The Chu’unthor Incident
by AJ Marks
Part 9
“Something’s wrong,” Bri said pacing around the room. She was feeling something from Xara and she knew that it was not good. She turned to see her former teacher and master but he was sitting patiently waiting for everyone to return.
“Patience we must have, this path must be completed,” he said feeling the ‘Dark’ side course through the air. Someone was reaching deep down into the ‘Dark’ side of the Force, but who and why he just did not know. With the fact that Bri was upset he was almost tempted to let her go and find Xara.
“Forgive me Master Yoda, but I have some bad news,” Markus said running into the room. He looked terrible and both Yoda and Bri knew that the news was not good. Something had happened.
The two looked at Yoda’s padawan as he formulated the words to tell them what he had discovered; actually it had been Osti who had discovered it.
“We found Master Kint, he’s dead,” Markus said watching as shock showed on both Bri’s and Yoda’s face.
“Master Kint is dead, how,” Bri asked before Yoda could say anything.
“Osti believes that he was killed from behind by a lightsaber,” Markus said. There were really only two suspects, Xara, and Cal both of whom were not around.
“Where is Cal,” Yoda asked hoping that what he though was not true, that Cal had killed his former master.
“We don’t know where he is, and we haven’t been able to find Xara either,” Markus said with a glance to Bri.
“Away on a mission she is,” Yoda replied when Osti and Gina walked into the room. They made their way straight to Yoda.
“Gina checked everywhere in the castle, Cal is not here,” Osti said. “I’m not sure who did this, Cal or Xara. Master Kint was killed a short while ago.”
Yoda did not want to say anything but he knew that it had been Cal; he was the one who killed Kint. Yoda would make sure that justice was served when they found Cal.
“Need more troops we do, ask for help from the Chu’unthor,” Yoda said to Osti.
“We’ll need more than that,” a voice said from behind them. They turned around to see Xara walking towards them.
Bri was glad that Xara was alright and without thinking about who she was with ran and gave Xara a hug. She was a bit concerned when Xara stiffly returned the hug. Something had happened and Bri wanted to know what it was.
“I found out that there are a group of Chulaks on the planet, they are going to destroy the defenses on the planet then the Yannanians are going to invade,” Xara said not saying anything about Cal just yet.
“Warn them you will,” Yoda said to Osti who took Gina with her and Markus followed having learned when his master wanted to be alone.
“What else,” Bri asked after the others had left. “Markus said that Master Kint had been killed,” Bri said looking right into Xara’s blue eyes which did not contain shock from the news. Somehow Xara already knew that he was dead.
“I know,” Xara said quietly, “Cal told me when he attacked me.”
“He didn’t hurt you did he,” Bri said as she began a visual check over her partner.
“No,” Xara replied watching as Bri checked her out for any signs of a wound. It was amusing, but she wondered if the small Jedi would stay after she learned everything.
“The ‘Dark’ side he had fallen to,” Yoda said realizing that it was Cal that he had felt.
“Yes, he also told me that he was the one behind the attack on the Chu’unthor,” Xara said. “He said that Kint got in his way and so did I.”
“In his way for what,” Bri asked not sure what the man would have been after.
“You,” Xara said.
“What happened to Cal,” Yoda asked sure that Cal was now also dead.
“I killed him,” Xara said.
“What happened,” Bri asked feeling the tension in Xara. Whatever had happened this is what had caused the tension in her.
“We fought and I used the Force to kill him,” Xara said not looking at Bri. She did not want to see the disappointment in the green eyes.
Yoda thought about what Xara had said. She had used the Force to kill Cal; there were only a few ways to kill someone. A Force user could only kill a choke hold, lightning or an even rarer form using the Force to drain away a person’s life essence. By the way Xara was reacting he guessed it was the latter, as only the Sith really used that power of the Force.
That brought another question to his mind, if she had to use the Force like that what happened to her lightsaber.
“Your lightsaber, what happened to it,” Yoda asked taking a stab as he could see Xara wanting to flee from Bri, something he did not want to see.
