. ever," she said, her lips coming to form a small approving smile that was mixed with slight amusement.

".. You know... you're something else.. champion...."


******************************

Twenty minutes later, the woman was nestled peacefully under the comforts of a soft warm cozy blanket.

She slept peacefully and with... hope.

Fourteen hours later: Somewhere on Naboo...

"Well... I guess this is it... I'm really going to go through all of this.."

Amalia and Jensen stood at the foot of a bridge, Jensen standing close beside her.

The two stood facing one another, Amalia holding Jensen's outer Jedi garments over her left lower arm, the material tucked neatly over her arm as her brown eyes continued to look at his as she continued in conversation.

".. What would you say if I told you that I was.. scared?"