“He pushed me down and yanked it out of my hands,” Xara said to Yoda not sure what he was saying.
Bri listened to the question and reply and realized that Xara was afraid that she would leave her. Bri grasped Xara’s hands and looked into the blue eyes in front of her. She thought about what she would say and finally thought of something.
“I still love you,” Bri said.
“How, I killed a man with my hands using the Force, I drained it out of him,” Xara said.
“He left you no choice,” Bri said not releasing her hold on Xara.
“You would have found another way,” Xara said.
“We each have our own ways to deal with trouble, the important thing is you came back to me,” Bri said wrapping her arms around Xara and laying her head against Xara’s chest.
“But I don’t want to disappoint you,” Xara said looking down at the strawberry blonde hair of her partner.
“The only way you can disappoint me is if you don’t return to me,” Bri said from where she was. She could hear Xara’s heartbeat and it soothed her for some reason. This is where her home was, she had found it at last.
Xara found that she could not say anything about that and she realized that she felt the same way. The more the thought about it the more she realized that her partner was right, Bri dealt with things differently, she had a different background and Cal really did not leave her much choice.
*****
Xara walked into their quarters after the long ride back from Sissis. The rest of the mission had gone smoothly. The Jedi had stopped the attacks on the defenses of the planet and the invasion force had been beaten back. Osti and Gina had remained on the planet to ensure the peace and clean up the aftermath of the mission.
Master Kint would be honored tonight in a ceremony of fallen Jedi. There had been a discussion of what to do with Cal, and it had been decided to do the ceremony on Sissis.
The Jedi council wanted to talk with them in the morning, but that could wait as Xara walked in and looked at Bri. They had talked more about the fight between her and Cal and Bri had finally gotten through to her that Cal left her no choice.
Bri looked over as she felt Xara’s eyes on her. “Hey,” Bri said as she walked over to where Xara was standing. Bri purposely swayed her hips watching as Xara’s eyes were drawn to them. It made her feel warm all over to see her partner look at her like she was right now.
Xara’s eyes narrowed a bit as she watched Bri sway her hips more than usual. The smaller woman was quite a tease, but Xara figured she did not mind as she picked up Bri and walked over to their bed.
As she claimed her partner’s lips she realized it would be a long night.
*****
Master Yoda watched as Master Bri and Xara walked into the council. He could see that the taller woman was still uncomfortable with the council, but she hid it well. Master Aqat and Janson were sitting in the positions of leaders of the council.
“Master Bri, Xara so good to see you,” Aqat said as he looked at them. He had been briefed by Master Yoda about what had happened on the mission and was glad that everything worked out. He noticed they seemed a bit tired but dismissed it.
“Master Aqat,” Bri said with a bow.
“I have talked with Master Yoda, but I would like to hear your account of the mission,” Aqat said looking at them.
“Well, on the way to Sissis, the Chu’unthor was sabotaged, at the time we did not know who did it, but Xara was accused of it,” Bri replied as she went over the mission. “Master Kint was able to prove that she did not do it and after we arrived at Sissis eight of us went down to the planet’s surface. Master Kint, Cal, Master Osti, and his padawan Gina were added to the mission.”
Aqat nodded his head. This information matched up with what Master Yoda had told him. He continued to listen to Bri.
“Once on Sissis a group of the rebels, or kidnappers, approached Xara believing her to be their ally. She found out that a group of Chulaks had been hired by the Yanninians to disable the planet’s defense systems. It was on her return that Cal confronted her and battled her. She was forced to kill Cal. It was also learned that Cal had killed Master Kint,” Bri said to the group.
“Master Kint always considered Cal his greatest failure,” Janson said out loud. While it was true Cal had done his job he could be irrational at times.
“Xara returned to Master Yoda and told him about what she had discovered and we help reinforce the security around the planet’s defenses and were able to defeat the invading fleet,” Bri said.
Aqat sat back in his chair and glanced around at everyone. He knew that there were questions about Cal actions, and the fact that Xara had killed him. There were a few who would want a formal investigation into the details about it. He was sure that if that happened things would come out that might damage the Jedi Order.
“Xara, it seems that the training that you are receiving from Bri is helping,” Aqat said. “I knew that Bri was a good teacher.”
“Are you discounting the fact that she has now killed two Jedi Aqat,” one of the members of the council said. He was never pleased with anything unless he did it himself.
“Master Lotis, I have every confident in Xara to be honorable, and I know that Cal was a Jedi, but we must remember that even Jedi can have flaws,” Aqat said looking right at Lotis.
“Of course Master Aqat,” the man replied.
“Turned to the ‘Dark’ side Cal had,” Yoda said speaking up for the first time.
“Are you sure about that Master Yoda,” Lotis asked.
“Felt him I did,” Yoda said. “A lesson to all of us this is, the ‘Dark’ side is still very strong even without the Sith.”
“That’s true Master Yoda, we must remain valiant against the ‘Dark’ side,” Aqat replied looking at Lotis.
The Sissisians have filed a protest against the Yanninains in court, and with all the evidence against them I feel that the case will be settled quickly,” Janson said to everyone. They knew that Yannin would face stiff penalties for what they tried.
Bri and Xara were dismissed from the council and Xara was glad that she got out with as few questions as she did. She thought that the council members would question the fact that she had killed a Jedi, something that was hard to do.
“That went better than I thought it would,” Xara said.
“You know most of them actually like you,” Bri said looking up at her partner.
“I’m not sure that Lotis does,” Xara said.
“Well, he just like things done his way, but I know that Aqat, Janson, Ri-Jun and Yoda do, that’s one third of the council that have told me so,” Bri said. “That’s four to one, and most Jedi Masters judge by how you perform, not what you say.”
Xara nodded her head and then asked when the ceremony for Master Kint would be. Bri replied that it would be in the afternoon. That allowed them time to eat lunch and change to formal attire for the ceremony. Xara realized that she had liked the man and wished that he had survived.
*****
Xara and Bri walked into the large room that the ceremony was going to take place. In front of them was the body of Kint waiting for the ceremonial fire to be lit. Special fans were placed around to keep the smell of burning flesh from overwhelming people along with special air converters made just for such an event.
Xara glanced at Bri who was dressed in her formal robe. She had brushed her hair until it Xara wanted to just run her finger through it all night, and she just might later on.
Bri glanced at Xara and was glad that the taller woman had gone with a more Jedi like appearance. Her clothes were still dark, but she now looked more like a Jedi with her clothes and the deep burgundy cloak she had on. The shirt and pants were black and she looked stunning to Bri.
Yoda glanced over when Xara and Bri walked into the room. They looked so very opposite of each other. Bri’s cloak was a light tan, and Xara’s was dark almost like night and day. He realized that they were, one completed the other.
“Well, they make a sight don’t they,” Aqat said to Yoda as he glanced at them. “I don’t know if we will be able to keep everyone in the dark much longer, they practically glow when they are with each other.”
“Yes, cross that bridge we will when we get to it,” Yoda replied.
“I have a feeling that it won’t be too much longer my friend,” Aqat replied.
Xara watched as they went through the ceremony and then proceeded to light the funeral pyre and the body burned in silence. She and Bri talked with several other Jedi and even Master Yoda and Aqat before they decided to retire for the evening.
Xara retired to their quarters for the evening. Xara felt like the service honored the Jedi Master and she could only hope for something so honorable when she finally was killed.
“I can’t believe how tired I am,” Bri said as she stripped out of her clothes.
“Well, we were up almost all night last night,” Xara replied with a smirk.
“That’s right, and now I feel like I could sleep for a week,” Bri replied.
“When do we have to report to the council for a new mission,” Xara asked.
“Tomorrow afternoon,” Bri replied.
“That’s good, but I have a feeling our next mission will find us,” Xara said.
“Let’s not dwell on it,” Bri replied as she got into bed. “Join me,” she asked lifting the covers.
“But of course,” Xara replied as she stripped out of her clothing and snuggled up to her lover and soul mate as sleep quickly found them both.
The End